Interview: Alexander Mays / alexandermays

Photography: Dillon Matthew / dillonmatthewc

17 year old Cali native Claire Rosinkranz makes music that fuses blues with alternative, resulting in lush velvety lyricism. Romantic with a hint of rebellion, the nostalgia in her lyrics has resonated with many throughout this past year. During the course of the Pandemic Claire has amassed an extensive following that can be attributed to her debut on Tik Tok in April of 2020. She has reportedly been songwriting since she was 8, and her July EP 6 Of A Billion has helped to increase the scope of her audience, confirming the rise of this up-and-coming Gen-Z star.

On a stifling summer afternoon…from the dark abyss of a Zoom screen, Claire emerged. French Fries sat down to ask about her ideal Frankenstein.

Congratulations on your latest album! Off the bat, how would you describe your personal style when it comes to music?

I mean…I’m never really sure because its whatever I’m feeling at the moment. Sometimes it’s an alternative blues pop…sometimes I like to throw a little bit of soul into it. I’ve studied jazz and electric guitar, so when I usually write songs I write with jazz guitar chords, so sometimes that will be incorporated into it…so a lot of pop at the moment, but it’s definitely constantly changing.

How do you convey romance and rebellion at the same time?

Ugh...I mean I think it’s the attitude in your voice when you’re singing. You could sing about something that’s romantic…but if you are throwing a bit of attitude into your voice or making interesting nuances in the melodies it can add a different type of attitude. There are different inflections in your voice when you talk, so I think it’s the same with music.

What has this past year taught you? Recently many people in the industry have become much more introspective. What are your thoughts on that?

I think being in the midst of a Pandemic I had to learn how to write in a bunch of different ways and challenge myself because I wasn’t able to get out and hang out with friends and write from those experiences. I’ve never really had a problem writing from different people’s perspectives, but sometimes when you’re home for a really long time and cooped up you can get a bit stale, so I was just constantly trying to challenge myself to push beyond being stuck. I’m with my family all the time, so it was difficult to be around all of them 24/7 and then go in the studio and work with my dad… but it was honestly good at the same time. It probably made our bond a lot stronger! 

“Although some days I’m bitter, I’ll never be a quitter” How do you stay motivated?

My family is always constantly hyping me up and encouraging me, and they’ve always been my number one fan ever since I was super little. They’ve been the ones that have encouraged me to get into the music industry and have encouraged me to push for my dreams, so honestly everyone…not even just my immediate family, but my grandparents and my cousins and uncles and aunts… so I’d say they’re my biggest motivation.

What would you say are your biggest musical inspirations?

Frank Ocean, Daniel Caesar, Mac Miller…those are my favorite artists…I also really like BENEE… I really like her style. I feel like I’m constantly finding small artists too randomly off of Tik Tok and Spotify.

Where do you hope to transport your listeners through your music? Do you believe in utopia?

Most artists just want people to be able to relate, and if they’re in a certain mood maybe they wanna go and put on one of my songs. If their go to song is one of my songs, I want them to feel better when they listen to it, and I want them to feel comfortable. The thing about writing is that you can basically create people’s feelings and emotions and you can also transport them into different worlds. I just want the song to take them somewhere.

As an artist do you feel that social media makes it easier to connect with your audience or does it give you anxiety?

Without a pause…

It’s totally easier to connect with my audience. I started during the Pandemic so I think without social media there would’ve been no connection to artists and listeners and I think it’s kind of an essential part of being in the industry…it would be extremely hard to make it without social media…but it can cause anxiety sometimes (laughs)…I mean at the same time it has a big benefit to it and it’s been really helpful for me and I’ve loved it cuz I get to talk to all the people that follow me and who love my music. I can’t do it any other way right now but eventually I will. 

Out of curiosity…how do you build the perfect Frankenstein?

Giggles… I dunno whatever you like, I guess! 

For me I would say… good personality, taller than me…good with my family… ya know the whole shebang!!! Those are the most important things for me.

Are you a fan of truth or dare?

I mostly played when I was younger… I’ve played it a couple times more recently but it kinda just rhymed in the song …I was writing it and I thought it was kinda cool and when you look at a rebellious character in a movie you kind of just write about their life, and sometimes in those cringey movies there’s truth or dare.

When you’re not making music what does your day look like?

I usually see my family in the morning…I’ll go the beach, I’ll hang out with friends and we might drive up to the mountains…we’ll go get food and then sometimes I just like to be home by myself cuz I like spending time on my own. I just always like to write no matter what even when I’m by myself. 

Do you believe in a creative process, or do you just let it happen naturally?

It’s a little bit of a mixture…I never have a specific structure as to how I write my music because sometimes I’ll start with the instrumental and then add lyrics or sometimes, I’ll be humming a melody and then I add the lyrics and then I add the chords…its different every single time. Sometimes I’ll write to a track, and that’s always different… even in the way that I write…different peoples perspectives, different emotions, different feelings all that…its constantly different. I feel like my favorite way to start a song is to start with electric guitar specifically and then adding the lyrics, but it happens different ways every time.

How long have you been playing?

I started two summers ago, and I’ve just been playing what I know for a while…I love it!

What is the most important message that you try to convey to your fans?

Ughh…I mean I just want them to feel better… I just want them to be happy… I just want them to feel good and I want my songs to be the ones that they come to when they want advice, or they want to relate to a certain situation that they’re in. Nothing too crazy haha… It honestly just makes me really happy when people dm me or message me and they’re like your song really helped me through this tough time that I was going through…that’s the reason I like writing songs and its really my favorite part of the process. 

Any post Covid aspirations?

I’m supposed to go on tour…and I’m so excited to at least get to see people because it will be the first time that I actually perform an actual show and that I actually get to see people…I’ve gotten to do everything except interacting with people. It starts November 3rd so I’m excited.

Thank you so much for your time, and congrats on an amazing album…I love it, and Im sure everyone else does too! Have a great weekend ☺!!!