Here’s the video premiere of ‘Wants Me Back’, the latest single from New York singer-songwriter Claire Hawkins. The song was written during Hawkins’ time as an Artist-in-Residence at the Odyssée Artist Residency Program in Canet-en-Roussillon, France, and the sensitive writing and themes reflect the quiet introspection of her time spent in the seaside town’s off-season. Opening with just Hawkins’ pure, plaintive voice, “This room has an echo // It makes me want to sing // Like someone else might be listening,” the song is immediately and deeply reflective, prompting us to ruminate on our desires and the passage of time. The words, full of resignation, are delivered in a haunting, gorgeous melody. Throughout, the delicate piano and understated instrumentation allow the focus to remain on Hawkins’s vocal, which really is graceful, elegant and wearily beautiful.
Directed and edited by Florence Bradish and shot by Hawkins’ brother, cinematographer Eliot Hawkins, the video presents the stark silence and hollowness of an empty home. Hawkins is a ghostly figure, drifting forlornly between those abandoned rooms, lost in memory and time; it leaves us reflecting on the ephemeral nature of our lives and loves, of relationships and our place in the world, and it is a fitting accompaniment to the tone and feel of ‘Wants Me Back’.
A graduate of New York’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music, Hawkins has released three EPs and a number of singles. She is known for her troubadour lifestyle and extensive performance schedule around the world, taking her music to various countries and cultures. As she travels, Hawkins captures her experiences as an independent musician on her YouTube channel, which has had more than 2.5 million views and has over 25,000 subscribers from all over the world. You can follow Hawkins on her travels here, including her recent stay in the city of Fukuoka, Japan, where she was invited to live for a month by CoLive Fukuoka. But first, pause here and immerse yourself in this sensitive, thoughtful songwriting.
