less so . It comes with the gig . What to do with all that input ? Well , that ’ s the challenge . You have to sift through it . You have to take it in , decide what – for you – is valuable , whether it ’ s complimentary or not . Listening to others is necessary , but not at the expense of damaging your enthusiasm for making music . At some point , you have to set aside the voices that say , “ you need you to do this or that ,” and trust your instincts . “ I ’ ve accomplished so much as an independent artist ,” Charles says , “ so it ’ s like , when are people going to feel like she ’ s really good at what she does — let ’ s work with her .”
“ Look what you ’ ve done ,” Charles adds . “ The people you ’ re going to need in your life , they ’ ll come to you eventually if they ’ re meant to be there . This record was about me knowing that the people in my life are meant to be there . And those that aren ’ t , I shouldn ’ t worry about . So , over the last two years , I ’ ve just been letting go and accepting that this is me ; if you don ’ t like it , cool . If you do like it , cool .”
Interestingly , that is a similar ethic to how she views her past work . “ Once something ( an album or song ) is done , I have to say ‘ it ’ s finished ’ – they ’ re done and that ’ s how they ’ re going to be . Then I let it go . It captures a moment in time and for me to reopen that , I think , would do a disservice to the songs .”
“ I can ’ t remember listening to my own work as much as I have to this record , and I attribute that to the fact that this is the most me ,” she continues . “ I enjoy listening to the songs , singing along , and popping them into some of my playlists .” Not just because she ’ s proud of the record , but also because , she adds , “ They ’ re songs I ’ d just want to listen to , which , for me , is the greatest accomplishment .”
Again , that ’ s not to say Charles isn ’ t proud of or doesn ’ t enjoy her past work , just that she ’ s less likely to listen to it because , she explains : “ A lot of the older stuff , there ’ s too many things I ’ d change . Whereas on this one , I don ’ t think I ’ d change anything . That makes me really happy . Sure , everything can get better , but I like where these songs are at , and I ’ m content with how they turned out . I think it ’ s just getting to a place where I feel like I landed .”
As for what ’ s next , she says : “ Someone asked me that the other day and I was like , ‘ give me a second to put this record out ,’ she laughs . That said , the approach , the vibe , and sound of this record , she adds , will likely inform future projects . “ Definitely . But with every project , I only want to get better and do something , not necessarily brand new , but to build on what I did before . If anything , this is a stepping-stone in the right direction . I don ’ t want to say it ’ s a great start because I ’ m 10 years in , but I feel like I ’ ve hit a groove , and I ’ m just excited to keep going .”
Kevin Young is a Toronto-based musician and writer .
NUELA CHARLES PERFORMING AT BREAKOUT WEST 2022
PHOTO : KASSEY SHIER
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 37