Christopher Charles

Here's an artist bio I did for singer/songwriter Christopher Charles:

The respective languages of life, love and music are at oft times interchangeable. Enter Christopher Charles. Not only is the young and talented musician fluent in all three languages, Charles has meticulously crafted a unique style which translates this trinity to the masses. Picture a young singer/songwriter/instrumentalist learned in the melodious teachings of James Taylor, Brian McKnight, Phil Collins and Lenny Kravitz. Indeed, the cosmos of Christopher Charles is one where acoustic soul, R&B and jazz collide to construct a powerful singular genre.

Toronto-born (to Guyanese parents) and raised in Hamilton, Ont., Charles is a gifted soul with a fiery talent, who plays both the piano and guitar and writes, composes, and produces all his own material. His upcoming demo release not only fills a musical void, it carves out its own new category. "I would like to be considered classic timeless music easy listening with a touch of soul," Charles starts.

Though initially taking some piano lessons in his formative years, Charles is essentially a self taught musician. Together with his soulful voice, structured melodies and adroit songwriting skills, Charles's music is as lush as it is introspective. "I don't like to write fluff any word that I write has to have meaning," Charles says. "A lot of times, it's personal experience that I draw from. Something just starts to come out. The rule of thumb is don't get in the way of the songthe words will come out when you let it."

The throughline of Charles' music is the message of hope, something that he was required to have an abundance of after suffering a serious and debilitating illness a few years back. His condition got so acute that he was forced to stop playing music for months. But it was a confluence of effects including support from doctors, friends and family which got him back on the path of well-being. And it is this experience which currently colours Charles' spiritual and optimistic outlook on life. "Anytime I write a song I always try to leave that hope and optimism because it is there. And sometimes, we just have to see it," Charles offers. "I feel that you can affect people in three ways: negatively, neutrally and positively. And I always want to affect them in a positive manner. There were times of hopelessness. But there's just that fight in you, because once you lose hope, you're lost. That's your driving force you don't want to lose that."

Charles has already created a regional buzz, performing in various venues throughout Southern Ontario. The only thing superior to listening to Christopher Charles' music is listening to it live. "You've got to open up and let it out," Charles says of performing on stage. "I feel that songwriters have a duty so you better give all of yourself. When the audience listens to me I want them to know that I'm being completely honest and open."

Throughout all the deliberation and decisive song selection, Charles has crafted a demo which distills his distinct musicianship down to its richest essence. It's all there the languages of life, love and music.

Just listen.