Musicians that effectively combine their own lives and experiences into their art are a very rare breed indeed! Claire Bigley happens to be one of them. It’s impossible to choose a favorite song because every song depicts a distinct stage of life. Our sentiments begin to pervade our entire being as soon as we become aware of what is going on around us, even if just for a few fleeting seconds.
Fear and delight are intertwined with love and sorrow throughout “Emergence.” As you progress through the album, you’ll notice the strong connection between you and her vibrant feelings. You will resonate with the vivid emotions seeping through each track.
There are echoes of beautiful ambient piano throughout each track. One example of this is the tune “Quieting Tremors,” in which the piano creates a resonantly peaceful ambiance and invites the listener in. The song “Solitude” is a heartfelt musical portrayal of solitude; every note of the song tugs at your heartstrings, even if there isn’t a single word to accompany it, and takes you on an entrancing journey inside your most introspective and intimate thoughts. On the other hand, the song “Awaken the Depths” urges the listener to relax into a state of bliss. The chirping of birds in the background transports you back to the natural world and the lushness of its surroundings. The fourth song is “Becoming.” It pushes the listener to reflect on the realizations they have achieved as they begin to feel more at peace and their bodies begin to relax. By the time the track is through, fragments will start to coalesce and form.
In every one of her songs, Claire Bigley can be heard playing the piano or keyboard. She had her training in the classical style, but these days she plays with a more improv-based approach. She then takes a moment for herself to be still, sits down at the piano, and enables what she is feeling to be expressed through her fingertips. Chopin and Debussy are two of her primary musical inspirations.
The album as a whole has a shockingly evident influence of impressionist music, which can be heard throughout. Claire’s goal, very similar to that of the impressionists, is to seize a fleeting moment, to encapsulate a feeling so that it may be conveyed through a medium. This album is presented as a layered mix of ambient compositions with the intention of bringing about something otherworldly and purely atmospheric.