Jimbo James
Burning aspirations are what drive musicians. Whether it be composing jams or conducting business, the power of possessing a dream applies the pressure to work hard and pursue opportunities. Claire Spooner is fulfilling her life-long aspirations and transforming the dream into reality.
After the major jolt of success to UK duo Him_Self_Her (signing original music to Crosstown Rebels, Suara, Toolroom, and OFF Recordings), Claire, one-half of the duo, is flowering towards a new light — starting up a solo project cleverly and appropriately named Just Her; and launching her own record label, Constant Circles.
As an inaugural gesture to this new venture, Music is 4 Lovers is hosting a Free Download of Just Her’s first single under the fresh moniker. We also had a chat with Claire about the project and the new label below.
* CLICK HERE if you do not see the SoundCloud player.
Interview with Just Her:
As one-half of Him_Self_Her, what sprang about this witty solo project – Just Her?
I’m glad you find it witty, I think it is too! I chose the name because it makes sense to those that know me from the duo, and will hopefully make them smile… but it also sounds pretty cool if I’m coming to you as an unknown.
I was actually a solo artist for a long time before forming Him_Self_Her, so I am totally comfortable with working by myself. The project has really come about because the music we are making lately as a duo has gone down a much darker more techno route. Just Her gives me the chance to focus on my songwriting and making deeper, more melodic and vocal tracks; including some electronica and deep techno, plus singing a few vocals myself, which is a big step for me.
Also I recently gave up my ‘day’ job as a Music Technology lecturer and anyone from the teaching profession will know how much time this takes up. If I didn’t find something else to fill my days with, I think I would go stir crazy!
Tell us about your new label, Constant Circles. What forthcoming releases are you excited about? What do you find to be the greatest challenge for you and running a label?
Running my own music business is a goal I have had since I finished University, so I literally cant explain how excited I am to be getting this off the ground. The concept of Constant Circles in the long term will include music, art, fashion and education… but for now it is a record label and website.
Launching the label has actually been a lot harder than I thought, as there is so much that goes on behind the scenes and a huge amount of amazing competition out there. But the main focus will obviously be to put out a fair amount of my own music, with an album in the works for late 2015, and also to work with other producers, both established and undiscovered. So far I have some really great artists on board including Raxon, Pete Oak and Denis Horvat, plus some amazing music from new artists that will hopefully grow with the label. You can keep up to date at www.constantcircles.com.
What’s the story with “Shadows,” the track we have offered here for Free Download? It features a singer, Elana; how does she fit into the puzzle? Are there any more projects in the works with her?
As soon as I heard Elana’s voice, I knew I had to work with her. It turns out she is only 17, but is a super talented singer-songwriter. I actually came across her because a previous Music Technology student of mine had just produced her first EP, which was launched on iTunes a few weeks ago. I messaged him and asked for one of the vocal stems (thanks Chris Quinn!) and this track was the result. We are all really happy with the outcome and have agreed that there will be more projects in the near future. Watch this space…
Tell us about your radio show.
The Constant Circles Radio show goes out twice monthly on Bloop, which is a fast growing online station based in London. It is a great way of showcasing new music and artists from the label, as well as promoting my own tracks and recommending other music and labels. It has already built quite a following in the first few weeks, which was really unexpected, especially considering my terrible jokes and dodgy British accent!
You can catch the show at 17.00-19.00GMT on the first and third Tuesdays of every month at www.blooplondon.com, or listen again at www.soundcloud.com/constantcircles
– jams