Tanika Charles Reemerges From Her Creative Cocoon

The Canadian soul powerhouse shares five albums she can’t live without

by Stephan Boissonneault

Photo by Taha Muharuma

Published on April 12, 2022

The moth — or the night butterfly — is a mystical symbol for transformation. It was also the inspiration behind R&B/soul songwriter Tanika Charles’ latest album, Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly.

“I always thought it was a strange insect,” the Juno nominated artist tells RANGE. “Once while in Paris, a friend swatted at one and I asked: ‘Was that a moth?’ I was told: ‘No, that’s a papillon de nuit.’ I thought that was the most beautiful description for this otherwise overlooked creature.”

Coming out of her cocoon after a difficult two years, Charles is exploring new sounds and feelings on her latest outing. Written, composed, and recorded in and out of lockdowns, Papillon features Toronto rapper DijahSB and multi-disciplinary artist, Khari McClelland to create a robust collection of songs. While her taste and influence ranges from Turkish psych-rock to old school soul, the album comes alive with laid back soul on “Hold Me (Like A Grudge),” down-right funk in the vein of Khurangbin on “Rent Free,” and up-tempo R&B infused hip-hop on album highlight “Different Mornings.”

With Papillon de Nuit: The Night Butterfly now fluttering through our airwaves, we asked Charles to share her top five albums that she’s got in rotation at the moment.

Yebba – Dawn (Pop/R&B)

Yebba ALL DAY! The way she expresses all of her feelings, she legit pours her soul into every song. She makes me feel something. I wanted people to feel, to truly react to my songs with this new album or at least empathize with the lyrics.

**Kojey Radical – Reason To Smile (R&B, Grime, Hip-hop)**

I heard Kojey Radical for the first time on COLORS. He’s got mad style. I love his voice and cadence.

**Lydia Persaud – Let me Show You (Folk/Soul)**

Lydia is from Toronto. Would see her name everywhere singing background on different projects from local artists. When I finally sat down and listened to this album from 2019, I cried. For real. You just have to listen to her voice. The harmonies, lyrics…she has a new album coming out this month too.

**Yola – Orphan Offering (Folk/Country)**

I had a country moment and it’s Yola’s fault. She also led me down a path of searching and listening to Black female country singers..and possibly taking a different approach to singing/songwriting.