Charli XCX

Born in Cambridge, England on 2nd August 1992 and raised in Bishop’s Stortford, Charlotte Emma Aitchison began writing her own music at the age of fourteen, emboldened with such self-belief about her songs that she convinced her parents to lend her the necessary funds to record them. With no formal musical education, the budding artist wasn’t confined by tradition, a characteristic which would define much of her future career in music.

MySpace was the gateway to Charli XCX’s music being heard. The rave scene inspired her 2008 debut single ‘!Franchesckaar!’ and double A-side ‘Emelline/Art Bitch’ – her debut gig at a warehouse in London district Hackney Wick would leave a lasting imprint on her artistry. “I’d never been to a party like this before. I didn’t know anything about rave culture, or club-kid culture, or gay culture. Everything was a first that night,” she recalled.

Shortly after, she was noticed by Asylum Records who signed Charli in 2010, releasing critically acclaimed singles ‘Stay Away’ and ‘Nuclear Seasons’, free mixtapes, and her debut EP, You’re The One, in 2012. One of her songs which she gifted to Swedish duo Icona Pop, ‘I Love It’, would go on to dominate global charts that very year and serve as a breakthrough of sorts for Charli too, as much for her songwriting prowess as her distinct visual aesthetic.

Pressured into replicating the song’s success for her 2013 album, True Romance, Charli insisted on producing music her own way despite the new degree of exposure. Discouraged by major label demands, she found a kindred spirit in Marina & The Diamonds who collaborated on 2013 single ‘Just Desserts’. Her next collaboration would see Charli go stratospheric however, eclipsing ‘I Love It’ with ‘Fancy’, her co-write and feature on Iggy Azalea’s global hit ahead of her 2014 sophomore album, Sucker.

After stints writing for Britney Spears, Rita Ora, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani and Sky Ferreira, Charli reverted to her underground safespace, enlisting dear friend SOPHIE to help produce her third studio album in 2016. The album was sadly scrapped after it was leaked however.