Meet Toronto Singer/Songwriter Claire Hunter, Your Next Musical Love

As a music fan there is no greater joy than discovering a great talent, someone whose music speaks to you in such a way you feel these songs were almost written for you. That is the gift of a great singer/songwriter, like Toronto-based Claire Hunter.

Scrolling through her Instagram stories during COVID I discovered Hunter’s extraordinary ability to take listeners on a journey through her music. Hunter transports you into another dimension, one of a haunting, ethereal beauty with her timeless songs (think Twin Peaks-era Julee Cruise laced with hints of The Heart Of Saturday Night circa Tom Waits).

Hunter is the type of singer that if you walked into a bar in 1955, 1985, 2025 or 2075 and she was singing your jaw would drop and you’d exclaim, “Who the hell is that?” There s something mesmerizing about the vulnerability of her voice. And even in the rising instrumentation of her new single, “Dancing In The Light,” which is being premiered here now, that soft, effortless, intimate beauty of her voice captivates.

I spoke with Hunter about the “artsy video,” her musical influences — from Phoebe Bridgers and Sylvan Esso to Brandi Carlile — returning to music after an extended hiatus during COVID, and much more.

Steve Baltin: It’s an interesting song, there’s such a buildup in it. Did that come about in the writing or when you started recording it?

Claire Hunter: That came about when we started recording it. I actually sent it to one of my friends who’s in a band, and he suggested that it build and that the build was doubled so yeah. It was an idea my friend had when I shared it with him.

Baltin: Were there songs that you think of that sort of rising crescendo?

Hunter: One that comes to mind initially is that Phoebe Bridgers song, “I Know The End.” That song gets crazy and my song doesn’t get nearly as big as that one, but I do think of that song when I think of build. It starts off so soft and it builds into this huge song. It’s on the Punisher album. Yeah, that’s definitely one that I think of when I think of a song building this well. It goes from zero to 100.

Baltin: The song still takes you on that sort of emotional journey. Once you started to go back and listen to it, how did it feel for you?

Hunter: Yeah, it’s just so different from anything else I’ve done. I really wanted to have the production sort of allow me to have these softer vocals. And it’s interesting, the song does kind of hit harder than most of the songs that I’ve recorded, but the vocals are softer than pretty much anything I’ve recorded before. It’s interesting that it has that effect for you. But yeah, the song really came together over a long period of time. I started recording it with my friend Alex Purcell, who is a producer and musician. So he laid down the electric guitar and I did the vocals. And then I knew I wanted to do something different with the song and find someone to do like synth or just like add something just special and unique to the song. So, I was going through stories on Instagram, and I came upon this post. It was a story that this producer Andrew Sarlo posted. And he’s a producer that’s worked with Big Thief and Maggie Rogers. So it was like, “I’ve compiled this huge list of artists, producers, mixers, etcetera, who are interested in collaborating. If you want access to this list, just shoot me a DM, and I’ll send you the list. I’ll email you the list.” So I was like, “Oh, sick!” Okay, so I sent him a DM and I got the list and I spent days going through this list and I listened to so many artists, and I was just looking for something very specific, and then I found Jason Koth. And I just immediately knew that he had to be on the song. He’s based out of Chicago, I emailed him and I was nervous. [But] he was stoked to be on board. So he added on those like interesting textured elements, all the sync and the deep percussion. He really brought the track alive. So it was incredible when I first heard what he did. That was the moment where I was like, “This is something special. This is exactly what I wanted to do with this.” When he sent me his first take of it, I was like, “Ah! Yes!”

Baltin: When you bring new people in who can change your sound, how much does that invigorate you?

Hunter: Yeah, it was so exciting to find someone whose sound I just admired and bring my song and kind of put our heads together and make something. And I think we’re working on another track right now. So yeah, it was super exciting.

Baltin: When you get someone whose music you respect wanting to work with you does that invigorate you?

Hunter: Yeah, it was definitely affirming. And it did ignite something in me. I immediately just felt more hopeful for the music I’m going to create in the future. During the pandemic, I really went through a lull and I barely wrote at all. There was probably at least a five or six-month period where I didn’t even pick up an instrument or sing. I just felt stuck and uninspired, frankly. So yeah, finding someone to collaborate with really kind of helped me get out of that rut.

Baltin: When did you start this song?

Hunter: This song I wrote probably in like 2017. Years ago before I had taken a break, I was very much performing and writing a lot back then. And yeah, I wrote this song in one sitting, one of those songs that just kind of floats out. I was just kind of thinking about friendship and what that means to me. So the song just floated out and I have played it live for quite a while. But I knew that when it came time to recording it, I wanted to do something different with it.

Baltin: How has the song changed for you in terms of the meaning and what it represents now five years later?

Hunter: My friendships have evolved and changed over time and we’re all growing up and yeah, I think maybe the song has taken on a slightly different meaning. But the core message remains the same in that you hope that you’re being a positive force in your friends lives.

Baltin: Let’s talk about the video. Who directed?

Hunter: Rian Wibowo directed the video and we met also through Instagram. There was still a lot of COVID going around so we met in the park and discussed video concepts. Together we came up with some ideas for shots and I asked them, “What is the concept of the video?” And they had a very interesting thing to say. They said that it’s a collection of vignettes following how light moves through the day from dusk to dawn and elevates our experience of the day. So it’s essentially a study of light and how we experience our day through light. And in this specific day that we experience in this music video, it’s supposed to be a really good day in someone’s life.

Baltin: What’s Claire Hunter’s perfect day?

Hunter: I’d say waking up and being outside swimming in the ocean, being around friends or family would constitute a perfect day. Being in nature being in good company.

Baltin: What three songs soundtrack your perfect day?

Hunter: I’d say anything by Sylvan Esso, like “Make It Easy” by Sylvan Esso. I love that song, “Make it easy, make it rain, make it simple.” The song “Maybe I’ll Go Nowhere’ by Ethan Gruska. I love that song. I listen to it all of the time, anytime I’m leaving the house, I’ll throw it on. Just kind of where I’m at in life right now. Like maybe I’ll get nowhere. I love that song and if I had to pick a third I do love, “We Can Work It Out,” the Stevie Wonder version. Also lately I’ve been playing Haim a lot.

Baltin: What’s the timeline then for releasing more music?

Hunter: I’d say I want something else to come out late fall. There’s a song that I have called “A Vision Of Us,’ that I’m working on and it’s a song that I’ve written on piano. So that’s my next, my next single I’ll be releasing. And then Jason and I are also working on a track, but I’m not sure what the plans are for releasing that. But yeah, I think my plan right now is to continue exploring this new sound through releasing some singles and then working towards releasing an album. But I just feel like I’m in this kind of free exploration phase and it’s fun to do that with singles. I like the direction that the music has gone and I’m very excited to release this song yeah. So yeah, another single this year.

Baltin: Who would be your dream artist to tour with?

Hunter: I’d love it to be a Canadian artist like Bahamas and Charlotte Cornfield is someone that I would love to open for. She’s also a Canadian artist that I am a huge fan of, I’d go on tour as her backup singer, to be honest. I’d be so down with that. Brandi Carlile is someone that I would love to open for, and also someone that I would just love to watch every night. She’s incredible. I love her writing, her performance style and her voice, that would be a dream one.

Baltin: What do you hope people take from the video?

Hunter: I hope that people feel inspired to bring more lights into their lives and into their relationships, whether they be with friends or romantic relationships. And to just enjoy the small things. I hope this video empowers people to just slow down and enjoy little moments, smell the flowers and notice things around them in their day.