Clare Bowditch has ‘enumerable modern day addictions.’ “You know the day when you have 12 coffees instead of two? They’re coping strategies, ways of coping with stress. It’s when it goes beyond the enjoyment factor that it becomes a modern day addiction.”
And Clare should know, it’s been 24 months of research and conversation to create her latest and fourth studio album, Modern Day Addiction (released 13 August 2010). It’s been a long time coming and bursts with interesting content about inner-peace and satirical stabs at pop culture.
“I learned that we are all venerable. I haven’t met the perfect human being yet and one of our biggest fears is admitting our imperfections. Everyone seems to be searching, I don’t know many people in life who aren’t searching for a meaning, and I think popular culture is one of the best places to have that discussion.”
The first taste of Modern Day Addiction came in late 2009 in the form of The Start of War. The track offered a stripped-back arrangement, with most of the song’s tension being drawn from the panoramic overlaying of the backing vocals.
2010 has been an insightful year for those watching this Aussie artist. Long been synonymous with the folk sound, Clare can now be found with a Casio keyboard in her clutch and as a frequent guest on numerous commercial TV shows, such as The 7pm Project, Talkin’ bout your Generation,
“Shifting from folk to pop was a well thought out idea about how to best tell the stories I wanted to tell. It was about trends and human nature and the fact that using a popular sound like a Casio takes you back to the 80’s, before lady gaga.”
In recent news, Clare interviewed Prime Minister Julia Gillard in the lead up to the election for social media platform, MySpace.
“Obviously I was not on the list of deserving people to have an hour to interview the prime minister a week before the election. I wasn’t up there, it was just some random fluke. That lead me getting on a plane to go to Sydney to interview the prime minister!”
And what does Clare think of Julia? “I think she’s an incredibly intelligent woman, of course she is. But the question is – is that the style of intelligence that I respect? And that’s what people should be asking themselves.”
Clare Bowditch will be bringing her new tunes, a genre she’s dubbed as, ‘political disco’ to Canberra’s Stonefest as part of her Modern Day Addiction tour. And for those that have seen Clare on TV, or play live before, you’ll know that there will also be numerous laughs for your buck.
