Congratulations on the release of your new single “haunted”!! You certainly achieved the creepy, cool vibe you were going for :) Can you share what the songwriting process was like for this track?
Clarissa: Thank you so much, I'm really proud of this project. It all started on a dark, cold winter night in January 2022. I was sitting at my piano experimenting with chord progressions when I stumbled upon a pattern that emanated dark and eerie undertones. I was immediately inspired and started creating a vocal melody over it, which was basically a bunch of jumbled words that didn't really make sense. I began writing lyrics from the perspective of an ex-lover who is stalking their ex, and the story started coming together. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to lurking their exes on social media after a breakup, and I liked the idea of taking this concept and pushing it further. "haunted" is about trying to take up so much space in someone's mind until you're the only thing they think about. You're haunting them in their dreams. It's kind of a revenge song. It's like, you left me, and I'm going to make you regret it.
Do you have a favorite performance you’ve ever done? Or a favorite venue you’ve performed at so far?
Clarissa: Ooh, this is hard to answer! I've done so many performances, and I've had a lot of memorable ones. In terms of more recent performances, my favourite performance so far was this past August, outdoor in my city's town square. I work with an incredibly talented guitarist who accompanies my vocals at gigs, and we perform really well together. A lot of people stayed to watch and seemed to be really enjoying the show. Quite a few people came to chat with me afterwards and wanted to take photos with me, which was really cool and unexpected! There were good vibes all around!
What can we expect from your music video coming out for this new single? Also, I hope you’re feeling better from your injury at the shoot!!
Clarissa: Thank you, I appreciate that! Well, you can actually expect three music videos for "haunted". There will be an official music video, a performance based music video, and a lyric video. The official music video will showcase a couple very interesting characters in the form of puppets! I wanted to turn up the creep factor for this video and what better way to do that than to have puppets as the actors! The performance based music video will mostly be me singing to the camera and rocking out in a hotel and in front of a church at night. The lyric video is drone footage of me running on a long trail at night with the lyrics over the screen. This is actually where I injured my knee. I was running, and I had tripped over an elevated part of the sidewalk, and I fell. Though it hurts, I kind of find it hilarious. I think the last time I actually ran was when I was in elementary school doing track and field, which was a very, VERY long time ago.
If you could choose any movie or TV show you think “haunted” could be included in, which would you pick and why?
Clarissa: There are so many movies and TV shows that I think "haunted" could be included in. I could totally hear "haunted" in shows like You, Good Trouble, and Tell Me Lies, or any psychological thriller movies.It's actually a big goal of mine to get my music into TV, film, and commercials. I truly believe it will happen one day.
What is on the top of your bucket list for your career?
Clarissa: I really just want to find my people and build a community of lovely humans and supporters who love music, love my music, and embrace being themselves. I don't need to win a Grammy (although, one can dream); I just want to continue doing what I love to do and have a sustainable career doing it. It's all about the journey, baby! I want to make sure I enjoy every step of the way.
Any upcoming projects you can talk about?! I am so excited to hear more from you!! :)
Clarissa: I'm getting started on the planning stages of a debut 5-track EP. I don't want to give away too many details just yet, but I'm really excited to start working on a larger body of work and to let listeners in on more experiences I've had with love, life, and the internet over the past couple of years. I'll definitely keep you posted!
Interviewed By Sarah Curry
FOLLOW CLARISSA: