When rapidly rising producer Chloe Martini was a teenager growing up in rural Poland the internet was her lifeline. It was a means to communicate, a means to dream of something exotic. “Being from a small town in Poland, it was my only way of discovering things,” she says. “The internet was my only way of learning new skills and finding the music, film and art I love.”
Soaking up new music at every turn, it helped her to create a digital network of her own, one that would take her all the way to the UK. “I never found a community that I could belong to,” she recalls. “But in London it doesn’t matter what you like – you can literally find a place for yourself.”
A producer with incredible ambition, her new EP ‘Daydream’ is just the latest stopping off point on this journey. Blistering electronics fused to soulful R&B textures, her sound is both classic and adventurously modern. Recently picked to work with Kaytranada in Montreal as part of an RBMA project, it seems the two are kindred digital spirits.
“SoundCloud was pretty much my number one place when finding new people,” she recalls. A viral sensation, she gained several million plays on the platform with her bold remixes of Destiny’s Child and Sia, and in the process constructed the cast who light up her debut EP. Take Kwaye’s sublime vocal turn on ‘San Junipero’, written within minutes of meeting each other. “I was like, oh, we won’t be able to make anything better than this!” she laughs. “I love working with him.”
This chemistry is evident on each track; Bessi lights up ‘Daydream’, while MAAD features on the bold ‘All Or Nothing’. Chloe Martini’s ‘Naked’ is a taut, sensual electronic burner aided by Polish R&B star Rosalie, the sound of two artists in complete communication. “You can tell if you connect instantly, pretty much,” shrugs the producer. “Within a few minutes, maybe an hour, in a session.”
Working quickly, Chloe Martini will then spend weeks, perhaps months fine-tuning, endlessly, tirelessly pursuing her vision. “I am definitely more on the perfectionist side,” she admits. “I’m waiting for that moment when inspiration strikes. I try not to force it because I’ve noticed that it just doesn’t work. But when it happens I can work for hours on just one sound, just to make it sound perfect.”
Indeed, this fascination with sound exposes another influence. ‘Daydream’ was written with Kindness in mind, and the two share a mutual love for Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto. “He’s pretty much the reason why I started making music,” she smiles. “I want to be a composer, I want to move people the way he does.”
Fusing a thirst for the club environment with a wider appreciation of how sound can be used, Chloe Martini is working on something truly her own. Soulful electronics with an R&B gaze, she’s also driven by a love of film-making, and a desire to score movie projects. “I want to incorporate the two worlds,” she says. “Pop nowadays is becoming very, very disposable, and I would like to combine storytelling and pop and timelessness together, if I could.”
Word is already spreading. She recently hooked up with NAO, fulfilling a long time desire to work with her. “I like things to happen organically,” she insists. “It was amazing. Her voice is like a warm blanket. It’s beautiful.”
Chloe Martini previously worked on stellar remixes for Janelle Monae and Sinead Harnett, and was recently invited to remix house star Joe Hertz, a task she found ideally suited to her skills. “That’s how I started making music,” she comments. “I feel at home remixing things. It feels very natural to me.”
Debut EP ‘Daydream’ is almost here, and Chloe Martini is already working towards an album. So, is she impatient? “Always,” Chloe replies. “But I’m definitely trying to learn how to be patient, because it’s so important, particularly when everything moves so fast.”
Pursuing her dreams and working alongside her heroes – Chloe Martini’s digital network is becoming a real-life phenomenon.