INTERVIEW WITH ... NUELA CHARLES
Nuela Charles is an Alternative Soul singer and songwriter, she recently released a fierce and haunting new track (and video) titled "Long Way Down", after closing out 2018 with her raved after EP “Distant Danger”. I interviewed Nuela on this all below!
TRB: Are you a Morning Bird or Night Owl?
NUELA CHARLES: Night owl 100%. But it gets bad when I end up in backwards cycle and sleeping in until noon. So I try to avoid that as much as possible.
TRB: I love the new song, “Long Way Down” can you tell me how the song came to fruition?
NUELA CHARLES: Thanks! The song came out of a writing session with production duo, Towers. We were working on the beat and it ended up being very influenced by chain gang elements, and it had this brooding feeling to it. The lyrics then just flowed and it was like I had been holding it all in. There are a lot of words HAHA but it just flowed.
TRB: Can we talk a bit about the video for “Long Way Down” and how you came up with that story line and visuals as well?
NUELA CHARLES: The video was a collaboration with director Brock Davis Mitchell and his team at Deluxe Design Group. I’d been stalking them for a while, and this ended up being the perfect project to get to work together. They put together a storyboard that went right in line with the song and for me it was just as important for it to stay true to the story and to have the cinematography really stand out and add to the compelling story line.
TRB: How did you get started as a singer?
NUELA CHARLES: I started as a teenager, when my family lived in the Bahamas. It was when MTV’s TRL was super popular and the top acts were all powerful female singer-songwriters and I thought to myself, if they can play a guitar and sing songs, so can I. So I taught myself how to play the guitar and began writing really crappy songs. They eventually got better.
TRB: Let’s talk a bit about your recent EP, “Distant Danger”. What was the recording and writing process like for it? What has the response been like playing out on the road?
NUELA CHARLES: I was able to take my time when it came to this record. I was real intentional about taking time to actually write for it, and when we had written and demo’ed the songs, I really made a point to scrap the production if it was good enough. I really made sure that we weren’t just settling with certain sounds or parts, and that everything felt real and authentic. It was also a dream to be able to replace midi horns and strings with the real thing!
The response has been really great. It’s always fun to be able to play these songs and see the audience’s reaction. If they’re singing along and dancing after the 1st chorus, then you know you’re doing something right.
TRB: Are there any artists that have been “On Repeat” for you lately? What music have you been digging?
NUELA CHARLES: Right on repeat is anything by Sam Fender, Maren Morris’ new album GIRL (so good!) and Bring Me The Horizon. Such a mixed bag. But I’m more of an alt-rock listener in my spare time.
TRB: Here’s a fun one, switching gears now. What was your favorite children's book as a kid?
NUELA CHARLES: I don’t have a specific favourite, but anything by Dr. Seuss – even to this day. Such classics. I mean – Green Eggs & Ham - come on. Classic!
TRB: Dream musical collaborations?
NC: Dream collab would be either John Mayer, Paul Epworth (producer), or Kendrick Lamar. Each would totally push me (in a great way) to be a better artist, I can just feel it.
TRB: Is there a lyric that you’ve written that has the most meaning to you or that is your favorite?
NC: It would have to be from “Long Way Down” – and not because I just put of the new video. The lyric is:
“there’s a blessing in the river that you’re only going to find,
when you’ve been to the bottom, you can talk about the climb.”
When I reflect on it, it rings so true. No one wants to fail, but it’s those little failures that build you up to the person you are and the successes that are to come.
TRB: And what's next for you Nuela Charles?
NC: Next is a lot more new music, and playing a ton of shows this summer.
TRB: Anything else you would like to add? And thank you for your time!
NC: This year I’m super excited to have been able to realize a dream and get vinyl pressed – so if you love vinyl, especially vinyl that’s printed on a cloudly white colour – check out https://nuelacharles.bandcamp.com/merch
NC: Thanks for your time!
Nuela Charles // Socials
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/nuelacharles
SoundCloud - https://soundcloud.com/nuela_charles
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Until then,
Brittney x
