Behind The Scenes with: Clariloops

At the weekend 'The Quiet Below' dropped, the beautiful new album from Melbourne-based composer and clarinettist Clariloops. The artist behind this project is Ruby Ester Mae Lulham, whose work gently explores the boundaries between acoustic performance and electronics, chats to Adrian Newton of Evergreen Music who joins as a guest blogger.

In this interview, they explore the improvisatory nature of the album, the influence of clarinet within Ambient music, and the technical nuances of blending woodwind with modular textures. What unfolds is a thoughtful discussion about instinct, motherhood, experimentation and the courage of leaving the first take untouched.

We hope you enjoy the conversation below and at the end, there's an embedded Bandcamp player where you can take a listen.

You’ve produced a gorgeous album that brilliantly blends clarinet and electronics. Can you say a little about the process you used to create the album?

I recorded all these tracks in the space of a month. I would often start my music sessions by improvising on clarinet, as I always find getting the breath moving on an instrument I’m so familiar with opens me up to writing. However, I found that I kept playing the same sort of thing, and the loops I’d create on clarinet felt quite stale. So, all these tracks start with a dreamy ambient foundation, or a synth loop. I had a really lovely time experimenting with my Organelle M and Arturia Microfreak through the Hologram Electronics Microcosm, which just gives the synths a bit of life. I would loosely create a structure, and then I would improvise clarinet over the top. The difference with this record is that I used to really craft my melodies and spend a lot of time re-recording things over and over (and over) again. With this, I recorded melodies and then left it as it was, which was really quite freeing. I think what I've captured really perfectly represents me and where I was mentally in July last year.

As a clarinettist myself, I loved the woodwind tones you captured in these compositions. But it’s not an instrument you hear often in Ambient circles. Are there other clarinettists who have inspired you to give this a go?

Listing inspirations is so hard, it’s impossible to untangle the web of people who’ve sparked some curiosity in me. The main clarinettist who inspired me would be my teacher from university, David Griffiths. He is a classical musician who’s always done his own thing, and done it incredibly well: playing chamber music and putting on music he wants to play with people he wants to play with. Other musicians I’ve listened to that have inspired my sound and my compositions included Jeff Reilly, Sabine Meyer, Nala Sinephro, among many more.

For this project though, I was actually inspired to start this journey by Ambient guitarists. I was watching these YouTube videos in 2019 and 2020 of people playing one note and then twiddling a bunch of knobs on a pedal board and thought “I wonder if that works with clarinet…” Once I got started with this I found a lot of inspiration on Instagram (when Instagram was a fun place to be!) There were quite a few saxophonists and trumpeters experimenting with pedals, mainly Jazz guys it seemed. There were a few clarinettists and bass clarinettists too though! Chris Mothersole, Jay Reynolds, Reuben Lewis and Jake Botts were some people who stick out in my mind, and there were many more.

I can’t resist asking about your production techniques, as this album has been so beautifully put together. What’s the secret to blending acoustic instruments with electronics so effectively?

I wish I had a quick tip for you but honestly it’s just been a lot of trial and error. Every time I’ve released something I’ve gotten better at blending the clarinet with the electronics. For this record, I found the reverb, EQ and compression that really worked for the clarinet at the very start of writing the album, and that helped a lot with writing too! I didn’t spend heaps of time tweaking the mix which definitely helped the overall feel of the album.

The album reflects the joys of early parenthood, which is such a beautiful theme. Can you say something about how this is reflected in the compositions?

Absolutely. I think my music always strives for those subtle chord changes or melodic moments that can give you goose bumps or make the eyes well. Having this record be mainly improvised, I was surprised that I could get those moments organically rather than through more strict composition. I think the fact that I recorded these while pregnant, while my oldest child was at childcare, means that each track captures exactly how I felt on the day. Missing my kid, enjoying the time off, being in awe of my body creating another human, and just trying to enjoy the ride!

I’d love to hear this performed live. Do you have any live shows coming up?

I absolutely do, however I am based in Australia so I’ll have to shoot you an email if I’m ever back in the UK. I played a few shows in February including a cool one at the end of the month where I was paired up with someone doing projected live visuals and we both improvised, bouncing off one another for 45 mins. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do so I really enjoyed that!

I also run Ambient mini festivals with my friend Pheobe Dubar (AKA IKSRE) here in Melbourne so I’ll be running and playing at our May instalment of “Warm Mids Afternoon” in a few months alongside a few other lovely musicians.

I'm hoping that you’re planning more albums like this! What are your current plans for the rest of the year, and beyond?

I absolutely am, but I would also love to do some more collaborative projects. First, I’m just getting my head around having a two year old and a six month old, and heading back to full time work in April (ah!). But once I’m in the swing of all that I will definitely be sitting down with my synths and my clarinet to produce more calming, grounding, drifty music in the second half of the year.

If you'd like to check out Clariloops' album 'The Quiet Below' you can stream and download it HERE. This is part of the digital-only eRecord series and includes a bonus PDF booklet of polaroids and liner notes.