We;ve been tracing the trajectory of Nottingham songwriter Chloe Rodgers since her emergence last year, and with each new single we’ve been amazed at how she manages to show new facets of her talent. This will culminate in her first body of work, an EP called Back To The Quay, arriving on November 26. Today she has also shared the title track, saying:
“I wrote ‘Back To The Quay’ about my papa (grandad) after I lost him. He was starting to get dementia, and then had a brain tumour removed and the op went wrong, and it was all downhill from there until he eventually passed away late 2018. He watched his own mum deteriorate in a similar way and always told us he didn’t want to make it that far, which is what the first few lines are about. He was an amazing, witty, funny and musical grandad who inspired me to make up stories, to sing and to be myself. I miss him so much. I’m happy with how the song turned out and I think he would have liked it too. I think he’d have loved it actually. His usual word was “tremendous”!!!”
Rodgers has always proved to have a bravery and maturity beyond her years, and “Back to the Quay” is yet further proof of her poise. Taking on a topic this large and close to the heart is difficult for even the most seasoned, so for her to magically capture the breadth of her love, the depth of her loss and the all-encompassing nature of her grandfather’s spirit is truly incredible. She doesn’t need too much instrumentation to help bring the emotions to vivid life, but the booming drums and subtle atmospherics that gradually enter the track just accentuate her diaphanous vocal, bringing the whole trip down memory lane into breathable reality.
Listen to “Back To The Quay” below or on other streaming services.
Chloe Rodgers’ Back To The Quay EP arrives on November 26. She says:
“This EP means a lot to me! It’s got 3 original songs on it and 1 Twenty Committee revamp. It’s been particularly difficult to create because me and my producer Anders haven’t been in the same room at any point so the communication has been a struggle but we got there in the end. I’m really happy to be putting out a couple of tunes that are more upbeat as well as the slower title track, ‘Back To The Quay’, which is about my papa. ‘Free Your Mind’ is about how situations and relationships change and fade away over time but we can still hold those we’ve lost or grew apart from in our hearts. ‘Better View’ is about how I hope it may be to grow old with somebody. Although I didn’t write ‘Bones’, to me the song symbolises a political stance about the lockdown and how terribly a lot of the world’s leader’s dealt with it!”
