Profile: Charlotte

Giving soul music a fresh look in the modern musical landscape is not an easy task. But somehow, Hull singer CHARLOTTE has successfully created a sound and performance style unlike any other. Releasing her first singles in the early months of 2019, she has since gained a lot of traction and buzz, and is on the precipice of breaking through to the next level.

With the release of her debut EP in the summer of 2019, Nowhere to Hide highlighted not only her impressive vocals but the brutal honesty of her songwriting. She explained to Only A Northern One that after leaving school at 18 she experienced “the university of songwriting. I would travel to wherever, write with whoever and I ended up gaining so much experience. By the end (of 2016) I had a bank of 200 songs”.

The personal tone of her lyrics is significant to her identity as an artist. “That’s how I write, everything I've written about I can tell you the story about why I wrote that song”. Her fanbase has been built mostly from her phenomenal live performances, and she understands the importance of touring in establishing a connection with her audience. “When people hear a song they’ve never heard before with completely fresh ears that’s a really good indicator if they connect with it after one listen”.

With a packed schedule of gigs last year, CHARLOTTE revealed it was her headline tour that showed how far she’d come. “When I did my first headline show in March last year, I had to work hard to sell it out. I think it was 80 capacity and it was still amazing and a great feeling to sell it out, but when I looked out it was really just all people I knew. But when I walked out at St Pancras, I didn’t know anyone in the crowd and I wasn’t prepared for that. I assumed it was just friends and family who had come down to see me. But it was just, you know, people in London who had bought a ticket to come and see me”.

Despite the growing appeal of her music beyond East Yorkshire, she continues to stay connected and dedicated to her hometown with local venues including pub the Polar Bear and infamous nightclub The Welly at the top of her list of venues to perform at. “When people ask me in interviews what’s your dream venue to play, I say the Welly and they’re like the Wembley? No the Welly. That’s why playing the Polar Bear was so cool because I used to watch the Sesh there most weeks, to then go and play there – it's something you have a sentimental attachment to”.

With plans for a new project later in the year, it’s clear that CHARLOTTE is only at the beginning of an incredibly exciting journey.

Interview: Chloe Rackham