Claudia Q
By Sean Maldjian, Contributor
Photo by, Steven Levine
Meet Claudia Q
We all need a bit of soul sometimes. Enter Claudia Q, a refreshing project that weaves nostalgic ‘90s tones with eclectic production. It’s guaranteed to get you feeling all warm and fuzzy. We spoke to Jacq Ladnier, the self-produced R&B whiz behind Claudia Q, about her recent move to NY, voice memos, and catfish plates.
Two truths and a lie
Answers at bottom of the article.
I’m scared of mascots
I used to have a pet alligator.
One of my chores as a kid was to make sweet tea.
Would you rater
be trapped in a dark closet with a swan or a scorpion? Please explain why.
Swan for sure. I’m not trying to get close to anything that makes venom. Also, I think swans are misunderstood as aggressive when really they’re just protective. Me and the swan would be friends.
Some questions with Claudia Q
Are you self taught in music production?
Yeah, completely. It can be frustrating because my ideas are sometimes greater than my abilities, but I’ve also made a lot of things that I love by accident. I’m still learning all the time. I worked really hard on this EP, but I can’t wait to look back at it in a year or two and think, “Wow, I was trash.”
Where is your favorite venue in NYC to see a show?
I’ve never been to a show in the city which is terrible I know. I only recently moved to New York for school and most of that time we’ve been in quarantine. I should be asking y’all.
As a solo project how important is collaboration to you?
I’m protective about my work, and I trust my own ear, so it’s easy for me to work by myself. Which isn’t to say that I would never collaborate. I would love to score a film. Or to write songs for someone who could really sing. I can get by with my voice, but it’d be really exciting to write for someone who could just tear it up.
If you were offered a free tattoo what would you get?
This is so lame, but I’d probably pass or give it away? I don’t have any tattoos or piercings. It’s not a moral thing, I just never cared about them.
What was the creative drive behind your 2021 release “Ain’t”?
Last summer I was listening to older songs I’d made and was surprised that I couldn’t recognize my own voice. I grew up in Mississippi and have always been self-conscious about having an accent, and you could hear in those songs that I was trying so hard to hide it. So I wanted to make something that sounded like me in a very literal way.
That’s also where the title comes from. “Ain’t” is one of those words they teach you not to say when you’re a little kid in Mississippi, but I love those words. They’re important. “Am not” doesn’t always work, sometimes you need “ain’t.”
Where is the best place to get pizza in NYC?
I’m really not qualified to say. But if you’re looking for a catfish plate in South Mississippi, that’s something I can help you with.
The sound on your 2021 release “Ain’t” has an eclectic quality. Where do you look for inspiration when building a new track?
I record voice memos all the time when I’m on the bus or walking to work or back home in the woods. I like to build songs from those recordings, and not just sample them but sort of amplify whatever feeling is in there. The first track on the EP was made that way. All the voices you hear at the beginning and end of the song are from my own recordings I did when I lived in Philly.
I always write last. Usually by the time I get to writing I already know what the song is about. One trick I like to use if I’m stuck is to take a song that has the same feeling that I’m trying to get at and write my own verse to it. I wrote “Hear Me Out” that way. I was obsessed with “Can We Talk” by Tevin Campbell. I was like, what if she did stop to talk to him and then he wouldn’t shut up?
Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)
I just hope anyone who read this far is having a beautiful day. Unless you’re Tate Reeves.
Two truths and a lie answer key:
Truth: I’m scared of mascots
Lie: I used to have a pet alligator.
Truth: One of my chores as a kid was to make sweet tea.