Uncovering the inspirations behind the GuriNgai artist's effervescent sound.
Mixing ethereal vocals, hypnotic techno loops and plenty of bumping trumpet lines, Charlie Woods is the sprightly creative force behind Charlie Needs Braces – and she’ll be lighting up the stage at this year’s St Kilda Festival.
With a childhood rooted both in music and Indigenous teachings, Charlie brings to her songs a history of place that is both personal and cultural. A proud GuriNgai creative, much of her artistic drive stems from the lands and waters of her origins along the Central Coast, north of Sydney.
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“The themes and lyrics that I bring into the music,” she says, “are very specific to my own story. Protecting country, taking care of our wildlife, bringing attention to being connected and balanced as Indigenous people – a lot of the music is derived from my mob, the GuriNgai people.”
As such, a major proponent of Charlie’s storytelling is the protection of land and water, striving through her songs to protect the culture that has shaped her and to “keep it going.” Much of the Indigenous language that informs Charlie’s connection with her people is also an integral aspect of her lyrics and musical storytelling.
Yet she also credits the years in which she grew up around the Melbourne CBD as a lightning rod for her musical tastes. “I’m highly inspired by all the amazing bands around me in Naarm,” she says. “There’s such a high quality of musicianship, it’s always super inspiring.”
A pathway into the performing arts was all but guaranteed by Charlie’s upbringing, raised by two generations of pianists – her mother and grandmother – while also being required to learn a string instrument at school.
Yet it was an education under The Cat Empire, and many of what Charlie refers to as their “underage shows” in St Kilda, that first lit up her imagination as a performer.
“I remember going to see them a few times and going, ‘What is that instrument?’ I really loved the trumpet and so I started learning trumpet in Year Seven.” The instrument has since grown to define much of her musical style and character. The physicality and drama of such a “full-on instrument” spoke to Charlie’s drive as a performer.
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Making the rounds in the horn sections of numerous musical ensembles after finishing school, Charlie soon got the itch to go solo during COVID-19 lockdowns. “I ended up buying a loop station and started writing tunes on that. I really enjoyed it and thought, ‘Maybe I could do this live.’”
It was after her younger sister Miri moved to Melbourne that the two started to perform live shows together. “I love performing with my sister, I love the sound of the harmonies, so that’s just kind of stuck.”
Charlie Needs Braces is set to perform at this year’s St Kilda Festival, marking the third time in which they have lit up the stage in this highlight of the Melbourne summer calendar. She reflects on these previous festivals as having been incredibly welcoming and friendly: “Lots of people, hanging out, wanting to have a good time.”
Her upcoming performance will feature a number of new songs from her upcoming album, which drops February 20. Titled Nyaa Wa – meaning ‘take care and protect country’ – the St Kilda Festival set will include some songs “that we’ve never played live in Melbourne before, so that will be super fun!”
The mission statement of Charlie’s new album is to celebrate the region and culture of where she comes from.
“Throughout the songs, we’re talking about our mob’s area,” she says, “as a lot of these areas are threatened, unfortunately, by development. Throughout all of Australia, they’re sacred spots. There’s lots of history there and development means that they can get threatened.”
She highlights one song, This Land, as speaking directly to the importance of Indigenous language and culture. “The traditional names of places contain a lot of information and really tell a story. You can actually find out so much about an area through that name, so what we talk about in our songs is very specific to our story.”
But, as fits Charlie’s quirky performance style, the album is not short of what she calls “silly songs”.
One example being a track titled Mussels, a pun-laden hit about the edible sea creatures as well as the things people work out in the gym. “We do that live and have a dance for it. We actually teach the audience how to do that.”
Fresh dance moves and colourful pop beats… What’s not to love?
Find out more about her St Kilda Festival performance on February 15 here.