No one must love tea more than Charlene Soraia, who gained recognition after recording a cover of The Calling’s “Where Ever You Will Go” for a Twinings tea commercial in 2011. It catapulted her onto the top three of the U.K. single charts and was the kick-starter for her following success as a singer and songwriter.
But Soraia’s musical career started out way earlier. At the young age of five she picked up her father’s guitar and hasn’t put it down since. At the age of eight, she began performing at Open-Mic sessions and later on got accepted into BRIT School (London School for Performing Arts and Technology), where other accomplished musicians, such as Adele, launched their careers.
Now the artist is working on her second solo album Where’s My Tribe, which will be released by Peacefrog Records on 25th January 2019. This month she gave us a little preview of what to expect by dropping the title track and “Tragic Youth”; and we’re excited to make it our track of the day today.
On the single, the London native proves once again that her style cannot be tied to a single genre, as she floats between progressive folk and acoustic pop, with feverish Classical fingerpicking. Soraia’s refined guitar skills accompany her mellow voice, as she is gliding comfortably across octaves on the instrument and on her agile vocal chords.
Not only is she a talented musician but also has an undeniable gift for song writing. On ”Tragic Youth” she expresses her struggle of being torn between past and future with great lyrical ability.
‘Tragic Youth’ is about the involuntary process of laying one’s inalterable past to rest before they believe they are ready to do so. The abstraction and resistance to fight the urge to ‘bite the hand that feeds’ despite desperately seeking change, is also explored in this song. Wanting change yet resisting new experiences despite knowing that to create is to destroy and that rebirth only follows death.
This track is a melodically rich record that might remind one of Laura Marling’s earlier works. What gives it such a raw and unique ring is the sound of Charlene Soraia recording the entire album at home without the help of edits or auto-tune; ten songs packed simply with raw music. We are looking forward to hearing more from this multi-talented artist.
Listen to “Tragic Youth” here:
For more on Charlene Soraia, head to her Facebook Page.
