Claudillea is consistently inspired by the idea of confronting conventions and pushing her sound in unexpected directions. As shown by her recent singles ‘Don’t You Know?’ and ‘Habanera’, she finds the sweet spot between two musical styles that would usually be polar opposites: the beauty, drama and theatrical grandeur of her operatic roots; and an unrestrained, limitless exploration of a catalogue of modernist pop influences.
Claudillea pushes those cohesive contrasts to new heights as she shares the brand new single ‘Release You’. It’s a song that’s near impossible to pigeonhole. Her exquisite vocal has the range and resonance to continue to make operatic influences engaging to a whole new audience, while her experimental pop playfully call upon punchy trap beats and brooding trip-hop atmospherics. She calls her sound OPPOP – a fusion of opera and pop – but ultimately there are no limits. Listen HERE.
Claudillea says, “Writing ‘Release You’ clarified the direction I want to go moving forward. It’s the first song in which I feel I completely delved into exploring the different shades of my voice while writing it. I look at my voice as an instrument that can be used in a plethora of different ways, with different timbres and styles.
Lyrically, it meditates upon the great awakening that is happening within the collective consciousness. It’s a warning that time is up for those people who continue to lie to us.”
Claudillea’s story is just as unique as her music. She was born in England, but grew up in Borneo, Kuala Lumpur and the USA. Her classical training in the States revealed mixed emotions about opera in the contemporary world. On one hand it’s an inspiring expression that should be accessible to all just as it was when it was the pop music of the era. On the other, it’s being held back by its exclusivity and purity.
Returning to London, Claudillea was determined to put those traditions in a fresh context that would speak to a new audience. It was a belief that first began to inspire audiences when she competed on The Voice. She was initially on Meghan Trainor’s team before being poached by Will.I.Am, her performances of ‘Paint It, Black’ and ‘Queen of the Night’ providing an alternative to the show’s pop focus.
Since then, Claudillea has been developing her sound and growing in stature with every release. Stepping back to invigorating operatic sound has provided a distinctive trait to take pop into a new sphere in the future.
