Contrary to numerous label changes and a lengthy period of inactivity,
Charlotte OC's output has progressed in steady fashion, from the straightforward singer/songwriter material showcased on her 2011 major-label debut, to the refined mix of pop, R&B, and downtempo electronica heard on Oh the Agony, Oh the Ecstasy (2020).
Born in Blackburn, Lancashire, England,
Charlotte OC (
Charlotte Mary O'Connor) started playing guitar and writing songs in her early teens. Within a few years, she landed a contract with major-label Columbia. She debuted under her birth name 2011 with the album For Kenny, after which she took a break from music and spent a couple years working at her mother's salon. Once she became active again, the Stranger label -- the U.K. home to
Lana Del Rey -- signed her, and her music took on a darker hue, with the folk shadings of her earlier work were replaced with moodier R&B and downtempo electronic elements. In 2013, as
Charlotte OC, she released Colour My Heart, an EP of four dramatic yet restrained songs recorded with
Tim Anderson (
Solange,
Sia,
Banks). Complementary remixes from
Moodymann and Yarin Lidor followed shortly thereafter. A deal with Harvest/Polydor yielded the EPs
Strange and
Burning, issued respectively in 2014 and 2015, and the album
Careless People, which followed in 2017. Subsequently independent,
Charlotte OC continued with a handful of singles in 2019 and 2020, and during the latter year issued another EP, Oh the Agony, Oh the Ecstasy. ~ Andy Kellman