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Clare Maguire: Expect The Unexpected

Things aren’t always what they seem...

Posted 9th April 2011, 5:40pm in Interviews, by Harriet Jennings


After a mass scramble to sign Miss Maguire in 2008, she’s been safely tucked away in the bosum of her new label, Polydor... until now. An appearance in the BBC Sound Of 2011 list saw the Birmingham beauty brought back to the attention of the music industry. Labelled as the next Adele or Amy Winehouse, and marketed as a ‘Voice’, you might think you know what you’re getting with Clare. But be warned, things aren’t always what they seem.

You’ve been under lock and key for three years following your deal with Polydor. What have you been doing in that time?
I’ve been doing a lot of writing. The whole record took me four or five months, but I think I was just training myself and going in with different people just to prove what I was doing.

Can you tell us about the album?
Yeah, it’s called ‘Light After Dark’ and I like that title because I think it’s quite visual. A lot of the music is uplifting but it still has a deeper sentiment to it, and it’s quite epic. Each of the tracks have a different emotion to them.

Has your style has changed over the time it’s taken to finalise the record?
My musical style changes quite a lot because I get influenced by different times in my life, things that I see, conversations that I have. Musicians as well. My track ‘Ain’t Nobody’ was remixed by a dubstep artist called Breakage, and that inspired me to go into the studio with him and do some tracks.
It’s always developing because I’ve got really eclectic music taste; I don’t like to just stick to one particular thing. At the moment people probably think it’s a certain thing but in the summer, it could be really electronic dance.

How do you go about writing?
I like to go into studios and I like to be inspired by things that are in the room. The past three weeks I’ve been going into the studio every night because I really enjoy it.

Are you writing for a future album?
It’s just tracks that I can give out free on Twitter and things, really. I think I write mainly for the live show.

What can fans expect if they see you live?
Expect the unexpected! I love visuals, I love the whole pin-up style, I like colour. It’s very emotive, but it’s going to change. I’m just starting out so I don’t have much budget, but hopefully the more it goes along the more I’ll be able to explore it even more and push it further.

You’ve worked with quite a few people, who has been your favourite?
I think everybody’s been brilliant in their different ways. I did the record with Fraser T Smith who’s great because he has no ego and he just let me do what I needed to do. Then I worked with Richard X, Mark-Anthony Tieku and Sam Dixon, who allowed me to explore different genres and different sides to my voice, which is exciting. Everybody’s been great.

You left school at quite a young age to pursue your singing career. Did you ever have a back up plan?
Not really. I just always wanted to be a musician; that was the path I chose and I stuck to it. It was like tunnel vision. I was really obsessive about it to try and make it happen, and it did. I was lucky.

Which is the bigger influence: your Irish heritage or your Brummie background?
Oh, I think both of them at exactly the same time. My Irish heritage is important because of my grandparents, and my voice really comes from that. But then growing up in Birmingham, and being around that real working class environment, it’s inspiring at the same time. I love Birmingham.

Clare Maguire’s debut album ‘Light After Dark’ is out now via Polydor.

Taken from the April 2011 issue of DIY, available now. For more details click here.
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