CLARA POPLE: MAKING LITERAL WAVES IN THE MUSIC SCENE

 WORDS MAISIE JANE DANIELS - PHOTOGRAPHY DAISY VIVIAN - SPECIAL THANKS LATCH MEDIA

Clara Pople radiates raw energy, from her striking red hair to her electrifying new single, Hot Moon—her favourite song to date. Heat pulses through every aspect of this rising indie-pop artist’s work. Her latest ethereal track reflects the chaotic intensity of a full moon, a creation born from Clara’s deep connection to nature and the cyclical rhythms of life. With its unconventional time signature and stripped-back yet powerful production, Hot Moon perfectly captures the unsettling, magnetic influence of lunar energy.

After moving onto a boat, Clara quickly transformed her intimate, airy living space into a unique performance venue. What began as a personal experiment has blossomed into a vibrant monthly gig series, featuring a carefully curated lineup of emerging artists. These gatherings have become a haven for musicians seeking a supportive space to perform—free from the usual pressures of self-promotion. F Word was eager to dive deeper into how this artist, who’s making literal waves in the music scene, channels her connection to nature, the creative process behind Hot Moon, and much more.

Maisie Daniels: Clara, welcome to F Word Magazine! How are you today?

Clara Pople: Hey great to meet you guys. I am great thank you - balling to be here. The "F word has always been my fave word in the English language.

MD: We couldn't agree more! You’ve recently released your new single ‘Hot Moon,’ and I haven’t stopped listening to it! Can you walk me through the ethos of the track?

CP: Thanks so much for the love on ‘Hot Moon’, it’s deffo my fave song I have written yet. Hope I haven’t peaked... This song is a crazy ladies lament of how mental one can feel throughout the month. A lot of my songs are about the up and down/in and out emotional chaos one can feel as a woman. We can blame it on the moon, the tides, the weather or our hormones - either way they're out of our control and we just have to ride the madness of it. And maybe even write a banger to bop along to!

MD: [Laughs] I love that! What influence do you think the lunar phases have on people? As a woman, I personally feel very chaotic when it arrives! Do you feel a similar connection to the lunar cycle? After all, we are made up of 60% water...

CP: I definitely think the lunar cycle massively impacts our behaviuor. Maybe not all throughout the month but the full moon deffo makes people act differently. Ambulances start whirring, a surge of babies are born, me and my brother always have a fight - just feels like intense chaos. I love it, we all come down the next day and are like “oooooh it was a full moon, that's why i was acting mental”.

Whilst it's maddening to be controlled by extenuating circumstances, sometimes it's actually quite nice just to have an excuse for our bad behaviour. I try not to succumb to blaming things for my behaviour but actually it's nice being in sync with nature! [It] makes me feel more connected to our Gaia.

MD: Yes! I used to work in a bar and every time there was a full moon, chaos truly reigned! How would you say nature has influenced your sound?

CP: Well as just mentioned, I love feeling connected to the earth - nature is our whole reason for being! It’s also an integral part of my sound but weirdly it only really comes through, through my voice. I have been told by multiple people that my voice sounds almost pagan - have been likened to a 'druid' more than once - and that I conjure up this earthly/raw/natural sound that takes you to the fields. I was born and raised in the mountains in Cumbria so maybe that upbringing is represented through my voice. When I sing live, I loop my voice round and round with loads of crunchy harmonies and bass lines, trying to lull people into a trance. However in the studio, the world is your oyster. All of the sounds that I use in my tracks are as far from natural as you can get. I always have at least one vocal loop in my tracks but other than that, I stick to mainly electronic. The contrast between the raw paganism and the synthetic vibrations is *chefs kiss* to me.

MD: At what point did you know you wanted to create ‘Hot Moon’. Set the scene for us.

CP: I was speaking to my friend's recent ex boyfriend at a gig I was doing in Matchstick Piehouse (RIP) and he was telling me about how he's moving to Venice to go and weep under a hot moon and I thought, hey that's a great metaphor - Imma steal that. Sorry for your heartbreak and all that but that's a wicked line [winks]. As I was walking home from the gig with this idea swirling around my brain, it dawned on me that the concept of a hot moon is actually exceptionally relevant. The heat of the madness, then the relief you feel afterwards as the moon starts to wane - relief. Life as a woman. Full stop.

MD: ‘Hot Moon’ is a combination of trip-hop, soul, and electro-pop, with your signature live-looped vocals... Did this eclectic mix come about naturally?

CP: I am classically trained and was head chorister at school so spent the first ten years of my singing career as a ‘classical’ singer. But my voice suited modern melodies way more so after school, [I] started upon my solo artist journey as a “folk” singer (the perfect genre to bridge my classical and modern sound). HOWEVER I could not play the guitar, or any instrument for that matter, so had to think of a new way to accompany myself without a band. My voice was the only possibility and thank GOD for modern technology. I could use a loop pedal to loop my voice as accompaniment - here birthed my looping career. Around this time I was also part of a few gospel choirs (to me, gospel harmonies conjure the purest form of musical emotion) and applied this harmonic training to my vocal looping. This is where my soul comes from. My trip-hop influence comes from a much darker place... deep dark sub and intense 7th/9th chords just seem to be my taste. Who knows what went wrong in a past life to make me love these sticky sounds but you like what you like right? Massive Attack, Portishead, Tricky - all huge inspirations of mine. I would say that ‘Hot Moon’ is only mildly sprinkled with trip hop darkness - I managed to reign it in for this song and lean more towards the electropop world. I’m always trying to write pop songs (because who doesn’t want to have a “hit”) but struggle to fully commit to the shiney happy sounds of pop. ‘Hot Moon’ is my MeetYouInTheMiddle. Maybe more a Radio 6 vibe?

MD: And what was the process of creating the track?

CP: The process of creating this track - I got back to my loop pedal after my “weep under a hot moon” conversation and thought let's write a banger that's subtly uncomfortable about all the above mentioned themes. So I started with this “budumbap” loop and thought “five is an awkward number in music, why isn't the main loop of the song in 5/4 just to subtly make everyone feel a bit on edge”. Then some lyrics sort of fell out of me about me having a conversation with the moon - “is it lonely up there? cus it's lonely down here, can we be in sync”. Then I knew the chorus had to be about emotional ups/downs ins/outs (as mentioned before) and thought why not reference the waxing and waning of the moon... And out popped the song! One of those wonderfully annoying times where a song just falls into place. It used to drive me mad watching Smash Hits interviews where musicians described their writing process as “it just sort of fell out of me” - so nondescript. But it finally happened to me so I apologise to all other musicians reading this - sometimes it just happens!

MD: As a female artist in a predominantly male industry, has this influenced your experience? If so, could you share more about it?

CP: I get asked this question a lot (female in a man's world) but I am yet to experience any sort of intense discrimination. [I'm] very fortunate to be surrounded by a team of girl boss women. [I] come from a long line of matriarchal families which means I only really listen to women anyway. The men in my musical life are all “working” for me, just so I'm the one with the power ya know. [winks]

MD: I love with the artwork for the single – I bet this was a fun shoot! What was the creative process behind it?

CP: Yes thank you that picture is from the ‘Hot Moon’ official music video which I have just released! Me and a gorgeous group of friends/film makers went up to Wales for a day and a half in July and just managed to capture something really magical. We knew the music video had to be shot near the sea, in relation to the tidal pull of the moon. So originally we thought “let's shoot under a full moon”. But sadly no amount of high tech camera equipment can capture moonlight so we asked our amazing set designer, Lily Purprick, to paper mache us some moons. We spent the whole day shooting around various different "beachy" locations on a beach in Anglesey and the final shot of the day was me lying in the sea with the moon on fire. I got completely wasted on vodka and rose as the sea was obviously a bit chilly and I had to lie there for a good 20 mins. Luckily you can't tell how drunk I am in that shot? Just before we did some pyrotechnics and before all my red hair washed out, we managed to grab this shot of me with the moon on my belly. A moon on my womb! Seemed relevant.

MD: [Laughs] You can't tell at all! Speaking of your hair, I love it! It makes me want to go back to red. You seem to have a great eye for aesthetics - where does this come from?

CP: Yes, the hair! [I'm] trying to stand out in any way possible right? Red it is. SO sweet of you to notice my aesthetic, [I] really find it hard to marry audio and visuals but glad it's working for some people! My mum I would say is my main inspiration. She loves colour - her hair is currently yellow (not blonde... yellow) so [it] must be from her. It's a full time job to upkeep though... will have no hair left quite soon eek.

MD: I know the struggle! If ‘Hot Moon’ were a colour, a taste, and a temperature, what would it be and why?

CP: Colour: hot coral coloured like a blood moon. Taste: would be spicy because you love it but hate it at the same time and it makes you feel mega uncomfortable. Temperature: would obviously be HOT.

MD: You took to the stage at St Pancras Old Church for your first headline show which sold out! How did it go?

CP: Yes, my first headline show! Sold out! Miracle. Bloody loved all the vibes and all the people. It was styled by the incredible honor dangerfield, so I felt super sexy and powerful. I performed for the first time with a full band so my sound felt bigger and better than ever. There were queues out the door! I couldn't have asked for more for my first headline gig - many more gigs will be coming soon. You can follow my Instagram for updates.

MD: For anyone that hasn’t seen you perform live, what can they expect from a Clara Popleperformance?

CP: My live performance, as mentioned above, is me looping my voice with a loop pedal. Expect sassy covers, big bopping Clara Pople girl boss anthems, emotional folk/druid sounds and my embarrassing personality that overshares wayyyyy too much. Come down to one of my Boat Gigs to get the full experience. Me in my bedroom singing all my fave songs on my houseboat... call me a narcissist but it's a good time.

MD: Yes! Yourn monthely Boat Gigs – I love this concept! Can you expand on what they involve and why you started them?

CP: So I started Boat Gigs because I wanted to headline a gig every month but at a gig with a similar atmosphere to SoFar Sounds - Seafar Sounds if you want to call it that. It's now developed into more than just the Clara Pople show. I realised that it's sacred for artists to be able to turn up and perform without having to promote their own show (the good old days) so what an opportunity to help out other struggling artists like myself. Come and perform to an in-built crowd, on a boat and get paid. It's now turned into a night as much for the audience as for the artist. I encourage everyone to chat to everyone and make a friend and to engage in the music more so than they would at a venue. The vibes are really special, something good is brewing here.

MD: This sounds wonderful. Can anyone perform?

CP: Yes, anyone can perform, they just need to message me on Instagram and I will respond.

MD: Are these boat gigs open to the public and if so, how can we get involved?

CP: And yes the tickets are open to everyone! Find the link HERE. Then follow me on Instagram and message me for the password.

MD: I have to ask; does your boat have a name!?

CP: Yes, her name is Ann Of Goole. Big Ann as we like to call her. Can’t change her name of course otherwise we’ll be cursed. Who wouldn’t want to be called Ann anyway?

MD: What’s next for you? Is there anything exciting we should be on the lookout for?

CP: Many exciting things coming up. I have three more singles coming out and an EP in the works. I have another big church gig on 14th November at Camden Chapel which will be smaller than SPOC but adorable. Do come down.

Then next year a possible tour, many more Boat Gigs and all the big festivals. I did Glasto this year but hoping to make it onto a bigger stage. [There's] new music and gigs happening all the time - stay tuned!

MD: That's all very exciting! Lastly, this is F Word magazine - what is your favourite “F” word? I think I might know the answer to this one!

CP: Sadly I am gonna be predictable AF here but “fuck” til I die. [It's the] most used word in my vocabulary. I wish I could be more inventive but it really is the best word.