Corinne Bailey Rae covers? A BBC ‘I Can See Your Voice’ performance? It’s all in a day’s work for singer-songwriter and dentistry student, Rosie Charles. She hails from London but is making waves in Manchester, too. Here’s your chance to get to know her…

RECORD WEEKLY’S INTERVIEW WITH ROSIE CHARLES

Hey Rosie, how are you?

I’m good thank you, I’ve been in the library a lot lately, revising for my dental end of year exams. It’s been pretty boring but it’ll great to be finished soon, so that I’ll be able to give my music 100% attention after that! How are you?

Excellent stuff. I’m really well thanks!

How are you feeling after the last year, with lockdown restrictions now easing?

Mixed emotions. I started getting back into making music because of the first lockdown. My friend told me to start a TikTok and I did. My account then got a bit of attention and I was scouted for a show on MTV and BBC! This definitely kickstarted my love of music again and gave me the motivation that I needed to become an actual artist.

With the restrictions easing, I’m so excited to start seeing my friends and performing live again. I’ve been emailing people like crazy to try and get some shows lined up, and it’s looking good so far.

Tell us a bit about how you got into singing and songwriting, given that you’re studying dentistry. And when did you decide to self-teach yourself various instruments?

I started singing when I was a lil baby haha. My parents always had music playing in the house and I have three older siblings, so we all used to sing and dance together growing up.

I got into songwriting because my friend taught me how to in school. We used to go to the music block in break times and spend our lunch hour writing songs together. We both loved Taylor Swift and would try and copy her style of writing but, as I got older, I started to discover jazz and this completely changed how I approached my writing.

With regards to dentistry, I impulsively picked the course because I didn’t know that I wanted to pursue music seriously at that time in my life. Being able to play different instruments has really helped with the practical side of it though, because having good hand-eye coordination is essential when using the dental instruments. The course is long, I won’t lie, but I’m going to use this time to hone my craft and get better at producing and making music.

I taught myself different instruments because it’s too easy to learn a new hobby with YouTube! I can literally spend hours watching tutorials, plus learning an instrument is so rewarding because you can see your progress almost immediately (like learning a new chord or a bit of theory). I don’t think I’ve ever thought that practising the guitar was like working, because I’ve always enjoyed the process of learning and I just love it!

What are the music scenes like locally for you both in London and Manchester, in normal times?

Super busy and lively. In Manchester, I love to go to bigger events like Warehouse Project but I never went to many gigs in first year of uni, which I regret now massively (COVID!). But I already have some booked for the rest of the year, like Arlo Parks, and I cannot wait to go to more events and support my friends at their gigs! Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to go to any gigs in London recently because I’m always up in Manny! But summer is around the corner and I will defo be going out more in town.

Which artists have been your biggest influences?

My number one favourite artist of all time is Amy Winehouse. I adore her so much; I think her writing was amazing and so was her phrasing, especially when she is performing live. Other influences would be Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, HER, Ella Fitzgerald, Mac Miller, Quincy Jones, and many more.

If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?

Hmm, there are so many options here. I would love to make a track with Anderson .Paak; he is so good, it’s a joke.

I completely agree! Utter legend.

Absolutely! Or maybe even Silk Sonic, if that counts, because Bruno Mars is also unreal and I reckon we could make a banger together haha.

What’s in the pipeline for 2021?

Hopefully some more releases. I want to try and be consistent with releasing music. Expect some collaborations too hehe, plus live performances and potentially a festival or two.

Ready to hear more? Stay tuned by following Rosie Charles on Instagram and Spotify.