INTRODUCING: QUIET MAN

Meet Quiet Man, the emotionally unfiltered artist turning raw feeling into quiet anthems. After playing in bands with Fred Again.. and Joy Anonymous, and supporting the likes of Medium Build, Quiet Man is stepping out of the background and into his own. His debut singles, ‘Pretty Tough ’ (July 25) and ‘Good Enough’ (August 8), showcase a stripped-back sound that cuts deep — written on a Gumtree piano, sung from the gut, and soaked in vulnerability.

Originally crafting jazzy pop in the vein of Tom Misch, Quiet Man — aka Charlie — has redefined himself with music that feels lived-in and soul-baring. Whether he's processing heartbreak or sharing tender conversations with loved ones, there's no pretense here — just stark honesty and beautifully bruised melodies. Now, with two powerful new singles and a secret show lined up in Glasgow (Aug 2), Quiet Man is ready to be heard — not loudly, but clearly.

1. ’Pretty Tough’ feels like it came from a raw, emotionally charged place — what was going through your head when you wrote it, and did the process of writing it help you make sense of what you were feeling?

*’Pretty Tough’ definitely came out of the mire, yeah. I had a super raw and vicious fall out with someone I love most and couldn’t really process it openly at first. So, as has become a bit of a theme with my writing these days, I sat at the piano and over a couple of weeks I wrote this song about it. Music doesn’t solve your problems but I am grateful to have worked hard on developing an outlet for poignant moments in my life. And I hope that people who hear this song might find their own space to breathe in it too.

2. You’ve played in bands with Fred Again.. and Joy Anonymous, and now you’re stepping into the spotlight with your own sound — how has that shift from collaborator to solo artist changed the way you create and perform?

I’ve been great friends with them for a long time. We all started out writing songs together many years ago in London at Fred’s house and since then I’ve been lucky enough to go on tour and make some banging music with them all. Those guys inspire me in their music and their openness of character and I’d like to think that I’ve maybe learned from that and moulded it to fit my own creative shape nowadays. 

3. You mentioned that ’Good Enough’ was born from a conversation about an existential crisis — what role do those kinds of deep, sometimes uncomfortable conversations play in your songwriting?

I’d say almost always these days. And I realise now that that’s always been the music I’m most drawn to. I want to swim in the emotion of it. Almost drown. It took me a good while to embrace that or believe that I was able to live in that space creatively but I feel good about it now. *’Good Enough’ is me pleading with someone I love. It’s an attempt (one of many) at persuading someone to stay alive. To believe that life is worth staying alive for. I’m sure that’s a thing that many people have unfortunately been through or even felt themselves. But I’ve hopefully wrapped it in harmonic comfort and a bit of a groove to suspend the hope above the waves of sadness.

4. Your earlier work leaned toward jazz-pop, but now you’ve pivoted to something more stripped-back and emotionally exposed. What pushed you in that direction, and how did that old Gumtree piano influence your sound?

100% moving up north with my now wife Isabele. I’ve always written songs on my own at the piano but never gave it my full focus in London. When we arrived in Glasgow I went straight onto Gumtree and found a piano in Kilmarnock for £35 and within the first week of us being here it was sat in my little studio room. For the first year of being here that’s basically all I did - played that piano whenever I could, as much as I could. It has informed everything I make now and I hope it always will.

5. There’s a lot of vulnerability in your music — do you ever feel nervous about how much of yourself you’re putting out there, or is it part of what makes the music feel necessary to you?

All the time, every single day, it’s a fucking nightmare. Makes it especially painful when the music doesn’t reach people. You’re putting a beautiful little piece of yourself out there, wrapped in worry and vulnerability. But I think that’s how it should be, for me anyway.