As Althaea, multi–instrumentalist Charlotte Malin Collins puts forth an immersive and soulful debut with Welcome Home.
Derived from ancient Greek, Althaea means “to heal”, which is Malin Collins’ motivation behind the crafting of this work. With an ethereal voice accompanied by lush strings, Althaea uses song as a healing force, guiding listeners on a soul-folk journey toward deeper connection with their own hearts.
About Althaea
Writing songs from a space of bliss
Raised outside of Boston, MA Malin Collins spent much of her life immersed in classical music as a violinist and violist, studying at elite music programs under some of the best teachers and conductors in the world.
Beyond her classical training, which prepared her technique-wise for a life of playing and sharing music, Malin Collins finds that Althaea allows her to access a deeper level of artistry. She says, “With classical music, I often have to work for a long time on a piece’s technical elements before I feel ready to inhabit and communicate the emotional landscape. With Althaea, the emotional landscape comes first. This music is more raw, more direct, and comes from a deeply intuitive place.”
She began composing certain Althaea works while working as a freelance musician in Berlin, a time in which Malin Collins describes her creativity as being “supercharged; I was often in a spiritually ecstatic state, constantly scribbling poetry in the subways, making up healing chants while walking around the city, and writing songs from a space of bliss.” Upon returning to western Massachusetts and reckoning with a turning point in her career, the sounds of Althaea began to bloom for Charlotte, somewhat literally. Through her practice of herbalism, Malin Collins encountered the marshmallow plant (also known as Althaea officinalis), whose properties resonated with the music she was starting to channel: soothing, sweet, and gentle, yet powerful. Inspired by innovative violinist Andrew Bird, the celestial vocal stylings of Aurora, and– thanks to the pandemic– a newfound proficiency on the guitar, the songs of Welcome Home began to take form.
Connecting people to their hearts and to their inner knowing
Welcome Home is designed to connect people to their hearts and to their inner knowing; in essence, the music strives to bring listeners home to themselves. The album was recorded at Ghost Hit Records in Springfield, MA, features the co-production of James Bird, and was engineered by Jake Subin (Alt-J, Dirty Projectors, Chvrches). Malin Collins describes each track as embodying a “distinct entity,” although the themes throughout the album run strong: shadows and light, loss and love. “All of the songs I’ve written were created as medicine for myself, to help myself process a particular experience, relationship, emotion, or state of consciousness,” says Malin Collins. “When I play them, I get to experience a connection to this experience, as well as the pleasure of sharing resonance with others who relate to this experience or state of mind and heart in their own way.”
We can always come home.
As Althaea, Charlotte Malin Collins has built a home for each traveler as they pass on their winding way. Life’s road inevitably passes through dark patches, thickets in the woods, then yields into dappled light. We are bound in kinship through our common experiences of love and loss, and Althaea’s Welcome Home stands on the roadside, enchanting and warm, inviting us to set ourselves down for a while and be soothed by the knowing that all is well. We can always come home.
As a classical musician, educator, and transformational coach, Charlotte maintains a private practice, facilitates workshops and events, and teaches at Amherst College. Find more about her classical performance, creative healing, and teaching work at www.charlottemalincollins.com.