The golden girl…Charlie Lane
Melbourne singer-songwriter Charlie Lane has unveiled her new single titled ‘Gold Drips’. The new track combines layers of indie pop and rock edges along with Lane’s trademark reflective lyricism and also comes with its own gold-themed music video. We caught up with Charlie to ask her about ‘Gold Drips’, her songwriting process and when we can expect her 3rd album released.
For those that haven’t heard your music before, how do you describe the Charlie Lane sound?
Altogether the “Charlie Lane” sound is quite eclectic. Gold Drips itself is very indie pop, with bluesy, rocky edges, I also drizzled some new wave charm in there. I just really wanted this upcoming single to have a little more of an electronic element to it than the previous tracks I’ve released. The other tracks do get a little more punky at times, then even more pop. I get inspired by so many different artists of different genres when writing that I implement that into my own music.
Charlie, you have just released your new song 'Gold Drips', Tell us about your new song, what does the song mean to you?
I wrote half the song quite a long time ago back in 2018/19 with a friend and a co-writer at the time Lyra Calabianco. It was just before Covid hit and I was in a very co-dependant, awful relationship. The verses so easily fell out of my mouth onto paper at the time because it was just honestly what I was going through. Lyra came up with this awesome chord progression and we made a scratch take. Covid lockdown hit and it just sat there doing nothing on my voice memos for such a long time. Just out of lockdown, I took it to Adam Jack Heath who had played guitar for me before. He was amazing and I’d heard he was amazing to collaborate with. ( I can confirm this is true) The song had really created such a different meaning by then. I was seeing very enmeshed situations within my family and because I’d been in that situation before, I needed to put some boundaries up. That’s where the “Loyalty rules me, but what's right will change me” comes from. The whole track is really a loyalty VS. right and which to choose.
“I really just didn’t want to rush my album”
You originally wrote 'Gold Drips' back in 2019 with Lyra Caltabiano, and then re-visited the track with Adam Jack Heath in 2021, so why was 2024 the right time to gift the song to the world?
Honestly Covid lockdowns. It took that much time to get it from Lyra to Adam, but I also wasn’t sure I was even going to use it again after writing with Lyra. I was writing so much in lockdown it really sat on the back bench.
When I did decide it was going to be a track for the album, that whole process took a good two years as well. I really just didn’t want to rush my album.
What did the writing /creative process look like for you and your fellow contributors for 'Gold Drips'?
Adam and I got together after the lockdown and went into a rehearsal room at Three Phase Studios. We managed to create a demo within a few hours. Adam had Ableton open, and I already had the lyrics and melody from 2018/19 when Lyra and I worked together.
Adam created this insane guitar solo near the bridge, we fiddled around for a good few hours and talked about what kind of feel we were going after genre-wise, and what other instrumentation we wanted to add to the track. I definitely knew I wanted some synth, I was really glad when Adam said he could sing some BV’s as well, the fact they were quite good was even better! It all came together very quickly.
Next half of the year we were at Headgap Studios Recording with Rohan Sforcina who mixed Gold Drips. I got Louis Spencely who has been drumming for me for years, and Jet Kalt, who Louis knew as they play in East Bound Buzz together. We just needed to add synth. Jasmine Johnston jumped on board and it sounded beautiful.
“People down that way weren’t ready”
'Gold Drips' has its own gold themed music video, who came up with the concepts used the visualiser? Were there any memorable moments during the making of it?
I worked with Marcus Coblyn on the film clip Gold Drips. I gave him a mini-narrative of what I thought might work, I didn’t want anything too complex. We both knew that location, style and makeup ( plus his amazing videography) was the most important thing. However, I knew I wanted some sort of continuous gold build-up. Which is exactly how Marcus directed it in the end.
He said he was thinking of doing a Groundhog Day kind of thing with the gold makeup as we were driving down to lagoon locations, where little ‘Peggy’ the Airstream caravan is in which we shot most of the clip. I thought that was such a cool idea and it turned out great. We had the amazing Emily Stacey on SFX and makeup and Madeline Assi on style.
Memorable moment - dancing at Edithvale beach in a leopard print faux fur coat. People down that way weren’t ready.
Can we expect an album featuring 'Gold Drips' out soon?
Yeah, so ‘Gold Drips’ is the first single of my upcoming album ‘I’m OK Now, But I Wasn’t’ which will be released later this year. I’ll make sure to let you know.
“I’d love to take my album on the road with my band on a regional tour at the end of the year”
Are there plans to tour soon and showcase the track live for fans?
So I just had my single launch at the Workers Club on the 14th of March which was so fun! It’s great to be back at it again.
I’d love to take my album on the road with my band on a regional tour at the end of the year. It's one thing I really need to do for myself as a musician. At the moment I’ve just applied for a few festivals and am mid-booking some support slots for the releases of the upcoming singles. So they’ll all be on my website at www.charielane.com.au if you want to come!
How did you get your start in music?
My dad got me into blues when I was quite young. We weren’t allowed to listen to the radio with him actually, so it was BB King, Buddy Guy, Janis Joplin, Stevie Ray Vaughn or nothing haha. Sometimes we got an urban gospel CD from the shop as a present which was awesome. Mum was definitely more flexible I still have my So Fresh CD’s if that tells you anything. I’ve been writing music since I was about 16. I could never quite say what I needed to I would get quite frustrated with myself. Writing everything down and creating music was just a form of therapy. I studied music after high school in my early twenties and started performing live as Charlie Lane soon after. My first performance was at the 2013 Cabaret Festival in Melbourne, but I found my way into more Indie waters after that. Once I found my way as a singer-songwriter, I put out my first, then second EP, a couple of singles later and now I’m here with Gold Drips, the new single of the upcoming album which I’m really looking forward to releasing later this year.
“It makes you not want to identify yourself as who you feel you are”
Charlie, your bio describes you as A queer and disabled woman in the music industry who is “just looking to push boundaries, break down barriers and stigmas,”. What challenges do you face carrying what can be 3 stereotyped labels, Woman, Disabled & Queer in the Music Industry?
Firstly, thank you for asking this really important question. The biggest challenge I face and have faced carrying all three of these labels are the assumptions that come with them in music and out. I find that people who don’t know I’m disabled (because I have invisible disabilities) assume that I can play a secondary instrument and just run off and play a solo show or tour without my session players or drive wherever I need to be. I actually don’t have a license because I have epilepsy, so getting to radio broadcasts, touring, gigs, rehearsals etc I have to fund out of my kitty. It’s the same with paying for session musicians to create the sound I want for my songs, I have Cerebral Palsy so my fine motor movements are particularly poor in my left hand. I can only play the upper treble half of the keys. Identifying as queer, I get the assumption from a lot of people that I’m straight because I’m straight passing. I also get the assumption sometimes that I’m gay/lesbian because I sing about my ex-girlfriend. It’s hard when people don’t understand the labels either. It makes you not want to identify yourself as who you feel you are. It’s quite frustrating and doubling that up with being a woman in the industry it's a lot to handle sometimes.
“My advice is to find a network of people that supports your label/s”
Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for anyone who "carries a label" trying to break into the world of music?
I was so scared of my labels I actually didn’t want one. Now I have three and I’m proud of them. My advice is to find a network of people that supports your label/s, that you can relate to in the industry. I’ve been in the industry for 11 years and I’m only now at peace with my disability, queerness and womanhood because I have advocates and friends to talk to about it some of which are musicians themselves.
Who in your crew or team deserves a shout out but never gets one? And what is it they do that keeps your world turning?
Cassie Walker. Cassie is a phenomenal woman, merch maker, podcaster, content creator, gal pal who really has helped with various projects in my music career. Cassie just loves empowering women and has a passion for connecting women in the industry with other women who may be able to help or give them a push in the direction they need to go. She never expects anything in return either, just a humble, kind person that I love.
What's next for Charlie Lane? What can we look forward to from you for the rest of 2024?
Next is the release of the second single off the album which will be out early May. There’s a lot of planning to do and shows to prepare, but I will let you know don't worry. I’m really looking forward to just performing live shows with the band and seeing how the singles, and eventually the album takes off. I’m hoping we can do a regional or east coast tour at the end of this year too, so fingers crossed.
Interview by Michelle Symes
April 2024