Upclose with Clea
UK girl band Clea released their debut album last month and now enter the global pop music scene with a Hong Kong show this week. Carol Choi talked with the three members - Emma, Aimee and Lynsey - about what drove them to form a girl band at a time when most people seem to be losing interest in the idea.
HK Magazine: Why is your group named “Clea”?
Lynsey: At the very beginning, there were four in our group, including a girl named Chloe. We met each other in an audition for a TV drama and that’s how we became friends. Soon we discovered our common dreams and interests and therefore decided to form a girl band. We took the initials of our names and formed “Clea.” Since then, Chloe decided to pursue another dream and we respect her choice.
But we kept the name.
HK: Many people think girl bands are cheesy and overly manufactured.
Aimee: Yes, we have heard those comments before. But what if we do have talent? We try our very best in every recording and every show to prove our ability. I think we are doing pop that is kind of mature, and which delivers a message in every song. And we’re sure we’ll show the critics as time passes that we do have the talent.
HK: But do you write your own songs?
Aimee: Oh, we would love to do that. Actually, we spend a lot of time talking to the producers before we start recording. We also try to talk to our musicians and composers so that we have a better understanding of each other and about the music. We hope we can produce our own songs one day.
HK: Well, do any of you actually play musical instruments?
Lynsey: We’ve wanted to do that for a long time. Aimee has learned guitar for three years but she’s still not confident enough to play on stage. All of us want to learn instruments like piano or drums so as to add variety to our performance. But since we are very, very busy, we seldom have the chance to practice.
HK: So what’s special about Clea?
Aimee: We try to know our fans individually. We often talk to them on our web forum - chitchatting but also talking about music. We want them to be our friends rather than our fans.
HK: Huh. Any special goals?
Emma: All we want is to do our best, every chance we get. And we’d love it if we could be as successful as our idols Madonna and the Spice Girls.