Charlie Cawood

Charlie is a musician, composer, and multi-instrumentalist from London. Trained in classical and electric guitar from the age of 11, he soon branched out to study Indian Classical, Flamenco, and East Asian music. A graduate of the Guitar Institute, London Centre of Contemporary Music, and the School of Oriental and African Studies, Charlie turned professional at 17 and has since forged a busy career as a cross-disciplinary session musician, songwriter, and arranger. Charlie is a member of the critically acclaimed psychedelic octet Knifeworld, whose recent albums The Unravelling (2014) and Bottled Out Of Eden (2016) were each given 5-star reviews by The Guardian and included on Best Album lists for their respective years. He is also the principal instrumentalist for the Emmy-nominated classical choral ensemble Mediaeval Baebes, for whom he plays up to 8 stringed instruments on tour. Previous work includes playing the Chinese Pipa in the UK premiere of Philip Glass’ chamber opera The Sound of a Voice; touring with Icelandic alt-pop singer Hafdis Huld in 2006, including a live session on Gideon Coe’s BBC 6 Music show; several tours across the UK, US, and Europe, as well as appearances on live television and radio. As a recording musician, Charlie has played on numerous albums, EPs, and singles, including releases by Spiritwo; acclaimed looping guitarist Matt Stevens; Kurdish singer Olcay Bayir; electronic pop artist Sinah; singer/composer Lucie Treacher, and Pop in Opposition collective Nick Prol & The Proletarians. Current projects also include art-rock band Tonochrome, gamelan/electronica collective My Tricksy Spirit, avant-psychedelia band Lost Crowns, and sea shanty ensemble Admirals Hard. Charlie is also a contributing writer for Songlines Magazine UK, reviewing albums, DVDs, books, and live concerts. Charlie’s debut solo album, The Divine Abstract, was released in November 2017 via Bad Elephant Music.