Charlotte Yates – Plainsong
Most of plainsong’s twelve tracks were written when Charlotte was the Artist-in-Residence at the Christchurch Arts Centre, April-May 2002. She says “It’s a strange thing to be extracted from your everyday life, effectively locked in a room with your guitar and some blank paper, and to feel grateful for that opportunity!” The remaining tracks were written in January 2003.
plainsong was recorded, mixed and mastered at Inca Studios, Wellington by Mike Gibson whose engineering/production credits include Fur Patrol, Trinity Roots and Barry Saunders among countless others. Inca Studios is nestled in Martin Square, a semi-industrial nook of inner city Wellington. Charlotte says “You can get your cd recorded, your posters printed and your car panel beaten – all in the same street! Working with Mike @ Inca gave the recording process a lot of continuity. He has a powerful combination of musical training from his university studies plus extensive studio experience. Add that to having a great drum room and being a wicked Pro Tools operator and things go pretty smoothly.”
plainsong was arranged and produced by Charlotte. While she handles all guitar and vocal work, several highly respected Wellington musicians appear, many of who recorded on Charlotte’s last studio release, Dead Fish Beach. Rhythm section Tim Robertson (bass) and Chris O’Connor (drums, percussion) feature on ten of the twelve tracks. Other seasoned musicians in the line-up include Alan Norman (accordion), Janet Holborow (cello), Bob Smith (organ) and Damian Forlong (trombone).
plainsong runs the gamut from solo-fingerpicked guitar and voice to much fuller arrangements. Charlotte elaborates “As a solo artist, I’m lucky enough to be able to use as many or as few flavours in the songs as I wish. At times, I feel it’s the more the merrier and at others, less is more. It’s always a delight to hear the other performers finally playing their chops after imagining their parts for so long. It makes the thing come to life for me.”