She's Got Claws, Micci and Chris, have released a new allbum, '9 Lives' in November 2022 which you can find on Spotify, Apple, Deezer, Tidal and on other platforms.
In past releases, Micci has combined an awesome blend of multiple genres of music to make her own sound while providing stellar vocals. When I started this website, I was excited to include She's Got Claws as a featured artist here as I quickly became a fan of her music.
Read on for an exclusive interview with Micci and Chris of She's Got Claws!
I’ve been following your music for almost 2 years now and have been loving your
releases within that time as well as your previously released albums. What was the
creative process like behind this new remix album?
Micci:
Aw thank you, it’s so lovely to know that you love the album releases and the EP,
your support is truly appreciated. For a good year I’ve been toying with the idea of creating a remix album. Remixes are something which I haven’t done for many years, so I didn’t know if I could do any of the SGC songs any justice, with being so close to them.
The process of writing this album went like this; I uploaded the original song, Utopia for
example, and listened to the feel and beats. For a long time, I believed that Chris could
write a bass riff for this song, because it doesn’t have one, just like the other tracks on
Synthetic Emotion EP. There is a bass synth to basically underpin each song, because
bass riffs weren’t a big factor at the time when writing the Synthetic Emotion EP.
Anyway, I called up a different sounding drum kit and began to play a different rhythm to
give Chris the inspiration to write a bass riff. I adjusted the tempo until Chris was happy
with the feel. Then the process of adding new strings alongside the base riff began. For
the Utopia Remix (Ride With me) I didn’t re-record my vocals, but for many of the others
on 9 Lives I re-sang the vocals and added new verses, Solitary Bound has a new vocal
line for the intro.
So, it’s often beats and bass first, then I see if any of the original parts fit, if not then I will
write something new. Each song is not just a remix, they are reimagined into new songs.
Let’s take a trip back to when you first started the She’s Got Claws band. What
kind of music were you making before and how did you come to this project?
Micci:
When SGC began, I was feeling around for a signature sound. The Debut album,
self-titled She’s Got Claws, is quite embryonic in areas and needed more development in my opinion, compared to the 3rd album, Doppelgänger, where you can hear a definite musical direction. So, with the 9 Lives album, it was a great opportunity to build upon what
was there with the songs chosen from the Debut album.
Chris:
We have approached this project as the final chapter from the book of the first
decade of SGC. After 10 years, we felt it was a good time to release this album. See this
remix album, 9 Lives, as a ‘Best Of’ with a twist. Now we are moving on. We have lots of
exciting new ideas for forthcoming releases in 2023.
When making this album, did you have a lot of the instrumentals done already and
felt they would be a good fit for the vocals or did you completely come up with
everything from scratch wanting to remix your tracks?
Micci: With the chosen tracks from the Debut album, I didn’t have the song files, because
they were written on old formats, computers, hardware etc., so I didn’t have any
instrumentals where they were concerned.
With all the songs on 9 Lives, I wrote as many new synth hooks and rhythm tracks as
possible for each song, to give them a new perspective. Even the tempos (bpm) have
changed for many. They Live (No Justice Remix) is naturally sleazy, so I wanted to push
this more by giving this track a new punchier drum kit and build upon this sleazy feel with
the synths too.
The arrangements are different, but with a nod towards the original songs. I wanted them
to appeal to a wider audience and also include the DJs in the clubs to play these too, so a
few are much longer than the original songs.
There are radio edits of two songs from 9 Lives for radio play, Ride With Me (Utopia
Remix) and Bedevil My Heart (Lithium vs. My Siren). I want to cover all bases with this
album.
After listening to the Euphoria remix, I felt it was just the right title to the vibe of
the song. This was a track from your debut album. What was it like going back to
that track and remixing it?
Micci:
This song didn’t have a title until it was completed. Because it’s about dreaming
and wishing for your ambitions to be successful, it was difficult to find another title other than ‘Dreaming My Eyes Open’ or 'Dreams In Cold Storage’, they are both strong titles.
When it came to writing a new middle 8th, I decided to make it feel like you’re hallucinating which gives you a euphoric and trippy feel, so that’s when I decided to call this Euphoria.
It felt like it wrote itself and because I didn’t have the original song file from the Debut
album, I enjoyed recreating it.
Do you have any favorite tracks on the album? Why?
Micci:
It’s hard to pick just one or two from this selection of remixes. Android Devotion (I
Die For You Remix) was one of the first remixes to happen. It comes in with an instant
attitude from the bass, so when it comes on my playlist, I instantly sit up to listen and smile.
I love them all individually for different reasons, but I’ll mention the last track Slow
Rebellion (Adulation Remix), because it took just 2 days to complete from start to finish,
this is a world record for my writing and arrangements, it’s one of my favourites for sure.
I heard it in my mind the same morning I began to write the remix, as a writer you can
begin with one idea and this can take a different direction, Utopia remix fell into place very
easily, I was waiting for a catch!
Chris:
I love Ride With Me (Utopia Remix), I feel like it’s a brand-new song and in many
ways I think it’s a big advancement on the original. When we were recording the new bass
parts, magic happened, and I was coming up with bass riff after bass riff, so I feel very
attached to this. It has a real sleazy, indie-electro feel to it now, with a curveball in the
middle 8th. I love how Micci made this section very Depeche Mode in its energy, I
watched her feeling very inspired with her synths over my bass.
My 2nd favourite on 9 Lives is Bedevil My Heart (Lithium vs. My Siren) With it’s
juxtaposition of beautiful melody after counter melody, cascading their way through the
song, while the dark poignant vocals weave their way through the track as a double edged
sword, contradicting with love and hate, which are on the different sides of the same coin.
Are they any future announcements or plans you would like to mention coming
up?
Micci:
We are planning new music for 2023, a departure and advancement to the She’s
Got Claws sound. Chris has lots of ideas, so I’m going to give Chris the helm and write from his bass riffs and work upwards on each track. He’s also written the lyrics to one
song, I won’t give away what it’s about, only that it’s very personal to him and he hopes
that others can empathise with his words.
Chris:
As Micci has just mentioned, we are planning new music, but she hasn’t mentioned
that this will be an EP. The only EP SGC has released is Synthetic Emotion, so the new
EP will happily sit by the side to keep it company amongst the SGC Discography.
Micci: Live performances are on the cards too. Live bass from Chris, vocals and synth
from me and maybe a few surprises along the way. We are very stoked to bring in new
instruments into our sound for 2023. Beginning from the studio, we’re going to set up a
stage area to perform for our fans, initially for our Patrons first then everyone else will get
to see us too.
Twitter :
Website:
9 Lives - Out 28 November 2022
Online Stores / Streaming
(Spotify/Apple/Deezer/
Tidal/7Digital/)
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