Wedding Ritual #23: Charlie Romijn
Charlie Romijn
is a multidisciplinary artist based in the West Country, probably most visible (and audible) as a founding member and core constituent of Thought Forms. I often introduce artists here with the details of how I first came to know them - be it 'we've been friends since we were kids' or 'they emailed me out of the blue' - but I don't remember exactly when I met Charlie, except that she and Thought Forms seemed to have grown out of the same Wiltshire-ish climes and times as past Wedding Ritual conductor Annie Gardiner (and hence Hysterical Injury). I do have specific memories of bumping into her and her fellow Thought Form, Deej, at a backstage Glastonbury gig; as well as of a dream in which she was the GM for a mass-participation D&D-style role-play game by email and post. I would still like to know how to subscribe.
When she's not appearing in your dreams and telling you to roll a d10, Charlie makes solo music under the name Silver Stairs of Ketchikan and runs Lava Thief, a "sporadic DIY label which has been home to Bristol band Repo Man as well as limited handmade runs of improvised releases and printed items". She lives in Bristol and "also dabbles in photography, videomaking and unhealthy obsessions." Her words, not mine, those - that must mean poetry and painting count as unhealthy obsessions, which doesn't seem entirely unreasonable.
As it's been a while, here's a recap of what we do here - 'Wedding Ritual' invites its subjects to present a profile of their creative selves in a format inspired by the traditional good luck rhyme for brides. Typically, artists will present an early work (old), something current (new), someone else's work (borrowed) and something risqué (blue). Together these elements allow us to appreciate their work in multiple dimensions: across time, in relationship with other artists, and sometimes aspects of their work that aren't typically brought to the fore.
Without further ado, here is Charlie Romijn's Wedding Ritual, in her own words:
Something Old
Silver Stairs of Ketchikan - 20:20
"I composed this piece of music as part of an exchange with “Bang The Bore” back in… was it 2008? 2009? 2010? I can’t quite remember, but the game was twenty people each composed a piece of music and sent it to everyone else on the list. An experimental drone chain letter.
"I still really like this piece, the way that new layers and instruments enter, I find it quite relaxing and it reminds me of a wonderful time when I was constantly creating sounds and art and friendships."
Something New
"Very thankful to be able to premiere my brand new video for the Silver Stairs of Ketchikan song ‘Pylon’ on Wedding Ritual!" [Yes, we know you'll have to click through to watch it on YouTube - the video is age-restricted due to some bloody images - just make sure you come back here afterwards to read the rest of Charlie's profile - Wes]
"‘Pylon’ appears on ‘EDEIDA’, my first full length “proper” solo album with crafted songs and everything, released in 2021 on my own label Lava Thief.
"It was really important to me to create a full visual companion to this album, as that’s something I always want to do with everything I release - all the Thought Forms stuff, man I would have loved to make more videos for those songs than the handful we’ve done… But now that I know that a) I’ve got the hang of making videos myself and b) everything that you get told about album “campaigns” (three singles before the release then it’s all over, better get onto the next thing!) is total bollocks I can at least change that going forward. My brain is definitely stuck in 90s huge budget MTV land though, but I do my best playing dress up with old sheets in my living room.
"The first time I played this song live, at my first solo gig in a loooong time, a friend came up to me afterwards and complimented me saying… “that was great, really BITTER”. At least I think it was a compliment. At any rate, I think the friend was right; Pylon has an acerbic narrative and an exposed, raw directness to it. The woman I occupy in the performance will not avert her gaze, spitting swords and accusations.
"With the video, I wanted to capture an atmosphere of female horror and power as two sides of the same coin. Full disclosure, I ended up cutting a couple of shots because they made me feel sick when I watched the first edit… I felt like it was a bit much. Don’t we too often feel like we’re either too much or not enough? I guess I’m not quite brave enough for that yet. (Also, in those more extreme gory shots I realised that you could inadvertently see my ass - and as I’m sure someone once said, the vibe of this song and video is very much “fuck you” not “fuck me”)"
Something Borrowed
"‘Friends’ is the latest single from ELDR, aka Marina Elderton.
"I first met Marina in 2013, when Thought Forms played a gig in Brighton with her then-band KULL, a duo whose music we instantly fell under the spell of and became lucky enough to call friends, playing together several times over the years.
"ELDR is her debut solo project and while I love every song this amazing woman writes, this one I’m obsessed with; it sticks in my head, it feels so confident and defiant somehow and the video is a stunning work of art in it’s own right. I hope I get to see her play live in this new guise very soon."
Something Blue
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