Chloe Bodur

Name, where are you from?
My name is Chloe Bodur and I’m from Cricklewood, North West London.

Describe your style in three words?
Cheap glam hottie.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?
The Jay-Z and Kanye West 'Watch The Throne' tour at the O2 in 2011. I was thirteen and my mate won tickets through a Facebook competition so we had seats at the front. The staging was epic, it was overwhelming. They were each stood on these giant blocks in the middle of the crowd with a huge screen on each side showing footage of animals in the jungle. Like panthers running in slow-motion etc. It was super artistic and dramatic and it’s stayed with me all these years because I think that was the night I really fell in love with music performance and the theatrics of it. 'H•A•M' has a whole operatic section in it which is why I picked that song off the album because you can imagine how intense that would’ve been live, in that setting, when I was 5”2 and come to the show straight from school lol. Everyone thought they were in the Illuminati and were throwing up diamonds. They performed 'In Paris' twelve times in a row because everyone wanted it again. It was all just mad.

If you could be on the line up with any two bands in history?

Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band - because I’ve grown up listening to their 1976 album with my family and 'Sunshower' still gets played in DJ sets now and has people Shazam-ing it forty years later. Iconic. Heatwave - 'Always and Forever' is my parent's wedding song but was also played at my Uncle's funeral so that song means a lot to me. It would be beautiful to hear it live.

Which subcultures have influenced you?
I’d say the UK jazz scene has influenced my sound a lot, even if it's not as obvious when you listen to my music now. I got really into it when I was studying music at uni and those type of chord progressions and melodic choices stay with me still. My Dad is Turkish and my Mum is Sri-Lankan so the aesthetics from those two cultures influence my visuals as well. Being born in London and living here my whole life, I think you can hear that in my lyrics too. There's a kind of attitude in that way of speaking.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?
I wrote my dissertation at uni on 'To Pimp a Butterfly'. Kendrick is one of my idols for a lot of reasons. I’d love to kiss his shoes. I have so many questions to ask him and he seems kind enough to give me the time to answer them.

Of all the venues you’ve played, which is your favourite?
The Jazz Cafe in Camden, London. There's so much history in that venue and so many legends have played there like D'Angelo, Amy Winehouse, Roy Ayres and Bilal. It felt special to play somewhere I used to drive by every week as a kid and dream of performing at.

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?
Nick Hakim - In my opinion one of the most talented artists in the world right now. Incredible lyrics and vocals and a unique production style. So underrated it’s painful.

For more on Chloe Bodur, including where to listen, purchase or stream her latest EP 'MAVI', visit linktr.ee/cbodur.