Rising indie-pop artist Clara Pople’s latest single ‘Hot Moon’ features Clara’s signature live-looped vocals, creating a sound that is reminiscent of a full moon’s energy. It follows previous singles from this year: ‘Wednesday’ and ‘Poison’. Clara’s track was inspired by nature, especially with respect to the moon’s cyclical patterns.
Born and raised in South Cumbria, Clara’s connection to nature shines through in her music.
‘Hot Moon’ sounds stripped back but is also powerful and features influences from trip-hop, soul, and electro-pop. She told us: “I wrote this song, I actually started with the title of the song, which is probably as sin in songwriting but sometimes you hear a good [phrase].” She tells us how a friend had broken up with their partner and had told Clara they were going to “go away and weep under a hot moon”.
This phrase inspired her to create her own track based on these emotions. Clara thought: “Oh my god, I must write a song about that.” The lyrics came to her quite easily. “The song is one of those where you don’t think too hard about it and the lyrics just come out of you.”
‘Hot Moon’ refers to the “pushing and pulling of emotional madness of being a woman,” Clara explains. She continues: “It got linked to the tides and the full moon, and I didn’t want to make it too linked to women’s cycles.” Clara also tells us how it is “maddening” not being able to control how you feel “from one hour to the next”. She also says: “To me it’s about the sudden switch from going on to off, from one mood to the next. I likened my feelings to that of the moon.”
In a press release, Clara Pople shares: “This is my empowerment anthem for all women and people who can feel overpowered by the forces of nature. ‘Hot Moon’ is a song about the ebbing and flowing tides of being a woman. How nature can control our mood and how, whilst infuriating, we just have to give in sometimes and let the madness take over.”
She also released an acoustic version of ‘Hot Moon’ recently, which was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios after a friend had heard her play it at one of her Boat Gigs. “I had actually played there before because I had won a competition called DHL Fast Track Sessions.”
After moving onto a boat, Clara had hoped to turn her bedroom into a venue, and is now hosting a monthly event including three emerging artists on the line-up. The Boat Gigs have quickly become very popular with all eight shows that have been held so far selling out. “I started these a year ago in September. I live on a boat in South-East London and the space can fit between 40 and 50 people.” The idea behind the gigs was for Clara to be in control and not have to worry about self-promotion as some venues may expect. “I just wanted to start hosting gigs so I had somewhere to play every month.” It gave her a sense of control, although she used to play “a lot” of gigs, anyway. She also uses the Boat Gigs as a way to encourage other emerging artists. “It’s kind of spiralled into a really special event.”
Clara played a show at London’s St Pancras Old Church in September. “It was amazing,” she says. “It was a big step up from all the last gigs that I’ve done. It sold out, which was incredible. There were queues out the door, people trying to get tickets, which has never happened to me before and it was in a church so it was all ethereal and reverb-y and romantic. It was good. It was good vibes.“
Clara’s innovative ways of thinking in both her lyrics and her approach to live music mean she is really producing exciting new things – be they intuitive songs or Boat Gigs which give her and others like her a platform.
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Stay in touch with Clara Pople on social media.
Words: Narzra Ahmed
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