aaamusic | On 03, Jun 2010

At six and a half minutes long, ‘When We Were Five’ (out on 9th August) is not your average single, in fact 21 year old Charlene Soraia doesn’t seem to know the meaning of the word. From its hushed opening bars to its intricate chord progressions and trumpet flourishes, her debut single flees from the orthodox and hides in the darkened corners of a world of a vivid imagination.

Charlene’s skillful (self taught) mastery of the guitar and delicately delivered, emotive vocals paint an almost surreal musical landscape that sounds something like an audio described sun-set, screaming in sadness for the loss of the day. Her avant-garde approach to songwriting, creative use of tempo and exquisite ear for melody create a thoroughly original take on the traditional ‘single’. This impressive debut single looks set to both melt hearts and warm them at the same time when it is released at the end of the summer. And will surely whet a few appetites for her album ‘Moonchild’ due to follow in October, which promises to be a perfect soundtrack for the falling leaves of Autumn.

Born and raised in Sydenham, Charlene picked up her first guitar at the tender and impressionable age of 5, an occasion which had a lasting and profound effect. Since performing for the first time at just 8 years old, music has been the summary of her entire existence. Thanks to her innate talent and quickly flourishing intelligent sound, she was accepted to London’s BRIT School, which has helped to mould other artists like Imogen Heap and Katie Melua

Charlene’s love of the guitar has found her exploring a diverse range of genres to develop her distinctive fretflexing style including everything from Psychedelia and Jazz to Prog Rock. She straddles a 1973 Japanese 335, which she re-built herself. Without having released a proper single, she has already toured with fellow Stephen Fretwell, Howard Elliot Payne, Kami Thompson and Jon Allen.

With her thoroughly charming idiosyncratic style and staggering musical adroitness, it’s only a matter of time before Charlene Soraia is a household name…