BeCharlotte - Assai Records Dundee 3 March 2020
Tonight at Assai Records we have a showcase event to celebrate the completion of Scotland’s first all female song writing camp which took place at Dundee Botanic Gardens on Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 March using recording space donated by Dundee University.
The song writing camp was curated by Charlotte Brimner aka BeCharlotte and brought together ten talented female musicians from all over Scotland and beyond to collaborate in an open, friendly and supportive forum.
The ten songwriters to participate were Becky Sikisa (Lili, Iunir), Emily Smith (Chuchoter), Emily Atkinson (Fourth Daughter), Megan D, Liv Dawn, Rachel Alice Johnson (KOHLA), Rebecca Shearing (SHEARS), Stephanie Cheape, Zoe Graham and Anna Sweeney.
BeCharlotte after a small hiccup with her mic leads off the evening with Dreamers, the song that was chosen as the official track for the 18th UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship which was held in Scotland last year. The song itself is a catchy electro pop number with inspiring lyrics.
It is followed by Do Not Disturb which is a glittering pop tune, held together by piano and is lyrically strong touching upon the difficulties of holding yourself together when your life is being metaphorically torn apart.
We are then treated to Brighter Without You another beautifully crafted pop song about the breakdown of a relationship but coming out the other side in a better place, summed up by the lyric “the sun shines brighter without you”.
The next track Burning is another great pop tune showing the innovation in BeCharlotte’s writing skills as it is another cracking pop song.
Charlotte then gives us a few emotional words about why the song writing camp was set up, an opportunity for talented female musicians to get together to write and inspire woman in music and to promote the song writing skill of these artists.
We are then going to be introduced to some of her co-writers at the camp and first up is Glasgow based Zoe Graham who performs an acoustic version her track Hacket and Knackered which is a well constructed songs and is warmly appreciated by the crowd.
Zoe Graham
Next up is Edinburgh based Megan D with Save Me a Seat which is a poignant acoustic track and again well received.
Megan D
Next to the stage is Glasgow based Stephanie Cheape, the current holder of the hotly contested Capital FM Best Unsigned Act and she performs an acoustic version of her song Homebird which is a song illustrating why she holds the aforementioned award.
Stephanie Cheape
We welcome BeCharlotte back to the stage with a world exclusive live performance of Blackbird a song written in Woodstock whilst spending time there over Christmas. This is followed by Lights Off which is another well crafted pop banger and is going to be the next single.
The final song of the evening is the current single Rumours Don’t Work and was written as Charlotte explains:
I wrote this song two years ago sat in my pyjamas in my flat in Dennistoun, Glasgow. I was feeling a little low at the time and after writing the first lyric the song just flowed.
It’s another great pop song with heartfelt emotional lyrics with a great hook and is finished with Charlotte prompting the crowd to sing the words “why are you so far removed from my life” as the evening is brought to an end.
The set played by BeCharlotte is a perfect showcase to her pop songwriting skills but also in having the conviction to deliver them in her Dundonian accent.
BeCharlotte’s Setlist
Dreamers
Do Not Disturb
Brighter Without You
Burning
Blackbird
Lights Off
Rumours Don’t Work
Overall the showcase event is a fantastic evening and hopefully we will see the fruits of the labours of the two day camp with some social media posts or perhaps as the next singles released by some of the participants.
You can check out each of the artists on their own social media pages, give them a follow and keep up to date with their progress, hopefully, we will see them emerge as a force in the Scottish music scene and beyond over the coming months.