Thoughts on 2020
On New Year’s Eve 2019, I went to a party feeling sick (hard to believe that was a thing people did!) and had to head home early. I started writing the song “Better,” to feel like my New Year’s Eve wasn’t totally wasted. It’s amazing how just a couple chords on the piano can swing your heart wide open. A few notes in, I hit a cathartic breakthrough I hadn’t felt in years; I was finally able to sing about deeply personal things that had been locked up in me. “Better” was the first time I was able to put lyrics to the sudden onset of anxiety that changed the emotional course of my thirties.
Soon the floodgates were open. Melodies were pouring out of me faster than I could record them. My perfectionist self was never quick at writing lyrics, but I made it my goal to finish every song that I started, within 24 hours. I was on such a roll, I knew I wanted to make an album out of it and put a large ensemble of musicians together to record. Just in time for…COVID-19.
Like everyone, I had to find a way to make things work remotely. I put a call out to musician friends who would record from home, and I got an overwhelming response. It’s been a tough year for musicians, so I think the prospect of having any kind of creative gig was very welcome. I ran a Kickstarter to hire 20 professional musicians who had home studios to record in. To mix the album, I was able to hire Andy Thompson, who’s worked with Belle and Sebastian, Jeremy Messersmith, Dessa, and even Taylor Swift. I felt like a kid on Christmas morning whenever I’d get a new recording from a musician or a mix back from Andy.
I’ve been debating if calling my album 2020 was a good thing. There are so many negative associations with this year, being that the world was on fire, metaphorically and literally. But my goal with the album was to bring something beautiful and comforting into the world, and maybe someone will listen to this album and think, “the year 2020 wasn’t all bad!” I hope these songs bring some joy and peace to your life.
-Charlie
Charlie McCarron’s Bio
Charlie McCarron is a film composer, songwriter, video producer, visual artist, and board game designer in Minnesota. He is the executive director of Film Score Fest and produced the podcast Composer Quest.
Notable films Charlie has composed for are Emmy-nominated Beneath the Ink, STARZ documentary Silicone Soul, and Kare 11’s Love Them First: Lessons From Lucy Laney Elementary, the best-selling film in the history of the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Film Festival.
For his podcast Composer Quest, Charlie crowdfunded a tour throughout the US, Australia, Taiwan, and Japan, interviewing and writing music with composers there. In 2018, Charlie was selected as a finalist in the Banaue International Music Composition Competition for his orchestral piece “Balitúk: The Divided Child,” traveling to the Philippines for a three-week immersion program in the mountain village of Banaue.
In 2019, Charlie was a guest speaker at Catalyst Content Festival, presenting about film scoring with members of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra performing his scores live onstage.
With over 25 self-produced albums to his name, Charlie often approaches composition as a record producer does: building the journey layer by layer. His songs often involve intricately woven melodies and rhythms, with the aim of giving each instrument or electronic layer a unique role to play.
2020 Album Description
Wanting to bring something beautiful into this stressful year, Minneapolis film composer Charlie McCarron Kickstarted an album of his original songs, featuring 20 musicians recording in their home studios.
Charlie’s style blends gentle campfire folk melodies with intricate, lush orchestration and an indie rock backing band. Fans of Randy Newman and Paul Simon will appreciate his lyrical mix of tongue-in-cheek silliness and poignant vulnerability.
Mixed by Andy Thompson (Dessa, Jeremy Messersmith, Belle and Sebastian) and mastered by Doug Van Sloun (She & Him, Bright Eyes), 2020 has a chamber pop sound akin to Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes, and Jon Brion.
Album Credits
Words, composition, production, guitar, bass, piano, and vocals by Charlie McCarron
Mixing, additional production, and additional instruments by Andy Thompson
Mastering by Doug Van Sloun
Flute, piccolo – Bethany Gonella
Oboe – Julie Brusen
Clarinet – Amelia Smith
Recorder – Basil Considine
Saxophone – Mara Syman
Trumpet – Bryan Schumann
Trombone – Nick Syman
Marimba – Eri Isomura
Keyboard – Javier Santiago
Harp – Phala Tracy
Classical guitar – Milena Petkovic
Electric guitar – Dylan McFarling
Electric guitar – Cy Dodson
Drums – Pete James Johnson
Percussion – Mike Hallenbeck
Violin – Ashley Ng
Cello – Ben Osterhouse
Double bass – Jason Wells
Whistle solo – Mitchell Adam Johnson
Kickstarter Backers
