‘Hello again’, Charlotte. It is a pleasure to talk more about music with you. We have previously written about your earlier single ‘Telepathy’, and now we are with ‘Plastic Heart’.
Let’s hear first-hand from Charlotte.
- May you share where you got the inspiration for ‘Plastic Heart’?
It all started with the music; back in 2020 I started listening to quite a few British bands; particularly the big faces of Manchester like The Stone Roses, The Smiths, and early Oasis. One song did get my attention big time, and that was “She Bangs The Drums” by The Stone Roses. It really inspired me to write a song with a more catchy riff, I came up with the acoustic guitar part first that you can hear at the very start of the song. That particular realm of Indie Rock didn’t seem to match where I wanted the song to go, so I did draw some inspiration from Fleetwood Mac. In particular the “Tango in the Night” Era.
- Despite the song’s topic being about fake personality, boundaries, and toxic behavior… the music is quite upbeat and cheerful. Is there a story behind it?
“Plastic Heart” is about someone who is fake and untrue to their intentions. Actions speak louder than words and I think you can figure out someone’s true motives this way. In this case, it was someone who only flirted to bolster their ego and had no real intention of dating. The song is also about standing up for yourself and I consider it a very good thing to be able to set boundaries; also knowing you deserve to be treated better from past events. I must confess to me it feels sassier playing it live to more upbeat and catchy music; it may have run the risk of being a bit too heavy for what I wanted it to be to write in a minor key.
- How would you compare ‘Plastic Heart’ to your previous work?
Good Question; for me, it’s kind of going back to my 2018 days when I didn’t overthink the writing process and did it purely for enjoyment. At times I’ve been seriously overthinking the writing process which did restrict my creativity; trying to follow formulas instead of just letting the music flow. From those days I got one of my best songs to date, who knows where this one will go, we’ll have to see!
- What would be a highlight or more during the creation and production of ‘Plastic Heart’? Any memorable moments?
I think the biggest highlight was the writing process for me; it was from the acoustic guitar riff that the chorus came to me; “You’ve got a Plastic Heart, that you could pull apart.” I was playing around with it for ages, and I finally finished it around six months later; I didn’t force it with this one and just let it come together. I’ve really pushed with some songs in the past and then six months later you’re finding issues with them.
- “I’ve learned if you’re unsure of your future with music or you’ve lost sight of what you were aiming for, that is the perfect time to take a step back and recharge.”
This is the answer we got from a previous question about what highlights or takeaways you have about your career. Based on this quote, could you elaborate a bit more about how you came to this realization? And also how do you seek motivation when feeling stuck or unsure? At the end of 2021, I’d released SQUEEZE which is my highest streamed single to date, but I felt pretty exhausted and burnt out by the end of 2021. I planned on taking a break for a week but within those seven days life just blew up in my face; bad news, getting covid which then led to health problems and social media wasn’t helping. The decision to step back was terrifying, but I think if you ever have the thought; “I want a break”, you need a break. Especially if you’ve lost sight of why you’re pursuing it or you can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. I didn’t get the motivation back right away, and I’m building back up still. I’ve found that if I do get stuck whether it is motivation or creativity, focus on something else that’s linked in with the music. In 2020, I had bad writer’s block so I composed some solo guitar pieces just so I was still doing music. I started learning more cover songs too, which kicked off a “Women of Rock” series on my Instagram. - You mentioned before that you’ve been recording at home due COVID lockdown. Can you share with us and all other music passionate how you found this situation? I’ll be totally honest; in 2020 it was a huge shock to the system. I had just left uni after five years of studying Music, and I had so much drive to get out there and play music. But then in March the industry just shut down, I’m sure I’m not alone in grieving the time that was lost where I could have been playing gigs, maybe even full-time freelancing by now. We can’t change the past but now I’m starting again with a clean slate, and I feel like I need to keep moving forwards now.
- Follow up Q: Any highs/lows? One good thing that did come out of lockdown was learning to record music at home. It was a bit of a nightmare, to begin with, but now I’ve got the hang of it more. I’m still learning but I can do what’s needed now whether it’s vocal or guitar parts.
- FQ: anything you would like to share with us about how this situation has impacted your career? And the music industry as you knew it prior to and post COVID? I suppose I had to put my career on hold and work full time during the pandemic whereas I had planned to work part-time on a kind of “gap year” post-uni. I did make the most of Instagram through uploading content there which did get some international followers all around the world from the US to Australia! That may not have happened so quickly if the situation hadn’t happened.
- Thank you so much for your time Charlotte. To sign off, we would like to know if there are any plans, gigs, or news for the upcoming future that you can share with our readers and us to look forward to?
So I do have another single coming out at some point which is currently underway. I’m kind of feeling this is a good summer release so keep your eyes peeled for that one. Also alongside Plastic Heart is a bonus B Side track; don’t forget to listen to this song too!