From snow to a calm sea
Songwriter Clara Bryld comes from Denmark to create a Claire de lune on our minds. Her debut album On your wall (2010) was nominated for a DMA Jazz 2011 and awarded by the National Arts Council. Her beautiful world full of lights and shadows, as only the most interesting worlds can be, shows us Animals with green eyes dancing the rhythm of a delicate pizzicato, an tells us The devil may care in a voice caressed by a playful piano. Claire de lune is a parallel project with which she is working on a new EP meanwhile she writes her second solo album. But now, her musical Sunday gives us anger, tears and smiles enough for considering her the Snow keeper in disguise that guides us through the thin line between the dreamed ocean and the tears of real joy.
What could we find “On your wall”?
Animals such as a rhinoceros, a lion, Mickey (Mouse) and mice. With mother’s songs, father’s hum and fantasies, love and comfort. It’s inspired by my niece’s tapestry and the song was written just when she was born.
Is there a perfect “Sunday” for you?
To me a perfect Sunday consists of a peaceful sunny morning with a nice cup of coffee, breakfast and a newspaper, followed by the company of friends and family. Maybe going to the cinema, taking a walk into nature or visiting a museum.
“I’m alone but it’s ok…”. Is it always true?
It was true for many years, I was very much on my own and I got used to it. I had to. Now I have a boyfriend and he’s with me most of the time.
One song is titled “The devil may care”. Are you so dangerous?
Haha, no, I am not very dangerous. I think people consider me to be calm and trustworthy. But at the time where “The devil may care” was written, I was probably a little bit dangerous to be around, because I was very confused with my life. It wasn’t easy at all.
What about your “Claire de lune”, is it “Still on your mind”?
Yes, very much! Claire de Lune is my trio and the little sister of the “Clara Bryld”-project. Right now we’re working on publishing a little EP and making a music video. Lovely!
Returning to your debut album. “I know a strange familiar purple place/It’s the only spot where you can/Swim with the sharks...”. Is it just a dream or is it also a part of your own reality?
That’s a good question. I guess it’s mainly a dream, but it’s also the place where the creativity can unfold and where all anxiety is gone and you dare to do the things that you dream to do. A year ago, I was in Australia and I was offered to swim with the sharks – but I didn’t have the guts! Haha...
There’s a thin line between dream, reality, desires… Do you have an spiritual vision of life?
Yes, very much. I am not directly into a certain spiritual guidance or anything like that, but I do believe that there is more to this life than we know of. I listen very strongly to the dreams I have at night and to my intuition.
Your music, does it just exist “In dreams”?
I don’t know… I’ve felt it very strong inside of me ever since I was a little girl. And I guess it’s real now since I released an album and all. I mean, you know it, right?
In “The 10th love song” you sing “Well maybe I am/ Just a really big loser in our game of love...” . Always losers and winners in the name of love?
At the time I wrote “The 10th love song” I was rather heartbroken, confused and melancholic. I felt like a loser, because the guy I was writing about – my ex-boyfriend - had been with a girl I knew and it hurt very much. So the song was like therapy for me. In general, no I don’t think there are always losers and winners in the name of love.
Is your “Bag of anger” a big one?
Yes. I had a lot of years, where I felt more sad than angry. If the anger is suppressed it normally results in depression, so I had to find the way to my bag of anger, before I could get out of my sadness. I still have to do it and it’s a hard job, when you’ve taught to be a good, sweet girl.
Your “Animals” didn’t do you no good… do you prefer plants?
Hahaha! I have an orchid, but I would also like a cat… And I still love the so-called animals even though they didn’t do me any good at the time.
“The train is leaving/With unlimited speed/Going far through the inflamed landscape...” That inflamed landscape, has a positive meaning for you?
When I wrote “The train”, I was riding a train through the Danish landscape, which looked so controlled with the farming and all. And I thought about the pollution and all the man made things that are destroying the Earth. So no, the “inflamed landscape” is not a positive thing.
Are you the “Snow keeper in disguise”?
Sometimes I am. I definitely was the snow keeper earlier on due to my sadness and confusion, but now I have gotten a hold of things and the snow has melted. You will hear that in my next album, which is to be recorded in September 2012.
Tell me a dream.
An interview by Juan Carlos Romero
Clara Bryld website clarabryld.com/wordpress
Photo by Emile Carlsen. © 2009 Emile Carlsen