Renowned for her richly personalised, effortless style of hook-rich songcraft, Clara La San is a composer, producer, and singer who has developed a resounding reputation for writing and arranging songs that feel instantly familiar and timeless, with a distinctly fresh appeal. The 2023 self-release of her single In This Darknessearned her solo sound 100s of millions of plays on streaming services, pinpointing her status among the prized songwriters of her generation.
Whilst her music is patently steeped in a holistic listening of myriad musical strands - from early 00’s R&B to contemporary rap instrumentals - she braids her influences with inspirations from cinema scores and up-to-the-second sound design to express a singular style of soul for the 2020s and beyond. This palpable sense of classically emotive but modernist production is matched by a rare ability for realising top line vocal melodies, layered in blushing harmonies that instantly imprint on the memory and have kept her growing and devoted fanbase, including many other artists and peers, returning for more.
Clara La San deploys her enviably natural feel for extended melody at the service of telling stories borne from lived experience. Her discreet, observant skill at divining sensual poetry from everyday life has only grown in stature since early guest vocal appearances prompted her to front her own mixtape, Good Mourning, co-produced with Jam City and released in 2017, since deleted from DSPs - only adding to the mysterious allure weaved across her persona.
Subsequent songwriting credits for the likes of Yves Tumor and Bicep have proven her range and unleashed Clara La San’s confidence in a solo sound that speaks to her maturity and dare-to-differ approach to working in the music industry.
Clara La San’s debut album Made Mistakes finely balances a renewed conviction in her solo sound with an empathetic vulnerability that identifies her as equal parts R&B siren and elder sister to a generation of young women who are increasingly taking control of their agency, finding their place in the world.
Somewhat shadowy and avoidant of the spotlight previously, with Made Mistakes we are opened up not just to her music, but the whole Clara La San audio-visual world, finally unlocked for fans to interpret and ultimately lose themselves in.
From any perspective, Clara La San's is a remarkable story of biding one’s time, trusting instincts and never forcing oneself to “play the game”. Her strategy, like her music, is a rare example of swerving tricks or stunts in favour of allowing flavours to enrich and come to fruition in their own time. The result is an artist and sound whose music resonates and gratifies timeless needs and feels, whilst entirely emblematic of her generation.