spill tab Interview über „ANGIE“

spill tab im Interview über ihr Album „ANGIE“; Fotocredit: Jade Sadler

Ein Gespräch über Selbstbefreiung, Tour-Burnouts und die Schönheit des Seltsamen

Claire Chicha alias spill tab veröffentlicht mit ANGIE ihr erstes Album – ein wilder, verletzlicher und kompromisslos ehrlicher Streifzug durch Sound, Erinnerung und Identität. Im Gespräch mit uns erzählt die in Los Angeles lebende Musikerin, wie sie auf Tourneen schrieb, sich vom Druck der Industrie befreite und ihr altes Ich neu umarmte.

Claire, auf ANGIE scheint so vieles gleichzeitig zu passieren – musikalisch und emotional. Was war der Ausgangspunkt für dieses Album?
„Es war der Moment, in dem ich mich vom Label getrennt habe. Ich war einfach leer – kreativ wie emotional. ANGIE ist aus diesem Bedürfnis entstanden, Musik wieder zu lieben. Ich wollte nichts mehr machen, nur um Erwartungen zu erfüllen. Ich wollte etwas machen, das wirklich ich ist.“

Das ist ANGIE in jeder Note: Ob glitchige Pop-Explosionen wie „PINK LEMONADE“ oder zerbrechlich-verträumte Balladen wie „wet veneer“ – jeder Track wirkt wie ein direkter Draht zu Chichas Innerstem. Die Songs entstanden auf Tour, teils im Proberaum, teils im Nightliner – spontane Energie, festgehalten in Skizzen, weiterentwickelt in Sessions ohne Deadline. Sie hat dazu viele Songs live gestestet und im Interview erklärt sie uns, wie sie dabei ihre Auswahl trifft. Außerdem geht es um die Liebeserklärtung um ihr ales Ich und was „Angie“ für sie als Figur bedeutet. Das ganze Interview kannst du hier lesen:

You’ve described ANGIE as a love letter to your former self – the overwhelmed version of you who was trying to please everyone. What made you want to revisit and explore that part of your identity through this album?

spill tab: „It was a natural way for me to reflect on that time in my life, but also to acknowledge that I’ve also grown a lot since my early 20’s and being proud of that evolution. A lot of my life recently has been learning to celebrate the small (or big) victories, I can be kind of a stressed out type A person and I often find myself planning for the worst without taking a second and celebrating the wins. All the wins are worth celebrating!!“

Your musical upbringing spans everything from jazz and classical to Paramore and

traditional Thai music. How do these influences come together on ANGIE, and in what ways did you consciously lean into or move away from them?

spill tab: „I feel for the most part those influences were more subconscious, in general I try to be guided by the energy in the room, riffing and experimenting by jamming and just rotating through different ideas, etc. I’m so in awe of musicians that can play solos and crazy parts off the dome, some of my favorite moments on the album were when we got those special riff-y moments, as well as many happy accidents.“

Many of the tracks on the album were written while you were on tour. How does the energy of performing live shape the way you approach songwriting?

spill tab: „It gives me an extra lens to view the creative process through, and helps me engage with the production a bit differently knowing that I’ll probably have to stand in front of a crowd and perform the song live eventually. It’s made me appreciate the power of dynamics a lot more.“

You’ve said that songs like ‚Pink Lemonade‘ and ‚Angie‘ represent two poles of the album’s sound. How did you navigate between those extremes to create something that still feels cohesive?

spill tab: „Honestly it was something that I was worried about really early on – wondering how I would find a through-string that would tie everything together gracefully. I think it clicked eventually that having a heavy hand on the vocal recording process would help that alot. I’m very picky about vocals, so I think naturally the way I engaged with them across the whole album created an anchor that the rest of the production could swirl around freely.“

After your split with a major label, you’ve talked about finding freedom in making music again. What did that creative independence allow you to do on ANGIE that wouldn’t have been possible before?

spill tab: „I’ve mentioned in the past that I sort of have people pleasing tendencies and I think working with a big label like that where so many opinions are a part of the process made it hard for me to maintain a creative center that was 100% mine. That self-imposed desire to make everyone happy just ended up making me very unhappy, so making this album with no spotlight and no outside influence felt like I could just roam free and experiment and find my voice and ultimately make it stronger.“

From bossa nova and funk to glitchy hyperpop – ANGIE covers a lot of stylistic ground. Was that variety always intentional, or did it emerge naturally from the sessions and collaborators you worked with?

spill tab: „A bit of both! I just get bored really easily, and I didn’t want to bore myself! I just wanted to move towards whatever ideas were fun and exciting and made me feel that giddy sense of “wow we’re doing something cool.” That to me is the best part of creating music, chasing that feeling of excitement and experimentation. And it of course helps to have collaborators that are well versed in so many types of sounds and genres and textures. Everyone brings so much to the table, it’s exciting to get to pick and choose my favorite parts.“

Mit dem Laden des Videos akzeptieren Sie die Datenschutzerklärung von YouTube.
Mehr erfahren

Video laden

YouTube immer entsperren