Interview: Finding Joy In The Little Things With Charlie Oriain
Interview by Lindsey V. Britt / Photo Credit: Glynn Parkinson
London-based Charlie Oriain is a singer-songwriter, who you may know from his hit songs “Meant To Be”, “False Hope”, and “Grow Out Of It”. He has written songs with several artists, including Alex Warren, Hayd, and Rachel Grae. Oriain opened for Lily Moore last Summer and is currently working on his third EP.
I heard you were raised on the Isle of Wight, what was it like growing up there?
The Isle of Wight was an amazing place to grow up, my dad was in a folk band, so I spent most of my weekends sat in a pub, listening to gypsy jazz and Irish folk music. I spent a lot of time on the beach and in nature, surrounded by great people.
When did you know that music was your passion?
I was really late to get into music (apart from scraping on the violin as a kid). I started when I was 17 and was working on a building site, picked up a guitar and my friend said, “You should try out for music college”. I went to the audition and within two weeks of being on that course, I knew that music was the thing I wanted to do from that point forward.
What made you want to move to London?
Although growing up on the island was a great experience, there’s not a lot of opportunities for a music career. I had dreamt of moving to London to pursue music and my manager was already living in the city and it just made sense to move up after I finished university.
Your breakout song is “Meant To Be”, a duet with Ber, did you expect your first song to kickstart your career as much as it did?
The short answer is no. This moment came out of nowhere after years of work and changed our lives overnight. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for me that I’ll never forget.
I’ve seen on Instagram that you collaborate and work with other artists quite a lot, what are those sessions like, and how are they different?
Writing for other people has always been a passion of mine. It allows you to be creative in a totally different way and takes the pressure off having to be super personal and about my life, I think there’s magic in that. It’s almost like playing a character and imagining what it would be like from their perspective.
You’re a co-writer on the song “Before You Leave Me” which has over 28 million streams on Spotify, and I’ve heard people who typically don’t discuss music mention how much they love this song. What has the feedback been like with not only “Before You Leave Me” but other songs you’ve co-written like “Unmade Bed”, “1000 Reasons”, etc?
I think being a writer is much more behind the scenes, so I haven’t had a tonne of feedback about those songs personally. However, it’s just as rewarding for me to see those songs doing well and I feel grateful that such talented artists are trusting me to play a small part in their projects.
You’ve released two EPs “Homesick” and “Sinking Not Swimming”, what were the major differences in working on those EPs?
I think the major differences between the two projects come from the concept of the records rather than the creative process. The first project was about moving away from home and trying to find myself again in a new place and the second project was about the first 18 months of life in London, so it was from two very different perspectives almost like a diary entry.
You recently announced that you are working on your third EP and writing the whole thing basically by yourself, is it scary doing it on your own or is it not that big of a deal for you?
No, it’s definitely a daunting process because there’s nowhere to hide when you’ve written everything yourself. However, it’s allowed me to write with complete freedom and focusing more on what feels honest rather than what is “good.”
When you’re writing a song, when do you know if it’s a song for you to sing or for another artist to tell?
The majority of the time I approach writing for other people differently to myself, and when I start writing a song for me it’s from a very personal place that 9 times out of 10 is anecdotal. But sometimes I write for someone else, and if it just feels like I HAVE to have it, then I’ll ask for it back haha.
What was it like opening for Lily Moore last September? And is it true you’d never stayed at a hotel before that tour with your hotel diary series?
This was such a fun experience! Lily is one of my best friends, so it was the perfect introduction to touring. And it’s true, I had never stayed at a hotel before so that was with a funny series of content, reviewing the rooms that unsurprisingly got more engagement than my actual music!
Which artists, bands, or writers inspire you the most in your writing?
I’m currently inspired by Kacey Musgraves, Ryan Beatty, and Lunasa, but other big influences in my writing have been Jeremy Zucker, Joni Mitchell, and Paul Simon. In terms of songwriters I love working with ROSIE, Chance Pena, and Benjamin Francis Leftwich, they’re probably my favorite writers to collaborate with.
Recently there’s been a lot of talk about music royalties and fairness between music labels and social media, resulting in several labels removing their music from apps such as TikTok, how do you think this is impacting artists such as yourself?
I’m not normally one to talk about the music business that much because it’s dry and I like focusing more on making the tunes. BUT in this case, it has been very frustrating not being able to promote my music and all my sounds being removed from TikTok just because my songs are distributed through Universal. It has been tough and frustrating. I hope it will get resolved ASAP for the sake of all the smaller artists that are affected most by this.
I just attended my first songwriter retreat a few weeks ago and I’ve heard all kinds of songwriters who have had different experiences from retreats, what has your experience been with songwriter retreats if you’ve attended any?
I actually haven’t been on a songwriting camp yet, hopefully this year!
Since your second EP is called “Sinking Not Swimming” after the title song, I’m just curious, do you know how to swim? (This is a joke)
Growing up on an island means that you get a few niche skills and swimming is certainly one of them for me haha! Try and get me out of the sea in summer!! One of the few flaws of London life.
Finally, do you have a recommendation? It can be anything, restaurant, movie, activity, advice, anything.
My friends tell me I’m sickeningly positive so I won’t try and preach too hard but I think the thing that makes me happiest is finding joy in the little things…seeing a cute little dog in the park or having a chat with a stranger in the queue to get a coffee etc…
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