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Charles J Tan is a contemporary asian-australian artist with a sound melding the acoustic blues of Jack Johnson and Ben Harper with the poetic sensibilities of the 90s such as Counting Crows, Tracy Chapman. A talented performing-songwriter, Charles won Melbourne’s 2009 Storytellers’ Competition beating 25 other indie singer songwriters. Recently, he finished in the Top 50 Acoustic/Singer-Songwriter category at the Australia-wide MusicOz Awards 2010. Having wrapped up a mini-tour of Singapore & Malaysia early this year, Charles embarked on a pilgrimage to Nashville Music City in Tennessee rubbing shoulders and learning from music industry giants who have worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Tim McGraw, Snoop Dogg. A well travelled nomad, Charles J Tan will be releasing his long awaited album - The Pelham Sessions, a 'best of" collection of songs written across the span of 10 years. The album was recorded in his humble warehouse apartment on Pelham Street, Carlton. "I'm really excited to release this album. It's like my first day of school, except I have all these treasures I've collected and I can't wait to show my new classmates!" Taking the organic approach working with his band - loosely referred to as The Pelham Trio, drummer Grant Miles & bassist, Ritchie Wong, they put together a rustic, authentic sound that forms the character and personality of each individual. Down to earth, understated, brilliantly simple and hand-crafted-like production. "Melbourne is a beautiful city, home to many underrated passionate people and their art, from music, to specialty coffee, to boutique beers and the fashion. This city is so rich with culture, it's taught me the beauty of making art with my bare hands. With this EP, I've taken the same approach, taking my time with it. We've had so many delays, but each time, we get pushed to dig deep and refine the sound and make it richer than ever!" If you've been to any of his shows, you would be well aquainted with the heartfelt melodies and intimate stories he weaves through the music he writes and performs. "Stand Out Vocals... Captivating... Beautiful Songs" "You have a distinct sound. Hints strongly to a John Mayer influence - not easy to pull off!" "You have a quiet confidence and the ability to connect with the audience" "Great songs... catchy... you aren't afraid to be emotional" - Comments and feedback from the Storyteller's 2009 Judges Nominated as Top 50 Finalist Acoustic Singer/Songwriter for MusicOz Awards 2010 – an Australian National Independent Music Awards – Charles was crowned top winner for the recent Australian singer songwriter competition "The Storytellers" organised by Melbourne tour booking agency, MLG Presents. Beating 25 other Australian artists, winning the competition in Melbourne has opened doors for Charles to play at the city’s premier venues such as Ding Dong Lounge and headlineing at an indie music festival, The Big Feed, in Frankston Victoria in March 2010. The passion for playing and writing music started at the age of 14 for Charles, on a broken classical guitar where he taught himself rhythm and chords without knowing how to read music. His first song was written with the first four chords he learnt. As a kid, Charles fell in love with words and phonetics. Sitting in his Dad’s car, he would often read out street names, signs and piece together letters and alphabets to make up pronunciations of words he had never seen before. It is ironic, considering he came from a non-English speaking home and failed his first spelling test in school. His love for the English language led him to a journey in drama and writing, particularly in poetry. The rhythm and chords he found soon melded into songs and stories when his youth mentor from church encouraged him to pursue songwriting. After high school, Charles formed a band, Water & Wine, and started playing at many gigs hosted by independent labels and production companies such as Awakening Productions and Tsunami Project. 1998 saw the release of a track “Love Song” published under Awakening Productions’ compilation CD featuring independent bands and artists in Singapore. Water & Wine disbanded a year later and Charles traveled across the oceans to pursue studies in Media and Communications at the University of Melbourne, majoring in Creative Writing. Since graduation, Charles spent a number of years in sales, account management and customer relations before taking the leap to focus on music as his main career. 2006 saw the beginnings of a songwriter coming out of years in hiatus, playing regularly at Cafe Crema, a Melbourne Cafe, singing fresh compositions with a simple acoustic guitar. Charles’ first release of an extended play (EP) titled “An Acoustic Preamble” in 2008 was a humble acoustic collection of songs written and recorded in DIY demo fashion. In 2009, Charles released his second live EP “August & After” recorded live at Miss Libertine, a local pub Charles regularly plays at. Charles started the year 2010 with a third release – this time, a Studio Single "Almost Sunday", a song about finding a home for the heart, exploring possibilities and soaring high with wings to fly again. Charles has come back from trekking through the musical landscape of Nashville, learning and fine tuning his art and craft of songwriting on Music Row. His long awaited album, The Pelham Sessions, is also about to be released. Stay tuned via twitter or sign up the mailing list for up to date information.

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