Introducing… Claire (+ Interview)

Who are Claire?

Those of you who live in Germany may well have heard of the Munich-based five piece Claire. Their heavily electronic synth-pop has led the band from obscurity to a record deal in just two years.
Named after their singer Josie-Claire Bürkle the band have recently played numerous gigs abroad including a performance at Brighton's "Great Escape".

I wanted to know more about this young, exciting band.

How would you describe your style of music to readers who don't know you?

Our style of music is very versatile and a colourful mixture of many different genres. Every single one of us has a unique taste in music and these differ widely! Everyone just throws their ideas into the room and Josie's vocals are the glue that keeps it all together. From Hip-Hop to Indie you will find many different kinds of music.

Your sound doesn't really fit any stereotypical genre - who would you name as you greatest inspiration?

I think it is impossible for us to name one big inspiration because there are so many! But to name a few:

Michael Jackson

Trentemøller

Tracy Chapman

Pheonix

Flume

SBTRKT

and many, many more Please tell us how you met?

Flo, Matthias and Nepomuk needed a female voice for a film project. They asked Josie to sing (Flo knew her from back then) and it just worked perfectly. After very good feedback from radio stations, friends and several people in Munich, we decided to play live and Fridolin was added as the drummer. We never really intended to be in a group. It just happened by playing live and sitting in the band van all day! You only started making music together in 2012 and got a record deal extremely quickly. When reading about you I always think of MGMT's "Everything Is Happening So Fast" - you have had such a rapid ascent. What has been your best moment as a band?

We have had so many beautiful moments as a band so far and it is really, really hard for us to pick the "best" one. 

Supporting Woodkid at two shows in France was definitely our best moment live and our first trip to America was the best moment for us as a group of friends. You've been playing quite a few gigs abroad recently. What does it feel like heading off from southern Germany and performing in front of new audiences in foreign countries?

It is awesome! We have made a name for ourselves in Germany but in other countries we start afresh and this is very exciting! We really hope people abroad like our stuff because we would really love to travel on and see more beautiful places! You seem to be living most people's dream - is music something you've always dreamt of doing?

Yes and actually seeing this dream come to life is just fantastic. Sure, it is often hard work, you have your ups and downs and sometimes we just cannot stand the sight of each other - but that is just normal and we have never had any severe problems!

You've got a busy festival summer coming up. What are your plans for the future?

The next big thing is getting our new studio ready to work on new songs and stuff! And of course we'd love to play as many live shows as we can!

Thanks for the interview!


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Catch Claire at these European Festivals:

08.06: Sputnik Spring Break; Pouch GER
20.06: Campus Festival; Mittweida GER
28.06: Rock A Field; Roser LUX
04.07: Open Air Wettingen; Wettingen CH
11.07: Horst Festival; Mönchengladbach GER
12.07: Passion of the Young Festival; Schwedt GER
18.07: KURT Festival; Reutlingen GER
19.07: Oben Ohne Open Air; Munich GER
31.07-02.08: Szene Open Air; Lustenau AUT
01.08: STUCK Festival; Salzburg AUT
07.08: Festkulturwochen; Kempten GER
15.08: FM4 Frequency Festival; St Pölten AUT
16.08: Nonstock Festival; Fischbachtal GER
17.08: Serengeti Festival; Schloss Holte Stukenbrock GER
21.08: c/opop Festival; Cologne GER
22.08: Utopia Island Festival; Moosburg a.d. Isar GER
23.08: Obstwiesen Festival; Dornstadt GER
30.08: Singoldsand Festival; Augsburg GER



Benjamin Brown