This British Columbian alt-rock musician goes western on her latest single.
British Columbia-based alt-rocker Charlie PS released her single "Ghost of You" earlier this May, experimenting with elements of country and classic rock, describing her newest sound as a 'western-esque' southern rock style- this new side, says PS, represents her rebirth as an artist as a result of this tumultuous past year. The twang injected track follows a scorned lover committing murderous revenge on her unfaithful ex-partner- and immediately regretting it.
"My sound has recently gone through a bit of a rebirth, moving from the pop/rock realm I started out in and shifting more into the alternative rock/southern rock genre that I’ve been working towards for the past few years," said PS. "My influences are all over the place, and starts with my love for the classic rock era- Queen, ACDC, Stevie Nicks & Heart, but as of late I've really been enjoying taking influence from some amazing modern female rock artists like ZZ Ward, Gin Wigmore, Elle King and Grace Potter to name a few."
Charlie PS started working on "Ghost of You" in the fall of 2019.
"The songwriting process was honestly a quick one," said PS. "This being the first ‘character based’ song I had written about, I think I find it easier to create a story about someone else rather than writing about myself and my own experiences. The bigger process was getting the production as close as possible to the way I could hear it in my head, and we had such a blast creating the song in studio."
The character piece was produced and mixed by Dan Ponich, and mastered by Stuart McKillop at Railtown Mastering in Vancouver.
"We had mostly ups during the production and mixing processes of the song- as it was the first time Dan and I had gotten together to work, and were pleasantly surprised how quickly we clicked on a creative level," said PS. "The biggest struggle was waiting to release the track during the unpredictability of COVID-19 last year, and waiting for the right time to release it. I was in love with the track and just wanted it out, but it didn’t feel like the right time. The silver lining was we were able to go back and re-mix the song late last year, and get a much better sounding product."
The singer-songwriter challenged herself by writing from a stranger's point of view. "It's a dark character driven song that weaves a haunting fictional story of a woman torn between feeling unremorseful, and regretful after making a terrible mistake," said PS. "It was great to challenge myself as a songwriter and write about something other than myself and my personal experiences. I loved the movie Holes growing up as a kid and originally based the story line off of this 'Kissing Kate Barlow' type character."
After listening to "Ghost of You", Charlie PS hopes her listeners embrace her newer, countrified sound. "I hope listeners take away this new sonic taste of what’s to come for my music," said PS. "I have always been through a bit of a struggle with who I am and who I want to be as an artist, and I’m really excited to feel like I’ve moved a few steps forward in my journey of self acceptance and growth."
You can help support Charlie PS by streaming her music, following her socials, or by donating to her Bandcamp linked below.
Upcoming gigs:
(Postponed due to COVID-19.)