Tyler Clarke: Surprising sounds
Tyler Clarke has released Tea Seas, his first solo album. Photo by Matt Curtis
Tyler Clarke has released Tea Seas, his first solo album. Photo by Matt Curtis
Tyler Clarke has released Tea Seas, his first solo album. Photo by Matt Curtis
Known for his work in experimental funk group Captain Seahorse, local musician Tyler Clarke boasts an impressive musical resume. Currently playing lap steel for local Americana band the Lumpkins and bass in a reggae band, Clarke has also played with Yogoman Burning Band and the Hedonists. Drawing from a wide variety of influences and musical explorations, Clarke has stepped out on his own to create Tea Seas, one of the finest (mostly) instrumental albums out of Bellingham this year.
“This is a record I have been working on my whole life,” Clarke says of his first solo release.
He describes a background in classical music which eventually led to teaching himself the guitar. “I started taking violin and piano at age five, then moved to clarinet in band while in school,” says Clarke. “I switched to guitar for a senior project.”
But his approach to music continues to be that of a clarinetist than a guitarist. “I’m always trying to find more interesting recording voices and diversify my sound.”
He describes his love for Willie Nelson and John Zorin who mixes traditional jazz and new sounds in innovative ways. “My mom tells me when I was a baby the only thing that would make me stop crying was (Willie Nelson’s) Stardust.” Clarke also notes a love for soundtrack music. “I tend to go for the darker side of music. I like spaciousness with interesting and strange instrumentation.”
That interest comes through on the album, which ranges from country-Americana to dark instrumentals to classical numbers. All music was recorded primarily by Clarke acoustically playing along with a metronome over the course of a year and a half. He then brought in a rhythm section, followed by overdubbing certain sounds.
“The record can go anywhere from a duet to 13 people playing together. Genre-wise, it’s pretty far reaching,” says Clarke.
The album features members from various prominent Bellingham bands, including the horn section from the Burning Band, Vaughn Kreestoe’s Jeremy Elliot, and Lumpkins’ David Ney. With four of the 11 tracks featuring vocals, Clarke says David Ney was commissioned to write and sing vocals on several of those songs.
Tyler Clarke’s live shows can be as diverse and his musical interests, sometimes appearing as TC’s Big Band, sometimes TC’s Carnival Orchestra. “We take the album material and make it more funky and danceable with African rhythms,” says Clarke. “A lot of the songs you can play in different ways. (For example) I like to take old Hank Williams songs and turn them into funk numbers.”
Clarke describes some of his newest material as more funky and soul-heavy, which he hopes to begin recording soon. If his audience has a hard time keeping up with the sound and genre shifts, Clarke is happy. “I like people to be slightly confused,” he says. “I find I’m most moved by things that are unexpected.”
COMING UP
Catch Tyler Clarke on
July 16 at the Wild Buffalo.
