As I walked down the stairs and into Notting Hill Arts Club, I was greeted by the heavy bassline of KALEIDA’s breakthrough single ‘Think’. Immediately, I understood the name of the event; Juicebox. Not just a metaphor, the venue is in fact a small, dark box illuminated by orange incantations of Juicebox projected all over the walls.

As the electro-duo from London performed the last few songs of their set, the healthy buzz that I’d initially been met by seemed to evaporate. The crowd seemed to be losing interest in the combination of poppy beats and soulful vocals. By the end of the set there was just one edgy-looking blonde flowing to the music in a sea of static audience members.

As the buzz once again grew in steady anticipation of the Munich-born Claire, I located their lead singer, Josie-Claire Bürkle. The combination of black jumpsuit and converses a perfect reflection of the young singer’s professional yet joyful personality. The nerves I felt as a result of having to talk in German quickly faded away as the grinning blonde singer told me we could speak in English. Upon asking her how the group had found London she replied “Awesome man, really awesome, well I think its been great anyway…. the audience over here are so good”, going on to show her funny side by telling me that “When it’s early here they’re [the audience] not so drunk [compared to Germany].”

As Josie paced around the stage clutching a drumstick and gesturing towards the crowd demonstrating her desire to begin, a voice from the crowd shouted “We want Claire!” Immediately, the pleas of this lone figure were answered and the diamond emblazoned on the drum set flashed on to the screen. Out of nowhere, Josie and the guitarist slammed the drum in front of them in tandem and the audience quietened in anticipation. The symbols and drums began to march in in an almost military fashion as the guitarist picked up his beaten-up guitar and Josie began to caress the air as she caressed the opening lines of ‘Broken Promise Land’. The light, joyful voice of Josie was soon brought to new depths as the deep voice and overall coolguy-persona of the guitarist began to interweave with the music. By this point the crowd were already fully under the influence of the music; the drummer’s beat and the thumping bass like the heartbeat of a body.

The next song, my personal favourite ‘Games’, allowed the group to entrance the crowd and made me think that if it had been outdoors it would have been a lighters in the air moment. As the mid-tempo beat resonated through the room, it was like Josie was hypnotising the crowd with her words.

Over the next few songs Claire showed their overwhelming diversity. With the song ‘Pioneers’, Josie demonstrated other levels in her range, the beat behind it sounded like something you would hear on a Faithless track as well as emphasising the vocals and playing-ability of the guitarist. ‘Overdrive’ had the audience bobbing like zombies and had a much more robotic feel to it; reminding me of ‘Nightcall’ by Kavinsky and the earlier work of Daft Punk. ‘Hallowed Ground’ began with the familiar grace of Josie’s voice before she exploded into rapping reminiscent of Iggy Azalea. Their penultimate song, ‘You Walk in Beauty’ sounded like the more soulful reincarnation of ‘Disparate Youth’ by Santigold and the “oh, oh, ohhh” present throughout gave the song an anthemic quality. After thanking the crowd, Claire’s began to play their final song. ‘Resurrection’ as well as being a great showcase of the musical talent of the whole group, had an industrial sound and massive energy to it; you could imagine it pumping out at a warehouse rave or a house party.

As ‘Resurrection’ came to a close the crowd were bouncing off each other and for the first time all night almost matched the high-energy dancing of Josie, shouts of  “I love Claire.. We love Claire” by the same man who had called out earlier prompted yet more emphatic smiles from Josie. I have to say that I also love Claire; meaningful lyrics, great music as well as some outstanding guitar and drum solos. Their style is a self-proclaimed mix of synthpop, electronic-pop, half-time beats, hip-hop and indie. Whilst this doesn’t really give a defining indication of their sound, its as accurate as can be. Claire are just that, undefinable. The group’s unique mix of vocals and beats results in music you’ll love instantly but be convinced you’ve heard before. The truth is that the nature of the music they make means they will sound, at first listen, like so many others; its the energy of their music and the soothing touch provided by Josie’s voice that separates them from the rest. ‘Games’ is released on the 23^rd of February and they’ll be touring again in Germany from March onwards so I strongly recommend seeing them if you can.