A troubling question and a trip-hop direction – In conversation with Claire Cordina
Claire Cordina is asking a heck of a question as the title of her debut EP: “Do Trees Get Tired Of Standing Still?”. It just gets more interesting as you ask it in the context of the music and lyrics of the five tracks presented here. Human behaviour is a driving theme throughout the whole EP, both in terms of how humans behave towards each other, and also how humans behave towards nature, and what the long-term impact of this inevitably will be.
It is dark and introspective stuff, and the trip-hop-tinted, art-pop direction Claire has gone in for this EP is the perfect bedding for these themes. I would say that musically, the vibe on this EP is quite different from the two singles we heard from Claire back in 2021 – Burn This Fire Out and Stain. Those tracks feel very ‘synth rock’ to me, and while some elements have naturally carried over to the new songs, Do Trees Get Tired Of Standing Still? is more sombre and haunting overall.
The production, handled by James Baldacchino, is very intentional and works to make the listener pause and reflect on the story being told in real time. A really clear example of this is on You Want Me, the first single Claire released from this EP. As the song comes to a close and the protagonist sings “I can’t breathe”, over and over, layers of synth, theremin, and percussion samples build up and wane to create a very authentic feeling of desperation.
Claire’s EP launch is happening on the 30th of May at 97 Notes and will be backed by a very awesome band made up of Franco Tartaglia, Luke Briffa, and James Baldacchino. A little addendum here is that I’ll be opening the night, doing my usual ambient loopy thing, so come down early if you’re so inclined. The event is free, but Do Trees Get Tired Of Standing Still? will be available in physical format, and I encourage you to grab yourself a copy!
But first, check out the conversation I had with Claire below, where I asked her all about Do Trees Get Tired Of Standing Still? ahead of its release.
‘Do Trees Get Tired Of Standing Still’ veers in quite a dark direction, perhaps more so than your previous material. Was that always the intention, or did it develop during the recording and production process?
We went through many more songs before we narrowed it down to the 5 tracks on the EP. We felt these 5 songs fit together well in terms of narrative and style. I do think my style is quite dark overall, and the songs on this EP certainly started out dark. The themes tackled, such as abuse, climate crisis, and the struggle for change, are inherently dark, and the songs were produced keeping these themes in mind. James Baldacchino understood them very well and brought out the darker elements with his production.
Speaking of the production process, the mood of the EP seems to be built around very specific production choices – the use of space to create tension, sparse notes, and samples, just to name a few elements that stood out to me as I was listening to the tracks. Can you describe the process of working with James Baldacchino to make these choices?
We both focused hard on giving the songs every element we thought they deserved –and that included giving them the space they needed. After writing the songs, I produced some elements on GarageBand and sent the files to James. He would then work on them and send me his initial work on the songs, and then we would discuss. We focused hard on the emotion of each song and made sure the production reflected that. For instance, with ‘Do Trees Get Tired of Standing Still?’, there’s a lot of space and width to reflect the theme of the potential for growth in a wide, wide world. On the other hand, with “You Want Me”, we made the end of the song feel very “choked” and oppressive, to transmit the extreme stress and pressure of the abuse the song is about.
Can you tell me more about the name behind the EP, what it means, and how it ties in to the overall concept you were going for?
'Do Trees Get Tired of Standing Still?' is the name of the first track on the EP, as well as the EP title. It was inspired by trees in nature as symbolising something that is always rooted to the same place, with their only movement being brought about by the force of the wind. This is taken for granted, but I found it an interesting metaphor for when humans feel stuck in an unhappy place, possibly unknowingly to others, as all seems well on the outside, but there is a lot of turmoil within. The desire for change is an important theme in this EP, and therefore, I thought the title was well suited for it.
This release marks a bit of a change for you as you dropped your previous stage name, Claire Maranthe, and are now using your actual name. What inspired you to take this step?
Since change and new beginnings are central themes of the EP, which also mirror new beginnings in my personal life, I thought it was opportune to change my name to mark this new beginning. The songs on the EP are very honest and intimate, and I thought it fitting to go back to my actual name as an artist.
What’s next for you following the EP launch?
More live performances and I'm already thinking of heading back to the studio to record some new material 🙂