With a rock and roll edge and a powerhouse voice, Claire London combines deeply personal lyrics with haunting melodies, distorted bass lines, and bluesy rock and roll on her debut album, Like a Machine, set for release October 11, 2011.
London’s intriguing personal aesthetic (a mix of haute couture and the Mad Hatter) is as unique as her sound, with musical influences ranging from Led Zeppelin to Portishead to The Black Keys, with a little Nine Inch Nails and Nina Simone in between.
“I am equally in love with and inspired by the raw heartbreak of the blues, the power and sexiness of rock and roll, and the experimental vulnerability of alternative,” she said in a news release. “My dream was to create a hybrid of those sounds that represents who I truly am as an artist.”
Recorded over the past year at the legendary Cutting Room Studios in New York City with producers Patrick Ermlich and Eshy Gazit, Like a Machine combines left of center guitar riffs, creepy synths, and haunting piano with exceptionally honest lyrics that follow London’s journey of self-examination and introspection. It’s an edgy diary that explores the twisted passageways of heartbreak, apathy, depression, escape, hope, love, and even madness.
“Claire really pushed herself as a lyricist on this album,” said Ermlich. “A lot of the subject matter is very blunt and probably hard for her to put out there, but I think this is a record she really needed to make in order to heal.”
Crediting her British parents for providing her with a diverse musical upbringing, London has been writing and performing since the age five. For her, Like a Machine represents a lifetime of passion and emotions that had been waiting for a release.
“I had such a specific aesthetic in mind, and I was really passionate about it,” she said. “[Ermlich and Gazit] really believed in my talent and vision. They let me experiment and helped me bring Like a Machine to life.”
The project featuring legendary drummer Shawn Pelton, Eshy Gazit (bass, guitar) and Patrick Ermlich (guitar, piano).