Fresh off the release of her debut EP DRIP 1, the singer and producer talks straddling sonic worlds, touring with Caroline Polachek, and that one guy in college she just had to punch in the face
Not many artists releasing a debut EP can say they’ve played to stadiums of thousands, but WTRGRL is not like other artists. As Chloe Saavedra, WTRGRL was one half of the sister duo Chaos Chaos (formerly Smoosh), touring the globe alongside such American rock stalwarts as Sleater Kinney and Pearl Jam. More recently, she’s been on tour with Caroline Polachek, drumming and singing in Polachek’s band as she supported Dua Lipa on the North American leg of her Future Nostalgia tour. Although she’s played for these huge crowds, when I spoke to Saavedra about stepping into the spotlight as WTRGRL, she expressed some healthy trepidation. “I don’t get nervous for shows with other artists, even if I’m playing a stadium or arena, but for my own shows I find myself getting so nervous”, she begins, before concluding that, “I think it’s a really good sign though. It’s a sign that I’m challenging myself and doing something I care about, and the nerves are just my body feeling the gravity of that.”
On listening to WTRGRL’s debut EP DRIP1, it’s abundantly clear that there’s nothing to be nervous about. The five-track record begins with “Scream”, a glittering synth ballad as rousing as it is soothing, and also features a sublime City pop remix of the same track by death’s dynamic shroud. DRIP1 is made up of two original tracks and the rest reimaginings of those songs – but you’d never know, thanks to the new textures, sounds and feelings introduced on those remixes. It’s clear that WTRGRL has many strings to her bow, and DRIP1 is the first of many more to come.
In the conversation below, we chat to the musician about the meaning behind her new project, prosciutto-wrapped cheese sticks, and finding inspiration in anime.
Hi WTRGRL! Congrats on the release of DRIP1. Can you guide us through some of your inspirations when making the EP?
WTRGRL: Hey Dazed! Yeah! My inspiration for DRIP1 was sad Britney songs, the moment Richard Avedon captured Marylin Monroe, open-world video games, UK garage music and the sicko mode style of pasting two songs together. For “Scream”, I wanted to make an emotionally intense ballad about sex and love. Songs that capture nuanced qualities of sex that I’m inspired by are Bjork’s “Cocoon”, Rosalía’s “HENTAI”, and Minnie Riperton’s “Inside My Love”.
In the song “Heroine”, I wanted to embrace the format of two songs pasted together without a typical verse-chorus repeating structure. I also wanted to embrace a low voice, talk-singing style while also having stacked harmonies and vocal runs in the one-time chorus. The remixes for these songs are literally just some of my favourite artists at the moment, and the live orchestral version of “Scream” is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time that I put together with my classical musician friends.
What’s the meaning behind the name of the EP?
WTRGRL: I have a whole album that has been finished for a long time. It’s called Dripsody, and the release date will be some time this year I hope. This project is so new we wanted to introduce people to the music by dripping material leading up to the album. DRIP1 is the first snippet of Dripsody. The title was kind of obvious within the theme and I like the simplicity of it.
Can you also explain the meaning behind your stage name?
WTRGRL: I like the expansiveness and feeling of possibility the ocean gives me. I made the name in 2020 when I was experimenting with starting my own project. I wasn’t ready to call it my own name yet. Maybe that’ll change someday.
From playing shows with Caroline Polachek and Dua Lipa, to working with experimental producers like Zhone and Clearcast on this record, do you find it easy to live in these disparate sonic worlds? Are there different personas that you have to inhabit in order to do so?
WTRGRL: I think mainstream pop music draws from underground music and art constantly, and living in both of those worlds feels like a continuum. The only thing that is changing is the money and resources which parallel the art being blown to bigger proportions. It’s just dealing with different scales and how to present an experience to different sized crowds. It’s like a zooming-out effect – as you zoom out and have bigger and bigger crowds there is less subtlety and less ability to notice the small things and the focus is on the big.
For example, for arena and stadium shows I play less syncopated drums and for club shows I play more. You can’t hear small hits on the rim of my snare in an arena and if I did play that, the reverb is so big it would get lost, this is why there is that cliche of arena drums with Phil Collins-type drum fills because that translates best in large spaces. I try to be tapped into the energy of a crowd but I do find it important to bring large energy to a small room. The personas I inhabit are the same, but different levels of that emotion based on the scale. Also, when I’m drumming for another artist, I am supporting their show and what they want visually and sonically, whereas when I’m doing my own show I can decide that.
When did you first become aware of the power of good music? What song could you not stop playing growing up?
WTRGRL: Honestly, I was a big Hanson fan so I’d say “MMMbop”. I wanted to be Zac.
Please share the most recent note from your Notes app
WTRGRL: I write down inspiration from movies or things I hear in my notes and the latest is, “domain of the departed” which I heard in [the 2022 anime film] Suzume.
The most recent picture/screenshot on your camera roll?
WTRGRL: A perfect egg salad sandwich I ate in Arizona.
The last meme you saved?
WTRGRL: Not really a meme but I can’t get enough of this:
Your favourite cornershop snack?
WTRGRL: I love those fucking prosciutto wrapped cheese sticks. Or beef jerky or pickles, anything salty, smoked or pickled is for me.
The worst advice you’ve ever been given?
WTRGRL: When people say “stick to the music” in response to posting about my support of BLM or feminism or trans rights. Many people comment or DM this which is just comical because music has always been a vehicle for activism.
Pettiest thing you’ve ever done?
WTRGRL: In college, I punched a guy in the face for throwing a cup of alcohol at me.
What’s your star sign and are you a typical one of that star sign?
WTRGRL: Pisces. I am very typical of a Pisces. The flow of my life is always in direct opposition to something else, like the Pisces symbol of two fish swimming in opposite directions.
Any recurring dreams?
WTRGRL: Yeah, I have stress dreams about being overpowered by waves or swimming with whales.
What’s on your For You Page right now?
WTRGRL: Julia Fox, Britney Spears, drummers, and cool bugs.
DRIP1 is out now.
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