Anyone who has listened to The Glass Child's, (AKA Charlotte Eriksson), songs will know not only are they beautifully written and performed but they tell stories which come from deep inside the mind. Charlotte has had an exciting year to date, releasing her first EP, getting to number 2 on the Swedish iTunes chart and to cap it all off, she was Room Thirteen's Band of the Month for August (ok getting to number 2 on the iTunes chart probably just a little bit more special).

With her second EP, "This Is How Ghosts Are Made" due to be released 5th December we thought it was a perfect time to get deeper into Charlotte Eriksson's mind and see what we find.

R13:Let's start off with the obvious question, you call yourself 'The Glass Child', can you explain where that comes from and what does it mean?
CE:When I was younger people always told me I was really hard to get to know and I never really trusted anyone so they said it was as if I was living behind glass, they could see me but they could never really reach me. It stuck with me and when I wrote my first song when I was 14 or 15 it was called 'The Glass Child' so I kind of stuck with that and I feel quite comfortable behind it in a way.

R13:What brought you to London from Sweden?
CE:Because I wanted to play music. I have never really been interested in playing in Sweden to be honest, mostly because for a small band there is not an established music scene, especially not in Gothenburg, where I am from, as there are not any venues at all, there is just one venue where I am from. In London there's like venues everywhere, you can play every night if you want to.

R13:I was going to ask how does the music scene here compare to back home?
CE:We listen to quite different music in Sweden, more into the American scene than the British scene but mostly there's nowhere to play in Sweden at all really.

R13:And how are you enjoying it here?
CE:I love it. It's hard in a way because it was really hard in the beginning to leave everything because I am quite young and to just leave everything, go here all alone and I didn't know anyone, I had to step out of myself and to meet people but I love it, it's amazing and I can do exactly what I want every day, play music and write, it's cool.

R13:Describe your sound to someone who has never heard you before?
CE:This question is so hard, I never know what to say. Genre is really hard, I would like to say alternative pop but I do a lot of acoustic songs and then I have some pop punk songs, some rocky songs. I don't really think about a genre when I write, it just happens naturally like what kind of emotion I want to express, if I need a huge song with electric guitars, drums and stuff then that's what's going to happen but if I feel like I just need an acoustic guitar to express myself then it's going to be an acoustic song. I would say honest and raw and real, I hope!

R13:What do you prefer playing?
CE:I love big rock shows, like go to big rock shows and see bands, the energy and passion, I love that. I also love playing with my live band at venues. There is a different thing having an acoustic show in a small intimate like pub and everyone really listens and sit down and it has a different vibe to it. I love both of it but playing with a full band is the best thing I know.

R13:You released your EP "The Glass Child" by yourself how did you find doing that?
CE:I started my own record label before that, called Broken Glass Records, and I did that basically because I wanted to have control over everything that is going on around my music as music is all I do really and to give that away into the hands of someone else, like a label or something else, is really scary. I know that one day I might want to have a label behind me but I want them to come and say "we want to help you doing what you are doing" instead of coming to me and saying "let's change you into something that will suit us".

R13:Any plans of growing the label and adding new bands?
CE:Yeah. In the future I'd love to have other bands on it. I don't want a huge label but a couple of bands that I truly love and believe in but not until I am sure I can give them the exposure they deserve and before I can do that I have to take my own music first and I have to spend every day trying to get my own music out .

R13:You also produced the EP yourself?
CE:Yes I did. It was a challenge. I love producing and I love putting songs together but it was harder than I thought it would ever be. I learned so much through it and I'm really proud I did it, just learning by mistakes and going to people and seeing what they said. I got a lot of tips from people. I did as much as I could myself, then I went to friends who are better at mixing than I am and they told me what they would have done. I just realised how much you can actually do with, like my vocals, you have one singer on one track and you can do whatever you like with it. But I try to keep it as real as possible so I try to not produce it so much, you know I just want to keep it real and live.

R13:So do you have any suggestions for anyone else thinking of doing the same thing?
CE:I think that so many bands and artists today try to over produce it because there are so many things, there are so many plugs, there's an endless ocean of plugs and effects you can have and if you want to do that sort of music that is amazing but I say don't over produce it, don't have things you don't need to have. If it sounds good from the beginning, don't ruin it by having effects. That would probably be it.

R13:Your lyrics to your songs, they tell amazing stories, where do they come from?
CE:My mind (laughs). I don't know. Everything I write about and sing about is real things that I feel or go through or that happens because that is the reason I write music in the first place, music and writing is a way to grasp, I guess, what's going on. I'm into stories and stuff. I kind of like the way I can put my life into words in a better way than I experience it in a weird way.

R13:Is there anything specific you look for when writing a song or do you just start with a blank piece of paper and see what happens?
CE:Well every time I write it is always something I am thinking about, that I feel or something that is going on that I feel like I need to put this into words so I can understand what is going on. It's very different with the songs, sometimes I just write the lyrics and then I take my guitar or piano and write a song about it. Sometimes I start with just playing on the piano or guitar and the voice just comes. It happens differently every time really.

R13:What can we expect from the new EP "This Is How Ghosts Are Made"?
CE:I am so proud of this EP. I was really scared when I released my first EP because I had never done anything like that before and I was really proud of those songs and felt I would never be able to write those songs again. But when I compared those new songs to my first EP I realised how much I had learned this year, not only as a musician but as a vocalist and songwriter but just the lyrics how much I had learned as a person and what it means to be me, you know live alone and everything. So hopefully this EP will get more exposure than the first one and I hope I will be able to tour on this EP more. Yeah, I'm really excited about this one.

R13:Are you producing it again?
CE:I am. Except for one track I'm working with a producer called Jason Wilcock, who produced You Me At Six, We Are The Ocean and really good bands. I'm really really excited about that.

R13:With the first EP you sent a hand written note saying "Thank you" to everyone it got sent out to, is there going to be anything special like that on this one, or has your arm not yet recovered?
CE: (Laughs) There's always going to be something special. I don't want to say too much but yes, there will be.

R13:You did a single for a Swedish cancer charity "Ung Cancer" (translated means Young Cancer), can you tell us more about that?
CE:It is basically two or three girls started this organisation, one of them is kind of my unrelated sister, who has always been there for me. She got cancer when she was 21 years old, she survived it and is fine now, she's 26 now. But she has always said that the hardest part wasn't to recover physically but the life afterwards to comprehend the fact you could actually die. At 21 years old you think your whole future ahead of you and have all these dreams and plans and suddenly you can't control anything anymore. So they started this organisation for support of people who survive it at a young age to talk with people who know what they are going through and stuff. They're doing this promo video that was on television in Sweden and she asked me if I wanted to write music to it, so I wrote this song and it is going to be on the video and released as a single and all the money will go to the organisation.

R13:And it did well on the Swedish iTunes chart we hear?
CE:I still can't really grasp the whole thing. When I saw that I was number 15 on the iTunes-chart, I was completely speechless, and then it just climbed and reached number 2, it's insanity. I'm just really proud to see "Ung Cancer" beside my name on that chart. As a songwriter, I often feel like I'm not doing any meaningful stuff in this world, especially around people like those in "Ung Cancer", who actually save lives. But to be able to help them, by doing the only thing I know how to, feels amazing.

R13:You have just come back from playing a couple of shows in New York in America, how did that go?
CE:New York was such an amazing and motivational experience. I was introduced to so many people that are doing what I dream to do one day. I met people who are working with bands that I've looked up to for so long, and it was just so inspiring to talk to them and realize that they are not some holy people living in another world, but just normal hardworking musicians, and those achievements are possible for anyone who are willing to work hard enough and never give up. I really felt that the trip to New York gave me the help I needed to get to the next level with my music and I can't wait to see what I can achieve in 2012.

R13:And what plans do you have for the future?
CE:My plans are never realistic (laughs). I have just moved to London and that is unrealistic but yes, the thing is I think my scene is in America, all the bands that I listen to, want to play and tour with are in America, so I will go there, eventually, it's just a matter of how soon as it is probably more to do with the visa as I am only allowed to be there for 3 months with an artist visa and it's expensive and I have to know what I am doing every day if I am going to go there so I am trying to get supporting slots but we'll see.

I guess I am a bit of a wanderer, I get bored of places really fast, I can't believe I stayed in Sweden for 19 years before I moved here but I feel like I have been here a year now and it feels like I have been here for 5 years as so many things have happened and I have learnt so much and I feel like I need to see something new and experience new things because I realise I can play here in London every night if wanted to as this city is amazing for bands but I can't stay here for too long as I will never get out that way, I need to go to new places and look for people that might enjoy my music, mostly because I get bored I think (laughs).

R13:Anywhere specific you are thinking of going to base yourself?
CE:I never want to base myself
R13:For a short time?
CE:I did this question on Facebook "where do you think I should go?" and I got really good answers like France, a lot of people said America, Holland, Germany, Spain, one said Portugal I don't know if I want to move there though (laughs). I was thinking about France but I can't speak French, so that might be a bit of a problem.
R13:On behalf of R13, please don't go!
CE:Aw, I'm coming back anyway.

R13:You seem to have an unhealthy obsession with the Hanson brothers...
CE: (laughs) I do
R13:This is your chance to defend yourself on this
CE:Hanson, it was my first obsession when I was younger and I am still obsessed with them. I have to defend them because every time I say to people that I listen to Hanson they laugh and say "oh you just listen to Mmmbop" but they don't understand that they have 6 or 7 albums and they are still playing and they are so good musicians, they are really amazing.
R13:We have heard that they are supposed to be good these days (Our Michelle Moore even gave their latest release "Shout It Out" a maximum 13 out of 13)
CE:They are, they are amazing! I had them all over my walls when I was younger.

R13:When you were Band of the Month here at R13, you replied to the question "If you could go back in history where would you go" you answered "when I was 12", what happened when you were 12?
CE: (laughs) after 12 it just went downhill. 12 was a really good age because 12 is like before you started to understand life and it was before you started to think about things, you were still old enough to know yourself in a way but then you just get older and it wasn't that fun anymore. It was the perfect age.

R13:If you were a kangaroo, what would you have in your pouch?
CE:What? (laughs) I would have pancakes and I could have a thing that created pancakes all the time so I could eat them whenever I wanted to.

R13:Thank you for your time
CE:Awesome, thank you.

Having just received "This Is How Ghosts Are Made" for review, we can say it is yet another example why we think Ms Eriksson is one of the best prospects around at the moment and deserves a big breakthrough in the very near future.

You can buy both of Charlotte Eriksson's EP's at her website address www.charlotteeriksson.com.