Paris-based French singer, songwriter, actress and filmmaker Clara Quilichini announces her debut full-length album, Insomnias, arriving October 23. An intimate and emotionally candid collection shaped by heartbreak, relationships, self-discovery and the complicated process of growing up, the album transforms the thoughts that kept Clara awake at night into songs that invite listeners to feel a little less alone.
Born and raised in Paris in a family of artists, Clara grew up surrounded by creativity and storytelling. Both of her parents are actors, and she began her own career at just four years old, going on to work across film, television, theatre and voice acting. She is particularly known as the French voice of Sadie Sink and previously hosted a daily show on Disney Channel France.
Music, however, has always been another essential part of Clara's creative identity. She has been singing and writing songs since her teenage years, using songwriting as a way to process experiences, understand her emotions and make sense of the world around her. In 2022, she released her debut EP, Cardiogram, a five-track project she described as an emotional waveform.
Now, Insomnias expands that emotional world into a deeply personal full-length record.
Written across four years, the album acts as a time capsule of Clara's transition from young woman to adult, documenting the emotions, lessons and uncomfortable truths she encountered along the way. For Clara, writing became a form of release and reflection.
"Writing always relieves me and helps me take a step back from what I'm feeling in the moment. It helps me understand what I'm going through, sometimes laugh about it, and sometimes embrace the sadness, if needed."
Sonically, Insomnias sits between singer-songwriter intimacy, indie pop and folk, drawing on Clara's love of both timeless songwriting and contemporary emotional storytelling. Her influences include Joni Mitchell, Taylor Swift, Laufey, Dodie, Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter, alongside contemporary artists such as Gracie Abrams, Lizzy McAlpine and Matilda Mann.
Clara first wrote and composed every song herself at home, beginning with guitar or piano before bringing the material to arranger Stéphane Corbin. Together, they selected the album's tracklist and developed the arrangements with a band of musicians, including Benjamin Corbeil on drums, Cléo Bigontina on bass, Vincent Urbaniak on acoustic and electric guitars, Stéphane Corbin on piano and additional instruments, and Marie-Anne Favreau on violin, cello and viola.
The production process allowed Clara to approach each song as its own small world. She particularly enjoys using sound to reinforce the stories within her lyrics, incorporating subtle musical details and "Easter eggs" that reveal themselves alongside the words.
Lead vocals were recorded with sound engineer Raphaël Thiery, who also mixed and mastered the album. Clara later spent ten days in the countryside creating and recording the album's background vocals and harmonies herself in a home studio, an experience that allowed her to experiment freely with one of her favourite elements of songwriting.
One of the album's most distinctive moments comes on "Off," which features a choir of twelve children and adults. Inspired by Clara's experience with war, the song uses the collective voices to represent humanity, functioning both as a cry for help and a message of hope. The same group also came together to record human percussion for "Company."
The result is an album that remains intimate without feeling isolated. Clara's songs explore deeply personal experiences while reaching toward the universal emotions underneath them. Her writing is confessional and self-aware, but there is also room for humour, warmth, vulnerability and hope.
Beyond music, Clara's creative practice extends into filmmaking, photography and visual storytelling. Having studied filmmaking, she has developed her own visual approach and continues to create projects exploring the relationship between images and emotions. Much of the creative team behind Insomnias, including those working on its visuals, photography and music videos, is made up of Clara's friends.
"Being an actress, I usually say words that other people write for me, and although I love it, I'm happy to introduce myself with this album and uncover who is behind the parts I play."
With Insomnias, Clara Quilichini steps into the spotlight as a songwriter in her own right, turning years of private thoughts and late-night emotions into a body of work that is honest, cinematic and deeply human.
"What I hope for with this release is that people hear something that makes them feel something, whether they laugh, cry or just feel comforted. That would be my biggest win."
Clara Quilichini says, “This album is called Insomnias because all of the songs are about things that kept me up at night, Whether it is heartbreak, growing pains, navigating relationships, or self-discovery, they all were born from some kind of emotional turmoil.”
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