INTERVIEW: Chanel Loren on her debut EP 'BETWEEN2WORLDS': "I don't want to fit into one genre. I don't want to commit, I've got commitment issues and I'm okay with it."
Image: Minori Ueda
Interview: Jett Tattersall
Published: 19 July 2024
London born, Australian based Chanel Loren’s music effortlessly spans R&B, pop and soul. After releasing her first official single, ‘Playlist’, in 2022 she has gone on to receive an ARIA Award nomination and performed at SXSW Sydney and The Great Escape in the UK.
She has just released her debut EP BETWEEN2WORLDS which was created after a period of reflection and self-discovery, with its title inspired by her experience as a teenager moving from the UK to Australia and struggling to fit in in a country so similar yet wildly different from her home.
Written by Loren with production from a variety of producers including Cyrus Villanueva and Xavier Dunn, the EP features six tracks which represents six ‘worlds’ Loren has inhabited through her struggles to fit into her new community.
The EP opens with ‘Zone’, a smooth, sultry R&B track which Loren has said is “an open letter to modern-day dating” and tracks a connection that moves from the initial flush of lust through to disinterest.
‘Carelessly Doomed’, which features Kota The Friend, brings in a more upbeat R&B-pop feel to the EP, while ‘Ring Ring’ sees Loren rap for the first time. It is a highlight on the EP, an addictive, whipsmart song loaded with attitude that takes multiple left turns with the production that keeps you hooked to the very end.
‘Old Fruit’ opens with a spoken word section from Loren before segueing into a lush, gorgeous soul song with dramatic strings and a beautiful vocal from Loren. Latest single ‘Bubble Wrap’ has a classic R&B sound with elements of pop, lyrically it looks at insecurity in a relationship, and the fear you will be hurt after giving your all: “You said you’d protect me / But it always ends so messy.”
The EP ends with ‘Ebony’, which Loren has said she wrote as “the audio hug I needed”. It’s an incredible song, a low-key beat paired with a subtle electric guitar, and some almost angelic vocals, it is a love letter to herself and the other black women in her life, as well as a reassuring affirmation that she is on the right path. “Everything you need’s right at your feet…you’re where you’re supposed to be”.
BETWEEN2WORLDS solidifies Loren as one of the greatest young artists in Australia right now. Charismatic, honest, genre blurring and with a voice of beauty that expertly conveys everything she is feeling, her music is an absolute treat and a must for your playlist. We recently caught up with Loren to chat all about her music and the creation of BETWEEN2WORLDS.
Chanel, congratulations on BETWEEN2WORLDS. It is such a beautiful, eclectic EP.
Thank you. That that really makes me happy, because I was second guessing everything. But I'm very happy with what it is. I feel like it just captured my artistry where I'm at right now. So thank you.
We've gotten to know you through a series of singles leading up to the EP, and I always love the honesty coming from an artist that says ‘I gained my confidence doing that’ and then putting it all together in a collection.
It was way harder than I thought it was gonna be. I was like, ‘oh yeah, I can do singles!’ but then I was like, ‘how do you make an EP'?’ My manager was like, ‘it's just six singles’, and I was like, ‘just?’ But I'm glad that everything made sense, even though it took forever. It took me two years, probably more, to come up with those six songs. It feels perfect, and it tells the story without it being too literal.
What is that story?
Just me not fitting in and being okay with not fitting in. That was the biggest lesson I got out of making the EP. I'm such a perfectionist and I just wanted to create something that pushed me, but also represented who I was and how I felt. I am very multifaceted, I don't think I could just play one song for the rest of my life so it was great to allow myself to do different sounds. It feels freeing, which is really nice.
I imagine in that when you're releasing a body of work at this point in your career, there's still that voice that's going, ‘you better not fuck this up!’
Oh, definitely. I went through all of that, through every single. Every single felt like a shedding experience, to a point where when the EP came out, I was like, ‘I'm dead now, I've given my all. I don't even care if anyone likes it, I did it and that's what matters’. It was a roller coaster ride, especially because every single was different, they have different energies. Every single was a different energy, and it did get different audiences. I was a bit scared no one would like this one, or they're gonna think it's weird. So it was a lot of unlearning things, I realised I had a lot of protective coping mechanisms which weren't working for me anymore. So this EP definitely made me release those feelings and thoughts.
Does that come from this idea of being an outsider, which you have spoken about a lot, particularly on ‘Ebony’ and not being enough of anything. The lies you learn about yourself when you're young are the hardest ones to let go of.
Exactly, with ‘Ebony’ I was very burnt out, and I was just like, ‘I need a hug’. I was putting so much pressure on myself with music, even as a human being, like ‘I’m at this age, and I haven't made it’. It wasn't even just music that was the issue for me, it was just being a young adult. I wrote that song to remind myself why I even started to do music. It was this little girl that wants to do it and I might not be where I thought I would be, but it's actually better than I imagined. Just be happy for what you've got and be proud of yourself. I can praise someone else, but I don't like to praise myself. ‘Ebony’ is a message that I needed to hear from me, because I feel like people say that to you, but it goes over your head sometimes.
You're so right, because I think with any kind of success that you're chasing, no matter how far into it you get, you're always gonna be ‘but I’m not quite there yet’. And you really never take a breath and go, ‘when I was 11, I would have thought this was the coolest thing ever.’
Exactly. I just never imagined in my wildest dreams that this is my life. Even moving halfway around the world, even though that felt like a bloody burden, I don't think I would be doing music or even creating the music I've created if I stayed in London. So it's a lot of just being okay with change, because that is my biggest trigger. If you trust yourself, no matter what happens to you, you'll be okay. Just believe that you'll be fine and that everything's meant to happen, and if it's not meant to happen, you have the tools to know how to navigate through that.
Talk to me a little bit about that, because I find it interesting that you couldn't imagine the kind of music you're making happening if you were still in London.
I always thought I would just do R&B and I never heard anyone that sounded like me, or did the certain sound I would do. So I always didn’t know where I would fit. I just wasn't sure where I had to be. But I think living in Australia where EDM and electronic music was popular, it made me want to play about with different instruments and be a bit more creative, instead of just being standard R&B. I could have done that in London, but I think the message would have been way different, because I wouldn’t have experienced the things I experienced. I wouldn't have made a ‘Carelessly Doomed’, I wouldn't have made a ‘Ebony’, I wouldn't have made a ‘Ring Ring’. Everything that I've written has been based on my experience living in Australia, and I don't think I would have had those experiences if I did live in London. Sonically, it's still London, because I do listen to American and UK artists for my references, but I don’t think the story and the voice would sound the way it sounds if I still lived in London. People say I got soul, maybe that's just a bit of depression in the vocals! Everything happened for a reason. It took me years to realise that.
I'd actually like to hear more about your voice, because you're so clearly connected to it. I imagine you've always sung?
Yeah, since I was 14, that's when I had my first singing lesson. I wish that my story was way better, but I think I always knew I wanted to do music. I remember seeing Beyoncé on TV, and I could just imagine myself doing it. I did ballet and dance classes, that's how it probably started, and then I went to [performing arts school] Italia Conti on the weekends, and I did musical theatre, acting and singing. I decided at 14 I wanted to go to the BRIT School, because I was like ‘this is what I want to do’. And so I did! Then I moved to Australia and studied contemporary music and performance at JMC. That's when I realised ‘I'm a performer’. But I actually studied for my masters in creative industry and media because I gave up on music, I was like, ‘what am I doing with my life?’ but I got signed before I even graduated. So it was a journey!
I also love this notion, which you mirror in the title of the EP, of these worlds, these genres that you are between. You have your heart in one cap, your voice resonates in another, and then you're listening to another, but it all still makes one part.
Originally the concept between two worlds was, I live in Australia, but I'm from London. I'm from the Caribbean and I’m British. It was more of a cultural thing. But then the more I made the project, I realised it's actually a sonic thing as well. I don't want to fit into one genre. I don't know what sound it is, I don't want to commit. I've got commitment issues, and I'm okay with it. I think it's just a perfect title for where I'm at as an artist, I am between two worlds in multiple ways. For the past few years, I’ve had [recording] sessions, and it was kind of like all the songs that got finished were going to be on the EP. I felt like it was a bit all over the place, but then I realised my voice is what held it together - it was six worlds between two worlds. I feel like half of the job wasn't me, it was the universe, it was God. I just took the steps and made sure I did my job and whatever fell, I picked it up and made it what it is. I really am happy that I studied music, because I feel like it's a subconscious thing. Everything I put into my music is what I've learned or what I've been inspired by. Some of these songs were really hard to finish because I was listening to other influences, and when I had to listen to myself, that's when the song was done.
It was a really good experience. I'm still a bit stuck with what I've learned. I guess I'll figure that out in the next EP! I've learned how I write, I like to write by myself 90% of the time, so it's trying to figure out how to master creating by myself now that it is my job, because before, I just did it because I loved it. Now, even on the days where I don't love it, I have to do it, which is going to be a journey in itself. But I'm excited to tackle that challenge.
BETWEEN2WORLDS is out now via Sony Music. You can buy and stream here.
Follow Chanel Loren on Instagram and TikTok.
