Chloe Hennessee on Inspiration, Aspiration, and the Songwriting Process
Chloe Hennessee is an 18-year old singer-songwriter from New York City. With 1,500 monthly listeners on Spotify and upwards of 12,800 followers on the @chloehennesseemusic Instagram, Chloe’s platform is rapidly growing. Since 2013, Chloe has released multiple singles, EPs, and her first album “Ups & Downs” on Spotify with producer Wayne Silver at the Iceplant Studio. She is teen co-chair for Guitarmash, a city-based organization which provides teen creators with numerous performance opportunities.
Since the age of seven, Chloe has been writing songs inspired by her surroundings and musical background. Chloe’s music- pop with a mix of alternative elements- is largely inspired by female solo presences such as Taylor Swift and Sara Bareilles. Soul Talk spoke with Chloe about her experience as a young creator in a rapidly growing industry.
Imogen Brown: How did you start out as a musician?
Chloe Hennessee: I was always surrounded by music growing up; my mom is a classical pianist and my dad is a music teacher at the high school I attend. I began to take a lot of ukulele and guitar lessons because I was obsessed with Taylor Swift at the time. Over the years I transitioned from classical songs to my own style and started teaching myself new things.
IB: What’s your favorite part of songwriting and performing?
CH: Songwriting is definitely a therapeutic form of expression. I really love seeing what new stuff I can come up with. My favorite part of performing is probably meeting new people and being able to share content that I’ve worked really hard on with other musicians. Being more of an introvert, performing is a great opportunity to meet new people.
IB: Where do you draw inspiration from?
CH: I remember when I was first writing songs on guitar, it was a matter of incorporating elements from whatever I was listening to at the time. For my song “Awake,” for example, I happened to be learning a bossanova piece on guitar, and used that same finger picking technique in the song. If I learn something new I’ll try to write a song around it. A lot of my lyrics can sound very abstract, but are often pulled from multiple experiences I’ve had. I have noticed that there are long stretches of time where I don’t come up with anything that I like, and then a single week where I might come up with ten songs! So inspiration really just comes and goes.
IB: Is there a specific ritual that helps you in your process?
CH: I do have little tricks I’ll sometimes use. If I really want to force myself to write a new song I might go on random word generators and write drafts around words. It usually doesn’t turn out as a whole song but it gives me new ideas that I can work with.
IB: Do you find that in quarantine, writing comes easier to you because of all of this free time? Or is there a certain pressure to be productive that has made things more difficult?
CH: At first, it was really hard to come up with things because I wasn’t having the types of experiences that I normally write around. But during this time I’ve been able to practice more technical skills and explore other forms of music. I feel like the pieces I’m writing now are very different and I’ve definitely been a lot more critical of each aspect of what I’m creating.
IB: What did you listen to growing up and what are you listening to right now?
CH: Growing up, I really loved Sara Bareilles, Christina Perri, Rufus Wainwright, and Jack Johnson. Right now, I’m very into Corinne Bailey Rae, Gwen Stefani, No Doubt, and Radiohead. Taylor Swift is also what got me into guitar, and I took a long break from her but recently I’ve started listening to her new album. I love a range of styles and I’m always looking for more things to incorporate into my own songs!
IB: What have you been covering?
CH: Well on my instagram account, I’ve been trying to keep my skills fresh by posting one minute covers or IGTV full songs. I’ve also been doing Instagram Live shows so that I can practice what it’s like to do a full set.
IB: If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
CH: Sara Bareilles has definitely been a long time favorite of mine and I like every single song she’s put out. She’s just extremely talented and I love the musicality of her lyrics.
IB: Back when in-person performances were a reality, did you ever have performance anxiety? If so, how did you cope?
CH: I always have really bad anxiety before performances and I’ve just kind of accepted it. The first time I performed an original song was freshman year of high school where I played “Awake” at City Winery for over a hundred people. That was really scary. I mostly just try to take a few deep breaths and remind myself to play slower than I think I should when I’m out there. Another thing that really helps is pretending that I’m alone in my room, and that there aren’t a bunch of people staring at me.
IB: Before quarantine, where did you find opportunities to perform? Are there any organizations that you regularly partner with that you think our readers should check out?
CH: Well initially it was kind of difficult to find good venues because I hadn’t turned 18 and a lot of places in New York have an age policy. During that time, I found places to perform through an organization called GuitarMash which I’m currently a teen co-chair for! I’ve been with this organization for three or four years now and I absolutely love it. I’m a part of the teen songwriting circle, in which we meet up with professionals once a month and share things we’ve written or discuss our processes. That community is really nice to have and I would definitely recommend it to other young musicians!
IB: How are you able to meet other musicians?
CH: Social media is a huge help. A lot of the other musicians I’ve found have been over Instagram and are from all over the world. I met my producer, Wayne Silver, through GuitarMash. Everyone is so supportive and interested in what young musicians have to say.
IB: Can you describe a moment in your career in which you were extremely proud of yourself for something you’ve accomplished?
CH: I’m really proud of when I performed my first full live show in this restaurant on City Island. The space was called “Starving Artists,” and I was super nervous because it was the first show where I had to come up with a real, hour long set. That show was the first time where I was like “maybe I can do this as a career.”
IB: Any favorites amongst the songs you’ve put out on Spotify?
CH: I love “Play with Fire,” because I really got to experiment with a bunch of new sounds. I played electric guitar on a big part of the track, which was definitely a new experience. I do play electric guitar, but I’m generally more comfortable with acoustic and ukulele.
IB: How is the cover art for your albums, singles, and EPs designed?
CH: Usually I draw something, or we have a photo shoot and send it to someone who can digitize it. I remember for “Play with Fire,” we had sparklers and shot fire into the air which was really cool.
IB: Zooming in on some of your more recent stuff… Is your latest single “Hickey” about anything in particular?
CH: A lot of times, as a woman, I’ve been seen as more of an object than a person by guys in the way they treat me and talk to me. Hickey was kind of about the ways in which women are generally viewed and objectified. It’s really about a collection of experiences, rather than a single event.
IB: How did it feel to release your first whole album back in 2019? What did a normal day in the studio look like?
CH: Usually we start out with scratch vocals or guitar and map out how we want the arc of the song to look. Then, we’ll add in some percussion and basics, then record actual vocals and guitar over the scratch. In the final stages, we add finishing touches and release to Spotify! Releasing an album was super amazing- I got to learn about all of the aspects of producing, mixing and releasing at Ice plant. Generally, there are good days and bad days at the studio; sometimes I’ll come in really tired and we’ll have to re-record a lot of vocals. I guess I just take things one step at a time when I go over there.
IB: Do you face any obstacles being labelled as a young creator in the industry?
CH: I think the music industry is definitely changing a lot. People are doing more solo recording, whereas I’m working with Wayne and a mastering person. I’ve always really liked having that guidance and collaboration, and I feel like the support I have helps me through those obstacles.
IB: What advice do you have for other aspiring young creators?
CH: A problem I’ve run into in the past is trying too hard to emulate another person. So I guess what I would say is to find your own style and write what you want. One thing I’ve really learned over the years is to write my own truth instead of trying to sound like somebody else.
IB: Any long term goals or current plans?
CH: Right now I’m partnering with Ohana ukuleles to do a ukulele giveaway. I’m mainly trying to grow my Spotify platform at the moment and I think Instagram interaction has been a big part of that. Also, instead of putting out ten songs all at once, what I’ve been doing for the past few months is releasing one single per month. There will be singles in August, September and October!
IB: If you had the world’s attention for one minute, what would you say?
CH: I would tell everyone to put themselves in other people’s shoes. I think a big problem with the world today is that people only consider how they view the world rather than the experiences of the people around them. Now, especially since we’re very isolated, connecting and empathizing with others is so important.
Follow Chloe Hennessee on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chloehennesseemusic/
Follow Chloe Hennessee on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/18Z7XffeRumOPExmdw26hl?si=upA-5-MLRVuU-rOIhKEn3A
Listen to “Hickey” here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/2OaVGFIye7tBnKp7j9kIfP?si=TADa6_8_QeuC5uvALaB3LQ