Dream-pop songwriter Claude has announced her debut EP, Enactor, out on Feb. 12, 2021, via Side Hustle Records/The Orchard. Claude has also shared the EP’s first single, “Screen,” alongside its music video.
Claude says of the new song:
“Screen” is about the feeling of desperation I get when I use technology and social media to get attention from or to feel connected to others, especially when I feel lonely or isolated. I’m getting attention from and connecting with other people but only through a very small and curated part of myself. I waste a lot of time and energy for that part of me to feel satisfied temporarily through a medium that isn’t truly authentic or tactile in the first place. No matter how long I think about something I’m posting or how good I think something I’m posting is, it’s never enough and usually leaves me feeling more isolated and lonely than I did before.
She adds:
While I wrote the song before the pandemic, having to stay at home created an opportunity for me to explore the feeling of desperation when using technology and social media to get attention or create the illusion of connecting with others. A lot of the experiences we used to have in person are now being lived through our screens, online, and I think they make our reality seem even more distorted than it currently is.
Loneliness and isolation were also forced onto us this year, even though it was and still is essential for our safety and the safety of others. It’s a situation that’s pretty much universal and it’s been interesting to see how everyone has been dealing with it, or at least how they’ve been portraying the way they’ve been dealing with it. During this time so many things have been amplified and exposed through our screens, and there are more important and pressing things vying for the attention of the people around us—like the pandemic, protests surrounding police brutality and systemic injustice, and the election, to name a few—how do we strike a balance between staying active and informed while also preserving our mental health during this time when we have no other inlet or outlet for the most part but our screens?
Watch the video for “Screen” below, and keep scrolling for the Enactor album artwork and tracklist. You can preorder the album here.
Enactor Album Artwork:
Enactor Tracklist:
01. Screen
02. Everything’s Great
03. In Limbo
04. Reality
05. Fantasy
06. Enactor
