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Artist Interviews
Q&A: Charlie Winston
By CMU Editorial | Published on Thursday 10 September 2009
Growing up with a folk duo Jeff and Julie Gleave for parents, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Charlie Winston and two of his siblings (Tom Baxter and Vashti Anna) grew up to become musicians. It was while playing bass on his brother’s debut album that he met Peter Gabriel, who went on to produce Winston’s own debut, ‘Make Way’. His second album, ‘Hobo’, which is this time produced by Mark Plati (David Bowie, The Cure, Robbie Williams), is released on 28 Sep, with the latest single to be taken from it, ‘Like A Hobo’, out next week. We spoke to Charlie to ask our Same Six Questions.
Q1 How did you start out making music?
I was into breakdancing and electro between the ages of six and ten, as well as Michael Jackson. So I used to beatbox, which was inspired by Dougie Fresh, De La Soul and Run DMC, and sing in the style of Jackson, seeing myself on the stage like him. My parents were singers too, so it was natural to sing together and harmonise with my brothers and sister. My parents spotted my interest in rhythm and bought a drum kit when I was eight. I played for six months until my brother Jo took over. But it was enough to leave me with the beats (a disease where by one cannot stop hitting themselves in time), which lead to an understanding and interest in percussion for the rest of my life. At ten, I started piano lessons. At twelve, I started writing songs. At eighteen, I started learning bass because I left university piano-less and penniless; there was just an old bass guitar in the flat I was sharing with my brother, who was heartbroken at the time. At 22, I needed to get back to the simplicity of melody and tone and began to write songs on the guitar. I’ve always sung.
Q2 What inspired your latest album?
Life. Death. Romance. Existentialism. Buddhism. The Bible. Modern culture. Traditional culture. Everyday life and other things like that which are much more accessible and less heavy on your average John. Films: ‘Fight Club’, ‘Wings Of Desire’, ‘Casablanca’, ‘In The Mood For Love’, ‘This Is England’, and many more.
Q3 What process do you go through in creating a track?
It depends on the track. Usually, the music comes first, then the melody, then the arrangement, then the words. But that is not always the case. Sometimes, it’s a process of elimination, sometimes a process of creation. It’s up to the song. A song has needs and I am just here to fulfil them. I am the servant to the song. It’s discovery. They already exist – I just have to take the time to discover them.
Q4 Which artists influence your work?
Múm, Esbjorn Svensen Trio, Polar Bear, The Mills Brothers, The Beastie Boys, Joni Mitchell, Stravinsky, Hariprasad Charausia, Jacque Brel, Nick Cave, Virginia Rodriquez, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Beethoven, Dizzee Rascal, Led Zeppelin, Howlin’ Wolf, Tom Waits, Feist, Kraftwerk, Animal Collective, Sufjan Stevens, Bob Dylan, Dizzie Gillespie, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Hermeto Pascal, Leonard Cohen, The Jackson Five, Curtis Mayfield, Massive Attack etc, etc.
Q5 What would you say to someone experiencing your music for the first time?
Nothing.
Q6 What are your ambitions for your latest album, and for the future?
My ambition is that the work of my album inspires people to want to spread it. If it has the power to inspire people then it has a great obligation to reach as many of them as it can. I will do what I can to help it but the music has to work the hardest, or else I am fooling myself along with everyone else. My ambition for the future is to be in a position to continue making records, write for film and theatre, as well as acting in it, write for orchestra, learn tap dancing, think about life seriously but not take it too seriously, have kids, get old, look back, tell stories, die happy.
MORE>> www.charliewinston.com
