Charlie Cunningham

Charlie Cunningham has felt the tension before. Some songs are more difficult to reveal—even to write—than others. It's not about compositional complexity; rather, it's the courage to venture toward and even over a perceived line of what should be shared.

Charlie first felt the discomfort on his earliest EP, and the singer-songwriter has been navigating such vulnerable lanes ever since. His fourth long-player, This Light, is anchored by such brave songwriting, and therein lies its power. The connective tissue created by Charlie's willingness to channel his experience and emotions in such authentic ways is a true gift to the listener.

We recently spoke with Charlie about his songcraft and the more difficult terrain of his new album. We also explored what all of this means for the live show.

Analogue: Charlie, I love what I hear on the newest album, and it also feels a bit more direct. Does that feel congruent for you? Is that something that comes with more experience?

Charlie Cunningham: I think it's probably an age thing, or being okay to feel slightly more direct, maybe now. With earlier stuff, perhaps I was trying to be as honest or show whatever experience I had at the time, but also maybe there was a little bit more hiding going on lyrically. I don't know. I don't like to kind of say that is what was happening, but with this one, yeah, definitely, there is some perspective there that I was embracing. It certainly felt like I wasn't being as direct as I could, which is something I've been working on. As I get older, I just think, ‘What's the point?’

I think I always hope that when I've done these records, and I know it's cliche, but I hope it reflects the time—your age and where you are at that point. And usually, I have to listen to it in the future to know if I did that well or not. But I think I have done that. I certainly feel like I believe it. If someone's hearing it, I'm not squirming. [Laughs] There might be aspects of it that make me squirm because it's like really vulnerable, I suppose, in places. That type of stuff is always hard to be comfortable with, you know? But it's valid that way, so that’s half the job.

Analogue: Do you think some of the early hiddenness of things was about trying to be clever or that it’s artistic to be indirect?

Charlie: I think the big difference now is when I have lyrics that kind of come out quickly—and it happens rarely—but when they do, I tend to just believe them. Or if I've said something that I know resonates, I know it's come from some truth.

Perhaps in the past I might have tried to subvert it slightly, to throw them off the scent, so all the feeling is still there. That’s useful because you want people to attach their own things to your lyrics. I don't want to make it all about me, you know, because it’s not that interesting for other people, you know?

But now, I’m definitely letting myself be comfortable with those initial thoughts, the subconscious stuff that you might go, ‘I'm not quite sure exactly what I mean there, but I think that's kind of okay.’ And then you discover that meaning down the road.

Analogue: You mentioned some songs as vulnerable ones. Are you comfortable sharing what comes to mind?

Charlie: I've got some earlier ones that I like. A song off my first EP [Outside Things] called "Plans", which was really my first attempt to be very direct. There’s a lot of grief associated with that one after losing a good friend of mine. So that was the first time I'd actually thought, 'That was probably much.' I mean, they’ve all got the authentic moments in there. Otherwise, I wouldn't have released them. I think that's the thing. I wouldn't have let anyone else hear them if I didn't feel like the real thing. It might not be to someone’s taste, but it's a real thing, you know?

Analogue: Yeah, that makes sense. Is there anything on the new album that is a bit touchy for you?

Charlie: Yeah, “This I Know” particularly. I think that one feels like what I was talking about. And it's all light and shade. I do feel there's ultimately some optimism on the record. I hope when people finish listening to it that they'll feel some sense of that.

Analogue: That vulnerability creates connective tissue, but I can imagine that might also be a bit of an issue in the live show.

Charlie: Yeah, it can feel that way a little bit. But I'm also okay to just create a little wall around myself. I just need to remember that I'm not really performing, and that people are okay with me to not perform. I just want to hear them, and I think they just want to hear me play the songs and to play them authentically. And I think that's the performance in itself, if you know what I mean.

So I think as long as I’m sitting comfy there—it can be difficult, obviously, if you're doing festivals and stuff where you're competing with things. It’s quite a lot to ask people to lock into that moment, you know? It's a big ask for an audience. So that can create some challenges, but I think if you're in an intimate space with them, with everything kind of doing what it needs to do, then it's all there for you to deliver the songs and the music.

Analogue: Was that a learning process on how to build that wall? Was that something you found out you needed early on?

Charlie: Good question. I think it came with real difficulty, lots of nervousness like that. I used to not be able to eat for hours before, and it would be a whole thing. It would really take its toll. And then usually when I got up there, I'd gone through the whole process. Now, I still have that feeling, but it’s a shorter process. I can eat my dinner, maybe an hour or so before, which is definitely an improvement.

Analogue: You had dates here in the States this year on both coasts and elsewhere. How did those go, given what we’re talking about?

Charlie: It was nice. I played on my own. I didn’t play with my band, mainly just because of costs and all those things. But it was great because I reconnected to the solo thing, which I really like doing. It feels quite liberating, quite freeing. So it actually felt lovely. It's just nice to be with real people, you know? It's pretty nuts out there at the moment, over here as well.

When I say out there, I mean, in the world. But being in those rooms with people was something that felt very necessary and very important. I think it brings things into a sharper focus—the importance of community, the idea of sharing, being attentive with each other. All of these things have proven to be more and more necessary, I think, as we go.

Analogue: I love that you just said that, because I typically think that's an audience thing—that the artist could view themselves as the steward of this communal experience. The way that you just framed that for you was more inclusive of you as a receiver.

Charlie: Yeah, it's an exchange. It's totally an exchange of energy. I just kind of get the thing going, and then you hopefully get that connection. Not as soon as possible, but we hope to get there at some point. And everybody's involved in that. It's really amazing. And in the times that we live in, where attention is so valuable, it feels even more of a privilege to have people giving an hour of their time. Just sitting there and not on their phones. I don’t take that lightly.

VISIT: Charlie Cunningham

Photo: Maximilian Koenig