Clara Luzia – the beautiful sound of the name is not only wonderfully easy on the ears, but just as easily sticks in the mind. After she won the Austrian Amadeus Award in the category “FM4 Alternative Act of the Year” in 2008, the local singer-songwriter with the fragile stature and powerful voice aroused a lot of interest and soon enough gained an enormous reputation that has extended far beyond the Alpine frontiers.
Just like many other solo artists, the rise of Clara Luzia began in a band. With her sister Veronika and Elizabeth Gettinger, she founded the formation Alalie Lilt in 1999. Two album releases and numerous live performances later, Clara Luzia left the joint project to pursue a solo career. Miss Humpel, as in her real name, accompanied the British singer Emma McGlynn (with whom she also recorded the song “Faces”) on tour.
Soon after, she became acquainted with the musician Alexander Nefzger, with whom she produced her first solo album “Railroad Tracks”, which was released on her self-founded label “Asinella Records”. As an arranger, Nefzger was involved in the following songs, “The Long Memory,” and “The Ground Below”. Clara Luzia was fortunate enough to be able to perform as an opening act for international stars like Sarah Bettens and The Frames. Not bad for musical starters.
In her own charming way, Clara Luzia mainly spreads a folk-feeling, but some electronic influences in many of her arrangements cannot be denied. After the second album “The Long Memory” in 2007, she released her next album “The Ground Below” two years later. Her most recent work “Falling Into Place” was released this year. Once again, she has proved that she is rightfully considered as one of the most talented songwriters of the country.
Her songs range from catchy pop songs to drifts into lilting melancholy, letting happiness and melancholy alternate in skilful harmony. In terms of content, her songs are mainly about relationships, unrequited love, loss, separation and deep emotions, always wrapped up in beautiful metaphors, which could just as well be bundled in a book of poems.
The talented musician has consistently shown that the genre of singer-songwriting has a much larger span than just singing and some guitar plink-plonking. Her expressive voice is supported by a brilliant instrumental ensemble that has definitely left its mark. Starting from Austria’s capital city, she has taken up her triumphant course through the German-speaking countries. So far with great success and there is surely a lot more to come.
Photos Clara Luzia @ Sarah Haas
http://claraluzia.com