Musician Paul Higgs, a fixture on the Río de la Plata music scene, has more than ten albums to his name, some of them solo work, some group projects. His latest, Tridimensional, produced by Martín Buscaglia, is an invitation to experience life in various corners of the Southern Cone. As a producer, Higgs also works with Charlie, an artist who’s not yet twenty years old and lives between Rincón del Pinar and Montevideo, in Uruguay. Charlie’s first LP, Cráneo, is a completely hypnotic album that’s made its way onto my “most listened” lists on multiple platforms. New Braves asked me to interview Charlie and Paul about their beautiful collaboration, and we had a thoughtful conversation, over email, about imagination, work, and creation.
Charlie (CH):
“My name is Charlie and my name is Manuela and my name is Olivia Cromo, all together and at the same time, but also separately.”
Paul (P):
“I’m Paul Higgs, a sonic adventurer manifested in a human body that’s making music in this dimension.”
NB
What can you tell us about yourself?
CH
I’ve been studying at the Conservatorio Sur since 2019. At the moment I’m studying guitar, singing, and songwriting, and I’ve also started taking piano classes outside of the conservatoire, with Leandro Aquistapacie, because I adore it. Lately I’ve been drawing a lot, and I’d like to do something involving graphic design. [...] Anyway, I like to draw pictures and letters and think in colors. And I like to tie that in to my music, or to music in general; by making cover art, for instance, or like when I made the poster for a show with El Mundo Limón.
NB
Paul Higgs plays many roles, but at the heart of all of them is music: “Raíz musical, flor musical, polen musical, it’s all about music. That’s the center of my life and what I do: write, record, and share music.” This perspective also allows him to cross over through multiple categories without getting stuck in any one in particular.
P
“I take it all lightly—my dad taught me that it’s cooler to just shuffle the deck without overthinking it.”
NB
How does the city or place where you live affect your work?
P
Argentina, Buenos Aires, it doesn’t really matter where you are, since wherever I live, I come up with music, and I always find something to sing about, whether it’s in the real world or in my imagination. Montevideo, Buenos Aires, wherever I live, it will always inspire me.
PAUL
“Raíz musical, flor musical, polen musical, it’s all about music. That’s the center of my life and what I do: write, record, and share music.”
NB
There’s a kind of unity to Cráneo, a very particular quality that holds the whole album together. What was it like to work on the songs on this record?
CH
We didn’t overthink Cráneo. It wasn’t that long since I started writing music, and these were some of the first songs where I said, “Ah, ok, this hangs together.” They were more than an attempt at writing something, they had more body or personality. I had other songs like that too, but they didn’t make it onto the record because they didn’t fit. I made each song separately in the same year, without trying to tie them together or follow any concept, but they ended up having this unity because they all came out of the same imagination. These days I think a bit more when I’m making a song, but with these ones, I just found some chords I liked and started saying things. I think they’re all quite narrative in style, because I was reading quite a lot at the time. Later, I played them to Paul and he liked them, and they came together as this collection that reflects who I was in that moment and also what I was into, which, more than anything, was Tim Burton films and Stephen King books.
NB
In what ways is this album an individual work, and in what ways is it a collaboration?
P
Whether you’re working solo or in a group, it’s always a good trip and a bad trip. I love and welcome every form of creation.
CH
In general, when I make songs or draw, I do it alone. But then I like to share what I make and ask people to join in. I like collaborative work a lot; not so long ago I found it really hard, but luckily I’ve been able to get past that. I really, really enjoy making music and being creative with other people.
NB
Cráneo was Paul and Charlie’s first collaboration, but it’s led to more: shows in Montevideo and Buenos Aires, backing vocals on Paul’s songs, producing Charlie’s second album, videos and random content you can find online. What’s it like, working together—does it even feel like work?
CH
Working with Paul is always a really expansive process; he always has new ideas, and he inspires me a lot. He’s creatively restless. I always learn a lot from him. [...] Our partnership feels very collaborative and nourishing. It does feel like work, but the kind of work that’s fun, that you feel passionate about—all the things that work should really always be.
P
I love working with Charlie, she inspires me a lot. She teaches me, and I teach her. We’re always conscious that our adventures are part of the story of music globally, not to mention in the Río de la Plata.
NB
And between all these projects, you also took some photos for New Braves.
P
The experience with New Braves was memorable—we spent a few hours getting on a wavelength, so that we could capture the moment and the clothes in the photos. Ama and Uzi are the best, kindest souls.
CH
I liked seeing the photos afterward, though it’s sometimes strange to see what comes out and that it doesn’t look how I imagined—though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I really like this whole world, and I’d like to explore it more.
NB
