Shropshire Star

Unsigned Stourport-on-Severn girl Chloe Mogg on her career so far

In an overcrowded musical world it can be hard to get noticed. There are so many people claiming to 'keep it real' and 'be the next...'.

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Stourport-on-Severn's Chloe Mogg likes to stand out from the crowd and be noticed

As a fan, it can be difficult too. Imagine music streaming service Spotify as a room. Thousands upon thousands of musicians, hands waving at you, screaming 'me, me, listen to me'. It can be quite overwhelming when discovering new material to fall in love with.

So giving yourself a noticeable quality is a great start for an artist. Stourport-on-Severn girl Chloe Mogg, aged 20, has done just that.

Firstly, you notice the hair. Long, flowing and daubed in rainbow colours it's like all the magic of Glastonbury Festival rolled into one haircut. She refers to it as 'parrot'.

"I don't want to isolate myself to one colour," she laughs. "On a more serious(ish) note, colours are what define me. I'm a bit of a hippie and just love to wear bright colours and stand out a bit. I will always have it now as I feel it is my trademark.

"Don't get me wrong, I love black and dark colours 'cos I'm a bit of a grunger too, but being a 'parrot' is my trademark. Parrots talk nonsense, like me!"

But it isn't just a gimmick. The softly spoken, giggly character hides a range of tastes in her music that travel from wonderful covers to her own material looking at the usual pains of a 20-something - 'I am never drinking again' for example.

She uses the moniker 'singer/songwriter', but it isn't just love songs with wistful strumming. Chloe has more to offer than that. Her self-penned bio references 'quirkiness', 'smile' and 'strange effects'. And having seen her live, this is a fair description.

"I play acoustic guitar, bass guitar and electric guitar as well as sing," Chloe says. "I play acoustic sets at the moment because I'm getting my own band together. When my band gets up and running properly, I will be playing all three of my instruments which I'm super happy about.

"I like being different to others. I do the 'singer/songwriter' stuff, but I also just sit back and have simplicity with my own original songs and my own arrangements of covers. I play bass and vocals just on its own sometimes and it really captures the audience, so I call that my solo bass set."

She has her eyes on a debut album, too. It's not just playing live keeping her busy and she hopes to have the record released by next summer, if not before.

"It’s still very early days as I want to make sure this is the best piece of work that I’ve done," she says. "I’m currently demoing all the songs and then figuring out what’s going to go where. The process is going really well and I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. My producer, Chris, is amazing and really understands exactly what I want."

She knows what she is talking about when it comes to creativity. She studies the intricacies of music and it's like she wants to cut her songs open with a carving knife and climb inside.

"I'm very into the sound of music. I would be lost without my gadgets of weird delays and reverbs.

"I'm technically starting my fourth year at Kidderminster College and, honestly, it's amazing. I'm currently on the HND music performance course working towards my degree.

"Being taught by such amazing lecturers has really helped me come out of my shell more and find 'myself'. I am enjoying my last year so much. The facilities are amazing, plus my lecturers have had proper experience in the music industry and are really lovely people too. "

And it is not just her college lecturers who have helped define her. Chloe's interests in the musical world vary as much as her hair colours.

"Nick Harper, Jeff Buckley, Led Zeppelin, Alanis Morissette, Frank Zappa, Marika Hackman, Jon Gomm, Steve Lawson, Tal Wilkenfeld, Esperanza Spalding, Björk," she rattles off effortlessly. And they all weave together to create a hybrid of sound that links old and new.

When we caught Chloe live earlier this year, for example, she comfortably linked her own less serious views on life in and around covers which included a fantastic reworking of Status Quo's 1968 single Pictures Of Matchstick Men.

And it is this creativity that makes Chloe one to watch as she grows her repertoire and experience.

Chloe Mogg can be found across social media platforms. She posts on Twitter and Instagram using @ChloeMogg, updates her fans on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chloemoggmusic/ and her personal website - http://chloemogg.wixsite.com/chloemoggmusic.

Chloe's next live solo show will be at the Talbot in Bewdley on November 3. The show will be a mixture of her own material and covers.