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At times I feel like Im a better listener than creator, she says.
That used to bother me a lot, and now I feel totally fine with it.
Putting those shows together, hopefully, over time, makes me a better artist.
On her latest album,Charm, Clairo pushes the sound ofSlingsomewhere richer and brighter.
Its a mixture of sweet and sexy and strong and soft and feminine and masculine.
It just felt so playful and fun.
I was always into it.
And that is what I was going for withCharm.
I felt likeSlingwas a good exercise in being serious.
So it was time for me to let the pendulum go the other way.
When you think of the Beach Boys, you think about Surfin U.S.A. and Good Vibrations.
But then you delve intoSmiley Smile I mean, Vegetables and Little Pad, those songs are amazing.
The laughing in Little Pad was so iconic to me.
It confused me too, these people who I consider to be geniuses making music that seemed so silly.
Its not a waste of time to be silly.
It was always in the moment.
I dont think it was ever thought out too much.
We walked in and there was an entire wall of tin whistles, and I just picked one.
That whistle ended up on so many demos.
But they didnt make it onto the record until this one song called Add Up My Love.
Im happy it was immortalized there.
We focused a lot on performance and the energy in the room.
Theres a song called Slow Dance.
I had done the vocals within minutes of them creating the arrangement.
The performance that mattered was there.
Allaire Studios
I dont even know if I can put into words how much thatplacemeans to me.
Theres something really special about it.
It makes me feel happy and normal.
Everyone can come in and out of the room and it feels like this very natural, creative space.
It doesnt necessarily feel like you have to make music.
I prefer that record to the official one.
I also love how complex those arrangements are.
Theyre impossible to play.
I think his narration style is hilarious.
Slys run of albums betweenTheres a Riot Goin On,Fresh, andSmall Talkis insane.
I have no idea when I figured something out in my own life.
I wont know until a lot later.
It makes me feel better about dedication.
You just have to keep moving, because you genuinely wont know until later that something shifted.
I can get in my head about how every record sounds different or about how Im constantly pivoting.
Being silly and serious, being sensual but kind of far away.
Theres this aura of mysterious energy around all of them that brings you in.
And to me, thats extremely charming.
Theres this balance between all of those artists that is alluring.
Also, thats what happens when two people meet.
Theres a level of mystery.
Its this cloud that you cant really see through, but youre really interested in knowing more.
I tried to tread those lines with this record.
Theres songs that are sad to me but have a level of humor in them.
That was a cool challenge.
And some sadness and some fun and some serious and some not so serious.
