SPILL FEATURE: LETTING THINGS GO – A CONVERSATION WITH CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD

LETTING THINGS GO

A CONVERSATION WITH CHARLOTTE CORNFIELD

After two well-received EPs, It’s Like That Here and Collage Light, Montreal’s Charlotte Cornfield has just released her debut full-length album, Two Horses. Inspired by the Folk-styling of the legendary Joni Mitchell, Cornfield’s music is full of passion, intricate songwriting, and a welcoming mixture of musical styles.

“Most of the record was written in a spark of inspiration over a few months period in winter of 2009-2010, and then the songs kind of took shape over time on the road and that summer,” Cornfield says about the creative approach behind Two Horses. “It’s been a long process getting it all together,” she adds.

The various and clever turns of phrases throughout the record do their best to try and mask the intensely personal sentiments throughout, but they still don’t go unnoticed. As Cornfield explains, the meaning behind the title of Two Horses helps to convey a lot of the feelings behind the lyrics.

“To me, it’s kind of the underlying theme of the album. The album is about push and pull between people, between cities, particularly Montreal and Toronto, and the in between zones and life decisions. I found the image of two horses, especially on the cover of them crossing paths like that, and the pull in between, to be very powerful,” Cornfield states.

After getting her degree in Jazz drumming, and spending time as a drummer for bands including Bent By Elephants, Cornfield is still getting used to the whole singer-songwriter business. Two Horses demonstrates the quick growth that Cornfield has undergone since the release of the aforementioned EPs, and though the wit and lyricism remains, Cornfield’s development is obvious.

“I think the songwriting has come a long way,” Cornfield explains. “This is my first full-length, so it’s a cohesive thing. It’s a story in itself. The ten songs weave together into something. I think the songs are stronger than the older songs and the lyrics are better.” Cornfield goes on to say, “I also never used to consider myself a singer until I started doing my own thing. And even then it took a while to gain more confidence. The more time I spent in front of people singing and practicing singing, the more I fell into my voice.”

This development and confidence heard throughout Two Horses also reflects the man behind the production of the album, Ryan Granville Martin, who was also Cornfield’s drum teacher as a child.

“For me, it was really important to work with someone who I had a relationship with, who I knew I could bounce ideas off of and I could trust,” she says. “They are really emotionally intense songs, so being able to work with someone who I was comfortable with was really important in that process,” maintains Cornfield.

Despite these intense personal moments scattered throughout the record, Cornfield has no hesitations with the release of the album. “I learned a long time ago to let things go in my songwriting and that in order to have the freedom of expression that I wanted, I had to bear it all in songs,” she explains.

The songwriting feels way beyond what is typically found on a debut album and the musical arrangements of Two Horses is also impressive. In addition to Granville Martin’s production skills, he helped out with instrumentation along with Cornfield’s friends, Kathryn Palumbo (upright bass), Sam Rosenberg (backing vocals and percussion), Johnny Spence (keys), and many more. “Everyone has such different backgrounds but when they all come together, it’s like this explosion of sounds,” states Cornfield.

“Versatility is something I really value in musicians. I think that when musicians are playing with people who don’t necessarily have the same background, that’s when really exciting, crazy stuff happens,” she says.

With the release of Two Horses under her belt, Cornfield praises her friends and family for their constant support – something that is certain to continue growing. “My family has been unfailingly supportive of me my entire life and I could have never done what I’ve done without their support.”

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