We came over about 2 years ago- we’d fallen in love back home and we were looking for a faraway place to live a faraway life. Berlin was perfect.
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charity children - winners of the best song!
interview with the BEST SONG category winners
who are the members of the band?
We’re Chloe Lewer (Vocals, Ukulele, Percussion), Elliott McKee (Vocals, Ukulele, Accordion and Harmonica) and Dave Sills (Cello and Piano).
where are they from?
We all live in Kreuzberg, Berlin- but originally from New Zealand and Australia.
why are you in berlin (in general or at the date of the event)?
We came over about 2 years ago- we’d fallen in love back home and we were looking for a faraway place to live a faraway life. Berlin was perfect. It was cheap and mad enough for us to get by playing on the street. We can’t imagine doing what we do here anywhere else- and we don’t really want to. We’ve encountered nothing but kindness- it’s the sort of city that if you pursue something you love with enough sincerity, then the city will look after you.
how would you define your style?
Our record label calls it Indie-folk and our friends call it Anti-folk- we’re not sure really- some brand of folk anyway.
influences?
Our main influence has got to be the street. There are many musicians and artists who have excited and inspired us through the years- but the main influence on our music is the place where it was written, and what it was written for. We hadn’t written a hell of a lot of music when we first came over- so we’d take to the street busking, playing little covers of songs we adored- but very quickly we became bored of playing other people’s tunes- so we started writing our own. By that point we’d worked out the kind of music which the crowds would react to best- the sort of music would catch people’s attention, so they wouldn’t just walk past. The street not only informed our sound, but song structure too and even our subject matter sometimes. Although we play a lot inside these days, we still consider ourselves very much a street band.
upcoming bookings?
We’re yearning for summer so we can get back outside to play, but we’ve also got a few inside concerts coming up- some in Berlin and a couple around Germany. Anytime we have a gig we always post the details to our facebook page - www.facebook.com/charitychildren
upcoming projects?
After making Elizabeth, we’re pretty keen on getting out and making another video. Back home we were working as actors and filmmakers- so making music videos for our songs is definitely a way to get that fix. Our debut release, ‘The Autumn Came’ also comes out this summer- it’s a selection of songs we wrote during our first summer in Berlin. We spent a year recording them with a full folk orchestra and are very much looking forward to putting them out.
something else that you would like to promote?
We’re giving away the mp3 of our debut single ‘Elizabeth’ as a free download via our facebook page.