Clea
Clea (she/her)
*say it like clay*
Written by Juliette Salom (she/her)
Photography: Kyle Dobie
Visual art and music work in tandem with each other for Meanjin-based musician Clea (she/her). Speaking from her farmhouse property in the Scenic Rim region at the foothills of the Great Dividing Range, where the magic behind Clea’s music is made, the singer-songwriter chats to Demure writer Juliette Salom (she/her) about her latest album, Idle Light, and all things that are the catalyst of creative inspiration for this remarkably unique Australian musician making waves in the sonic universe.
Meanjin
For an artist whose striking visual imagery is so intertwined with the kind of beautifully evocative music that she makes, it’s no surprise that Clea (say it like clay) lives and makes art from a region as gorgeous as that of the Scenic Rim in Queensland, just southwest of Meanjin. You can see it in all her music videos, experience it in all the visualisers, admire it in her clothing, the way the artist is taking direction from the majestic aesthetics of the environment that envelopes her. “My surroundings are a significant source of inspiration for me,” she says.
It's clear that the visuals are just as important as the music in the artistic experimentations that the musician conducts, with fashion playing such a pivotal role in how Clea seeks direction for her work. “Many of my video clip ideas begin with an outfit and then develop from there,” she says. “I love capturing nature with a striking fashion element thrown in there; it’s one of my favourite juxtapositions.” From an artist that lives and breathes (literally) nature from her bush-surrounded home, it only makes sense for Clea to understand the fundamentals of collaboration between the world we live in and the art we make in it, and for that to be extended to the imbedded collaboration of visuals with music.
Like a whirlwind of emotion and experience, Clea also finds herself directed by the themes of her songs when she’s sourcing ideas for the visual accompaniments to her music. And with an album as strong as Clea’s latest release, Idle Light, her art is always brimming with fodder for inspiration. A journey of self-growth and actualisation, Idle Light is what the musician describes as encapsulating “a series of moments and deep sentiments about truly embracing adulthood for the first time.” From top to toe, the soaring soundscape of music – complemented by Clea’s phenomenally unique voice of control and range – sometimes whispers, sometimes belts loud messages from the road of self-reflection. It’s a road that takes its twists and turns throughout the album, leading listeners down new paths and on unexpected detours, but always ending back at the same place: the reminder to breathe.
Ending the body of work with the final track Breathe feels like what the whole album is accumulating to – a kind of plea to another self that things are always going to be alright. “The simple act of stopping and taking a breath is something I forget to do so often in difficult times,” Clea says. “We can get so caught up in a moment, feeling as though the world is collapsing in on us. But when we take in a deep breath, our most easily accessible stress manager, a certain amount of clarity is regained.” It’s a song about taking a step outside of all the noise and commotion of emotion when it feels too big, a song about moving forward, onwards, toward more. “Suddenly,” Clea says, reflecting on the song, “That little voice of everything is going to be ok finds its way through the chaos.”
Going forward and onwards is exactly the direction Clea finds herself, and her music, heading. Already working on album number three, a chapter Clea says she’s incredibly excited for, the last five years has been a voyage of artistic expression that Clea is beginning to breathe out the other side of. Performing Idle Light at a live session that took place at the property where the album was made, Clea unleashed her magic to an audience of lucky first-listeners and birthed the body of work into the universe. “That event was honestly one of the greatest experiences of my life,” she says. “It was such a special way to welcome the album into the world.” Like a baptism of sorts, donned in angel wings and white dress, playing alongside her husband and creative partner Alistar Richardson to an intimate crowd on a grassy hill as the golden sun was setting, Clea sang and danced and made the album come alive. “I love releasing bodies of work; it’s almost like the weight is lifted and I can finally move on energetically.”
Moving on with Clea as she prepares for the next body of work is a handful of artists that she refers to as major inspirations – all of which are maybe good indicators of where the next album will be heading. Referencing folk singer-songwriter Laura Marling as someone Clea “learned how to sing from” and rock group Grizzly Bear as a band she learned “how to write melodies from”, also in Clea’s current repertoire of influences is Caroline Polachek, Julia Jacklin and Troye Sivan. If the experimentations of her previous albums are anything to go by, rest assured the next album will be something wholly original and exciting.
