Charlotte Martin

After five years and two releases on RCA Records -— the EP In Parentheses (2003) and the full-length On Your Shore (2004) —- Charlotte left the label in early 2005. Undeterred, she released the Darkest Hour and Veins EPs on Test-Drive Records that same year, and embarked on headlining tours in support of each. The Veins tour climaxed with the private taping of Something Like A DVD in Los Angeles in November 2005, and the following spring headlined another tour to coincide with the pre-released DVD. Along the way, Charlotte married her longtime collaborator and co-producer, Ken Andrews (Pete Yorn, Year of the Rabbit, Failure). Together, they formed Dinosaur Fight Records and aligned the new venture with Fontana Distribution.

With a newfound freedom to create music, Charlotte found herself at musical and personal crossroads. Two years of virtually nonstop touring had effects. While on the road, Charlotte experienced the spectrum of human emotion: heartbreak, loss, guilt, and triumph. These years of intense transition and infinite potential found themselves in the words, notes, and production of Stromata.

No longer beholden to the demands of label executives or hampered by artistic insecurity, Charlotte emerged a strong, self-aware artist knowing what she wants from her career, and what she needs to feed her muse. With experiences of the past propelling her forward, Charlotte began writing and recording Stromata. For the first time since the beginning of her career —- from singing with her mom in the car at age 3, to directing show choirs at 14, to graduating from Eastern Illinois University with an opera degree at 21 —- she had a clear vision of what her music needed to be and how to make it. Taking the production helm, Charlotte was inspired to take the focus off the acoustic piano and indulge in the world of analog synthesizers, digital percussion, and vocal collages.