The intimacy of Clara’s sound mimics her minimal online presence, which is essentially limited to a handful of SoundCloud tracks. Her caramel-smooth voice cropped up first in 2015 on a track with balls-to-the-wall producer Scratcha DVA, but she really got people’s attention via ‘Fones’, a collab with crystalline beatmaker Mssingno. The recently released ‘Good Mourning’ is her mission statement – a mixtape serving as an introduction to her sound, which flits between downtempo club tracks à la Night Slugs and glossy Noughties R&B.
A few days after her Next Wave shoot (her first ever editorial snaps), we catch her on the phone, stealing her away from a copy of New Scientist. She laughs about early obsessions with Avril Lavigne and Good Charlotte, while growing up in the West Midlands, but goes on to cite influences like Michael Jackson, Sade, and composer Stanley Clarke. “He did this film called Passenger 57 and he’s so good,” she gushes. “I saw this interview with Thundercat where he said his influence was Stanley Clark, and I was like, ‘Oh my God!’ I’d never heard anyone else talk about him.”
Learning classical piano from the age of 11, she began writing her own songs as soon as she got the hang of the basic chord structures. Her first ever song, ‘Me And You’, got its premiere at her secondary school assembly. “I remember my music teacher saying something along the lines of, ‘If you’re writing that now, you’ll go on to write great things in the future’,” she says. Going on to study Music Business at university in London, she ended up learning more “outside of uni just by going to meetings, and chatting to people in the industry.”
In the meantime, she’d hone her production skills in her bedroom (“I’ve got this RØDE mic I’ve had since I was 17, a soundcard, an electric piano, midi – and then everything else stems from sample packs”), soon gaining an affiliation with nomadic collective Gang Fatale and guest slots on XL Recordings cuts.
Now based in Manchester (as “it’s the kind of the city where you can do creative things and not have to work in hospitality six or seven days a week”), she’s currently devising a live show that will “bring that bedroom intimacy into a live set-up.”
“The things I write about are always related to me and situations I’ve been through. It’s how therapy would work for some people, I guess…”
Let You Go
Clara La San Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You said you'd never leave
You told me that you'd be there
But you lied again to me
You're always on my mind
And when it's late at night
I think of what you're doing
Do you think of me sometimes
I lose all control
Emotions keep coming and
I'm tryna to let you go
So if you wanna talk to me again
Don't try to act like we were always friends
When I'm all alone
I try to clear my mind
But you'll be coming back
And you'll be saying that all night
I never did you wrong
I've always had your side
And you would just get all the way
And make me wanna cry
And when I'm feeling down
I lose all control
Emotions keep coming and
I'm trying to let you go
So if you wanna talk to me again
Don't try to act like we were always friends
And when i'm feeling down
I lose all control
Emotions keep coming now
I'm trying to let you go
And when I'm feeling down
I lose all control
Emotions keep coming now
I'm trying to let you go
And when I'm feeling down
I lose all control
Emotions keep coming now
I'm trying to let you go
In Clara La San's song "Let You Go", the singer is struggling to move on from a past relationship. The opening lines set the tone for the song, with the singer expressing confusion and disappointment over their former partner's decision to leave. The verse continues with the singer reflecting on their feelings towards their ex-partner, as memories of them constantly surface in their mind, particularly at night when they're alone. While they desperately try to clear their mind, the emotions are too powerful and difficult to ignore. The chorus repeats the phrase "I'm trying to let you go," emphasizing the singer's struggle to move on.
The second verse reveals that the singer feels like they were mistreated in the relationship, as their ex-partner would "just get all the way and make [them] wanna cry." Despite this, they still find it hard to fully let go of the relationship. The chorus repeats once more, indicating that the feelings are cyclical and the singer hasn't fully moved on.
Overall, the lyrics of the song showcase the struggle of trying to move on from a past relationship that still holds a strong emotional hold over you. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the difficulty of the process, as despite the singer's determination to move on, they still feel a deep attachment to their ex-partner.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't understand
I am unable to comprehend your actions and words.
You said you'd never leave
You assured me you would never go away.
You told me that you'd be there
You promised to always be by my side.
But you lied again to me
You have broken your promise to me before.
You're always on my mind
Thoughts of you occupy my thinking frequently.
And when it's late at night
During the time when it is dark outside.
I think of what you're doing
Thoughts about your current activity or state of being come to me.
Do you think of me sometimes
Do thoughts of me ever cross your mind?
And when I'm feeling down
During periods of sadness or low emotional states.
I lose all control
I am unable to restrain my emotions.
Emotions keep coming and
Strong feelings continue to surface.
I'm tryna to let you go
I am attempting to release you from my thoughts and emotions.
So if you wanna talk to me again
In the event that you want to communicate with me again.
Don't try to act like we were always friends
Do not pretend that our relationship was always cordial.
When I'm all alone
In moments when I am solitary.
I try to clear my mind
I make an effort to remove unwanted thoughts.
But you'll be coming back
However, you will re-enter my thoughts.
And you'll be saying that all night
You will speak to me throughout the entire night.
I never did you wrong
I have never acted maliciously towards you.
I've always had your side
I have been consistently supportive of you.
And you would just get all the way
You would become completely consumed with emotion.
And make me wanna cry
Your actions would cause me to feel emotional distress.
Emotions keep coming now
Intense feelings continue to surface presently.
Contributed by Ella H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Michelle
on In This Darkness
In this Darkness Lyrics
I care fully, when you’re not here
And this heart disappears, leaving me stranded
My hope washes down
You never lived here and I never felt whatever I did
There’s a million things, there’s a million things I can say
But you never really knew that
But you never really knew I felt this way
I wanna take it back, wanna take it back to when we
Had it just like that, had it right on track
And I keep falling in this darkness
And theres no one to light it up, bright enough yeah (x4)
I never had, thoughts that control me
Until something bad, left me so lonely
And I want it back, I want the old me
I’m trying to forget but things just remind me
There’s a million things, there’s a million things I can say
But you never really knew that
But you never really knew I felt this way
Wanna take it back, wanna take it back to when we
Had it just like that, had it right on track
And I keep falling in this darkness
And theres no one to light it up, bright enough yeah (x4)
There’s a million things, there’s a million things I can say
But you never really knew that
But you never really knew I felt this way
Wanna take it back, wanna take it back to when we
Had it just like that, had it right on track (x2)
And I keep falling in this darkness
And theres no one to light it up, bright enough yeah (x4)
AMOS- dat.1kidd
on Run to You
I gave my soul to you
Cause you said you’ll never leave me alone
I used to run to you
When i didn’t have nobody
What is this world and all of this redness
Cause i could’ve dealt without it
When are we gone and whose gonna follow
And i’m walking into darkness
When i’m alone i feel like i’m falling
Is that what you really wanted
I gave my soul to you
Cause you said you’ll never leave me alone
I used to run to you
When i didn’t have nobody
You know me best, but you were not worth it
Cause you couldn’t even shed no tears
Rather be lonely, then be not wanted
When you didn't come and save me
When i’m alone i feel like i’m falling
Is that what you really wanted
I gave my soul to you
Cause you said you’ll never leave me alone
I used to run to you
When i didn’t have nobody