Every so often an artist comes along that completely takes your breath away. That was the reaction I had upon first hearing Swedish singer/songwriter Charlotte Eriksson, better known as The Glass Child. Her music is both hauntingly beautiful and heart-wrenchingly raw and vulnerable, like the songs of some lost angel, with broken wings and a longing to fly. I was lucky enough to speak to Charlotte about her two new singles, her most recent album, and her upcoming EP: 

Thanks for your time! You released your third album just last year, and you already have a new EP on the way! What can you tell me about the upcoming release?
Yes, this year is turning out to be a year full of new music and I’m really excited about it! My new EP is called This Silence Now and it will be out April 21st. I’ve spent the last year just writing and producing a lot of songs, and I hope and think that my growth as a songwriter will show on this EP.

I think that Under Northern Skies will be a tough act to follow, it’s such an incredibly moving record. What do you hope listeners take away from it?
Thank you so much! I would like to see my records as a picture of that time. I’d like my music to become like the gallery of my life. I believe in growth and change, and would like to grab a little bit of it every single day, so I will never make the same record twice. I feel like I have a pretty personal sound and you can still hear that on these new songs, but I would say the new EP is a little more stripped and minimalistic. I wanted to keep only the essentials on these songs, like my voice, the stories and lyrics, and then build the production as an atmosphere around it.

Your story is pretty remarkable, how you left your whole life behind at 18 and came to London to follow your passion. There must have been a few low and lonely moments along the way, but looking at where you are now, was it all worth it and did it turn out the way you expected?
It’s definitely been hard, and it still is some days, but still I wouldn’t change a thing. Every single setback, mistake or wrong path taught something that I value today. My life hasn’t turned out how I expected it to be when I was younger, but it is exactly as it’s supposed to be. I truly believe that, I am exactly where I should be, doing what I should do.

Looking back, do you remember a particular turning point at which you felt like you had finally made it?
Oh I still don’t feel like I have made it! I still have so many dreams and goals that I’m working towards. I constantly push myself to grow and develop, and I try to reinvent myself all the time. Actually, I hope I never feel like I’ve ”made it”. I like feeling like I have something to prove. But sure, I do feel like I’ve built something I’m very proud of. I get to do exactly what I love every single day, on my own terms with no one telling me how to sound or look, and that’s a huge thing for me. I’m 100% independent, running my own record label, doing everything on my own. I take pride in that.

You certainly seem to be someone driven by wanderlust. Your music has taken you all across Europe, but what are some of your favourite places you’ve been to on your travels?
Scotland is one of my favorite places on earth! Edinburgh is like my free place. I go there to write and think and just find space. It’s beautiful and people are always so friendly to me.

Of course, your talents aren’t just limited to music, you’re also an author. If you were forced to choose between your music and your writing, which path would you follow?
I could never choose! They compensate each other, and I don’t think I could have been just a songwriter, or just an author. I’ve grown this beautiful seasonal cycle with writing books and making records. I spend maybe half a year writing, producing and releasing a record, and then I always find myself completely empty, having poured all my songwriting into the album. Then instead of forcing myself to go straight back into writing more songs, I fall naturally into the cycle of writing a new book, or some other literary project. I spend a few months on that until my songwriting inspiration is back, and that’s why I need both. They keep me inspired. I grow as a songwriter through literature, and I grow as an author through my songwriting.

You’ve recently released two new singles, ‘White Spaces’ and ‘Black Rose’. What inspired these tracks in particular?
I would say that they were both these rare songs that just happened. There are few golden moments you have a songwriter where everything aligns, and you just sit down and let the song write itself. They’re both about missing, the lack of something or someone. The EP is called This Silence Now, symbolising how the lack of someone or something can take up more space in your mind and heart, than the actual person did. Silence can be so loud.

After your upcoming EP, what do you have planned for the rest of the year?
This is not officially announced yet, but this is the first EP of a seasonal EP project I’m doing this year, to build up for a future 4th full-length record. This means I’ll be releasing one new EP every season. They will all be very different in sound and genre. I’ll also hopefully be touring, playing house concerts for anyone who’s inviting me!

Massive thanks to Charlotte! Her new EP This Silence Now is out 21st April, but in the mean time I wholeheartedly recommend her latest album Under Northern Skies.