FEATURE: Spotlight: Chloe Qisha — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Chloe Qisha

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I will get to…

a review of Chloe Qisha’s debut E.P. Released in November, her self-titled release gained acclaim and attention. I am new to her music so it has been really interesting learning more about this remarkable artist. One that is fully-formed and ready for success. A hugely original and exciting talent that everyone needs to know. I am starting out with an interview from The Line of Best Fit. Qisha was training to be a therapist before music came calling. I wonder if any of the aspects of that profession and the training she went through have directly impacted her lyrics:

“Those songs have their staying power, but a different hook snuck its way into my brain late this summer to join them. “All I ever wanted was your hands on my body,” Chloe Qisha repeats on “I Lied, I’m Sorry” from her debut self-titled EP, out this Friday. It’s hard to tell if she’s genuinely regretful. There’s a taunt and a smirk that comes with the breathy desire on the half-apology “when I said I didn’t miss you, yeah I lied, I’m sorry.” Maybe she means it, but she’s also definitely toying with you.

“The goal for me is always to write the best pop song and wrap that up in slightly more left-of-field references,” Qisha tells me while scurrying around Soho House, looking for a good place to video chat without being caught. The Chloe Qisha EP is varied yet familiar, its influences clear — there’s a messy, gritty pop rock sound with the crunchy guitars on “Evelyn” familiar to any Olivia Rodrigo or Paramore fan, and a lot of the funk and silliness of “Sexy Goodbye” comes from Talking Heads or ABBA. But she easily fits into the modern pop landscape that prioritizes storytelling above all: there’s a Swiftian sigh as she sets up the story in one song, singing, “in a London house, there’s the loneliest girl…”

PHOTO CREDIT: Eleonora C. Collini

That comes from “I Lied, I’m Sorry”, the buzziest of the pre-release singles, which comes across like a straightforward pop song, but its story is surprisingly convoluted. Qisha was watching Apple TV’s The Buccaneers when its credits song, a cover of LCD Soundsystem’s “North American Scum”, couldn’t leave her head. She brought it to her collaborator Rob Milton, who’s worked with Holly Humberstone and Alfie Templeman, and the two created the soundscape before writing the lyrics. “Once you sit in the sound and the world of that production, you get a better idea of what the songwriting could be,” she says.

Qisha moved from Malaysia to the UK at 16 to finish the last two years of high school, something that cemented her selfhood early. “You become a lot more sure of yourself and a lot more solidified in your values,” she notes. Hellbent on becoming a therapist, she got a degree in psychology but realised she was “probably way too emotional to be anyone’s therapist.” Music suddenly seemed like a viable career path, so she wrote songs while she was in school, and pivoted to a master’s degree in communication as a back-up plan, “which sounds absolutely mental.”

It would be mental only if she weren’t an exceptionally strong songwriter. “VCR Home Video” is a haunting ode to family and the act of self-parenting (“You were my blueprint, my first word I learned”), and “Scary Movie” documents her anxieties with going forward with a career in music. “The hope is that it all goes successfully,” she says, “and you’re taking these small, incremental steps into potentially changing your life forever.”

Nervous as “Evelyn” is, it’s also striking as a horror movie where the quiet girl goes berserk; amongst its claustrophobic production, she mentions wanting to crawl into another girl’s skin and being lit on fire, rife with jealousy. She’s over it now, actually — the song takes place in high school, the era she prefers to write from, since it’s terminally relatable to most. “I protect my peace so well these days that I generally have nothing to write about,” she says, “which is an amazing problem to have.”

But at Chloe Qisha’s heart are the pop songs — the bright, sticky lyricism and the catchy beats that people come for. “Sexy Goodbye”, a quirky, off-kilter number about leaving with your best foot forward, uses AutoTune and deadpan talk-singing to dish on an ex: “I’m waiting on your karma while you’re waiting on a booty call.” But it’s about another breakup — this one amicable — with a music company she just wasn’t feeling, and was confident enough to step away from. “I remember feeling like, ‘Wow, that was the first big-girl decision I made in my 26 years of living.’ I was really proud of myself, and came out the other end even better.” So it’s about both and neither a shitty ex or workplace misunderstanding. The girls’ names sprinkled through the song aren’t even real — she and Milton came up with them on a train back from Leeds. “Songwriting is so all over the place, there’s never really one thread of how it came to be,” she says. “It’s everything coming into one and melding and meshing and suddenly you have a song, which is very bizarre. I still don’t know how it happens. It’s still magic, every single time.”

That magic’s baked into the EP — a solid set of songs from a strong voice. Even though it wasn’t intentionally laid out like so, it acts as a sampler for a listener that might pick and choose which pop direction suits them. “VCR Home Video” is for the swaying, songwriter-y crowd, “I Lied, I’m Sorry” is a well-rounded banger, and something like “Sexy Goodbye” hints that there’s still more personality to discover in the future. The EP didn’t start to come together until they wrote “I Lied” at the beginning of this year, which set the ground of the world they wanted to build. “They all come from the same mom and dad, me and Rob, I think that’s why they’ve aged well,” she says”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Eleonora C. Collini

A natural storyteller, this compelling new Pop artist spoke with CLASH at the end of last year. One of the brightest hopes in Pop, I know that this year is going to be a really exciting and eventful one for her. Chloe Qisha enters a very competitive market, though she has a distinct style and energy that few of her peers do. It bodes well for a golden 2025:

“A few years later I got randomly contacted by a label and went for a meeting with them knowing nothing about the industry,” she continues. “I got into some sessions and kept at it for like, a year or two but never fully committed.” There’s a slight pause. “I didn’t know that music was ever an option for me, I think the industry can be such a mystery to the general public,” she points out. “Then COVID happened – it threw me into a really weird space with music. But through it I sort of ended up clawing my way back to it in the end.” She seems reflective, as if just discovering a truth in that moment. “I think I realised that I could write songs, and if the songs feel authentic to me, call them mine,” she smiles softly.

Through years of songwriting experience, Qisha has managed to craft a nostalgia tinged sound that still feels authentically her own – largely due to her quick witted lyricism that becomes a cornerstone for her music. As she divulges, it was that particular skill that could only be perfected from practice. “It was definitely an evolution,” she admits when asked about her writing process. “I think it’s funny that we’ve ended up coming to this process from more of a storytelling world,” she continues. “When I first started off, I thought the most important thing was to make the track catchy. But I’m glad that I didn’t start off that way, because it gave me the good foundations to keep at the back of my mind. I think now when I write, I try to be a storyteller – and that’s definitely come from writing with Rob (Milton), my collaborator,” she beams. “He’s such a strong writer and has a way of drawing stories out of the artist that he’s like working. He really strives for the best, which I definitely needed because lyrics were actually my least strongest aspect of writing before I met him. I think our brains mesh in the right way – nothing’s off the table in our sessions.”

While her writing style leans on conjuring up narratives, Qisha’s sonic leanings focus on moments of musical history. “I’m definitely more influenced by the past,” she answers. “My references, at least right now, are very focused on nostalgia. They seem like polar opposites, but it can be anything from Abba to LCD Soundsystem – it’s that breadth of sound that I love. But I do have modern references too, like Sabrina Carpenter’s recent album. I love the way that she’s just been able to express so many emotions so cohesively across the record. It feels very empowering.”

However, the attention to detail doesn’t stop with the music. From simply scanning Qisha’s music videos and socials, it becomes apparent how refined the visual aspect is to her artistry. Red and black make up the colour palette, with Qisha adorning suits, movie theatre settings and a classic red lip to build an image of a Twin Peaks-esque universe. When asked about the visuals, her eyes seem to spark. “The music always comes first,” she begins. “But honestly, the visuals were almost just as important for me. I have a creative director, Lillie Eiger who’s the most incredible human being. When first planning the EP, we would be sitting in the British library together and she burrowed into my mind – we ended up talking about the most random topics, and it really helped tie all of my crazy ideas together.”

She divulges her preliminary vision, which is one of the first aspects of the release she thought up. “I knew I wanted red as one of the primary colours,” she explains. “I also wanted suits to be a big part of the visual aspect- basically the main costume of this world. The idea was to tap into slightly more masculine energy and that like naturally I have in my everyday life, to then play with and contrast with my feminine side. Lillie amalgamated all of these ideas together so when it came to shooting the artwork and the music videos, like we had this visual Bible to stick to,” she laughs. “It paid off in the end- I think everything does look really, really cohesive and that’s my main thing because I’m a perfectionist,” she says with a smirk.

Having such a precise vision has resulted in one of the most exciting debut’s to come out of the UK music scene this year. Qisha’s self-titled EP is one that plays with dynamics, lyricism and style with an effortlessly chic demeanor, resulting in a bundle of praise from critics and fans alike. When talking, Qisha still seems somewhat surprised by such a reaction. “You always hope people will like the music of course,” she spills. “But it’s a whole different feeling when people are actually reaching out to say they liked it. The human connection that you get when people DM and say they love Evelyn or Scary Movie- especially because they were like last to come out – feels so surreal and so amazing.”

The reception seems to have served as fuel for an even bigger peak for Qisha to hit in 2025. She relaxes as she tells me of her plans for the new year, and the anticipation it brings. “Hopefully, I hope to do so many more shows, that’s always been like a big sort of bucket, bucket list thing for me,” she explains. “But for sure the music will come hard and fast! There is no break in the Chloe Qisha world,” she states mysteriously, teasing new possible releases. “There’s too many songs and they all need to be released, which is an amazing problem to have. It’ll be coming a lot sooner than I think a lot of people think, which is exciting,” she grins. No matter what comes next for Qisha, the consensus is clear – she’s got a vision to make it the brightest it can be”.

Prior to coming to a review for the Chloe Qisha E.P., I want to introduce an interview from The Forty-Five that was conducted recently. An artist who blends elements of modern-day Pop queens and the 1980s sounds of her parents’ music collection, it is affective and potent blend. Go and check out Chloe Qisha if you have not done so already:

“From her androgynously suited aesthetic to her nostalgia-meets-perfectly-now musical palette (think Chappell Roan and Troye Sivan trading witty one-liners over ‘80s pop and ABBA), Qisha’s self-titled debut EP landed at the end of the year like a five-track application to join the upper ranks of 2025’s UK pop girls. With an equally excellent new single due later this month and a second EP shortly after, we’ve no doubt that by the time the year is through she’ll have come good on that proposal.

You were writing songs behind the scenes for a long while before releasing your first batch of singles last year – did it take an adjustment to see yourself as an artist that could be in front of the camera?

It just takes a lot more being an artist these days. It’s all-encompassing. Waiting until I was the age I am now where I’m more sure about my identity and fashion and the spaces I exist in and where my music sits – it all plays a part and I don’t think I would have had that a couple of years ago. Some artists are incredibly young and they manage to find themselves an incredibly strong identity from the get-go, but for me it took a hot second to do that, and also a hot second to actually feel that I was a good enough writer that was beyond writing singer-songwriter songs in my bedroom.

Had this always been the ambition?

It just didn’t compute in my brain that it was a possibility – whether that was [because of my] upbringing and my very Asian family not knowing that music or the arts was a viable career path, or just not knowing enough. I did a couple of degrees, poking and prodding where I would fit and doing music absent-mindedly on the side and then I fell into a side of the industry where you can develop as an artist while doing sessions and writing that you just wouldn’t know exists until you’re in it.

You lived in Malaysia until you were 16 – was there much opportunity to lay foundations as a musician there?

There’s definitely a thriving music scene there, I just don’t think I was ever exposed to it. I was quite sheltered in my international school and that was the bounds of what I knew. It was just naivety. My parents weren’t particularly strict but they definitely defaulted to thinking I’d go to uni and get a degree and earn lots of money and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s fine with me’. I always knew I liked to sing but I was quite a shy kid in general – I was quite a boring child! – and it wasn’t until I moved to the UK that I started picking up a guitar.

If not from your teenage years, where do your influences mainly come from?

It was purely from my parents’ music taste. They were big fans of everything ‘80s and refused to play me anything but that, so I had The Bee Gees and Tears for Fears constantly; that’s all I grew up with. So landing on ‘80s music as a sonic reference really made sense – it was a very full circle moment.

There are also nods to LCD Soundsystem, Olivia Rodrigo and lots of artists that nestle at various points along the pop and alternative spectrum – where do you see yourself sitting?

The music right now sits in a really good moment in between those two forces. Those two lend themselves very well to each other. ‘80s music was essentially pop music back in the day. Now I see [my music] as sonically drawing from older, more obscure ‘80s references but melodically and lyrically we still want to be up there with the pop girlies because that’s what I listen to on a day-to-day basis: I’m with the Sabrinas and Chappells and Troyes and Charlis, so that naturally trickles in.

And really, what a perfect time to be entering the modern pop world…

I’m really grateful and honoured and lucky to be in this moment in time where the pop girlies are really having their moment and long shall it live. Not that they weren’t present before – when I was in high school I was definitely in that Katy Perry ‘Teenage Dream’ era – but I look at them now and think gosh, the songwriting has just never been better. Particularly Sabrina and Chappell, I look at them and their writing teams and I want to soak up every bit of it like a sponge and inject that into my own music as well.

How does Chloe IRL and Chloe the pop star compare?

She’s definitely an extension of myself – I wouldn’t go as far as a persona but she’s a cooler, far more confident version of myself that I can somehow tap into in different settings. I’m still more introverted. Chloe Qisha is who I like to turn on at events, whereas at my core I hate all human beings and I want to sit at home with my cats.

Across your first EP, there was this sense of nostalgia but also lots of young lust and hot under-the-collar moments. What is the world you’re building from there?

It’s just about not trying to take oneself too seriously in all aspects of love – accepting every instance you’ve had and embracing that something was very awkward, or that an interaction was not so great but you can sit and laugh about it now and that’s character-building. ‘Sexy Goodbye’ is a great example of that kind of song where we’re talking about love and lust in quite a heartbreaking but funny way. The foundation of someone not reciprocating your feelings is very sad, but I’m gonna strut down a Hackney street with a binbag over my shoulder and I’m gonna embrace that! That’s what we try and exude in the world: embracing everything about yourself even if it’s a bit cringe, which is so the opposite of who I generally am because I like things to be very organised and perfect”.

I am ending with a review from NME of Chloe Qisha. A remarkable debut E.P. from last year, Qisha will build off of this and we are going to see more remarkable music and development from an artist who has been tipped for big things this year. Someone I am very excited about:

“It hasn’t been half a year since her debut single, but singer-songwriter Chloe Qisha has already found her voice. The Malaysian-born, UK-based singer’s debut self-titled EP has an unpretentious, analog charm about it, even during her more polished, alt-pop moments. It’s a brilliant first glimpse into her vision of pop and her candid, honest lyricism.

Echoes of upbeat 80s pop ring through the nostalgia-tinged opening track ‘I Lied, I’m Sorry’, which immediately sets expectations high with its slick production and undeniable groove. Qisha’s crooning, whispered delivery here is impeccable, tailored to express the tension between the track’s playful lust and the underlying uncertainty attached to it as she finally admits her intense, visceral longing for its subject.

Every bit as evocative is ‘Sexy Goodbye’, a disco-influenced number on which the singer blithely bids a former lover farewell with style. Crowning herself the winner of the breakup, she takes witty jabs at her ex, who instead fills the void with meaningless sex. “Oh you’re leaving, that’s regrettable / That saves a call to pest control / I’m waiting for your karma while / You’rе waiting on a booty call,” she recites coolly in its second verse.

Meanwhile, the pop-punk-influenced ‘Evelyn’ – arguably the record’s strongest track – is where the cracks in Qisha’s nonchalance begin to show. ‘Evelyn’ is so painfully honest about the full-fledged ugliness of jealousy and unrequited love that it reads like a mid-breakdown diary entry. “She’s everything, I wanna crawl into her skin / Maybe then you’ll notice me / Notice it, it’s obvious, it’s obvious,” she laments over a cascade of distorted guitar riffs, all her previously slick pop stylings out the window.

‘Scary Movie’ showcases a softer, mellower side to Qisha as she compares her dating life to a horror film. Here, she expresses her anxieties surrounding her relationships (“I’m afraid of everyone I love / My face between my fingers have come undone”) through hushed sighs over a downbeat guitar instrumental and fuzzy synths.

Intimate piano-led ballad ‘VCR Home Video’ concludes the EP, which sees Qisha masterfully chronicle the growing pains of her relationship with her parents through her transition to adulthood. “Open up a can of worms / I was your child but somehow the roles reversed,” she shares, reckoning with the regretful realisation that her adolescent quarrels have pained her parents as much as they did her.

Throughout ‘Chloe Qisha’, the budding musician hits every emotional note exactly how she intends to with her clever and vulnerable songwriting. Not a single moment in her music comes off as superficial or impersonal, even on the coldly chic ‘Sexy Goodbye’. From start to finish, this EP points to a promising future for Qisha on the horizon”.

Even though this year is quite new, you can tell which artists are going to make an impression. Chloe Qisha is someone who should be on your radar. A remarkable artist with a long future ahead, I think that we will be seeing her on festival stages very soon. There is no doubt Chloe Qisha is one of the…