CloZee

Chloé Herry lives in one of the world’s hottest spots for bass-heavy electronic dance music: Denver, Colorado.

“It’s very dynamic and very happening, for sure,” she said in a recent video interview from a studio in Los Angeles. “I would say there are shows you could go to almost every day there.”

Denver is also a long way — literally and figuratively, scene-wise — from where Herry grew up: Toulouse, France, a good-sized city, but one where she wasn’t exactly surrounded by burgeoning bass-heads like herself.

“I was the one showing electronic music to my friends, like, ‘You should check out this artist and this artist,’” Herry said. “I was very curious, and listening to stuff on YouTube. And then at some point I found some artists that influenced me to start making my own music.”

Raised playing the classical guitar and inspired by electronic artists like Bonobo and The Glitch Mob, Herry jumped feet first into building songs from the ground up, layering strings, bass and beats into a sound that was both heavily rhythmic and also ultra-melodic. By the mid-2010s, she was — under the name CloZee — producing glitchy, globally inspired electronica that portended her future at the forefront of modern bass music. (On Friday, Sept. 20, CloZee will headline the second annual Cascade Equinox Festival in Redmond.)

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In a corner of the musical universe ruled by subgenres and hyphenated descriptors, Herry has been known to use an uncomplicated and clear-cut label for her sound: Journey music.

“I don’t even know how to describe my music. I just know that every song I make has a little story behind it,” she said. “Every album I make, it’s really important to me that it tells a story as a whole and it takes you somewhere — it takes you on a journey.”

The first CloZee album was 2018’s “Evasion,” inspired by the streets of Tokyo, a French beach, the jungles of Costa Rica and more.

Its follow-up, “Neon Jungle,” came out in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and featured “a big outdoor and nature vibe,” Herry told Billboard in 2020.

Last year, Herry released the third CloZee album, “Microworlds,” a 12-track collection of songs about the relationship between humans and the universe.

Packed wall to wall with lush synths, sturdy beats and vibrant melodies, it offers strong evidence that Herry’s musical palette is only growing, and that she has the skills, the vision and the ambition to take CloZee as far as she wants to take it.

“There is always music in my head — not necessarily music that I want to make, but I always have something happening in there,” she said. “Sometimes, I’m like, ‘Give me a break.’”

More on the Cascade Equinox Festival

More on the Cascade Equinox Festival

Now in its second year, Cascade Equinox Festival in Redmond is centered around electronic music, with headliners like Jungle, CloZee, Marc Rebillet, Liquid Stranger and STS9, plus an array of funk, rock and jam bands such as Dirtwire, The Motet, Sunsquabi, Talking Dead and John Craigie & The Shook Twins.

But there is a lot more than music available at Cascade Equinox. Event organizers tout a seemingly endless parade of other experiences, including visual and performance art, workshops, an artisan market, a kids’ zone, camping, food and drink, a mobile bathhouse, a healing garden, wellness offerings, an indoor roller skating rink and more.

Visit cascadeequinox.com to explore the festival’s many facets.

What: Cascade Equinox Festival

When: Friday, Sept. 20 through Sunday, Sept. 22

Where: Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center, 3800 SE Airport Way, Redmond

Cost: $127.50 single-day tickets, $350 three-day passes

Contact: cascadeequinox.com