Claire de Lune Interview
BY PETER NOMELAND
Claire de Lune is an LA-based musician who was formally part of the Minneapolis all-women hip-hop group, The Chalice alongside Lizzo and Sophia Erias. Her latest musical project, tiny deaths, most recently released their EP “if i’m dreaming” and she can also be found writing about the NBA for the Guardian US.
Just to start, because we're based in Minneapolis, could you explain your @claireMPLS social tags
I actually lived in Minneapolis for 7 years. So I'm happy to rep it! But the actual story of that handle is that back in 2011, my friend Chantz was telling me how I had to get on this new social media called Twitter, and I was like, "I'm good; I spend enough time on the internet." And he was like, "Well, I'm making you a handle. And if you don't use it, I'm changing the password, and I'm gonna tweet as you and say insane shit." So I was like, alright, I'll use it, and the rest is history.
What was your musical background before starting tiny deaths?
I've been writing songs since I was 5 and performing live since I was in high school. Before tiny deaths, I was doing more RnB and hip-hop stuff. I was in an all-female hip-hop group called The Chalice for a few years in Minneapolis with Lizzo and Sophia Eris. While I was in that group, I started working on the music that would become tiny deaths.
Where did the name tiny deaths come from?
It's a rough translation of the French phrase for orgasm, "le petit mort." I liked that it was a little sexy and a little macabre. I feel like that fits the music well.
Your website describes your sound as "like taking a nostalgic trip down memory lane" What kind of genres would you say that is?
I don't know if that's a genre per se. I'd say genre-wise, the music is dreamy, moody pop music. I guess it's indie in that it's a little left of center. But the nostalgia thing, I feel like the songs have kind of a wistful, nostalgic quality to them. I like to describe it as music for when you're driving on the interstate, and you feel like the main character in a movie. It's music for that.
What are some of your biggest musical influences, past and present?
Beach House is like my favorite band of all time; tiny deaths gets compared to them sometimes, and it's always immensely flattering. I also grew up listening to a lot of 90s pop and RnB like Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and I think you can hear those influences in the music as well. I also love older dream pop from the 80s like Cocteau Twins.
What has been the song or songs that you've been most proud of or impressed with yourself by?
Oh man, I'm really hard on myself, so I don't know that any come to mind, but "Magic" (the title track from the last full length) is one I feel proud of because it's one that I had been trying to write for years, and when I finally did it I was able to make it sound exactly how it did in my head, which is always an amazing feeling.
You've written for the Guardian about the NBA. How did your love of basketball lead you to become a sports writer?
Honestly, all my opportunities in the NBA Media space have pretty much come about because of NBA Twitter. I was doing podcasting about the NBA, and my editor at the Guardian followed me on Twitter and just reached out. It's pretty wild because I really felt like I was just tweeting into the abyss about basketball. I never in a million years thought it would lead to growing a following, let alone covering the sport professionally. But I'm definitely enjoying the ride so far!
What's next for you as far as music and writing go?
I'm working on a new album right now, so that's exciting for me after going a couple of years without really releasing new music. Writing-wise, I'm going to be writing throughout the season for the Guardian and also working on some other exciting stuff in the NBA Media space that I will hopefully be able to talk about soon. [I’m] just trying to spend as much time as possible doing things I enjoy and as little time as possible doing things I don't. That's been kind of my governing career principle, and it's worked out so far.