Charlotte Yates
Author: Jennifer Scott
"I actually heard someone, a noted musician describing another noted musician as being a 'one-trick pony' and hopefully you have enough tricks or creative bits and bobs that you can develop. This is my fourth solo album so if there's not something new in there or some kind of development then, 'Oh my god, what am I doing?'"
'plainsong' was recorded over February and March this year at Wellington's Inca Studios (which Charlotte – who has an eye and ear for the quirky – points out was once the secret service building and has a "slightly scabby boys' flat feel"). As well as writing and performing, Charlotte also arranged and produced all the songs while Mike Gibson, recorded, mastered and mixed the album.
For each song Charlotte would work out what she wanted with numerous ideas of how to achieve the final picture. She says as a solo artist she has the luxury of choosing how many people to invite to add their brush strokes to the canvas.
Many of the musicians on 'plainsong' have played on her previous albums including bassist Tim Robertson, cellist Janet Holborow and accordion player Alan Norman. Others were found through the Chinese whispers technique of someone knowing someone who fits the bill – which brought Damian Forlong (trombone), Bob Smith (keyboards) and Chris O'Connor (drums) into the fold.
The resulting studio album retains Charlotte's live swagger.
"I'm not going to sit at a computer and play keyboards and trombone. I'm going to get a real trombone player, but you put it into a really full-on digital recording situation and you can do it really quickly."
Although she had worked with Gibson before, she did not know the extent of his talents, which includes formal music studies at Victoria University. His blend of music theory and technology impressed.
"He would say things like 'You're a bit pitchy on that Charlotte' and that's quite unusual because a lot of people who get into audio engineering are drummers and bass players who aren't possibly concerned about vocal tunings. A lot of the stuff I spent my time cutting my teeth on was quite tight vocal work with When the Cat's Been Spayed and with Mahina as well, it's really full on female vocals, so I found it really helpful."
Yates' voice is distinctive and takes on different personas over the course of the album. Some songs such as She Went Straight and Looked Like You display an acerbic wit and self-deprecating look at situations while remaining proud. On others, such as the beautiful cello enhanced Still Life, there is a softer approach. At no time does she sound like any other singer and after even just one listen, her tunes dance in your head. They're catchy songs – catchy like a fever.
As she approaches her 40th birthday (her gift to herself is a Tacoma acoustic) her love of creating and performing original music persists. She is one of those jewels of local music who has never achieved mainstream popularity but whose work – and the craft used – is much respected.
For Charlotte, the knowledge that she has a back catalogue marks her as a "lifer" in the music biz.
"I've got more confidence, it's what I do now instead of thinking 'Will I ever get to do another album?' Now I've got the luxury of looking at a discography I can't fit on one page on my website.
"I've really appreciated feeling comfortable with that, which is a funny thing to say. A writer friend described it as: 'It's just what you do now', and that feels like a badge of honour."
www.charlotteyates.com
