NEW SINGLE: Charlie Needs Braces 'Saltwater People'

Charlie Needs Braces returns with new single and the title track from upcoming debut album Saltwater People out Friday 10 February + pre-order vinyl now!

Proud GuriNgai woman, a descendant of Bungaree and Matora, Charlie Needs Braces is back with her familiar trumpet melodies and luscious loops in her latest single ‘Saltwater People’ out Friday 20 January. As the title track of her debut album ‘Saltwater People’, slated for release Friday 10 February and is available now for pre-order on vinyl via Bandcamp, this latest single sees Charlie explore the intricacies of her mob, through water filled imagery and sisterly harmonies. After the success of the album’s first two singles ‘Daryung’ and ‘Yanoo’ which combined saw Charlie added to PBS FM Top Tracks, RTR FM Sound Selection, Syn Sweet Sixteen, Triple J Unearthed, Energy Groove Radio, and more, to top off an incredible year Charlie was selected as the winner of the Upstart Award 2022.

Now gearing up to finally lift the veil on her debut album with this latest brass filled single ‘Saltwater People’ celebrates Charlie’s mob’s connection to Country and the importance of maintaining the balance of our eco system on the land and in the waters, “I was inspired after Uncle Laurie took me and my mum up to a sacred women's area on Country, we were standing on these huge flat rocks with ancient carvings all around, looking out at the ocean when the clouds started to close in around us and grow dark.  Thunder and lightning started to rumble and white flashes started to strike all  around. That's when Uncle told us that our people have always been known as the 'holders of lightning'. It felt like the spirits knew we'd arrived and were celebrating our arrival, the place was so magical I wanted to sing and capture the same feeling I had that day on Country.”

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.”

Out on vinyl and via Gyrostream on Friday 10 February, 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’.

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’, but now embarks on her own journey of brass and looping, so get ready to immerse yourself in all things Charlie Needs Braces with this album Saltwater People; a collections of songs that will make you dance, stories to help you heal, and everything between. 

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

Upcoming Shows
Family Jams - All Ages Show
Northcote Uniting Church
Sunday 5 February
Doors: 2pm
Tickets: Free Entry for kids under 12
 
‘Saltwater People’ single is out Friday 20 January
Saltwater People album is out Friday 10 February
Saltwater People album available for pre order via Bandcamp