Despite the name of Claire Coupland’s second album, New Light, the local indie-folk musician says that the record covers some darker topics. She mentions a theme of longing for home, which makes sense, as the album was recorded in LA.
“It talks about some darker song topics and story topics, also sort of narrative-style writing themes about homesickness and self worth and just basically sitting with yourself and finding new truths about yourself,” says Coupland.
The record also features some songs that are written through the eyes of someone other than the songwriter, says Coupland.
“It’s a mixture of personal stories and some narrative stuff, so some storytelling that was kind of a nice challenge, but also hope for the future and sort of a positive twist on things and just my place in the world around me,” she says.
Although Coupland recorded New Light away from home, it was with a producer from Vancouver Island, and, through a bit of a happy accident, she was joined by some members of a band she loves.
“I went down to LA just over maybe a year ago, and I reached out to a producer who also is from Vancouver island, but he lives down there. I didn’t know him but I reached out after putting together some demos and I just sort of took a chance and he agreed, which was great. He said he loved the songs,” says Coupland. “We had to wait though, because the vaccine rollouts were still happening, the borders were still closed up, it was still very unsure. But, eventually, the stars aligned and I got down there and I got to play with some of my favourite musicians on the planet, which was kind of a coincidence, actually. There’s a few musicians from a band that I love called Dawes and it was a total coincidence—I didn’t know he knew them, and they played on it. And, yeah, it’s kind of a collection of the songs that I wrote during the pandemic and I had a lot of time to sit and reflect with these stories and sort of inner reckonings.”
What Coupland likes best about music is the collaborative nature of the medium. She says a bond is created when playing music with other people.
“I like making music with other people because it really connects you in a way. When you’re playing something with someone in a band or in a studio there’s a bond that really comes with that and there’s a feeling of joy that really can’t be expressed in any other way,” she says. “When you’re collaborating with someone else on something that you already love and then you’re sort of making something beautiful and different happen together, I would say that’s what I love most about it. So, I do love working with other people; I love working on my own, too.”
Through all that darkness and light, Coupland just wants her audience to be able to relate with her music.
“I think there’s a lot of more in-depth personal perspectives from me [on the new album]. I think I’m sort of digging into some deeper, darker things and I would like to connect with people on that,” she says. “I would like people to feel and connect with it and feel like they can relate to certain things. Saying goodbye is a common thing that humans go through, breakups, that kind of thing… and hopefully love. So I really want people to say, ‘Oh yeah, I can really relate with that and that makes me feel better or that helped me, sort of, reframe something that I was struggling with.’ I think the music that I love really helps me do that or it just makes me feel happy listening to it, so either of those things—either helping someone relate or just making them feel happy listening to it is all that I could ask for.”