Jhariah Clare has created numerous mediums of art throughout his life. He started off with drawing and animation but quickly grew into music, directing, and more. Fortunately, his music project has given him the perfect home base for all of his creative aspirations and outlets.
As he gets ready to release his second full-length album Trust Ceremony on April 19—literally on the last day he was recording it—he dropped by the idobi Radio studio, and we chatted about the new music, his love for creating an entire universe around his art, and more.
“TRUST CEREMONY is exactly as the title states, a celebration,” Jhariah shares in a press release. “I wrote it over the course of 5 years as a sort of thesis focused on trust; attempting to unpack what that word means to me, what it means to have it, to lose it, to want it, or to give it. It’s equal parts me trying to process my life thus far, and creating aspirations for the future.”
Now, the lover of My Chemical Romance, Queen, and System Of A Down has gone on to make some of the most unique-sounding music, drawing inspiration from those names and more. We are pumped to hear Trust Ceremony in its entirety, and you should be too.
If you’re new to Jhariah, check out the tracks “RISK, RISK, RISK!” and “PIN-EYE,” with videos directed by and featuring animations from the man himself. Those are both singles off the upcoming release.
Read an excerpt of our chat below and check out the full thing here!
Let’s talk about your music. Where did it all kick off for you?
As a kid, I wasn’t really into music. I think I wasn’t able to make sense of it, you know what I mean? I’d hear songs on the radio, you know, you sing nursery rhymes and stuff in school. I’d just be like, “I don’t know what any of this is.” I feel I couldn’t even tell the pieces of the music apart.
Mhmm, all the layers.
Which is funny because there’s so much happening in my music. [Laughs.] But I think really what made it click for me was animation, actually. Experiencing music in visual form like in movies and TV and cartoons and anime… I think as I got older and had that link together, I think it’s like, the audio on its own, my brain wandered so much that I didn’t know what to do with it and focus on it. As I got older and they found all these different mediums where music is a part of it, I realized that music is so deeply embedded in other things, and that’s how I developed the relationship with music.
When it comes time for you to write a song, how do you come up with the lyrics, catchy chorus, and theme?
I think I always kind of start with, “Why am I writing this song, and what do I wanna say?” I’ve never been somebody that goes and sits down and writes a song every day or something like that. I don’t write that much, actually, so when I write a song, it really is a project. There’s an end goal in mind. Usually, I’m just like, “What is on my mind, what am I experiencing, and what can I take from it that feels worth sharing?”
For this album I’ve been writing, it’s been a lot of what we’re talking about right now. Finding your resolve, learning to take chances, trying to find the power behind your word.
What’s the new stuff sounding like?
It’s different—really, really different from anything I’ve done. So far, the singles have come out, and I think those sonically and thematically have been really big steps for me.
“RISK” felt like the right track to bring things in with because it felt bold. I think the music has taken on this new attitude. I think I built a lot of confidence and learned to be a lot more vulnerable. Which has been hard, but it’s been good, and I feel like it’s unlocked something with these songs. I think the way that comes out sonically is that I’m just trying so many more new things. I’ve always wanted to do music that crosses genres, but I think this next album really is just this big pinball machine.
Are there any genres you are really excited to blend together?
There’s a lot of fun electronic stuff on the album. That stuff excites me a lot cause I started off making electronic music/dance music. That was my start with actually creating sound. So, it’s been sprinkled in here and there, but I’ve been really amped to just do something that’s like loud and synthy and has crazy bass.