Memories are often a string of scenes that could be presented as a roadmap to trace back the steps to where they happened. They’re a shuffled affair with the distinctive recalling of street names and establishments on corner streets where conversations dipped into orange hues signifying morning.
In fact, northwestern Scotland is no longer purely a place for singer-songwriter Joelle Charan. With a strong leaning towards vivid storytelling, her music is more so reminiscent of tales entangled in metaphors that tell of her Indian grandparents, family hardships, and adventures in the city that truly never sleeps, buzzed on artistic dreams — New York. Scotland represents that spark of inspiration, the connectivity Charan has towards her own memory of seeing a man stretch out his arms towards the sea.
A slither of brightness coming from a lighthouse across the sea captivated him, and through seeing this act played out, Charan was inspired to write her new single “I Believe In You.” It’s a track that carries a simplistic beauty through an arranged string quintet and samplings from her Indian heritage.
As the track draws to a close, the man reclaims his story. The outside noise he once decided to listen to is taken away, and he shuts his eyes, paying attention to the only reality that is true: what he thinks of himself. The same can be said for Charan. For us, Charan is a surname that sits with the achievement of her EP Silhouette released in 2018. For others, it once had the underlaying of being misspelled by a municipal official when her family arrived in Amsterdam from Paramaribo, Suriname.
We may not currently know what other memories are scattered across Charan’s memory roadmap, but perhaps listening to “I Believe In You” will help us find out. Listen to it now below and on SoundCloud.