Itâs common knowledge by now that lockdown proved to be a grim time for many musicians around the world. But for some artists at the very start of their journey, it offered invaluable space to bloom. 18-year-old Charmaine â better known as Dexter â has only known life as an artist in this weird new world, dropping hazy, heartfelt bedroom pop tracks as soon as sheâs penned them and watching the momentum snowball from behind a screen.
In the normal world, juggling your A-levels while getting a project off the ground could prove stressful, but, as the south-west Londoner tells NME over Zoom, Dexter didnât have much time for her studies last year. âI never did my work at sixth form, like ever: homework wasnât a thing in my brain. So I had a lot of time on my hands. The lockdown was a turning point, because it was when I actually started trying and started making my own songs.â
A rebellious streak has been central to Dexterâs story so far. In fact, she first realised her dream while bunking off school for her first gig, Rex Orange County at Londonâs Koko. âI told the teacher I had a dentist appointment. I ran from school with my friends, and that was the first time I saw someone and thought, ‘I have to do this, otherwise Iâm just wasting my life completely’.â
Giddy with the delirious excitement of witnessing her first proper show, it wasnât long before Dexter was posting beautifully stripped-down covers, including ROC’s âSunflowerâ, to SoundCloud. âI was obsessed with that man. It was just a few months after he was on [Tyler, The Creatorâs] âFlower Boyâ as well. Even just going to concerts after that, I would just be thinking, ‘I want to do this’. At times I was more focused on thinking about doing [music] as my career than what I was actually watching.â
It was a case of dreaming big, something spurred on by being stuck at home. âI thought, ‘I might as well make some songs, because I literally have nothing else to do’.â Posting tracks that were entirely recorded on her phone without any expectations, Charmaine assumed the moniker âDexterâ to keep the project hidden from her family. âI went for a walk and I was like, âI should have a song on Spotifyâ, so I made one, not for anyone else â I just wanted to be able to click play.â
Packed with teenage melodrama, her early reclined style of acoustic pop quickly gained support from the juggernaut streaming platform (âit made me realise that this is actually going somewhere, and I was really shocked”). Third single âSame Wayâ was the first to really take off, with a pensive and soulful vocal innocently lamenting over a rustic guitar line: âWhy do you never take me on a date? / Iâm the only one who loves you, babe / But you donât feel the same way.â
This week Dexter drops her debut EP âI Do Like A Good Sandwichâ, which is a natural step up sonically: take recent single âBlue Skiesâ, a golden, upbeat summer jam as its title suggests. Dexter views the EP as her coming-out-of-the-shadows moment. âPreviously people were just judging it on the songs, rather than the way I look or my age. Now Iâm properly showing my face and itâs my first statement to say, ‘This is me, Iâm an artist now’. Itâs a bit nerve-wracking, but it will be fine.â
âI Like Meâ, the EP’s second single, charts the battle between individual expression and external validation, something which hasnât always proved to be easy for Charmaine while growing up. âAt Year 10 or 11 parties everyone would be going, âWhat dress are you wearing?’ And I felt like I had to go in a dress, even though I literally hate dresses so much. There was a running joke that Iâm the boy of the group because of my clothes.â

She continues: âI went to an all-white school and there was a running thing about Black women being masculinised. Being around skinny white girls for seven years added to that, especially when I donât like certain types of clothing that make them appear more feminine.â Thereâs a certain defiance, then, in ‘I Like Me”s accompanying video, where Dexter is seen cruising around town in her baggy Slowthai t-shirt. âIt was about realising I can still be considered a girl even if Iâm not portraying myself in a hyper-feminine way.â
Dexter hopes the breezy pop track will inspire others. âThings like clothes shouldnât define who you are. Itâs just stupid the way that people view others because of such external things. All that matters is you as a person: if youâre a cis girl, trans girl, youâre a girl. You shouldnât have to wear certain clothing to prove that to people.â She says she lacked role models growing up. âThatâs the kind of thing that I needed more [of] in school. It was huge when I found Solange: I saw her at Lovebox Festival, and seeing people like that being so comfortable with their identity as a Black woman was really empowering and inspiring.â
Given the momentum that the teen has already accumulated with just her phone and lockdown boredom, Dexter now looks set for further success with her ‘I Do Love A Good Sandwich’ EP. But, she insists, it’s still all about learning the basics at this stage. âIâm really impatient, so until now I would make a song and literally upload it the next day. Now I’ve realised you have to wait, which was difficult to get used to but it helps you appreciate the process.â She’s under no illusions that this is only the start, though. âItâs a proper release, which Iâve never had before. This feels like the beginning.â
Dexter’s ‘I Do Love A Good Sandwich’ EP will be released on August 4.
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The post Dexter: rebellious bedroom pop that champions self-expression appeared first on NME.