With the summer months coming to an end, this month’s mix is brought to you by Texan experimentalist Claire Rousay, whose melancholic, folk-inflected mix is inspired by her past lives – “it’s a bit of an ode to a way of life that I had before my current one,” she observes. A prolific multi-instrumentalist, producer and composer, Rousay’s upcoming album, a little death, sees her pivot from the pop-orientated song forms of her previous record, 2024’s sentiment, to dreamier compositions, featuring intimate live instrumentals and tactile samples that evoke the melancholic feeling of long winter months spent tucked away from the cold. “sentiment was a different way of working that helped refresh my music making habits and usual flow,” Rousay notes. “This record is a return to what I see as my core solo practice, a re-dedication to those methods of working which I’ve found most align with what I envision my music or sound to be.” 

Intended as the first part of a trilogy, the new album follows on from fresh appearances of her music opening Dior's otherworldly AW25 show, and marks the next chapter in her vast catalogue of self-described “emo-ambient” offerings. Her corresponding mix features an equally introspective selection of guitar-focused melodies – from Mojave 3 to Chuck Johnson and Willie Nelson – perfect for those brief moments of introspection to usher in the changing seasons ahead. Listen to the exclusive mix above.

Can you tell us a little about what we can expect on A Little Death? What was the thinking behind its name, also?

Claire Rousay: This album is very much a return to familiar ways of music making. Each track on the record started with a field recording or number of field recordings made at dusk. a little death is the final album in a trilogy of records using a similar title structure. This is the last one and feels very much like a fully realised version of the music I've been striving towards for five years now.

Funny enough, the name holds no sensual meaning or sexual overtones to me. Little Death is the name of a wine bar in San Antonio, Texas where I made the first field recordings used on the record… This was around 2021 or so. The title and album is more of a series of small emotional realisations rather than small orgasms, if that makes sense. 

How come you’re leaving the pop forms behind on this record?

Claire Rousay: I firmly believe that everyone is creative and anyone can make music, using any form or in any genre. I don’t consider myself a songwriter or really a pop musician at all. I make work and that work pulls from a variety forms.

What are some of your earliest music memories? 

Claire Rousay: I remember learning to play and read music with my mom, starting around four years old. Every early memory I have of music includes her.

How important is collaboration to you?

Claire Rousay: I would not be the artist I am without collaboration. None of my work would exist without contributions from others. Collaboration can be overt, like playing music with another person, or a bit more abstracted. I consider the use of found sound or field recordings to be a form of collaboration. 

What’s the best and worst advice you’ve ever received?

Claire Rousay:  Best is, you always don’t have to record on a grid. The worst is to stop amplifying the voices of Palestinian people so my promotional social media posts reach more people. The worst advice is always unsolicited.

What are you listening to at the moment?

Claire Rousay: I'm revisiting a ton of mojave 3. Those records are perfect for long drives on tour. I've also been spending a good amount of time with the music of Éliane Radigue.

Tell us about your Dazed mix.

Claire Rousay: The mix holds tons of friends, legends, a variety of genres and differing fidelities. recordings with a ton of guitar make up a good part of it. It's a bit of an ode to a way of life that I had before my current one. 

How were you feeling when you made it?

Claire Rousay: Honestly, I was feeling burnt out and not super present. I was frustrated that I was doing something I thoroughly enjoy (making mixes) and struggling to be appreciative of the current moment. Reflecting back on the experience now, I kinda see why the mix took the form it did. 

Tracklist:

John Also Bennett – “Nowhere”

Various Artists – “Tucson Region Sounds of the Wet Season”

Mojave 3 – “My Life in Art”

Chuck Johnson – “Eye on the Sparrow”

Various Artists – “Chiricahua Mountain Region Sounds of the Dry Season”

Kath Bloom & Loren Connors – “Puccini”

Old Saw – “Spinner's Weave”

The Dead Texan – “Taco De Macque”

Willie Nelson – “That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)”

William Tyler – “The Great Unwind”

Hovvdy – “Treat (claire rousay edit)”

Trace Mountains – “buttery sprouts”