After pop singer-songwriter, Charlie Finch, took a hiatus from music during the pandemic, he thankfully decided to pick up his guitar and return to music to continue telling the uplifting pop-rooted stories he’s become widely known from.
His latest single “Won’t Let Me Go” expresses understanding and recognition of the one person in his life that he can be truly himself and at ease around. We all redact ourselves in certain situations, whether it’s putting our best foot forward, or putting up protective walls for whatever reason, but “Won’t Let Me Go” examines how we feel when someone has positively infiltrated that wall.
Stream/listen to “Won’t Let Me Go” HERE
“I often use songwriting as a means of processing my thoughts and emotions, and with this song I was thinking about how often we hide certain parts of ourselves in fear of rejection, and how important it is to have a true confidant in this life – someone that you can really trust. Someone who you can bear your soul to, and be completely honest with, and once I had that thought, I picked up a guitar and started writing. I then met up with Robert Michael Duthy (Warmer Heights) and we workshopped the song and refined it and then got down to recording,” Charlie explained when questioned about the conceptualisation of his new single.
The accompanying video, directed by Richard Gouws, produced by Timothy Howden and filmed by Stephanie Smith, all of whom are first-time collaborators with Charlie, follows the singer on a walk through a cutesy suburb in Gqeberha. The video gives weight to the gravitas of the lyrics, as Charlie literally voices the thoughts that he’s having, almost talking to himself, and coming to the realisation that there is someone in his life who he can share the deepest parts of himself with.
Watch the music video for “Won’t Let Me Go” HERE
“I remember waking up on the day, it was overcast, it began to rain, and we had all these places where we wanted to shoot that were outdoors, so we weren’t sure if we were going to be able to get the whole video done, or even if we were going to be able to film any of it that day, plus we had limited time. We met under the bridge, and it just started absolutely bucketing down, to the extent that water started pouring down this huge wall behind me that came down from the highway. It looked so cool and we just said, ‘Keep filming, keep filming.’ I’m really grateful that happened, and when we finished there it actually cleared up and we were able to film in all the other locations we had planned which was just phenomenal,” Charlie shares when asked about the day of filming the video.
At its core, Charlie’s new single “Won’t Let Me Go” is a triumphant return for a singer who has a knack for expressing so eloquently the most emotive parts of the psyche.
Follow Charlie online:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charliefinchmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharlieFinchSA
Instagram: https://instagram.com/charliefinchmusic
Charlie Finch Biography
Charlie Finch is a pop singer-songwriter from South Africa whose sound is a refreshing, positive blend of percussive guitars, folk-pop vocals, and electronica undertones. Growing up in a musical family, inspiration was abundant. At 15, Charlie started writing his own music as a way of trying to express himself, and by 16 knew that music was going to be a prominent part of his life, making the choice to study music in high school and university.
With a focus on his writing, it took him years before he finally manifested the sound he had been trying to create, and by the end of his time in university, he managed to achieve it. Charlie performed countless hours as a resident musician to help fund his bachelor’s degree in music (BMus) at NMMU, and after graduating he became a full-time musician, performing around Gqeberha and the surrounding Eastern Cape areas, which later led to him performing in Europe.
His hard work started to get noticed throughout the Eastern Cape, and in 2016 he recorded his debut album Life’s Journey with the help of LittleBig Studios in Pretoria, shortly before moving permanently to Johannesburg to pursue music as his career.
Finch has become a fan favourite with his two hit singles “If I Ever Let You Down”, “Stay the Winter”, and “No Escape” all off his debut album Life’s Journey (2017) that was nominated for a South African Music Award for Best Adult Contemporary album in 2018. He followed the reach of his debut album up quickly with a folk-laced single called, “It’s Never Over”, working with friend and videographer Sino Guwa, and dancer and choreographer Kelly Adams, on a rhythm-rooted video.
When Covid hit Charlie stopped playing music and singing altogether, which was a strange feat for him because all he’d ever done up until that point was sing, and he found himself quiet for the first time. At one point he thought that maybe he was done with music, but he very quickly realised that wasn’t the case and after deciding that he was going to record again, released the emotively conscious single “Won’t Let Me Go”.
And as Charlie embraces his newfound love for song writing and performing, he has also embarked on the biggest journey of his life so far: becoming a father.
