Music
Canadian Musician Chloe Charles Speaks Race, Roots and #NewBlackHistoryMusic
On Part 4 of #NewBlackHistoryMusic we spoke to Chloe Charles, a soothing Canadian musician in the genre of Orchestra Soul Pop who bares all in her music and effortlessly emotes our deepest fears and desires. We linked up and got talking about who she is and how she contributes to the New Black History Music.
She is a hair-splitter of a musician, singer as well as a self-taught guitarist. Born in Toronto and raised in Uxbridge Township, the tender songstress had a very colourful and creative upbringing and an even more vibrant lineage. Granddaughter to John Richmond who is a renowned Canadian visual artist, her mother Victoria Richmond who is a writer and her late father Noel Charles a Trinidadian who was the owner of the famous Alexandre Nightclub in Stockholm, Sweden and Bridgetown, Barbados as well as husband to John Lennon’s first wife.
What’s the most interesting aspect of your childhood and how did that build you?
I grew up with my mom. My dad left when I was really young and we started living in the city of Toronto where my mom realised that she was working too hard to make a living and spend enough time with me, so we moved to the country where my grandad had this beautiful property which used be an art school. He planted every single tree on 30 acres of land and built up this beautiful art school. When we eventually moved there he turned it into houses. Sort of like communes, with artsy creative people. Growing up there was inspiring and special and it allowed me to do my own thing. I’m an only child so I had a lot of time alone and I’d run around in the woods and take walks at night because I was never afraid to be alone; I love nature and it gave me the space to be creative and find my own voice. My family was very supportive when it comes to being an individual. My mom was a closet writer and she’d always be sitting somewhere writing poetry or stories and this of course contributed to the creative and supportive atmosphere I grew up in.
So there was no way you were going to end up on a different career path?
I was really scared to go that route, for one I watched my grandad and the lifestyle he led, in the end it worked out and he found his own way but I observered his struggle and how he was sometimes angry at the masses for not actively searching for fulfillment that stimulated them more than just for entertainment purposes. In watching him I realized that just because you are doing something that you love doesn’t mean that everyone else will love it.
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What is the general mood about Black History Month amongst fellow Canadians of mixed race? Does being of mixed race affect how you perceive and celebrate black history month?
It does, I think I have celebrated it as an insider as well as an outsider. My dad is from Trinidad; he had a very little connection to his culture. I think he felt a shame when he was younger and probably experienced lots of racism and had to adapt by putting on a persona to survive in London England. My mom and her family on the other hand are white from Ireland and England. I have a cousin who is also mixed but I feel like here in Toronto especially because we are so multicultural Black History Month becomes important for everybody. It’s not only limited to black people of African descent. February in Canada is special. In the States there’s much more of a divide between white and black but in Canada it’s really quite integrated,. You see it everywhere and it makes me proud of my other half, especially because I don’t know much about my history from my dad’s side. I only know it as far back as my grandparents and so there are a lot of events that go on that teach me about our history, a history that my father never spoke about.
Is there an influence from your black history that comes out in your music?
(Laughs) that’s interesting. Honestly I don’t think I could say that my black descent specifically influences my music but it influences me, just like everything in my life. It’s part of my existence, my history, the way I’ve been treated over the years and therefore developed. Being of mixed race I have had strange experiences in both directions; I’ve felt racism from both black and white people. It naturally comes into my songs because most of my songs are autobiographical.
Tell us about your latest offering “With Blind folds on” what inspired the title?
Well, the title is a line from one of the songs on the album called “Clover”. It speaks about love and finding it when you least expect it. For me however, it’s somewhat of a motto. Life is so cluttered with rules and norms and other people’s opinions and emotions, external ideas of success, the “shoulds” and judgments to an extant that it becomes hard to hear your inner voice. Sometimes you need to shield yourself from the over-stimulation of modern life in order to listen to your own intuition, find your own path and make decisions based on what is important to you and not the external world. In North America and many other countries, people are so driven by achievement. The pressure of having to succeed is so great that it can overshadow what is good for you or what you really love or what would be considered a personal success. If you can just stop and remember that the world wont end if you stop achievling, take the time to listen to your intuition then I believe you will be much less anxious, appreciate your own personal successes and find your own path. I had to do it constantly, stop over thinking, over analysing and stop being overly logical all the time and just feel my way through life.
I picked that up in your previous album, there was a lot of questioning of direction, How to feel, what to think. How was the process with this album from beginning to end?
It was a really long process. For the past few years I’ve spent my time living between Europe and Canada so I have two separate bands, and they have somewhat separate sounds and I wanted to mix this album up and work with people that I play with all the time, so I brought in my violinist from Italy, my pianist from Germany, and some of my fellow Canadian musicians with me here. So instead of having to tell everybody what to do and having a lot of people go into studio with a tight schedule I was lucky that the Canadian government supports the arts and thus I was able to have longer studio sessions. This allowed us to literally try everything. I had a policy that you can never say no to an idea. It was such an amazing experience to take all the sounds out of my head and actualise them. When I write a song, I so much in my head, the orchestra or all the harmonies, so I have a pretty clear idea of what I want. In the past I worked with producers and when you do that you end up adopting some of their style. I mean when you’re young and working on your first Ep or album I feel that you are a little bit more impressionable and not yet confident in your ideas. However, with this album I decided to trust myself and go ahead and self produce with the aid of the amazing musicians I trust and respect. I’m really proud of the end product.
It was recorded in Toronto, mixed it in Berlin and one song was done in New York, so it became an international project. That had its benefits as well downfalls. What was new to me and got quite complicated what was that the technical practices differed from country to country and because style and tastes are quite different so it took longer than expected but it was worth it.
Were there any musical influences that guided towards the sound that you finally achieved?
To be honest when I think about influences I think about life in general. The sounds that influence me are often very dramatic provoking strong emotional responses in me. I pick and choose from various places, for instance choirs, or string quartets or thunder and rain. It’s more of a collection of sounds that you pick up in life, these sounds have an impact and live inside of you.
At one point we ended up accidentally using the sound of mallets on the wood in the inside of the grand piano. We used it as a percussion instrument because it made a thunderous, crackling sound mixed with the resonance from the keys. It was pretty cool.
Any particular end goal, is there a legacy?
My career is for two reasons, when I write I try to push the boundaries genre, judgments and expectations as well as push personal boundaries of honesty. I try to expose more more of myself to help accept myself and my imperfections. I’m pretty hard on myself and I can be critical and through writing I find a way to see that I am just human.
On the other side,I hope that me being honest about my flaws and struggles helps people to be kinder to themselves and realise we all go through the same things, and that our imperfections are what make us all unique and beautiful. When I am on stage I hope to connect with my audience and share the experience of humanity.
Speaking about connecting with your audience, there’s a song on your album called fans, I found it quite interesting but I would like to hear from you; what is it really about?
(Laughs) That song, of course that one (Laughs). This one actually has nothing to do with my audience or fans. There’s another one that does, “Take Me Naked”, but this one is actually talking about a fuelling fan. It’s the story of the end of a relationship when you know it’s over and are faced with the choice to fake it and pretend that everything is fine because it’s comfortable and familiar or end it. It could be the most horrible and volatile relationship ever and you’d find yourself comfortable with the insanity. It describes a moment when you are in bed with your partner looking up at the fan and thinking to yourself if you will continue to fake it and put on a mask or take that terrifying leap and end it.
Wow, I had it completely wrong. I thought it was about you getting on stage and having to put on this facade for your fans to connect to you. Knowing very well that when you get off the stage you are someone totally different. I thought it was about what you want the fans to perceive and feel.
I like that, I should say that. It’s funny because the song “Take Me Naked” is actually about what you are talking about. You were close (laughs). I have one song about that.
Is there any particular song that you like a little bit more than the others?
Yes, My personal favourites are usually not what the masses enjoy, “Hold Me”,“Wool Sweater” and “Tulip”
I actually like the last two.
Thank You.
With “Hold Me”, it feels like there’s a push and pull, you want this person to stay yet you want them to go, as a guy I would be very confused if I someone said/did that to me, what’s the vibe there, what’s going on?
(Laughs) That’s generally how I am in relationships. I am probably the worst person to get into a relationship with these days. It’s actually more of an inner dialog saying, you want this person there who lets you know that it will be okay, while at the same time you know that the only one who can fix your issues is you.
Are we going to see you South Africa?
I would love that, I have no connections so far but I would love to. It would be amazing! I have no idea what this year has to offer.
Are you excited about what ever may come?
I am, I find it interesting how you have no clue what life has to offer, you can make plans but shit happens. Or you can look back and never have imagined that you could have met people or had experiences that change your life.
A photo posted by Chloe Charles (@chloecharles) on
Written By: Lethabo Ngakane
Twitter: @Lambisking