a Conversation with Clair from the Duo Coco And Clair Clair
‘‘ So many amazing artists, especially rappers, are from Atlanta, and it's been cool to watch "SoundCloud rappers" like Lil Yachty rise to fame. ”
KUNST : How was Growing up in Atlanta and how did it influenced your music?
CLAIR : Coco and I both grew up in the suburbs outside of the city, but we've definitely beEN inspired by the city's music scene. So many amazing artists, especially rappers, are from Atlanta, and it's been cool to watch "SoundCloud rappers" like Lil Yachty rise to fame. On a more personal level, a lot of our friends make music as well and I'm very grateful for the endless amounts of inspiration and empowerment that they've given us. Atlanta, in general, is a really special place full of chaos and charm. I wouldn't have wanted to start this project anywhere else.
KUNST : How did you and Coco met and how did you decide to start making music together?
CLAIR : We met on Twitter! We had been following each other for a while and eventually hung out. Coco was dating a rapper/producer at the time, and one day she asked him if we could freestyle over a beat that he wasn't using. We finished the song in under an hour and decided to put it online, and then of course we played it at every party we went to. And that was really it! We decided to make a few more songs, and we eventually started playing small shows around Atlanta. Once we realized that we had fans beyond our friends, we started taking it a bit more seriously and made an album. That was a pivotal moment for us, because we recorded, mixed/mastered, and released the album completely on our own. I cherish that time of my life, it was such a special bonding experience for Coco and I and showed us just how capable we are.
KUNST : How does your family react to your music?
CLAIR : I hid our music from my family for so long! I was nervous they would think I was off the rails. It wasn't until we released the music video for Water that my family found out, and they were really excited and proud. Even my Nana is a huge fan! I feel very lucky to have their support and am proud to share this part of my life with them, though I'm sure they think we're a little bit crazy.
KUNST : You live in NYC and Coco lives in Atlanta , how do you guys proceed when it is time to record?
CLAIR : We really rely on each other's energy and input so we try to write and record when we're together. when we have to spend long periods of time apart we FaceTime as often as possible, just to catch up and brainstorm song ideas. It's not the same as living 10 minutes away from each other, but we make it work.
KUNST : Your lyrics can sometimes sounds aggressive but with an ironic tone, do you feel like singing them but making some kind of jokes out of it , helped you to blow off some steam?
CLAIR : Absolutely! Writing, recording, and performing our songs has been a great outlet for us. I will say though that we're much nicer than people might think .Coco talks a lot about fighting, but she's a Pisces! She's really sensitive and I'm usually the one causing trouble (though I'm timid at heart). We're definitely a little reckless, but I get the feeling that most people have a misconstrued idea of who we are...I'm not sure whether our music has a positive or negative influence on that, but writing and performing definitely helps us feel at least a little bit more in control.
KUNST : When you compare the NYC music scene to the Atlanta one, what are the biggest differences coming up to your mind, and how does they affect your duo with Coco?
CLAIR : I don't know much about the New York scene! I still feel pretty new in the city. Luckily a lot of my friends in New York make music too, so I usually end up at their shows, which are always super inspiring. I guess the biggest differences that I've noticed are in the venues - Coco and I prefer to play house shows because they feel a bit freer, and more like a party. Whereas most of the shows I go to in New York are usually at real venues where there are rules and some sort of cover charge, but they're still fun of course. Coco and I tried playing a venue in Atlanta but it didn't really work out, we got in trouble for (allegedly) breaking their gear. A few months later the same venue asked us to play a show but they said we would have to put down a deposit just in case we broke more gear, which is such a joke. Honestly, we're still figuring out a lot about this whole thing, being performers and such, and ideally we would be a bit more graceful when we get on stage but we're just having fun for now. We really want to tour New York and Philly in 2019, so I'll probably have a better answer to this question then.
KUNST : What is your favorite song at the moment?
CLAIR : Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac! I heard it for the first time recently and haven't been able to turn it off, I think it'll be my new karaoke song. I'm in awe of Stevie Nicks.
KUNST : Who is your favorite band / artist at the moment?
CLAIR : I really love/admire Hannah Diamond and am excited to see what she does in 2019.
You can listen to Coco and Clair clair ‘s music here , via Spotify :
