Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Clare Twiddy
Clare Twiddy is a Vancouver-based artist who blends pop, rock, R&B and electronic music; personifying a dark heart with the soul of an optimist.
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
Wow, what a great question. My earliest memories are singing in my dad’s church – he’s a pastor. My mom and dad sang together, and I would dance around them and sing, as best as I could at the time. I would sing in the choir as a young girl as well, pretending I knew what the notes on the page meant. I loved it even then.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
My purpose on earth is to create, it doesn’t matter if it’s music, dance, painting, cooking or something else, it feels so inherent to me. My earliest memories of writing music are at about 6 when a friend and I would songwrite in the bathtub. We would turn around, create something and then turn back around and share our ideas. It’s always been fun for me.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
My solo project came out of the need to express myself without the attachments of other’s agendas. I was in a band prior to this project which was an incredible experience, but ultimately I didn’t feel completely myself within it. A lot of this project focuses on transformation and exploration of self through the shadow self and the higher self. In the past few years I have begun to call my higher self the “Midnight Witch” and I speak with her, especially when songwriting. She holds my shadows with love and helps me step into my true nature.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
My sound is as wide ranging as my emotional landscape – which can be a lot! Most of the time it will be somewhere in the moody alt-pop/alt-rock range or in an R&B atmosphere, but at times I wander into singer-songwriter, cinematic landscapes and even country (well, not on this album, but the next one).
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music? I’ve found that my initial response is often not my truest response, it’s my conditioned
response. With that knowledge I can give myself a bit of space between my opinions and allow the process to flow more naturally. It’s been incredibly helpful to own the phrase “I don’t know” and to sit with things until I understand what I want.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process? I like to keep it simple for songwriting: voice and piano. If it can sound like a complete
song in that realm then it’s ready to take to a producer and build the song. If a song needs more instrumentation to feel full, like a rock song, then I’ll make a demo in Logic
before sending it to a producer. But often, I just send them a voice note with piano and vocals.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
I’m obsessed with Terracotta Walls by Ash Leone. She’s starting to get more streams and is still a small artist. I think the whole song just feels like a hug from someone you love and I always love hearing it and playing it.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision? Completely and wholeheartedly. I don’t know how else to create but from my
experiences. Anger was something that was pushed down in my life for a long time so it came up in my music, especially in my previous band. Now I find myself in a more loving space and so R&B and pop flows through me these days.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work? I hope people take care of themselves, listen to their intuition, and have the courage to
see all of themself, the good and the “shadows” – which aren’t really bad, but just parts of us that need love and understanding. I hope people feel safe to feel all of their emotions and have healthy outlets for them so they are not run by them.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Boundaries, for sure. I don’t let people walk on me the way I used to. I don’t take responsibility for other people’s emotions anymore. My alone time is sacred to me. None of those insights would have come to me without music.
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
I mean… Coachella would be pretty awesome. Osheaga, The Great Escape, SXSW, and ACL are also up there for me.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why? Past – Amy Winehouse. Present – BANKS. Both artists have helped me feel things within
me that I didn’t understand until I listened to them and I’m in love with their voices and their spirits.
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links) WEBSITE: https://www.claretwiddy.com/
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/claretwiddymusic/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/claretwiddy
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/ClareTwiddyMusic/
TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@claretwiddymusic
BANDCAMP: https://claretwiddy.bandcamp.com/
SPOTIFY:
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I would love to be creating music full time as an independent artist with a bigger team around me that all feel like friends and family. A manager, booking agent, publisher, producers, dancers, videographers… you name it. I want to collaborate with other artists that inspire me and learn from them. I want to build my live show and play bigger festivals like the ones I mentioned previously. I would love to see my music in Film & TV – I have a longshot dream of my song Love Is Dead being used in the upcoming Fourth Wing Series, but honestly just more sync in general would be lovely. I want to combine my passions such as dancing, sewing, painting and candle making into this project – whether it’s used in videos, merch or in our live show. I have… lots of big dreams. I just want to continue to grow and create from a place of inspiration.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way? I think it’s more about the listener discovering themselves, but I suppose what I’m
discovering about myself lately is the multi-faceted and ever-changing nature of being human. We all hold so much more love and power than we realize.
