Just before he sets off on his solo acoustic tour, we caught up with Charlie Simpson to chat about what we can expect from the tour, his forthcoming journey with Fightstar, and his latest album ‘Long Road Home’.
Hitting Ireland and the UK (starting tomorrow), Charlie expressed his excitement for doing something a little more intimate and stripped back than what he’s used to, both in his solo career and with Fightstar. While he’s set to head out on tour in February with Fightstar, this intimate acoustic set up is looking to be a nice change and should reflect what he describes as a very raw sounding album.
In terms of the recording process for ‘Long Road Home’, Simpson’s aim was for the record to be very raw and sound almost as if you’re “in the room” while it’s being played. One song the songster notes as playing straight into this aspect is ‘Winter Hymns’.
Essentially hoping it to come across as a positive record, reflecting the place Charlie himself was in at the time, tracks such as ‘Comets’ stand out amongst the mix of very atmospheric tracks and the contrary mellowed numbers.
Support act for the tour is Emma Blackery, a singer/songwriter whom Charlie came across while his management were in talks of signing.
Fans heading along to any of the upcoming dates can expect a set list made up of both albums, ‘Young Pilgrim’ and ‘Long Road Home’, all tracks played in a very stripped back way. Simpson anticipates this to be a very special tour, being the first time he’s ever done something this stripped back and intimate before in his career.
Looking ahead, Charlie is gearing up for a few festivals with his solo band as well as plenty more live aims before heading back to recording.