- 2024-06-27
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MUSIC
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CHINCHILLA Releases New EP “Flytrap”
London-based singer-songwriter and producer CHINCHILLA has released her new EP “Flytrap”.
This marks her first project in four years since the 2020 EP “Awakening”.
The EP comprises a 7-track, produced by CHINCHILLA, Jordan Cosmo, 444BOY, Morten 'Mört' Jepsen, mintsauce, Jordan Lees, James Mellor, Jussifer, and Danitello.
On the EP, CHINCHILLA explores themes of control, possession, and breaking free through her own experiences of feeling stifled in the music industry, inspired by an analogy her mother spoke of.
CHINCHILLA said of the EP, “When you hold something tightly, you kill it”. The concept of 'Flytrap' came from an analogy my mum speaks about. It's about letting someone be free and not holding them too tightly, subsequently crushing the thing you loved about them in the first place. A lot of this EP is about the music industry and control. Flytrap is about possession. And growing your wings again after they've been clipped.”- CHINCHILLA told DORK about the EP, “It's about being controlled or possessed, and breaking out of that. My mum has an open-hand analogy: 'When you hold something tightly, you kill it, and that's what flytraps do'. I've had the concept for so long.”
She added, “The artwork for every single that has led up to the EP has been taken in a white voidy space. A prison-like, but quite beautiful, space. It shows entrapment. I'm dressed as a fly on the EP cover and standing in a hand to mirror possession and, I guess, a lack of freedom – it was a bit of a nod to feeling so tied down in 2022. I'd split with my management and label and felt like my wings were being clipped.” -
She shared on social media, “I've been working on it for over a year and I'm so excited. The concept means so much to me and no-one could describe it better than my mum, who I came up with the idea with. I've never made something I'm more proud of. I came up with the concept for Flytrap over a year ago and have had it all so meticulously planned for so long. I literally can't believe it's out. I hope you love it as much as I do. And I really really do.”
CHINCHILLA explained about some tracks for the EP.
“Little Girl Gone”
“All the words I didn't say. This song is the explosion that comes after people pleasing for too long. It's the most me song I've ever written and it makes me feel amazing. I didn't want the lyrics to be glamorous, I wanted to draw up chaos; a street fight, a scatty bar brawl, hair extensions and acrylic nails flying off, blood on your teeth while you get them into someone who underestimated you. Little Girl Gone, she's independent now. There is no other song I thought was better for a comeback single. Hold my earrings for my debut.”
“CAPS LOCK”
“I wrote this when I kept getting spoken over in meetings and was so jarred by it that I was planning to get 'i'm not finished' tattooed on my hand... might staple my top lip to a megaphone too.”
“Cut You Off”
“While writing 'Cut You Off', I was quite literally writing up the music video at the same time. I wanted the main idea of the video to emulate a dream world cult-like girly sleepover with your 'girls'; the ceremony of blocking someone's number. Each scene steps into different cutting-off worlds; an Edward Scissorhands hairdressers, a post-apocalyptic butchers, and a medieval blocking-their-number ritual… but make it all fashun.”
“1:5”
“'1:5' is probably the most personal and vulnerable thing I've ever put out. It's about a feeling of imbalance I guess and lack of power. 'Do you really only love sometimes? At a ratio of 1:5'. It's withdrawal. The heartbreak and longing of a feeling. The lyrics are straight from a note on my phone from a time when I was journaling about it, it came so quickly. My heart bled into it and I just fell in love with the song. It soothes me – music is therapy.”
“MF Diamond”
“I wanted to make something inclusive without being corny or cliché. Something about elderly/older women makes me think of diamonds.
I'm obsessed with Iris Apfel, who recently passed in the lead up to this video. She has always been on every one of my style mood boards, as well as Vivienne Westwood. They are awesome and I think ageing is beautiful – wrinkles only a reflection of every ounce of life we've had.
I wanted to make a video that didn't type-cast older women as frail and sweet, but powerful, strong, sexy, intimidating… and then obviously we all had to be doing choreo in the midst of a diamond heist because that's just iconic. I didn't want there to be any reference to their ages in the video – no gimmicks, they're just fucking hot!”
“Flytrap (outro)”
“The open-hand analogy is one she often refers to when talking about controlling people/ entities. I took a secret recording of her when she was sat on the end of my childhood bed explaining it... When I told her afterwards that I had been recording she said 'as long as you never play it to anyone!' So of course I'm making it the outro of the entire EP. Aahh it all means so much to me.”
Photo by Petros - source : Apple Music
