Writer’s note: If you want a background track for your read, Bouvette thoroughly recommends ‘DON’T WANNA HEAR THAT SONG ANYMORE‘ from her new album, as well as The Japanese House’s ‘Indexical Reminder of a Morning Well Spent‘. They’re both “cosy and comforting” tunes — the exact sentiment Bouvette hopes to capture in this chapter of her musical career.
Quebecoise singer-songwriter Claudia Bouvette joined me on my laptop screen from sunny Canada, brightening my moody Edinburgh evening with her immediately evident enthusiasm. We chatted about the importance of creating raw and vulnerable music, her plans for the upcoming year and, of course, her new album.
Starting off with a Karma! classic about what colour she and her music would be, Bouvette shares that it’s difficult to choose just one because she “see[s] colour when [she] hear[s] music”. She shares this gift with her audience during concerts, instructing her lighting technician to match the colours she experiences. ‘Miss Blumenfeld’, for example, is categorically a yellow song in her eyes.
Her latest release is ‘DIARY FOR THE LONELY HEARTS’, a moody grey-blue collection of songs that stems from a beautiful and unexpected collaboration with her good friend and fellow singer-songwriter Soran. The two of them began making music “just casually, without any expectation”, but within their first session, they wrote ‘THE MEANING TO US’, one of the ten tracks from the album. After that, they had no doubt that there was something really special for the two of them to create together. “Something… happened that was beyond our comprehension”, Bouvette tells me, her face lighting up as she speaks about their work together. “We let go of any judgement” and “really trusted in each other and the process”.
She tells us about how Soran transformed his home into a whole studio, giving a very literal meaning to everything being made “in house”, and how this really fostered an atmosphere of vulnerability. “The creative process was ours, and no one else really got involved”. She fondly recalls that they started every day with a ginger shot, followed by raw and vulnerable conversation for an hour or so, then “picking up the instruments and just jumping into the creative process”. Bouvette describes what sounds like a genuine pleasure: “the valve was open, and we just let it flow.”
They had a mantra whilst working together: “making pop great again”. Bouvette speaks with genuine enthusiasm about the pop music of the early 2000s – Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls, Avril Lavigne – particularly highlighting the many “great woman artists who were so bold in their way of approaching pop”. In the past, Bouvette has really struggled with imposter syndrome and she desperately “wanted to be recognised for making good music”. Oftentimes, this meant being overly attached to specific ideas and sounds as a source of confidence, but working with Soran taught her to let go of these expectations and embrace spontaneity. She beams as she talks about Soran’s talent. It was through giving him space to experiment with the music they were creating that she found “a magic in letting a moment happen”.
Whilst her previous works often centred around toxic relationships, giving her a way to “finally say what [she] wanted to say”, Bouvette now feels that she “grew out of these experiences”. For this album, she wanted to “tap into the depth of emotions that are not necessarily related to romantic love”, and make “authentic music [about] seeing the light in tough situations”. She muses about the universality of emotion and the paradox that we so often feel alone in our feelings regardless. This album to her is a “gentle, self-caring and vulnerable album” and she hopes that people can connect with it when they’re feeling lonely.
On the topic of vulnerability, we touch on one’s ability to express themselves in different languages. Bouvette is a native French speaker, but she is also fluent in English, and her previous album featured lyrics in both languages. In ‘DIARY FOR THE LONELY HEARTS’, she committed to making it “fully, unapologetically English”, and she notes her preference for English in songwriting. “The French language rolls differently in my mouth… I prefer the way the [English] sound happens in my instrument”. Regardless, she insists that she would be keen to create an album entirely in French in the future.
For now, she is looking forward to her next collaboration with Soran: a second album which the two of them are planning on writing and recording in Japan. Soran’s Japanese heritage, a growing listener base in the country, and Bouvette’s own visit to shoot the cover of this album, make it feel like perfect location. Rather fittingly for our publication, she says that “there is karma for [them] over there”.
“Doing the album… was a powerful moment in my year, for sure”, she says as the conversation comes to a close, and she seems excited for what’s to come. Be it a new album or potentially touring with another artist — Chappell Roan stands out as a particular favourite of hers — it seems that we have much to expect from Bouvette this coming year. She is “super open to live [her] life, [her] best life”, through all these amazing upcoming projects.
Claudia Bouvette’s new album, ‘DIARY FOR THE LONELY HEARTS‘, is available to stream now.
Leave a Reply