Fresh off her debut album, 'Songs for My Next Ex,' nomadic singer and songwriter Charlotte Morris taps into her uniquely fused genre that has listeners swaying into various genres. Baring her soul for listeners to peak into the quintessence that Charlotte Morris delivers, this album acts as a follow up to her 2018 release of 'New York, With Love.'
Recorded and produced during the thick of 2020's quarantine, this is deemed Charlotte Morris' most intimate project to date. Written about her most recent relationship, when listened from front to back, a story will fall into place. Charlotte Morris delves into an intrapersonal place of inner sentiments to curate the eight songs that this album consists of on delicate themes of joy, love, sorrow, and growth.
Using this musical offering as a transformative collision between the person she is as a woman and artist, Charlotte Morris went on to say, "I am so excited to finally get other ears on it and watch the story unfold for the first time for new listeners. It's terrifying to put this much of my heart and soul out into the world, but I feel like so many people experience this kind of an emotional rollercoaster. Even if one person can relate and hopefully find strength as I did from these songs, it will be worth it."
From a deeply Country influenced song such as the introductory single, "Crazy," to the emotionally gripping ballad of Pop-flavored, "Without Him," Charlotte Morris has a little something for everyone on this project. Emphasizing her artistic versatility, be prepared to tour her musical mindset as we hear a showcase of the fusing Folk, Pop, Rock, and Country genres. The melodic pieces we dive into are mainly autobiographical. Through years of her theatre experience, Charlotte Morris reflects on pairing with nuances and lyrical storytelling parallel to musical theatre writing. Sending us on a rollercoaster ride of inner sentiments, be prepared to be taken through the highs and lows during 'Songs for My Next Ex.'
Congratulations on your debut album, 'Songs for My Next Ex.' Diving into such a personal topic for yourself, how did you come up with the concept of this eight-track project?
Thank you so much! It has been an awesome journey, creating and sharing these songs, and I'm so excited that people have loved them so much. A few years ago, I came up with the album title, 'Songs for My Next Ex' - I don't remember what prompted it, probably the fact that I write so many songs about the relationships I'm in and so far, all of those people have turned into exes haha. But I liked the rhyming of it and thought it was funny. So I had it tucked away in a note on my phone. When this last relationship ended, I had all of these songs that I wrote about the guy, my emotions, the journey of going through this extremely tumultuous situation. And given that I had written them over the course of the relationship, they told a story. So I thought, why not put them in order, write one last song to cap the journey ("Not Every Love Story"), and throw them all together in an album. The title "Songs for My Next Ex" had just been sitting on my phone, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to use it. Given how messed up the relationship was, and therefore, how sad some of the songs are, I also think that the title along with the album art brings a bit of much-needed levity to the project as a whole. Partly, I created the album because I had all of these great songs that I wanted to share with the world. And partly, it was my way of working through everything that had happened and then letting it go. It was a very emotional creative process for me, having to basically relive traumatic parts of the relationship as I recorded and re-recorded. But it was cathartic. It was a lot like my therapy sessions and allowed me to really process everything, and then fully move past it. The album is 8 tracks, but I do have other songs that I wrote during and about the relationship. I decided to go with these 8 because it felt like I was able to tell the story of the relationship, while equally giving time to the good and bad parts. I expressly wanted the first half to go through the positives, and the second half to show the 180 that the relationship took. But of course, there were goods and bads throughout the whole thing. And even now, while the relationship is far away in my rearview mirror, the story as a whole isn't over as the relationship plays a part in who I am as a whole. So I have some new songs that could fit into the puzzle - perhaps I'll release those on a sequel album.
Out of the eight songs offered up, do you have a particular one that resonates with you more than the others?
Truthfully, I love them all for different reasons. Each song represents a totally different moment in my emotional journey, where I was able to be vulnerable, experience something new, learn something, grow.. they're all so incredibly personal and close to my heart, so it's hard to pick one that resonates more than others. However, I would say that my favorite one to listen to is "Flowers." It's ironic, because when I first wrote 'Flowers', I actively thought that it was bad. It just didn't sit right in my ear. I wrote 'Flowers' in September 2019, and once I finished it, I really didn't touch it again until the relationship ended in May 2020, when I was going back through the songs that I had written. When I came back to the song, I was a totally different person. I had gone through a myriad of ups and downs with the person that the song was written about, and so it landed differently. Once we recorded it and found the arrangement, the harmonies, the build.. it just grew into something totally whimsical and idyllic in my mind. And now, it's my favorite one to listen to!
How have you found yourself growing as an artist and individual from the release of, 'New York, With Love,' to 'Songs for My Next Ex?'
Absolutely. I think that the difference between 'To New York, with love' and 'Songs for My Next Ex' is night and day. I actually worked with almost the same team for both, and it's been really exciting to compare and see how we have ALL grown. About 3 years separate the earliest written song on 'To New York, with love' and the last song written for 'Songs for My Next Ex', and I think that over that time, I have grown immensely as a writer. When I wrote and created 'To New York, with love', I was fresh out of college, I had just moved to New York. The whole album was about me taking my first steps in the real world, and that was also what it was for the music industry. It was my first real foray into the industry and allowed me to learn so much about how I wanted to create music, the songs I wanted to offer to the world. Since then, I think that I've figured out, a least a bit more, who I am as a person, as a woman, and as an artist. I have found more confidence and strength in my voice and style. And overall, I know more, I have experienced more, so I can create more emotionally complex songs and offer a bigger and more vulnerable look into my heart via my music.
With this project being created during quarantine, could you please share a glimpse of what the creative process looked like when bringing this masterpiece to life?
This was truly a creative process like no other. Creating an album during a pandemic, and from quarantine, is wild. The earliest song on the album was written during the summer of 2019, and I almost always write alone, so that part of the process looked the same, even for the songs written once in lockdown. However, the recording process was totally different.
With my past EPs and singles, it's really exciting to count down the days until we all get to be in the studio together. The band, my producer, and I then spend hours in tiny rooms together, figuring out the songs as we go, playing around, hanging out. And then the studio closes, we're done. Whatever we have recorded is what we have. Recording 'Songs for My Next Ex' was a whole different beast. My band and I were all in our own homes, in totally different cities, some separated by half the country. My producer, Conor Keelan, and I put down a basic track for the band to follow, and then they individually recorded their parts from their home studio setups. Once we had all of that, I went in and did vocals, and then Conor and I worked together to build out the rest of the album. It was definitely strange not to be together, and not to have that recording experience. However, it did allow us a lot more freedom and flexibility to re-record, in some cases totally rework a song.. and the only schedule we were required to stick to was the one I had built in my head. It was also a whole lot cheaper haha
There's a lot to be said for being in a room together, and having that full collaborative experience. However, I have really enjoyed creating music from the comfort of my own home. And we've already started similarly working on some new songs.
What would you like new listeners to know about you and the music that you create?
It probably became pretty obvious based on some of my other answers, haha but all of my music is so personal. It comes straight from my heart, and it's basically an open window into my soul. Before I found songwriting, I struggled to fully express and process my emotions. Writing in a journal didn't work for me, talking to others only did half of the job.. but once I found songwriting, I realized how much more I could say through music. I feel like a lot of people struggle to fully express themselves, but listening to music is their escape. I hope that my songs can affect others, and help them find the emotional vulnerability that I am still working to find myself. So if I can write a song that resonates with even one other person, and can pinpoint all that they've been wanting to say but couldn't find the words. Well then, my job is done!