Q&A: Claire Wellin of Youth in a Roman Field Discusses Single “Nightswims,” Inspirations and Upcoming Album ‘Get Caught Trying’
VIEWING MUSIC AS ITS OWN HEALING LANGUAGE — Claire Wellin has been using it to tell meaningful stories all her life. Wellin has explored music through many different lenses, touring with Once the musical as well as transitioning from indie-rock band San Fermin to the sweeping folk sound of Youth in a Roman Field.
In November, Youth in a Roman Field will release Get Caught Trying, an album focusing on healing, self-worth, and loss of faith, specifically as America continues to change. “Nightswims” is the first single from the album, out everywhere on Aug. 30. It touches on the ways the digital world continues to make intimacy difficult, as well as the anger and sadness Wellin feels when looking at life in America.
Read below to learn more about how Youth in a Roman Field came to be and the themes her music explores.
LUNA: First off, hello! How are you doing?
WELLIN: Hi! I am doing well, all things considered. I am very concerned about the state of the country and of the world, but I am grateful for my friends and family and food and the roof over my head. Hope you are all doing OK too.
LUNA: Can you share a bit about your relationship with music throughout your life?
WELLIN: Absolutely. I grew up with it from day one — I recently got the poster from my first show, a symphony concert featuring a jazz violinist, when I was a week old. My parents are both musicians (my dad a violinist and my mom a pianist) and apparently I just loved the violin as well as singing from day one. It's just always been the way I express myself as well as how I relate to the world. I started playing the violin on my first day of kindergarten and it just went from there. I was in every choir, orchestra, and play I had access to. In high school, I got really into jazz and musical theater, which I would eventually go to college for. I abandoned the violin at that point, but a college friend introduced me to Andrew Bird. I was like, “WHAT? I can do this?!” From there, things changed towards expanding songwriting as well as expanding the instruments I could play. Music has guided and inspired me, calmed and consoled me, nurtured and held me, bolstered and encouraged me — and committing myself to it has brought such adventure into my life.
LUNA: For those who don’t know, can you describe what led you to naming the band Youth in a Roman Field?
WELLIN: Ooh, thank you for asking! I studied abroad in Rome the summer after my last semester in college. This had been a life-long dream of mine — my parents had brought me to Italy when I was 10 months old and there were so many stories about that time that delighted me. Beyond that, my dad had once said that Italy was the only place he felt truly himself, and as I was beginning to confront the extent of my depression (which I would learn later on had deep family roots) “getting away to discover myself” felt imperative, as it does for so many at that age. At the time, I was performing in a band with a friend but had not prioritized music in college and felt I was missing a piece in my life; I hadn’t played the violin in years and was disillusioned by the prospect of pursuing musical theater. I was walking home from class and happened upon this massive city park that I loved. A short distance away there was a girl, maybe five years old, wearing a red checkered dress and spinning around in this open, grassy area. She exhibited such palpable joy — the “joy of living” that kids so easily embody. I wanted to be like her — I knew I once was like her — and it got me thinking about what it was that brought me real joy: music! Songwriting and returning to writing in general has become vital in processing what is going on in my head, in my body, and in the world. I started writing music then and there under the name Youth in a Roman Field in homage to that moment. My depression has by no means left me but making music is a way to create time and space for joy, connection, and reflection. It’s a language of its own with capabilities for healing so many people and from anywhere around the world.
LUNA: I love the description of your sound as a combination of “Appalachia, cayenne pepper, and ghosts.”. Can you elaborate on some of these descriptors or add a couple more?
WELLIN: (Laughs) Thank you! A fellow singer-songwriter and friend of ours “coined” that phrase several years ago and we thought it was great. If I was to guess what he meant by that, I’d say Appalachia because of the geographical (folk) influence and direct, romantic lyrics/POV; cayenne pepper for the “heat” I guess. Some stuff gets really fire-y, musically speaking — there are definitely some intense and energized moments — and ghosts because of the reverb (laughs). I actually feel like “ghosts” is the most apt descriptor for this new record. I tried to make “ghost folk” work for a while — who knows if that’s futile! But the music and the songs are intended to feel otherworldly and sweeping; I absolutely try to transform the space we share in performance and as musician-to-listener. I want to create space and time through music, where people can just pause and hang out in their feelings or in their bodies for a minute in some sort of liminal space.
LUNA: What was it like transitioning from San Fermin to Youth in a Roman Field?
WELLIN: It's been very symbiotic. I actually started Youth in a Roman Field in 2012, before I even moved to NYC and auditioned for either Once or San Fermin. We were a quartet from Chicago and all ended up in New York, where we added Jamie in 2015. He was the first bassist I was recommended to and woah, it worked out so well! I couldn’t believe it. So the full band as well as my solo versions have existed simultaneously to my being in San Fermin. I joined them in 2016 and everyone in the band has been so supportive of this project from the get. I was thrilled to be asked to join that band and still am. It’s really special — we’re working with Better Company, Allen & Ellis’ label on this release. It feels like the relationships we’ve all cultivated over the years have borne a new road for support and collaboration. Additionally, Mike Hanf played vibraphone and percussion on this record and Tyler McDiarmid mastered it.
LUNA: From the description of your upcoming single, it seems like there was a lot of emotional weight attached to creating it. Can you share about the ways in which writing this song was formative?
WELLIN: Definitely. One of the major ways is that from the beginning it followed a very straightforward structure and had very straightforward chorus and pre-chorus lyrics. Both these elements are not usually present at the same time in my songwriting. I feel like this allowed me to really get off my chest (and hopefully communicate) the main feeling, the core issue at hand: “I don’t feel valued. I want to be loved and respected. And based on what I’m seeing out here, I don’t have faith that this will happen.” Then I could be really impressionistic with the verse lyrics and support all of it with swimmy, layered strings and patter-like bass and percussion.
LUNA: How would you describe your new song, “Nightswims,” to someone who’s never heard it before?
WELLIN: Ooh. I would say it's like the soundtrack to a dark and affecting dream that somehow leaves you feeling seen/heard/held as well as curious about what that darkness could unlock. Like a strange, soothing translation of an impassioned soap-box plea.
LUNA: In “Nightswims,” I noticed the repetition of the lyric “Take a risk for me, take a chance for me.” What was the creative choice behind emphasizing this line?
WELLIN: (Laughs) It’s quite literally how I felt, specifically around the heartbreak I was experiencing but also in general when it comes to both romance and my career. I've struggled with feeling like I have so much to offer and yet don't experience reciprocated interest or appreciation. Like, my love is too big or has nowhere to go; like my skills, opinions, or creative ideas aren't valued, and like the larger industry doesn't actually want innovation but more of the same. It's emphasized because I mean it.
LUNA: Congratulations on your upcoming album Get Caught Trying! Can you share a bit about its themes and the process of creating it?
WELLIN: Thank you! I’ve struggled with depression and anger my entire life, but it’s been really difficult to identify what anger is mine and what does not belong to me. It became necessary to figure that out over the last six years and create a path for living with instead of against it. What began as an exercise in self-soothing led to my exploring generational patterns and trauma and the anger that accompanies it as a thread between myself and the women who came before me. Get Caught Trying is an attempt to make sense of that while opening up time and space for enjoyment, humor, and healing in the process. So much of our world is bombardment, distraction, and noise. I wanted to make something that created space and time for sifting and soothing, that felt nourishing and nurturing. I needed it when I wrote it, and I need it now! I wrote the songs between 2016–2020, finishing just before the pandemic hit and we locked down in NYC. We’d been set to start in March of 2020, hoping to record as a band (the way we have our previous albums) but ended up slowly putting things together over the summer of 2020, coming into the studio one or two at a time to track the record. Cassidy, who was in Chicago, recorded remotely and sent in her viola parts. Allen Tate and I co-produced; Kyle Joseph, Carter Stirtz, and Ryan Mannix engineered, [and] Allen and Kyle mixed. Tyler McDiarmid mastered the record. The process was totally different from the way we’d planned it to go, which brought this weird ease, lightness, and experimentation to the fore. Making it was a true bright spot amidst all the isolation and disappointment. The title references living a life inspired, bolstered, and made possible by the women who came before me. I have found that speaking and singing upwards and outwards to them has opened, at the very least, a useful path forward. Over the past few months, the need for this space and time has only been amplified, as the Supreme Court’s ruling on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Listening to and embracing those who have come before us, those who have been fighting the fight, is a reminder that we do not live this life alone — and we can't go into the future alone, either.
LUNA: How did you decide “Nightswims” would be the lead single of this album?
WELLIN: Well, it has by far the darkest tone of all the songs and serves as a sort of “jumping off point” from where I started to write music to help soothe myself. It's like the song where I got things off my chest, from which I could grow and heal. It was also the first song recorded for this song, and due to the timing of that — pre-COVID, specifically — we recorded it all in one room and basically created the arrangement in real time. It sort of ushers in the realities with which the rest of the record contends.
LUNA: Who are some of your inspirations in both your daily life and in music?
WELLIN: How much time do you have? In writing this record, I realized truly how many writers, journalists, and musicians I've been inspired by and how often they all blend together, i.e. a few of my journalistic and essayist heroes: Jessica Yellin, Jenny Odell, Rebecca Solnit, Brene Brown, Rebecca Traister, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sonya Renee Taylor, Jia Tolentino, Heidi Schreck, and Sarah Marshall just show up in my writing. I'm just so impressed by the volume of work that has made it possible for me to recognize and express myself. The election of Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Cori Bush has been a massive inspiration. Additionally, the timing of Fiona Apple's record Fetch the Bolt Cutters and Laura Marling's Songs for Our Daughter were really impactful because they came out as I had finished writing this record and went into pre-production and recording. Those records inspired me to make the most true-to-me record I could. I also feel, like so many female folk artists, that I worship at the altar of Kate Bush, who I'm thrilled is getting a lot of renewed attention these days.
LUNA: It’s incredible that you toured with Delta Rae and Once the musical! What were some of the most memorable moments from this time?
WELLIN: Yes! Until San Fermin, Once was my favorite job I've ever had. First of all, I absolutely love touring; I feel like I'm built for the road and really miss it being a regular part of my life. I absolutely love seeing the design and makeup of different cities, experiencing the culture there, getting a vibe for the audiences... all of it. And particularly with Once, you are with each other day in and day out (because days off are usually spent traveling) for a year straight (or more) and those bonds just become so strong. I made so many close friends during that time and loved the community created between the actors, backstage personnel, stage managers, and venue staff. It's fun to go to work every day and have your office be a gorgeous theater that was meticulously crafted by hand, in some cases. In other cases, your office is a tiny venue with a floor that is perpetually sticky with spilled beer, but that also has its own special place in my heart.
LUNA: What are some upcoming plans besides the album release in November?
WELLIN: Hoooboy. Um, sleeping? And touring! I’ll hopefully be playing shows throughout North America in fall 2022 and winter/spring 2023. That's the plan as of now but the unknowns of COVID have made all of that a little less accessible. But that's my favorite part — performing to a live audience. I absolutely love that communion and hope we get to share this record live with as many people as possible.
LUNA: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
WELLIN: Thank you for such lovely and thorough questions! I want to encourage your readers to, if they haven't already, get registered to vote for any and all local elections in their area — especially for the midterms in November. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, it's our judges, prosecutors, sheriffs, and state legislatures that will be determining the fate of so many people, and it's imperative we know what these people stand for when we're trusting them with local office. So much of what affects our lives on the daily happens at the local level, and I really want everyone who cares about bodily autonomy and the right to privacy to know where every politician courting their vote stands on the right to choice. Our reps should work for us — we pay their salaries, and they should adequately represent what the people want. My being able to make music is directly related to my access to healthcare, my access to fair wages in my other jobs, and my access to the social safety net that NY, and unfortunately, fewer and fewer states, provide for constituents when it comes to having power over one's own body. What happens in November will determine so much about where we go as a democracy and we've all gotta show up to make change.
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