Q&A: QUIET MAN’S TENDER REINVENTION
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY IZZY PETRAGLIA ☆
Since his debut in 2018, Quiet Man has carefully developed and reinvented his sound to soothe listeners with its sincerity and tenderness. Charlie, originally born in London but now based in Glasgow, is a well-seasoned musician who has played in bands with well-regarded artists such as Fred Again.. and Joy Anonymous, and has supported show runs for Medium Build. Through releasing under Quiet Man, he builds his individual presence with intention and vulnerability.
His latest releases, “Pretty Tough” and “Good Enough” see him redefining his sonic profile beyond his earlier jazz-pop releases, a result of releasing from the truth within his heart. Quiet Man caught up with LUNA Collective to share insight on the timeline between the two singles and how they’re preparing him for what's to come.
LUNA: Congrats on releasing “Good Enough” recently! It’s a beautiful song, I read that your goal with the song was to create a feeling of hope within times of sadness–are there other underlying themes or goals that you wanted to communicate through this release?
QUIET MAN: Thank you! I think that song is mainly about self-worth and trying to communicate the feeling that even though the winds may be howling outside, you are good enough. I wrote it with my sister in my mind but it also extends to me talking to myself and hopefully anyone else who might listen to it. “I wrote a song for you, a place to hide in,” the lyric at the beginning of verse two sums it up pretty nicely, I think.
LUNA: Where did you find differences in influence or inspiration in comparison to your last release, “Pretty Tough” ? Was there anything strikingly new that came up?
QUIET MAN: I think there’s always a bunch of things that go into making a song. For me, maybe there’s a poignant underlying feeling that I’m reaching at. It might not even be the main focus of the song but it drives what it is that I’m doing. Both of these two new singles stem largely from my relationships with my siblings and things we’ve all been going through over the past few years.
LUNA: You have a very stripped back sound that manages to feel layered, yet sincere. What are key elements to your production process that help you achieve this sound?
QUIET MAN: I’ve started producing a lot of my music myself, and so using drum loops and messing around with Logic has become pretty fun for me. Initially, “Good Enough” was a lot more beat-driven, but I ended up pairing it back to what you hear now. These days I always try to keep the core elements of the song at the forefront so it can survive and hopefully shine in its most simple form, ie. me on my own at the piano.
LUNA: You used to be a collaborator of Fred Again.. and Joy Anonymous, which some might find striking because of your more stripped-back sound. Where do you see an overlap between each of your individual sounds?
QUIET MAN: I think starting out writing songs many years ago with those amazing dudes has influenced me hugely. It may not be obvious on the surface but there is an undercurrent of emotion that drives their music as much as mine. Happily, we all have our unique way of arriving where we are trying to get to.
LUNA: What did the audience reception look and feel like when you supported shows with Medium Build and Fred Again..? What did you take away or learn from those experiences?
QUIET MAN: Being in both of those situations were and will always be highlights of my creative reel. With Fred, it was as much getting to spend time on the Isle of Harris/Lewis watching him do what he does and seeing the audience react so overwhelmingly to his music as I was playing the shows myself. He’s a truly individual human in both his creativity and his nature, and a kind and wonderful friend.
With Medium Build, I really felt like I was in a fever dream. This, to me, is the greatest person doing it right now. He is a master on stage and carries the music he makes with him in his soul. I met him and my now manager in Glasgow at my work, and ended up wordlessly communicating with them through the power of the Dijon Absolutely album. So to then find myself in a van with him singing songs and hanging out on the coast of Ireland was more than I could ever hope for.
LUNA: You focused on creating more jazz-pop in your earlier work. What pushed you in this new direction and where have you found both similarities and differences in your production process as a result?
QUIET MAN: Without a doubt, my move from London to Glasgow. When my wife and I arrived up North, I found a piano on Gumtree in Kilmarnock for £35 and moved it into my flat. For the first year of our being here I just sat at that piano and wrote and played and recorded nothing. Retrospectively, it was an incredibly important time and space to give myself. It wasn’t planned or intentional but that’s just how it happened, and I think it gave me the bedrock to do what I now find myself doing.
LUNA: Finally, where do you want to take your artistry in the next few months towards the end of 2025? How do you want to continue to push yourself and fulfill your goals?
QUIET MAN: To the moon. Let’s go get it man. I’m doing whatever I can to take this to wherever it may go. Working on a new EP to follow these new singles and then hopefully a fuller project sometime next year. I also just did my first sold-out headline show in Glasgow and have got some exciting shows on the books for the end of this year. Really I’m just working as hard as I can to hopefully make things that people might relate to so that I can go to some places and play them to those people. Onwards.
