Charlene Soraia - Moonchild

Charlene Soraia - 23-year-old London singer/songwriter (and startlingly good guitarist) has created quite a buzz with her haunting "Wherever You Will Go", a cover of a song by The Calling that's being used in a Twinings Tea commercial in the U.K...a Top 5 single, the track sets the stage for a formidable debut album of jazzy folk/pop with a depth and scope only hinted at in "Wherever" // Release: Moonchild (November 22) // Sounds like: the daughter of hippie parents, Soraia describes her music as two sides of the same artsy, progressive coin: the "folky idyllic side" and, on the flip, the "cosmic night time side"...the brilliant album opener "When We Were Five" (and ultra-cool video below), a surreal vision outlined with stripped jazz guitar chords, electronic shadings and Soraia's upper octave vocalizing, is balanced by the gentle folk musings of "Midsummer Moon in June"...

Quote: "It's not so much about the singles for me...the album as a piece of art is the most important thing. I hope that people will escape to it because that's what I like in music -- escapism..." // What we like: producer Paul Stacey (Oasis) plays on the subtle moods of light and dark in Soraia's songs, playing up her rather remarkable guitar work and darting vocal melodies while keeping things on a seriously substantive level with some eclectic instrumentation...the unpredictable, intricate harmonies woven in "Wishing (You) Well" , churning jazz guitar lines of "Bike" and music-hall melodic bounce of "Light Years" are just touchng the surface of this diverse work of serious pop art -- it's hard not to fall under Moonchild's mysterious spell...

Charlene Soraia - "Wherever You Will Go" (bonus track on Moonchild)

Charlene Soraia - "Midsummer Moon In June" (from Moonchild)