INTERVIEW: Charlie Simpson

Having just stepped off stage after playing a three song set that featured two tracks from his latest album Long Road Home, ‘Comets’ and ‘Haunted’, during which he had a slight tuning issue (see footage below),Charlie Simpson of Busted and Fightstar fame, caught up with Matt Tarr to discuss what influenced him whilst writing the new album and how he feels he has developed as an artist since his 2011 debut.

MT: What are your hopes for the album in terms of chart success?

CS: To be honest, I don’t make music for chart success; I just want to get positive feedback from people and that’s all I look for really. So far I’ve had really positive reviews and obviously a review is just the opinion of one person but I would still like them to be positive as it means people enjoy the record.

MT: What made you choose ‘Winter Hymns’ and ‘Haunted’ as the tracks to be released as singles from the album?

CS: ‘Winter Hymns’ was a promo so wasn’t really a single. ‘Haunted’ was a decision that I made along with the record label as we thought it represented the sound of the album well and we haven’t decided on the next single just yet, but it could be ‘Comets’ or ‘Long Road Home’.

MT: For me, ‘Blood’ stands out as one of the strongest tracks, along with ‘Comets’ and ‘Haunted’ and I feel it could definitely give you some success were it released as a single.

CS: Do you know what, that’s really funny because my producer said the exact same thing about ‘Blood’ so I will definitely let them [the record company] know that. I really like the track so think it could work.

MT: Harmonies are evidently a big feature within your music and feature heavily throughout Long Road Home in a slightly Jose Gonzalez meets Ben Howard style. Was featuring harmonies something you consciously thought about when recording the album or did it just happen naturally?

CS: Harmonies have always been a main feature of any music I’ve made during my career. Even during my Fightstar days they were a staple of my music. I probably went a bit crazy with the harmonies on Long Road Home; I think they work well with the overall sound of the album though.

MT: For me, there is a real country music undertone to a number of the tracks on Long Road Home. Is that something you agree with?

CS: I really like that 70s west-coast, Eagles, Crosby, Stills and Nash style and it really influenced me whilst I was writing the album. I really like making that kind of music because it’s something that I enjoy.

MT: How do you feel that you as an artist and your sound have developed since your debut solo album, Young Pilgrim?

CS: This album is a lot warmer and a lot happier than Young Pilgrim and I feel that my sound has developed greatly. I feel like there were a number of good tracks on the first album and there are a lot on this one so there are still comparisons between the two.

Read our review of Long Road Home here: http://www.gigslutz.co.uk/album-review-charlie-simpson-long-road-home/

Matt Tarr
@MattTarrJourno

Matt Tarr

Matt Tarr

Urban Music Editor
With grime and hip hop being major influences on him growing up in South East London, Matt's passion is urban music but over the years he has gathered a hugely diverse taste, ranging from Wiley to The Smiths by way of Machine Head, that has made him a very open minded individual.
Matt Tarr