6 minute read
Meet CHARLOTTE
Charlotte by Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
Charlotte by Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
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CHARLOTTE
Discovered by worldwide hitmaker Toby Gad, writer of ‘All of Me’ (John Legend), ‘If I Were A Boy’ (Beyonce), ‘Big Girls Don’t Cry’ (Fergie) and more, CHARLOTTE unique voice and timeless sound is going to make you swoon. The young British singer spent her early teens performing in pubs until her family moved to Singapore when she was 14 years old – isolated from her friends and the life she knew, she started to write and sing every day, finding therapy in her music to cope with these inner struggles as a teenager. Let’s sit with the artist to find more about her journey.
Charlotte by Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
On The Move: Hi Charlotte, we are happy to have you here. For those who don’t know you yet, could you tell us about yourself and how you started making music?
CHARLOTTE: My name is Charlotte, I’m from East Yorkshire in England. I’ve been singing and performing pretty much my whole life, writing tunes since I was like 6. I don’t know when I started performing. I was one of those kids that would like get up on stage and put on a show in the living room or wherever to whoever. I continued to do it pretty much my whole life and grabbed opportunities where I could get them. I guess my career in the industry started when I was 17. I met my manager in the UK and that kind of changed the course of my life. I’m not from London so where I’m from is not really connected to the music industry, it’s quite far so there wasn’t much going on. My knowledge of the industry was also pretty slim. I had no idea how you would start a career and become an official artist. The only thing I knew was that I wrote songs that were like therapy for myself. When I met my manager he started putting me in sessions with producers and that kind of decided the course of what I am doing now. I loved it and I wrote for other artists and now I have my own songs out so it’s been a long time coming.
On The Move: You said you wrote for different artists before releasing your own project, what do you think is the main difference between writing for others and writing songs to release under your own name?
CHARLOTTE: For me, in terms of deciding whether a song is for me or whether it’s for another artist, it’s about the subject. The songs I’m releasing under my name are about my life and it’s completely biographical because that’s the reason I do music. It would just feel false to me if I wrote something that wasn’t true. In terms of the process, when I write for another artist in the room, it’s about helping them. It’s kind of a social situation when you want to help your friend and offer advice and help them go through something. So it’s not what I want, it’s about getting the best thing for someone else. It’s two different things but it helps me as an artist because I’d say something that I wouldn’t normally say or work in a genre that isn’t mine and it helps me abroad my own horizons.
On The Move: Since you were talking about writing for others and your own music being inspired by your life, would you let someone else write for you?
CHARLOTTE: I would hate to say never because there’s a handful of songs written by other people that I feel are about my own life and I wish I wrote them so I guess you never know. If someone pitches a song to me and I felt like it was just about me then maybe I would take it. I enjoy the creative process and I love writing so for now I don’t feel the need to take songs written by others.
On The Move: Your debut single was named “I Tell Lies”. What can you tell us about it?
CHARLOTTE: I never felt at school that I was a typical girl. I didn’t really know how to express my emotions to other people. I used to spend time listening to people’s problems but never speak about my own. Just very unhealthy. Most of my mates at school were guys. I was the little clown. I hope I was funny (laugh), I hope I am funny. Even if it’s who I am, it’s my personality that makes me not too dimensional. I never let that vulnerable side of me being shown so I got trapped into being the class clown. If I went out on an evening with my mates, I felt like I had to perform and be that character. When I was going through phases, when I felt down or you know, I didn’t know how to be that person. That’s what the song is about. I knew from the moment we finished it that it had to be the first single I’d put out. It was important for me to tell my friends and my family and everyone in general. I also have younger sisters and I could see history repeating itself, doing similar things and not knowing how to communicate their emotions so I feel like I have to be a little bit more responsible for them. I want to be an example for them so I felt like I needed to open up a bit.
Charlotte by Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
On The Move: How did they react to this?
CHARLOTTE: They loved the song (laugh). I mean they are like 14 so they’re still figuring out life and I don’t know if they sat down with the lyrics and be like “Right, it’s a lesson to be learned!” (laugh) but if I heard a song like this when I was their age or younger, I’d felt comforted that people are feeling that way and I’m not the only one so maybe I should like talking about it more.
On The Move: Your EP “Nowhere To Hide” came out last month. Where does the name come from?
CHARLOTTE: There are four songs on the EP and I chose the name because the songs included are the most vulnerable and honest and scary songs I’ve written at the time. It’s just confessional. I have so much music ready to go beside the EP.
Charlotte by Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
Charlotte by Jonathan Benbaruk exclusively for On The Move
On The Move: Who are the artists you are inspired by?
CHARLOTTE: The first music I connected to was soul music because my grandparents were soul singers. They were a duo. My grandma played saxophone and sang and my grandpa lead vocals. I used to watch them every summer because they lived in Spain and I would go to see them tour around Europe. The setlist was like Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke… amazing soul music! That’s the first stuff that I became aware of. I was so naturally drawn to it anyway. Then growing up, I fell in love with British alternative music, and more recently I’d say Sam Fender in the UK. I’m a big fan. Lewis Capaldi also. I love Bon Iver, I’d listen to that for the rest of my life (laugh). My music influences are quite broad that’s why I find it difficult to define what my music even is.
INTERVIEW BY PAM CHARBIT // PHOTOS BY Jonathan Benbaruk
