The Continuing Adventures of Chamber Folk

Chloe Charles

One style of music I have become more and more familiar with because of this site is chamber folk. With their classical instrumentation th

at is steeped the down-to-earth roots of folk, Eagle Winged Palace is a great example of a band using this style to craft memorably haunting melodies that reached in through your ears and gripped your soul. The music of Chloe Charles has a very similar effect.

Her EP Little Green Bud is a blend of swaying, symphonic arrangements blended with a simple, rootsy tone that creates an evocatively ear catching audio experience. But you won’t just hear folk-styled acoustic guitar strumming accompanied by traditional violins and cellos. No, each song on this album contains a variety of instruments and playing styles to create a lusciously beautiful wall of sound that would make Phil Spector jealous.

Take the song “Soon on a Snowflake” for example; the light jingling of bells, the gentle tinkling of piano keys, and the plucking of violin strings along with the song’s many other elements come together so wondrously to create a beautiful, snow-laden soundscape in your mind. The music complements the lyrics incredibly as Chloe Charles sings about “drifting on a snowflake” and other wintry images. You could be listening to this song in Miami Beach while laying in the hot sand as the sun blazes and waves crash, and you would still feel the sting of a winter breeze and the cold moisture of pure, white snow penetrating through your woolen gloves as you get lost in the music.

Well, I’ve mentioned the instrumentation, but it just wouldn’t be right to not mention Chloe Charles’s voice. Her singing style is unique in that it is both jazzy and operatic: it’s smooth and soulful while having such a soaring, dramatic tone. These qualities stem from her deep, sensuous vocal delivery, the sheer power with which she projects her lyrics, and her alluringly breezy warble. Her singing is hypnotic in its ability to draw you in with its beauty. You don’t even need to understand the words.

Chloe Charles is essentially the definition of a talented singer-songwriter, and Little Green Bud is certainly an album worth getting for incredibly well-composed and emotionally engaging music.

Purchase Little Green Bud by Chloe Charles from CD Baby, Amazon, or iTunes!

Chloe Charles – Soon on a Snowflake
Chloe Charles – Water

Also be sure to check out Chloe Charles on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and MySpace.