To celebrate the impending, any minute now, release of a brand new Charlie Mayfair EP, Fall In Time, I’ve handed control of the humble Walk of Shame blog post to to the band themselves. Hailing from Brisbane this chilled out, laid back, 5 way collection of awesomeness, have laid bare the influences and thought process behind the music that makes up their latest EP.
Charlie Mayfair – Fall in Time
Hey guys, Charlie Mayfair here. It’s been a whirlwind two years, full of gigs with The Panics, Emma Louise, Ball Park Music, Owl Eyes, Husky, Old Man River and performances at Sunset Sounds in Brisbane and at Woodford. We’ve just released our latest single ‘Waste Me’ and it’s a bit of a change of pace from our folk-inspired first release Watch My Hands which we released back in 2010, so without much further ado, here are four albums that help tell the story of the journey leading up to our brand-spanking new EP…
Bon Iver
Bon Iver – Bon Iver
Straying from our folk pop niche, we wanted to maintain our love for three part harmonies in a deeper, more mature manner. Bon Iver’s self-titled second album was a perfect source of direction for Charlie as we incorporated our folk elements with electronic instrumentation. Justin Vernon’s lyrical rawness and soaring falsetto married with instrumental experimentation was a major inspiration for us in creating our new music. We listened to the influence of his live band as well. Knowing that Justin’s songs are written first and then extended by the nine-piece band showed us that it was possible to create elaborate arrangements without sacrificing a song’s integrity.
Feist Metals
Feist – Metals
Feist’s song writing is personal, heartfelt and powerful, and we all have respect for her as a songwriter and a live performer. Metals is a very rhythmic album with strong emotive vocals which guide the songs but aren’t always the sole focus. We’ve been very thoughtful about individual parts and sections when writing for our Fall In Time EP, focussing on structures that are a lot more intricate and highlighting instrumental arrangements more than we used to. Our writing and arranging process has evolved a lot and is now a very collaborative environment which, for us, is a really exciting creative place to be. Feist has an incredible voice with a lot of depth and light and shade in her tone, which makes her vocals often sound like an instrument – definitely something we channelled on the EP.
Editors – In this light and this evening
Editors – In This Light and on This Evening
We really love the imagery of this album. It immediately makes the listener feel like they’re wandering through a city the hour before dawn when there is nothing but silence and anticipation. The soaring yet alarming synth and guitar melodies combined with aggressive and bold drums and bass make this album intense and confronting, but on completion you feel hopeful and ambitious. We want to create songs that tell a story and make people feel something. There’s a definite strength in music that can alter a listener’s mood, and above all leave a lasting impression on them.
Radiohead King of Limbs
Radiohead – The King of Limbs
TKOL had a huge influence on our percussion arrangements leading up to the EP recording. The intricate layers on this album were something we tried to re-create in the studio by trying to write with two or three different layers at a time, and by double-tracking a lot of the kit parts. After getting inspired by videos of their live show we liked the idea of incorporating poly-synths (particularly in the bass) to give strength and warmth to the songs. Thom Yorke’s vocal hooks are classic as well, we’d probably all love to write melodies like them in the future.
Our forthcoming EP Fall In Time is due out June 8 and the single Waste Me is available free from our website dudes. Hopefully you can all enjoy wrapping your ears around it!
Charlie Mayfair.
Wow sounds really exciting. Where can we buy the EP?