CLEA PRATT OF CLEA
Hi Clea and thanks for taking the time out to speak with us at Musicology.
Mirroring the sentiment of the single Cool Days, the video clip features a lot of images revolving around ordinary scenes and settings that are often overlooked by naïve passer-by’s. You elevate these instances and see a deeper meaning to what may be considered mundane. Can you elaborate a little on your creative processes when analysing the world and how it is that you translate perception into the sentimental, lyrical and musical expression of your work?
I am an emotional person, it feels natural to me to take a specific feeling and perceive it in a whole variety of scenarios. More specifically for ‘Cool Days’, I was reading a book called ‘Flow’ by German psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, and it’s all about reaching an ‘optimal experience’ which in turn paves a way to happiness. One of the things that grabbed me was when Mihaly said that yes, it’s important to have goals and aspirations but if you aren’t enjoying every aspect of life up until that point, you are going to be mentally underprepared when you reach your goal. If you are seeking pure gratification in an end goal or a specific achievement, you'll forever keep on looking and missing out on the precious present moments, I am of course still practising this thought. ‘Cool Days’ is about the process of training my conscious to live in and embrace this moment to truly see how fortunate I am. My way of understanding situations and feelings is by writing songs about them….and for once this song has an optimistic outlook.
As someone who is multifaceted in your creative works which include design, photography and of course music. Do you feel that the creative requirements and eventual output between artistic designs, capturing the moment through the camera lens and musical creation are equilateral?
For me no, simply because music is a lot less immediate and spontaneous, it needs more time, structure and input…and also because it’s my number one creative duty. All my creative outputs are equally important in the sense that my brain needs to exercise and take on different tasks other than music so I stay sane.
Passionate about the environment, how much does the natural setting around you come to bear on your work, albeit implicitly through the connection to a landscape or explicitly through direct action you take to appreciate it, protect it and express it?
I’m very sensitive to my surroundings, which of course has a direct impact on my work. My compassion and empathy for the environment and its inhabitants is very full, and therefore I have a deep well of heart felt emotions to express. We are very close to a tipping point on this earth so that factor always plays on my mind, as well as an appreciation for what we have now, and how fortunate we are to live in Australia. In terms of direct action, gardening plays out as another form of expression, planting and maintaining my jungle in the house carries with it an immense cathartic release.
Your debut album is slated for release later in the year, in terms of the writing and lyrical content, is there an overarching narrative tying the album together or an assortment of topics and inspirations that zig zag throughout the record?
The predominant theme embedded in the album is the concept of my journey of ‘transition into adulthood’ and each song is a fresh perspective of that idea. It has been a strange and exotic new era for me, the album is an expression of that journey being both joyful and very challenging. ‘Cool Days’ is the introduction and the first acknowledgment that this is all there is, as simple and ordinary as it may be, life is there to be celebrated and embraced in every way.
What were some of the challenges in putting this LP together and conversely what were some of the greatest surprises you experienced through the writing / recording process for the album?
A big challenge was making the album coherent, not in the sense of conforming to one type of genre but making sure there is a continuity and a sense of flow and ease. To achieve this I had to adjust, re-record and reconsider a few things along the way. It was a learning experience in itself and in a way I was surprised with how quickly it all came together. I wrote most of the album towards the end of last year and recorded within the space of 2 months. The longest part was the mixing…. Signing off on each piece was the hardest part.
Would you say the album is a continuation from your Fairweather EP or a shift in gear and an attempt to put some distance between it and the LP in term of what direction you wanted to take the album?
It’s not a conscious effort to steer from the EP but there is maybe a touch more maturity about the album. I always want my music to transform and mould to conform to my current preferences and approaches; it’s my version of an autobiography. Every day I find new ways of writing and interpreting music, so I hope my sound will evolve and develop naturally in this manner.
Your will be commencing your Cool Days tour shortly, are there particular ways that you bring your performance to life considering your wide creative palate?
Purely the art of performance and connection. I feel like I’ve only just gotten the knack of finding a particular flow and energy on stage that I resonate with as being me. I love being in a position to provide the audience with a moment where they’re mind maybe released from the stress and burden of a difficult day. I’ll of course be wearing whatever over the top garment I can get my hands onto. Maybe a few synchronised dance moves? You’ll have to see for yourself.
