Charlotte Martin’s playlist

Charlotte Martin has been to hell and back. Intercostal neuralgia, an excruciating nerve disorder, plagued the singer and held her life hostage.

“It was torture,” Charlotte thinks back. “I watched someone else take care of my little boy and I watched my friends go on with their lives. The world just kept on turning as I was house-bound and stuck in this nightmare of awful pain. It emotionally scarred me.”

As if that all isn’t heartbreaking enough, the pianist couldn’t bear the physical pain that simply sitting at her piano caused.

After a long series of misdiagnoses Charlotte finally received proper treatment and began to crawl her way back to her old life. 

2011’s Dancing on Needles, Charlotte’s most introspective, emotionally driven album to date, maps that painful journey uphill.

Come April, Charlotte is burying the memories of that trying time with the release of her latest work Hiding Places.

“I’m in a happy place now,” she says. “I’ve found a lot of healing and I will never take my health for granted again. Or that I can carry my daughter and play with my son. And I’ll never take being able to play music for granted.”

Here’s a look at what Charlotte is playing as she counts down the days to her new release.

.

Midnight City – M83

“I love this song. My dear friend Justin Meldal–Johnsen, who plays bass guitar on my albums, produced the album.”

.

Furious – Bethel Music and Jeremy Riddle

“I normally don’t listen to Christian music even though I’m a Christian, but this guy and this song blew my mind when I heard it.”

.

When the Sun Hits – Slow Dive

“One of my favorite bands ever, of all time, forever. They will always be in rotation.”

. 

Everlasting – Robin Guthrie

“Yeah, the guy was in the Cocteau Twins, another insanely incredible band. Love it.”

Synemy – Digital Noise Academy

“I’m in this band with my husband Ken Andrews, Justin Meldal–Johnsen, Fernando Sanchez, Sharky Laguana and Jordon Zadorosky. We hope to release it all soon.”

Samples from Dancing on Needles is streaming below. Charlotte is releasing Hiding Places, a DVD/CD set on April 3, available at Charlotte’s online store. Follow Charlotte on twitter and facebook.

Posted by Marc Andrew on Mar 15 2012. Filed under Celebrity Playlist. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.