Meet the up and coming record spinner taking the world by storm.
Chloe Caillet has become synonymous with the sound behind the biggest fashion events in the industry. Apart from her musical inclinations, Caillet has also joined the army of artists speaking out on the environmental crisis by working closely with Project Zero. The charity aims to raise global awareness, ignite behaviour change and create new revenue necessary to complete the ocean’s most pressing protection projects. Caillet has also DJed a plethora of events for Gurls Talk, a platform created by Adwoa Aboah for young women to discuss and raise awareness on sexuality and mental health.
The multi-faceted DJ is currently on the cusp of breaking into her own. After starting DJ/Producer duo PVBLIC XCESS alongside Josh Ludlow, the two are about to embark on their first Ibiza residency at Dixon’s new party: Transmoderna. Caillet will also be doing solo dates at Ushuaïa with Nic Fanculli for his party Dance or Die. The island is eponymous for moulding artists into soon to be household names, so clearly, 2019 is proving itself to be a big year for Caillet. We sit down with the versatile musician as she opens up about her early days as an artist, the difficulties of becoming a female DJ in a male-dominated industry and why we need to advocate for more women on festival line-ups.
What are your musical roots and what influenced your decision to pursue a career in the music industry?
I started playing the piano when I was 7 and fell in love with music. My household was always very musical, my dad was constantly playing records and would take me to these drumming circles that would happen in Central Park. My roots are within the Funk/ Rock & Disco world as those were the sounds I grew up listening to. At 15 I started to play in a rock band in Paris called The Clockworks and this was when I realized that music would be the career I would pursue. I went on to study music for my A-Levels in the UK in a conservatory and then to NYU in New York. I couldn’t imagine working in any other field. Music is what has always kept me going.
You’re also a creative director for Universal Music apart from being a DJ. How do you balance/intertwine the two?
Alongside my studies, at NYU I worked at Universal Music as a consultant. When I graduated I switched over to management and ultimately started my own creative agency, Palm Creative, where I worked on the creative direction of musicians, mainly in the hip hop sector. I always continued to work on my own artistic projects on the side, such as writing and DJ’ing. As my own career started to take off in the last year I had to make a decision to focus more on the latter and to put a pause on working for other artists.
You’re currently djing a multitude of high-fashion events. Do you believe that DJ’s have as much power over breaking a new artist as a label does?
I think DJ’s have always played an important role in the breaking of new artists. Certain DJ’s are very well known for being selectors and sharing unknown/new records. Labels do serve different roles as they are what helps to position and build entire campaigns behind artists. Everyone plays a different and important role and without each other the system wouldn’t be as successful.
Is there anyone you have in mind for future collaborations?
There are so many artists that I love, and I love that there is a rise of independent female producers/ singers and DJs. I’m currently working on a collaborative project with different artists & producers from all over the world. I would love to collaborate with Yaeji, Koffee, King Princess, Moodyman or Burna Boy on a song/ project in the future.
Would you collaborate with a vocalist and if so, what direction would you take it into?
Absolutely, I think vocals play very important parts in music. As I come from a musical background I have always worked with vocalists. I am a huge fan of voices that have a story and depth to them. I would let them lead the song with the story they have to tell based on the energy that the song makes them feel. This is how I have always worked with vocalists.
What are the main elements that you enjoy incorporating into your own tracks when producing them?
I love blending a mixture of real instrumentation with an electronic production overhead. The current project I am working on has lots of cross over between funk/ disco/ house and afrobeat. It’s important for me to incorporate these sounds into my project and I love playing with these classic genres, bringing a more modern edge through the production side.
You’re also working with a multitude of charities, including Gurls Talk who are doing an amazing job in helping young women deal with anxiety and other mental health issues. What drew you towards it?
Gurls Talk was one of the leading platforms that offered a safe place for women to share, learn and engage within a community of women from all backgrounds with no judgment. As someone who suffers from severe anxiety, I found it to be an amazing place to relate to and meet other incredible women. When Adwoa [Aboah] asked me to DJ at one of her events in NY I was so excited as working with the Girls Talk community was always something I wanted to do. Being able to share music with and DJ for such amazing women is a massive part of why I love my job. It’s really inspiring so see such strong and talented women from all over the world come together at panels and share their incredible stories.
What do you feel are the main changes that people can make from inside their household to promote a healthier view on mental health in young women?
I think as humans we have drifted far away from the way we are meant to live. Living in major cities removes us from Nature and the things that we need to feel grounded. I think that implementing a few things such as a routine and shorter days or longer trips to places that connect us back to nature is important. I also believe that having an outlet and a strong support system of other females is key.
DJing is a profession predominantly dominated by men. How would you like to see the industry progress in a way that promotes as many female DJs as their male counterparts?
I think it’s important for every female artist to bring up and encourage other females with them. We are seeing an increasing amount of females on line ups and charts but it still isn’t enough. The industry is slowly shifting towards being more open to accepting and promoting female DJs. I would love to see a total shift in the upcoming years where line ups include as many women as men, which is currently not the case.
What do you have coming up next?
I have a lot of exciting gigs coming up including a residency this summer in Ibiza at Dixon’s new party: Transmoderna. I am currently working on my musical project and have an EP coming out in the Fall. I have also just launched a new global party & DJ duo called PVBLIC XCESS and we have some releases as well as events coming up which is really exciting!
