Charlotte Dos Santos Returns with Soulful Brilliance / I’ve Been Thinking
The Brazilian-Norwegian artist bends the rules of modern music with a luscious, jazz-infused single that radiates warmth and authenticity.
The golden rule of modern radio-played music is to introduce the chorus or vocals within the first 15-30 seconds. Such is the short attention span of listeners today who use streaming as the source of their discoveries. They want instant recognition, a sound to know if it’s for them or not. Seriously, what has happened to us?
However, the great thing is Charlotte Dos Santos completely ignores this demand with the scintillating, gorgeously produced single, I’ve Been Thinking.
Charlotte dos Santos, whom we welcome back after a short hiatus, delivers a track bathed in jazz textures, soul, and wonderful elements of inventive space and imagination. Her voice remains one of the most distinctive and captivating in contemporary music.
The single opens with a jazzy ease that instantly invites reflection. Anyone drawn to music that breathes consciousness, soulful jazz, and organic flow will find themselves staying. As I did. As we all will.
When her vocals enter, they carry that unmistakable tone we’ve admired since her earliest releases — soft, expressive, and deeply sincere. There’s honesty in the way she sings, a quality that feels both timeless and celebratory.
The bass moves with soft, spongy depths, the horns soar, and the drum patterns are taut yet gentle. We are in rare groove territory. A track equally suited to soundtracking a slow summer afternoon or brightening a dark winter night. The gentle fragrance of the late, great Minnie Ripperton floats through, like the scent of a cherished memory.
Taken from her brand-new EP Neve Azul, this single shines as its standout moment. The Norwegian Grammy Award winner has already earned recognition across the musical spectrum, and once again she reminds us why. Charlotte dos Santos breaks the supposed rules, and rules are there to be broken if the human art of music is to remain alive. She does so naturally, time and time again.
“Det var driv fet,” says Charlotte with a laugh — a mix of Norwegian and musician slang that loosely translates to “that groove was dope.” She’s not wrong. It’s utterly sublime.
