TALENT SCOUT - Charlotte Raven

Charlotte Raven is a UK multi-instrumentalist currently tearing it up with the Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey. Get to know our TALENT SCOUT Artist of the Week.NAME: Charlotte RavenHOMETOWN: London, UKMUSICAL TRAINING: I came from a classical background originally. Having studied the piano and cello from the age of six, I’ve been playing classical repertoire all my life. I studied music through school and through university, doing my bachelor of music degree at the University of Bristol. I studied music there for three years, which was a mixture of performing and composing, studying all ranges of music from classical to all sorts of contemporary pop music. I now play a mixture of classical, film, jazz and pop music.FIRST GIGS: I’ve been playing piano and cello classically in gigs and shows all my life. Some of my first gigs were small events such as pubs, bars and weddings. One of my first major gigs has been working with the Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey.MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Beethoven, John Adams, Elton John, John Williams, Oscar Peterson and Ryuichi Sakamoto.WHAT I’M LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW: Bonobo, FKJ, Tom Misch, Jordan Rakai, Massive Attack and Mica Levi.MY BIG BREAK: My big break was really doing work experience in a studio in Battersea, in south west London called Sphere Studios. At the time it housed groups such as Duran Duran as well as various film and advert composers and a mixture of producers.LATEST PROJECTS: Working on a number of different adverts for TV and film, most recently winning an advert for the oil company Shell. I’ve also assisted on a number of different film score sessions and albums at studios such as Abbey Road Studios, AIR Studios and Angel Studios, known as a the three big recording studios in London. I’ve also been assisting on an album working with Tokio Myers.FAVORITE KEYBOARDS AND WHY? The Moog Minimoog Voyager, the Alesis A6 Andromeda, the Roland Jupiter-8. All are great bits of equipment that create some awesome authentic sounds. I also love simple but useful keys such as the Nord Stage 3, a great all rounder, as well as a Casio CDP-120, great as a weighted midi controller.WHAT’S NEXT FOR YOU I’m currently on tour with the Thompson Twins’ Tom Bailey touring the UK. After that I'll be back in my studio working on a number of different composing jobs, as well as fixing and assisting in various other studios. I also have a number of different keyboard gigs coming up across London.ADVICE TO THE NEXT GENERATION: Work out where catering is, and you’ll do just fine!For more information visit www.charlotteraven.com