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, Rovi