Clarissa Connelly is a composer, producer, and singer. Her debut for Warp Records, World of Work (2024), is an experimental pop marvel of entangling melodies and sharp instrumentation. Never stuck in one place, Connelly’s labyrinthian vocal style is monumental and vast, sounding and moving between the soft confidence of a Joni Mitchell and the broad intoxicating harmonies of Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares. The production melds crystalline folk with louder moments that are fuzzy with shoegaze textures of distortion, echo, and delay – yet the voice takes centre stage amidst the sonorous sounds she produces. The choral foundation of Connelly’s songs is established in the album’s opening track, “Into This, Called Loneliness”, while “An Embroidery” is a baroque opus of swirling arpeggios and jangling guitar. The timeless yet contemporary sensibility of Connelly’s music is alluring; it’s not surprising that bells ring out as a throughline in World of Work, as her work beckons and entices, mirage-like – almost a fantasy but real as can be.

Clarissa Connelly is an artist of the SHAPE+ platform for innovative music and interdisciplinary art, co-funded by the European Union and Pro Helvetia.

SHAPE+ is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.