Chloe Leigh, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Wimbledon studying at BIMM, tells ZARA ROWDEN about how she first knew she wanted to become a musician, how she feels about playing 2000 Trees Festival and why she chose to study songwriting.

When did you first know you wanted to be a musician?

To be honest I’m not entirely sure. I’ve been playing music since I was tiny but it was never anything that I thought I could do seriously. It was probably at some point in college when I realised it was more than just a hobby, as I began to write my own songs rather than just learning covers.

Who inspires your music?

I’m generally inspired by quite a wide range of music - from the likes of folky stuff like Laura Marling and Frank Turner to a few Spanish bands like Jarabe de Palo and Bebe. Although saying this the music I tend to fall in love with is usually very strong lyrically, with my most recent obsession being the legend that is Leonard Cohen.

Do you have a favourite venue in Brighton to play?

So many of the venues in Brighton are incredible, but a couple of personal favourites are probably The Brunswick and Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar. Both venues are so welcoming and the engineers seemed to spend that extra bit of time getting the sound just right.

Is there a particular reason you chose BIMM?

I think it all came down to the interviews/auditions. Out of all of the universities I’d gone to see, I felt BIMM was the place I could feel most at home at, and the idea of living in Brighton for three years sounded perfect.

How has BIMM been a help to you as a singer/songwriter so far?

BIMM have been really supportive of all my work so far, and I think possibly the most valuable thing I’ve learnt is how to communicate my songs to a band, as this used to be completely alien to me. But I feel BIMM has also helped in the way that it’s allowed me to meet and collaborate with some incredibly talented musicians, and watching and playing alongside them has helped my music grow tremendously. I’ve also loved learning more about the ins and outs of the business side of things from experienced professionals who are all very much still working within the industry.

You’re playing 2000 trees festival, is this a big achievement for you?

Definitely. I’ve been eyeing up the lineup at 2000 Trees for years now, but have never been able to go. So to be playing there this year feels so surreal, excited doesn’t even cover it!

Do you have a particular process for songwriting? If so, tell us a bit about it.

For me personally, the process tends to begin with a lyric – generally a single line or verse that I’ll have written down at often the most random of times. Usually after that I try and write a couple more verses, and if I get stuck I pick up a guitar and see what melodies seem to come to me that reflect the lyrics. There are often times where I barely even touch the guitar until the lyrics are done.

Tell us about any new music that you are currently working on.

I’m currently working on a few new songs, some of which I’m preparing to take to the full band set, but also a couple of songs that I think would work better in a much more stripped back, acoustic arrangement. With these I’ve been experimenting more with vocal harmonies, as that would be something I’d love to incorporate more within my music.