Clarissa Mae. Photograph supplied in the artist’s press materials.
Feature / Clarissa Mae
Clarissa Mae opens her diary on ‘the love songs EP’
Inside the work
A dream, childhood photographs and a family camcorder. The three singles leading into the love songs EP reveal how Clarissa Mae turns private moments into pop.
There is a particular kind of detail running through Clarissa Mae’s latest songs: the feeling left behind by a dream, a photograph that changes how you see your younger self, the question of why someone else gets chosen. Her forthcoming debut, the love songs EP, is taking shape around those moments.
The London-based singer-songwriter has introduced the project through three singles on Origins Inconclusive: “love songs”, released on 1 May 2026; “shy”, on 26 June; and “anyway”, on 14 August. Together, they offer three different ways into a collection concerned with memory, affection and the uncertainty of being close to someone.
Her announcement captured the excitement of reaching a first EP in her own words: “TURN UR VOLUME ON bc i am releasing my FIRST EVER EP”. The project is available to pre-save now.
“love songs”: the feeling that stays after a dream
The opening single began in Clarissa’s bedroom, shortly after she woke from a dream in which her boyfriend had begun to withdraw. She wrote and recorded “love songs” while the feeling was still fresh, keeping its uncertainty close to the surface.
Soft vocals and restrained production suit that starting point. The song leaves space around the words, giving an imagined distance the weight of something real. It introduces a quality shared by the singles that follow: noticing a passing feeling, then staying with it long enough to find a song.
Listen to “love songs” on Spotify or read the release story.
“shy”: a letter to a younger self
Rearranging childhood photographs brought back memories of being quiet and wanting reassurance. For “shy”, Clarissa returned to that younger version of herself. In her notes ahead of the single’s release, she explained:
The 2nd single from my upcoming EP is a letter to my younger self about fear and insecurities.
Written and recorded in her bedroom, the song speaks to the impulse to make yourself smaller to be accepted. Childhood images in the video bring the younger self she is singing to into view. After the romantic uncertainty of “love songs”, “shy” asks a different question: how do you reassure the person you used to be?
Listen to “shy” on Spotify, watch the official video or read its release story.
“anyway”: wanting to be the first choice
“anyway” is the third single. Its light, guitar-led arrangement and bossa nova-influenced pulse carry a quiet insecurity: never feeling like “THE girl”. Clarissa places the song between friendship and romance, where wanting to be someone’s first choice can turn into a comparison with someone else. As she puts it:
I didn’t intend for this to be a heartbreak song; instead, a song about the comparisons and insecurities I would’ve faced when I was in my first relationship.
The official video was filmed with Clarissa’s mum’s 1990s camcorder. Its soft focus and grain recall a family recording, echoing the childhood photographs surrounding “shy”. The visual connection comes from objects close to her: a camera, an archive, the traces of growing up.
Listen to “anyway” on Spotify, watch the official video or read its release story.
A creative partnership, and a wider stage
Clarissa’s work with Origins grew from a meeting with Cadyn Lewis at a BBC Introducing event in London Bridge. Lewis produces her music, working with her across the recordings that lead into this debut.
Her live career has also brought that songwriting to larger audiences. In 2025, she opened for BINI at their sold-out Wembley Arena show. Julienne Loreto’s concert report for Positively Filipino documents her opening set, which included an acoustic cover and an original song.
Clarissa has also performed at Gibson Garage London with Busk In London. Her official artist biography records support from BBC Introducing Kent and Gibson Guitars.
Diary entries and love songs
Across these three singles, Clarissa moves from an imagined distance to childhood insecurity and the wish to be chosen. In her notes for “anyway”, she described what it means to share the collection a song at a time:
Following the previous singles from my EP, I’m excited to keep unfolding my collection of diary entries and love songs, and introduce a new corner of love, insecurity and growing up.
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