It’s often that an artist is touted as a voice of their generation, but for singer songwriter Chloe Moriondo, the claim is well earned and then some. Enjoying a wildly successful music career at only 19, they are a long way from their beginnings as a viral Youtube sensation (covering classics in their distinctively gentle, tender style), with albums and EPs combining relatable anguish with magnetic indie pop bite. Their new EP, puppy luv, is a bittersweet, joyous and affirming collection of songs with what Moriondo describes as an “end of an era” energy. Judging from their exhilarating work so far, we can only wait with buzzing excitement to see what the next Moriondo era will bring.
Hi Chloe! How are things with you? How has 2022 treated you so far?
Hi! I’m going a little stir crazy, to be honest, I’ve been holed up at home quarantining post-writing-trip. Unfortunately, I got my first positive test ever in 2022, so that is a straight up bummer, but I also already got to make a few really good songs that I’m really proud of this year. Hoping my next test comes back negative and I can not only go to the grocery store and observe humanity again, but write more music with more people!
Your hotly anticipated new EP, puppy luv, has just been released! How are you feeling about sharing this collection? Is it a different feeling to your previous albums and EPs perhaps?
I’m very excited to share this little project with the world! It definitely is a sort of end of an era EP to me, and it contains a lot of the softness and vulnerability I’ve experienced in my teenage years— from starting my music career and letting others into my writing process, to my first weird real relationship with a boy to a song about the best boy (Sammy)!
If I had to describe the energy of your new music, I’d say it’s buzzing with defiance, optimism and a real sense of candour. Your music is known for its frankness and relatability; what experiences or observations have you incorporated into this particular EP that you feel people will relate to, or are universal in some way?
Thank you, that means a lot! I think this EP encompasses the feelings of living in your hometown your whole life, trying to be successfully vulnerable and failing, and loving your dog. I have a little feeling that some people who listen to my stuff might relate to at least one of those! I hope so, at least.
I’d love to know more about your creative process when it comes to writing and recording your music. Where does your inspiration come from? How do ideas for tracks germinate and develop for you?
My creative process is pretty sporadic! I get inspired by big emotions I feel and can’t do anything but write about, books my mom used to read to me when I was little, and random words that pop into my head that I frantically type into my Notes app and get to later. I don’t have a very consistent writing process; sometimes songs come together in minutes, sometimes it takes months for me to be able to address a feeling with the exact words I want to use. A rule of thumb for me is to at least write everything down— worry about editing and being embarrassed about it later.
Do you feel you’ve changed as an artist between the compositions of Blood Bunny and puppy luv, or even including Spirit Orb and Rabbit Hearted? How, if so, has that manifested in your music?
Absolutely! Frankly, I think my growth as an artist is kind of entangled in both Blood Bunny and puppy luv, because one of the first songs I co-wrote with someone is on this latest album, yet it’s coming out after BB! puppy luv feels like a lovely little cocktail consisting of blast-from-the-past, first-phase-of-covid, and ode-to-teenagehood.
Your music roots can be traced in some way back to YouTube as well – how do you feel thinking back to those incredibly popular acoustic covers of La Vie en Rose and Creep you uploaded a few years back? Is there anything you feel nostalgic for at that time of your life?
At this point in my life, I honestly feel really disconnected from that version of myself. It was almost 4 years ago now, which I think is a lot longer in teenage years than adult years, but it just feels especially drastic because I’ve always just tried to be the most authentic form of myself I can be! I’m incredibly grateful for the people who discovered and enjoyed my voice from those videos, despite being now kind of detached from that part of my life. I don’t really miss much of my life then because back then I dreamed of doing what I’ve done now!
What do you feel your greatest strength as an artist is or what sets you apart from everyone else in the game?
It is s probably my willingness to try anything! I want to make every type of music and work with anyone who is cool and kind and wants to make cool things with me.
Do you have a favourite track you’ve written and recorded so far in your career? And why this one in particular?
Yes, and it’s unreleased! It feels like a big step in the direction I want to be going, and it has some funny and clever little lyrics that I think are really fun. I also see a cool feature possibly being on it!
You’ve become a true voice for Gen Z; your music really strikes to the heart of what it means to grow up in this weird, disenchanting, confusing era. puppy luv has this refreshing optimism about it though, especially embodied in the tracks My dog won’t miss u and Dog days are over, albeit in different ways. Do you think things are going to get better soon? Where does your optimism come from?
I always think things are going to get better soon. I can be pessimistic at times for sure, like most of us can, but I think if I were truly a pessimist I would already have driven myself nuts! My optimism comes from not wanting to go crazy and wanting to help other people not go crazy as well.
Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with in the future? Maybe they might read this, who knows…
Fuck, no pressure, METAL Magazine, jeez! I think I’d go with maybe Ashnikko (my sweet!), Benee or Lily Allen. They’re all really cool.
Give us your favourite tracks from any three artists you’ve got on repeat right now.
And finally, where would you like to see yourself in, say, 5 or 10 years’ time? Do you have a particular vision for yourself and your music you want to see externalised?
I don’t think I’ll ever have a specific vision for myself that far in the future. I would love to be comfortably making the music I want to be making in that exact moment. I'll probably be looking hot and living in Los Angeles, making lots of friends and hopefully not worrying about Covid anymore!