Chloe Slater: On Her Forthcoming Debut Album Riot Youth

Chloe Slater: On Her Forthcoming Debut Album Riot Youth Turning Uncertainty Into Hope and Defiance Jul 24, 2026 By Andy Von Pip Photography by El Hardwick When we catch up with Chloe Slater, she’s in Madrid, a couple of days into a heatwave and preparing to take to the stage at Mad Cool Festival later that evening. In just a few months, the Bournemouth-born songwriter will release her long-awaited debut album, Riot Youth, arriving on 9th October via Stolen Juice (AWAL). It’s the moment every emerging artist dreams of. For Slater, though, it’s accompanied by an understandable mix of apprehension and excitement. “Releasing an album… it’s quite scary,” she says. “I’ve had it for so long, through all these different versions of it, and then you make that final decision, knowing that people are going to hear it.” As a young music fan growing up in Bournemouth on England’s south coast, Slater found little in the way of a thriving local musical community. “It’s a nice place, I don’t want to shit on it,” she laughs. “It’s just got more of a retirement vibe.” With no obvious scene to connect with, Slater began building a musical world of her own. “When I was a teenager, I used to come home ...