Artists Wanted No 8: Meet Winner Clara

[AdamDamon]

Greetings everyone, and welcome to the Community blog featuring the winner from the current edition of Artists Wanted.

The Artists Wanted series on the Spotify Community is an ongoing project where we, the Community Music Chat Team, invite artists on the Community to share their newest releases and introduce themselves.

Today we have the opportunity to meet Clara, the winner of Artist Wanted edition no. 8 with her wonderful song, “No Lugar do Outro”:

https://open.spotify.com/track/7BiAKhPIp3Hixo9JaIP9Vm?si=e1f024aa0a6242ff

A São Paulo, Brazil-based artist, Clara creates music in the MPB, pop, and trap genres that is characterized by good vibes, love, and danceable energy. At the same time, her music raises awareness about such topics as self-knowledge, empathy, and respect for differences. 

I had the chance to ask this talented artist a few interview questions, so that the Spotify Community can get to know her better. You can read our conversation below:

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Hello, team Artists Wanted!

Gratitude for the opportunity to participate in this contest and meet so many talents. 

It was a great honor to win this edition and present music with awareness to the world.

What inspired you to start creating music?

The song "No Lugar do Outro" was written during a trip I took to the coast of São Paulo, I was with my feet in the sea and reflecting on how it connects us with all corners of the world, the sea does not distinguish between color, race, gender, social position, he simply welcomes and embraces everyone, he is in constant movement of coming and going, as is empathy, it is the art of putting yourself in the other's shoes, learning to respect the differences, with that the chorus was born "accepts and respects the difference is in the beauty of being."

Listen now on Spotify – Clara

You’ve mentioned that your music could be described as primarily representing the “MPB/Pop/Trap” genres. I was wondering if you can tell us more about these genres, as well as why you like to create songs that represent these styles of music?

I'm a Brazilian artist, even with all the difficulties and social inequalities I've ever felt in my skin, we are a country rich in creativity, daring and musicality. I drink from all sources of Brazilian music, whether from MPB that was born in Brazil in the 1960s with Elis Regina, Milton Nascimento, Maria Bethânia, even its derivations with samba, Clara Nunes, Djavan, I carry in my vein the Rock of Raul Seixas, Cazuza, Renato Russo, as well as the relaxed attitude of Chorão from the band Charlie Brown Jr, among other masters of music, but I also really enjoy discovering what's new, I love dance music, rhythms like trap, reggaeton, funk. In my songs I seek a balance between lyrics that will generate a positive impact or awaken a new awareness in the lives of those who listen, seeking that delicious rhythm with arrangements that will make you shiver like a voice in your ear.

Your Spotify bio mentions that you’re a multi-instrumentalist, in addition to being a singer and composer. Which instruments do you like to play the most?  

My main instrument is the voice, next comes the guitar that accompanies me on this journey. I am a self-taught musician, I confess that I do not understand complicated sheet music or musical notes, but I learned the art of simplifying, as I am very rhythmic, I bring the percussive rhythm in my beats on the guitar and I really like using dynamics to represent my feelings when playing. As I am curious, I love to try new instruments, I play percussion, a little bit of drums, I am learning to play the piano and I am always willing to learn new instruments. 

Cantora Clara foto by João Salvatore

You’ve also mentioned that your musical inspirations include Clara Nunes, Elis Regina, Cazuza, Cassia Eller, and Djavan. I’m curious if these are still some of your favorite artists to listen to, when you’re not creating music yourself?

They’re certainly part of the playlist of my life, in addition to artists Seu Jorge, Pedro Mariano, Maria Rita, Jorge Vercillo, Zeca Pagodinho, Martinho da Vila, Marisa Monte, João Bosco, Lenine. In each music I learned many lessons they did and make a difference in my journey as an artist and a human being. I like to discover new sounds, my playlists are also full of independent and new generation artists such as Jota Pê, Banda Jamz, O Teatro Mágico, Baiana System, Larissa Luz, Anavitória, Vitor Kley, Kell Smith, Duda Beat, Tiago Iorc, are some of the artists that I recommend. 

In addition to winning this edition of Artists Wanted on the Spotify Community, your song "No Lugar Do Outro” was also featured in a clip directed by Max Cherman. Can you tell us more about this collaboration?

The song "No Lugar do Outro" was produced by R.Mattos who has worked with DJ Guuga, Mc Zaac, among others. I fulfilled the dream of recording this song at "Mosh" studios, one of the biggest recording studios in Latin America. Our clip was directed by Max Cherman, he has worked with singer Luísa Sonza, among other great names. And during the recording, we brought the concept of diversity and respect for difference, where I acted in the clip and we had the special participation of the model and miss top trans "Lilith Mafra", the Korean model "Rachel Choi" and the model "Fredy Nask,” each with their differences in color, race, gender, but all putting themselves "in the other's shoes.” 

What has been your favorite memory from your live concerts so far, or your favorite venue where you’ve performed?

I performed several incredible shows such as the "6 na Sé" project where I sang for more than 100 thousand people, the show I did at the Caraguatatuba Summer Festival for more than 10 thousand people, in addition to the first show outside São Paulo, where I was surprised seeing everyone singing my copyright songs during the show in Parnaíba do Piauí, but I confess that the most incredible memory was the show I performed on the São Paulo subway, at the end of the presentation, a man came to talk to me, he said he wanted to thank me, because that day, he said that he left home determined to end his life on the subway lines, but when he heard my voice a force majeure prevented him, he went up the stairs to see the show, and when he paid attention to the lyrics of my song, he understood that he could move on and try again. I get goosebumps every time I remember this story, because it demonstrates the healing and life power that exists in songs. It is for these and other experiences that I created the music with conscience, more than writing a song, I search presenting this new way of consuming music to the world, it is my purpose in life.

Your "Music with Consciousness" project sounds like a great initiative for the schools that you visit, promoting mental health and important concepts such as empathy and respect for differences. Can you tell us more about this project?

I created the Música com Conscience project in 2020 to teach socio-emotional education and promote mental health through music. Research shows that more than 1 billion people in the world suffer from some emotional disorder and little has been done about it. I'm an only child, I was born and raised in the east zone of São Paulo, one of the poorest neighborhoods in the state. When I was 12 years old, my mother was diagnosed with severe mental disorders, during her crises, she had several hospitalizations in psychiatric clinics. At that time, there was no talk in schools about feelings, there was little information and because I was born into a humble family, I did not have psychological support to understand what was with my mother, I found in music a form of comfort, motivation, strength and resilience to carry on forward and prove that the impossible does not exist for those who persist. Independently, I put a song in the soap opera “Segundo Sol”, two songs in the series “Detetives do Prédio Azul”. I wrote songs with Manoel Soares, Serginho Meriti, Rodrigo Leite and Cauique Façanha, sang at major events such as Virada Cultural, Circuito Cultural Paulista, Sesc, HSBC Brasil, CEU, etc.

During the pandemic, I saw a good part of society succumb to the same mental health problems that my mother faced, thinking about helping, I wrote the e-book "Music with Conscience" and created the authorial show + mini motivational lecture, to explain in a way light and easy, about how music saved me and how it can help other people who are going through these difficulties and don't know where to start. We make this ebook available free of charge to teachers to encourage compliance with Brazilian federal law 9.394, which requires Socio-Emotional Education in public and private schools.

In 2020, the project was approved by the Aldir Blanc law where we performed 5 shows at Fábricas de Cultura and impacted more than 200,000 people on social media and more than 250 students in schools on the outskirts of São Paulo. The project was nominated and became a finalist for the “2023 Music Professionals Award” in the social musical projects category and was selected to present Pitch at Sim São Paulo 2023 (the largest music business fair in Latin America). With the song "No Lugar do Outro", a song that gave rise to the "Música com Consciência" project, we won the Artists Wanted Edition 8 and now we need help to take the project to more schools and help our community.

Our biggest wish, in addition to the e-book, is to take the show free of charge to schools in the periphery. To help fund the project, we created the "Magical Seeds of Music with Consciousness", a personalized seed that in addition to encouraging self-knowledge, self-care, we reflect on the need to care for the environment that suffers so much from the consequences of global warming. Anyone who wants to take the show "Music with Conscience - a show about you" to festivals, events, schools, companies or wants to collaborate, sponsor or support, can make their donations through the spotify link or contact us on our website to find out more: www.cantoraclara.com.br

Cantora Clara - No Lugar do Outro - foto by João Salvatore

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Congrats again @cantoraclara for winning edition 8 of Artists Wanted on the Spotify Community, and thank you for telling us more about yourself and your inspiring journey in music. 

Remember that Artists Wanted is an ongoing project. If you’re an artist, feel free to send us your music in the upcoming submission thread for the next edition, to be posted in Discovery & Promo. 

Cheers!