Introducing: Charlotte OC

The end of November sees the release of Charlotte OC’s EP Colour My Heart, a four-track offering from the Blackburn-born songstress recorded in LA with Solange and Sia producer, Tim Anderson. While influenced by everything from Alicia Keys to Talking Heads to Lou Reed, it was the city of Berlin that was the main inspiration for Colour My Heart. On the EP, her vocals leave a looming, mysterious air behind their emotive outbursts over the piano-led beats. We caught up with Charlotte to discuss the ins and outs of the new release, her array of influences and how Disney songs may be the reason behind the dramatic vocals…

Prime Planet: What’s your musical background, how did you start singing?
Charlotte OC: My mum’s a hairdresser so I always wanted to be a hairdresser, but I think it started when I was 8 and I was singing in school and I was like, ‘I think I can do it’, but I couldn’t really hear it myself. I think it’s self-knowing. So that’s when I first realised I could sing, I guess. I started writing music on my own when I was 15 and playing guitar, and it all came as soon as I started writing music. I just uploaded it onto MySpace, then everything progressed from there. My old manager started getting involved and then it has been one of those building processes.

PP: Did you have any education in music?
COC: No, not really. I went to an all-girls private school, which was very academic and I’m not the best when it comes to academic things. But when it came to music it was not frowned upon and something that you do for fun? It wasn’t anything that was taken seriously. So I never really had any lessons in it.

PP: Who would you say your main influences are?
COC: The first person that I ever went to go and watch was Alicia Keys; I was 13. It was just one of those moments where I was like ‘ahh, that’s what I want to be doing.’ Watching her and the fact that she didn’t have to get her boobs out – she sat behind the piano – you could clearly see she was beautiful but it was almost like the sex sells thing didn’t matter, it was just her and her music and that was exactly where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do. That was a real turning point for me; almost a bit of a light bulb moment. I grew up listening to a lot of Talking Heads, Joni Mitchell, John Martyn, James Taylor. A lot of folk music was played in my house as well.

PP: Your EP is out next month, how are you feeling about its release?
COC: Even with releasing the video, it was as if I was sending my child off to its first day of school. I was just thinking what are people going to say? Are they going to be nice about it? It was that kind of maternal feeling, and obviously as the reactions were lovely, I’m excited. I’m very proud of what I’ve made and believe in it so I’m not that worried; I’m just a little bit excited.

PP: You recorded the EP in LA, with Tim Anderson (Solange, Sia), what was that like?
COC: Unreal. I have never experienced what I experienced when I was with him which was one of those ‘I think you’re the person I’m meant to be working with forever’ feelings. He brought music out of me that I knew was in me, but I just didn’t know how to get to. There were two tunes that I had done that were flirting with the idea of where I wanted to be and he just sat down at the piano and played the first chords to ‘Colour My Heart’ and the rest kind of happened. So he has changed my life a little bit in terms of direction and views on where I want to go and whatnot. He’s an unbelievable producer, so I’m very very lucky to be working with him.

PP: Are there any other producers who you’d like to work with in the future?
COC: There’s one guy who I have worked with, but I want to do more stuff with and he’s called Michael Elizondo. He did all the Dr. Dre stuff, a lot of Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor, he did ‘Slim Shady’. He’s a really varied producer; I want to do more stuff with him. He’s been amazing.

PP: The songs were inspired by the time you spent in Berlin, what was it about the city that made you want to write about it?
COC: Because I had grown up listening to Lou Reed’s Berlin album and it kind or painted a picture for me of this darkness. I don’t know, as soon as I landed I felt like I was home and I haven’t even been here. I don’t know why I just felt completely at ease. Plus I’m a massive fan of electronic music and techno and stuff and going to all the nights they do over there, because techno, it started in Germany really so it was the hub of that kind of genre. The way that they did the clubs; everything about the place is just perfect in my eyes. It changed my life being in Berlin. I remember being in Berghain and I heard this tune by Monkey Safari with a Bon Iver vocal and a driving electronic beat behind it and that’s where the inspiration of the piano with the beat and the haunting vocals came from. That’s where it needs to be. It’s a very special place for me. I love Berlin.

PP: The tracks sound quite epic, was that a vision you’ve always had for your music?
COC: Erm I think as I’ve got a big voice, it kind of has to go that way. It just naturally did that. Maybe it was because I listened to a lot of Disney when I was younger, I have no idea. It wasn’t intention; it’s just happened that way. It feels right.

PP: Did you always want to create a simple but impactful video for ‘Colour My Heart’?
COC: Yeah, because I think the song has so many things going on and it’s just so simple and has got so much space you needed something kind of simple to draw you in. I just wanted it to be me, no real gimmicks or nothing really going on, just my emotions and what was going on in the show.

PP: Was it your idea for the video, did you direct it?
COC: Yeah, so it was Roman Rappack, who’s in a band called Breton, who is possibly one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met and [laughs] he said “so, what are your ideas?” I just very vaguely outlined it and then at the end of the sentence I remember saying to Roman, “I just don’t want it to be shit.” From that he came back and he put what I said and the fact I didn’t want it to be shit, he scripted it all and I was like, “yeah, that’s it.” It was another one of those moments where you’re meant to work with each other. You don’t have to say much but you know exactly what the other person is doing. I remember even just filming it was a real magic moment.

PP: What artists are you enjoying at the moment?
COC: I just brought a Fiona Apple album that I haven’t listened to before and I’m loving that. I brought the Haim album the other day, London Grammar are amazing. Banks is doing really well.

PP: Have you got an album planned, any tours?
COC: Yeah, the album will be out in the middle part of next year.

PP: Have you started working on that?
COC: I’ve got two albums ready, literally; I’m just picking through them. I’ll never finish writing, I just want to constantly keep going. There’s a lot of material that I’ve got, it’s just I think a lot of artists feel they’re never ready or they never want to stop writing. Writing and music is all I do, so if I stopped I don’t know what I’d be doing. I’m just writing away, still getting it all y’know there are a lot of songs there that I think are lovely but I want to have the feeling that I have with ‘Colour My Heart’ and ‘Hangover’. Hopefully I’ll do a tour next year and I’m off to Australia in January/Febuary.

– Hayley Fox

Colour My Heart is available to pre-order on iTunes now (via Stranger)

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