With her upcoming debut album Rift out March 7th via state51, London-based multi-disciplinary artist Clara Mann is sharing new single “Driving Home The Long Way.”
On the track Mann said “I’ve always been so attached to my independence, so fiercely protective of it. I’d drive thousands of miles alone to prove that I could, that I didn’t need anyone- and then one day I just realized that I wanted to be able to let go of the wheel and not feel like everything was going to fall apart. I wanted to let someone in and not feel like I was losing part of myself, because they loved me as I was: free.
“In the end, when I’m really in love with someone, it’s because they feel both like freedom and like home in equal measure. These days, I know that I want to share the journey, because freedom doesn’t mean anything on its own, on MY own. I want to sit in the passenger seat and watch you drive, I want to feel limitless, alongside you.”
Mann’s music reflects the people and places that have shaped and held her—physically, emotionally, and creatively. Raised in the Lot Valley in rural France before moving to the UK for her teens, these formative years provided her with a deep sense of belonging, identity, and growth. Yet, it is in motion that Mann feels most at home: “Just the sun above me and my keys and my car.” Her new record is a testament to this state of in-betweenness, inviting you to step into a place that has always existed within yourself.
Influenced by artists like Jacques Brel, Edith Piaf, Judee Sill, and Tom Waits, she has a deep love and care for songwriting. Her lyrics are vivid and visceral, and her approach to songwriting is not one of purging emotions but rather of composting them—digesting life’s experiences and cultivating them into something meaningful, tangible, hopeful. She is also a talented visual artist, and this often plays an integral role in her songwriting process. Using the intricate and sweeping motion of illustrating with ink, charcoal, and sometimes watercolor, she can evoke thoughts and poetry onto the page, offering a way of making sense of things and to communicate in a way that words alone cannot.
Mann is also set to tour later this year with headline shows in London, Bristol, Manchester & Edinburgh alongside wider performances in the UK & EU.
Are you vibing with Clara Mann’s “Driving Home The Long Way”?
