An Updated Interview with Colton Claye, August 2026
How do you feel your sound/ways of working have changed since we last talked in 2024? Any new outlooks or inspirations that have influenced your music?
Last time we talked, the interior landscape was leading things. but with the latest EP there was a greater emphasis on being part of a world around me, a member of society, and as the title and 4th of July release date would suggest, the combination of AI taking hold and the US reaching its 250th had some influence on the new songs.
Tell me about Humanizing!! What was the creative process behind it? What were some general goals/messages you wanted to portray through it? What does it mean to you?
The creative process was wonderful. I wrote and recorded the songs over the first four months of the year. When I had free time, I was able to lay back and lose myself in several books, with my cat Yogi curled next to me, sometimes the view outside would be of snow falling and I would just be taken on these incredible journeys with Cheryl Strayed in Wild and Jeanette Walls in The Glass Castle. Springsteen's process making Nebraska in Deliver me from nowhere. I reread a few that stayed with me over the years such as Into the wild and even Judy Blume's young adult novel, Then again, maybe I won't which was pretty powerful when I was 11. I would take walks in nature, sometimes it was bitter cold, single digits and strong winds , sometimes unseasonably warm, I would often come back with a song and would record it almost immediately.
AI and liberty were central themes. New technology is another form of wild and i'd gone into it during this time. Joseph Conrad's jungle is one thing, but to be in a sterile environment with cold technology and see the "Heart of darkness" and primal temptations in a dispassionate mirror is a whole new level of insight we are going to have to find our way with. I suppose this was my attempt at cartography and trying to give language to it.
That is a great question. I find that utilizing different mediums helps me navigate life, and process what it hands me, somewhat easier. Does what I encounter deserve documentation or celebrating or is it an opportunity for something better to occur? Does it best get expressed by using rhythm or stillness? Working with time or space? Does it call for non-linear or linear thinking or both?
What is your current big goal? What does the future hold/what are you working towards right now?
I tend to juggle a few things. The projects calling me the most at present are several writing projects, getting back to recording and performing music with Jack and a few songs that were presented to me to complete by some friends who no longer perform, some are just the music and one is just the lyrics, from a friend who is no longer with us. The words are in Spanish, and I think i've finally come up with the music for it, now to figure out how to play it and sing in Spanish haha.
Check him out HERE!
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