Angellica Bell Talks To ... Pianist Chloe Flower

The genre-melding pianist fuses fashion, pop, rock, and classical into her unique 'popsical' style

Author: Jon JacobPublished 25th Mar 2021
Last updated 25th Mar 2021

Pianist Chloe Flower joined Angellica Bell last weekend to talk about her creative work melding fashion, pop, rock and classical at the piano keyboard.

Chloe's output spans a wide variety of genres including hip hop, R&B and pop that might conventionally be seen as being distinct and unrelated. But for the pianist, it's by breaking down some of the barriers between them that makes the creative opportunities so tantalising.

And the name for this genre-melding style of music?

Chloe calls is 'popsical', a term she adopted from her neuro-scientist piano-playing friend Rudolf Tansy he used to introduce her during a corporate event she played at a few years ago.

This year the entrepreneurial pianist and producer is working on a new album, consisting of multiple tracks that make up a 'three-act' collection of music.

"The whole album is almost like an opera where it's separated into three acts and Deepak Chopra, does a spoken-word interlude between each act kind of to set you up for what each act is about. So it starts with innocence and suffering, and then hope and then you can interpret that in whatever way works for you."

On the positive impact of playing in an orchestra, Chloe's views on the egalitarian nature of music-making are unequivocal.

"To me, it's just as important as math and science, because if you think about an orchestra, you and me could be an orchestra together. We could be sharing a music stand.

"Sport in comparison is less egalitarian to me, whereas music is not segregated by gender.

"There are young boys and young girls working together learning, empathy, learning, discipline, learning, tolerance, learning about other cultures, and then at the same time creating music.

"I think it teaches young boys to respect young girls. It also teaches young girls and gives them a sense of identity and dignity, and that those are things that prevent them from entering the supply side of human trafficking."

Listen to Angellica Bell on Scala Radio from 10am on Saturdays and Sundays.