Chloe Matharu

Thank you for taking the time to have this interview with IMAAI.
Tell us about your music.
I am a Scottish Indian singer songwriter and harpist from the West Coast of Scotland that performs Celtic music. Many of my songs draw on my time as a Navigational Officer in the Merchant Navy, inspired by the natural world experienced at sea. Through my music I aim to offer "an intriguing insight into a new tradition of maritime folk music with thoughtful song writing embellished by her voice and superb harp playing" – The Herald.

Of mixed heritage, and crossing boundaries in my career at sea, I am keen to explore breaking down cultural and gender barriers through the language of music. I perform in Scots, English and Welsh. My music has been described as "truly haunting" BBC Radio Scotland; "a voice of milk and honey" Anais Mitchell; and "beautiful…soulful" Mike Harding. My debut album, Small Voyages, was released in October 2022 and was selected for Celtic Music Radio's Album of the Year and included in the top 20 of the World Music Charts Europe. At Celtic Connections I was awarded the revered Danny in February 2023 and will return in 2024.

"A beautiful dynamic movement that carries the listener along." – Folk Radio UK

When did you start performing?
I started performing in my teenage years, whilst still at school. I made up a trio including Ewan MacPherson on guitar (Shooglenifty) and Lauren MacColl on fiddle (Heal & Harrow) and we toured for a few years. I released my first album of traditional songs. I then took a break from music, leaving my musical shore life behind and went to sea as a Deck Cadet with a Coastal Oil Tanker Company. I'd been obsessed with oil tankers from a young age and wanted to experience life in the Merchant Navy. I wanted to travel the world and experience it from an entirely new perspective: from sea. After finishing my cadetship and moving up the ranks as a Navigational Officer I worked on board tankers, cruise ships, tug boats, ferries before leaving sea in time for maternity leave. I kept up song writing whilst at sea, documenting my experiences onboard. Becoming a mother, it became important to me to record a selection of these songs and so I produced an eight track album which was released in October 2022. That's how my album, Small Voyages, was born.

What do you consider to be your hometown and how does that affect your music?
My hometown is now Wemyss Bay, on the Clyde Coast, in the West of Scotland. My music is immersed in the landscape here, the open skies, the ever moving river Clyde. The land is bathed in light and sea. I live right next to the water and this has helped me in my transition to shore life. I'm half Welsh and SW Wales was my base whenever I was on shore leave (six months of each year) whilst in the Merchant Navy. The lush, wild nature of the landscape in Pembrokeshire is quite a contrast to that of the West Coast of Scotland and I must say I was homesick for Wales for a long time after moving back to Scotland. Pembrokeshire has also had a huge impact on my music- the long sandy beaches, the rolling waves and open Irish Sea. I would swim there most days year round. I also kept a blue eyed mare that I would spend hours riding through the woods, through the sand dunes and out into the water each day I was home. It's this feeling of being exposed to the natural world, at one with the elements, both whilst at sea and in my own home life, that has a huge impact on my music. Since moving to Inverclyde I have bought some alpacas and pygmy goats and this has helped me adjust to my new life here in Scotland.

What performers have been your inspiration?
I continue to be amazed by recordings of performances from bands involved in the 1960's Folk Revival such as Pentangle, Steeleye Span and Fairport Convention. These days I am inspired by anyone who shares their creative journey boldly on stage whether that be a a pop musician, rock band, country or folk.

What do you base your success on?
These days the music industry is multi faceted; success is probably measured by an obscure number resulting from an equation involving: social media follows, subscribers on streaming sites, CD sales, mailing list numbers, how busy you are with gigs, reviews of recordings and live performances, how many awards you've received etc. Although I genuinely enjoy the business aspect of music promotion, and there is a necessity to earn a living from music, the times I feel true success is when I am speaking directly to someone who's been touched by my music. It's in those precious one to one moments that I feel on top of the world.

What was your latest musical release?
My latest release was Small Voyages, October 2022, my debut album as a songwriter. It is written inspired by my time at sea as Navigational Officer, sailing around the world on oil tankers in the Merchant Navy. My aim was to recreate the sense of awe you feel as a seafarer whilst being exposed to the natural world, miles from land. It's about seeing from an entirely different perspective: from sea. The track Frozen World was written inspired by sailing off the coast of Alaska, seeing ice floats and the Northern Lights for the first time. I blend in field recordings throughout the album of recordings of phenomenon experienced at sea. It's also about the emotional aspects of life as a modern day seafarer: much of your sea trip is spent alone. When you return to shore your time is your own but it's often spent alone as friends work day jobs and you do not have a work community local to you. I have always been at peace with my own company. However the long distance element of my relationship with my husband became increasingly difficult, over an eight year period we saw less than six weeks of each other each year. Sometimes it would be 11 months before we would see each other and there was never any certainty about when we could next see each other. One way we would keep in touch at sea was by emailing each other about what wildlife we'd spotted from the bridge of our ships. The track Arctic Terns is about this. Ship's in the Night is a song about Celestial Navigation- a way to navigate by the stars which we still use in everyday practice- and how my and my husband's view of the celestial sky was entirely different since we were sailing in different hemispheres.

Do you have any news to share?
I am currently working on two singles which will be released later this summer. They are inspired by the coastline near my house, there's a colony of seals near my house which I pass each day when going to feed to the goats. I love them so much and there's a sense of mystery about them and as though they are the spirit of the Clyde. We also had a humpback whale breech close to the house which was a first for me to see from our coastline! The idea that I still live so close to this help me feel at ease with my new landlubber life. The singles will be available on all streaming platforms and you can follow me on socials and spotify or on my mailing list from my website to keep up to date with news.

How can fans find you?
linktr.ee/chloematharu