Up until last year Charlotte Hatherley was best known as the sultry guitarist in top rock band Ash. Since announcing that she was splitting from the band and going it alone, she has set up a record label, toured the country and released her critically acclaimed solo album, The Deep Blue, to rave reviews from fans and critics alike.
Hi Charlotte, you're about to head off to Europe to play a load of dates, are you looking forward to it?
Oh yes. I haven't been able to tour Europe solo yet, and the album seems to be getting a really great response so it's going to be excellent. I feel very lucky I'm able to tour beyond the UK independently. And I have girls on tour this time. Very important...
And then you're back in the UK for some acoustic shows in June...
Yes I've been doing a lot of acoustic stuff with Jen Macro, just us with acoustic guitars and vocals. She has a gorgeous voice. It's a very different sound to the album, which is very produced and layered...hundreds of little melodic ideas...but acoustically it's very simple and the songs are much more honest that way. It used to terrify me, sitting on a stage feeling so exposed, but now I love doing them
I hear that you've set up your own label, Little Sister Records, which you're signed to. How did that come about?
I was never signed to any label with Ash, and had paid for the recording of my album myself, so it didn't feel right to give it over to a label after all that independent effort. I had left the band to be solo, and so thought I'd see the whole thing through by setting up my own label with my manager. Also, there aren't many labels left that I trust.
A lot of people were sceptical about your departure from Ash, yet you've emerged as an incredibly strong and talented solo artist; has going it alone been an empowering experience?
It's been an amazing year, full of major ups and major downs. I felt as though things had become too easy and static with Ash. As much as I love them I felt I needed to do something completely different, I'd done what I joined the band to do. I'm looking for new challenges and being on my own, setting up a label and forming a new gang of musicians around me has been incredibly empowering. I never, ever thought I'd be able to get a handle on the 'business' side of the industry...and it still doesn't really interest me...But, I've proved I can do it and that's very satisfying.
You released your second solo album, The Deep Blue, to great critical acclaim earlier this year - has the response been what you expected?
Charlotte Hatherley
I don't know what I was expecting. I knew I was going to get some extra, potentially 'harsher' attention since it's my first 'official' solo offering. A part of me expected people to not really get it as it is so different to the punk-pop of Grey Will Fade and I was very conscious of the fact that I was kinda out there on my own...it was nerve wracking! But of course I'm ecstatic that on the whole it was well received.
You're playing GuilFest, T In The Park and V this summer; are festivals something you look forward to?
Yeah, totally. I didn't do any festivals last year and I really did love having a whole summer at home in London, but now that I've been on the road with my ace new band, I'm really looking forward to it all.
And are you off to any festivals as a punter, or do you only get to go to ones you're playing at?
I've never been to a festival I haven't played, sad but true. I would have loved to have gone to All Tomorrows Parties, but couldn't make it...I've got a label to run!
Do you have any specific goals for the next year, or do you prefer to just wait and see what happens?
I definitely don't want to leave so much time between records. I'm writing as much as I can right now, and my aim is to have a new record finished by the end of this year. And then do the whole circus act again.
For more information on Charlotte's forthcoming UK dates, see her page here on Ents24.com.
Words: Meg Rowell
