(c) Zoe Donahoe

Claire Rousay

support: Annelies Monseré
VIERNULVIER
  • Wed 13.11
    19:30 - 22:40
    Minardschouwburg, Gent
    Romain Deconinckplein 2

claire rousay is a singular artist, known for challenging conventions in experimental and ambient music forms. rousay masterfully incorporates textural found sounds, sumptuous drones and candid field recordings into music that celebrates the beauty in life’s banalities. Her music is curatorial and granular in detail, deftly shaped into emotionally affecting pieces. sentiment is a meditation of the poignant emotional terrains of loneliness, nostalgia, sentimentality, guilt, and sex. The album’s narrative arc is guided by delicate musical gestures and artistic vulnerability, audaciously synthesizing disparate and unexpected influences. rousay crafted the songs in various homes, bedrooms, hotels, and other private places, the feeling of time and energy spent alone radiating from each passage. The album is a collection of heart-rending, incisive pop songs that explore universal feelings with subtlety and remarkable vision.

rousay’s vocals and guitar take center stage on sentiment. Her intimate, diaristic lyrics contrast with her mechanical-inflected vocal effects, emphasizing a powerful desire for connection, a deep yearning and a lingering sense of separation. The spare guitar playing and laconic tempo both drive the songs and exude a sense of resignation. Her delicate mastery of nuance draws on her explorative musical past that she, with sincerity and admiration, seamlessly interweaves into her adventurous textures and distinctive compositions. “I want to belong to the worlds and communities I look up to. Same as someone using a Fender guitar or dressing like Kurt Cobain. Emulate your heroes,” says rousay.

korrelig, maar behendig vormgegeven en emotioneel aangrijpend

Support: Annelies Monseré

Annelies Monseré has been playing music solo since 2000. Initially the music was piano-based and mostly instrumental. Once she ‘discovered’ her voice, vocals became a main focus. The early songs had very simple structures and melodies, and the words were sparse and introvert. Her debut album ‘Helder’ (released by BlueSanct) was described as “a delicate album, complete with beautiful cracks and loads of tape-hiss. […] an intensely intimate album”.

On later albums and EP’s (on labels such as Morc, Stroom and ThreeFour), new routes were explored, such as: inviting other musicians to make contributions (including friends such as Jessica Bailiff, Michael Anderson, Ellen Evers, Nathan Amundson, Justin & Nathan Vollmar, Yumi Verplancke and Steve Marreyt); using different instruments, timbres and recording techniques; interpreting traditional ballads; and introducing drum beats. Lyrically also, the records gained more focus.

Besides her solo work, Annelies is also collaborating with various other musicians. With Jessica Bailiff, an EP has been released by Morc Records, and their debut album – under the moniker Hydromedusae – was released on Trome Records in the summer of 2023. Her full band, Luster, has released its first 10″ (a split with Hellvete) in 2016 and their very well-received debut album has been released in June 2022 on Morc Records. A collaboration with Steve Marreyt, Distels, was released in 2021 on Almost Halloween Time and Feeding Tube Records.