Meet Chloe Pourmorady: Musical Artist & Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chloe Pourmorady and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chloe, what role has risk played in your life or career?
It is very rare in the music industry for anyone to hand anything to you. No one is going to hand you an audience, no one is going to hand you an album, no one is going to hand you a sold-out concert, and no one is certainly going to hand you your talent, craft, or songs. I learned very quickly when I got into this that I had to earn all of it. I’m glad nothing was handed to me because the taste of receiving from deep earning is oh so sweet. I was always dedicated to the vision of sharing my music for wide audiences and after lots of meetings, emails, phone calls, trying to get help from labels, agents, etc. I could not wait around anymore, so was forced to make that vision come alive on my own. I produced my own concerts, brought in my own audiences and sold out a number of shows. It was always a risk. You never know if anyone will show up, but they always did. Risk is not so frightening when you combine it with faith; trusting fully that no matter the outcome, all is good and all will be good. As an independent artist with a 7-piece world-fusion ensemble, I jumped into a crowdfunding campaign and raised 40K in two months for our debut album “Begin Majesty.” The vision, the trust, and the faith in the project made it happen. I was very uncomfortable asking for support from my audiences, and learned to overcome many fears in the process, to mute the voice of my inner-critic, and even the voice of reason. I let go of everything in the pursuit of my dream, from the moment I declared a unconventional major in music in college, until now. There will always be external chitter-chatter, family’s approval or disapproval, people having their own opinions and beliefs, but we must stick to the voice of our intuition and our vision. My album ended up being recorded in one of the best studios in LA and then won two consecutive awards (Global Music Awards and Independent Music Awards) because I believed. Our deep certainty in what we do allows us to jump in the deep end and take risks. If we move forward with faith rather than fear and align our will with God’s will, miracles begin to happen. The risk is worth it in life, in love, and in music. 

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My art is forever evolving. A lot of my earlier songs and compositions were influenced by my experience of being in the world. Traveling, learning, notating, and collecting folk music from the Middle East, Europe, and Mediteranean. I have a classical violin foundation, but quickly after college stopped that route and focused more on writing music of my own. I felt a deep calling to create and perform. Often times it feels easier for me to write a melody than to speak a sentence. Slowly slowly, I started developing repertoire, musicians, performances, and have created a lot of work in many different styles over the years. I combine world influences with western influences like rock, jazz, & classical, sing in many languages, and often set music to liturgical text as well. I felt deep fear as a child to express my voice and finally built up the courage in my 20’s to start singing. I have been teaching music for 10 years, while at the same time always continuing to learn and develop my artistry. I stay rooted in my spiritual practices and am very passionate about using music as a source of healing. My own practices (meditation and prayer) influence my openness to being a channel for creativity. As I connect more deeply to the source, I trust that I will never run out of ideas. I am happy to let my creativity flow and manifest in whatever way it so chooses. I let go of controlling it and would like the world to know that it will keep transforming and growing as I do. I am committed to creating purely for its own sake and for being of service to this world through what I have to offer.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to thank God, my teachers, collaborators, friends, family, and anyone who has ever listened to my music or come to a concert. Thanks for your support!

Website: chloepourmorady.com
Instagram: @chloepourmorady
Facebook: facebook.com/chloepourmorady
Youtube: youtube.com/chloepourmorady
Other: Listen to Chloe’s music on iTunes and Spotify: iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/begin-majesty/1468564047 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/2ixCk9OOJ1Z2sEuPOVMPkY:

Image Credits
Shoshana Kozaski, Natasha Halimi, Daniel Molayem.