On his 15th birthday, Charlie wrote the first draft of ‘I Lost Myself’ and uploaded a basic version to Soundcloud. It was picked up by Taylor Johnson from the Across the Line show on BBC Radio Ulster. There was another interested party, Michael Mormecha, the producer and musician, (Mojo Fury, Clown Parlor, TRÚ). He agreed to work with Charlie in his Tree Song studio and so the expectations were notched up further.
‘I Lost Myself’ is about a boy going astray in a digital world, giving away his secrets and disappearing into songs. There’s a nod to Radiohead and ‘Karma Police’ and the new version is enhanced by a sense of fun and the assured arrangement.
Charlie Hanlon is a 17-year-old songwriter and performer. He is savvy with the big chorus and the unforgettable tune. His 2021 release, ‘Kid’s Today’ was a breakthrough moment, the arrival of a teenage contender. This will doubtless continue in 2022 with the smartly-produced throwdown that is ‘I Lost Myself’.
Charlie grew up in a musical family in Downpatrick. He was banging pots and pans at the age of five and graduated onto a proper drum kid soon after. He added guitar playing to his skillset and formed his first band at 11. They played Sunflowerfest in Hillsborough and had the best time before Charlie went solo at 13.
On his 15th birthday, Charlie wrote the first draft of ‘I Lost Myself’ and uploaded a basic version to Soundcloud. It was picked up by Taylor Johnson from the Across the Line show on BBC Radio Ulster. There was another interested party, Michael Mormecha, the producer and musician, (Mojo Fury, Clown Parlor, TRÚ). He agreed to work with Charlie in his Tree Song studio and so the expectations were notched up further.
Charlie has been soaking up live music. He witnessed The Strypes at the Dublin Olympia when he was 11 and since then he has harboured an ambition to play in that same venue when the time is right. He rates the work of Sam Fender and Declan McKenna and understands the sonic attraction of Inhaler.
Most of all, Charlie gets the value of a memorable song. He explains it thus: “I heard Van McCann from Catfish and the Bottlemen say once, ‘if I write a song and wake up the next morning and I can’t remember the song, the whole world’s gonna forget it the next morning’. I’ve gone by that.”
‘I Lost Myself’ is about a boy going astray in a digital world, giving away his secrets and disappearing into songs. There’s a nod to Radiohead and ‘Karma Police’ and the new version is enhanced by a sense of fun and the assured arrangement.
He has a follow-up single already prepared and a capacity to play solo, with an optional Loop Station or in a band format. The latter idea now seems more appealing. “I don’t really want to just be the acoustic guitar and singing thing,” Charlie reckons. “When I played the first band show, people were dancing.”
Listen to ‘I Lost Myself’ – BELOW:
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