Clara Mann spent her childhood on the move. Growing up in locations as diverse as inner London and the South of France, the rural South West of England and the DIY hub that is Bristol, she learned to piece together her identity on her own.
Music, however, was always a constant. The songwriter began to express herself as a teen, playing tiny shows at first, with a voice both promising and hesitant. The past 12 months have represented a period of sharp evolution, with Clara Mann able to distill those stark folk influences – Karen Dalton, say, or Vashti Bunyan – into something that is purely, uniquely hers.
New EP ‘Stay Open’ is out on November 1st via 7476, and bold single ‘Go Steady’ leads the way. A gorgeous listen, it’s an intense piece of songwriting, with Clara Mann learning to bid adieu to the past, and accept the present.
A work gilded in emotion, ‘Go Steady’ is sublime, the minimalist arrangement seeming to place further emphasis on that voice, as refreshing as a cool silvery drink from a country stream.
Clara Mann comments…
“’Go Steady’ is about letting go of the past, and standing on your own two feet, firmly in the present. It’s also a thank-you song to everyone who’s shown me love, and kept an arm around me when I’ve needed it.”
“I used to be scared of letting go of things- of people, of stories from other times in my life- because I thought it meant leaving parts of myself behind, too, but I’ve recently realised that I’m happiest when I’m just being present in the Now. The marks those times left on me remain, but I don’t have to carry the whole of my story with me all the time, it’s heavy and it slows me down.”
“After some very strange, dark times, ‘Go Steady’ is a break in the clouds, and the closing of a chapter…”
Tune in now.
Photo Credit: Meadow Florence Marks
