by mariah estran
photo courtesy of friends of clay
As the Zoom waiting room transitions to video footage, a glimpse of Clay Priskorn playing an acoustic guitar fills the screen. He quickly discovers the interview has begun, and while discourse is exchanging through the great invention of web conferences, there’s still thorough attention on the topics at hand. Finding innovative ways to communicate during a pandemic period has become the norm. But while that shift became challenging to some, Priskorn found himself creating his self-titled debut for Friends of Clay. Then with some help from stop-motion animation, tracks came to life.
“I really love stop-motion animation. There’s something that always draws me to it,” Priskorn shares. Recalling himself watching Fleet Foxes videos, observing how they integrated Claymation into their visuals. At the time, he had released his single “What Percent Are Monsters.” There was suddenly inspiration for a music video and a much-needed trip to an art store. Priskorn describes, “I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do. I went there. I saw they had all these little props, little guitars, little desks. I was like, ‘okay, I’m going to try it.’ I bought the clay there, and I started molding stuff together.”
In just three minutes, the video shows a character in their fully furnished home. Without warning, they become abducted after spilling a mysterious, lethal liquid. As the tracks mellow, psychedelic nature moves the stories theatrics. Priskorn created another universe for his music. While simultaneously creating an escape for the viewer. “That’s always been my goal,” he says. “Don’t make it feel like it’s in my room, me, playing with little Claymation people. I want people to submerge themselves in every new world with these people.”
The year 2020 required artists to think beyond traditional methods. There was limited collaboration outside of a digital screen. For the singer, pursuing Claymation (a rarity within itself) was one way to push those artistic thoughts forward. However, establishing Friends of Clay was a vital component. “I think the pandemic sparked the creative development for the whole project,” he says. Adding that years prior, he was writing and producing guitar loops for hip-hop artists. It was the sudden shift to stay-at-home orders that had him fulfilling his music. “The pandemic allowed me to press reset and be like, ‘okay, Friends of Clay – that’s what I need to do right now. I have the time; we are all just stuck inside.’”
For three years, the self-titled record was in the works. With fifteen years of guitar playing experience – there needed to be an emphasis on those skills. Plus, there was a good deal of inspiration from artists such as The Beatles and Dave Matthews. The album seamlessly treks over every attribute that makes indie-rock a genre that can’t stay stagnant. Opening with a track full of transfixing, speaker-shaking bass, “Pretend with Me” has the oomph to instruct the listener to buckle up for the ride. Delicate guitar strums fill the air in “Growing Up,” and by the end, electric punk-like riffs make a powerful entrance in “Friends of Clay.”
“I think that this record is like, the start of my career,” he says. At twenty-one, Priskorn had previously released a self-titled, but now, Friends of Clay feels right. “I think as an artist, you are always searching for your sound," he explains. “It’s easier to try to emulate singers, and I think that what I did was try to listen to how I felt about the music, how my voice worked. That helped this record find its own idea. I went with my gut and how I feel."
Even though the record is out, that intuition is not lost. It’s what keeps the corresponding Claymation visuals rolling. He has released several animations over the last eight months. His latest being for “We Can Work It Out.” “What happens is I get inspired at the moment,” he says when asked if these film ideas have been waiting to make a debut. For example, recently, after watching “Rocky” and “Creed,” he quickly found a new chapter to add to the story. “I did a boxing tribute, a weird little Claymation about a guy that’s a fighter, goes through his ups and downs.” Currently, he’s already brainstorming ideas for the next addition to the collection. A possible underwater theme, but for which song? We’ll have to wait and see. “I’m going to give every song an identity. I’m going to do a video for everything. But the next song I do, it’s going to be the one fans organically like.”
There’s no doubt that the work is far from over. As we slowly begin to shift into a post-pandemic life, Priskorn hopes to be able to play a show for a few fans, and of course, include an appearance by the clay crew. He adds, “I would love to find a way to project it, a huge visual experience, maybe have characters on stage. Do something that’s out of the box.”
Friends of Clay continuing to stay outside the box only makes sense. It is what made this new journey fascinating to watch. But if anything, the hurdle jumping mindset might inspire an artist trying to dust off the months of isolation. “If you have a vision, you think of something, do it because the pandemic adds so many dilemmas already,” he asserts. “You have to get up and go to the workspace and do it. Not worrying about it not coming out well because it’s all creative.”