Newly signed to Phoebe Bridgers’ label Saddest Factory, Claud’s music is proper charming stuff.
Words: Sam Taylor.
21-year-old Claud Mintz – that’s Claud to you and I – is the first artist to release through Phoebe Bridgers new label Saddest Factory. There’s much more to them than that, though. Formally known as Toast, Claud’s brand of bedroom alt-pop has a warm, welcoming tone. Most recent track ‘Gold’ is a story about contradictions, and certainly fits Bridgers’ mission statement of “good songs, regardless of genre”.
Hi Claud, how’s it going? What are you up to today?
Hellooo! It’s going pretty well over here. I woke up a few hours ago, and now I’m searching eBay for a stuffed penguin.
How have you found 2020? It’s been a weird one, hasn’t it.
2020 is that one bully in middle school that makes your life MISERABLE but you come out a better person because of it… hopefully.
Congrats on signing to Saddest Factory, how did that come about?
Thanks! I’ve been releasing music on my own for a while, but Phoebe reached out to me about a year ago. I’ve been a fan of hers for a minute, so that was cool. After hanging out a ton, and I realized how much I liked and trusted her vision for my project. Plus I love supporting other artists, especially queer artists, cause like, fuck the patriarchy, right?
Is your debut album all done and dusted now? What’s left to do?
It is both done and dusted. All that’s left to do is make a few music videos and annoy people when it comes out to actually listen to it.
“I love supporting other artists, especially queer artists, cause like, fuck the patriarchy, right?”
Claud
How did you find the process of putting it together? Was there a steep learning curve?
I didn’t realize I was making an album until about nine months in. I write songs sorta non-stop, and this album is the best of the bunch thus far. After deciding which songs told my story the best, I spent about two weeks in New York this summer doing some final production and then mixed it at Electric Lady Studios (which was a dream come true)!
How have you approached curating the tracklisting?
It all fell into place pretty naturally; I just followed my ear and instincts. Most of the songs are so different from each other, so by paying attention to what fit/sounded the best next to each other, I was able to work it out.
It feels like bedroom pop is really having a moment, what acts have you been enjoying?
Hmm, I’m not even 100% sure what qualifies as bedroom pop, but some of my favourite artists right now are HAWA, Spencer., MICHELLE, and Erika de Casier.
What inspires you, both in music and in life?
My friends inspire me! I feel lucky to be surrounded by such creative people.
What are your hopes for 2021?
I hope we get Trump out of office, stop the spread of COVID-19, and bring live shows and just life in general back. Seems like a lot to hope for right now, but I’m trying to stay positive and optimistic.
Taken from the December 2020 / January 2021 issue of Dork, out now.
