Read some questions Charlton kindly answered for this site or check out the official bio below.

The story so far...

Charlton Hill first ventured beneath the waterline while surfing as a child on the beaches of Sydney's northern suburbs. "You get knocked off a wave and you're under the water watching the wave roll past," he says with passionate animation, "it's like you're in this embryonic state and there is just you and nothing anchoring you to anything else".

That concoction of fear, liberation and excitement not only stayed with Charlton, it defined his emotional progression into adulthood. "I have always thought in terms of there being this invisible social line that you can choose to dive under and delve into a more complex state of yourself and the people around you". Hill's debut album is a collection of soul bearing songs that capture the romantic, spiritual and musical explorations undertaken by the 25 year singer/songwriter - below the surface of the waterline.

Hill first picked up a guitar when he was 12 years old. Inspired by the doors and Jim Morrison, he started writing poetry at 15 and playing bass and guitar in bands at 17. "It really only occurred to me to sing when I started writing a lot of songs and wanted to be responsible for delivering my own message". Besides playing in bands in local surfing pubs, Hill's post high school pursuits included travelling the world. "I'd save up money and go off to see different parts of the world". It was an event that occurred shortly after returning from one such trip that changed the course of Charlton Hill's life. "Our family house was burned to the ground in the 1994 fires," he acknowledges unemotionally. "We were left with not one possession". After that dramatic event, he headed overseas indefinitely and began his musical quest as solo artist. "Major events in your life really shape your thinking for the future. I realised money and security were not important to me – only music was".

Charlton spent the best part of two years sloggin' away in London. "There were definitely some hard times", he says, "but I am not the kind of person who would ever just give up and go home the minute things started to get unpleasant". He played solo acoustic gigs whenever he could. as fate would have it, he found himself living with a bunch of professional musicians who recorded a demo of some of the songs he had been working up during his travels. Hill's Australian based friend and manager, Anthony Copping engineered the demo's journey into the A&R department of Sony Music. "I had come home to see my family for a while and Anthony rang the A&R director and said 'Charlton's home – do we have a reason to keep him here'". Within weeks, the singer/songwriter was on a plane back to London to record his debut album.

He made two inspired decisions during the development of his album, the first one being to recruit producer Ian Grimble, (who has also worked with Travis, Morcheeba and Manic Street Preachers). "From the first conversation we had I knew Ian was going to work with what he saw in me rather than try to and create something else". Secondly, despite having his pick of musicians around the world, Charlton assembled the same group of musicians who had assisted with the recording of his demos. "I'd recorded one track in New York with some awesome musicians but even though it sounded amazing – it sounded different. I wanted to keep that live, organic vibe I'd worked up with the boys in our living room". As a result Waterline represents an inventive and vast musical world which is still firmly rooted in organic and melodic instrumentation and a meaningful lyrical flow.

Ironically, the first single released off the album was the last one penned. "I basically wrote 2's Company in as much time as it takes to sing it", he says. "It's about meeting someone who's really dysfunctional and getting really excited about it – for a while". The song begins with a haunted keyboard line and Hill's injured, distance vocals which explode into much richer, confronting clarity in the chorus. The song continues to swing from the bitter sparseness of the verses to the vibrant production of the chorus, during which the lyrical resolutions are self assuredly delivered. The song attracted impressive commercial radio airplay and was supported by a world class video clip, shot against the volcanic moonscapes of Iceland.

Not that the album's romantic fall out is always projected with a sense of acrimony. The gently melodic Raincloud captures the sweet sounds of infatuation with sweeping sentimentality before revealing lyrical hazards like "she's a raincloud and she can't be good for me". But the subtle atmospherics and gracefully empathetic strings root the lyrical projection in a mood that is more mystical than defeated. "I wouldn't say I fall in love easily", says Hill, "but I guess I do fall easily for certain people". Raincloud is directly followed by an equally infectious attempt to rid the world of anything not soaked in idealistic romanticism and perfection called If I Could.

Hill certainly explores less whimsical territory on the commercial radio destined Deep. "I wrote that when I was overseas and things were not going very well", he says, "it's about missing home and the water, relationships going bad and just generally wondering whether you have bitten off more than you can chew". The opening lines – "slip past the waterline, plunge into the world I know" – spark an uplifting examination of how-deep-is too-deep. "I guess when you start really delving into things it can be very lonely and overly revealing", says Hill, "that song is about coming up for air before you drown". Deep capitalises on Hill's ability to inventively build his lyrical and musical story and then match the punch in his lyrics with the hook in his melody, giving maximum impact to lyrical declarations like "I'm in too deep, don't let me drown". Don't Sail employs a bolder atmospheric soundscape and a more desperate lyrical attitude to turn a cry for help into another radio friendly stand out.

Charlton Hill is pleased to say his experiences over the last few years have made him a less agreeable person. "I have really broken through that fear of what's below the surface", he says, "I feel void of other people's inhibitions and manipulations and it's a good position to be in". Speaking of which, Hill has recently supported gorgeous Kiwi crooner Bic Runga, the Australian tour of US sensation John Mayer, and also joined The Whitlams around the country. It seems there are ultimate rewards for venturing below those invisible lines. "It's probably easier to cruise along and not put a toe beneath the water line", he says, "but once you've been down there and seen the possibilities – you just can't go back".

With vast talent, striking looks and an honest debut album on his side – there is no going back.