“I want pop to feel like an event again – something you don’t only hear, but see, wear and experience.” – Charlie Void
South African artist, songwriter, producer and performer Charlie Void returns with “Velvet Runway,” a high-energy dance-pop single that brings together music, fashion and performance art in one carefully constructed world.
Written, performed and produced by Charlie Void, Velvet Runway combines polished contemporary dance-pop with a retro-pop edge. But the song is only one part of the concept. Fashion, photography, movement and character are central to the project, reflecting Void’s approach to pop as something that should be experienced visually as well as heard.
Three days after landing on the editorial playlist on release day, the single has climbed from deep in
the selection to become the third track featured in its Best New Songs preview. On release day, listeners had to scroll deep into New Music Daily to find “Velvet Runway.” By 21 September, the track had risen from that comparatively low-profile position to become the third song displayed in the playlist’s Best New Songs preview. There, “Velvet Runway” appears immediately after new releases from Kim Petras and Troye Sivan, and directly ahead of Miley Cyrus.
The new release marks another chapter in a career that has moved between songwriting, production, visual art and performance. Charlie Void spent time in the United States from 2017 to 2019, studying practical pop songwriting before returning to South Africa and launching his recording career.
For Velvet Runway, Charlie Void is working with veteran South African songwriter and publisher Patric van Blerk through Silversongs (Pty) Ltd / PvB Music, with publishing administration and sync representation through Downtown Music Publishing Africa, formerly Sheer Publishing Africa.
The result is a release that sits comfortably between mainstream dance-pop and something more theatrical – a song designed not simply as a standalone single, but as part of the wider Charlie Void universe.
PHOTOGRAPHY – JACQUI VAN STADEN
