The story goes that COUCOU CHLOE learned to use a CDJ just days before taking the stage at Boiler Room Berlin in 2016. Then in the infancy of her career and a recent transplant to London from a small village near the French Riviera, Erika Jane (a.k.a COUCOU CHLOE) pulled off an eclectic and well-oiled set that offered an initial glimpse into this intuitive creative’s approach to sound.
In the years since, the name COUCOU CHLOE has become synonymous with club music that pushes at the very boundaries of the acceptable, challenging listeners to consider that everything from dog barks to tender susurrations have their place within a well-defined and emotive soundscape—and especially one underscored by head-grinding 808s and thrilling basslines. CHLOE’s musical and dark visual aesthetics have drawn the eyes of Burberry, Vivienne Westwood, Gucci, and Mugler, and she’s been featured on the covers of Mixmag and King Kong.
A consecration of experimentalism, COUCOU CHLOE’s discography consists of a suite of foundational EPs; collaborations with fellow cult luminaries COBRAH, 8RUKI, and Housewife 9; remixes for Lady Gaga and Eartheater; and, in 2023, the critically acclaimed debut album FEVER DREAM. Last year’s follow-up singles “GUESS” and “I C” speak to this artist’s ever-developing assuredness in her sound, increasingly centering her soft vocals that weave in and out of her mix to whisper snappy—often caustic—poetry.
Joining me on a call from London ahead of her Montreal premiere at Igloofest 2025, COUCOU CHLOE talked me through her creative process, shared newfound sources of inspiration, and teased an upcoming cinematic project.
NEXUS RADIO: Hi Chloe! It’s great to meet you. Where are you calling from today?
COUCOU CHLOE: Good to meet you too. I’m in London!
NR: Great. And you’ll be headed over to Montreal soon, I imagine?
CC: Yes, I’m super excited… I’ve actually never been to Montreal.
NR: Do you have any idea of what to expect?
CC: I’m expecting snow and people speaking French. (laughs) And a bit of music as well.
NR: We’re actually in a polar vortex right now, so it might be quite cold when you get here.
CC: Oh, okay. Good that you’re telling me that before I pack…
NR: Have you ever played something like Igloofest? An outdoor winter festival?
CC: Thank you for reminding me it’s outside! No, and I’m wondering about setup and how that works if it’s snowing. I imagine it’ll be a bit magical.
NR: I always have a great time. So, you’ve been on tour quite a bit in the last year. Every artist experiences touring differently, and I’m wondering if you could share a little about how you approach being on the road. Does it affect your creativity?
CC: I have quite a hard time creating when I’m on the road because I need to be alone, or I at least need to be in a space where I can create. When I tour, it’s more about taking experiences in rather than spitting them out in a creative way, if that makes sense.
NR: It does! You’re in an absorbing mode, probably.
CC: Exactly, that’s the perfect way to say it.
NR: I’ve been re-listening to your discography over the last few weeks, and something that jumped out was your ability to collaborate with really different people. You’ve worked with everyone from COBRAH and Eartheater to doing a remix for Lady Gaga. Have these experiences shaped the way you approach writing and producing your music outside of a collaborative context?
CC: That’s a good question. I feel like every collaboration or song that you make with someone will show you another way to produce music. I guess those experiences change the way you approach things, but it’s not something I can answer in a straightforward way because I’m still figuring it out. I think it’s amazing to have the experience of creating with other people—it’s a way of getting me out of my head. And I think that’s healthy to do, you know? To look back on what you’re doing or what lives within you creatively…
NR: I see. You’re saying that collaboration influences your perception of yourself, which in turn influences your music, but it’s not always a direct influence on your music.
CC: Yes! In the same way that every experience you have—even something as simple as just going out—can change you a little.
NR: Are there any collaborators that you dream of working with that you haven’t yet?
CC: No.
NR: You just take them as they come?
CC: Yeah, exactly. I’m always happy to see those things come. If I had to mention the name of someone I would be curious to create with, I would say Clara Rockmore. She was a theremin player and composer.
NR: Theremin, interesting. I’d love to hear that. I noticed you were sharing some images on your Instagram of a campaign with RAINS. Would you say that your brand is tied to the fashion world?
CC: Apparently. (laughs)
NR: (laughs) And how would you describe your relationship with fashion or style?
CC: I like to experiment with my clothing. At first, that didn’t come from brand collaborations, but getting to know and collaborate with different brands has helped me discover new ways of shaping the silhouette or… Well, I always say that I like to dress comfy, but that’s not totally true.
Whenever you put something on you’re being creative, you’re saying something. It’s not like you’re going out naked—and even then, that would be quite a statement anyway.
NR: Would you say that the way you dress since starting the COUCOU CHLOE project is more deliberate?
CC: I used to live in the South of France and…well, let’s just say that they stare easily. I felt a bit less creative. But living in London allows me to embrace who I am and what I do. I allow myself to experiment with style more, but the core is the same as before I moved here.
NR: Right. You’re in an environment now that allows you to explore that side of you more freely.
CC: Yeah, that’s so beautifully said. (laughs) Thank you.
NR: Being from France, do you think French dance music has influenced your work at all? It’s so central to the broader dance music genre.
CC: I don’t think there’s much French music that shaped me, besides older French songwriters. Some of these artists wrote really beautiful texts.
NR: Are you talking about singers like [Charles] Aznavour or Barbara?
CC: How did you know I was thinking of Barbara? (laughs)
NR: I love her, she’s great!
CC: Yeah, I listened to her a lot. Just talking about her gave me shivers. But I don’t remember any specific French electronic music that influenced me. I think that was a world that I would experience when going out, but it’s not something I related to. I would much more relate to the music of Barbara.
NR: I get what you’re saying. There’s something about the way those singers embodied emotion that’s timeless. Is there anyone or anything you’ve heard recently that sparked some creativity in you?
CC: You know, when you said that thing about embodying emotion and about something being timeless—I thought of Eartheater straight away. She’s one of those artists who brings an intensity of emotion that I don’t find in a lot of artists today. (pauses) But sorry, what did you ask? Who do I listen to right now?
NR: Well, I was more curious to know if there’s something recently that you saw or heard or came across that you felt really sparked your creativity.
CC: Lately, I’ve been tired of listening to music with lyrics. I don’t know, maybe I’m traveling too much or around people too much (laughs). I’ve been listening to a lot of Susumu Yokota. Let me text you the name.
NR: Sure, thanks.
CC: Yeah, I’ve been rediscovering Japanese ambient—well, not ambient, more like synth-wave. The other day I was thinking about this video game I played when I was younger, Doshin The Giant. I remembered the soundtrack being fantastic, and there were no lyrics.
I like listening to that right now. Or like, Animal Crossing…SpongeBob… Video game music.
NR: What do you think has drawn you to video game soundtracks?
CC: For me, it’s quite nostalgic. When you played these games as a child you would hear this music, but you never really listened to it. A lot of these compositions are Japanese, and it’s a sound that I haven’t found anywhere else.
NR: Interesting. You have a classical background, right?
CC: I wish! I was taught how to play piano when I was younger, but I discontinued that pretty quickly. I do enjoy classical music a lot.
NR: Are there any specific composers or works that you enjoy?
CC: Hmm, Georgy Ligeti. Or Les Marionettes by Zbigniew Preisner. You know, I don’t really like to go to clubs. I’d rather see people play live instruments. Just recently in London, I saw a Chopin concert. It was just an hour of his songs. And that was beautiful.
NR: Maybe you can catch something in Montreal, there’s a good classical scene here! I just recently caught a great performance of Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire at the Salle Bourgie. Have you heard of it?
CC: No, I haven’t!
NR: It’s this atonal piece about a man who I guess falls in love with the moon. Very dark and bloody, and the poetry is very strange.
CC: That sounds amazing. I just looked it up. Thank you, you just made my day! (laughs)
NR: I think you’ll like it! But back to you and your music, which I’ve noticed has this remarkable ability to center introspection and vulnerable lyricism while still feeling entirely suitable for a night out. Club music is so extroverted, generally. How do you go about striking that balance?
CC: When I make music, I don’t think about where it’s going to be played. I’ve questioned that relationship quite a bit, but I’ve never been like “Okay, this is going to be playing in a club.”
It’s more about an attraction to big bass and sharp drums. You know—dirty, heavy. And I would just tell my story over that or talk about what inspired me at that time. My music has found some space in clubs and everything, but it’s also made me question how I view club music and why I’m a part of club music today when it’s not a space I especially relate to.
NR: That’s an interesting thought… Your music works well in so many settings, but it comes alive in clubs. And are you feeling ready for your performance at Igloofest? What should fans expect from a COUCOU CHLOE DJ set?
CC: I listen to and play a lot of different music! It’s going to depend on my mood and also how I’m going to feel when I’m in the room. But I’m not too sure yet what I’ll play…
NR: You know, I was reading about your first performance for Boiler Room in Berlin and about how you basically learned to use a CDJ overnight, which is kind of amazing. Your plan for Igloofest sounds similar—you’re going into it very open.
CC: (laughs) Yes, I take it as an opportunity for me to experience the crowd and to see how I feel in the moment. I like for my DJ sets to feel live. I go intuitively. But it’s going to be fun for sure.
NR: I can’t wait. Alright, last question—what projects are you excited to share with us for 2025?
CC: A lot of music! I like to have a kind of slow pace in releasing music, but right now I’m working on a longer length project. And I’m producing everything. It’s going to be very rich in terms of the range of emotions I’m going to display… Voila, that’s all I’ll say.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity. You can check out COUCOU CHLOE’s addictive 2023 album, FEVER DREAM, here.
