Local talent digs deep for latest single
Centurion singer-songwriter Carla Strauss explores the pressures of perfection and self-discovery in her latest single, "Pulling Teeth".
Centurion artist Carla Strauss has released the latest song in her musical journey as she sets out to make a difference with her talent.
“Pulling Teeth” is an exploration of the universal experience from a personal perspective of the drive to be perfect and the process of forgetting oneself along the way.
Listen to “Pulling Teeth” here:
The singer, who grew up in Highveld, said her passion for music began from a very early age when she was still a learner at Laerskool Louis Leipoldt.
“I started performing when I was eight, I did a lot of competitions and shows,” Strauss told Rekord.
She still remembers her first-ever performance at the Dros in Jean Avenue and has continued building her career ever since.
She released her first single at 16, and now at 24, feels that her music has matured.
“With the types of competitions I did, there is always that part where you need to face the judges, and so when you don’t do well, it really puts a lot of pressure on you to do better,” she says.
“But in another sense, that was so good for me because I was always trying to be better and do better in the competitions. It helped me realise that if I work on my talent, and practise with a longer-term end goal in mind, that I can build something.”
Her latest song speaks to this, but also about the pressures to impress others.
“The song was about doing what you want without disappointing people,” she explains.
“The real struggle with me isn’t much about my singing, but more about my personal life.”
Strauss says she realised that making those around her happy was a core part of who she is, but that the drive could be limiting.
“Whenever I try to make people happy, I go out of my way to do things for them. But that can be a problem.”
Strauss says working with others has shown her she could trust in her abilities, and that she could grow her talents to suit her goals.
“The fact that I am doing the music for my songs as well has been the biggest marker of my maturing as an artist. In the start, I pretty much went to a producer with my ideas and he did most of the things. But when I realised that I could do my own music, that changed my perspective.”
She says her personality also meant that she hoped to do more with the opportunity she has found herself with and saw herself inspired to get involved in the activism space.
She is particularly interested in fighting bullying and fighting for the rights of children.
“I don’t have a lot in life, but the little that I have is still more than most people in South Africa. Striving for peace is my biggest thing in my life currently, I mean if you read the news, there is a lot of tragedy. I just want to focus on the good things that we as people are capable of.”
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