Yolanda Charles Music

10/08/2024

Lawd! Cardboard boxes & packing material so damn expensive!

But yes moving again this month, finishing the album mixes and preparing the launch of 4 websites (yes 4 - I know I'm a nutter, but that's how my brain works), gigs with Vanessa Haynes (always fun at Boisdale), and (aka Janette Mason & Juliet Roberts' project) live at Pizza Express Holborn next week. Also teaching on the summer workshop next week at Islington's Music Makers.

Busy sure, but I feel my life is really starting to come together after the disaster the lockdown visited upon my career with 2 massive tours lost and most other session work becoming pretty much no option for me after that.

This recovery is almost 4+ years along and I'm not quite where I was but maybe I'll surpass that 'before' period of my life. Now as an independent artist, record label owner, e-commerce vendor and running my online bass membership (coming soon), we shall see... All I do know is that when I get pushed down or held back, I always fight and refuse to be defeated.

I know it's tiring and some people do not like to read this stuff cause it makes them tired reading it or they may assess themselves negatively in comparison - my intention is to share for inspiration. That's something I needed from others to help me when I was feeling overwhelmed and a bit scared about my future.

Whatever we go through, we usually get through and our job is to stay solid while we fix the mess we may find ourselves in or allow time to do its job.

When you arrive at a peaceful place after events have calmed and life feels managable once again, it's hard to regret the path that takes you there.

My current job is to remind myself of that message and to stay confident that everything's going to be alright in the end.
It really is.

23/07/2024

Guess what I've been up to? (as well as everything else!) Your lil ol' MBE bassist originally from a council estate in North London now also a voting member for the Recording Academy / GRAMMYs 🎆

14/07/2024

I dunno wassup with the whole internet musician thing... I'm working with a lot of young musicians and I'm glad for the connection because I get to tell them this.

If you want your musical career to have any meaning at all, focus not just on showing the world how well you play or how technically gifted you may be (aka the results of the 10,000 hours of practice) - but instead show us what you can do with it in a creative sense. Playing an instrument is after all about making music is it not?

Context means a lot, as does whether you can come up with a distinctive sound or produce a true reflection of who you are.
What music do you make with all that practice?

For some it's about getting attention and that has meaning for them - I understand our careers in music are not all motivated for the same reasons. But it is for this reason that I'm not interested in musicians for their playing alone - it's the context always. It's the music 1st then I may wonder "who made this great music?" - in that order. I've never become a fan of a musician without being 1st impressed or moved by their playing on a record I like (or at a gig) - for me (I know I'm weird) I become a fan of the music 1st, the musician 2nd.

If I say I'm not into so and so's playing, I can acknowledge the hard work and the hours of practice, but I'm a music fan 1st so it's about taste in the end - what do I like verses don't like? What sings to my ears and makes my body want to move? I don't care about chops and skill, speed, innovation or cleverness. If I like or don't like something I have little control over that.

So I hope that to get the attention towards oneself it's for some other reason than popularity because that is fleeting. Popularity: if you're lucky it comes... but it always goes. Making a great record, a moving composition, or contributing to a great piece of music? That's for life.

That's what I tell them to work towards (if they want their musician life to have meaning - strive towards writing great music or being part of something great beyond themselves).
Popularity tempts like fool's gold, be careful what one wishes for.

13/07/2024

Smart guy watch this commentary! Composers and skilled musician artists do not dispair ;)

The prospect of AI music taking over the world has been met with almost universal fear and anger amongst musicians and for good reason. But will AI really ki...

03/07/2024

For my new business name... would you have believed "the bass teacher" was unused???! I bought the URL and it immediately was valued at over £1k+ - still can't believe no bass teachers out there thought to use that one! (even me until now lol) ;)

01/07/2024

It’s quite surprising for me to have experienced just how long it can take to figure out what your business is and how to set it up. After 2.5 years working on my various projects it’s finally starting to come together!

I’m both nervous and excited to be heading towards achieving my basic goal of running a Ltd company that actually has revenue and will be employing people for admin tasks - I’ll be able to delegate!

As well as that, the timing is lining up for the record label’s 1st release to occur around the same time as the company becomes incorporated.
I’m starting to feel very grown up!

20/04/2024

Can’t wait to play my music in Switzerland! With my mates Nicolas Viccaro & Olivier Louvel

[ 𝗬𝗢𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗔 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗦 - 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗛 𝗙𝗨𝗡𝗞 🎵 ]
Yolanda Charles Music jouera avec les étudiant·es de Musiques Actuelles et Jazz de l'HEMU vendredi 26 avril !

🗓 Vendredi 26 avril
🕘 21:00
📌 Jumeaux Jazz Club

🔗 Infos et billetterie 👉 jumeaux.club/evenements/yolanda-charles

30/03/2024

Here's the new Yolanda Charles' Project PH line up from now right through the summer dates in the book so far!
Nick Linnik Nicolas Py Hamish Balfour
and introducing: Imisi Peletu Haydn Bardoe 🥰

30/03/2024

Join me on tiktok if you have the app? I'm about to start dropping videos offering thoughts and ideas - you know those posts I write here, I'll be delivering that kind of commentary but in video form over there.

I've kind of resisted doing the talk to camera thing for a long while - you may've seen the odd random post, but its not been my thing in the past.

I'm someone who has to do things that reflect my values and taste when it comes to messaging to others. I can't just "create" content. I have to have something to actually say.

In my The Musicianship Mentor role I offer all sorts of advice and help to others by sharing my experiences and offering my perspective as a sounding board to help people (musicians usually but not always) figure themselves out and work through some challenges they face. But in this current online climate there are so many people setting themselves up as advice givers - as experts etc whether they have any real expertise or not, well that didn't sit right with me to join that video club.

All this time I've been thinking about how to 'speak'. What do I actually have to say? It matters to me to not just be another voice on video offering advice or speaking "as a musician of X years experience therefore I have authority so please listen". No that wasn't going to work for me.

But I have now figured it out. I know what I want to say, what to talk about and I'm going to gradually figure out the "how".

So if you're interested in joining me as I speak about the things that matter to me in this crazy world, join me on tiktok and I guess we'll be learning what the hell I'm on about together.

*****************

Here's something that pointed me in the right direction in terms of figuring things out.

Is there something that consistently features as a motivation in everything you do? It can be hidden in plain sight. That's what happened to me. I just spotted the theme that runs throughout my entire life and most decisions I've made and am currently making.

This discovery is just so freeing. I understand my motivations and now what I need to do. So yeah ... life is beautiful (or can be).

(link to tiktok in bio, can't paste link here cause you know the deal).

PS
Had a fab time at Ronnie's last night with the new material and our new singers Haydn & Imisi. It was such a vibe! Definitely excited about playing tonight!
Yolanda Charles' Project PH

26/03/2024

We finally have a gig date at The Jam House Birmingham! Really excited about this one. Our new setlist includes songs from all 3 of my projects from 2002 to Yolanda Charles' Project PH less "fusion" more FUNK. But of course there's a bit in the mix somewhere - love it!

We had our 1st rehearsal yesterday with our new vocalists and it was so fantastic to hear my songs brought to life so beautifully by Imisi Peletu and Haydn Bardoe

19th June is the date - please share if you can, when I add the link it affects who sees my post!

https://thejamhouse.com/shop/event/yolanda-charles-project-ph/
with: Hamish Balfour Nick Linnik Nicolas Py

24/03/2024

Since I decided to focus on the band after the lockdowns basically forced me to make a decision about what I was doing with my life. I'm reporting an update hopefully to inspire confidence in some of you if needed.

Live dates: I focused on my band in full Yolanda Charles' Project PH - we achieved regular bookings at Ronnie Scott's and we're on gig number 45 (Ronnies plus various UK cities). We've released 3 singles and we're going in to mix the album starting April 11th.

Passive income stream: I opened an online store. Acid Funk Designs
I use it to sell band merchandise and it will be the store for releases on my record label Mamayo Records. My back catalogue is being sold there (a few remaining CD albums) and I'll be offering the work of other artists also on posters, bags, cards and teeshirts. (just starting that bit).

Day job: And my new education focused website The Musicianship Mentor allows my teaching business to have a nice professional "shopfront". That took me a while to build, I'd like to hire a pro, but for now it's all gotta be DIY.

(All these business are linked in my linktree in the bio)

Phew...What a ride!

Everything is just in "start-up" phase so it'll be great when it all comes together fully. I can feel this year is that year. After 3 years of learning, making huge mistakes and receiving a lot of support from family and friends. I'm getting on top of things and soon I'll be able to settle into a routine and get back to writing music, writing for my substack and actually having a social life!

I set up all of these businesses as well as all the activity on my socials because I learned that massive painful lesson during the lockdowns.

I did a lot all at once which slowed down the rate of success and establishing everything because you can't really properly focus on so many different things at the same time. But space is clearing and the delays were necessary. At some point I'll be able to start hiring people to manage certain aspects of my businesses as they increase their revenue.

I was a novice at most of the above (still am really) but I'm learning fast - one day I'll start to call myself a "business woman" no longer solely a bass player - fancy that eh? :)

23/03/2024

We have more Ronnie Scott's dates coming up through to June (not on sale yet). For our next 4 shows April 20th is sold out already and the March dates have availabilty only on the door. April the 19th is available though, so if you're thinking about it - book today!

Seems like our Late shows at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club are getting busier well in advance now! That's good news for us, hope to see some of you at one of the shows.

Soon TBA a show for the vocal band coming up in June outside of London!
https://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/find-a-show/late-late-show-with-yolanda-charles-project-ph
FYI Ignore the listing announcing Noreen Stewart on vocals. she can't make it so we have 2 new young vocalists to showcase for you all for the next 9 shows! Haydn Bardoe & Imisi Peletu
Nick Linnik Nicolas Py Hamish Balfour

Yolanda Charles' Project Ph vocal line-up plays their unique brand of high-octane jazz rock and funk-infused RnB.

16/03/2024

My new bass lessons & mentoring website is done!
Take a look?
(I know there is a broken link in the mobile menu)

Professional session Bass Player and Project pH Band leader Yolanda Charles teaches Bass Guitar and musicianship.

02/03/2024

If anyone has made an album they know the journey can be long and very tough. As some of you know we've been working on the album for over 2 years now. (We pretty much started from scratch in 2023). We've had so many setbacks and run out of funding (we never made our crowdfunder total) as well as former band members' performances needing to be replaced etc. It's a good story to share with the curious in more detail to perhaps help others when embarking on such a task.

We could've just programmed the whole thing from the beginning like most people do, put some beats together then just played over the top of it - but that didn't have much appeal to me because that's how I demo my songs. I wanted to have performances and personalities in the music. So we attempted old school live recordings all playing together which is possible but not usually without a healthy studio budget or access to facilities.

So here we are. We're a few weeks away from going into the mix stage for the full album. April is in the diary. We'll have the master early May and then the release schedule will be worked out with the PR team. Putting all this in place has been a massive task and a huge learning curve for me personally. I'm grateful for the experience even though its taken so long to get here.

With all the experience I have as a session musician I was pretty much a newby at being a fully-fledged independent artist and with a band to manage + all the newer stuff to learn - social media and marketing etc. It's been incredible and I am so so happy - musically the happiest I've ever been, so I know I did the right thing switching careers the way I have.

The lockdown was a huge shock to many of us and for some life-changing. Others had a "pause" then carried on as normal. I haven't stayed the same. The process of going from there to here hasn't happened with a nice smooth n easy switch like sidestepping onto a new path, it has been leaps, falls, ups n downs and a massive amount of fun with a "rightness" about how I live my life.

I can proudly say I work for myself now. I have a few businesses I'm building up like my shop ACIDFUNKDESIGNS and I'm about to officially launch a new platform for my teaching and mentoring service (next week).
The work Nick Linnik is doing is incredible and our album will be the best work of my 35 year career - if this album is as good as it gets I'll consider that enough. I cannot wait for you to hear what we're doing. The digital singles we've released so far isn't the full story so yeah much more is to come. I feel relieved that things are looking like they're all coming together this year and into the next, so no regrets! It takes time.

If you get anything useful from this post hopefully take a bit of faith that when you feel compelled to do something, just by getting started you are "winnning". I'm not 'there' yet - at some finishing line of success that can be seen, but I feel great so I think it is actually the doing of the dream that is actually living the dream, not some metric of success as resides in the minds of others or is measurable.

Despite any negatives I've experienced, happy is becoming my default mood. Now there's a win!
Yolanda Charles' Project PH Acid Funk Designs The Musicianship Mentor

02/03/2024

Have you checked my Band Merchandise shop?

It's called ACIDFUNK DESIGNS - the link is in my bio cause you won't see this post if I post the link.

I can now offer 15% off your entire order AND free shipping to all regions. That'll save some ££!

Here are the codes
FREESHIP2024
27THTRWW4X2Q
Use both at the checkout.

All proceeds go towards the album release.

27/02/2024

Our next 4 gigs are all at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Late Late show featuring the young vocal talent of Imisi & Haydn who are going to be brilliant (they're younger than my kids chuh!) We're rehearsing the vocal setlist today - excited about that.

After our fab Liverpool show last Saturday I'm looking forward to more Project pH Instra_mental gigs also - I've worked hard to have 2 bands running at the same time for a reason. Both bands can accept dates - we get to support song structures as "backing musicians" and get a bit more unleashed in the Progressive Funk Fusion INSTRA_MENTALS line up also - Everyone needs a bit of unleashing now n again.

So come n see the vocal line up at Ronnies March 28/29 and April 19/20th or early summer pH INSTRA_MENTALS have a date in Poole at the Lighthouse, Poole's Centre for the Arts (14th June)
Book tickets here: https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/book-online/713201/

Keep up to date with our live dates list here: https://bnds.us/jqrxsd

25/01/24 – Unfortunately our kitchen is closed today, but Beacon will still be open for a selection of drinks and snacks.

26/02/2024

Had a great time playing our 1st show for he Liverpool International Jazz Festival - great festival - recommended!
Yolanda Charles' Project PH

24/02/2024

Liverpool today for Yolanda Charles' Project PH! 1st time playing a gig there for us, so this is very cool indeed.
Liverpool International Jazz Festival see you soon!
😎

21/02/2024

If you're interested in my tutoring skills please follow my tuition-focused business page. I'm about to launch my teaching website so I'm taking early bookings within my network in advance of running ads. :)

Choose a time that works for you from the offered spaces. These sessions are held online and in person. Please select either an in-person or online lesson Ensure you have an amplifier (if booking for bass lessons).

17/02/2024

WIll be fun for us to play to a full house tonight at The Verdict Jazz Club - if you're coming along, see you there!

15/01/2024

Have you checked out my substack? There are good things coming for my subs over there. Great for long form writing as you know I like to chat. (free to subscribe for most of the content).

What I love about new beginnings

07/01/2024

I've updated my booking service as I'm now accepting a few in-person students for bass lessons.

Choose what time works better to schedule a meeting.

11/12/2023

Our single is now live on the DSPs - check it out!

Listen to the single Hey Now on Spotify

01/12/2023

Sometimes it takes such a long time to realise what you have to offer.

I’m doing what I’ve always done, but now it’s going to be a business that rewards me for my time and decades of experience.

I guess I wasn’t ready before.

But I am now.

29/11/2023

The next single is on it's way - 11th Dec feels good :)

Composer & Arranger, Co-producer, Bass Guitar: Yolanda Charles
Producer, Arranger, Programmer/Engineer: Nick Linnik
Guitar & Keyboards: Nick Linnik
Drums: Nicolas Py
Featured Vocalist: Carmen Olivia
Backing vocals: Adeola Shyllon
Mixed & Mastered by Mo Hausler

Stream and Pre-save Hey Now - Distributed by DistroKid

27/11/2023

Why do I post as a writer?

I share stories from my life as a musician to illustrate the pathways I took to get right here. Stories of personal development, success & failure, using essays, poetry, music and readings from my autobiography.

That’s my bio, it illustrates the value of sharing and hope that my stores can indirectly help others on their own path. Check the linktree in my bio to read some of my posts.

26/11/2023

I've actually rejoined Twitter (X) This time I'm using it for networking within the business community. There are so many opportunities for growth and building a business in this age of online business. It's an area where there few musicians as most of us are focused upon music making and building a fanbase directed to our recordings and live work. I suggest that by also building a business (around other skills you may have) you can fund your music making without having to market to fans in a way you may find distracting or distasteful given that music can't really be treated in the same way as "content" as considered by content creators.
For musicians to stay all about the music, we have to find other ways to finance the actual music making until the music (eventually) starts to pay for itself.
Find me over there under