Following the launch of the synth-soaked classic dance-pop anthem Limbo, songwriter and artist Charli Lark kindly took part in an interview.
We talk about her journey as a musician, the inspiration for the song, her thoughts on authenticity in music, her ambitions, and plenty more. Here’s how it went.
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Hi Charli – thanks for the interview! To introduce things, where are you based, and what first drew you towards making music?
I was living a very different life four years ago. A wife and mother in a tiny dark mountain town, I had left my dream of singing back in New York City years before. A painful and long story short, I realized I was going to have to burn that life down or I was going to have to live in it forever.
I’m in Austin now, making music, and have revived those creative parts of myself. Singing is all I’ve ever really wanted to do. It’s just a pull. And with songwriting, transforming something inside of me into something else, is invigorating and illuminating. It helps me make sense of things and understand myself better.
Huge congrats for the new single LIMBO. How did the song come to be – what came first, and what was the process like from the idea to the full release?
Thank you! I really love this song. A big chunk of Limbo just came to me one day while I was driving. I had left a long relationship that I struggled to fix while I was still in it. But little by little all these pieces inside me had been dying. My heart had been breaking for a long time, my mind had been closing, and by the time I actually walked out the door, there was nothing left to revive. So for me, when I finally decided to let go and move on, it was just complete freedom, no looking back. But there’s this gap, this limbo, between where you are and where the other person is, and they just can’t get that you’re already gone. That day in the car, I recorded the first bits. I worked with a couple producers and layer by layer it came together.
How important is it for you to speak on genuine and personal issues as an artist?
I’m a deep-end sort of person, so I don’t think I can really be any other way. And I think art, music especially, can have such a intense impact on us. There’s nothing that makes me feel more connected or shift my mood or perspective. I have things that I want to say, and it’s important to me to have that opening to express myself.
The heavy synth dance vibe of the song elevates its poetic lyrics and revelations in an interesting way. Does the high energy approach help you to tackle difficult topics more freely, and is that contrast important when connecting with audiences?
I think of Limbo as a breakup song but without the heartbreak. I definitely love the contrast of a song talking about such real and complex stuff, with this very up dance pop background. And I wanted the energy to give it that bird out of a cage freedom feeling, like when you’re in the last stages of a relationship and you just want to fly. A lot of people have been through this kind of stuff and so yeah I think that probably connects.
How did you come to work with the likes of LIMIT3R, CHARLOTTE VAN DE PEER and RUFF LOADERZ, and what do these collaborations bring out in your songwriting and personality?
Some great people I know in the U.K. connected us. Whenever you collaborate with anyone, producers, writers, DJs, there’s so much immense talent out there, and there’s such an opportunity to create or envision some thing in a new way. It’s kinda magic.
What’s your biggest dream for the year ahead?
I just got back from London where I’ve been working on my first EP. I’m beyond excited to have that out in the world. I poured a lot of fresh energy into it and got to exorcise some demons too.
Is there anything else we should know?
The new music should start hitting in early summer. I guess just keep watching. I have a lot more to say.
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Find Charli Lark on TikTok, YouTube & Instagram.
