Coco & Clair Clair Are Bringing SEXY Back
Speaking about the album, it’s clear that Coco & Clair Clair are of one mind. They finish each other’s sentences, trade fond memories, and even showed up to our call in matching gray shawls, fitting for an early morning interview following a dinner and night out together. “It started with dinner, then a couple martinis … which is always how it starts,” Clair Clair confided.
And there’s much to celebrate, with the deluxe album freshly out in the world and backed by plenty of big names. Empress Of’s upbeat remix of “Cherub” bounces joyfully, Club Eat infuses their signature pulsing rhythm into the sugary sweetness of “U + Me”, and HOMESHAKE transforms “Pop 1” into a melancholic tune that opens with the popping sounds of a blue text being typed out, sound on. Liam Benzvi, whose star is swiftly rising, turns “Lamb” into a lightly soulful ballad softly reminiscent of Saint Etienne.
But Coco & Clair Clair aren’t playing favorites — it’s easy to see that each of the album’s remixes brings something different to the duo’s particular brand of sound. “It's hard, because I feel differently about all of them and how they would fit into that. I was excited to get Club Eat on [the album] because I’ve known them for a while,” shares Clair Clair. “They were some of the first people I met when I moved to New York. And so to see them get bigger, bigger and bigger and then finally be able to align with each other and associate with each other on a professional platform — it was really exciting to make that connection. But also HOMESHAKE! I’ve been a fan for years. I almost can't believe he did it.”
“We just DMed him randomly!” Coco says, with a bit of lingering surprise. “Like, ‘Do you want to do this remix?’ And he just said yeah.”
The deluxe version of SEXY comes at a moment in time when Coco and Clair Clair have already established themselves as purveyors of a kind of sour patch rap-pop that drops lines like the aforementioned vape lyric in a sing-song tone without missing a beat. Their songs are dense with culture, a Tumblr-esque pastiche of references that play witness to the duo’s deep knowledge of the internet. “I'mma Jordin Sparks you, that's right, no air” (from “Cherub” on SEXY) — a threat layered with a reference to Sparks’ 2008 single — gets me every time.
And the vape pen in question? “I always envisioned a JUUL. But it’s actually such a deep insult because there are so many freaky shapes,” Clair Clair says. “I don’t know that much about vape pens, actually,” adds Coco. “I remember that I wrote that lyric down on Christmas day. I was fighting with this girl on Instagram.”
For the two, this back and forth is what makes the music. “I feel like I am like a Sour Patch Kid — first they’re sour, then they’re sweet, you know?” says Coco. Clair Clair nods. “We could just flip on a dime. Very quickly.”
But these musical mood swings are also a part of the duo’s dynamic. Working as a team allows the two to play off of one another — and also to flag when things are going astray. “We'll be singing cute little songs and then be like, ‘Okay, this is getting corny. Say something funny.’ And then it gets too dark,” laughs Clair.
This triggers a memory for Coco: “Oh my god — remember that time I did that freestyle? It was when we first started making music — I was freestyling this song and [Clair Clair] could hear me and [the lyrics] got dark and she was like, ‘Wait, what?’ I do it more often, where I'll go off the deep end and she reels me back in a bit. And then it's magic.”
It’s here at this magical point that the duo finds their stride. With the deluxe release, they’ve taken the time to curate a more focused public persona, both inside the album itself and its VIP guestlist, as well as the visuals. “What's so good about extending the release and breathing new life back into SEXY is that, with the rollout, we're still kind of getting our footing with how releasing stuff goes, since we're a small team,” shares Clair Clair. “With the remix album, we've paid extra attention to [the rollout]. Even down to the visuals and the people we worked with — just a statement on where we are.”
And their sound has grown as well, congealing into something increasingly instantly recognizable. “We're constantly solidifying our sound, the older we get,” shared Coco. “It's both the same and more refined each time.”
Clair Clair agrees. “There's definitely a vibe — like something we probably can't even put our finger on, that we always look for or try to emulate in a song.”
“I remember when we were making SEXY we were just listening to like Jewel and Sheryl Crow and Dido,” Coco recalls, laughing.
Having that kind of space since the release has also allowed the two to grow in their relationship to their own music — even down to their feelings about particular tracks. “The one [on the deluxe album] I was initially the most excited about was the ‘Pop 1’ remix,” shared Clair Clair. “Because I didn't even really want to put that song out [at first]. We had written the lyrics for it like two or three years ago, if not longer, so by the time we recorded it, I was just already over it. But the remix of it is so, so different. And really brought new life to it.”
“I liked our lyrics on that song,” says Coco. “I feel like they’re more highlighted on the remix. They're more of the main focus.”
“It’s the song it should have always been,” Clair adds. “But then again, it’s such a casual release. It’s like, here are the remixes. Distract them while we work on the next thing,” she laughs.
“Buy us some more time,” Coco quips, smiling.
And what’s next for the duo? Like any good pop star, a holiday record.
"We did a cover of ‘Last Christmas’ — it’s going to come out [later this year],” says Coco. “We're really, really excited for that. I think it's going to change the world.”
