Artist Interviews

Q&A: Charlie Simpson

By | Published on Thursday 25 August 2011

Charlie Simpson

A seventeen year old Charlie Simpson scored his first chart hit in 2002 with ‘What I Go To School For’, as lead guitarist in teacher-fancying pop-rock outfit Busted.

When the trio disbanded in 2005 to pursue separate side projects, Charlie took up with progressive alt-rock band Fightstar, with whom he had been moonlighting during his latter years with Busted. The band released their debut EP ‘They Liked You Better When You Were Dead’, subsequently earning sometimes grudging (given Charlie’s boyband origins) critical acclaim across three successive albums.

Shortly after Fightstar elected to take a hiatus, with plans to reunite for a new LP next year, Charlie began work with producer Danton Stupple (Doves, Coldplay, The Cure) on his debut solo album ‘Young Pilgrim’. It was released earlier this month in partnership with fan-funding platform PledgeMusic, meriting a top ten UK chart position despite losing 30,000 units to the recent [PIAS] warehouse fire.

Following a slot at homespun music festival Harvest At Jimmy’s on 10 Sep, Charlie is set to open his first solo tour with a show at Bristol’s Anson Rooms on 18 Oct. Before that, we asked him to tackle our Same Six Questions.

Q1 How did you start out making music?
I started making music at around the age of eleven. I had a very basic set up which included a Tascam four-track tape recorder which I imported from the States, a cherry red acoustic guitar, a Sure 57 microphone and a lot a spare time.

Q2 What inspired your latest album?
I think this record was inspired by looking at life in retrospect. ‘Young Pilgrim’ feels like a journey to me, and it was nice to look back over my life so far and be able to write about it. I dug out a lot of my 70s Americana records as well to feed my inspiration. Those albums will always be very special.

Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
I tend to start writing on either an acoustic guitar or a piano. Once I have found some melodies I like I then start to build the track up in my head, which usually means writing a drum part and then adding other instrumentation. I usually leave the lyrics until last, once I have nailed down all of the melodies.

Q4 Which artists influence your work?
I would say that two artists that have been a great influence to me are Pete Yorn and Jackson Browne. I have been a fan of both these artists for a very long time and they have always been a big inspiration to me.

Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Get a decent pair of headphones to listen to it with!

Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
I feel as though my main ambition for this record was just to make an album that I am incredibly proud of, which is something I have managed to achieve. So anything from here on in is just an added bonus!

MORE>> www.charliesimpsonmusic.com



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