Claire Hamill reflects on 55 years of music: “Every song must have a life”

o control my own destiny. It was a very exciting time and felt like anything was possible. I wanted to create something unique, representing me and everything I could hear and loved in music. I think this work with the band resulted in a more mature and complex album than before.

We’ve seen your music move through various styles, from folk to progressive rock and now to a rockier edge in Troubadour. Was there ever a fear that embracing new styles could alienate fans?

I have never really thought about whether people would like my music if I experimented with different styles. I’ve always just been doing what I wanted to do. I know I have a small, loyal fanbase, and I don’t think that what I do is commercially viable in today’s world. And anyway, everyone’s idea is different, and you can’t work to please everyone. I do have to be careful, though, because I find folk music, psychedelic and progressive rock coming through in full force now, especially in this album. Which is what I love.

Can you tell me a little about how the album came together—did you have these musicians in mind, or did you just know they were right when they arrived?

Most of the people I work with have been with me a long time. I still work with my former partners because they like me, and I like them. That is how it is. These musicians are loyal, and we have developed a strong bond over the years. It is important to me that we respect each other, and I wouldn’t want to work with people that I didn’t like and who didn’t like me. I am still in touch with people who I haven’t worked with for years. They come to my gigs, and I visit them if I can. It is a very close family bond and important to me to keep these relationships strong.”

As for the new album, Troubadour, much of the material was written around the same time to produce a body of work that really held together. This was important to me; I wanted it to have a shape, a structure, a theme.

As fans, we know and love your work, but do you have a personal favorite amongst your songs—perhaps one that feels the closest to your heart?

People ask me this all the time. Do I have a favorite song? There are some that have sentimental value, like “Where Are You Now” or “To The Stars”. I think there are about five I could say were my favorites. I don’t even think about the others. I am so involved in these songs right now. Being inside them when performing them gives me the most joy.

When the music world changes, new trends come in and then disappear; you’re going to find yourself still standing. Why do you think that is?

I have no idea. I am surprised to find myself still standing. I do have a little following, and I do manage to get things out into the world. I get a little bit of money, and I have a life from doing this. The biggest pleasure is from doing it live, playing night after night. That’s the truth of it. Of course, it’s sometimes frustrating because I have to work, and I have to pay the rent and all the rest of it. Occasionally, something comes out of nowhere. Like getting signed to Island Records! And then you find yourself standing when most of your friends are banned from big labels and going off to other things. But all I can say is that I must have made the right decision, at the right time.