Today exclusively for Global-Pop, we had the pleasure of interviewing Clara Engel, a non-binary Canadian artist who has made music and art her way of life and expression in the world. His music has been played on the CBC, the BBC and the Italian National Radio. He has also worked with artists such as Aidan Baker, Armen Ra, Thor Harris and Siavash Amini. In this conversation, we dive into his creative process, his influences, and his view of the world and music as a transformative force. In the same way we will talk about “Sanguinaria” his new album that is about to be released.
For those who don’t know you, tell us a little about how Clara Engel was born musically?
I picked up a guitar when I was eleven or twelve, and I wrote my first song when I was thirteen. In hindsight it feels sort of inevitable – I’m just a person who needs to make things as their way of being in the world. Before that I wrote poetry and drew. I still make visual art as well, and all these practices feel connected.
Your music has clear experimental, melancholic and sensory traits. How do you manage to capture these three concepts in your songs?
Thank you, that is interesting to hear.
Experimental: I agree, in that my songs are also poems and don’t follow a traditional pop structure.
Melancholic: I suppose. I’ve noticed there’s a tendency to label music that is not explicitely “upbeat” or “happy” as “downbeat” or “melacholic,” and I don’t really see the world in those terms. I have a bit of a tragicomic outlook, which might be genetic – I think my father was like that too. Unfortunately people pick up more on the tragic aspect in my work, but the comic is there too, if you listen closely.
I’m not sure exactly what you mean by sensory. I take a bit of a cinematic approach with my lyrics in the sense that I’m often not telling a story so much as describing a scene, fleshing out imagery, which ideally would invoke the senses.
“Sanguinaria” will be the title of your next album, which we were lucky to hear. What inspired both the concept and the name of this album?
It’s named after a spring ephemeral, “Sanguinaria Canadensis,” the Latin name for bloodroot, which blossoms near where I live. I started writing these songs when it was blooming last year, and when I looked up the plant I found it very interesting. The flowers are so delicate and beautiful but the root is really big and gnarled, and when you cut it open it’s bright red and poisonous. That image suits this collection of songs quite well.
What can we expect from the promotion process of this album? Will there be any particular single featured or will there be a video for any of the tracks?
I don’t like the idea of singles – this album feels to me like a chapbook of poetry and I’d like people to experience it as a whole. I’m also becoming ambivalent about videos – while I do enjoy them sometimes, I generally find it much harder to get lost in a song if there is a video. The worst for me is when the video has a plot – then the song really gets lost. I think my music is best appeciated in dim light, with maybe some shadows or abstract reflections dancing around. All that said, there still might be some visuals. We will see.
What do you think “Sanguinaria” leaves or contributes to the artistic and musical evolution of Clara Engel?
I’m continuing with my practice. I think of evolution as a mysterious and incremental process. I’m always listening and reading and trying to pare my work down more to its essence, whatever that may be. Questions about artistic evolution are probably better answered in hindsight, by someone other than me. So when I’m gone, if my work survives, someone else can make pronouncements about my evolution or lack thereof, if they want!
Greetings. Thank you Global-Pop for inviting me, and to whoever may be reading this. My new album Sanguinaria will be available for pre-order on Bandcamp on May 19th.
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