Though her name won’t resonate with hipsters in other parts of the country, Clara Joy has done quite well for herself as a New York City iconoclast. The multifaceted musician, songwriter and spontaneous downtown concert organizer is the granddaughter of artist/composer Dick Higgins and visual artist Alison Knowles, founding members of the ’60s-era Fluxus movement inspired by John Cage. She was a teenager when she began recording on her own in 2015, reveling in her creative solitude with assorted self-released collections. Her DIY aesthetic captured the attention of experimental filmmaker Sophia Johnson, who spotlight a 21-year-old Joy in the 2021 documentary Part Of Something.
Out today, What We Have Now (Shimmy-Disc) was recorded at Joy’s New York home over several years and co-produced with Shimmy-Disc founder Kramer, who’s drawn parallels to Joy and the late Daniel Johnston.
“I’m quite a private artist in the sense that I’m very comfortable turning to music alone to process things around me,” says Joy. “The intimacy provides me an ability to share emotional energy through my singing—possibly more easily, since I’m alone with myself.”
Online shopping references abound in the surreal, somewhat disquieting anti-ballad “You Liked My Item.”
“It was originally supposed to be a fast punk song, but when Kramer suggested to slow it down, it took on a creepy, more haunting sound,” says Joy. “It’s about desperation and questioning reality under a society based around consumption.”
Take it or leave it, desperation and disconnection are part and parcel of the city she loves. “I hope someone relates to this music,” says Joy. “All I can hope for is that it would make someone feel less alone—and make me feel less alone, too.”
We’re proud to premiere Clara Joy’s “You Liked My Item” video.
—Hobart Rowland
