Introducing #103 KLARA
Let us introduce you to Swedish singer-songwriter KLARA, who has just released her EP ‘Voices’. It provides us with a taste of what is to come with her debut album, due out in 2020. She took a moment to talk to us about the release.
Your new EP ‘Voices’ is out now, is there any inspiration behind the title?
I called it ‘Voices’ as it felt to me as if the political climate both in UK and US was and still is very dark. To me it felt as if the loudest voices were telling the most lies and that I didn’t feel represented by them. Therefor I went to a Women’s March in Paris & anti-Trump & anti-Brexit Marches in London to speak my truth but also wrote ‘Voices’ to put down my thoughts in my lyrics.
It was recorded in Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios, how was that experience?
It’s one of the world’s most beautiful studios set in the English countryside where the main room and vocal booth is looking out on a pond where swans are swimming. It was Peter Gabriel’s idea as he wanted to see the water and the greenery while working on music. It’s also one of the few residential recording studios left in the UK so all you do is eat, look at nature & make music.
You co-produced it with Erland Cooper, how did that partnership come about?
I first met the sound engineer Oli Jacobs at Real World studios when I recorded my song ‘These Woods’ for a Volvo TV advert. He organised a writing session with me & Erland Cooper and I really liked working with both of them. I co-produced my record with Erland as we share similarities in taste and that for me is really important for the overall sound of the album. He has great attention to detail and was very thoughtful and delicate in his decision making in the postproduction and mixing too. I very much enjoyed making the Album with Erland, Oli & the fantastic musicians I chose for the record.
The track ‘Voices’ deals tackles our political world at the moment, can you tell us a bit more about that? Do you feel musicians should be getting more political at the moment?
I felt That I really wanted to put my thoughts about these issues into my lyrics but I think it has to come from the heart. If you have something to say about politics, say it. Some artists don’t write about those kind of subjects and I completely respect that. As humans though I think we have to create a debate and communicate with each other to be able to make a change. I think Greta Thunberg is a fantastic example of a role model for a lot of people at the moment. She shows clearly that it’s enough to have a passionate opinion and make your voice heard to create change.
Even though you were born in Sweden, you are now based in London. Where do you like to go for musical adventures?
I love going to concerts. Especially old theatres like The Palladium in Soho or old Churches like The Union Chapel. I am thankful for living in a city where so many artists pass through and that we have incredible venues like The Royal Albert Hall that just takes your breath away. It’s also lovely that some areas like Camden still has so many music venues in such close proximity.
Now the release is out there, what next? What are your plans for the next few months?
Following the current ‘Voices’ EP we will have one more single and then comes the album in January. We are making a Vinyl as well which I am super excited about as it will be my first. Now I am working on the artwork and visual concepts around the album. I am also already writing new songs for my next record. Last year I decided that I wanted to write more with others. Even though I have mainly written on my own for most of my career I now feel that I want to explore collaborations more. I have been on writing trips to both LA and Sweden a few time but I want to reach out to the great songwriters we have right here in London. I am also looking to buy a house by a beautiful sandy beach in the south of Sweden as it’s been a dream of mine for a long time to build a studio by the sea!