Clym is an Ottawa-based music artist transplanted from Russia. I interviewed her about her music making process, her history as an artist, and her feelings about Canada.
Apt613: Tell me about yourself!
I am Clym, and I make electronic/trip-hop/experimental music. I currently work in the do-it-yourself format: mixing and mastering my songs by myself. Clym is a representation of the musical and visual aesthetic I consider valuable.
What drew you to move to Ottawa from Russia?
I moved here to study. Ottawa appeared to be a great city, having an audio engineering program I liked. It was more the question of the country. I knew that Canada had some interesting band examples like Crystal Castles, Grimes, Purity Ring, and Peaches, but I rarely knew something about its art scene. Russian medias doesn’t cover Canadian culture. I was very intrigued.
Describe your songwriting and song making process.
I sit in my living room with my laptop and my MIDI keyboard, either with headphones or without. My legs are crossed in the weirdest position possible. On the right side of my table is a DIY-made vocal booth, built by a very talented visual artist and my biggest adviser, Denis Titov. The time flies by fast. I look at the clock, realize that I have a lot of other stuff to do, but I just can’t stop. I always spend more time on making music than I planned. That’s why I don’t make music every day; it is very hard to stop once I’ve started.
When did you begin to have a passion for music?
Real passion appeared when I was in the third year of my University degree. I was hanging out with my friend, an audio engineer who introduced me to the MIDI keyboards. What did I do after? I borrowed his keyboard for a month and it all started. In half a year I knew that being an artist was something I have always been looking for. At some point, the whole puzzle of everything I liked came together. I enjoyed dancing, singing and being on stage since I was 4. I also took piano and guitar lessons at some point, but I found it boring and gave up. Yes, I was an impatient and a very active child. I also played in bands, but it was for fun and a hobby. When I entered the world of electronic music, I felt something none of the activities I was engaged in throughout my life actually gave me. I soon realized I was ready to dedicate my life to it.
Who are some of your music influences?
Visual art and literature influences my music more than other people’s music. I don’t want to be influenced by other artists. There was a long period when I listened to music very occasionally, mostly at parties or visiting live shows. I studied and worked hard, and searching for music always has been a long process, because I am picky. If we imagine a 1-10 scale of my music taste, I rarely heard something hitting 9. But now I listen to music not to entertain myself, I pay attention to quality and features of the mix, harmonic structure, certain instruments, etc.
However, there are artists and bands that I can say some of the ones who influenced me: Massive Attack, Bjork, Moby (a love from childhood), Blue Foundation, Phantogram, Purity Ring (Shrines album) and Salem (yes, the witch house guys).
What subject matter do you like to write about the most?
I don’t think I have a certain topic I tend to refer to. But I think it is mostly about the state of the mind, body and soul.
What artist/producer would you like to collaborate with and why?
To me it is important to collaborate with a person who is on the same page with me musically and visually. It is more likely that we will understand each other. I won’t tell you my future collaborative plans; I would like to surprise you.
What are some cultural differences you have noticed since arriving in Canada?
First of all, there is great customer service everywhere I go. Russian customer service is pretty bad. I also noticed the absence of borders in the conversation between two strangers. You can meet a person and they can say a couple of sarcastic jokes about something related to you right off the bat. I did not know how to react to it at first, because in Russia it is considered poor manners. You would only act like that with your friends; laughter brings people together.
Russians do not want to get closer with the person they just met. It is a consequence of the Soviet Union experience that traumatized Russian people a lot. Also, Russian and Canadian corporate relationships are very different. In Canada, you talk with your boss on the same level, because obviously in the Western Culture your rights and your personality are important. However, Russian mentality is still based on the hierarchy, and the way you talk to a person depends on her/his social status. I’ll stop here; I can write a pretty long research paper based on this question.
How do you feel about Ottawa’s music community? How could it improve?
Music goes along with art and fashion, and Ottawa needs a lot of time to bring all of these aspects to a serious and authoritative level. I posted a tweet about it just recently: “Ottawa might be a trend-setter only in one case: if all the art people will move to Toronto, New York, Europe for a bit and them move back.” There are local people who actually try to make Ottawa a better music and art community, which is amazing. Thanks to them, there are places and events for people to go to every weekend. The way to improve any creative community is to watch, read and explore. Just imagine you have a business (Ottawa’s music scene) and you need to get into the market (North America/the world). You would probably research what art and music communities are considered successful and why. Also, media is the most influential tool in creating the community, so you probably want to check online-magazines of other influential art cities.
What female singers or songwriters do you admire the most?
Currently FKA Twigs and Bjork are the two who take the top two in my head. They both are very artful, and I admire women who follow only their rules, who are not afraid to be creative, crazy and weird, because that is how you create trends and make the world move.
What is next up for Clym?
I almost finished two songs, which I can’t wait to share with you. Also, there is a secret show coming up in August.
You can find Clym at her website and on Facebook.
.gif)
