# Claire Rousay

Claire Rousay (styled as claire rousay) is a Canadian-American experimental musician and composer based in Los Angeles. Rousay, who is currently signed with Thrill Jockey, is known for using field recordings to create musique concrète pieces.

## Early life

Rousay was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and moved to San Antonio, Texas, with her family when she was ten years old. Rousay's interest in music began at the age of three when she began piano lessons with her mother, a professional pianist. Rousay grew up in an Evangelical Christian household and played drums during church events until she distanced herself from Christianity. She dropped out of high school at the age of 15 and became a solo percussionist.

## Career

In 2020, Rousay released the album It Was Always Worth It via Longform Editions.
In 2021, she released A Softer Focus via American Dreams. The album was a collaboration with San Antonio-based visual artist Dani Toral, who first met Rousay in middle school.
Rousay has also collaborated with her best friend and fellow Texas-based experimental musician Mari Maurice, who performs under the name More Eaze. They have released two collaborative albums together, An Afternoon Whine in 2021 and Never Stop Texting Me in 2022.
In 2023, Rousay signed with American record label Thrill Jockey and released the album Sentiment in April 2024.

## Musical style

Rousay uses a Zoom H5 Handy Recorder to record everyday sounds and uses them to create musique concrète pieces. Her music has been described as experimental and "emo ambient".

## Personal life

Rousay, who moved from San Antonio to Los Angeles in 2022, still maintains her Canadian citizenship. She hosts a weekly online show on NTS Radio.
In 2019, Rousay came out as a trans woman. The proceeds of her 2022 album Wouldn't Have to Hurt were donated to The Trevor Project. She also has a dog named Banana.

## Discography
### Studio albums

| Title | Album details |
| Blip | Released: April 13, 2017 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Several Erasures | Released: April 19, 2019 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Aerophobia | Released: June 21, 2019 Label: Mended Dreams |
| T4t | Released: October 22, 2019 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Friends | Released: November 17, 2019 Label: Mended Dreams |
| If I Don't Let Myself Be Happy Now Then When? (with More Eaze) | Released: March 13, 2020 Label: Mondoj |
| Specifically the Water (with Alex Cunningham) | Released: April 17, 2020 Label: Monofonus Press, Astral Spirits |
| A Heavenly Touch | Released: April 17, 2020 Label: Mended Dreams |
| I'll Give You All of My Love | Released: May 1, 2020 Mended Dreams |
| Both | Released: August 28, 2020 Label: Second Editions |
| A Softer Focus | Released: April 9, 2021 Label: American Dreams |
| An Afternoon Whine (with More Eaze) | Released: July 23, 2021 Label: Ecstatic Recordings |
| Never Stop Texting Me (with More Eaze) | Released: February 11, 2022 Label: Orange Milk |
| Everything Perfect Is Already Here | Released: April 22, 2022 Label: Shelter Press |
| A Very Busy Social Life (with Anne-F Jacques) | Released: December 16, 2022 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Anything You Can Do... (with Jacob Wick) | Released: December 16, 2022 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Sentiment | Released: April 19, 2024 Label: Thrill Jockey |
| The Bloody Lady | Released: November 8, 2024 Label: Thrill Jockey |
| No Floor | Scheduled: March 21, 2025 Label: Thrill Jockey |

### EPs

| Title | EP details |
| Divide | Released: April 20, 2018 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Neuter | Released: November 2, 2018 Label: Mended Dreams |
| It Is Just So Much More Difficult | Released: April 15, 2019 Label: Mended Dreams |
| A Moment in St Louis and a Moment at the Beach | Released: July 17, 2019 Label: Mended Dreams |
| Live at Elastic Arts (with Carol Genetti) | Released: July 3, 2020 Label: Astral Editions |
| </3 (with More Eaze) | Released: July 17, 2020 Label: New Computer Girls |
| It Was Always Worth It | Released: October 14, 2020 Label: Longform Editions |
| Split (with More Eaze and Wind Tide) | Released: November 16, 2020 Label: Full Spectrum |
| Live | Released: July 2, 2021 Label: American Dreams |
| A Crying Poem (with More Eaze and Bloodz Boi) | Released: August 5, 2022 Label: Orange Milk |
| 17 Roles (All Mapped Out) | Released: September 29, 2022 Label: Shelter Press |
| Distance Therapy | Released: October 12, 2022 Label: Longform Editions |
| Claire Rousay (Audiotree Live) | Released: September 12, 2024 Label: Audiotree |

### Singles

| Title | Year | Album |
| "Tuufuhhoowaah / Bday Shots" | 2020 | Non-album single |
| "Kyle" (with More Eaze) | 2020 | Never Stop Texting Me |
| "Peak Chroma" | 2021 | A Softer Focus |
| "Discrete (The Market)" | 2021 | A Softer Focus |
| "Same" (with More Eaze) | 2022 | Never Stop Texting Me |
| "Hands" (with More Eaze) | 2022 | Never Stop Texting Me |
| "Stairs" (with More Eaze) | 2022 | Never Stop Texting Me |
| "Overcoast" (with More Eaze & Bloodz Boi) | 2022 | A Crying Poem |
| "Deceiver" (with Helena Deland) | 2023 | Non-album singles |
| "Sigh In My Ear" | 2023 | Non-album singles |
| "Head" | 2024 | Sentiment |
| "Ily2" (featuring Hand Habits) | 2024 | Sentiment |
| "It Could Be Anything" | 2024 | Sentiment |
| "Lover's Spit Plays in the Background" | 2024 | Sentiment |
| "III" | 2024 | The Bloody Lady |
| "VIII" | 2024 | The Bloody Lady |
| "How Sweet I Roamed" (with Jeff Tweedy) | 2024 | Transa |
| "Limelight, Illegally" (with More Eaze) | 2024 | No Floor |
| "Kinda Tropical" (with More Eaze) | 2025 | No Floor |
| "Lowcountry" (with More Eaze) | 2025 | No Floor |