Chemtrails

Chemtrails is an Atlanta-based chillwave and lo-fi electronic music project. It is the work of a solo producer who records under the Chemtrails name.

Style and releases

The project is associated with chillwave and with indie, indie rock, indie pop, psychedelic and lo-fi tags. It is also linked to a garage-punk and acid-corroded new-wave sound in one account, with fuzzy guitars, layered pop melodies and synthesised textures appearing alongside themes of alienation, love, the human condition and the apocalypse.

Activity and recorded work

Chemtrails begins as a lo-fi bedroom recording project before becoming a five-piece in 2016. The project is signed to Swedish label PNKSLM Recordings and first plays only one gig, at Trans Pride Brighton. It then issues three six-song EPs and a debut full-length album, all recorded in a living room, followed by a second album cycle.

The debut album, Calf of the Sacred Cow, appears on the top 25 year-end album lists of Swedish magazines Gaffa and Hymn in 2018. A KEXP live session follows in 2019 as part of International Clash Day in London. The project’s second album is titled The Peculiar Smell of the Inevitable.

People and influences

The project starts with romantic partners Mia Lust and Laura Orlova. After the other band members move on to other projects, Lust and Orlova relocate from London to Manchester in late 2019 and recruit a new line-up. The group names the Pixies, Blondie, Oh Sees, Black Lips and 1960s psych and garage punk among its main influences. Lust’s writing also reflects her experience as a transgender woman.