Our Favourite Local Artist: Claire Brackenbury!

By Ella Coulter | March 22 2021 |

Hey, KSS music lovers, welcome back! It’s time to take a look at a very talented music artist inside our own KSS community: Claire Brackenbury! Many of us are familiar with Claire’s album, Silver Lining, released earlier on in the COVID-19 pandemic. The album came as a much-needed gift to all of our ears! Here at The Bears Bulletin, we just had to learn more about Claire’s tunes.

Claire’s love of music can be largely attributed to her family. Her father taught her to play guitar at the age of 10, and she draws inspiration from cousins and uncles who are involved in music. Claire says that family jam sessions play a huge part in developing her musical style and abilities. When asked about her decision to record, Claire states that the creation of her songs started out as a hobby during the pandemic. It soon grew into something more. Claire finds comfort in writing and listening to music which she wanted to share with others. Since she wrote her album during the first lockdown, Claire felt it was important to share her music while the messages were timely.

In her music, Claire strives to produce a mix of folk, indie, and a bit of rock. Anything catchy with a beat! Some of her inspirations include Wilco, Arkells and Sarah Harmer. Claire uses her free time to write lyrics and think of tunes. Ideas strike her in all sorts of places, from the peace and quiet of the attic, to the middle of a run. She states that lyrics become clearer while running. Usually, Claire will think of a tune first and then add lyrics, but her process is flexible. Sometimes she will be inspired by a sign or object. As for instrumentation, she creates most of her songs on the guitar, with a few on the ukulele. As you may have noticed in her song Sycamore, she also incorporates the bright energy of the trumpet into her music. Moving forward, Claire assures all of us at KSS that her music is here to stay! Claire is considering future live performances, taking after her cousin, Claya Way-Brackenbury, a local musician who has done live performances at Skeleton Park and on Wolfe Island. Claire would like to experience live performances in the future as a fresh way to share her music. We can’t wait!

Until then, Claire has responded to the restrictions put in place due to the pandemic by expressing hope and strength in her songs. She uses the concept of a silver lining to help others see positivity in the world around them. The messages sing loud and clear in her spontaneous songwriting. “Sometimes the messages come when I don’t expect them too,” says Claire. One of her techniques is to write in stream of consciousness, and then look back to find a message. Other times, she converts her own experiences and emotions into art.

The inspiring and comforting messages found in her songs are not the only ways Claire is reaching out to others. We are thrilled to hear her encouragement of other music artists here at KSS. She says that it is really important not to force your creativity, and that it is okay to let your music sit for a while! “Make something true to yourself,” says Claire. “Find the fun in it!” For her, having fun with songwriting turned into something more: an incredible album!!! Encouraging all of us to dream big and be open-minded, she says, “If you have an idea, just go for it, it could be amazing.”

To hear Claire’s awesome music, head to https://clairebrackenbury.bandcamp.com/releases!