Carla Wehbe is rising up as one of Australia's most exciting artists with the ultimate rockstar look. The singer/songwriter has been releasing her indie-pop-rock music over the last couple of years, with powerful vocals and guitar-driven hooks. As she continues to solidify her reputation as one of the best talents on the Australian music scene, we caught up with Carla to speak about shaping her sound and style. And with a love for fashion that runs as deep as her love of music, she test drove the new CHANEL Première Sound watch, while curating her top ten tracks to listen to:

Give us the Carla Wehbe lowdown. When did you begin writing music?

I played violin for 10 years from ages 3-13, and hated it the whole time. I almost took a scholarship to play soccer for an American college before finding music and never looked back. I started writing music and taught myself guitar and piano as well as a few other instruments and haven’t stopped since!

What or who inspired your musical journey?

Growing up I loved Avril Lavigne, Justin Bieber, Cheryl Cole, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, The Corrs, The Cranberries, but also had a lot of love for music from the 60s-80s such as The Beach Boys, Queen, The Beatles, ABBA, the Bee Gees, Cat Stevens, Michael Jackson.

Who have you worked with who has helped to shape the world of Carla Wehbe.

I would say some of the producers I’ve worked with (Robby De Sa, Xavier Dunn, Aidan Hogg, Kon Kersting, Matt Pauling) and my manager, who’s also my best friend and someone who has allowed me to explore creative ideas and parts of myself that I may not have otherwise.

We know that fashion and style is important to you. How would you describe your style?

My fashion style is like someone from the 70s jumped in to a time machine, landed in the 80s and collected all the unique parts of what was in fashion from then until the early 2000s and put it all together.

Who are your style icons?

Mick Jagger, Freddy Mercury, Joan Jett, David Bowie, Ralph Lauren.

Describe your sound, for those first time listeners?

I make pop music with inspiration I’ve taken from the feeling of decades including the 50s-90s.

If you were to score a fashion show, which piece of music would you include?

The Might of Rome by Hans Zimmer from Gladiator.

‍What’s on your playlist at the moment? Which artists are you excited about?

I don’t listen to much music but some current artists I like are Ethel Cain, the last few Sabrina Carpenter singles, The Japanese House, and Conan Gray.

If you had to listen to one artist for the rest of your life on your headphones who would it be?

ABBA, 100%.

What’s something that’s inspiring you right now aside from music?

Fashion always inspires me and I’m always looking for inspiration for my clothing label (space cowboy) in art. I love trippy photography, or weird digital artworks. Sometimes I sit on Pinterest and just look at the amazingly unique artworks and photos that people create.  

What’s next?

I’m finishing up some music that I’ll be sharing so soon, which I’m really excited about, and working on the next space cowboy pieces!

Listen to Carla's Wehbe's Top Ten Tracks here:

Photography BYRON SPENCER
Styling ABBY BENNETT
Makeup FILOMENA NATOLI using CHANEL Beauty
Hair RICHARD KAVANAGH
Digital Operator KURT BINGHAM
Motion Assistant TAJ HOLMES & ANABEL BURROWS
Styling Assistant CHELSEA HOLM
Producer BEC DEASY

The CHANEL Première Sound watch, a long sautoir necklace that doubles as wired headphones, is available in Australia from today.

chanel.com

‍