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Interview: Chartreuse Collectively Transfer By Grief and Battle in ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’


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 total form of their sophomore album, Bless You & Be Nicely.

The revolutionary 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 exquisite land that surrounds the Icelandic recording studio.

Bless You & Be Nicely – Chartreuse

The band skirt melancholic tones, whereas their vocals are all the time heat, melodic, and harmonic. The drums generally echo jazzy or mathy beats, whereas staying simple on the ears. The bass is usually heavy and sulking, although generally it may be shiny. Their sound feels indie and various, whereas there’s additionally lots of nuance.

Producer Sam Petts-Davies (The Smile) was at Flóki Studios with Chartreuse and produced Bless You & Be Nicely. Earlier than this document, the band had an ethos of, “At any time when we hear one thing that sounds acquainted, we attempt to f* it up indirectly,” 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 track 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 feel it’s fairly… ’trigger you bought this,” and he begins the observe 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 as if a small factor in the meanwhile, however the texture drastically amplifies the gravity of the track and opens up a bigger emotive area.


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 document in numerous methods. As an 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 crammed with a robust 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 tip of Wagstaff’s observe stated:

“The Strain that I placed on myself to put in writing this music and make it the most effective it may be, is completely self-prescribed. All in all, it’s largely about not likely 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 track. Once I say “they need to see you bare, they need to hear you say it, I don’t need to put on a masks,” it’s form of self-talk, addressing the duality in my character, and that I really don’t want to really feel invisible more often than not.”

Chartreuse © Stewart Baxter
Chartreuse © Stewart Baxter

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 document.

It may be unusual to assume how letting go of one thing, or of many issues, can convey 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 ::
:: join with Chartreuse right here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH CHARTREUSE

Bless You & Be Well - 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 kind 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 most likely my important one proper now.

Mike Wagstaff: I haven’t actually been listening to albums, I’ve simply kind of been actually into making playlists, so I’ve simply been form of like leaping round to totally different artists, however I feel somewhat responsible pleasure in the meanwhile is Title Combat. It’s good. Aside from that, simply form of like simply every part, actually. I take heed to lots of Sega Bodega. I’ve listened to Billy Martin’s new album, that’s actually good.

Wilson: Yeah, it’s a extremely good album.

Wagstaff: Yeah, not likely one style, however only a little bit of every part.

I used to be questioning if you happen to might inform me about Black Nation. What’s the band’s relationship to that area of England? How tied do you are feeling to it? Is there a sure aura that it has?

Wilson: I assume so. I don’t know if it’s instantly influenced us in a method, however I imply, we’ve lived right here our entire lives, and it’s form of a wierd little place, nevertheless it has actual quirks about it that, yeah, retains us right here, I suppose. Yeah we’ve not recognized any totally different I assume, by no means moved away and it’s simply form of yeah you undergo phases of being like, ‘I completely adore 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 adore it once more.’ There’s some very nice countryside and stuff right here. It’s fairly stunning to have in your doorstep, after which you can even, you already know, dip into Birmingham everytime you need to, which is cool. I wouldn’t say it’s had an affect on our music, I imply, possibly, I assume we wouldn’t know.

Wagstaff: Yeah, it most likely has.

Is it the title, do you assume, like persons are like, oh, Black Nation, that is similar to such a particular title for a area?

Wilson: I feel generally if you speak to individuals who haven’t been right here, they’re like, I feel it’s a wierd legendary place, nevertheless it’s actual, and it’s alright right here. [laughs]

Wagstaff: It’s high-quality. [laughs]

Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Well’ © Stewart Baxter
Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ © Stewart Baxter

What did it really feel like if you came upon you had been going to Flóki Studios, a distant a part of Iceland, to document your second document?

Wilson: Loopy. Yeah, I imply…

Wagstaff: Utterly.

Wilson: Yeah, we’ve solely ever performed like recording right here the place we’re speaking from proper now, or in Tottenham. So yeah, it form of simply introduced itself to us, and we had been like, okay. We had lots of conversations about it, after which ultimately the wheels had been really in movement, that we had been gonna go and document 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 discuss it now, and we will’t imagine 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 simply’re nonetheless speaking about it?

Wagstaff: It’s simply, properly, it was simply the studio in the course 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 resorts and fishermen and stuff. Like, it was simply weird, like utterly faraway from what we used to. It was simply…it was so serene and exquisite. However yeah, there was similar to somewhat studio simply plonked in the course of a chunk of land in between the ocean and a lake. And it was breathtaking and exquisite. And we didn’t actually know the way it occurred, to be sincere with you, which is kind 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 performed? 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 came upon we had been going to work with him, however I feel we had chatted to a few folks, after which we went and met him in London. I feel as quickly as we met him, we kind of knew that he was the precise 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 sort of method intimidating, which is precisely what we had been searching 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 palms off the reins and belief someone to kind of convey our concepts to life. And he works tremendous fast and we generally tend to dwell on issues once we’re writing or recording ourselves. He didn’t permit for that. He was like, let’s transfer on, we’ll come again to it, like, it will likely be high-quality. That was only a refreshing method of working as a result of it simply meant that you already know we needed to simply hold going and pushing ourselves ahead, which was tremendous vital, and you already know we didn’t have a ton of time with him, so it was nice to only go for it mainly.

Did you deliberately take heed to a few of the data 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 document you are going to produce?

Wagstaff: I imply, he had labored on certainly one of our associates’ albums earlier than, so we already knew that he was good to work with and stuff… And clearly we’re massive followers of The Smile anyway, clearly. It’s unimaginable, unimaginable music. We form of had lots of belief in him for positive.

Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Well’ © Stewart Baxter
Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ © Stewart Baxter

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 utterly performed, and a few of them had been kind of naked bones, to be sincere, 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 attainable. A few them I didn’t even have lyrics it was simply form of sending over voice memos of us taking part in and jamming, form of like singing nonsensical shit.

Wilson: [laughs]

Wagstaff: Yeah, mainly, made up phrases to only get the melody out, actually. After which we simply stored it so uncooked, so once we went in, it was form of recent for everyone, like nobody had deep attachments to particular pointless issues. We stored all of it fairly open and fairly malleable.

Is that totally different from what you guys have performed earlier than? You had been like “Hey, let’s ensure now we have area so we will shift once we need to, or when we have to.”

Wagstaff: Truthfully, that’s the first time we’d performed 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 document a tiny bit, and he’d provide you with some riffs and stuff, which was cool. And yeah, it was simply nice. Lots of the time, he was simply arrange within the reside 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 lots 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 method. In order that was most likely essentially the most collaboration we’ve performed with an outdoor particular person earlier than, you already know, by no means actually had the prospect to do this. So it was good. And yeah, he actually helped us in that method, which was cool.

That provides you some concepts for future recordings if you happen to’re pondering that far forward of the probabilities of how one can create songs and collaborate with folks outdoors of the band.

Wagstaff: Oh yeah, undoubtedly. We’ve undoubtedly gained some new concepts and instruments to make use of within the songwriting now from working with someone else. It undoubtedly realized lots.

Have been there any specific sounds or compositions that stunned you trying 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, prior to now, we’ve all the time targeted 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 feels like a band taking part in in a room. In order that was fairly new for us, which is kind of ironic as a result of we’ve been a band for thus lengthy. However yeah, that was cool simply to kind 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 elementary 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 totally different colours of award ribbons that take middle stage. What is the significance of the colours, and the way did you resolve which track obtained which colour?

Wilson: To be sincere, we ordered a load of them [laughs]. So the man we labored with, Stuart Baxter, he’s nice. And any concept you’ve got, he’ll go in on it in a method that’s like all dream you’ve got; he could make it occur. And that’s like, he’s nice like that. And Mike had an concept 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 kind of give them to every track 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 placing picture to have that on the document. Yeah, the others, I don’t assume we might change the colours of them now. They actually swimsuit the track that they’ve been assigned to. However yeah, it most likely wasn’t like we knew once we had been speaking concerning the songs. We knew which colours we didn’t need for which songs. We had been like, oh, that track 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 degree of instinct with it.

Wilson: Yeah, there was, wasn’t there?

Wagstaff: It wasn’t random, however I don’t assume there was any specific deep thought present or earlier than we ordered them.

Wilson: Yeah.

Versatile, such as you went into the studio with to document 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 feel. [laughs]

Wagstaff: [laughs]

That is cool. They had been fated in a method.

Wilson & Wagstaff: Yeah.

Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Well’ © Stewart Baxter
Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ © Stewart Baxter

Up till right this moment, every single you have launched has had a follow-up put up sharing private tales linked to it. Mike for “Sequence of Voices,” partly, you discuss your mom having a most cancers scare, and also you holding in stress and anxieties. Hattie, “I am Shedding It,” you speak concerning the main surgical procedure you had in your femur, having to basically relearn easy methods to stroll once more, and the encircling 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 feel we’ve spent lots of time feeling like we undershare and feeling somewhat bit like possibly we come throughout like somewhat bit clean to our viewers. So, I assume we wished to be clear and share somewhat bit extra about ourselves and form of join with folks on a extra private method. For me, it’s taken lots 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 possibly this ought to be sufficient’ you already know. That is like my higher degree of sharing [laughs], so to do 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 related issues. You realize, it’s good to attach with folks, it’s. You possibly can’t be grumpy ceaselessly, so it’s good.

Wilson: I feel in the way in which that I feel, I suppose, I’m fairly logical, and I feel 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 not likely ours anymore, somebody can have that. I feel it nearly helps me to put in writing down the which means of them and transfer on from them. I feel 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 folks kind 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 protecting issues barely extra to ourselves. It’s like a wierd stability of, you already know, you’re telling folks precisely what they’re about.

Wagstaff: Yeah, like over-explaining form of ruins the thriller of it.

Wilson: Slightly bit, yeah, however then we form of gotta assume, not everyone’s going to learn these. Like you already know, folks discover you on playlists or they’ll hear your music for the primary time and so they’re nonetheless going to do this. It’s solely a small share of individuals which can be going to go and pay attention learn the explainer and kind of know precisely what that’s about, and possibly they’re the those that need to discover that, in order that’s high-quality. So, I feel it’s it’s good to you already know, get it on the market and share with folks. I feel it undoubtedly helps you join extra.

You realize, it is fascinating too. I had been listening to the track like a bunch earlier than I spotted that that put up was there, you already know, really a number of days in the past, after which I learn that put up, and I listened to it “I’m Shedding It,” and it hit totally 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 feel so.

Wilson: I feel so. I feel it’s useful.

Wagstaff: Yeah, as I stated, it’s good to attach with folks 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 identical time, fairly highly effective. What was the feeling of listening to it and experiencing the ultimate choice that it was able to be launched on the earth?

Wilson: It was fascinating. It felt like, like listening to it as an entire, you already know, if you’re within the band, you may’t assist however decide it aside, you already know. Except for that, listening to the album I feel I simply felt like like immensely proud. I feel doing a second album, that everyone calls a troublesome album, and it didn’t really feel that method in any respect for us. It felt simpler than the primary to be sincere. We actually knew what we needed to do in a method and knew what we wished to say, you already know, not by way of lyrically, however sonically. We knew we knew how we wished to border this document, 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.

Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Well’ © Stewart Baxter
Chartreuse ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ © Stewart Baxter

Why ‘Bless You & Be Nicely’ for an album title? Have been there different candidates?

Wilson: I feel there was, yeah. I can’t keep in mind them, although. I feel we possibly 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 document, however I feel we generally 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 ought to be.’ I don’t know who it was, however someone advised Bless You & Be Nicely as a result of that was already this track 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 talk to you.

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:: stream/buy Bless You & Be Nicely right here ::
:: join with Chartreuse right here ::

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Stream: “Fold” – Chartreuse

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Bless You & Be Well - Chartreuse

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