Chicago musician Clairice is in a new era of artistic expression.
The artist, whose given name is Emily Clairice Woods, released her new EP Patient on Me in May before preparing for a busy summer: She’ll debut the songs onstage at Sleeping Village on June 21, and at Lollapalooza on July 31.
Patient on Me lays bare Woods’ process of grieving a past relationship and moving forward with a grounded sense of hope. She’s set to celebrate the effort live for the first time on Saturday at Avondale venue Sleeping Village, with plans to tap into her love of theatre.
“I’m creating what I define as the ‘Clairice world,’” she said.
The EP also marks a shift to her middle name; previously she used “E Woods.” Looking back, the artist felt her music as E Woods shied away from anything negative. Now, her new moniker ushers in authenticity, exploring the good and the bad with synthy, soul-infused alt-pop ballads.
“That music was very soul, funk, and it was super optimistic,” she said. “It wasn't fully embracing the full scope of emotion that I experienced … [Patient on Me is the] first body of work that gives you a better understanding of the complexities that I experience, I guess, as a woman trying to love.”
Woods will also make her Lollapalooza debut during this year’s Chicago Made Showcase set, alongside fellow local artist Mike Lawry Baby.
Woods stopped by the Vocalo studio to discuss the four years of work she put into the EP and her upcoming performances. This interview was edited for brevity and clarity.
Nudia Hernandez: There's a lot of amazing things happening for you. You put out your EP Patient On Me. You're gonna be at Lollapalooza performing! How amazing is that? How has that been for you?
Clairice: It's really exciting. It's awesome. I mean, we're doing it through Chicago Made, so it's like a whole showcase of Chicago artists. I'm really excited to be a part of that. It's going to be awesome.
Is this your first time performing at Lolla?
Yeah. It's exciting. I just released this project, Patient On Me, and we have this big show coming up at Sleeping Village on June 21, as well, which I'm putting my whole chest into. It just feels like it's a continuous climb. Like you were saying, this year, there's a lot coming. There's more music even being released this year that I'm super excited about, some collaborations with some local Chicago artists that I'm super jazzed to have coming out later in the year.
You have the Sleeping Village show, and then you have Lolla. Are those two completely different sets you're getting ready for?
Yeah. There are a lot of restrictions that are put on us for the Lolla stuff, just because it's a festival. No games to be played in regards to that. Sleeping Village is really like I am creating what I define as the “Clairice world” at Sleeping Village.
How long did this project take for you to put together?
That's a really good question. Technically … it's crazy, but it might be close to four years just for four tracks.
"Grab That" was written four years ago. I was working on another EP that probably will never see the light of day, as projects go. "Need a Little" came, maybe two and a half, three years ago, and that continued to grow, and I felt like "Need a Little" and "Grab That" became these companion songs to each other. They naturally just fit. I wrote "Getting Better" on my 30th birthday, and … I went through this whole evolution of grieving and moving through this narcissistic relationship that I had about four years ago.
When I listened to “Patient on Me,” I was like, ‘Can I just be heartbroken for a second?’ Can you divulge a little bit more about that song and the process of putting it together?
That song came together about two years ago. I decided to be ... I was about to lie and say celibate. I definitely wasn't trying to be in a relationship. I finally got to this point where I was like, ‘OK, I think that you love yourself enough … you're OK, stepping back out into the world of dating.’
I was having a conversation with one of my friends, P.TUGZ — who is also a local Chicago artist — about how I was feeling and that kind of just poured out of me, that maybe I'm ready to be open if I can receive patience from someone. I'm coming to the table with trauma, and also the world that I've built for myself in this year and change that I've been alone is beautiful. If I am letting someone into that, it's gonna be tough. I need to know that you're going to accept the whole of me, and you're going to want to actually see me and be with me, and not just an idea of me.
I grabbed my guitar and I wrote it in an hour and a half, super quick. Then I sat on it for a little bit. I went to my producer, Danny Kulasik, and he heard the whole world. He started adding all these really interesting production elements to it. I don't know if you hear the typewriter in it and the rolling of a marble across. There's this playfulness that he added to the production. He reversed my guitar part and did all these really crazy things that really brought this whimsy to the world.
Morgan Ciocca is the digital producer for Vocalo.
Nudia Hernandez is the host and producer of Nudia In the Afternoons on Vocalo. Follow her @nudiaonair.
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