CLAY on Reflection, Self-Love and Healing in EP, ‘holy silence ‘fore the spring’
CLAY is a San Francisco born-and-bred artist crafting songs for the soul. She has the smooth, rich kind of voice that melts tensions away with a single note. A perfect blend of R&B and pop, CLAY’s affinity for catchy melodies matched with her seductively smoky vocal tone make her a must listen. Keen to make music that moves people and makes waves, CLAY’s work is vividly relevant and overwhelmingly personal.
CLAY is coming off of the first installment of a 3-part EP series called Breathing into Bloom, which featured collaborators including the likes of Alessia Cara, Stint and Yakob. Her second EP in the series, holy silence ‘fore the spring, released on May 5th, followed by her first headline tour in the states. While Breathing into Bloom was optimistic about accepting that healing is a process, holy silence ‘fore the spring delves deeper into more melancholy themes that came to her during reflection, when the air was brisk and the gray clouds sagged, heavy with rain.
Born and raised in the flower-child city of San Francisco, as well as a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community, her diverse and politically potent upbringing has guided her work as a multidisciplinary artist into powerful new realms. The historic social justice movements of the Bay Area laid the groundwork for the work she does today to create liberation through music. Unafraid to get political in songwriting, her past work has seen her take on Trump at the height of his crippling power (“Orange”), and more. CLAY cares deeply about advocacy, community and unity and you can always hear that in her art.
From the very beginning, she knew that using her voice was her true calling in life. At seven years old, CLAY joined the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Long feeling like an outsider, it was the first place she made friends and finally fit in. She was in the touring ensemble of the chorus until age 16 – performing at former President Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration and winning three GRAMMYs along the way.
As a young adult, she cultivated her songwriting skills at a contemporary music school and began making music of her own. Calling herself a “neurodivergent pop star,” she approaches songwriting with deep reverence for storytelling and views it as a spiritual experience. She often isolates to pull from within, listening closely for the whispers of truth longing to escape her in the form of a song.
For some artists, the challenge of building yourself from the ground up whilst maintaining your authenticity and independence can be near impossible. CLAY is proving that she’s got what it takes to leave her mark on this sometimes-ugly world. Adamant to retain her sense of self and ability to appeal to the masses through her heartfelt lyrics and experimental style, there’s no doubt that more treats are in store for listeners, both new and old.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Thank you for talking to Unpublished Magazine. Last time we talked you released your song “Artery” and we talked about practicing radical vulnerability and facing painful truths. I would love to know more about how you have practiced radical vulnerability in your latest release “Poison” and your EP holy silence ‘fore the spring?
[CLAY]: I think that I endeavor to go deeper with everything that I create. I also just think the more of the life I live, I always try to dig deeper and uncover more about myself. “Poison” I wrote a few years ago
I've been sitting on the song and it hasn't felt like the right moment to release it until I wrote the other songs and it just fits perfectly with them just in terms of that world world. The EP is in the second phase. It's like a trilogy EP. I delve into healing and what phases of healing looks like. Breathing into Bloom touched on healing and this EP focuses on the hardships behind healing and why do these feelings feel familiar and why does this hurt so much?
[UNPUBLISHED]: In “Poison” you’re telling someone that their love is poison. What is the inspiration behind the song?
[CLAY]: I actually wrote it to myself, because I think for so many of us, we're our own harshest critic. I wrote it to the voice in my head that is self deprecating to myself. It took me a while to understand why that came out so easily. A few months later, I listened to the song and I went ‘oh, I might be the meanest person to myself and I might be my harshest critic.’ So it's in those moments that I recognize I'm actually sometimes the poison.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How does it feel to release something so intimate or confessional about yourself out in the world?
[CLAY]: I actually don't get anxiety. I think it's so cathartic. I hold my breath like the night before it comes out. I hold my breath and have a moment of shyness, and be like ‘oh, no, is this a singular experience that people are gonna relate to?’ Those moments of doubt are universal experiences. I think that if I felt this way, there is definitely someone else who can relate.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Last time we talked, you were about to release your first installment of a three part EP series Breathing into Bloom. Have you taken any creative risks or have experimented more either lyrically or sonically with holy silence ‘fore the spring since Bloom?
[CLAY]: I definitely push myself songwriting-wise more than anything. I am trying a new songwriting / storytelling process, especially with my song “jaemie,” where instead of talking in poetry and metaphors, I am telling the story in a very matter-of-fact way, which is something I haven’t really done before. Every sound that you hear is all organic instruments.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is your favorite song off the EP and why do you love this song? Is there like a certain lyric or message that you gravitate towards the most?
[CLAY]: “jaemie” is definitely my favorite song. I think it's one of my favorite songs I've ever written. Like I said, that one is very literal. It's very hard. It's very storytelling, instead of Breathing into Bloom, the song “Sunday,” like, “Can't control the falling / Trees don't make a sound / If I gave you all my power / Would you try to bring me down?” It is immersed in the poetry and metaphor realms. “jaemie” is literal in the lyrics, “Thank you to Jamie for leaving your door open and letting me sleep on your sofa.” It’s very literal from the job of telling a story and it really resonates into a deeply personal song about a woman who opened up her home to me, and the theme of the song is like a universal sentiment of chosen family. You're listening to a song that is specifically about my experience with a woman named Jamie, but I hope that people who listen to it can hear the name Jamie and replace it with whoever was that person for them in their life.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What song would you show listeners from holy silence that you think perfectly encapsulates your creative growth and maturity as an artist?
[CLAY]: I am so proud of “jaemie,” but also the introduction, title track is very beautiful.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What are some themes and emotions listeners can expect from you in holy silence?
[CLAY]: Holy silence ‘fore the spring is that pocket between the snow has melted, but the first flowers are only just starting to bloom, and that really is the pocket between the two seasons. We are coming out of hibernation and are moving towards the very natural New Year, where our bodies are actually manifesting and coming out of hibernation and whispering of our hopes and dreams into those seeds that are now flowers. I think that's that pocket of this silent time of reflection and healing before the next phase.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Where do you think the perfect environment would be to listen to holy silence?
[CLAY]: Alone wherever you feel comfortable, and I don't mean alone in a sad way, I mean alone in whatever peaceful way you define it. It can mean in nature, at least that’s my own preference. It can be in your bed, bathtub or car. Wherever you find comfort in solitude.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What message, emotions or story do you hope to portray through this work?
[CLAY]: I hope that there's something for everyone. I hope that people can have self reflection and continue the healing journey towards self-love and actualization.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How would you define your self-love and how does it look like for you?
[CLAY]: I think that the timeline of my music, how I take my time to make music and put it out is a reflection of me not being hard on myself and understanding that I take my inspiration directly from source and try to get really quiet and that takes time, solitude and self-reflection. That's reflected in how I live my life. Yes, I try to stick to a routine and I try to be quote unquote productive, but I also try to not be squished by capitalist agenda. I try to not be so hard on myself when I'm having days that are not quote unquote, productive and actually treating rest days with the same level of respect as days running around super busy.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How are you feeling in this current era of your career and what does the rest of the year look like for you that you would love to share with Unpublished?
[CLAY]: I am feeling really powerful right now and I am in my power. I have a song coming out every month this entire year, so it'll be the biggest rollout of my career to date.
