Be Charlotte proved exactly why she is one of the most exciting upcomers on the Scottish music scene with an eclectic display of live music at the Electric Circus in Edinburgh on 18 February.
What was clear from the start was the diversity in performance and the effervescence that flowed through the music. This was pop infused with hip-hop and funk. Pop has become somewhat of a dirty word in certain circles because of the mainstream associations, but this wasn’t the chart-defined get-rich-quick template being abused by the bulk songwriters at the moment, it was fun, creative and incredibly original.
The eponymous Charlotte leads with an openly Scottish twang and occasionally breaks between singing to deliver spoken work or rap verses which flow neatly over varied soundtracks made up from keys, bass and drums.
What was clear from the start was the diversity in performance and the effervescence that flowed through the music. This was pop infused with hip-hop and funk. Pop has become somewhat of a dirty word in certain circles because of the mainstream associations, but this wasn’t the chart-defined get-rich-quick template being abused by the bulk songwriters at the moment, it was fun, creative and incredibly original.
The eponymous Charlotte leads with an openly Scottish twang and occasionally breaks between singing to deliver spoken work or rap verses which flow neatly over varied soundtracks made up from keys, bass and drums.
The tracks are irresistibly catchy and feature plenty of sing-along hooks. A crowd singalong for both the chorus and back beat to ‘One Drop’ proved as much, while ‘Machines That Breathe’ and ‘Drawing Windows’ also stood out, the latter in particular giving Charlotte the chance to show off her vocals.
We love Electric Circus as a venue and would hate to see it shut down, as has been rumoured, but everytime we are there for a gig we are always wary of karaoke other rooms leaking into the gig set, and unfortunately this did happen from time to time during the concert.
There aren’t a lot of slow moments in a Be Charlotte gig though, and by and large the gig went from strength to strength. A highlight was when Charlotte and a bandmate took to hammering a couple of tom drums, pictured above, to form a fantastic beat, which formed the basis for some brilliant lyrics and provided the perfect example of the aforementioned ingenuity on offer throughout.
A really entertaining performance from Be Charlotte which has us excited for more from the act.
Stuart Kenny
We love Electric Circus as a venue and would hate to see it shut down, as has been rumoured, but everytime we are there for a gig we are always wary of karaoke other rooms leaking into the gig set, and unfortunately this did happen from time to time during the concert.
There aren’t a lot of slow moments in a Be Charlotte gig though, and by and large the gig went from strength to strength. A highlight was when Charlotte and a bandmate took to hammering a couple of tom drums, pictured above, to form a fantastic beat, which formed the basis for some brilliant lyrics and provided the perfect example of the aforementioned ingenuity on offer throughout.
A really entertaining performance from Be Charlotte which has us excited for more from the act.
Stuart Kenny
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