Clyde Crooks steps into the fire of newfound love on “Coldest Day of the Year”

For the singer-songwriter and visual artist, music has always been serious business. Growing up in an artistic household, Crooks’ dad was a jazz musician, and both parents pushed him into music from an early age. Initially hesitant, he gradually became tethered to the vocation he now loves. With a Californian ease, Crooks tells me, “I just wanted to be around artists who grew up in similar environments, we kind of had a shared language”. Crooks soon found a way to translate this “shared language” into musical production, working with a range of local rappers, producers, and bands who helped him discover and refine his sound. Whilst his creative identity was cultivated amongst LA’s music scene, he’s relaxed about his place within it. Proud of his musical heritage? Yes, but not restricted by it. He makes no bones about being a student of music. A self-produced artist, he executes creative control over songwriting, production, and visuals. Only now is he beginning to cede control of the creative process. Following his 2025 debut let the red curtain down, Crooks’ next body of work, Hark, is due for release on 18 September via The Nest Records. With this anti-romance project twisting po...