Montana-native singer-songwriter, mixer, and producer, Charlee Remitz takes modern pop and turns it on its head, merging stunning instrumentals and melodies with darker, personal lyricism. Emerging in 2014 with her debut EP, These Veins, Charlee has been hard at work ever since, following it up with her debut LP, Bright White Trims, in 2015, another EP, Saints Until Fridays in 2016, and finally releasing her latest album, Sad Girl Music in 2018. This year, she has already dropped a handful of new singles, most recently, “Pretty Genius”, making it safe to say that she has been busy.
Not only has Charlee grown as an artist since the release of These Veins when she was only 19, but she has literally grown up writing new music since then. The result is a collection of honest, personal songs that will surely resonate with listeners. Get to know a little bit more about Charlee and listen to “Pretty Genius” now below!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself for anyone who might be hearing you for the first time?
I always say I’m the happiest sad girl. My motto—sadness is fundamental to happiness. That’s sort of me in a phrase.
You’ve been hard at work writing, recording and releasing new music since your debut EP, These Veins back in 2014. How do you feel you’ve grown as an artist since you first started writing to now?
I was so focused on the external as a 19-year-old in 2014—how I looked to others; did I appear successful, did my music sound like I knew what I was doing? I’ve since rejected that search for approval. I approve of myself. I don’t need anybody else do to that for me.
You also ended last year with the release of your album, Sad Girl Music. Now that you’ve had some time to play and reflect on it, what are some of your favorite things about the album?
I’ve worked with two really great producers in my lifetime. The producer I worked with prior to Sad Girl Music was so dynamic—every song was complicated and intrinsic, if I wanted to trip up in the lyric department, I could, because there was room for error. But with the production on Sad Girl Music, there was no room for error. It was very young, very simple and naïve. I had to fill up a lot more space and it pushed me as an artist to expand my harmonies and my melodies, to do with my vocals what can’t be done with production. The two turned me into quite the duo—producer/lyricist.
What would you like to take from Sad Girl Music and expand on moving forward?
I really loved Sad Girl Music’s eagerness to tell the truth. Not only that, but Sad Girl Music was a rejection of everything I thought I knew. I want to be just as open and willing to rip my roots out of the ground again and start anew. There was something really empowering about saying my foundation isn’t good enough, I need to start again.
You’ve also released a handful of new singles this year, including your latest track, “Pretty Genius.” Can you tell us a little bit about the song? What inspired it?
“Pretty Genius” was like finding out you had superpowers and thinking if you used them, it would spook the people around you. It was really alienating. I had something I thought made me great—I knew exactly who I was—and I was made to feel guilty for it. Like it was something dirty because with it comes the undeniable recognition of toxicity in another. When someone lives in their total truth, it’s a threat. So that’s what I became. A threat.
“Pretty Genius” is an empowering track – what would you like for listeners to take away from it?
It’s really simple—don’t apologize for your strength.
With “Pretty Genius” and a slew of other new singles out now, do you have any other big plans coming up? Could we expect another EP or album soon?
I have been working on an album for most the past year. It’s a much longer and laborious process when you’re mixing, producing, and writing everything yourself.
Do you have any other big goals for the rest of 2019?
Stay present. Be here. Be now. Be.
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