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Photo by Makayla Keasler

Some musicians dream of playing stadiums, man-made structures built for maximizing the amount of humans who can fit into one space. Although those dreams are well within reach for ethereal songwriter Charlotte MacInnes, her ideal performance setting is immersed in the natural world. Her debut EP HIGHWATER sounds like running through the forest, making your way through the thick of it until reaching a peaceful clearing, a place you know is exactly where you’re meant to be. Inspired by dancing and singing only to the trees, MacInnes puts it all out there in 5 striking tracks that perfectly introduce her arresting vocal talent and singular perspective. We chatted about the EP’s intentional tracklisting, artists that inspire the young songwriter, and much more:  

OnesToWatch: HIGHWATER is your first EP, how does it feel to put it out? 

Charlotte MacInnes: There are so many emotions. But mostly, it’s a spectacular explosion of so many things that I've put into these songs over the last 5 years of writing them. Not only am I finally getting to show the world something that I’m so proud of, but it’s also like, “Here’s a piece of my soul. Hope you like it!” [Laughs] 

What is your artistic journey? Where did it all start? 

I didn't know I'd be a songwriter. It definitely wasn't in the cards immediately. I always thought it was sort of reserved for people smarter. If it was right for me, it would have appeared. I started writing when I was around 13 or 14, but I was embarrassed. I was doing it for myself. I thought, “if anyone finds this, I'm going to implode.” 

It was like a diary for you. 

Totally. I've kept a diary since I was 13 and I still keep one now. It’s part of my everyday routine. I started writing little poems and pieces, which I have actually gone and reread. They are so deep! I was a deep little gal with big feelings. When I started actually sitting down and writing songs, I learned that I’m what I like to call a “messy perfectionist.” I don't care about perfection as a whole, but I do want to be unbelievably proud of what I put out. 

You don't want to cut corners, but you also don't want it to be perfect. 

Exactly. I don't need it to be perfect, but I need it to be exactly what I want it to be. That sounds kind of crazy. 

I always talk about how when things are too perfect, they’re not as interesting. 

Because it's not real! No one is perfect. When I first started writing songs, I was probably bordering on being too perfect about it. But then you get to a “fuck it” stage, which for me was definitely when COVID hit. There was nothing else to do and nothing to lose. I just decided to run at it as hard as I can and see what happens. Obviously it was a very restrictive time, but it was also really freeing for my creativity. I was spending a lot of time in the forest and in the mountains, just singing to the landscape. That is when the door really swung open and I was like, “I'm going to run now.” 

You said the main themes of this EP are transformation, resilience, and self-discovery. How do you feel writing this music has impacted those themes in your life? 

I've learned that when I write a song, it'll come back around. It'll loop around like a spiral and I'm hit with my own idea or words again. It's weirdly prophetic and it has always been that way. At least since I started writing good songs. [Laughs] When I started writing songs I was proud of, it tells you a lot about yourself. Art, as a whole, is always reinventing itself without changing. I don't understand how and I think it's part of the beauty of the human experience. My mind has been expanded while writing music and analyzing other songwriters and musicians that I look up to. 

Who are some of those artists? 

Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, SZA, Annabelle Dinda, and YEBBA.

You're also an actor. Is there anything you bring from your actor brain into songwriting?

When you're singing a song on stage, you know when you're locked in. It sounds a bit corny, but you really do. It’s when you're not thinking about anything else. When I used to sing, before I was acting more professionally, I would sing a song just to make the notes perfect. It was very technical. Now, if I'm in it, if I'm locked in and my heart is singing as much as I am, it’s more than just sounding perfect. I think you can have both. That's part of my messy perfectionism, right?

Exactly. There are plenty of beautiful singers. 

Plenty! And that's great, but I want to marry both. I think the best singers already have that inside them.

How did you choose “Down To The River” as the EP opener? 

Honestly, it was just obvious to me for some reason. It's the most honest and conversational track. Mostly, I thought it would be iconic to start the EP with bagpipes. So rogue, but had to do it. I think it’s a really beautiful warm-up because, by the end of that song, my goal was to have people feel like they were levitating. I want to go down to the river and dance until I'm fine. 

I can picture it. This one is for going into the woods and singing to the trees. 

That is my favorite feeling on the planet. When no one's listening to me, it’s an entirely personal experience. 

You have to do a live session in the woods one day. 

I literally have said this to so many people! Let’s make it happen. 

“The Beast” is a track that really captured me. What does it mean to you? 

“The Beast” is about the terrifyingly close relationship between obsession, love, hate, and disdain, all of those big feelings. You can love someone or something with every fiber of your being and then all of a sudden absolutely despise it. Someone goes from being the most perfect thing to a beast. That’s something that really inspires me and runs through the entire EP. It's so primal. It frustrates me that you can go from meaning so much to someone to nothing at all in an instant. Also, it’s about expectations put on women and how quickly they can fall from grace. You do one thing that’s not to the world's liking and suddenly you’re a despicable beast. 

I loved “Only Pretend,” specifically the second verse. Tell me about making this one. 

I wrote that one in the shower, actually. I was really angry and frustrated. The original version was so sad and the lyrics are similar, but sadder. I put it in a voice memo on my phone and didn't think about it for months. I went into this session and was like, “This thing's kind of been rattling around in my mind. It's really vulnerable. It might be lame.” I sang it to them and they knew exactly what to do. The key emotion was anger, but that was translating into my songwriting as sadness. I was in New York at the time, so the lyric “I run to the heavens” was originally “I run to the Hudson.” I would run down to the Hudson, sit there and just cry because it was the closest thing I had to nature. 

Finding the right producer is not an easy connection to make. Even if someone's super talented, you have to have an understanding of each other. 

It’s a very spiritual thing. You can't force it. 

“Celestial” leans more pop than the others and felt like a release. Does it feel that way to you?

When I was putting the tracklist together, I wanted the songs to get more and more sure of themselves. “Down To The River” is I don't know who I am. “Beast” is who am I? “Only Pretend” is wait, I'm angry about this. “Celestial” is…wait, none of this is real. Nothing matters. Why am I so caught up? Then, “Struck” is I know exactly where to go. I'm not afraid of anything. Every time I sing “Celestial”, it’s a reminder to not overthink things. But, you have to arrive there. You have to go through the shit to get there. 

In the placement of the EP, like you said, it feels like you earned it. 

You have to be in the weeds and feel the darkness around you and then go, “Wait, there is another side of this. And I'm allowed to be there.” 

Was “Struck” as a closer as obvious as “Down To The River” as an opener? 

When we made that song, it felt big. But, I didn’t know if that's good big or bad big. [Laughs] The reaction to it from the people around me, they told me it was good big. The main response was, “It’s so you.” You know when other people tell you how they see you? It’s really validating and special. 

Who are the people you show your music to first? 

My mom, bless her. I kind of pick and choose people for different songs. There are also two boys, I sing about them in “Down To The River”, they’re not my real brothers but they’re my chosen ones. They were my band growing up, so all of the singing that I did before the age of 18 was with them. The birth of everything that I love sort of came from them. We share an incredible love for adventure, the natural elements and severity of the natural world. I’m so inspired by them and our adventures growing up together. 

Who are your OnesToWatch? 

Jasmine Jethwa, her song “Girl Who Cried Wolf” just came out and it’s incredible.There’s this song called “Pavlov's Dog” by CATTY. I have chills thinking about it. I'm so dramatic about music. Another song I’m obsessed with is “2515” by Wasia Project. 

Listen to HIGHWATER below: