Clara Sanabras is an Anglo-Spanish singer, guitarist and songwriter. Having made London her home, her musical stories evoke reality and fantasy, creating an atmosphere suffused by a romantic continental melancholy. Classically trained and described as “an artist who speaks music”, her voice transcends range and technique as she embellishes her lyrics with touches of Spanish and Catalan, accompanying herself on quirky folk guitars. Embracing musical influences from Europe and America, her sound appeals to those who love an alternative to the main stream.
Acclaimed for her collaborations with the likes of Natacha Atlas, Django Bates, Luke Concannon (Nizlopi), The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Clara’s past lives include appearing in “The Merchant of Venice” with Al Pacino and working with the forefather of electronica Karlheinz Stockhausen. Rich with musical integrity, her band of musicians “The Real Lowdown” features Mike Outram , Dylan Bates, Andy Hamill, Roy Dodds (drummer for Fairground Attraction) and maverick producer and composer Harvey Brough (band leader of Harvey & the Wallbangers).
In the past I have travelled all around the world performing a wide range of music, from medieval & world music to Stockhausen, with international artists & bands such as Natacha Atlas & The Mazeeka Ensemble, The Harp Consort, Theatre of Voices, Charivari Agréable, Dufay Collective, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra & John Rutter, The Israel Camerata…With these artists I've recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Decca, Signum Records & Zenobia and I released a solo album of Celtic folksongs for Linn Records a little while ago called The New Irish Girl. Every now and then, I also work in theatre (mainly at the National Theatre & the Globe) and was featured in the Merchant of Venice "The Movie" with Al Pacino by director Michael Radford, and in the soundtrack with music by Jocelyn Pook. Recent collaborators include composers Django Bates, Alberto Iglesias and Rachel Portman.
I'm now writing and performing my own music and expanding my collection of unusual stringed instruments - charango, ukelele, oud, baroque guitar, cuatro, cavaquinho and other wonderful sound machines. I love them all equally.
I teamed up with producer and composer Harvey Brough to record my latest musical offerings, two albums of songs from here and there, some remembered from my childhood, some from favourite old films, some original. They're on the Smudged Discs label and they're called Clara & The Real Lowdown and Hopetown House.
