Done and dusted - Charlie Simpson's new acoustic sound

On Tuesday 12 July Charlie played at Home House Live hosted by Raymond Weil and gave a few lucky guests an exclusive performance of his new material.

Home House Live is hosted by Raymond Weil and the watch makers have collaborated with artists such as Dizzee Rascal, The Young Guns and Il Divo.

Before his intimate performance he told the Evening Standard exclusively how the event came together.

Charlie said: "Basically, Raymond Weil got in contact and said do you want to come down and play Home House Live and I said yes, it's a nice chance to play these much more intimate gigs and play in a much smaller environment and I like that lounge feel for a show."

His first single 'Down Down Down' has been an instant success and was also picked as Fearne Cotton's 'Record Of The Week' on Radio 1.

Charlie describes his new sound as "predominantly accoustic based with an influence from American 70's soul."

"I wanted to make a raw sounding record and we set out to leave any imperfections in the recording because we didn't want to over polish it" he added.

The second single to be taken from the album is piano driven 'Parachutes' which will be released on 8 August, but Charlie isn't nervous about releasing his solo material.

He said: "It's a lot more daunting because when you put it under your own name you are out there on your own, but it makes it all the more triumphant when somebody comes up to you after a show and says well done or they like it."

Charlie, who plays drums, guitar and bass, has plans to work with his two brothers who also have a gift for music.

"We came up with a plan, so we thought the best way to get it started would be to get together once a month and do some writing, and so far we have about two songs. We aren't giving ourselves any barriers we are just doing it and it's an evolving project."

The 26-year-old is fully focused on his current album and would like to take the project abroad after recently completing a UK tour.

"I will take each day as it comes but this is my focus right now and I'm enjoying myself and my music."

Charlie Simpson, Young Pilgrim can be pre ordered at charliesimpsonmusic.com
For more information on Home House Live visit homehouse.co.uk and raymond-weil.com