Alice Chater

Since debuting on the music scene, a lot has changed in Alice Chater’s life. The British singer now lives in Stockholm, Sweden with her boyfriend and has been focusing on her career. During quarantine, she decided to cut her hair shorter, which was influenced by a wig she wore last year when promoting her song “Lola” with Iggy Azalea.

Chater’s talent doesn’t just stop at being an incredible vocalist. The songstress writes her own material, knows how to dance, and never fails to deliver an eye-catching visual. EUPHORIA. got the chance to hang out with Chater in a fancy social club in Mayfair on a Friday afternoon where she discussed her EP, Aries, her upcoming debut album, why she temporarily deleted Twitter off her phone, and a whole lot more while sipping on a cup of coffee.

Congratulations on your Aries EP. How long had this project been in the works for?
Thank you! Well, it’s funny actually, “Aries” the title track I’ve had for about five years. I wrote that song by myself and that’s the song that actually got me signed. It was the song that really showcased my vocals and my songwriting. “Two Of Us” and “Fix This” were newer songs. “Pretty In Pink,” I think I did two years ago. Obviously “Lola,” I wanted to put that on the EP.

With the ongoing pandemic, were you mindful about releasing the EP during it, or were you just eager to get new material out?
Yeah, I was super ready to put new music out. I think it was at the right time. With the visuals and the video for “Two of Us,” I think a lot of people wanted to hear that and it was quite relatable to what they’re going through during this time. I think there’s a lot of people that have been stuck with during quarantine that they don’t wanna be with or they do wanna be with that has blossomed into a deep love. So I think I definitely think it was the right time to release.

You’ve been vocal about making your debut album. Do you think you will jump straight into an album or may you release another EP?
No, probably an album. Things change all the time obviously but I’m working on a full-length album now.

How is that going, are you nearly done?
Yeah, I pretty much have all the songs. It’s just finishing the demos and finalizing the production, finishing some vocals.

What artists or topics are currently inspiring the album?
Before I always wrote about one person. I was always writing about a toxic relationship that I was kind of stuck in for a while and I was very very unhappy so all my music, even if they were uptempo happy beats, the lyrics were quite dark. I think there’s always going to be that dark side lyrically because of things I have been through since I was little. But now I’m in a happy space, I’m super in love so the songs are more positive lyrically. I think it’s also is needed right now because everyone needs to be a bit more uplifted and have more positivity. I love the new records, I think they’re super feel-good songs.

Do you think some of the songs that have yet to be released that you have been performing during your live shows will make the final cut?
Yeah, maybe! *laughs* There’s a couple of gems in there. Like, I have so many songs and I kinda forget. I like to perform them live to see the reaction. I know that a couple of the fans love a couple of them like “Splish Splash” for example. So, who knows. I definitely probably will for the fans’ sake and put in one or two or maybe have a bonus secret track.

And what was the first album you became obsessed with? Do you remember?
Stripped by Christina Aguilera! It’s my go-to. I love the album because she was so experimental because she had a Spanish record, a hip-hop record, jazz, and ballads that showed off her voice. “Beautiful,” which she did with Linda Perry is insane.

Is there more pressure making an album compared to an EP?
Yeah, definitely. It’s more songs, a bigger body of work.

Has the pandemic slowed down your creative process?
No, only the videos. The videos are a big important part for me, the visuals are my everything. I love to perform on camera, so that’s stopped me making more videos than I would have liked to. Creatively, no. I’ve been in the studio a lot and I’ve got a lot done during the pandemic.

Do you think you’ve been more motivated because you’ve not been able to do much else?
Yeah, I haven’t been able to do any events or shows. I’ve been strictly in the studio. Last year, I was doing so many shows last summer and tours so it’s given more time to home in what I want my sounds to sound like and made me think more of the writing part.

On the new EP, “Two Of Us” has done extremely well and has been watched over 2 million times on YouTube. Are you thinking of concepts for videos when creating the songs in the studio?
Yeah, it kind of comes at the same time. That’s when I get really excited about a song when I can see what the video will be like. That’s when I get goosebumps and super excited. I always come up with the videos when I’m in the studio writing the songs.

Have there been any songs you’ve made that you’ve scraped because you haven’t come up with a concept?
It hasn’t yet. With “Two Of Us,” that was a great creative process because Priscilla Rene wrote it and I heard the song and fell in love with it. Then me and my director Thom Kerr, we then together creatively came up with the concept. We wanted to try and do something that was technically really difficult but also was a classical dance piece with long takes. I will always be obsessed with long take music videos because I wanna see someone perform. I don’t wanna see something cut up 50 million times.

How important are streaming numbers and making playlists to you at this point in your career?
Yeah, it’s definitely important. I think all the factors of streaming, press, video views, everything is just as important. What is most important to me is to reach as many people as possible. So, of course, it would be amazing if I got added to more playlists and was streamed more. Right now, people know me but I’m still small. I’m your “favorite secret pop star.” *laughs*

Where’s the craziest place you’ve heard one of your songs?
Let me think… I mean, it was random, I was just shopping in Victoria Secret in Stockholm and “Tonight” came on and I was like, I recognize that song and then I realized it was me.

Last saw you collaborating with Professor Green and Iggy Azalea. Was there anything you took away or learned from those artists?
With Iggy, she has such attention to detail. She was super involved in the fabrics on the wall on the artwork and in the music video. Every single set up, she will be involved with all the tiny little details. That was super impressive to me. Professor Green is so amazing and a little legend. He’s so amazing in the studio and he’s very intelligent. He doesn’t write down his raps, he just does it on the spot and remembers it. I don’t know how he does it.

Any there more collabs in the works?
Yeah, I have another collaboration in the works right now.

See also

EPs

Maren Morris – The Bridge

Are they British or international?
International.

Will I know who they are?
Maybe… *laughs*

Can fans expect any new music this year?
Yes, I think so. It’s so difficult with COVID because things are changing all the time but I’d hope so.

Lastly, have you set yourself any goals for the rest of the year?
To drink less coffee because coffee makes me crazy and psycho.

Are you drinking coffee now?
I’m drinking coffee now. I would also like to give more content to my fans. Like, I deleted Twitter for example recently because it was super toxic on there and I was getting upset by it. There was random, fake made-up fake stuff and I was like “what is this world?!” It’s weird because as you get bigger, this is what happens and all that stuff comes with it. Other than that, I’m going to do more singing and dance videos. More Instagram lives.