Meet Caroline & Claude and their catchy, must-listen debut single, Stir The Pot

Header image by Andrew Fawcett.

When tasked with introducing Caroline & Claude to the world, it's hard to know where to begin. A good place to start may be mentioning that their names are in fact Hannah and Dylan, and that they're a brother and sister duo born in Sydney but raised in Adelaide, amongst a musical family whose artistic lineage stretches past their extended family all the way to their grandparents, who used to sing in jazz cafes back home in India. They're still quite young, but have already got quite a journey behind them already; moving back and forth with music - creation and performance, both sides - being a mainstay no matter where they were living at the time.

It wasn't until they were brought together in the face of the pandemic, however, did they think to actually create music of their own, and thus, Caroline & Claude was born into the world. In the year since, the duo have been busy carving themselves a launching pad of singles and videos while building themselves a vision that stretches through their music and image; bringing together influences scattered across the musical spectrum to create a distinct edge that's uniquely Caroline & Claude - and something you should be incredibly excited about.

It's something that shows on their debut single Stir The Pot, which isn't just as an introduction to Caroline & Claude and what to expect from their future, but also one of the most dazzling debut singles from an artist this year - an exciting start from a duo with so much ahead of them. Sonically, Stir The Pot is just down-right fun. It's catchy and light-hearted, showing the duo's embrace of pop hooks as they combine them with a sweeping, indie-like production that jumps around and kicks about, adding vigor and energy as the duo's vocal dances amongst the melodies moving alongside.

Then, there's the single's self-directed video clip, showing a multi-facetedness carved out of the duo's pandemic lockdown as they showcase their strengths across a variety of art forms. "We shot this video during lockdown, which meant we had to film and create our own animations," they say on the video. "We wanted it to feel playful, and just wanted to creatively vomit on it- that’s why we have so many things going on with gifs, our animations etc! It also then shows the messiness and chaotic behaviour of gossip and the premise of the song."

It's clear there's something special here, as Caroline & Claude introduce themselves and their music as something destined for big things ahead, especially with the bank of music they've collected since coming together and creating the project in the thick of last year. Stir The Pot is just the first taste and it's a perfect start, so with that in mind, take a dive into the song and its video as it debuts today, and underneath, introduce yourself to the pair - it's hard not to fall in love with them.

Tell us about yourself?

We’re Caroline & Claude; brother-sister duo! we grew up playing music; always mucking around putting on performances having little jam seshes and now we’re doing it for real haha. 

What’s your music like? What does it sound like? What kind of themes does it usually cover? 

I would say our music is exciting, quirky and funky fresh!! Claude is only 17, he has such a fresh perspective on things and I think this shows through in his production, it’s random and it’s cool; it’s whatever he wants… he really doesn’t give a f*ck what people think. we grew up listening to a lot of old music from our parents and grandparents so there’s definitely some of those influences you’ll hear as well as a more modern feel too.

We think of our music as a body of work rather than a series of songs, some songs sound straight out of the ’60s and some sound like futuristic bops; but it’s all tied together by our voices!

What are your production and writing processes usually like? 

it’s honestly different every time for us. Claude spends ALL of his time in the studio and has heaps of ideas he’s working on. He produces everything and we write very collaboratively; we bounce off each other very well. I (Caroline) am very into poetry so I’m always writing down lyric ideas. When we come together it flows so naturally and usually very quickly. our melodies are often so different that when they’re combined it creates something really random and exciting and fun !!

Can you tell us about your debut single, Stir The Pot?

EEEEK YES!!! Claude was studying bossa nova music in school and it gave him the inspiration for the beat and the chords. We really wanted to capture that feeling of being bored in a conversation and wanting to “start some shit” just because there’s “nothing better to do”. BUT please note; we are actually really lovely people and don’t reeeeeally gossip heheh. We wanted it to be a song you can boogie to with your friends and have a good laugh at the lyrics.

What do you have planned for the rest of 2021?

MORE MUSIC!! we’ll be releasing more songs so stay tuned! oh and we are still big-time in our writing zone; we’ve been in the studio a lot!

What do you want people to take away from your work? 

We want people to feel excited and inspired after hearing our music or watching our videos or looking/being around our art. This is something we live and breathe and will always love. 

Where can we find more of your music?

Wellll… we do only have one song out thus far haha but it is available everywhere! Spotify, Apple Music, Youtube; we are everywhere. and don't stop at our music! Claude makes awesome art and I love poetry; you can check it out on our website if that is of interest to you teehee

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