Forest Claudette Sucks: “I’m Still A Huge Fan Of Kings Of Leon”
Melbourne R&B artist Forest Claudette is one of Australia’s most talked about new artists. It’s easy to take this for granted, but if you’ve managed to catch him live at some point, you’ll know that the hype is justified. I was lucky enough to catch him perform at Melbourne’s The Gasometer Hotel earlier this year, and the place was HEAVING. Forest’s velvety vocals sound better than ever on his new EP Everything Was Green, which starts with the EARTHGANG-featuring ‘Mess Around’, ends with the slow-burning ‘Violence’, and will hook you in from the first note to the last. My personal favourite? The swaggering ‘Pool Boy’.
When Forest Claudette’s not cooking up music that’ll keep you warm all winter, he’s struggling with the ins and outs of American geography, improving his relationship with porridge and oats and rocking out to Kings Of Leon. Honestly, the fact that people are still rocking with Kings Of Leon in 2023 took me by surprise, but clearly, the source of inspiration is working for Forest. You never quite know who your favourite artist’s favourite artists are until you ask…
Junkee: A mistake that turned into an opportunity?
I recently found out I’ve been mistakenly hating on porridge/oats in general. They’re both great. You can make it cute with fresh fruit and it’s just nice to have something warm and sweet and yeah. I was wrong about that. But now I get to enjoy them, and that’s where the opportunity comes in. New breakfast item unlocked.
Cringe quote you used to live by?
I’m grateful I can say I don’t remember them if I did. I did just go through my phone just now to try to find any screenshots but I ended up just looking at old photos and I was reminded of how important it was to me to be nice and liked, almost no matter what. Not a quote but I’m glad I don’t hold those things to be the most important anymore.
Worst advice you got and blindly followed?
Not exactly advice, but when I was a little kid I went to see one of my dad’s concerts (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra) with my mum and a friend who was maybe a year or two older than me. We were sitting up on the balcony of the concert hall but we could obviously see my dad down on the stage.
My friend suggested that we try to get my dad’s attention so that he could see us too. We agreed to yell “Hi Dad” as loud as we could on three. He did not and I did and it was super loud and everyone was like “What the actual fuck?”. Very embarrassing.
The worst failure you’re up for sharing, and what you learned from it?
I feel like my biggest failures give me the most insight into what it is I’m afraid of. The failures that come to mind are all instances of not valuing my feelings enough to communicate for fear that they might be upsetting to whoever.
The thing I’ve learned is that people are either upset to find out you’ve not trusted them with who you are and/or are receptive, even glad you said something.
Anything you used to be wrong about?
So so so many things but I’ve been on a real hot streak of geography at the moment. Like fuck my life, I was just talking to my brother about the fact I only just found out that Las Vegas isn’t in California… Ooft.
Embarrassing Internet habit?
Only thing I can think of is my tabs on my phone. I’m probably worse than my mom when it comes to leaving them open and being adamant that I’ll come back to them. At the moment I have like 60 open but I literally just cleaned it up a couple days ago. I think it was up to 130 or something.
Ideal morning routine versus actual morning routine?
Ideally I would wake up early because I would’ve gone to sleep early the night before. I’d stretch, maybe a little yoga, read my book, put my feet on the earth and then start my day.
Reality is more like waking up tired, falling back to sleep after my alarm and then waking up in a slight panic when someone from my team is like ‘Have you done that thing yet?’
Something very off-brand for you?
I’m still a huge fan of Kings of Leon and I feel like people don’t expect that from me.
Bad health decision?
I’m currently in LA and there’s a vegan McDonald’s here… enough said.
What do you waste money on?
Food, oh god. Especially with delivery stuff and especially out here, it’s so easy to justify cause I don’t have a car.
Worst procrastination habit?
I have far too many to be able to pick just one. I’ll do a lot of things when I’m avoiding a task. I’ll read, I’ll walk, I’ll clean the kitchen, I’ll watch a show and try “prep” for whatever it is I have to do so that it’s more fun, but end up just watching TV instead. TikTok, Instagram, anything!
Forest Claudette’s new EP Everything Was Green is out now.
Like our Sucks column? Check out our full catalogue of chats here.
Illustration credit: Matt Lauricella, @pigeonboyart