Chesham singer Ch'Lu releases 'Kate Bush' style song

In the song I’m Not The Type To Sit And Swipe, the Chesham- based singer Camilla Mathias, aka Ch’Lu, vents about the frustrations of dating online as a woman.

While looking after her mum in Chesham during Covid, Ch’Lu turned her green house into a home studio to work on her Arts Council England funded album due for release next year.

Dating in Buckinghamshire during Covid was “a little bit strange” but the “universe is keeping me here,” Ch’Lu laughed.

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She recently released a music video to match the folktronica- style song with its painfully honest lyrics, which was inspired by her "horrific experiences” on dating platforms - something that started well at first. 

She said: “I did find a lot of people just don’t treat you very nicely.

“That’s gotten worse.

“Every time I swear ‘that’s it, I’m deleting them all, I’m not doing this again’, because it’s just full of time wasters." 

She found a lot of guys “don’t want to meet up at all and are just chasing someone to message or for cyber sex.”

The often-dire world of online dating led her to decide to “just make some art with it.”

Her career started when she first trained in classical guitar after studying at the then-Chesham High School, now known as Chesham Grammar School, where she played across different bands.

But her “main musical influence” was her late Romanian dad, who passed away 12 years ago, who – as a speaker of eight languages – also influenced her flare for languages.

“He’s big part of my music. He played the accordion and piano.

“He gave me my first guitar and said ‘this is your instrument’, and he was spot on.

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So far, Ch’Lu has composed in 13 languages, which has enabled her to connect with audiences through music live streams globally, and change negative perceptions some people have towards certain languages.

 “A lot of people think German is quite an ugly sounding language, or they have an opinion about a language, and I like to change that.”

The multitalented singer and storyteller also trained as an actress.

Her music weaves together her classical guitar with acting and singing to tell stories listeners can connect with.

Ch'Lu organised virtual campfire music sessions over Zoom during the pandemic, which she's now hoping to do in real life (Image: Camilla Mathias)

During Covid, Camilla “rebranded” herself after her astrologer told her birthname would no longer work for her professionally.  

Her new artist name Ch’Lu is Sanskrit, and means the sound of vibration.

“I study Sanskrit, and I use that quite a bit.

“In some of my streams, I’m singing music in Sanskrit using Sanskrit mantras.

“So, it sounds beautiful, but it’s also working really deeply on the nervous system.”

While Camilla remains "a romantic", she's also “passionate about women feeling empowered and not feeling like they have to be with someone to be complete.”