Music Feeds’ Love Letter To A Record series asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share stories about how the music they love has influenced their lives. Here, Imogen Clark confesses her love for Taylor Swift’s 2014 album, 1989.
Western Sydney musician Imogen Clark released the new single, ‘Nonchalant’, in June 2022. The release follows hot on the heels of Clark’s nomination for Best Pop Album/EP at this year’s AIR Awards. Clark self-produced the emotionally intense ‘Nonchalant’, marking the first time she’d taken on a production role.
Imogen Clark on Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’
The year is 2014. I’ve been out of high school for two years and just beginning to delve into the world of full-time touring – living out of suitcases, changing in public bathrooms and driving more kilometres in one week in my dad’s old “bombadore” station wagon than I previously had in my entire life.
I’d first found Taylor Swift through her smash hit ‘Love Story’, which was then followed up by my guitar teacher teaching me the chords to ‘White Horse’ while I cried in teenage angst. Since those integral moments of my musical upbringing, I had followed Taylor’s every move with microscopic interest and pure adoration. So, when 1989, the artist’s first unapologetic leap into pop stardom, hit my local record store of Richmond Records, I bought the CD immediately and pored over the lyric booklet while taking the western line train to Sydney.
For me, this Taylor record couldn’t have come at a better time. I was struggling a little with the direction of my own music. Having found an early home within the folk scene with my gentle acoustic songs, but having been raised on Led Zeppelin and Violent Femmes, I was starting to want to incorporate my rock roots into my music. And to further complicate the issue, for the first time I was engaging in a secret love affair with pop music, while too afraid to tell any of the super cool, aloof indie-folk musicians I knew.
I didn’t know where I wanted to be or where I was going musically, but when 1989 dropped, I saw an artist who was proving she could constantly evolve and reinvent herself, all the while remaining true to the core of who she is. This record gave me an understanding that not only can you be more than one thing – you should be. This was a contrary opinion to what I, and every other female artist, had been force-fed within the music industry. It went against every common narrative I’d witnessed, where female artists were allowed only a narrow path down which to walk.
Taylor Swift – ‘Love Story’
Here was this powerhouse woman who told relatable stories in her songs, and the choice in this record to pair that with infectious synths and programmed drums didn’t make her any less of a fantastic storyteller; in fact, it only made those stories feel more empowering.
Personally, this record also came at a wonderful time for me. I was single and exploring my freedom from high school and the confines of my small hometown. I was going out with friends, going out on tours, and exploring the first of many love stories of my own.
1989’s coming of age themes of girl-to-woman growth and the liberation that comes with independence were the perfect soundtrack to my late teens and early twenties. My “fuck you” song senses were only just beginning to tingle – I had yet to write any of my own – but ‘Shake It Off’ satisfied that void.
‘Style’ was brooding and sexy, dedicated to lovers who keep coming back to one another despite their toxicity, which went nicely with my attitude of the time, which glamorised dysfunctional but passionate relationships (youth, am I right?). ‘This Love’ was the dreamy 80s romance anthem of my dreams.
The record was all killer, no filler – even (especially!) in the deluxe tracks, which also featured some early voice memos of the songs’ progress, only cementing my belief that the best songs could be stripped of all production and still slay you acoustically.
I believe 1989 was the beginning of my happy slide into being a full-on popaholic, and of eventually introducing plenty of that pop flavour into my own writing. With each release, I seem to embrace it more, never more so than with my latest single ‘Nonchalant’.
I have Taylor Swift and this record in particular to thank for helping me embrace my love of pop music, for teaching me to be a better songwriter at a pivotal, youthful point in my career, and for empowering me as a female artist in general. I’m so grateful that I get to live in the same era as this genius woman. A happy 1989 throwback to all who celebrate,
Imogen x
Imogen Clark – ‘Nonchalant’
Further Reading
NEW AUS MUSIC PLAYLIST: Our Favourite Tunes Of The Week
Taylor Swift Teases ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ With ‘This Love’ Reboot
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