Get To Know Clay Western & His Musical Inspirations

We caught up with WA artist Clay Western after the release of his new single ‘Nothing Lasts’, to hear about his biggest musical influences.

Finding a home in the hearts of fans of The War On Drugs, The Middle East & Kurt Vile, Clay is becoming known for creating super warm, dreamy indie beats. Receiving editorial playlist and media support for previous singles ‘Stay High’ and ‘Shouldn’t Come Around’, this new track is clearly another step in the right direction for the Boorloo/Perth-based songwriter.

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Produced and engineered by Jordie Davieson and Josh Biondillo (San Cisco), ‘Nothing Lasts’ explores change and the potential volatility of leaving your comfort zone. In his own words: “I feel like ‘Nothing Lasts’ is as, if not more, relevant to me now than it was when I was first writing it. When we were writing the track, I was in a pretty volatile place. I was leaving everything I had become comfortable with in life and jumping into the unknown. From then through to the present, having moved to Byron and now Sydney within a four-month period, I’ve learned that you never know where life will take you. I feel like I’m learning to be comfortable living in the unknown. You have to throw yourself into situations and just hope for the best sometimes. These are the things I feel people grow from.”

Get to know a bit more about Clay with the shortlist of his top musical influences he’s put together below!

Whitney:

“Josh introduced me to Whitney during the recording sessions for  ‘Nothing Lasts’. I’d heard a couple of their tracks in the past, but hadn’t dived too far into the Whitney vortex. I ended up listening to them a lot during between sessions and became pretty obsessed with the production and melodies.”

The Money War:

“I came across them at a time when I was pretty lost with how I wanted to sound. Both the songwriting  and production really resonated with me. Their drummer, Caleb, played in my band for a period when I first moved to Fremantle, and I ended up being introduced to Dylan and Carmen when he brought them along to one of my first headline shows. Dylan and I became good mates and he ended up producing/co-writing my last EP ‘Everyday Living’.”

Gorillaz:

“I have such vivid memories of seeing Gorillaz on rage when I was a kid and I think they really influenced my love for music. I actually met some of the band at Splendor on the Friday night when the festival was rained out and their set got canceled. I was living in Byron at the time and I was walking home from a party at 2am with some friends. We were walking down a bush track and it led us to a resort. We were carrying a case of VB and saw all these deck chairs and couches next to the resort pool so we decided to have a pitstop and have a beer next to the pool. 10 minutes later these people were walking past the pool and we called them over. We got chatting and it ended up being a few of the members of Gorillaz. I definitely had a bit of a fangirl moment.”

Eagles:

“I don’t know how many times I’ve watched Eagles Live at the Capitol Center concert. I get really obsessed with bands and I definitely went through a big Eagles phase. Their catalog is so extensive and every song has something so special about it. The  5-part harmonies, the tasteful lead breaks, the songs. They are the epitome of music for me.”

The War on Drugs:

“The War on Drugs reminds me of road trips around WA. Having their albums on repeat has definitely kept me sane on long drives between shows and on surf trips where you’re often on the road for 4-5 hours at a time.”

Listen to ‘Nothing Lasts’- out everywhere now!