STREAM: Lady Charles “Child of the Night” (for fans of David Bowie)
If you don’t like the reality you see, create the reality you want to see. That’s
precisely what singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer, and shape-
shifting art-rock enchanter/ress Lady Charles (they/them) did. In the unrest of
2020, they dreamed up a sweet, stylish, and tolerant society, harmoniously
coexisting in a universe plush with brown shag and splashes of purple and pink.
Welcome to Manic Pixie Dream World, the immersive album and music lifestyle
experience created by Charles Hoppner, aka Lady Charles. The 11-song album is
as much a garishly-colored escape hatch away from reality, as it is a portal into
Charles’s beautiful evolution to embodying Lady Charles.
“During that time, I had a chance to step back and become clear on what I
considered beautiful. I got into makeup, and photography, and became more disciplined
as a singer by taking voice lessons,” the Ottawa, Canada-based artist says. “I came
out of it all with a new voice, a new image, and a new outlook.”
Lady Charles’s artistic vision is wide and kaleidoscopic, encompassing folk, indie-
rock, electronica, punk, glam, funk, pop, and hip-hop. Their songs explore themes
of gender, apocalypse, and lost friendships. To date, Lady Charles has released
three singles, an EP, and the full-length debut album, Manic Pixie Dream World,
which features contributions from members of Tokyo Police Club, Raphael
Saadiq’s band, Lavola, and Valois. Currently, Lady Charles is working on their next
release which will be music for the play, Oh Boy!, a critically-acclaimed project
they were commissioned to write for which opened at the Ottawa Fringe Festival.
Lady Charles’ new single “Child of the Night” journeys from progressive rock pastiche to dark intense synthscapes to a soaring anthemic chorus with spirited disco grooves dotting its musical landscape. Mostly performed by Lady Charles on every instrument with drums by Francy Karema, the track represents a powerful evolution in Charles’ love of intricate, grandiose walls of sound established on the Manic Pixie Dream World LP. Drawing on influences ranging from David Bowie, Chic, Late of the Pier, of Montreal, Kate Bush, MGMT, U2 and more, the track is a rock epic in miniature. Where streaming has led to shorter songs front-loaded with hooks, Charles has established their approach as the antithesis – self-contained sonic journeys that subvert listener expectations and reward them with moments of grand pop bliss. “I love pop songwriting, but I don’t love the tendency for pop music to rely on formulas because that becomes boring fast.” says Charles, “I wrote this song with the goal of creating something incredibly catchy and powerful while being more akin to a musical journey than a traditional pop song. The structure is more akin to progressive rock, the sound more akin to the 2000s indie and 1970s disco and art rock, the verses are wordless; I broke a lot of songwriting rules. I think that the result has a sort of magic where it draws you in on its own terms”
Up next, Lady Charles is finishing their Oh Boy! EP, and planning a unique covers
album project. Pondering their successes, their manic pixie journey, and their
future, Lady Charles says: “When I decided to do this, I wanted to be
uncompromising in my vision. I put a lot of myself into this, and seeing it connect,
and have a positive impact on people means so much to me.”
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladycharlesmusic
