Rising up from humble beginnings within London’s 2010’s rave scene, Charli XCX’s 6th full-length album Brat sparked an outright pop culture phenomenon, with many dubbing the summer of 2024 "Brat Summer”.
From then on, Charli has only gone further to steamroll her presence into the collective consciousness of music fans worldwide.
Charli has collaborated with the likes of Iggy Azalea, Blondie, will.i.am, Selena Gomez and Katseye among many others. If that wasn’t enough, more recently, she has cemented herself as a viable force within the film industry, acting in and producing a number of feature-length movies, only further establishing her talents as an artist.
Proclaiming the death of the dance floor back in May, Charli XCX’s new single “Rock Music” worked its way up the charts like wildfire. With Charli XCX’s seventh album, Music, Fashion, Film, dropping this month, we figured it’d be a perfect time to look into what gear the hyperpop sensation relies on both on stage and in the studio.
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Universal Audio Apollo 8 Quad
This longtime industry-standard audio interface is prized for its excellent converters, premium mic preamps and ultra-low latency. Photos of Charli’s home studio show that she has opted for the Apollo 8 Quad, the Thunderbolt 18×24 model providing her four preamps and a plethora of other features. This paired up with UAD’s legendary DSP processing makes for a professional unit that Charli is sure to make use of for years to come.
Lewitt Audio LCT 540 Subzero Condenser Microphone
Charli’s FOH engineer Lewis Collis has stated that the Lewitt LCT 540 is a staple within the pop star’s live show. This condenser mic is well known amongst industry professionals and praised for its extremely low self-noise and wide dynamic range. The LCT 540’s 132dB dynamic range makes it suitable for a variety of sources, making it no wonder why it has become such a cornerstone within Charli’s stage production.
beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro Headphones
The beyerdynamic DT 770 Pros have been spotted on Charli’s head during studio tracking sessions; these closed-back 250ohm headphones are a longstanding classic amongst recording engineers due to their stellar sound and rugged reliability. Their design works to reject outside sound, giving the performer an accurate reference and means of monitoring themselves whilst cutting tracks within the studio.
Apple Logic Pro
Charli’s DAW of choice is Apple’s own Logic Pro, a powerful tool which she utilises in her home productions and for collaborating with others on various projects. Given that one would assume she would have access to any DAW she so desires, it speaks volumes that she has stuck with Logic this far into her career. Utilised by both professional engineers and producers worldwide, Logic has seen a rapidly growing user base over the past decade.
Roland V-Drums
In an interview with Charli’s live drummer Deborah Knox-Hewson, it is revealed that the V-Drum pads Deborah makes use of are actually owned by Charli herself.
Focal Alpha 65 Evo Powered Studio Monitor
Charli has made extensive use of the Focal Alpha 65 Evo studio monitors within her home studio; these 6.5-inch powered monitors cover a stellar 40Hz – 22kHz frequency range, running on 80 watts of Class D, bi-amped power. From producing home demos through to listening back to masters and collaborating with others, it’s apparent that the Focal Alpha 65 Evos fit Charli’s monitoring requirements as both an artist and a producer. As a matter of fact, no other reference monitors have been spotted in her studio, highlighting Charli’s confidence in the Focal Alpha 65 Evos as her primary monitoring source whilst working at home.
Moog One Polyphonic Analogue Synthesizer
Moog’s flagship synthesiser, this hardware unit is available in both 8- and 16-voice configurations. Moog has packed each voice with specially designed VCOs, two analogue filters, four LFOs and a plethora of premium Eventide effects. Spotted in Charli’s studio, it’s easy to picture how many of her demos and later productions the Moog One has cropped up on during the period in which she has owned it. A serious piece of kit that is enough to make even the most discerning of analogue purists jealous!
Audio-Technica AT4050
The Audio-Technica AT4050 has been used by Charli in a number of videos featuring her home studio. Given the AT4050’s versatile multipattern feature, which provides a selection of three polar patterns, not to mention its low-noise transformerless design, it’s no wonder Charli has adopted the AT4050.
Apogee Quartet Audio Interface
This sleek 4-channel audio interface and monitor controller has been spotted in some of Charli’s home performances, suggesting that she may make use of the Apogee Quartet as a travel interface or even an alternative to the UAD Apollo for when she wants to get ideas down on the fly.
Music, Fashion, Film is out on July 24, 2026.
