After releasing Stay earlier this year, Charlie Floyd returns with his new single Pinch Me – a conversation with himself and a statement of his artistic identity.
Photo Credit: Duncan Miles
“Pinch Me lyrically is a bit of internal monologue and a few trains of thought more than a story like Stay was,” Charlie Floyd explains about his new single. Written in the early stages of his move to the London industry, it marks a shift in his musical career with new opportunities. “I like the nativity in its essence as a track both lyrically and instrumentally. It captured the excitement I was feeling at the start of a new page becoming a solo artist but also the scepticism which is a very typical way of thinking for me,” he says.
Pinch Me pulls listeners into a distinct sonic world shaped by its production. Once it’s on, it’s hard to look away. “I adore nothing more than when a song has wooed me enough when I’ve written the fundamental parts of the song,“ the singer remarks. “I feel metaphorically and physically like I’m stepping into each song‘s world when I open the project to work on it.”
Cover art for Pinch Me by Charlie Floyd
“It being stripped was the conscious decision to have almost everything as dry as possible in the mix.”
As both writer and producer, Floyd’s music is all undeniably his. He describes the evolution of them as a race to add and explore every single idea. He layers them and takes them apart until every concept finds a place. “Then it becomes a case of reflecting on all the parts I’ve written and stripping it back to the necessary layers so it’s not overcrowded and all my favourite parts then get their chance to be appreciated in the bigger picture,” the singer explains.
But Charlie knows about the sentiment of “killing your darlings” and adds: “The very last thing I do before I know a song is finished is deleting a part that I absolutely love but know shouldn’t really make the final version for the sake of the song.“
“The weirder the better.”
This approach carries into the production; It’s intentionally stripped back. A late 80’s Korean made Sigma acoustic, lent to him by a family friend became a key influence on his recent music. “All my material I’ve got written on an acoustic guitar, in my opinion, delivers the writing far better than just going to an electric by default. A lot of my new material is also digging into my Beatles obsession and love for slower grooves,” Floyd remarks. Combined with his love of hip-hop, percussive and rhythmic elements that serve the melody, he creates his deliberate sound.
With Pinch Me, and in contrast to Stay, he wants to establish his priorities as an artist and show his listeners distinct parts of himself in his sound and style. He adds: “I have so many better ‘singles’ written but I just want to come out with this as a way of saying this is what I’m about.“
Charlie doesn’t stop with his release of Pinch Me on May 1st. Shortly after, he’ll be headlining Three Tanners Bank on the 9th of May with his live band, and support from Robyn Banks and Joe Bartley.
With Pinch Me, Charlie Floyd sets the tone for what’s next - Give it a spin next week and let us know what you think!
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Melina Ernst, 2026.
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