Friday 11 September 2020

LISTEN: Me, Charles - 'Like and Share'

"all the world becomes too much and I dip my head under..."  

The reality of running this little blog is using my one day off in a stretch of eight days to listen to a bunch of submissions and write posts. Days off... what are those? So it's almost 11pm and I'm trying to write a post which has been circling the top of my to-do list for a couple of weeks. I hope that Me, Charles won't mind me saying that I was entirely flattered upon finding his email in my inbox. 

Within it, he said some of the kindest things that anybody ever has about the blog. Talking about how he had first been introduced to the blog and how it influenced him...  I was kind of blown away, to the extent that I thought it might somehow be spam. Turns out that he is in fact a genuine human being and is just really lovely (and loves the blog...!) 

Me, Charles is a singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer from South East London, and he's just released his debut LP Like and Share. Eight years in the making, the record reflects his interests in genres such as alt-rock, bossa nova, jazz and experimental electronica, as well as influences like James Blake and Jeff Buckley. This record, however, isn't easily categorised. It's an exploration, musically and personally. An album which is incredibly intricate. At times delivering a huge soundscape, and then piercingly intricate. This record demands your attention for 36 minutes, if you want to get the most out of it. 

The record is made all the more sweet when you read Me, Charles story. Some of the songs started to spring into being when he was just 17. The year prior, he lost his mother to breast cancer. As it does to so many people, music became an invaluable outlet for him. The tracks, in their depth, carry an emotional weight, and allow for reflection. Having just emerged from seven years of addiction, we find Me, Charles really beginning to realise his potential with this release. 

Take a listen to Like and Share on Bandcamp and Spotify.

Follow Me, Charles - Facebook | Instagram.

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