Clare Siobhan embraces change on new single “Flare”
Clare Siobhan (say “shuh-VON”), is an award-winning singer-songwriter from Truro, Nova Scotia who is making a home for herself in that cozy little intersection of folk, pop, and soul. Her layered harmonies paired with bright piano and ukulele lay the foundation for warm vocals that touch on connection, relationships, worry, and that age-old search for meaning and belonging that we feel as we grow.
After receiving some unexpected and scary news, Siobhan wrote most of the lyrics for the song “Flare” on the drive home, taking voice memos in between tears. It was a few weeks later when she finally wrote the last part of the song, the U-turn where she was able to find joy when there’s big changes happening in life.
“[When I was writing this song,] I looked out my window at the tree in my backyard and thought about the changing of the seasons… life goes on,” Siobhan explains. “There’s this inevitability to change, and such stability in its repetition, and that was a comfort to me at the time. After that, finishing the song was easy – and to be honest, so was adjusting to the new change in my own life.”
Listen to “Flare” below and learn more about Clare via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m Clare Maguire, and I’m a singer-songwriter-slash-speech-therapy-student from Truro, NS, performing under the name Clare Siobhan. I’ve been living in Montreal for the past two years, and this summer I’m living in London, England. I write folky pop tunes influenced by greats like Joni Mitchell, Sara Bareilles, and Carole King, and I’m working on my first EP, “Seek the Sun,” that’ll be out in August!
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
For sure! “Flare” is the first single off the upcoming EP, and it really started as a catharsis song. I’d met with someone that day who’d delivered me some pretty brutal news, and I knew that for things to get better, I would have to do one big thing that I was afraid of. I wrote the song on the drive home as a series of voice memos in my phone to get it out of my system, and then it sat there unperformed for a really long time. It wasn’t until I connected with Erin Costelo, the producer of the EP, that I started to think of it as something I’d want to share with the world. She did an absolutely beautiful job of it, and helped to turn it into something soft and golden, where before it had come from such a place of worry. The final arrangement is so lush and gentle – I cried the first time I heard it – and I’m unbelievably proud of what we were able to accomplish with it.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
Feelings! Experiences! Thoughts! I’m someone who always has a lot of tabs open in my brain, so there’s always some kind of idea running in the background that will kind of colour my waking hours unless I either talk about it or write it down. I’m in my mid-twenties, finishing school, and about to start my professional career, so there’s been a lot to think about and a lot to feel! Growing up, making changes, wondering about how relationships crumble and solidify when faced with time and distance, figuring out who you are in relation to others and in relation to your past and future selves – all that good coming-of-age stuff. It’s what I’m always thinking about, so I eventually have to write it down. So far, I’ve mostly written about my own experiences, but as I’m settling into my own life more and more, I’m trying to write from other perspectives and about others as well, and I hope that’ll be just as enjoyable as what I’ve written already.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
None on the immediate horizon quite yet! I’m in London to do a speech therapy internship, so I’m a bit occupied with the very fun jobs of wrangling toddlers and trying to seem cool for ten-year-olds – it’s a total labour of love, but it also means there’s not much time for gigs right this second. I’d like to eventually release the EP live, though, so I’ll be sure to keep my listeners updated! I’m home in Nova Scotia in August, and then back to Montreal in the fall, so I’m hoping to arrange a show or two here and there if I can.
What’s your goal for 2023?
Generally just to get myself out there more! I’m beyond excited to release the EP – it’s the culmination of about 18 months of work between myself and Erin and the whole team, and I can’t wait for the world to hear it. These songs are so special to me, and though I’ve been hearing them for over a year now I still haven’t gotten sick of them – so I hope that bodes well for my listeners! Additionally, I’d like to finally start playing in Montreal – it’s where I’ve lived for the past two years and I’ve made a few musical connections, but I haven’t performed there yet because I’ve been so busy with school. Now that I’m done, though, I’m hoping I’ll have a lot more time to play. I’m really looking forward to bringing my music to a new city!