Born in Zambia but raised in Doncaster, alt-soul singer August Charles explores different kinds of love in his new EP, Blessed. Influenced by a variety of artists that span a multitude of genres, Charles’ music mixes retro-soul with R&B.
Exposed sat down with August to talk about his Blessed EP and to see what plans he has for the coming year.
When did your journey to becoming a musician start?
I’ve always been passionate about music for a long time. It’s been a form of expression for me, especially writing. It’s something I’ve been doing since I was 12 years old.
I do recollect a moment when I was younger. I remember being in primary school and I won this poetry competition and I got put into a book. That was one of the first times my mum was really proud of something that I’d made. That made me want to continue writing and see if I can get better. Making music in itself was something that I was always excited about doing.
Your new EP, Blessed, centres around different kinds of love, is there a reason behind this choice?
It has to do with what is current in my life. Whenever I’m writing, I try and make it relevant to whatever I’m going through at the time. All the songs that have been released were written at the same time. The only song that wasn’t is ‘Blessed’, which was written two years ago. Love has an impact on most of us but it was impacting me in many different ways at the time when I wrote it.
“I like to make sure I know what direction the music is going in before I make a distinction as to what the feel of it is.”
Tell me more about your writing process. How do you come up with new music?
I mean most of my music tends to start from a voicenote. I just hum or sing some random melody in my everyday life. I’ll just be walking home or driving. I just need to have it recorded on my phone and my strategy is if I’m still humming that same melody within a week or a few days or a few months or so forth, I need to then put that into writing and progress it further because it’s something that’s going to stick. I don’t write lyrics until the very end. So I like to make sure I know what direction the music is going in before I make a distinction as to what the feel of it is.
Making music in itself was something that I was always excited about doing.
If you had to pick one, what would be your favourite track from the EP?
I would have to say ‘Stand on Trial’. It features someone that I’m a big fan of, who is a rapper called Jev, who is based in Canada and he’s turned out to be someone who’s almost like a brother to me. We’ve only just met each other through this song and now we chat every now and then. I’m so grateful that he’s someone that’s involved in the project.
The song in itself is one of my favourite songs to perform live just because I love to get the crowd involved and sing the chorus. That’s one of the elements that really excites me about it.
You’ve got a couple of live shows coming up, what can we expect from them?
Yes, I’ve got my in-stores coming up where it’s just myself and my keys player, Cam, who’s amazing. He also wrote and played on all the tracks in the project. Then I’ve got my two headline shows in London on 30th May and in Leeds on 28th May. For those, I’ve got my band so drums, bass, keys, and potentially guitar. I like to always bring collaborators that I’ve worked with in the past like rappers and other singers and I try and get the opportunity to get them on stage as well if I can.
Out of all of the shows you have played so far, is there one that stands out to you?
That is a tough one. There are a lot of great gigs that I’ve done in the past. I mean one that comes to mind the most a lot of the time is the Piece Hall gig when I supported Nile Rogers. Halifax Piece Hall is just a wonderful venue itself. Also, I’ve never been treated better by the staff and everyone there. It was just a lovely environment and it was a great sunny day for the two days that I did. I think that one does stand out.
And what was it like meeting Nile Rodgers, as he is such an icon in the music industry?
When I met him, he was just so welcoming. He was very much in his zen mode before he performed. It seems as though to keep himself just ready and alone. I didn’t want to feel like I was interrupting it in any way, so I kind of kept it quick. I just said hello and said how grateful I was for him having me and how much of a fan I am. I got myself a picture and then I just wanted to leave him be and I didn’t want to take too much of his time.
“I’ve always been passionate about music for a long time. It’s been a form of expression for me, especially writing.”
You’ve mentioned that Amy Winehouse and Frank Ocean are some of your biggest inspirations in music, but is there one album in particular that changed your life?
channel ORANGE by Frank Ocean is one of my all-time favourite albums. It is one that I think it’s hard to compare to anything. There’s no other artist or album that I think is similar because he’s a melting Pot of different music like soul, R&B, and hip-hop to an extent. Soul, in itself, it’s just an amalgamation of great creativity. I’m just a big fan of him and his process.
What can we expect from you in the future?
Hopefully, more music and I’m also trying to perform more this year. I’ll be trying to release even more songs after this EP comes out. I’m going to continue building and continue growing and continue connecting with new people and trying to write with new people. Collaborate with different rappers singers and so forth.
You can listen to the ‘Blessed’ EP now. Keep up-to-date with August Charles through his social media: Facebook // Instagram
