The Tara Clerkin Trio, known for their breezy, collage-like sound, have charmed underground music fans across genres. But behind the music lies a story of family and financial strife, as the band navigates what they call a hostile environment for working-class artists in the UK.
During a session for their 2020 debut album, the band was interrupted by building work outside. Rather than scrap the recording, they embraced the soft dissonance of scaffolding scrapes and clangs, eventually using a royalty-free sample. 'We had to credit the guy who had recorded the sound on the sleevenotes,' recalls Tara Clerkin, laughing.
These happy accidents shape the Bristol-formed band's sound, which drifts between minimalist jazz, avant-pop, and trip-hop. Their looping compositions are born from hours of improvising and layering, using instruments they can and can't play properly. The trio—Clerkin, her partner Sunny Joe Paradisos, and his younger brother Pat Benjamin—often sample themselves to avoid copyright issues. 'The more you sample yourself, the less samples you have to clear,' says Paradisos wryly.
Despite being just three members, their music sounds full, thanks to the loop pedal. 'It's all the power of the loop pedal. That's our fourth member,' says Benjamin. Their second album, Somewhere Good, is their most pop-oriented yet, featuring structured songwriting and vocals from Paradisos for the first time. On one track, they even ditch the loop pedal.
The album arrives after a challenging period. Clerkin and Paradisos were priced out of their Bristol home, then moved to Liverpool to care for Clerkin's ill mother, forcing them to cancel a US tour. 'It was by far the shittest year I think I'll probably ever live through,' says Paradisos. Now in London, they juggle pet sitting, sofa-surfing, and subletting to make ends meet. 'I've got two new bosses texting me, like: What's your availability next week?' says Paradisos, who also works as a landscaper.
The album was written and recorded between tour dates in various flats, studios, and Airbnbs. The last mix took place in New York Public Library, and the masters were sent from an airport in Cyprus. 'It was a time when we were just touring like crazy,' says Benjamin. 'Between that and working, it's so hard to find the times where it would just be like: oh, we've got a three-day gap.'
The balancing act almost pushed them to give up. 'I kind of feel like a more sensible person in our situation would have stopped doing it a while ago,' says Clerkin, half-joking. Paradisos calls the UK a 'hostile environment to do art,' noting the rarity of working-class artists. 'There's basically a rule that you have to do it and not get paid for 10 years,' Clerkin says. 'Doing tours three times a year doesn't pay for you to live the rest of the time.'
The album is released on the in-house label of east London record shop World of Echo. After speaking to bigger labels, they concluded that an advance is 'like a payday loan,' says Paradisos. 'If you give away so many rights, you'll never get another penny from your music.'
The album captures these qualms: Lazy Daisy is about losing a job, Silently contemplates grief, and Slow Island mourns gentrification. But optimism shines through in the sprightly chords and Clerkin's bright voice. 'Even though we were going through so much, we wanted to make something that was positive,' she says. 'We carry on because we love it and it feels like one of the most meaningful things we can do with our time.'
Somewhere Good is released via World of Echo on 5 June.
