Chloe Slater has revealed her debut album ‘Riot Youth’, alongside a brand new single ‘Southern Youth’ and details of a UK tour. You can see everything below as the emerging indie artist speaks to NME about the political ideas running through the record and how she wants to match her music with real world action.
The Bournemouth-born, Manchester-raised musician will release her first full length album on October 9 through Stolen Juice (AWAL). It comes after a run of singles, last year’s ‘Love Me Please’ EP, and her 2024 debut EP ‘You Can’t Put A Price On Fun’.
The record was produced by long time collaborator Jack Shuter, together with Ash Workman (Metronomy, Stealing Sheep). ‘Riot Youth’ continues Slater’s politically driven songwriting, addressing subjects such as climate breakdown, late stage capitalism and billionaire power. She explained to NME that the title describes “a spirit or feeling found not exclusively, but most often, in young minds and young hearts due to the absence of learned helplessness. Symptoms include a lack of apathy and an abundance of passion and belief that things can and will change”.
“I really think young people who have only lived through a couple of election cycles and haven’t been bogged down or disappointed by a major loss in the past are more likely to have that fire and that passion to keep fighting for what they want to see,” Slater said of the group the album title refers to.
“Whereas if you’ve been through 10 election cycles and every time the government gets worse and becomes more right-wing and more fascist, then you’re eventually going to think, ‘What’s the point? Nothing ever changes.’
She went on to add: “There’s just a certain lovely aspect to being young and not being knocked down in the way the world can knock people down that means you’re more likely to go out and fight for change. I wanted this album to capture that feeling of when you’re younger, and it feels like anything could change.”
Across ‘Riot Youth’, which explores political and social themes and also reflects fears about the future alongside modern nostalgia as escape, the 23 year old still finds optimism in her generation. “While there are some negatives to the extreme nostalgia epidemic that we’re in at the moment, I think some nice parts of it are that people are switching off of their screens and trying to live more in the moment, and we’re becoming more aware of what our phones and technology are doing to us,” she shared.
“There’s a lot of things to be scared of, but there are so many people who are so passionate about making a change, and I do believe that change can be made. I think Zack Polanski and the Green Party are a great example of a party that wants real change, so I find them inspiring.”
Slater’s writing has always looked at modern life through the lens of someone trying to navigate growing up today, rather than lecturing others while figuring things out. She continues that approach on ‘Riot Youth’, including on recent single ‘Ugly’, where she admits: “I’m a sucker for the capitalist machine / I wanna buy the next fad every other week”.
“I’ve never wanted to feel like a preacher, and I’m not a politician or a mega activist,” she said. “I am a normal person in my early twenties who has grown up in a system and will find it very difficult not to fall for some of its traps. I don’t think it’s working people’s fault that the world is the way it is, so I don’t think it should be put on them to change it all the time.
“At the end of the day, it’s the one per cent of billionaires in this world that are causing everyone else to have a bad time and the planet to suffer, so I wanted to make sure that, if the song is pointing a finger at anyone, it’s those billionaires and corporations.”
‘Ugly’ acts as a protest song about overconsumption and consumer pressure, showing how people are constantly pushed to buy things they do not need while viral trends encourage constant spending as distraction. “Buy now, now / We’re all gonna die / But you don’t wanna look too close at it,” Slater sings in the chorus. “So don’t miss out, out / Save your life with a click in a next-day delivery”.
“My TikTok algorithm, every other video is an advert for something that, you know what, I kind of do want!” she said. “Growing up in this world, we’re programmed from such a young age to want things. It’s almost like religion has been replaced with consumerism and capitalism. If you get all of the best stuff, then you’ve done the best, like reaching heaven. The rules you live by are ‘Buy now’ and all these catchy slogans that companies are marketing to you.”
Slater’s new single ‘Southern Youth’ turns inward, focusing on her own life story and her feelings about leaving Bournemouth, her hometown. The shimmering, emotional track reflects her nostalgia for the seaside town and how her view of it has shifted since moving away. “I’ve been quite a hyper-independent person my whole life, but I always wanted to move away and live in a city and make my own life, but even people with that mindset sometimes miss their mum,” she laughed.
“I moved to the city and made this new, more confident and outgoing version of myself, but the true version of myself was that person in Bournemouth who was maybe a little bit shy, but a nice and good person.”
‘Southern Youth’ artwork. Credit: Hayley Thompson
Earlier this year, the artist returned home as part of a run of shows across smaller UK towns, performing in the Southbourne area of Bournemouth where she grew up. “It was cool selling out a show on the high street I walked down as a kid hundreds of times, and to have a queue of people outside a venue. It was a really full circle moment for me.”
In November, Slater will return for another headline tour across the UK, Ireland and Europe, starting at Southampton’s Papillon on November 3. The new run includes her biggest headline show so far, at London’s Scala on November 10.
“I’m so excited for Scala,” Slater said. “My last London headline, which was my biggest one so far, was at the Garage, and that was an amazing experience. It just blew me away. I just get this feeling of, ‘I can’t believe that everyone is there for me’… I don’t know if I’ll ever believe it. I’m so excited to play these new songs live, I think we’re really going to take it up a level, and I’m really excited to start planning the shows.”
Asked what she is taking from recent support runs with acts like Role Model and Alessi Rose into her own headline shows, Slater said: “When I was touring with Role Model, just watching his fans sing every single word back to him every night, and seeing him give it his all, was really inspiring. I think that kind of connection with the fans is something I definitely want to bring.”
The ‘Riot Youth’ tour will work with Music Declares Emergency’s Plus 1 initiative, where £1 from every ticket will go to support climate action projects. It follows Slater organising a beach clean with fans ahead of a recent Brighton show, showing her desire to connect her message with real action.
“I want everything to be about the music, but the message of the music is quite political,” she said. “I don’t feel forced to do these things, but it’s nice that I’m able to, to do a beach clean before a beach gig and have loads of people come, and it is such a nice way to build community, which is needed now more than ever. To have a positive impact on the environment is great, it’s a cause I really care about and think is one of the most important things to care about. Everything is impacted by the environment and if we don’t work towards limiting climate change, then the impact on all humans and animals and ecosystems is awful.”
Chloe Slater’s ‘Riot Youth’ will be released on October 9 through Stolen Juice (AWAL). See the full tracklist below and visit here to pre-order.
‘Mother Nature’s Killing Spree’
‘Can I Finish Please’
‘The Underground’
‘I’ve Never Felt So Hated’
‘Southern Youth’
‘Go Outside’
‘Get Me Out’
‘Helpless’
‘Ugly’
‘Let It Happen’
Tickets for the ‘Riot Youth’ headline tour go on pre-sale at 10am BST on June 17, with general sale following at 10am BST on June 19. Visit here for tickets and information.
NOVEMBER
3 – Southampton, Papillon
4 – Portsmouth, KOLA
5 – Cambridge, The Portland Arms
7 – Norwich, The Waterfront Studio
9 – Bristol, The Lanes
10 – London, Scala
11 – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
12 – Birmingham, O2 Institute 3
14 – Manchester, Club Academy
15 – Leeds, The Wardrobe
17 – Newcastle, Cluny 2
18 – Glasgow, King Tut’s
19 – Dublin, Academy Green Room
20 – Belfast, Voodoo
23 – Paris, Badaboum
24 – Amsterdam, Bitterzoet
25 – Brussels, Botanique (Museum)
27 – Cologne, Yard Club at Kantine
28 – Hamburg, Hebebühne
29 – Copenhagen, Ideal Bar
DECEMBER
1 – Berlin, Maschinenhaus
2 – Prague, Café v Lese
3 – Vienna, B72
5 – Munich, Rote Sonne
6 – Zurich, Exil
7 – Milan, Circolo Arci Bellezza
