CLAIRE COUPLAND

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CLAIRE COUPLAND

EPK

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Victoria indie-folk musician, Claire Coupland, is proud to release her full length LP, New Light. This nine song collection is arguably her most impressive work to-date, highlighting her growth as a songwriter.

Like many other artists, the stasis of the pandemic left Claire Coupland with a substantial period of reflection. Without live performance and the usual music engagements, her creative focus was turned inward towards a collection of partially written songs that had long been lying dormant in her imagination. Deeper, darker and more vulnerable song writing exploration unearthed stories of fragile family dynamics, the struggle to belong, homesickness, painful goodbyes, and hope for the future. 

After half a year of email and phone correspondence, COVID 19 vaccine rollouts and easing of border restrictions, the stars finally aligned and Coupland made a trip to Los Angeles to join creative forces with JUNO award-winning musician and producer Sam Weber (Bahamas, Terra Lightfoot, Madison Cunningham). Together, with a hand-picked selection of LA’s finest musicians (including members of Dawes, one of Claire's biggest musical influences), the team laid down a collection of exciting new songs with bluegrass, folk, soft rock and grunge flavours, and thus her brand new album, New Light, came to be.

From the tender folk musings of Sailor Boy, to The Flame, a genre bending 'Carly Simon meets Nirvana' adult contemporary journey through temptation, to harmonies rich and lyrically tense Simon & Garfunkel influenced Truth, the album  showcases Coupland's musical versatility. Heartbreaking stories and a voice that cuts deep to the heart. Engaging in a slightly different approach to album production, with little to no rehearsal before each song, the band captured spontaneous and organic interpretations of Coupland’s songs with raw emotion, fresh arrangements and even some birds singing; all the while supporting Claire's signature folk fingerpicking, evocative vocals, and jazz influenced chord progressions. Coupland will celebrate the release of the record with a cross-Canada and United Kingdom tour February through July.

Once paralyzed by the fear of showing her songs to anyone else, Claire was encouraged to cultivate her love of songwriting and self-expression, with help from mentors such as Rik Emmett and Sienna Dahlen during her Contemporary Music Degree at Humber College, in Toronto. Coupland has since independently written three studio EPs, her latest, reaching #3 in the National Folk/Roots/Blues charts in Canada with !earshot. Receiving steady CBC Radio airplay across the country, On The Other Side earned Claire her first song writing nomination (“Love In Your Eyes”, Ontario Arts Council), and has received praise and glowing reviews from music magazines, blogs, and radio stations in the US, UK and Europe.

A BC born and raised musician, she has been touring Canada heavily since 2017, already landing major festival slots such as Kingsville Folk Festival, Peace Valley Folk Festival, Islands Folk Festival, Midsummer Music Fest, Living Roots Festival as well as 6 transcontinental journeys across the country as VIA Rail Artist On Board. In 2018/2021, she was selected for the Singer Songwriter Residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts where she recorded with Billerman (The Arcade Fire) and worked with mentors such as Fats Kaplin (John Prine, Jack White), The Weather Station, David Francey, Kevin Welch, Kim Richey and Grammy winning songwriter Don Henry. Claire was a featured writer for Humber Music's Producer In Residence Week with Bob Ezrin (KISS, Pink Floyd, Lou Reed, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel), and has showcased at Folk Music Ontario and Folk Alliance International.