In Conversation With spill tab

Image by Rebecca Bloch

spill tab (Claire) is one of the newest rising stars in the indie-pop world. Her newest EP Bonnie has been captivating listeners with its technicolor sound, eclectic feel, and carefree, youthful energy. Bonnie features both spill tab’s own incredible talent, but also highlights the efforts and creativity of some of her closest friends and inspirations: Jawny, Tommy Genesis, and even Gus Dapperton. Her French-Korean upbringing also brings its own unique flavor to the EP most evident through her French-language bossa-infused track “en quarto.” Bonnie is a triumph in the world of indie pop, guaranteed to keep us singing and dancing for years to come. 

Since the release of Bonnie, spill tab has been featured in countless music publications, graced the cover of Spotify’s Lorem playlist, and hit the road on her first-ever North-American tour. Shortly after her LA show at The Echo, we had the chance to hop on a call and meet the girl behind the music. Not only is she an innovator in the world of music, but she is a true inspiration with her dedication to her friends and family. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: What’s going on? How are You?

[SPILL TAB]: Haha I’m good. Just hanging out, doing the morning rounds, all that.

[UNPUBLISHED: Gotcha gotcha. So tell me about this new EP release? How has the past like, has it been about a week now?

[SPILL TAB]: Yeah just about.

[UNPUBLISHED]: How’s it been doing so far?

[SPILL TAB]: It’s been good. It’s been like, very - ah what’s the word? Like it’s been, in a way, I feel like a lot of the songs were written like a really long time ago - like at the beginning of this year and throughout this year. Velcro feels like it’s existed forever. So it’s cool. It’s cool remembering that other people are listening to them for the first time, so it’s really cool getting to watch that happen. 

[UNPUBLISHED] What were some of the biggest inspirations behind some of the songs on the EP?

[SPILL TAB]: A lot of the songs were based on like shit that happened to me in my life. It always stems from like a place, you know, a place or a thing that happened to me. And, like, I like to take my feelings and blow them out of proportion and then I’ll write about that. So yeah, I guess a lot of them are about relationships and, you know, the relationship that I’m in and the feelings that come with being in something that’s like a committed thing, and, yeah, kind of rolling with that. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Yeah cool. Now, going off of the whole “inspiration” thing, are there any particular artists or genres that you were really into while recording the EP that influenced your sound?

[SPILL TAB]: I was actually just talking about how - ugh I feel like this always happens - where I forget everything that I’ve ever listened to in my life every time someone asks me what I’m listening to. I like to cycle through songs. I definitely listen to like four or five songs on repeat at a time and then work my way through new ones and then some old ones fall off. But um, yea, I feel like this year, I listened to a lot of this band called L’Impératrice, and they’re like this French band, like it’s really cool funky music. That’s sort of been a constant in my year. Bon Iver is always a constant in my ears. Nathy Peluso who dropped an album called Calambre last year I think. I’ve just been on that vibe. Uh, Grace Ives I was listening to a lot this year. She’s based in New York and she makes really cool music. Umm.. let me look through my Spotify… uhh… The Marias dropped a sick ass album. Yeah I’ve been listening to that a lot too. Recently like this year, I got into The 1975 which is just the weirdest cuz I know they’ve been around forever. 

[UNPUBLISHED] I feel. I got into them late too. 

[SPILL TAB]: Yeah. Ug and especially that album Notes On A Conditional Form is fucking sick and just weird as fuck. Um Yves Tumor. Dijon dropped a sick ass album.

[UNPUBLISHED]: That was a great album.

[SPILL TAB]: And like, per usual, that one song “Disco” by Surf Curse. Yeah, that shit is part of my brain at this point. I love that song so much.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What was your top Spotify artist this year? I’m curious. 

[SPILL TAB]: I know my top five songs. Okay, I gotta pull this up, but I know my top five songs it was… who was it? I’m gonna pull it up. I know Boyish was on there. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Oh yeah! They opened for you recently, right?

[SPILL TAB]: Yeah! They have a song called “Superstar” that I’m fucking obsessed with. So that one I think was up there as well. Oh, my number one was a French song by L’Impératrice by “Peur des filles.” The second one was “Icing On The Cake” by Grace Ives. Third was “Superstar” by Boyish. Fourth one was actually sort of a curveball. I didn’t think I listened to it that much. But I guess I did. It’s this song in Portuguese called “Falador Passa Mal” by a band name that I will not try to pronounce cuz I don’t know how. And then the fifth one was, was actually a Nathy Peluso song called “SANA SANA” which was sick. I was actually really stoked to see that there were a lot of non-English songs in there. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Yeah that’s so interesting. Do you speak any other languages?

[SPILL TAB]: Yeah, I speak French fluently and like I lived there for a little bit. I also love Portuguese and Spanish. Like I think that they sound so beautiful in music so I love listening to that. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: How long did you live in France? How was that?

[SPILL TAB]: Oh, I uh, I grew up, uh my grandparents on my Dad’s side of the family, they’re from there. They lived in France for a long time. So I grew up kind of going there a bunch. And then I moved there to live with my aunt and my cousin for a year. So I went to school in Paris and kept speaking French and stuff after that. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Wow. So you have your one French song on the EP that is just beautiful by the way. 

[SPILL TAB]: Oh my gosh thank you thank you.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Do you think that living there and growing up with French culture influenced your music a great deal?

[SPILL TAB]: For sure, yeah. And I mean I wish I could say that I lived there longer because I feel like the music scene there is like, I feel a little bit out of touch with it. Just because it’s always changing and progressing so quickly. And there’s just like a lot of just like sick French artists that kind of come up over the years. But yeah, I, you know, grew up listening to classic French music. My grandma and my aunt would play very like, you know, 70's, 80’s, and 90’s French tunes. So, yeah, I think just the nature of it being- but then also on the flip side, like the dance scene in France is really poppin and so like music that you can play like in a club is really fun. So yeah, it’s definitely influenced my music over the years for sure. Just like from listening to it and hearing it so much. And I love making music in French because it feels like it’s a different persona that I get to pop into and use. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Were there any other influences from your childhood that make your music what it is today? Or like instruments that you played growing up that you still play today?

[SPILL TAB]: Um, yeah. I mean my parents were both musicians. And my dad was very into jazz and played sax and flute. My mom plays the piano and plays the harp. SO I grew up in a pretty musical family which is just sick. So from a young age I got to be around music and we would occasionally go to like the, what’s it called? The place where the LA Phil plays Downtown?

[UNPUBLISHED]: The Disney Concert Hall?

[SPILL TAB]: Yeah, yeah. The Disney Concert Hall. Yeah so I have a lot of good memories surrounding music from growing up which is really nice. And then, in college, I went for Music Business. So I was around live gigs a lot and was able to be around artists which is really sick, especially in New York where the music is so weird and interesting and multifaceted. So it was really cool being around that. Yeah, I think it’s, It had so much influence on me as a person and, therefore, also on my music. And like also traveling - just like moving around and being around different places has been like a huge part of that as well. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Yeah cool! Now your EP has quite a few features as well. I was wondering, you got to work with artists like Jawny, Tommy Genesis, and Gus Dapperton. How were each of those experiences?

[SPILL TAB]: It was sick. They’re each very different. The Tommy and Jawny ones were both songs that had already been started and were kind of floating around and I didn’t really know what I wanted to do with them. “Indecisive” was one where like, that verse felt like it needed someone that was like rapping or doing something like that with that more sort of speaking voice kind of. And I did not - I didn’t feel equipped to do shit like that. So I was like “let’s find someone to do that.” So, my manager I think sent it to Tommy’s camp and she was down to hop on it so that’s how that feature came about. And like I love Tommy Genesis’s music like I’m a huge fan so it was really cool to have her on the song. And then JAWNY has been sort of adjacent to my friend group for a while. And I’ve also just been a fan for years of his music. So when we sent it over to him and he was down to hop on it, it was really really special. It was really exciting. And he wrote it with this guy Christian Blue who is also adjacent to the friend group that I’ve known for a while and he’s just like a really sweet boy. So it was cool. That one was like a very “homie” type song to come about. And then the Gus Dapperton one was actually started with Gus in New York. He wrote the guitar chords and then also featured on it as well. So that was really nice because I’ve known gus for like years. Um, yeah, so it was there. I absolutely love working with my friends. And I love working with people that I love. So that made me really happy to do that. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: I was actually at your LA show for a bit - sadly I was dying of a cold so I had to leave before you came on. But for the 30 seconds I was there with y’all in the green room, I could feel the friendly atmosphere. I would love to know more about your relationships with these artists and just how you build such a communal atmosphere at your shows!

[SPILL TAB]: Oh my gosh thank you. Yeah that’s all I could ever hope for. Yeah, to me, the most important thing is that I think I would be nowhere without my support system. And like, I think as much as like, you know, it takes a lot of hard work, it also takes a village. S, yeah, I guess I also just generally love being around my friends and doing anything to like put my friends on and stuff. Actually, Boyish, like India and Claire, are like homies from college as well. Like we went do different colleges but like during my college time was how I met them and became friends with them. And like I’ve always been obsessed with their music and like Claire’s production and India’s voice. They’re such a powerhouse duo. And then Ethan’s music is incredible. And I’ve been just like absolutely obsessed with his music since his first song “Room” dropped. And he’s, he actually used to be I want to say Cal who’s Wallice’s boyfriend. Yeah, so like he’s also part of that crew like as an extension of the friend group which is cool. It’s really nice seeing all these sorts of relationships and friendships that have been around for years sort of like fall together in the workplace and in the music scene as well.

[UNPUBLISHED]: How does it feel finally getting to perform?

[SPILL TAB]: Oh I mean I never performed before that pandemic with my music. So it’s been like all the first times which is sick. Like I feel so lucky to even be able to do music as a job. And I feel like the pandemic was a huge part of that. So I , you know, as much as it sucked not being able to perform during the pandemic, I'm like everything happened for a reason. And, um, yeah, I feel so stoked to be able to do it. And the fact that I get to do it with friends is tight. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your big plan for the future? Where do you see yourself going next?

[SPILL TAB]: Um, I have no idea. Like, ideally, I mean, I guess some goals are like I’d love to play at festivals. I haven’t played any. Like, I’m playing Viva! Pomona on the 19th. That’s like local, you know, it’s like just around the block. It’s like half an hour away from me, So that’s, yeah, it’s big. I’m so excited. So that’ll be like my first festival. I’d love to like, you know, play like bigger festivals that are in random towns or places that I haven’t lived in or been too. That would be really sick. Then yeah, I mean, I love touring. I absolutely love playing live and being on the road and doing more of that for sure. Um, yeah, so honestly more of the same. I’m still adjusting to this life- like this being my job. SO just doing more of the same shit to just get acquainted with it. 

[UNPUBLISHED]: Alright final question: Who are the people in your life that inspire you the most?

[SPILL TAB]: Um, straightforward, corny answer is my mom. My mom is my rock. She’s been through so much and has always come up with a positive attitude and she works so hard and is always just trying to be there for the people around her that she loves. And so I try to emulate that as much as possible. And I don’t know, like my friends. I, yeah, I don’t have any more monumental people or like famous people that I’m inspired by.

[UNPUBLISHED]: I mean it’s always the people closest to you, isn’t it?

[SPILL TAB]: Yeah it’s the people closest to me because I get to see how they work and they all work so hard and also it’s inspiring because I find that the most inspiring thing to me is being able to relate to a specific challenge and then watching the people around me overcome those challenges makes me want to overcome mine as well. And especially like there are things you see growing up, you know, whether it’s like learning how to do you taxes or learning how to like, you know, take on more family responsibility or learning how to be better in a relationship and bettering yourself and like your mental health - like learning how to ask for help or go to therapy. Like stuff like that is awesome that we’re also trying to figure out and learn how to deal with and just seeing people around me taking those steps makes me want to take those steps as well. So, I’m definitely inspired by the homies for sure.

Make sure to check out spill tab on Spotify now!