Charlie Cunningham
“The pandemic has thrown me into an interesting time”
The British Charlie Cunningham released “Frame” on March 31, 2023. This third disc, all in sensitivity, was created during the Covid.
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The singer and musician is in love with Switzerland. And not only because of the landscapes.
DR
In 2020, the world has stopped. Quite the opposite of Charlie Cunningham’s creativity. Indeed, the 38-year-old Briton took advantage of the confinement to chisel the twelve tracks of his third album, “Frame”, to be released on March 31, 2023. “At the end of my tour, at the start of 2020, I suddenly found myself with a huge blank in front of me. I didn’t have anything planned and I didn’t know, like everyone else, how long it was going to last. And it all started then. The pandemic plunged me into an interesting period and fed this new record 100%,” says Charlie Cunningham with all-British phlegm.
On his cake, we hear piano, an instrument almost absent from the previous ones, “Lines” (2017) and «Permanent Way» (2019). “I bought myself a piano. I did a lot in my childhood. I rediscovered this instrument thanks to the time offered to me by the pandemic. I spent hours there”, he explains, specifying that the brass instruments are now also part of his musical universe, between melancholy pop and hypersensitive folk. “For my concerts, I had with me two very good brass players. And I said to myself that it was silly to leave these two assets in the locker room. The brass instruments bring harmony, a warm and human side. In addition, it gives a touch of jazz, a style that I had never explored before, ”explains the winner of the Pop Award for Best Album in 2018.
Si Charlie seen in particular at the Paléo in 2019, added new sounds to her music, her sensitivity was exacerbated: “Yes, it’s a super intimate record. How not to be when you composed it alone during a period of withdrawal? It was very important for me to try to capture this atmosphere, unique in the history of the modern world, in music.” The fact remains that the creation of “Frame” was not easy. “It was difficult to immerse myself in my feelings. Music or melody are very instinctive things. Not the lyrics. It was a challenge to be able to write during these moments when feelings collided”. Today, the singer is eager to defend this record on stage. Unfortunately, no date is planned in French-speaking Switzerland although it will be April 25, 2023 at the Kaufleuten in Zurich. “I love Switzerland so much. Not only because of the landscapes. Your audience has always been very attentive to my music. It’s never easy to keep people’s attention. I don’t think I have any memories of a bad concert at your house”, says the one who would like to play at Montreux Jazz once more one day. following his first visit in 2017.
