First Listen: Charlotte Plank is a Stargirl on reflective drum n' bass banger

How much should you have to sacrifice to get where you want to go?

This - the tender push and pull between your own interior life and the neccessary sacrifice of many parts of that for a music career -  is clearly on Charlotte Plank's mind, if her reflective new single Stargirl is anything to go by.

Having already scored her first UK Top 10 single last year with Rudimental collab Dancing Is Healing, Charlotte has slowly but surely proving to people why she is one of the most in-demand vocalists in the UK dance scene right now.

So, we arrive at Stargirl, her next single on RCA Records and a big step forward on her path to solo stardom.

Over a languid d'n'b beat, Charlotte spins a story of lingering self-doubt over her ambitions, reflecting on how far she's come in her career so far...but also how far she has left to go.

"Call her a dreamer, because she didn't have a daddy with a Beemer," Charlotte laments as the production by Jakwob really kicks into gear, an obvious flame to her work with Rudimental, as well as the first Disclosure record, Settle.

"You're just a stargirl," the chorus goes. "says you're never going to make it..."

For a genre that is quite classically seen for its 'party' tunes, it's quite refreshing to hear a more introspective and deeply personal take on drum n' bass, from one of its rising stars no less. 

Speaking on the song's creation, Charlotte says her vocal performance was inspired by the late, great Amy Winehouse (the queen of the introspective lament) and while the production was also influenced by the work of genre-bending auteurs Aphex Twin and The Cure.

"Stargirl explores the contrasting genres and worlds that have inspired me growing up," Charlotte says. "Winehouse. It doesn’t sound like anything else I’ve ever heard - which is what I want my sound to be- chaotic but comforting. It’s kind of an ethereal, dark fairytale, coming of age take on dance music. And it’s just the very beginning for everyone else to see the world of sounds and storytelling I’ve been building."

Just like the recent solo debut of JADE from Little Mix, Angel Of My Dreams, Stargirl proves that a lot of the pop girls rising in Britain today are not concerned with playing by the rules, but rather using pop as a launching pad for their own ambitions and vision. 

Stargirl is a testament to where Charlotte sees herself in the commercial pop world, and it's a space that is thoroughly her own. 

Stargirl by Charlotte Plank drops tomorrow September 20 via RCA.