1. Tell us about yourself or your band, what genre do you consider yourself, and how long have you been writing and recording original music?
- I’m Chris from the rock duo Popclaw. Together, Dan and I have been writing and recording remotely since 2022. On my own, future Popclaw songs came about in the 2020 lockdown in England. We both live in two different areas of the southeast of England—I’m from Kent, and Dan’s from Surrey.
2. What or who inspired you to be a music artist?
- The earliest memory I have was Green Day when they released American Idiot. That definitely got me interested in picking up the guitar.
3. Do you record at home or in a studio, and where do you find the most inspiration for writing new lyrics and material?
- At home mostly when my kids have gone to bed 😂. It’s not a very glamorous setup. I just use an old MacBook Pro and a Focusrite unit. Lyrics for me aren’t very prolific; I mostly write about stuff that’s personal to me.
4. What’s your go-to instrument for a new song, maybe guitar/keys/loops?
- I would say most of the time guitar. I have started a couple of songs on the bass, but the guitar is the main one alongside a drum loop. Then I build up everything else as I go.
5. As an indie artist, how do you navigate the challenges of promoting your music and building a fanbase in a highly competitive industry?
- I find it totally mind-bending. I’m quite cynical about all the social media, which is stupid for me saying that, as that’s the only way we can promote ourselves since we aren’t a gigging band. I’m trying less and less to be bothered by it and trying to just enjoy creating music. Then I try to connect with other artists I admire, some of which we have actually worked with (At The Starlight and Kiffie The Dreamer). I think it’s better to be small and humble than brash.
6. Where do you find the most success in sharing your material and getting recognition?
- For us, it’s from IG, Threads, and Reddit. As I said before, the most connections have been with other artists, who have been very kind to us by listening to us.
7. Are you content being independent or are you looking for or prefer a label or management?
- For both of us, I think independent is best. At our age with young kids, the last thing we want to do is waste money on management. I feel labels and management don’t really have the appeal they once had before the internet became a thing. I think the industry is a mess, and it’s been like this for years now.
8. Do you think the current offering from streaming platforms is good enough?
- No! It’s a joke really—they are all just serving established bands who don’t need to find an audience. They aren’t bothered about tiny artists. We aren’t even bothered about the money. I think it’s just wrong that certain people ask to be paid so you can submit one song to them to “promote” a playlist they made. Which anyone can do!
9. Tell us about your latest release, what was your strategy, i.e., did you ask for Pre-saves, did you go out for paid reviews and playlisting?
- Popclaw’s latest song is ‘Scandal,’ the first idea I had in 2020. So it’s kinda the oldest song. It’s developed from a 40-second clip to a 3-minute grunge-esque song. I love the build-up, Dan’s vocals, and extra guitar parts. We don’t do pre-saves as I see no point, as our reach is already small. Personally, we enjoyed making the song, and even if one person likes it, that’s enough for us.
10. Have you used music curator platforms, and how did that work out for you?
- No, we haven’t. We are basically grandads with all this 😅.
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