CHARLOTTE CARDIN UNVEILS THE HEARTFELT JOURNEY BEHIND '99 NIGHTS'

BY IRVIN RIVERA

Exclusive interview with the incredibly talented singer Charlotte Cardin, we delve into her creative journey and the making of her latest album, "99 Nights." Charlotte shares her memories of crafting the album, highlighting the therapeutic nature of the process and how it allowed her to embrace moments of joy amidst personal challenges.

We also explore Charlotte's evolution as a songwriter, the power of vulnerability in her lyrics, and her profound connection with live audiences, where music becomes a conduit for shared emotions. As she continues to evolve as an artist, Charlotte envisions an exciting and limitless future in music, marked by exploration and creativity. Moreover, Cardin candidly reflects on her transition from the fashion industry to music, emphasizing how self-acceptance and authenticity have been crucial in her artistic journey.

In this exclusive interview, read how Charlotte's music, with its unique blend of vulnerability and strength, seeks to inspire listeners to embrace their emotions and connect with the power of shared feelings, ultimately making her music a deeply emotional and transformative experience.

FASHION STYLING: MARCO MILANI, MAKE-UP: JOSEPH ADIVARI, HAIR: KAT THOMPSON, PRODUCER: LOUISE BARRETTO
Outfit: LANVIN, SHOES : CHARLES & KEITH, Rings : PAMELA LOVE & MISHO

Hi Charlotte how are you doing? What’s keeping you busy nowadays?

I am doing really well. Lots of things are keeping me busy –the 99 Nights tour just started and we’re in the midst of the album release at the same time! It’s always good when music is keeping me busy – I’m happy!

Let’s talk about your music and your new album 99 Nights. Can you share a memorable part of your journey in creating this album?

The DNA of the album was created with my friends in Montreal, so when I think of the creative process, I immediately go back to the first songs that we wrote for the album which were written in my friend Matt's apartment during a crazy heat wave.

I was going through a lot in my personal life, so writing the music with two of my really close friends were the moments where I was really enjoying myself that summer. They were the only moments where I wasn't thinking about my problems and things I was going through. So, this album was a bit of therapy in a lot of ways. It felt like a journal or a diary where I was trying to encapsulate the present moment; writing music in the studio with my friends and trying to do something creative that made me feel good about myself in a moment where I didn't feel that great altogether. I remember very beautiful memories about writing the album.- they were very joyful because I was surrounded by close friends.

Outfit: LANVIN, SHOES : CHARLES & KEITH, Rings : PAMELA LOVE & MISHO

From "Main Girl" to "99 Nights" your music has evolved and matured. How has your songwriting process and approach to music changed over the years?

Main Girl was a very long and lonely songwriting process because I used to want to write everything by myself. When I first started off writing music, my two EPs were written completely alone. I was a little bit more insecure about trying to find out who I was as an artist and what I wanted to say. It was really important for me to write everything by myself because I didn't want anyone to influence my artistic instincts. But when I started opening myself up to co-writing, a lot of possibilities were open to me. Some of the most personal songs I've ever written were from co-writing sessions, which wasn't something I would have expected.

When you surround yourself with people you trust and people that know you, you open up in a way that you wouldn't necessarily if you were writing by yourself. So, I think the main difference would be that I surrounded myself with close friends that are really excellent songwriters and that helped me push my songwriting even further and to dig even deeper into myself, which is a really nice thing to realize because it's so much more fun to write with people than to write alone. I always felt like songwriting was a very solitary process and now it's just something that makes me feel so good and surrounded by close friends.

The lyrics in your songs often reveal personal and introspective themes. How do you approach translating these emotions into lyrics that resonate with listeners?

I've come to realize that the more personal and specific I get about things in my songs, the more people resonate with them and that's something I wouldn't have expected before. I used to want to create and write songs that weren't as specific in order for people to be able to relate to them, but I think vulnerability allows people to relate to the emotion behind the track, not necessarily to the facts.

For example, “Daddy's A Psycho” is a song that I almost didn't put on the record because I felt like it was so personal. I really hesitated when the time came to put it on because I wondered if it was too intense? It felt very personal, real and raw, but I've gotten so many messages from people who have been completely resonating with that song. I’ve come to realize the more specific and vulnerable I get with my songs, people tend to relate even more.

You mentioned that the stage is where you feel most yourself as an artist. How do you connect with your audience and create a shared experience during your live performances?

Sharing music in a live context immediately creates a bond with the audience - music is meant to be shared. If no one ever listened to any music, then it wouldn't have a purpose. For me, live music is the closest I’ve ever been to a spiritual experience. I don't mean that in a religious way, I mean that as someone who loves attending shows. There’s something so beautiful about lots of people gathered in the same space and sharing one moment and one feeling at the same time. That to me is so powerful and music allows you to do that.

I don't mean specifically my music either - music in general allows people to feel things that they don't allow themselves to feel in their day-to-day life. It gives you the authorization to be emotional, it’s 3-5 minutes where you can ball your eyes out or laugh or feel all kinds of different things and live music is super powerful for that. I love experiencing those moments and sharing my stories - telling them to an audience that resonates with the stories and everyone has a different interpretation of that story and feels it in a different way.It’s about that moment of sharing an emotion at the same time And I think that's really powerful.

It's not about me being on stage jumping around, it's about sharing those moments and seeing people resonating to something that's really personal to me and feeling like there's an actual connection. That’s really special.

As your music continues to evolve, how do you envision your artistic identity evolving with it? What are your goals for your music and career in the coming years?

That's a good question. I think I'm allowing myself to be more playful and open to exploring a few different genres. I have a lot of different influences, so as I consider myself a pop artist, I think my music is very influenced by different styles. It excites me that I could do an album like this one that feels a little bit more rock, it has more acoustic vibes, more guitars, whereas the other one was a bit more electro, maybe the next one will be a bit jazzier or soulful. Just being able to explore these different avenues that are endless and exciting and stimulating creatively – that’s what its about. Exploring myself and discovering more about myself through music and songwriting is super exciting because there are endless possibilities.

In an ideal world, I want to keep sharing my music with as many people as I can and living those live moments, sharing music and having new people cover my music and resonating with some stories that are close to my heart. That’s all I wish for, and I hope my career keeps evolving in that way.

My career has evolved in a very organic way and I'm really grateful for that because I've met new fans in every city I've been to, I've adapted to the new steps of my career and I've improved as an artist, as a songwriter, and as a performer.

I can keep evolving endlessly through creative outlets and that's very fascinating and exciting to me.

Vest : ZIMMERMAN, Jeans : CARSON WACH, Ring : MISCHO

Moving from modeling to music was a significant transition for you. How did your experience in the fashion industry influence your artistic expression and confidence on stage?

Modeling in a general way did not build my confidence – it kind of destroyed it more than anything else.

I was always someone who was relatively confident in myself growing up and as a teenager.

When I look back at moments in my life where I was the most insecure about myself are exactly the moments where modeling had a bigger part of my life. First of all, my heart really wasn't in it – I never really wanted to be a model for a living. It was always something that I did because I was taking in the experiences and there was traveling involved, so I was like this is a nice experience and it was really decent money for the amount of work. It’ll allow me to be a little bit more flexible as an artist and have a little bit more financial security, but it destroyed my self-esteem for a bit.

I was able to grow to my full potential once I completely put that aside, modeling was really something where I felt like I wasn't valued for the right things, and I struggled with that. I knew I had a lot of things to express and share with people and that was the opposite of what I was doing as a model.

Knowing how to really accept myself and learn a little bit more about who I am really happened through music and singing. It never came through modeling. Modeling was something that blurred a lot of lines for me and made me feel really shitty about myself. I'm really glad it's not a part of my life anymore.

Your music often blends vulnerability with strength. How do you hope your songs impact your listeners on an emotional level, and what do you want them to take away from your music?

As I mentioned it before, I hope that my listeners allow themselves to feel the emotions that they need to feel in their life when they listen to some of my songs. Music is such a powerful thing because it allows you to feel all sorts of things that you don't allow yourself to feel sometimes.

So, if people can take away from my music a moment of allowing themselves to feel sad or to feel happy or to feel the emotion that they need to feel in their life then the purpose of the album will have been fulfilled.

Sweater : GIU GIU, Shorts : GIVENCHY, Belt : PUNK AND YO

Aside from music, what else keeps you busy?

Right now, it's the only thing that's keeping me busy. I haven't had time for a hobby for a very long time.

But when I'm traveling, I love to read, so that's something that makes me feel really good. Whenever I do have a little bit of time off, I love to cook! I love to cook for people I love, it's just something that makes me feel so grounded and safe. Being in a kitchen with nice food and a glass of wine is a safe space for me.

What’s a valuable lesson that you’ve learned from your career that you think is always universally relevant?

It’s really important to take your time. It sounds kind of mundane, but taking your time, especially in music, is important. You’ll always have people that are like, you need to ride the wave, you need to do this now.

I think the most important thing about music and about everything in life is that things happen when they're meant to happen and for a long time, I wasn't ready to share my music.

I'm so glad that I followed that instinct where I was like, I need to keep searching for who I am as an artist before I feel really comfortable sharing that music with people.

I think taking your time and working hard are two things that are really important for me and are pretty universal.

Boots: BALMAIN, Boyshorts : SKIMS, Shirt : REDONE, Rings : PAMELA LOVE & MISHO

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

I would be a diary. One of those diaries we had as a teenager with a little heart shaped key that you can hide in a little box. A lot of my songwriting feels connected to that and is just one of those things that always evolves; sometimes it feels super lame and then sometimes feels really on points. That's the first thing that comes to mind – I would be a diary and have all these secrets that I turn into songs as I do!

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