Black Nation indie band Chartreuse made ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ by leaning into their devices, instinct, and opening their hearts up wider than ever earlier than.
Stream: ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ – Chartreuse
Chartreuse entered Flóki Studios, Iceland, on the fringe of the Arctic Circle on a strip of land between the Greenland Sea and Hópsvatn Lake in 2024 not realizing the complete form of their sophomore album, Bless You & Be Nicely.
The modern indie rock band from Black Nation, England, consists of brothers Mike (guitar, vocals) and Rory Wagstaff (drums), Rory’s long-term associate Hattie Wilson (piano, vocals), and Hattie’s childhood pal Berry Lovering (bass). The communion is clear because the care and compassion they’ve for each other saturates their music with a effervescent heat. So, as they respectively confronted the challenges that life had been throwing at them – an impending invasive surgical procedure, familial most cancers scare, dying, and an existentialism that tends to chase us all – they discovered refuge within the barren and delightful land that surrounds the Icelandic recording studio.
The band skirt melancholic tones, whereas their vocals are at all times heat, melodic, and harmonic. The drums generally echo jazzy or mathy beats, whereas staying simple on the ears. The bass is commonly heavy and sulking, although generally it may be shiny. Their sound feels indie and various, whereas there’s additionally a variety of nuance.
Producer Sam Petts-Davies (The Smile) was at Flóki Studios with Chartreuse and produced Bless You & Be Nicely. Earlier than this file, the band had an ethos of, “Every time we hear one thing that sounds acquainted, we attempt to f* it up ultimately,” as a result of they had been nearly “anti-band.” With Petts-Davies, it’s nearly as in the event that they let go of the contort of not making an attempt to sound like another person, and as a substitute, relied on fast instincts, as to not dwell on any music for too lengthy. That they had extra freedom, and Petts-Davies instructed them, “You’re a band and that is the way you sound, so let’s simply run with it.”
Within the “Making of ‘Fold’” video on their YouTube channel, there’s a half the place Wilson realizes she dragged the lyrics out. Petts-Davies stated, says, “I actually like that, I believe it’s fairly… ’trigger you bought this,” and he begins the monitor once more, turns round, seems at her, then raises his hand like a conductor, “Fairly a pleasant distinction.” When “Fold” is performed, it’s simple to listen to and really feel that drag within the phrases on the finish of sentences. It looks like a small factor in the intervening time, however the texture tremendously amplifies the gravity of the music and opens up a bigger emotive house.
There’s an acceptance of what music comes out whereas pushing themselves together with an innate want to create nuance, however this time, with out overthinking it, with a windfall of freedom.
These distinctive contours may be felt all through the file in numerous methods. For example, the quantity of velocity with an acoustic guitar that’s rendered in “Sequence of Voices” and “Extra,” the delicate organ-y sounds and melodic to somber singing in “Choices” that swells slowly, the quick melodied devices and a thick bass that softly rattles whereas punching notes of “Moon Man” which is accompanied by twin singing refrain that burns shiny and is stuffed with a powerful sense of hope.
For every of their 4 singles, Chartreuse posted private notes of what the songs had been about. Hattie Wilson, for “Shedding It” and “Fold.” For Mike Wagstaff, “Extra” and “Sequence of Voices.” For his or her newest single, “Extra,” the top of Wagstaff’s notice stated:
“The Strain that I placed on myself to put in writing this music and make it the very best it may be, is completely self-prescribed. All in all, it’s largely about probably not eager to be seen—to remain in a state of introversion, and simply stay there. It’s a sense that I attempted to get throughout within the music. Once I say “they wish to see you bare, they wish to hear you say it, I don’t wish to put on a masks,” it’s form of self-talk, addressing the duality in my character, and that I truly don’t want to really feel invisible more often than not.”
There’s a noticeable congruence in Chartreuse’s Bless You & Be Nicely of vulnerability and belief – not simply to be open to the slight altering of a sound, however within the content material of lyrics, within the sharing of the intimate tales behind them, and within the composition of the file.
It may be unusual to suppose how letting go of one thing, or of many issues, can carry an individual nearer to themselves.
And it may be unusual to let go of management of manufacturing – as Mike Wagstaff had produced a lot of the band’s work as much as this album – and to discover a palette of freedom, maybe a wider swatch of expression by music, and maybe, come to a stunning shock.
Learn our intimate dialog with Chartreuse beneath and stream their sophomore album, Bless You & Be Nicely, wherever you take heed to a lot!
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:: stream/buy Bless You & Be Nicely right here ::
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A CONVERSATION WITH CHARTREUSE
Atwood Journal: What bands have you ever been listening to, and what are some bands which have influenced you?
Hattie Wilson: I’ve listened to Nilufer Yanya’s My Technique Actor album quite a bit over the previous few days. It’s a really, superb album. I form of like missed it when it got here out, however yeah, that’s been an actual pleasure to dive into. The string preparations and every part on that album are simply depraved. That’s in all probability my fundamental one proper now.
Mike Wagstaff: I haven’t actually been listening to albums, I’ve simply form of been actually into making playlists, so I’ve simply been form of like leaping round to completely different artists, however I believe slightly responsible pleasure in the intervening time is Title Struggle. It’s good. Aside from that, simply form of like simply every part, actually. I take heed to a variety of Sega Bodega. I’ve listened to Billy Martin’s new album, that’s actually good.
Wilson: Yeah, it’s a very good album.
Wagstaff: Yeah, probably not one style, however only a little bit of every part.
I used to be questioning should you may inform me about Black Nation. What’s the band’s relationship to that area of England? How tied do you’re feeling to it? Is there a sure aura that it has?
Wilson: I assume so. I don’t know if it’s immediately influenced us in a manner, however I imply, we’ve lived right here our entire lives, and it’s form of an odd little place, nevertheless it has actual quirks about it that, yeah, retains us right here, I suppose. Yeah we’ve not recognized any completely different I assume, by no means moved away and it’s simply form of yeah you undergo phases of being like, ‘I completely like it right here’ after which I’m like, ‘oh it’d be cool to maneuver it away’ after which after which I’m like, ‘nah I form of like it once more.’ There’s some very nice countryside and stuff right here. It’s fairly lovely to have in your doorstep, after which you can too, you already know, dip into Birmingham everytime you wish to, which is cool. I wouldn’t say it’s had an affect on our music, I imply, perhaps, I assume we wouldn’t know.
Wagstaff: Yeah, it in all probability has.
Is it the identify, do you suppose, like individuals are like, oh, Black Nation, that is similar to such a particular identify for a area?
Wilson: I believe generally while you discuss to individuals who haven’t been right here, they’re like, I believe it’s an odd legendary place, nevertheless it’s actual, and it’s alright right here. [laughs]
Wagstaff: It’s advantageous. [laughs]
What did it really feel like while you discovered you had been going to Flóki Studios, a distant a part of Iceland, to file your second file?
Wilson: Loopy. Yeah, I imply…
Wagstaff: Utterly.
Wilson: Yeah, we’ve solely ever completed like recording right here the place we’re speaking from proper now, or in Tottenham. So yeah, it form of simply offered itself to us, and we had been like, okay. We had a variety of conversations about it, after which ultimately the wheels had been truly in movement, that we had been gonna go and file it. Yeah, we simply went with it. Like, why wouldn’t you? It was unimaginable. Actually, tremendous thrilling to get to go there. We nonetheless speak about it now, and we will’t consider we’ve acquired to go and expertise that. Like if we by no means get to expertise One thing like that once more, I’m actually glad we did.
What made that have so memorable that you just’re nonetheless speaking about it?
Wagstaff: It’s simply, properly, it was simply the studio in the midst of nowhere. There was actually nothing round, apart from like farms and simply individuals who labored in just like the native city, and just like the motels and fishermen and stuff. Like, it was simply weird, like fully faraway from what we used to. It was simply…it was so serene and delightful. However yeah, there was similar to slightly studio simply plonked in the midst of a bit of land in between the ocean and a lake. And it was breathtaking and delightful. And we didn’t actually know the way it occurred, to be trustworthy with you, which is form of like, we made all these plans after which we form of checked out images, however then once we acquired there, we had been like, what have we completed? That is form of nothing like with different experiences
That is cool. When did you discover out you had been going to work with Sam Petts-Davies? And what was that like realizing that he is labored with lots with The Smile and Thom York?
Wilson: I don’t know once we discovered we had been going to work with him, however I believe we had chatted to a few individuals, after which we went and met him in London. I believe as quickly as we met him, we form of knew that he was the proper particular person to work with. Simply the way in which that he spoke about music and the way in which that he spoke about his course of was very inviting and didn’t really feel in any kind of manner intimidating, which is strictly what we had been on the lookout for. We hadn’t labored with the skin producer for ages.
Mike had produced every part for fairly some time, so it was good for you [looks at Mike] to have the ability to take your fingers off the reins and belief someone to form of carry our concepts to life. And he works tremendous fast and we tend to dwell on issues once we’re writing or recording ourselves. He didn’t enable for that. He was like, let’s transfer on, we’ll come again to it, like, it is going to be advantageous. That was only a refreshing manner of working as a result of it simply meant that you already know we needed to simply maintain going and pushing ourselves ahead, which was tremendous necessary, and you already know we didn’t have a ton of time with him, so it was nice to simply go for it mainly.
Did you deliberately take heed to among the information he produced earlier than going into the studio or was {that a} mixture of getting the dialog with him and understanding what was going to come back out of the file you are going to produce?
Wagstaff: I imply, he had labored on one in every of our pals’ albums earlier than, so we already knew that he was good to work with and stuff… And clearly we’re huge followers of The Smile anyway, clearly. It’s unimaginable, unimaginable music. We form of had a variety of belief in him for positive.
That is superior. How shut to complete had been you with the songs earlier than you bought to the studio?
Wagstaff: Like a few of them had been fully completed, and a few of them had been form of naked bones, to be trustworthy, and that was fairly intentional as properly. We didn’t go too loopy on demoing, like, if it was working, we laid it down [and] we didn’t add any fancy sounds or something and even combine it. We tried to maintain it as uncooked as potential. A few them I didn’t even have lyrics it was simply form of sending over voice memos of us enjoying and jamming, form of like singing nonsensical shit.
Wilson: [laughs]
Wagstaff: Yeah, mainly, made up phrases to simply get the melody out, actually. After which we simply stored it so uncooked, so once we went in, it was form of contemporary for everyone, like nobody had deep attachments to particular pointless issues. We stored all of it fairly open and fairly malleable.
Is that completely different from what you guys have completed earlier than? You had been like “Hey, let’s be certain that now we have house so we will shift once we wish to, or when we have to.”
Wagstaff: Truthfully, that’s the first time we’d completed that.
That is cool. How did Sam Petts-Davies push you or collaborate with you within the studio? What was that like for you guys?
Wilson: It was nice. There have been a few moments the place he performed on the file a tiny bit, and he’d give you some riffs and stuff, which was cool. And yeah, it was simply nice. Plenty of the time, he was simply arrange within the stay room, and he would simply are available and determine stuff out with us. I imply, earlier than we went to the studio, anyway, we did a variety of pre-production with him.
That’s actually when he was like, you already know, let’s take this down a darker route, or like flip this half and alter it in that manner. In order that was in all probability essentially the most collaboration we’ve completed with an outdoor particular person earlier than, you already know, by no means actually had the prospect to try this. So it was good. And yeah, he actually helped us in that manner, which was cool.
That provides you some concepts for future recordings should you’re pondering that far forward of the chances of how one can create songs and collaborate with individuals exterior of the band.
Wagstaff: Oh yeah, positively. We’ve positively gained some new concepts and instruments to make use of within the songwriting now from working with someone else. It positively realized lots.
Have been there any explicit sounds or compositions that stunned you wanting again at it?
Wagstaff: We walked the route of simply main into extra bandy sounds, like a guitar, a drum package, a keyboard, a bass, locking into that concept. After which no matter manufacturing on high was a Brucie bonus. However yeah, that was form of new for us as a result of we, previously, we’ve at all times centered on creating distinctive sounds that doesn’t sound like your conventional guitar or your conventional piano.
We prioritized that over simply turning into a band that appears like a band enjoying in a room. In order that was fairly new for us, which is sort of ironic as a result of we’ve been a band for thus lengthy. However yeah, that was cool simply to form of unlock that world for us. And we form of simply added all the great manufacturing on high as a substitute of counting on that over the standard.
I really feel like I can really feel these layers too within the album, from a basic sound of the drums, vocals, and guitars, and the manufacturing on high of that. It’s properly layered.
Wilson: Thanks.
In your 4 music movies and album cowl, there are completely different colours of award ribbons that take middle stage. What is the significance of the colours, and the way did you determine which music obtained which shade?
Wilson: To be trustworthy, we ordered a load of them [laughs]. So the man we labored with, Stuart Baxter, he’s nice. And any thought you’ve, he’ll go in on it in a manner that’s like all dream you’ve; he could make it occur. And that’s like, he’s nice like that. And Mike had an thought of the rosettes, the award ribbons. We went with it, and yeah, he was like, write an award, learn all the colours, after which we’ll form of give them to every music with no matter is smart. And the one one we felt actually strongly about was clearly the album.
We had been all like, it’s gotta be white. It simply feels fairly faraway from our final album and fairly a putting picture to have that on the file. Yeah, the others, I don’t suppose we may change the colours of them now. They actually go well with the music that they’ve been assigned to. However yeah, it in all probability wasn’t like we knew once we had been speaking in regards to the songs. We knew which colours we didn’t need for which songs. We had been like, oh, that music can’t be blue or no matter, like that, however we didn’t know why. It was fairly bizarre. [laughs]
Wagstaff: Yeah, there was a stage of instinct with it.
Wilson: Yeah, there was, wasn’t there?
Wagstaff: It wasn’t random, however I don’t suppose there was any explicit deep thought present or earlier than we ordered them.
Wilson: Yeah.
Versatile, such as you went into the studio with to file the album. You determined to really feel it out.
Wilson: Yeah, that’s precisely what occurred. We simply knew what we didn’t need, however [the songs] selected their very own colors, I believe. [laughs]
Wagstaff: [laughs]
That is cool. They had been fated in a manner.
Wilson & Wagstaff: Yeah.
Up till in the present day, every single you’ve got launched has had a follow-up submit sharing private tales linked to it. Mike for “Sequence of Voices,” partly, you speak about your mom having a most cancers scare, and also you holding in stress and anxieties. Hattie, “I am Shedding It,” you discuss in regards to the main surgical procedure you had in your femur, having to primarily relearn stroll once more, and the encompassing familial and self-burdens you felt tied to that. What was the decision-making course of for sharing these tales with followers and placing them on the market, and what does that sharing imply to you as a band?
Wagstaff: I believe we’ve spent a variety of time feeling like we undershare and feeling slightly bit like perhaps we come throughout like slightly bit clean to our viewers. So, I assume we needed to be clear and share slightly bit extra about ourselves and form of join with individuals on a extra private manner. For me, it’s taken a variety of thought as a result of I don’t notably like opening up about it. I write these songs, and I’m simply form of pondering like, ‘oh perhaps this must be sufficient’ you already know. That is like my higher stage of sharing [laughs], so to try this, to clarify the songs intimately like that, I do discover that fairly laborious. However, I just like the problem of it, and it’s good to obtain good suggestions from [people] going by comparable issues. You recognize, it’s good to attach with individuals, it’s. You possibly can’t be grumpy ceaselessly, so it’s good.
Wilson: I believe in the way in which that I believe, I suppose, I’m fairly logical, and I believe once we’re sharing stuff like this, I don’t essentially thoughts that a lot as a result of I’m like, oh, it’s probably not ours anymore, somebody can have that. I believe it nearly helps me to put in writing down the which means of them and transfer on from them. I believe it’s good to, yeah, it’s good to share. The one factor I do form of, I assume, [it’s]laborious as a result of I like sharing, and I like individuals form of realizing what they’re about, [but] then I additionally love the thought of individuals listening to the songs and forming their very own which means and their very own connection to them. In order that’s the one factor I miss about holding issues barely extra to ourselves. It’s like an odd steadiness of, you already know, you’re telling individuals precisely what they’re about.
Wagstaff: Yeah, like over-explaining form of ruins the thriller of it.
Wilson: A bit bit, yeah, however then we form of gotta suppose, not all people’s going to learn these. Like you already know, individuals discover you on playlists or they’ll hear your music for the primary time they usually’re nonetheless going to try this. It’s solely a small share of individuals which can be going to go and pay attention learn the explainer and form of know precisely what that’s about, and perhaps they’re the folks that wish to discover that, in order that’s advantageous. So, I believe it’s it’s good to you already know, get it on the market and share with individuals. I believe it positively helps you join extra.
You recognize, it is fascinating too. I had been listening to the music like a bunch earlier than I spotted that that submit was there, you already know, truly a couple of days in the past, after which I learn that submit, and I listened to it “I’m Shedding It,” and it hit completely different.
Wagstaff: I like that.
Wilson: Yeah.
So what’s that journey of vulnerability been like for each of you, and the place do you see it main into your future?
Wagstaff: As in, would we feature on doing that form of factor? Yeah, I believe so.
Wilson: I believe so. I believe it’s useful.
Wagstaff: Yeah, as I stated, it’s good to attach with individuals and present them a unique facet of us. I’m slowly popping out of my shell [laughs], you already know, after 10 years of doing this.
Wilson: [laughs]
That is fascinating. I really feel like that is linked. It is just like the album feels deeply introspective. It is sonically playful, and on the similar time, fairly highly effective. What was the feeling of listening to it and experiencing the ultimate determination that it was able to be launched on the planet?
Wilson: It was fascinating. It felt like, like listening to it as an entire, you already know, while you’re within the band, you may’t assist however decide it aside, you already know. Apart from that, listening to the album I believe I simply felt like like immensely proud. I believe doing a second album, that everyone calls a troublesome album, and it didn’t really feel that manner in any respect for us. It felt simpler than the primary to be trustworthy. We actually knew what we needed to do in a manner and knew what we needed to say, you already know, not when it comes to lyrically, however sonically. We knew we knew how we needed to border this file, and I really feel you already know [as I] I listened to it, I felt like we’d achieved that. And it’s a very nice factor to really feel pleased with being a part of one thing.
Why ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ for an album identify? Have been there different candidates?
Wilson: I believe there was, yeah. I can’t bear in mind them, although. I believe we perhaps we tried another lyrics and stuff.
Wagstaff: Fixin’
Wilson: Yeah, Fixin’ was one as a result of that’s one thing that’s on the file, however I believe we tend to choose a reputation for a day, and we’re all like, ‘yep, that’s it,’ after which we come again to it and somebody’s like [laughs], ‘I hate it. That’s not what it must be.’ I don’t know who it was, however someone recommended Bless You & Be Nicely as a result of that was already this music title, and all of us had been like, ‘yeah, all proper, cool, sounds nice,’ it’s…
Wagstaff: Fairly playful. Fairly enjoyable, yeah.
Cool. I haven’t got any extra questions for you guys.
Wilson: Cool. Okay. So yeah, that’s been good to speak to you.
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Stream: “Fold” – Chartreuse
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