Spotlight On... Be Charlotte

As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, and Charlotte Brimner’s long-anticipated debut album as Be Charlotte, Self Help and Fictional Doubts, is very good indeed. Jam-packed with the kind of pop hooks Carly Rae Jepsen would be proud to call her own, the Dundee artist's debut is oozing with stadium-sized singalong possibility too. Refreshingly, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows, as Brimner lyrically tackles the hard moments as much as the good. With the album due for release this Friday (21 June), we catch up with Brimner to find out more.

I was surprised to read the words ‘debut album’ when you announced Self Help and Fictional Doubts, as in my head you've already released an album. You say “it feels like the right time” now, and via Instagram you admitted that it’s been recorded for quite a while, so I’m interested to know why it’s taken so long to get to this stage?
As a music fan I’ve always loved albums. When I first started writing songs at the age of 13, I was listening to Bob Dylan, Paolo Nutini and Tracy Chapman albums on repeat. I loved the authenticity, storytelling and songwriting and knew that one day I would want to write my own album about my own life experiences. To answer your question on why it has taken so long, I guess the title of the album sums it up for me. There’s been a lot of moments of self-doubt, perfectionism, imposter syndrome. All the good stuff!

But deep down I knew I had to just keep trying to bring it back to the reasons why I started writing songs in the first place and it’s just for the love of music making. After working with a major label and becoming independent again, I had a new sense of perspective and a determination to prove to myself I could make an album. I’ve released a few EP’s and lots of singles over the years but this is the moment I’ve been waiting for.

It really is a wonderful pop record, and I love that you don’t shy away from the less picture perfect moments in your life in its lyricism; it feels like a very honest record. Can you tell us about some of the themes on the record, and what has inspired it? 
Firstly, thank you very much! This album addresses the good times, the dark moments and everything in between. It explores themes of loss, empowerment, identity, anxieties, and friendship. I’ve always written songs with honesty and used the process to discover how I’ve been feeling sometimes but with these songs I tried to push myself even further in terms of the lyrical content to put across the rawness of life experiences. We live in a world where everyone is trying to look perfect for Instagram but that’s not always the case in reality. I wrote this to help myself, and hopefully others too, to share how we’re feeling and hear one another. 

You say that you’ve tried to write a record that tells a story from the first song to the last; what was the process like for crafting a record in this way? And did you come up against any challenges along the way?
For a good few years the record label had been putting me in literally hundreds of collaborative songwriting sessions and that was good in some ways because I got to travel to Berlin, London, Stockholm and New York and work with some incredibly talented people, but in all honesty I just wanted to get back to writing songs alone in my bedroom without any outside influence. In the past I would write lots of songs and randomly pick the singles that I would release but with this I was conscious that I was trying to write a cohesive body of work. 

From the initial demo stage, the tracklist hasn’t really changed. I think that speaks to the vision I had from the offset. One of the biggest challenges I had when creating this record was knowing when to stop. I think that is quite common for lots of creative people… calling it finished is hard! I wanted to to be able to say I had put everything into making this and I believe that I did. 

The record was crafted between Dundee, Woodstock and Berlin – what was the experience of moving around to write and record the album like? And can you tell us more about working with Scotty Anderson and Ciaran McEneny?
I unintentionally wrote the first song for the album when I was visiting my Auntie in Woodstock. I was living in Berlin at the time and I was meant to be returning there to move into a new place, but whilst on the trip I found out that I had been scammed and that the shady landlord had taken quite a lot of my money. It was obviously really upsetting and a very uncertain time so what else are you supposed to do other than pick up the guitar and let it all out. I wrote a few songs on this trip which became the bones of the album.

The songs were written over almost a two-year period when I was travelling back and forward between Berlin and Scotland. The scam-flat situation resulted in me moving back to my family home in Dundee but that actually turned out to be for the best, one of those ‘everything happens for a reason’ moments. I wrote all the songs on guitar and then made demos on my home studio set up. I knew that I wanted my debut album to be recorded and produced in my hometown. Ciaran and Scotty had both played in my band so it felt like a natural fit; we’d already worked together on the production for a previous EP. It was important to me to work with people I trusted and would understand my ideas and my vision. They are both extremely talented and I’m grateful to them for everything they’ve put into the record. 

You’re releasing this on your own label, Enough Records, in conjunction with Assai Records – what inspired you to set up your own label, and how did the collaboration come about with Assai?
Setting up my own record label was always something I wanted to do but for some reason I got it in my head that I wouldn’t be able to do that until much later in life. The pandemic really highlighted that we just need to give things a go and get on with it so I wanted to use the experience that I’ve built up working in this industry to try and help other artists. I’m really proud of the work we have done with Enough Records so far and it’s something that I am really looking forward to developing and building in years to come.

As a working-class musician, I often feel like there isn’t much transparency in how to navigate the industry and I want to help make it as accessible as possible for anyone who is determined to have a career themselves. I’ve had a long standing partnership with Assai Records. I actually played their very first shop opening party in Broughty Ferry in 2015. The owner, Keith Ingram, has always been such a big support to me and my music. Assai sponsored The Scottish Music Awards when I won Best Breakthrough Artist. So it is a dream to have the Assai team releasing the physical version of the album. When you asked me, “why is now the right time”, a big part of it is being able to collaborate with Assai Records because it feels like the perfect fit.

As well as releasing on your own label, I love that you’ve turned to directing your own music videos too with your latest, Rainbows In the Dark. Can you tell us more about why you want to self-direct, and how you found it? Is it something you think you’d want to do more of in the future?
To be honest, it has come out of necessity but directing and video editing has become something I really enjoy. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work with really talented directors and incredible crews in the past but I simply don’t have the budget for that type of thing at the moment so I decided to buy an entry level camera, learn how to video edit and start creating content myself. I’ve also been storyboarding, shooting and editing video content for artists on our label too. It’s become a bit of a new creative outlet that I really enjoy and I’m glad to have unexpectedly found a new passion in the process. 

Once the record comes out, what does the rest of the year look like for Be Charlotte, what’s next? 
I’m going to play some shows in Europe starting at Berlin Fashion Week in July. I’m really looking forward to that trip where I’ll also be playing in Austria and Czechia. I’ll be announcing some headline shows in Scotland and the UK too. On top of that I will be hosting three residential songwriting camps in Dundee which are specifically aimed at helping women and those from underrepresented genders to collaborate. I’ve run four songwriting camps in the past which have been such a great experience – it’s something I’m really passionate about. 

And... I’ve already started writing the next album. I have around 30 songs that I need to knock into shape for the second album so I will be working on that towards the end of this year and *fingers crossed* there won’t be as long to wait for the second record!! 

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Self Help and Fictional Doubts is released via Enough Records and Assai Records on 21 Jun; pre-save the album here, and catch Be Charlotte play in-stores at Assai Records in Dundee, 21 Jun and Edinburgh and Glasgow, 22 Jun – details here

Follow Be Charlotte on Instagram @iambecharlotte