It was just last year that I was first introduced to Berlin based artist clide. Instantly hooked by his impressive lyricism, lush vocals and clean yet dynamic production, clide has maintained his place in my personal playlists ever since. While there is an endless amount of new music being released every day and our inbox is flooded with talented artists around the world, every so often an artist like clide comes along and stands out from the pack.
Having been immersed in music nearly his whole life, clide brings an authenticity and impressive understanding of music theory to everything he touches, releasing gem after gem and leaving the world with no other option than to take notice. With a massive buzz, steadily increasing fanbase and small but impressive catalog already available for the world to hear, clide has quickly proven himself as one of the most consistent and captivating new artists in the indie scene. With stream counts already in the millions and even more jams in the stash and ready to release, clide may just be getting started, but I promise he will not be going away any time soon.
Leading up to the release of his new EP, clide has recently released two new singles, both showing a different side of the multi-faceted musician and further adding to the hype around the release of his highly-anticipated new project.
While, “can’t give back your love“, pulls at the heartstrings, with clide delivering an emotive performance that we can all relate to, he switches gears on, “flight mode“, kicks things up a few notches, allowing him to display a more energetic, emo vibe that will without a doubt hold its ground against other buzzing artists in the same lane. Never afraid to switch gears and try something new, it is clide‘s penchant for penning accessible, poignant, refreshing tunes that appeal to the masses that allows him to seamlessly cross genres without question.
Having been increasingly impressed by clide with each new release, it only felt right for me to get him on board for an interview so that I could learn a bit more about the man and mind behind some of my most recent musical obsessions. Since I have no doubt it is only a matter of time before he blows, I can’t help but be excited to share our chat with you all – I am like 99% positive that in the next year or two clide is going to be way too busy to be doing interviews with tiny, baby, boutique blogs like RockDafuqOut. Luckily we have a pretty good track record of finding, supporting and sharing your favorite artists years before you know their names ;). Keep scrolling for the interview and show clide some love wherever you listen to music.
RDFO: I see your bio states that you are Half-American. Which parent is from the US and did you spend anytime growing up as a child on this side of the pond?
clide: My dad is American and lives on the East coast. I pretty much grew up with my Mom in Berlin, but I used to visit him for a few weeks once a year in New York or Portland, Maine.
RDFO: From what I see, hear and have read; Berlin has an incredible music scene (totally a bucket list location for me). How do you think living in Berlin has helped to shape you as an artist and what do you feel it is about the city that harbors such an inspirational and supportive community for artists?
clide: In general growing up and living in Berlin is great, because it is such an open minded and multicultural city. I grew up in a family of classical musicians, so I have always been surrounded and influenced by music. I didn’t wanna pursuit it as a carreer though, until I found my passion in producing and songwriting and ended up studying on a music school in Berlin. This was a time that really helped me develop on a personal and musical level, being surrounded by an environment of so many talented people from all different cultures and musical genres.
RDFO: When you dropped your first single in 2018, was this completely independent and how did you feel the song performed and reacted out of the gate? Was the support as expected or did it surpass your expectations?
clide: Back then I really just wanted to release something, to show the world what I was doing. I did that completely independent, from producing, mixing, mastering and actually uploading it to a distributor. It didn’t really blow up, but still it was something I was really proud of and an important step on my way! The support and excitement I already felt back then, really showed me why I am doing this and gave me confidence and motivation to keep working hard.
RDFO: Since you came onto my radar with, “fallin”, last year, I have been keeping close tabs and you have not disappointed since. While the vibe may change from tune to tune, I feel you are putting out an impressive and consistent line of beautiful jams. How do you approach your release schedule and how many singles do you currently have ready to go and on the schedule for the rest of the year?
clide: First of all, thank you so much, means a lot to hear that! And yeah, I personally listen to a lot of styles of music, which is why I also have a hard time listing my music to one genre. My approach to songwriting is, that is has to come from a real place of personal experience, being something that matters to me, so I can pour all of my emotion into it. I feel like that’s how all of my songs are connected, regardless of their genre. I also find it exciting to experiment and be innovative, always looking for a fresh sound and not copying what’s working right now… at the moment I have another EP ready, called “feelings” which will be released within the next month. But I am working on a lot of new songs already, that hopefully will be the best ones I’ve written so far!
RDFO: I really dig your vocal tone and delivery, there is something super dreamy and innocent there… how long have you been a singer and when did you first start to write your own lyrics?
clide: I was singing all of my life. I was great at it as a kid, but I lost my confidence in it when my voice changed as a teenager and kind of stopped. I think I was 16 when I slowly got back to it, but it took a while until I felt comfortable singing in front of other people again. I never had vocal lessons, so for me it’s a very intuitive and emotionally driven thing.
RDFO: Your recent single, “can’t give back your love”, is quite possibly my favorite to date. Were the lyrics in this inspired by a personal life experience or was it a more broad and worldly approach?
clide: When writing that song I was confronted with that situation. In the end it didn’t happen exactly like the song tells it, but it was that spark of inspiration I got from the situation, that made me write it, making it feel real to me. Also I liked the idea of writing a “heartbreak” song, but flipping the narrative to the one that has to break it, instead of being heartbroken, which I feel like is the more common perspective in songs.
RDFO: Your sound definitely has a perfect blend of Pop and R&B influences – are there any other artists out there that you feel may help to impact your sound whether blatantly or subliminally?
clide: As I mentioned I listen to a lot of different genres. I actually grew up listening to what was playing on the radio, as my parents wouldn’t play music at home after thy were rehearsing all day. So I guess that’s why I’m always drawn to pop music to some extent. I started out producing EDM music, but also always loved Hip Hop, Singer Songwriter or Experimental/Alternative stuff. Recently also a lot of Emo/Punk and Hyperpop stuff. Artists I really love and that had an impact on my music are Goody Grace, G-Eazy, One Republic, Post Malone, ODESZA, but there are so many more.
RDFO: Is there anyone on your team that you would like to shout out? Any frequent collaborators, people you bounce ideas off of, any other people playing a part behind the scene that deserve a bit of recognition?
clide: Yeah, I definitely wanna shout out my Management, who are super supportive and are building up all of this together with me, as well as my producer, Pascal Martin, who helps me finish and produce my shitty demos and makes them sound good!;)
RDFO: Is there anything else you want our readers to know?
clide: That you can do anything. Follow your dreams and find your passion. Do what makes you happy in life. Believe in yourself and be confident enough to follow your own happiness and intuition instead of playing by the rules that society might have made up for you. Dreams Come True!
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