Charlotte Yates
Author: Jennifer Scott
Catching up recently with a fellow songwriter she had not seen for about 10 years, Wellington musician Charlotte Yates confessed she "still has the fever" for writing and performing music.The fever struck in her late 20s and has been productive since. In May Charlotte releases 'plainsong' on Wellington-based Jayrem Records. The album adds to an extensive and varied body of work that includes three previous solo albums, a live album with Mahinarangi Tocker and the acclaimed Baxter CD project she co-ordinated in 2000.
Since the release of 'Dead Fish Beach' in 2001, she has toured the country for a second time with Tocker, performed at numerous festivals– including last year's Sydney Mardi Gras – as a duo, and directed Baxter-related shows for arts festivals in Christchurch, Taranaki and Hamilton. She is one of those people who always seem to be working on something new with ceaseless enthusiasm.
Some people like that make you sick, but in person, Charlotte's a down-to-earth woman with an easy, graceful manner and sharp wit that appeals to live audiences. It also appealed to readers of her 'Taking Note' songwriting column she wrote for NZ Musician. She still gets people approaching her after shows and is continually amazed at just how widely her words of wisdom reached.
The live profile she developed with Tocker also opened doors. Following a performance at the Christchurch Arts Centre in 2000, they were approached to apply for the Centre's Artist-in-Residence scheme. This is a two-month residency which Tocker took up in 2001 and Yates last year in April and May.
Being away from her hometown of Wellington added to the colour palette for 'plainsong', which has more musical shades than the reticent name suggests.
"It (the name) came from several triggers. One thing is that we are looking after a John Parker painting called 'plainsong' – I 'm not sure what the technical term is for the style of it – but it's just blocks of squares, and I rather liked it. When I went down to Christchurch to do the Artist-in Residence, I walked across the road and went into what was then their art gallery, the McDougall, and saw another painting of the 'plainsong' series. It was a great big green field with 12 squares in it and I thought, 'Oh my god, there are 12 songs on a CD!' Also just being down in Canterbury, which is a very different landscape – I'm a beach girl – and the colours are different, made an impression. Also I liked the idea of plain song, plain speaking."
The two-month residency suited Charlotte who says songwriting time is "alone time". While ideas come anywhere, any time, they are saved up and although many of her songs relate to a particular situation or emotion, the song is not written while it is being experienced.
"Now, I might be happy during that time but I would be contemplative. I'll definitely explore 'Okay, is this song a happy song or a sad song? What's it doing?'. I won't necessarily be feeling that emotion but I'll be able to relate it back to a time where I had a spring in my step, or when I felt really gutted, or that really overwhelmed me."
