After a period of making assertive changes in pretty much every aspect of her life, COLE BLEU is back with a whole new sound.

Words: Finlay Holden.

Over the last three years, it feels like we've gotten to know Cole Bleu a fair bit: The Let Go's 2022 mixtape 'Delete My Feelings' introduced a self-questioning artist keen to unmask their desperate and disparate emotions; last year's five-tracker 'CRUSHED!' saw the singer step out under her own name as a confident performer with a new pop-fuelled direction. Now, though, as she moves continent, finds a new team of collaborators and pushes an agenda of empowerment, we can finally experience the unfiltered joy that Cole Bleu has been searching for.

"Honestly, you don't realise how much it affects your mood," she explains from her new apartment. Trading the grey skies of Liverpool for the LA sun has done a world of good. Embracing an alternate version of the music industry, Cole is quickly finding that our American counterparts are far more upfront about their perspectives. "In England, everyone is passive-aggressive all the time. I can be here for those moments, but it was literally 24/7. Everyone here says exactly what they feel about you no matter what, and you just have to take it. I respect that; at least you're not lying to me. Also, people do NOT stop working here. It's really hectic and non-stop, but things do happen faster here because of that."

A fast-paced environment is exactly what Cole needs right now as she affirms a new identity, stepping away from the world of her 'CRUSHED!' mixtape, which was formed back in the world of Tesco meal deals and good Indian takeaways. "People loved those songs," she declares. "Not gonna lie, they objectively slap. The choruses are relatable and deliver hard, but I was falling into the trap of doing what every early twenties girl is doing; writing songs about guys, being upset about them. It made it hard to distinguish who I was amongst all of that; I didn't feel like I was doing enough to set myself apart. I knew what came next had to be really different."

Reinventing herself is hardly a new hobby for this multifaceted artist, having already explored an indie-alt project and quickly diverted into a bubblegum pop direction ("I like to implode things and start from scratch, it seems to be my favourite thing to do!"). Never satisfied with feeling comfortable, a whole new niche had started to form before her last release was even off the ground, taking Cole by surprise as much as anyone else.

As she recalls, "Last February, I started going into this more R&B-leaning direction – I have no idea where it came from. I was doing this new thing that felt untouched and foreign to me, but I quickly started writing loads. None of my musical references sounded anything like that, so it must've been some switch that went off in my brain, and I've been writing in this vein for a year."

'Any Way' is the first track of this new chapter to reach our ears, and the production immediately hits like a noughties banger. Clocking in at just over two minutes, the fairly lo-fi soundscape stems from an entirely different approach to writing. Cole's partner and musician in his own right, Frankie Beanie, began whipping up beats and encouraging her to try adding her own vocals into the mix.

"I was less sure about that at first, but I did start writing lyrics and recording top lines – that's what started it all. Every song that's come together in the last year, he and I have made together. It feels very different; it's a totally new way of writing that I've never tried before. We've got into a really good flow with it; we've formed a fresh identity together." With the pair taking this into the studio with Tarek Musa, fresh-eyed enthusiasm has rapidly fed into a portfolio of new tunes to be shared over the next year.

Moving away from putting shitty exes on blast, the lyrics now delve into sex positivity and abandoning any unwelcome feelings of shame when publicly acknowledging the desire for physical affection. Although not necessarily a new idea in the larger music world, it was certainly one that changed Cole's creative landscape.

"I watched the Madonna: Truth or Dare documentary and thought it was so inspiring that she made such provocative, empowering music at a time when there was such a taboo around the whole topic. For me, it kinda still feels that way. I write about how shit guys are; that's become my thing - it comes naturally, it's so easy - but I always had some difficulty writing about love and lust. That felt so uncomfortable, and I never felt good about a song when I touched on that; I thought there was no story there, no one's gonna relate to it. Which is so silly! It's just a fun thing to write about."

Putting her own happiness into the limelight could never be a bad thing, and it's inspiring to see an artist push past their own insecurities of perception. No longer trying to appeal to the desires of others, Cole is relishing her own confidence and making her music service herself first and foremost. "I want all my music to be more empowering moving forward, not just about seeing yourself as the victim. There is a right place and right time for that. It can be a valid feeling, one hundred percent, but there's more to be written that isn't only a 'pick me, please save me' vibe."

'Any Way' specifically highlights the adrenaline rush before a kiss that can be more of a thrill than the act itself when you get caught up in the moment and hyper-focus on that overwhelming sensation. This energy syncs up with another popular international music star, as Cole highlights. "I read this interview with Troye Sivan about his new record, and he was saying, why can't we just write about having a good time? Why does everything have to have this deep underlying meaning? That is exactly how I feel; music is supposed to be just pure fun sometimes, and I've never experienced putting out something like that until now."

As well as Troye Sivan and Madonna, Cole Bleu is reaching for a previously untapped pool of influences. Having expressed past (and ongoing) love for BROCKHAMPTON, Dominic Fike and Remi Wolf for being "raw and real while living amongst palm trees", she is instead now shooting for the pop excellence of stars like Britney Spears, Charlie XCX and Gwen Stefani.

"I've looked up to strong frontwomen my whole life," she clarifies, "but for musical influences, I was very much about what's new now, and how can I fit into that? That's all I was focused on. I love all those artists; they are sick, but I wanted to go back to what my 10-year-old self wanted to be and was trying to be. It was always Gwen Stefani, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift. Women who were strong on stage became my main influence growing up, and I wanted to go back to that."

These are all people Cole might have thought she'd become too cool to cite, but actually, they were cool from the beginning by simply being themselves, and this is what shines through when drawing on such legacies. "I was trying to do the edgy, artsy thing, but now I've realised, nah, girl, that's not who you are."

That sentiment is perhaps the most potent in this next chapter for Cole Bleu. "I'm not obsessed with being anyone else anymore; I just want to be me," she affirms. "When I first moved to England, I needed people to know who I am and that's all I was focused on. In pursuing that, I was not living as myself; I wanted to be someone else all the time. That's no fun, and it doesn't translate for long. Now, I feel really secure in who I am as an artist, who I want to be and what I want to do. That's why I'm so excited right now, and for once, I don't feel scared at all." ■