A few weeks ago we met Charlie Winston, during the release of "Square One". The artist brings us the ups and downs of the production of this album. An interview full of humanity and passion. He will be in concert this Wednesday, November 5 at the Etoiles in Paris.
Arriving in a small Parisian hotel, Charlie Winston warmly welcomes the entire Just Focus team.
Just Focus: Hi Charlie! Are you okay?
Charlie Winston: Okay, thank you!
JF: It's been 10 years since the release of your first album "Hobo". How has it been since then?
C.W. :Ok.
JF: Well?
C.W. : (Laughs) Yes! I have a loyal audience, the opportunity to make albums and have people like you ask me questions about it. And that's good because I know so many friends who are still trying to find the money to create an EP. I couldn't ask for more. Obviously, if more happens, it's good, but I'm happy with what I have. And I have to thank the French public for that. The huge part of my career is due to this audience. Everyone who knows me knows my success in France.
"I'm happy with what I have"
JF: Last year, you announced a break in your career. Why did you finally decide to come back?
C.W: There are several reasons for this. In fact, I found out through the interviews I did recently. I have kids, and they're great. On the last few albums, I've found it really difficult to play between two roles. That of my status as an artist, whom I consider as the child and that of father, as the adult. But to be a true artist, you also have to be a father to the artistic. And it's really hard to link the two.I've spent my whole life being a child. It may sound romantic I grant you, but in truth it is terrible. But when I became the father of my own child, I found it very difficult. I was very depressed, and I realized that I had to choose between music and my family. And my decision was to stop the music.
"I wanted to refocus"
JF: But it was after this period of reflection and questioning that you decided to go back to music. And you created Square One, your new album. Why the title?
C.W. : Because I wanted to explore new possibilities as an artist. I was getting a little lost on a personal level. So on this album I wanted to go back to the character I created 10 years ago. Not only visually, with the panoply of the hat, which I no longer wore on the other albums, I went in different directions for fear that people would categorize me.
But I realized that my artistic space is completely free! There is freedom. And like a child who needs limits, he will have more freedom to play. It's the same for me. That's what Square One is talking about. The square represents my limits, and the "one" is me! I wanted to refocus.
JF: We also found it very funny that your album is called "Square One", and the first title is … "Spiral"!
C.W. : You score a good point there! [Takes a few seconds to think] I think I realized that life was paradoxical. Nothing is ever as you imagine. I knew directly that "Spiral" would be the first track on the album. The title explains the beginning of my story. It's all about being at your lowest, but still choosing to get up rather than give up.
"My music has become a kind of meditation"
JF: We talked about it earlier, you have a great career in France, and we know that your words are dear to you. Are you afraid that the audience won't be able to understand the deeper meaning of your music?
C.W. : That's part of my frustration actually. I was disturbed for a long time that I did not have a career in my own country, or at least in an English-speaking country. But I realized that I wasn't just writing songs for the people around me, I also write for myself. I write them to explore, to understand something.
And even though I perform every night on stage, I'm the first to listen to my music. It became a kind of meditation. The words I write are messages to myself. That's why the audience I have today is enough for me, and I'm happy to be with those who follow me. And even if I tour all over the world, in the end I always come back here!
"Explore new sounds with musicians I particularly like"
JF: It's still a bit paradoxical, because it's the most personal album you've proposed and yet, it's the first time you've called on so many people to produce it?
C.W. :Actually. It was still a small team, but I had a few guests. That was great. Even though I wanted to refocus on myself, I didn't want to be at the center of the creation of the album. And it gave me the freedom to be at the center … Paradoxical!
JF: We were even surprised by your collaboration with Toumani Diabaté, especially with his recent work on "Lamomali", which is very far from your register.
C.W. : I had actually blocked myself creatively. There are a lot of musical registers that I love, and I wanted to explore new sounds with musicians that I particularly like. I had created a rather "European pop" style on the first albums and now I'm more like "I don't care!I'm going to do what I want to do."
JF: Curio City and Square One are two different registers it is true. How did the public react differently?
C.W. :You know what? I have no idea. I don't think it's important to me. What the public thinks about it is not the same as how I feel. I'm interested in how people feel. I like to listen to the audience in concert, and that's what makes me want to continue.
Charlie Winston will be in concert at Les Etoiles in Paris on Wednesday, December 5th. In the meantime, and to review a little before, "Square One" is available on all platforms. And as a gift, we also leave you his latest clip, "Airport".
