Page 119 - ION Indie Magazine SeptOct 2024

Tim Board: Singer, songwriter, actress, writer, producer, and CEO of your own company -- of
all the titles you wear, which one do you enjoy the most and why?

Charley Young: That’s a fantastic question! I love all of these titles, but perhaps the one I enjoy the
most is being a songwriter. I love expressing ideas and thoughts via lyrics and music. I think trying to
encapsulate certain emotions and experiences in the form of a song can be both challenging and
rewarding. It may take a few starts to get where you want to go, but when the lyrics come through
and communicate the message you’re trying to deliver, it is really fulfilling.

TB: Who are your influences?

CY: Depeche Mode, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Ace of Base, The Pretenders, No Doubt, and New
Order are a few artists who come to mind. A lot of the music that was being made in Europe in the
eighties and nineties has influenced my sound. I also really appreciate a lot of the electronic artists
of the early 2000s, such as Daft Punk, MGMT, and Mysto & Pizzi.

TB: You wrote and recorded your debut EP and two additional singles with Grammy
nominated producer Terence Odige. How did you get hooked up with Terence and what was
it like working with him?

CY: Terence is an amazing human! He is so kind, down-to-earth, and talented. I got connected to
him through a recording artist development opportunity in NYC via Backstage (a casting website).
He was very supportive throughout the writing and recording process. It was cool because I was
there when he was finishing up the instrumental for my song ‘Phoenix Rising.’ There was something
special about hearing it in the studio with him after he had completed it and before I even
decided/thought it would be a song I would work on. He also had some great members on his team
who helped make the recording and mixing/mastering process enjoyable.

TB: Your latest single is ‘Alpha Female.’ What is the story behind the song?

CY: One of my mentors has been the tour accountant for Cher, P!nk, and Pitbull, to name a few
artists. He also manages the music career of Kevin Costner and Modern West. When I was living in
Saint Augustine, Florida, for a few months before the Covid-19 pandemic, he was introducing me to
people he knew in the music community there. He described me as an ‘alpha female’ to one of them,
right when I was standing there, and I was totally in awe being described in that manner. I had never
really acknowledged myself as an ‘alpha female,’ but in looking back at all I have survived and
accomplished in my life, it was an apt description. I knew I wanted to create an anthem about being
an alpha female, both for myself and others. It took a couple of years for me to get it where I wanted
it to be, but with the help of Justin Michael Tallman (aka People of the Parallel), my main producer
these days, it developed into the fun empowerment anthem I was striving for.