Finding Her Voice: clovers daughter

Interview By Ev Fuss

Photo by Noor Shami clovers daughter is the artist name behind a project launched in January 2025 by American-Palestinian singer-songwriter Noor Shami. Blending indie pop and indie folk, she crafts an entrancing, atmospheric sound that feels both intimate and expansive. Currently in Minneapolis, clovers daughter just released her second EP, Fragile Feeling, a four-track EP that explores Noor’s most vulnerable emotions surrounding love and growth. ​ I recently had the chance to sit down with Noor to talk about her evolving sound, the heart behind Fragile Feeling, and what clovers daughter has come to mean to her. Here's how it went. ​

Ev: Let’s zone in clovers daughter. What inspired you to create this project, and has the meaning of the project changed at all since you started it? ​

Noor: I've always been inspired by music. You know, I grew up around it. I grew up always trying to find my mom's pots and pans, trying to bang on them and create some sort of beat and some lyrics. I was just always drawn to it. As I got older and moved around a lot, I saw the world from so many different perspectives and cultures. Being immersed in it, I felt like I had so much to tell. That's the big reason why I fell in love with music as storytelling. When I was able to get my hands on my first guitar, I started writing music in my bedroom, and it was all really, really, really bad for a long time. I dedicated my time to understanding who I am as an artist, what I want to share, what my meaning is, and what I want to put out to the world and share with people. After I graduated from college, I decided clovers daughter just felt very right to me. You know, I am my mother's daughter. My mom's name is not Clover actually; that name just kind of just spoke to me. Something about it felt right. ​ Knowing she wanted to go with something different than her government name, Noor undertook clovers daughter as almost an homage to her roots and the emotions that are important to her. Following the roots of some of the artists that inspire her most, such as Fleetwood Mac and Daft Punk, Noor was able to take elements of the music she loves and add personalized twists to them, making them her own in this new project. ​

E: How do you think this project compares to the rest of music, like, with your personality? What are you most proud of with it? ​

N: I'm super proud of this project. I spent a lot of time working on it, and I feel like it is the most raw form of storytelling that I've put out yet. Compared to my other projects, I just felt like there's so much happening in the world right now, and in my life as well, growing up, and being in my early twenties. I really just wanted to examine the painful evolution of the unspoken sides of love, and tackle it with honesty and a little bit of restraint as well. It's such a universal feeling, and it's something that I really wanted to talk about. My co-producer, Navid, and I intentionally spent the time to make sure, sonically, the lyrics are able to breathe. You know, I wanted to create a world in an atmosphere where people can fall into the music, and really sink in. I feel like we accomplished that with this project. ​

E: I completely agree. I was listening to the EP in my car, and I was like, “Wow, I feel like I'm in this whole world on its own.” T\It was really cool. With your creative process, do you have any rituals that go into writing and recording, or how would you describe the process that goes into making your songs? ​

N: That's awesome. I wish I did. Honestly, I don't. Every time I go into a session, it looks different. Whether I have an idea initially, or I have a melody in mind, or some sort of chord or some sort of inspiration, or sometimes we just sit down with a blank slate and just try playing a bunch of different instruments and seeing what sticks, what feels right. I'm a big, firm believer of letting your feelings and your emotions lead the creative process. Sometimes it's really hard for me to just say, I have this idea and then force it. It's more of whatever feels right in that moment, in that day, and that hour, is what I try to chase. And that's why I also feel like this project specifically was the most raw storytelling that I've done. I approached my sessions in a way of trying to put behind the business, the marketing, the structure of what an EP really is supposed to look like, and just purely write and create from the heart.

​Photo by Venus

E: What other emotions do you find yourself typically drawing from the most when you write?

N: Um, definitely love. Definitely. Hurt and resentment are something that I feel like I pull a lot from. I sometimes struggle to speak about those “negative feelings”. I don't really like that term, but I don't know how else to put it. Complicated feelings that come with being hurt, I struggle to express in my day-to-day life, but I feel very free writing about it, putting it in a song, and in a story.

Noor told me that her debut album, which was released in August 2025, is heavily influenced by dance and funk symphonic music.

N: Sometimes I like to write music that doesn't carry the most meaning, but is just super relatable. I like to write about, you know, dancing and meeting people and seeing the world through a different lens.

E: Yeah. I think that's my favorite part of music. Finding a way to connect with it personally. I think the most beautiful part of music is that there's always going to be someone who's experienced what you experience, even if you don't feel like there's someone there who can be by your side throughout it all.  

N: There are seven billion people in this world from all sorts of places, backgrounds, families, experiences, heartbreak, love, jobs, and careers. I mean, I can keep going forever. No matter how alone someone might be feeling with a particular feeling, you know, most likely someone else is experiencing that.

E: More on coming from different backgrounds and whatnot. I know you're influenced by your  multicultural roots. How do you think that shows up in your work? Whether it's subconsciously or more consciously?

N: Yeah, of course. I'm Palestinian through and through. I feel like I've taken a lot of my struggles, and my family's struggles, my people's struggles, and really wanted to show the world that Palestine is a lot more than just a news headline. Through my music, not necessarily word for word, experience per experience, but more just the pride in repping myself as a Palestinian artist and showing the world that there's so much beauty to the Palestinian people. We have so much to share with the world and to give. This is my little way of appreciating my culture by showing off my music, my dedication, and my persistence with connecting to people.

E: Shifting a bit away from the creative process discussion- I saw that you did a few live performances recently. What's your favorite song to perform live?

N: That's a really tough question. You're making me choose my favorite. I guess at the moment I can give you one more upbeat and one slower song, because a lot of my set is an emotional roller coaster, but in the best way possible. I really try to hit the really intimate, slower, emotional side of a set. And then I really try to hit the fun dance part where you kind of forget everything that's going on, and you're really immersed in the music. So one of my favorite upbeat songs to perform is “Like a Criminal”, which is off of my album, Am I Worth It?. It's just always such a fun time. I mean, it's such a fun song. The bassline is so groovy, and I love seeing everyone in the audience dance and have a really good time. And then the bridge loops the words “like a criminal”, and I love involving the audience with that and having them chant it back to me. We go back and forth, and it brings in the community and brings in the fans and the audience into the music as well.

Um, and then a slower song. I would love to say something off of my EP, but I've actually never played my EP live. I definitely believe one of those songs will be one of my favorite slower ones to perform. For something that's out that I've been playing for a while, probably “It Gets Easier,” also off of my album Am I Worth It?. It's the last track of the album. That song just means so much to me. It's kind of my little message of like, you're not alone. I feel like I captured that moment so well live. It translates so nicely. I invite a cellist and a violinist to join me on stage, and take the time to sing that song; something about it is extremely vulnerable. The instrumentation is extremely gorgeous and pretty stripped down. It's really authentically me. And I love that song.

E: Here’s a really random, more fun-type question for you: What's the strangest compliment you've received about your music or work?

N: Let me think about this. That's a really good question. I've never been asked that question. Strangest compliment. Hmm. Oh yeah, I have one actually. That's so funny. This one was definitely very odd. I still don't know how I feel about this, but you know what? I'll take it.

Once I was performing live here in Minneapolis, and after my set, I was at the merch table, and someone came up to me and was like, “I've never heard of you before. I saw it on Bandsintown, and I wanted to come by,” and I was like, thank you so much. And they're like, you know, “I have something to say.” I'm like, oh, let me hear it. And they're like, “Your music kind of reminds me of the holidays, you know, it kind of takes me through like Halloween, then Christmas, then Thanksgiving.”

I'm like, okay, thank you. And he's said, “Yeah, I'm gonna start using it as my soundtrack for the holidays, and it's just going to get me all excited for the holidays.” I don't know how I feel about being categorized as making holiday music, but you know, whatever rocks his boat.

E: That's a really good one. I guess, on the topic of how people relate to you, what would you hope that someone feels when they hear your music for the first time?

N: Maybe not holiday music!

I just hope they can connect. I mean, as simple as that. You know, whether it's one line, whether it's something about music, is so transporting, especially with this EP. Like I was saying, I really wanted to create a really immersive world, and I hope when people listen, they're able to jump back into a memory they had, whether it's good or bad, whatever the feeling is, but just feel it. Whether it takes them back to their childhood or a specific moment in time, or anything like that. I just want people to be transported through the music. Yeah, I think there's something really powerful with that.

E: That’s all I have for you. Is there anything that you want the world to know about clovers daughter?

N: This is just the beginning for clovers daughter. I have a lot planned in the books for things I want to do, and things I want to accomplish: more music, tours, a lot of things that I want to be doing. I want people to join me on this journey and hold my hand through it, too. I mean, I'm a new artist, and I love hearing people's feedback, and I love really being immersed with the listeners, and hearing their stories, and seeing how they relate to everything. I am so excited to keep going and keep creating. I think that's so healing. The world needs art. I think it's extremely healing and necessary.

You can listen to Fragile Feeling on most streaming platforms and keep up with clovers daughter on various online platforms.