Spotlight On... Carsick Charlie

On 6 December we received an email from new Glasgow act Carsick Charlie, saying their debut single was due in January 2023 and also that they'd be heading off on a European tour with American outfit Florist a few days later. "Sorry, what!?" was our initial response. How can someone be heading off on such a grand tour having released, well, nothing? Intrigued, we listened to their debut single, Finn, and things suddenly came into an immediate sharp focus.

Carsick Charlie is the indie-folk solo project of Joseph Innes, with his debut single featuring the delicate yet powerful vocals of Bailey Greig; soaring over gorgeous guitar picking and warm cello tones, it's a highly accomplished debut that we simply could not ignore. Released on 2 January, Carsick Charlie heads off on tour with Florist today (5 Jan), kicking off with a show at Glasgow's Mono, so it made sense for us to shine a spotlight on this new talent now to help you all get to know Carsick Charlie a little better.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? Where are you from, when did you start making music and what other musicians would you say inspire you?
I'm originally from Coatbridge, but I live in Glasgow now, I moved in at the start of 2022. I think since I was maybe like 14, early teens definitely, I'd always wanted to make music but never really understood the process enough to actually do it. Then in late 2019/2020 I had more time and I thought I'm actually going to do something with that, but I didn't tell anyone – I'm very much a 'move in silence' person. So I didn't tell anyone until I [made] the debut Tut's announcement and then my family and friends were all really shocked, which was fun.

As for inspirations, musically there's obvious [people] like Sufjan [Stevens], Adrienne Lenker, Phoebe Bridgers, but I [get] a lot of motivation and inspiration from the Glasgow scene, or like the Glasgow people around me. And the friends that I have, they're really supportive, and I think that's what spurs me on more than anything else.

You’ve just released your debut single, Finn. Can you tell us a bit about the song, what it’s about and a bit more about Bailey Greig who sings on it?
Finn was originally written in the summer of 2021. I remember making the first demo actually, it was in the morning, just after a really early shift at the part-time job I had in Tesco at the time. Putting it together felt very peaceful and meditative, and I feel like that kind of early summer morning is still in the foundations.

At the time it was about a lot of different things; I feel like it's more apt nowadays to say it has been written over a long period of time. It's kind of ebbed and flowed with me changing my ideas on things, it's become a bit more of a commentary on calming down and getting a bit better [at] holding myself and it's not really about anything that sparked the original idea that I'd written about, it's now just kind of moving on almost.

It was important for Bailey to sing on it, because she was always my musical partner in crime, she pushed me to do a lot of things. And obviously she is so good, she really makes it! Having her on a really personal story, you know, it feels really full circle.

Image: Carsick Charlie by Honey Welch

Without having released anything, you were booked to support American outfit Florist on their European tour – how did that come about and what are you most looking forward to about the tour?
For the tour, honestly, your guess is as good as mine. It's so surreal, it's so crazy; Florist are a band that I actually like and have liked for ages. To have support from and have backing from them and to be able to work with them, it is really affirming and it does mean a lot, just on a personal level, you know?

It slowly came about with them getting sent a playlist of SoundCloud demos, and they really liked it, they reached out and they were like, 'do you wanna come on tour?' and without even thinking about logistics, anything, I was like 'yeah, I do. I do wanna do that, that's sick.' And here we are.

Beyond the debut single and the tour, what other plans do you have for 2023?
At the start of last year, I didn't see any of this coming. So to try and speculate or nail down plans feels a bit pointless to be honest. I'm just having a lot of fun just kind of watching it all and being part of it, and I'm actually really excited for what other crazy cool random thing is gonna pop up.

I definitely do want to put more time into writing and recording stuff, I'd love to get working on an actual EP, but keeping options open. Who knows, I might be at The Oscars.

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Finn is out now; Carsick Charlie play Mono, Glasgow, 5 Jan

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