Rising star Chelsea Warner releases new single 'Not In The Mood' and talks us through the producers that inspire her.
Rising star Chelsea Warner recently released her second single of 2021, ‘Not In The Mood’. The song is a lush, playful R&B track which alongside dashes of soul and jazz channels the sound of 1990s R&B while still remaining completely contemporary. Produced by Warner with Maribelle (who performs as Vetta Borne) the song was created off the back of the sense of isolation engendered by the lockdowns of 2020. “I realised just how profoundly fulfilling spending time alone is, and really reconnected with myself for the first time in a while,” Warner says, “I also realised it was exhausting interacting with people so often and that, this whole time, I was quite introverted. ‘Not In The Mood’ is about spending quality time with yourself. Hidden within its sassy, standoffish veneer is a profound self-love that says it's okay to just enjoy your own company.”
Warner has also announced her debut EP Drama will be released on November 5. “My debut EP is an alternative R&B record that details my coming of age and self-actualisation.” she explains. “Drama is the drama of living. The drama of growing up. The theatricality of the world. The way it feels like a stage, or that you're always waiting to be seen. Either chasing or shrivelling up under the spotlight. The competitive, anxiety-inducing headrush of constantly unpacking the world and your place in it. The invisible audience that shadows you throughout adolescence, informing every moment and every decision. The main character energy in the narrative of coming of age.”
To celebrate the release of ‘Not In The Mood’, Warner has exclusively written a piece for Women In Pop on her five favourite female producers whose work she both loves as a fan and inspires her an artist.
Chelsea’s 5 top female producers she loves by Chelsea Warner
Not going to lie, when I was researching for this list I was expecting to find so many more female producers behind my favourite songs, or popular songs from the last couple decades. I was looking forward to being pleasantly surprised, seeing a few women popping up behind the scenes consistently. I was kinda disappointed. My criteria was that the tracks had to be solely female produced, and it took me hours to compile a dozen songs. I don’t know if I was looking in the wrong places or missing some female producers in plain sight, but as someone who always checks the production credits on a song, I was expecting to come across so many more.
What the pool of female producers lacks in size it makes up for in quality. Here’s a list of my absolute favourites killing it at the moment.
1. Ninajirachi
Nina is absolutely murdering the Australian hyper-pop lane and I can’t really think of anyone else in the country doing it quite like her. Her project with Kota Banks is so innovative an I have so much respect for them for doing their own thing. Latest drop ‘Dracodraco’ is next level and I think my favourite is ‘Slytherin’, it makes me feel like a hot techno-wizard.
2. Maribelle
The co-producer of ‘Not In The Mood’, Melbourne’s Maribelle, is one of my favourite producers, period. I saw her work at a songwriting camp (KLP’s Ricochet Songs, an all female/non-binary writing camp) and just really dug what she did. Her latest project Vetta Borne brings heartfelt soul & groovy nu-funk to Australia, and I’m very happy about that - peep ‘Luv On U’, my current favourite.
3. TOKiMONSTA
TOKiMONSTA is iconic, having produced with Anderson .Paak, VanJess & Channel Tres, to name a few. Her presence in the music industry is so inspiring, and her textured alt-dance beats are so consistently cool. I love how unique her take on electronica and left-leaning pop is, and my favourite track is by far ‘Come and Go’ featuring VanJess.
4. Wondagurl
I feel like I’ve said iconic a lot but it just applies. Wondagurl is truly the face of women behind the scenes in hip hop, having produced for everyone from Drake, Big Sean, Lil Uzi Vert and Travis Scott to Little Simz and Rihanna. She’s also close to my age, in her early twenties, so I feel like I want to frame a picture of her and look at it for inspiration every day. It shouldn’t be such a big deal when women rack up production credits like she has, but unfortunately it is, and I will celebrate her until high achieving women in production (and especially hip hop) are everywhere! My favourite track of hers at the moment is ‘Used To’ by Drake and Lil Wayne.
5. AnSo
I saw AnSo first play live at a university gig we were playing (we both attend the Sydney Conservatorium of Music). They were looping and affecting their vocals live to some of the sickest electronica/hyper-pop beats I’d heard. Their latest drop ‘So Damn Loud’ epitomises eclectic, sassy chaos, and it’s been cool to see them supported by FBi Radio & ‘Something More’ on Triple J. Criminally underrated, I’m so excited to see what they do next.
‘Not In The Mood’ is out now. You can buy and stream here.
Chelsea Warner’s debut EP Drama will be released on November 5. You can pre-save now by clicking here.
