Q&A: Internal Conflict Seeps Through The Cracks on Chloe Gallardo’s Dreamy New Single, “What the Fuck”
THOUGH CHLOE GALLARDO CRAFTS HAZY DREAM ROCK - the 20-something artist’s head is never in the clouds. Her lyrics run deep as she blends soft melodies with sharp observations on her internal conflicts, creating songs that resonate and soothe the listener at once.
Gallardo’s new single, “What the Fuck,” feels homespun and intimate. Gallardo wrote the song three years ago—a distance that can feel like a lifetime for someone in their early 20’s. The pandemic disrupted its planned release, and it finds its way to audiences now, as Gallardo is in the thick of working on her debut album. It’s both a time capsule of a past self and an indication of what the future holds for this young artist.
“What the Fuck” sounds like someone singing quietly in their bedroom late at night, their soft voice spilling through a cracked-open door. It’s that blend of proximity and distance that defines the track. Lyrically, Gallardo floats through the space between her ego and herself, attempting to bridge the gap between the two. It’s an insightful reflection of a struggle any young adult is likely familiar with. She may be writing from the warmth and comfort of a closed-off room, but her sense of self is fractured.
After gentle strumming and hushed musings, “What the Fuck” blossoms into electric guitar, and the anguish that fuels the lyrics seeps through the track’s softness. Gallardo reminds us: even when you’re young and your world feels small, nothing is as simple as it first seems. Read below to learn more about how Gallardo got to this point in her career, what’s next and more.
LUNA: What first drew you to music, either as a fan or as an artist? When did you start writing your own songs?
GALLARDO: Both of my parents are musicians, so music has always been prevalent in my life. I remember stupid songs that I wrote when I was a kid, but I think I started writing songs I was proud of in high school. I taught myself to play guitar because there were guitars in my house. I knew that I liked to sing, and I thought, “well I don’t want to sing without a backing track,” so I learned guitar and started writing music. From there, I released my first project after I graduated high school.
LUNA: What kind of music do your parents make? Is it similar to yours, or are you sort of straying from the path?
GALLARDO: It’s funny, I feel like I'm right in the middle of both of my parents, because my dad makes heavy alternative rock and my mom is a very folk-y and singer-songwriter. I’m in the middle, with indie rock.
LUNA: What inspires your sound lately?
GALLARDO: A lot of different things. Music I grew up listening to, and the music I listen to now. My lyrics are inspired by my life. Usually, it's sad stuff—it's hard for me to write about uplifting things. But that's pretty normal, I think. It's very much like a diary, which is scary and very vulnerable.
LUNA: I definitely get that. As a writer, going into the creative writing classes, every time I had to come up with a topic for an assignment, I thought, “Okay, what's the worst thing that has happened to me?” I wonder where that comes from.
GALLARDO: I think people feel pressured to have a sob story. It’s like reality TV. We want people to feel bad for us.
LUNA: I’m also curious what inspires you outside of other music. Are there books or films or anything that inspire your aesthetic or sound?
GALLARDO: I’m going through a pretty heavy Winona Ryder in the 80s and 90s phase right now, so I feel like that’s influencing my aesthetic a lot. I’m a lot more into darker, spookier vibes—not really anything super girly. I did a music video a while back that was very David Lynch-inspired. Older 80s and 90s films have a huge impact on my aesthetic right now, but I feel like that's also really basic at the moment.
LUNA: If it inspires you, just let it. I love David Lynch and Winona Ryder. I read that you make a lot of your music in your bedroom and I’m curious about how you think that being in that space impacts your artistic output.
GALLARDO: I don’t exactly produce in my bedroom, but that’s where I write everything. For my first project, I arranged everything for that, but my dad helped me with the production side of it. I write everything from the comfort of my bedroom, and then I usually have help from someone to make it sound better. It helps me build on the foundation of the song. I think I tend to sing softer because I’ve always written songs in my bedroom and I don’t want anyone to hear me. It’s easiest for me to write in my bedroom.
LUNA: What role does community play in your artistic process?
GALLARDO: I used to think I wasn’t good at collaborating with people. When I made my first EP, that was basically just me. I thought, “this doesn't sound the way that I feel like it could sound,” so on my later projects I met with a friend of mine and I learned that I liked working with people, but it made me nervous at first because I have this constant feeling that everyone’s better than me. So I think, “oh well, nobody’s going to want to work with me because they don’t need to work with me.” But I realized that making music is a collaborative process and I actually enjoy that. For my projects since my first EP, I have gotten more and more people involved. The song that I’m releasing is an equal collaboration between me and my old producer. Now, I’m working on an album and I have so many people working on it with me. I’m blown away by the amount of support that I’m receiving.
LUNA: Speaking of your new single, “What the Fuck,” what were the experiences that inspired you to create it?
GALLARDO: I wrote “What the Fuck” three years ago. I was 20 at the time, so it’s about angsty young adult feelings. I couldn’t really explain my feelings and you can tell in the lyrics—I don’t even know what I’m talking about. I was at a crossroads between the person I was and the person everyone was expecting me to be. Also, I had just decided to stop going to school so I was feeling pressure from my parents to figure out what I was going to do with my life. It was hard for me to figure out what I actually wanted and who I actually was.
LUNA: What’s it like to release something that you wrote several years ago now? Does this single differ from something you would produce today, and if so, how does it feel to return to the space that you were in when you wrote this?
GALLARDO: It’s weird. It’s not a sound that I would make anymore, but I’m still putting it out because I liked the song at the time. The stuff I’m writing now is so different. It’s cool to reflect. I was reading the lyrics before a show to refresh myself, and I was like, “wow, what a sad little 20-year-old.” I feel like I’ve grown so much since writing that song. I’ve had it done for so long. I was going to release it a year ago, if not longer, but because of the pandemic I was trying to space out my releases instead of throwing them all on an EP. This one got pushed until now.
LUNA: With this single, you explore the ego. Do you find that the themes you explore in your work shift over time, or do you return to the same questions?
GALLARDO: There are definitely common themes that stay prevalent in my life. This single is definitely about one—what am I doing, and is this the correct path for me to be pursuing? What I’ve written for my album has darker tones. Since “What the Fuck,” a whole pandemic happened, and I was super depressed through that. It was a reflective time for me. The music I’m making now is more true to myself and I feel like it’s constantly going to get more and more authentic throughout my writing process. In this song, I talk about wanting to appeal to the masses, and the song isn’t exactly the sound I envisioned myself making. I made it a little lighter to make it catchier, even if the lyrics are super dark. But now I’m like, “I’m going to make a dark song and people can just deal with it.”
LUNA: What helped you find a sound that feels more like yourself?
GALLARDO: Trial and error. I write and I see what I like and don’t like. I’m working with a new team, so I think that’s helping me. I have more confidence and I’m sure of my decisions, instead of letting other people say, “no, this is what you should do.”
LUNA: Do you have projects in the works that you’d like to share? In general, what are your goals for the next year or so?
GALLARDO: I’m working on my first album right now, which is super exciting. I have no idea when it’s going to come out. We’re in the middle of working on it. But I’m excited because it is sounding more true to myself than any project I’ve worked on. I’m hoping to put it out through a label, so a goal of mine is to sign to a label within the next year. I also hope to tour the album once it’s out.
LUNA: Any dream tour destinations or venues?
GALLARDO: I would love to play somewhere in Paris. I love Paris—I went one time and I want to go back. This would be a great excuse. Also, playing somewhere in New York could be really cool.
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