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Embodiment
Claire Bigley explores the space between on calming single, "Embodiment"
Led by a simplistic yet inspired instrumentation, Claire Bigley has created something utterly beautiful on her newest single, “Embodiment”. Please read on for an in-depth look into the track, as well as a background on this artist.
Created with the “intention of awakening the body”, there’s something extremely calming and serene about the latest musical delivery from Claire Bigley. It’s a new fully instrumental track titled “Emodiment” that grounds the listener, urges them to focus within, and ultimately gives an appreciation for a slightly minimalistic style in song composition. We’ve sincerely enjoyed our multiple listens and cannot wait for everyone out there to dig right in.
Currently based out of New Orleans, Louisiana, Claire Bigley is an immensely talented pianist who has so clearly put her heart and soul into the creation of “Embodiment”. Her initial inspiration for creating this was the want to “ground, calm, and engage the listener” and also to “create space and connection”. In the wild world that we all live in, everything seems like we’re in a constant state of fast forward or looking towards the future, however what this song brings to the table is the incessant urge to live in the moment. Time slows down for three beautiful minutes in which your focus shifts to the subtleties within this full instrumental, slowing the senses, and putting the body at a calming state.
With plenty of other works similar to these in her growing discography, of course we would urge everyone out there to do a deep dive on what they’ve probably been missing. So much music of the present has this hyperfixation on attention grabbing and gimmicky hooks, but what “Embodiment” does best is focus on taking your time, leading up to something big, and generally giving the body the break it so rightfully deserves. The more we’ve come back to this song, the higher the payoff has been in noticing the work, love, and passion that has gone into it. If for some reason this happens to be your introduction to Claire Bigley, take our word for it and please give it a spin.
~We Write About Music/Music Blog
Claire Bigley releases Embodiment, a powerful piano composition to invoke the feeling of community
Setting the tone with elegant and melancholic keys, Claire Bigley opens Embodiment with an enigmatic energy and and emotive, transcendental performance.
The opus expands with a dimensional nature and speeds up in tempo, generating fluid moments which lend themselves to a sense of intrigue and rawness. The charismatic delivery of the piece is tangible.
Halfway though the piece, the composition takes on a minimalist energy which feels meditative and draws us in deeper than we imagined. We appreciate the the way that Embodiment breaks down, going full circle back to the original melancholic energy that we first experienced. We connect with the prowess with which Claire Bigley performs, and the passionate and dynamic undertones of her delivery.
Speaking on her artistry, Claire Bigley confesses, “This song was created with the intention of awakening the body. I wanted to ground, calm, and engage the listener. I also wanted to create space and connection. I used some of the hymn, Shall we gather at the River to invoke the feeling of community to this spaciousness.”
We learn that Claire Bigley plays the piano and keyboard on all of her music. She is classically trained, and now finds herself playing in a more improvisation-based manner. She quiets herself, sits at the piano and allows what she is experiencing to flow through her fingertips.
Claire cites Chopin, Debussy, Nils Frahm, and Olafur Arnalds as some of her influences, although it is clear that she is creating a sonic universe of her own.
She adds with intention, “I recorded this track at the end of June 2022 just after Roe vs. Wade was debunked. My community felt powerless and deeply hurt by this. During this time I couldn’t get the hymn, Shall we gather at the River, out of my head. Such a powerful reminder of how effective gathering in love can be.”
We appreciate the depth and authenticity with which Claire Bigley creates, and have added Embodiment to our New Music Spotlight playlist, whilst we stream her wider discography including Solitude and Awaken the Deep.
~ KIMU
https://www.edgarallanpoets.com/embodiment-is-claire-bigleys-single-indie-music/
https://rgm.press/rgm-introducing-we-interview-american-artist-claire-bigley/interview/?fbclid=IwAR0M8f6Jkdf6wz_6ii4Rgu82_QFxdt0wx-psq7dp73OVsQcfTwwQDoIhiD4
Claire Bigley’s ‘Embodiment’ is a very dreamy and moving composition, her artistic choices leave all listeners feeling content and soothed as soon as those sweet harmonies are heard. This is the perfect music for those who have a strong liking for solo piano compositions and wholesome background music alongside work or study.
I imagine this being a great piece to help people feel at ease after a long or stressful day, as the clear and fulfilling melody line captures all attention leaving one entranced in the vivid imagery it provides. - AIMEE STOKES
I thoroughly enjoyed Claire’s use of dynamics, making the melody flow in a way to make the sound fade in and out, adding to the dreamy symbolism of the piece. Her style of simplistic melodies is similar to Italian composer Ludovico Einaudi’s piece ‘Temple White’ as he too uses simple chord patterns in this piece to create a highly moving performance. Claire could make her beautiful melodies sing even more with some fuller chords in some sections, to really emphasise the tone and harmonies of the piece. I thoroughly enjoyed this composition and will continue to listen when in need of winding down after a long day.
~ Aimee Stokes/TPLJ News
Who has never been enchanted by the solitary sound of the piano? We have no doubt that it is the instrument that transmits greater emotion with each touch of the keys, provoking the deepest sensations in the listener, regardless of preference for musical genre. The recitals are usually disputed and among the silence of the audience during the performance, the latent emotion before the faces in this sensorial process is perceptible. And fatally, the same fascination with the beauty of the arrangement that struck me, will also extend to you, reader, who will hear “Embodiment”, an erudite lament loaded with simple drama, unleashing a moving character in its prospection.
New Orleans singer Claire Bigley, despite the claimed influence of great legends of the classical scene, such as Chopin, Debussy, Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds, drains personality through her pores in this interpretation, denoting a subliminal artistic identity. And to think the production was completely independent, her keyboard was connected to her laptop's GarageBand in her guest room. The inspiration that provided the touch of each key as something sublime to our ears, came from a home opportunity, which leaves us really impacted and perplexed with such beauty split from furtive simplicity.
Regarding the concept promulgated in a piece so touching to our hearts, exhaling eagerness and caressing simultaneously, the author talks about the past artistic process: “ any piece of music that has the power to reach the soul of a listener and wrap it in a blanket of thinking and contemplation is clearly working at a level that demands more from the listener than simply listening”, this quote by Andre Avanessian, from Radio Airplay, and which exquisitely synthesizes the entire experience treated. When it comes to classical music, we usually think that nothing will surprise us anymore, but after listening to “Embodiment”, we realize a new and brilliant sigh in front of the genre. Enjoy it because it's simply SENSATIONAL!
~Roadie Music/Blog
Emergence - The Album
Claire Bigley reveals the extent of her talents in her album “Emergence” exclusively on Info Music France.
"Emergence" is Claire Bigley's new album. It's just phenomenal. It weighs 8 titles which last about 28 minutes. We count: Quieting tremors, Solitude, Awaken the deep, Becoming, Ancestral Blessings-Live, Souljourn, Solitude (Ambient version), Emergence, nuggets. Songs that will not leave you unmoved and will leave their mark on your day.
Whatever your desire, this project contains the song you need to get out of the moment, to make you happy. It's rare, we simply adore
The instruments hidden behind these titles are incredible and produced with a delicacy of sound above the rest. It's a mix that gives something exciting and something filtered for the ears. These titles soothe.
It's a way to de-stress after a long day at work, for example. The instrumental around each title is measured. We have the impression that each title tells a real story that we want to live.
Dive into the world of Claire Bigley above:
INFO MUSIC- Music Blog
‘Emergence’ is tranquillity personified through sound. The classical instrumental record from Claire Bigley feels like a reset button, an eight track expedition down melodies and moods that keep you from ever feeling like there’s a worry to be had in the world around you. It calms you, focuses you, and in all its ambient brilliance keeps you relaxed, comforted, and perhaps even inspired. The essence of the record is undoubtedly its minimalism. The subtle keys, the restraint, and the slightly conflicting melodies create something that feels like it shouldn’t particularly mesh, but somehow all comes together by the closing moments of each piece.
The incredible silence and subtle touches on a track like Solitude leave you mesmerized. The host of ambient noises in the background of Awaken the Deep combine with the slightly faster then immediately slower piano to keep you at a sense of balance. You feel like you’re in a cabin on the hills, taking in the cool winter air and hearing birds chirp as the warm morning sun greets you to a new day.
there’s a purity to this record, an undying sense of bliss and a freeing nature that’s embedded within to make you feel completely in tune with your self and your conscious. If you ever need time to introspect, play this on loop.
~Kartik Sundar/Find no Enemy blog
Emergence~
"Few Artists manage to put their lives and experiences into their music. Claire Bigley literally takes us on an ancestral journey. https://www.edgarallanpoets.com/emergence-is-claire-bigleys-album-indie-music/
Emergence~
Claire Bigley has been mastering the ivories since she was a child. Music has been a form of expression for her all her life, and she has been able to carve a niche for it. Working as a teacher, musical director and establishing her own sound, there isn’t much she hasn’t explored. This is her latest album, Emergence.
Her previous album was titled Love Letters at the time of Covid. It was a structurally relevant series of compositions, and the piano sang through the troubles while she directed. Quieting Tremors might be just the opening track, but it shows the mastery she has found of the instrument she loves. The phrasing is airtight, there is no percussion but relies on her internal clock. An emotional piece, it renders perseverance and patience as an entity and creates a feeling of longing.
The next track is Solitude, which she had released as a single in 2021. The compressed bass notes linger near your left ear as the lead serenades you. The depth lies in the choice of notes, they aren’t littered across. Moreover, each note she chooses to place reflect on the emotion that would be brought about. It is a mature, experienced way of arranging music-and Claire Bigley seems to be a gifted composer.
Flood out the noise
Ambient sounds are allowed to flood in on the next track. Awaken the Deep has sounds of birds chirping, the lightness and organic birth and decay of nature. The notes come closer together now, as if in awe of their sight. Like poetry in motion, no words are spoken but the ability to translate something from the heart remains key. Becoming employs the synth drone for the first time, a hybrid from the purer piano compositions that were. It allows another layer of suspense to be added. At this stage of metamorphosis, you are just a bystander. Watching change as an out-of-body experience.
The sounds and tides change for the next track. Ancestral Blessings is a live recording, so this take shows Claire Bigley raw and unfiltered. In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful and wholesome compositions. Ranging through several emotions-she controls and guides you through each with her masterful playing. Souljourn brings the strings in to create a natural flow that imitate the ambient rain that we hear. The moments are truly allowed to marinate before moving from scene. This is a cinematic, dramatic direction which doesn’t feature her on her primary instrument.
When the keys speak
The ambient version of Solitude makes a change through the context. It makes a difference, and each has their preference over which track they prefer. Hearing the sounds of nature with echoing synths is something I love, and the depth of each note becomes more apparent.
The final track is the title track, and it might be a trailer for something more. Claire uses all the layers she’s used so far to make another elegant approach at a melodic arrangement. To say at the least, it sustains a song with minimal and effective notes. Claire Bigley uses her experience to guide her music, and it is channeled through her honed ability to filter out the noise. The result is an enigmatic instrumental album, something that touches parts of your soul. The curated numbers speak volumes and Claire is responsible in making the mix so profound and mysterious.
Nishant Varma/Sinusoidal Music
Emergence~
Musicians that effectively combine their own lives and experiences into their art are a very rare breed indeed! Claire Bigley happens to be one of them. It’s impossible to choose a favorite song because every song depicts a distinct stage of life. Our sentiments begin to pervade our entire being as soon as we become aware of what is going on around us, even if just for a few fleeting seconds.
Fear and delight are intertwined with love and sorrow throughout “Emergence.” As you progress through the album, you’ll notice the strong connection between you and her vibrant feelings. You will resonate with the vivid emotions seeping through each track.
There are echoes of beautiful ambient piano throughout each track. One example of this is the tune “Quieting Tremors,” in which the piano creates a resonantly peaceful ambiance and invites the listener in. The song “Solitude” is a heartfelt musical portrayal of solitude; every note of the song tugs at your heartstrings, even if there isn’t a single word to accompany it, and takes you on an entrancing journey inside your most introspective and intimate thoughts. On the other hand, the song “Awaken the Depths” urges the listener to relax into a state of bliss. The chirping of birds in the background transports you back to the natural world and the lushness of its surroundings. The fourth song is “Becoming.” It pushes the listener to reflect on the realizations they have achieved as they begin to feel more at peace and their bodies begin to relax. By the time the track is through, fragments will start to coalesce and form.
In every one of her songs, Claire Bigley can be heard playing the piano or keyboard. She had her training in the classical style, but these days she plays with a more improv-based approach. She then takes a moment for herself to be still, sits down at the piano, and enables what she is feeling to be expressed through her fingertips. Chopin and Debussy are two of her primary musical inspirations.
The album as a whole has a shockingly evident influence of impressionist music, which can be heard throughout. Claire’s goal, very similar to that of the impressionists, is to seize a fleeting moment, to encapsulate a feeling so that it may be conveyed through a medium. This album is presented as a layered mix of ambient compositions with the intention of bringing about something otherworldly and purely atmospheric.
Mariam ElKhatib/Sistra
EMERGENCE~
In 2022, there has never been more of a gap in the music industry for the melodically cohesive, soothing sounds of life coach and holistic healer, Claire Bigley. With the stresses of everyday life weighing heavy on our shoulders now more than ever, Bigley’s latest track, recorded on an acoustic grand piano in her living room, seeps ethereal elegance.
Emergence is the final track on the new 8-track album, paving the way in the new-age piano genre. The song binds the intricate pages of the storybook together in a grounding, empowering manner, sure to resonate with listeners.
Speaking on the album, Claire says: “As the world is increasingly volatile and chaotic, it’s understandable that many are stressed out and feeling at their wit's end. I wanted to create a half-hour musical balm to soothe the nervous system and inspire the soul.”
Recording her first album before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Bigley’s works have certainly evolved alongside the turbulence that has ensued all over the world throughout the past two years. Emergence really is what it claims to be, a spiritual journey in which we are encouraged to build ourselves up from the rubble and materialise as someone new.
Chrissie Joslin/WEAREYMX Blog
Becoming ~
Taken off the newly released album “Emergence”, this track caught me a bit off guard with a very sophisticated way of building a canvas for the story to unfold. This is not your daily 365-here-you-go track. It’s way more, but I need you to listen closely, and take your time doing so.
While a drone breathes life into the tune calm and steadily, the piano melodies are painting a picture for the listener. Almost awakening out of a hibernating state, the first sequences are showing, with a very shy appearance. As “Becoming” progresses, those melodies mature, they grow and develop into something still fragile, yet more distinct and therefore more emotive. In a way, those piano melodies feel like they originated directly from an evolutionary process, not some notes off a sheet.
I love the way in which the steady drone sets the heartbeat of the tune, while the piano fills the scenery with life. Life that is developing, not bound to any linear concept nor any other outside restrictions. Complex by nature, yet simple by desire. For me, this track is a statement that while life in every shape or form might be too complex for the mind to grasp, there are always simple facts and constants that cannot be denied. Life will find its way no matter how hard or unlikely the circumstances might be.
~ Florian Maier/kms reviews
Solitude (Ambient Version)~
Beautifully tranquil, Solitude (Ambient Version) by Claire Bigley opens up and declutters the space surrounding all who listen. An ambient work featuring piano and bird sounds, the piece creates an environment free of judgement and negativity. The slow moving tempo is nearly imperceptible and lulls the listener into a trancelike state. Those familiar with Bigley's other work will find Solitude to be equally captivating without the frills of showmanship or attitude. This music serves a therapeutic purpose that transcends knee-jerk reaction and encourages reflection. With the release of Solitude (Ambient Version) Claire Bigly further establishes a penchant for gorgeous, solemn musical expression. As with her other work, Bigley is able to find a particular mood or state of being and expresses it masterfully. The state of being in this case is, of course, solitude. Listeners can almost feel the air around them expanding infinitely outward.
Zachary Larson/Radio Airplay
Well the sound of morning tweeting is always going to have the same effect, that of throwing off the baggage of modern living and getting with nature in a way that was common back before 24-hour notifications. Claire adds a most serene piano to heighten the effect and suddenly everything was calm, job done ever so effectively and while this might be just too ambient and light touch for me I must say the urban jungle outside was forgotten about for 3 minutes of quiet bliss.
~ Kevin Hugger/mp3hugger (blog)
SOLITUDE~
Any piece of music that has the power to reach into a listener's soul and envelop them in a blanket of thought and contemplation is clearly working on a level that requires more from the listener than simply listening, and "Solitude" is a fantastic example of such a piece that rightfully asks the listener to not only listen but experience the music, to let it take your hand, to let it show you what it wants you to see, not many pieces of music have this very poignant quality. Along with Claire's profoundly tender performance, the writing is of a sincerely emotive nature, melodies weave in and out of the underlying harmony with both elegance and gentle grace, echoing the song's themes of introspection perfectly. The slight emphasis on the piano hits at key moments certainly add a slightly harsher and more intense feeling to the music that contrasts beautifully with the softer lines that run underneath, creating a more percussive sound that can feel stark at times, perfectly capturing the bitter crisp edge that winter brings with it.
Having had the great pleasure of coming across a previous Claire Bigley composition entitled "Awaken The Deep", I'll be honest and say I came into Solitude with rather high expectations after being so strongly captivated previously, and I can truthfully say that I found "Solitude" to be as equally enthralling. Claire Bigley knows exactly how to both delicately and gracefully evoke a strong emotional response from her listeners, and as she so elegantly expresses, "Solitude" does indeed encapsulate the somewhat melancholic and lonely feeling that winter embodies.
~Andre Avanessian/Radio Airplay
“"Solitude" is a peaceful solo piano creation with quite artistic character. The experienced Claire Bigley has managed to offer something meditative and soothing too. Welcome the Winter in a prototypical way by choosing this silent beauty.”
-Nagamag.com
Souljourn~
This one is coming from the heart. You just can feel it in the way the tune was created.
The lastest release of Claire Bigley carefully introduces the listener to an extraordinary scenery. The atmosphere is enriched with a rainy vibe that sets the tone for “Souljourn”. Along stringy synths, there’s a honest and real atmosphere created that feels as innocent and newborn as it gets. Throughout the whole track this atmosphere starts to bloom like a shy flower that is finally ready to awaken after a long hiatus. The atmosphere evolves and is filled not with extra tracks and element, but with soul and passion.
I love that the song is most effective by how the emotions are transmitted. This is something to close your eyes to. It’s most effective when you stop doing what you are doing, when you are giving the tune room to breathe, and when you reach out for the feeling and wisdom that is offered. The song tells its story in the most calm and serene way possible, and it lets the listener float in a scenery full of peace and tranquility. For me, it also sets the tone for a new beginning. Like rain that is washing away whatever dust may have settled, this track cleans your mind for a new beginning.
~Florian Maier/kms reviews music blog