NEW ALBUM: Charlie Needs Braces 'Saltwater People'
Dance your way into the world of Charlie Needs Braces debut album Saltwater People + out now on vinyl + album launch show and East Coast tour!
Proud GuriNgai woman, a descendant of Bungaree and Matora, Charlie Needs Braces finally lifts the veil on her awaited debut album Saltwater People, out today! Previewed with singles ‘Daryung’, ‘Yanoo’, and title track ‘Saltwater People’, which combined saw Charlie featured on Spotify's Original Storytellers, added to PBS FM Top Tracks, RTR FM Sound Selection, Aussie Music Weekly, Triple J Unearthed, Double J, and more, this release celebrates GuriNgai Mob’s stories, history, and connection to Country and Charlie’s journey, amongst her bed of luscious loops and harmonies. Selected as the winner of the Upstart Award 2022, Charlie is taking her immersive and dynamic live show on the road with dates across the country, kicking off with an album launch show at Shotickers on Friday 17 March and closing with an instore at Desert Highways launching her Exclusive Toothbrush Merch on Saturday 27 May.
Out now on vinyl and via Gyrostream, Charlie Needs Braces’ debut album Saltwater People is rich with punchy brass basslines and driving percussion, her layered harmonies and familiar trumpet melodies. Like a river, the history of the GuriNgai people run through all the tracks on this release; the language, the totems, the instruments, and more, opening with welcome song Alla Indore and closing with Pride - a testament to Charlie’s grandmother’s trauma and hardship through the colonisation in Australia. Uncovering more stories with 2022 singles ‘Daryung’ and ‘Yanoo’ and title track ‘Saltwater People’, the material meanders through a magical snippet and improvisation of a Bunya Festival for ‘Bunya Interlude’, a celebration where all mobs meet to harvest the bunya nuts together. Charlie doesn’t steer clear of big topics, diving headfirst into ageism in the music industry for ‘Big Bully’ featuring Kesh Yoganathan from 'The No Ego Thing', and internet conspiracies in ‘Misinformation’, while her loops and trumpet to tell tales of universal human experiences of feeling trapped, inside a house or inside your mind for ‘Go to Sleep’ and ‘Meteor Shower’.
Having always played on other people's albums and in bands for years, Charlie really wanted to make her own album. Something that always meant a lot to her and inspired by a few things over the past few years that led Charlie to finally create her own the album Saltwater People, “I wanted to celebrate my Aboriginal background, and involve language, tell stories about my mobs culture and traditions in the lyrics and mood of the songs. I also got braces in 2020 and thought it'd be funny to call it 'Charlie Needs Braces' and record my teeth movement as they changed and evolved into shape. I feel like the album and my teeth’s journey started at the same time and developed and evolved together, and funnily enough, I finished the album at the same time as I got my braces and plastic plates off haha.”
No stranger to Australia’s vibrant music scene, Charlie Woods performs regularly with The Teskey Brothers, Gang of Youths, The Seven Ups, TEK TEK Ensemble’, and ‘WVR BABY’, now embarking on her own journey as she tours to new cities far and wide across the country. Get ready to immerse yourself in all things Charlie Needs Braces with this album Saltwater People; a collection of songs that will make you dance, stories to help you heal, and everything between.
Charlie Needs Braces ‘Saltwater People’ Tour + Upcoming Shows
Saturday 11 February
Feminista Vinyl Instore (Naarm)
2pm + Free Entry
Sunday 19 February
St Kilda Festival (Kulin Nations/VIC)
3.20pm + Free Entry
Saturday 25 February
Oops A Daisy Festival (Edendale Farm/Wurundjeri/VIC)
Tickets
Saturday 4 March
Summer in the Valley (Moonee Ponds/Naarm)
Free Entry
Sunday 5 March
Sydney Road Street Party (Naarm)
Event Program
Friday 17 March
Saltwater People Album Launch
Shotkickers (Naarm)
Tickets
Saturday 18 March
Mona on the Lawn (Nipaluna/Hobart TAS)
12-4pm
Sunday 19 March
Simple Cider (Nipaluna/Hobart TAS)
with Woolworths// Flushot
Friday 24 March
The Eastern (Wathaurong/Ballarat VIC)
with Georgia Fields
Friday 31 March
House With No Walls’ (Dyungungoo/Sunshine Coast QLD)
with Una Heera and Andrea Kirwin
Saturday 1 April
Queen Street Mall (Meanjin/Brisbane QLD)
Sunday 2 April
The Bearded Lady (Meanjin/Brisbane QLD)
with Elktung and Una Heera
Friday 7 - Saturday 8 April
Far East Music Festival (Bidwell/Mallacoota VIC)
Tickets
Sunday 9 April
Renaissance Festival (Boon Wurrung Lang Lang, VIC)
Tickets
Friday 5 May
Gods Bandroom (Boon Wurrung/Mornington, VIC)
Saturday 27 May
Exclusive Toothbrush Instore
Desert-Highways (Naarm)
Free Entry
Saltwater People Tracklist
1. Alla Indore
2. Misinformation
3. Daryung
4. Saltwater People
5. Bunya Interlude
6. Big Bully
7. Go to Sleep
8. Yanoo
9. Meteor Shower
10. Pride
Saltwater People Credits:
Recorded and Mixed by Mr.Kapow in Naarm
Mastered by Guy Louis Faletolu
Vinyl Cover artwork by Mr.Kapow
Vinyl Back cover photo by Mr.Kapow
Written by Charlie Woods
Supported by Creative Victoria, Upstart Awards
Produced by Mr.Kapow and Charlie Woods
Performed by:
Charlie Woods-Brass, Vocals, Percussion
Miri Woods-Backing Vocals
Arthur Day-Yidaki
Michael Saxall-Percussion
Kesh Yoganathan-Guest Vocalist on 'Big Bully'
The Saltwater People Album was performed and recorded on the land of the Wurundjeri people and Charlie Needs Braces would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners, and pay respect to all past present and emerging First Peoples and their ongoing living cultures.