As one half of twee-core-folk-turned-shiny-pop-turned-soul-rock balladeers Slow Club, Charles Watson has spent the last decade learning lessons: how to collaborate, how to take your influences and process them into something that’s very much your own, how to make music that sounds timelessly classic, rather than soullessly retro; how to get your groove on and keep a straight face. Alongside bandmate Rebecca Taylor, Watson has made four albums, each illuminating a different side of the duo’s songwriting, each recorded in a very different way, and each uniquely satisfying. Now with Slow Club on hiatus and Taylor concentrating on her own slinky pop solo project, Self Esteem, Watson is using the lessons he’s learned at the indie coal face: jamming with friends in the studio, indulging in micro-management of synth sounds in his bedroom, and letting abstract words spark off lyric ideas.
The result of a year-or-so of “happy accidents” is Now That I’m a River, Watson’s warm, analogue-sounding solo debut, which takes in Americana, British folk and the melancholy end of 70s California pop and imbues them with an abstract lyrical tone that contrasts a lush and inviting sound. It’s the kind of album you want to curl up with on a Sunday morning. The sort of record the vinyl revival was built on.
On the eve of release, Watson joined us over lunch to take us through his recording process, lyric inspiration and the future of his band.
Read the full interview HERE.
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