With female heroes rising and taking over, the world of music is no exception. Pop, R&B and Rap female aspirants of uncanny talent are demonstrating an immodest and anti-populist aptitude for industry-wide reinvention.
They challenge the industry’s conventional structures and increasigly anchor the cultural conversation. But the struggles they have to overcome are often away from the limelight.
In search of some of this fresh talent, I arrange to meet Cloude. Although we meet virtually – via Zoom – her energy radiates through the screen. Her pink hair, cat eyeliner and nose ring scream ‘cool pop girl’; but maybe that’s just me. Looks aside, in my peripheral vision I can see her guitars hanging on the wall with a lot of polaroid pictures aesthetically displayed. You can clearly see she loves music.
Claudia Garcia, 21, is a pop musician from Madrid, better known by her artist name of ‘Cloude’. She moved to London in 2019 to study music performance and production. She is already a celebrated artist, but wants to step up further and produce her own music. Currently Cloude is back in her home until lockdown restrictions are lifted. “I did one open mic in Camden town… messed up badly, but I can’t wait to experience more”, she says, smiling at the memory of her days in London.
Cloude comes from a musical background. Her dad Antonio Ramos is a bass player who has collaborated with Spanish artists such such as Niña Pastori, Ketama, and Estopa. He has also released the solo album Hotel Groove. So Cloude grew up with music. “I have always known this is what I wanted to do, but it was scary, so I denied it for a long time”, she tells me.
From a young age she was able to experience the sensational energy of live concerts. Her dad would let her tag along to his tours and, “the really big crowds, the energy… it was something that blew my mind”, she says – with that same childlike wonder gleaming in her eyes.
Her online studies include music history and an investigation into how technology affects the composition and consumption of music. So, with so much lockdown time on her hands, she decided to harness all this theory to some musical practice.
“I can’t do much, I’m stuck with nothing,” she sighs, thinking about the past year of lockdown. But despite having nothing much to work with, she managed to make a song out of her feelings and vulnerability. Her latest single, In the way I feel you was released a month ago. It has haunting vocals and eerily beautiful lyrics that she says are deeply personal. Cloude describes that feeling you can get of “something being off with someone” and not knowing why. “I couldn’t see this person I talk about,” she tells me, “and it felt lonely… it was in my head the whole time until I wrote a song about it.”
“Even learning to be a producer, I’m being taken less seriously than others (men).”
As if working on an EP, mixing beats and producing all this by herself isn’t challenging enough, Cloude also has to cope with the stress of being a woman in music production. “Even learning to be a producer, I’m being taken less seriously than others (men)”, she tells me. “People say ‘she might just be playing around’ – I don’t want people to think that – this is a big deal for me.”
Cloude thinks that women have to work twice as hard as men to get anywhere in music production. Amongst the stats reported in The UK Music Diversity Report 2020 is one that shows that only 3% of producers working on the radio are women. But judging by Cloude’s determination I think she is ready to colonise pop music through her own indefatigable energy.
Towards the end of our interview she tells me who inspires her. Referring to Gracie Abrams she says, “Her song writing, it’s the most beautiful thing in the world… that’s what I aspire to be.” She also gushes over Billie Eilish. “I LOVE HER”, she enthuses with a gleeful chuckle. Another inspiration is Spanish singer Rosalía: “The way she mixes flamenco, pop and trap… just her energy is so powerful.”
Moving forward into 2021, I look forward to hearing more from Cloude. We need more of her and the female empowerment that she represents.