29 Mar 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Charity Children - Charity Children Berlin Newsletter Interview

05 Nov 2011 // An interview by Shade
 

What can we expect to see from Charity Children Berlin over the next year?

As winter arrives in Berlin, busking on the streets is becoming less feasible. We’re told they have proper winters here. The sort of winters you die in if you stay too long outside. But we’re beginning to get invited indoors to play, which is nice. We’re currently recording our first album with Nigel Braddock of Monkey Records (who we recently signed with) in our living room. It’s due for release December 10th, 2011. Then we are planning a tour around NZ in March next year - then back to Berlin for summer-sessions busking and hopefully a wee European Summer tour.

How do you come up with your lyrics?

By looking through drunken rants in our journals, by gaining inspiration from antiquated love folk poems, through people we’ve met, experiences we’ve shared, through heartbreak, melancholic moments and newfound love in each other.

What can you never leave home without?

Our house key.

How do you describe Charity Children Berlin music?

Someone called us anti-folk once. We liked that. It made us sound progressive and just a bit subversive. But we’re really not. So we suppose ‘Indie-folk’ would be pretty close.

What is the best part of being a musician?

The sleep-ins?

What is in your CD collection at home?

The Tallest Man On Earth, Bob Dylan, Beirut, Aloe Blacc, Lawrence Arabia and Nina Simone. To name a recent few.

What inspired you to start Charity Children Berlin?

When we moved to Berlin from New Zealand and discovered that we couldn’t work anywhere, as we couldn’t speak an inkling of German. The first time we went busking, albeit slightly drunken, we made twelve Euros and two apples. We thought, ‘that’s enough for four falafel kebabs!’ That was exciting.

We’ve always enjoyed playing music together. The first night we kissed (at Whammy in St Kevin’s Arcade), we played piano and harmonica together in the gig room at the Wine Cellar. I guess music was a sort of vessel for which we fell in love.

How did you come up with the name Charity Children Berlin?

Ah well, that’s a long story that we will make concise. Shortly after we first started courting, we were kindly given a piano, which was over a hundred years old. We hired a trailer and transported it home, by ourselves, which was quite a physical task given our frail frames. We named it the ‘Happy Prince’ after the much adored Oscar Wilde children’s story. The ‘Charity Children’ in the story are told off by their teacher for dreaming.

"He looks just like an angel," said the Charity Children as they came out of the cathedral in their bright scarlet cloaks and their clean white pinafores.

"How do you know?" said the Mathematical Master, "you have never seen one."

"Ah! but we have, in our dreams," answered the children; and the Mathematical Master frowned and looked very severe, for he did not approve of children dreaming.

-Oscar Wilde

How do you keep in contact with your fans?

Via Facebook or our email address [email protected]

 

About Charity Children

New Zealand expatriates, Chloë Lewer and Elliott McKee are the indie-folk musical duo, Charity Children. After moving to Germany mid 2011, the two began busking on the streets of Berlin, as the prospect of finding work (being two fairly skill-less, monolinguists) was always going to be unlikely.

With their endearing, intimate style, they have managed to build up quite a following during the summer months from their street music. Their ukulele-driven sound also features harmonica, melodeon, xylophone, hand percussion and anything else small enough to fit in their suitcase when they go busking. However, what really sets Charity Children apart from similar acts is Chloë’s beautiful, ethereal vocals and the pairs strong onstage connection and rapport.


Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Charity Children

Releases

The Autumn Came
Year: 2013
Type: Album

Other Interviews By Shade

Pull Down The Sun Newsletter Interview
01 Dec 2022 // by Shade
Boasting an international standard of modern metal, New Zealand's Pull Down The Sun have set many an audience alight with their glorious imagery that holds true to sheer riff obedience, making motions from heavy and erratic to dark and moody, through to light and uplifting with minimal effort. We spoke to frontman Koert, and he had this to say:How did you become involved in music?
Read More...
Coridian Newsletter Interview
27 Nov 2022 // by Shade
Coridian are one of New Zealand's leading rock acts, and they have an exciting 2023 in the works. In recent months the release of singles Rakshasa (with Michael Murphy from Written by Wolves) and State of Mind have further cemented their status in NZ music.
Read More...
1 Drop Nation Newsletter Interview
19 Nov 2022 // by Shade
Otautahi six-piece 1 Drop Nation will be dropping their exciting self-titled debut album on 1 December, and it’s guaranteed to set Aotearoa music fans up for a great summer! They answered the following questions for Muzic.
Read More...
Interview: 2Fly Ty
17 Oct 2022 // by Shade
Despite currently residing in Brisbane, 2Fly Ty still identifies as a Kiwi at heart, as he looks to make a name for himself in the music scene of his homeland, Aotearoa. He answered the following questions for Muzic.
Read More...
Dead Beat Boys Newsletter Interview
29 Sep 2022 // by Shade
Auckland Rockers Dead Beat Boys fuse punk intensity with classic-rock riffs, all strung together in a show uncontainable by the stage. On the 1st of October they released their first and last album, be sure to check it out here.
Read More...
Frau Knotz Newsletter Interview
28 Sep 2022 // by Shade
The original songs of singer, pianist, producer and composer Lauren Nottingham have touched down on Earth under the moniker Frau Knotz. With avant-pop tracks which simulate echoes of an extra-terrestrial yet power-packed video game soundtrack, Frau Knotz toggles between whimsical fantasies and dark truths, switches propulsive rhythms and expansive balladry and tunes glamor with gameplay to concoct elixirs of dance.
Read More...
Forty Bucks Till Tuesday Newsletter Interview
28 Sep 2022 // by Shade
Forty Bucks Till Tuesday is an openly trans-genre metal band from the distinguished suburbs of south and west Auckland. Currently on the hunt for a new vocalist to complement their existing sound, Muzic.
Read More...
The Snake Behaviour Newsletter Interview
03 Sep 2022 // by Shade
Showing no signs of slowing down, Christchurch Rockers The Snake Behaviour are heading into their 20th year of creating hard-hitting music and delivering incredible live performances. They recently shared all their future plans and a whole lot more with Muzic.
Read More...
View All Articles By Shade

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • WE CAN'T BE FRIENDS (WAIT FOR YOUR LOVE)
    Ariana Grande
  • BEAUTIFUL THINGS
    Benson Boone
  • END OF BEGINNING
    Djo
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • TEXAS HOLD 'EM
    Beyonce
  • STICK SEASON
    Noah Kahan
  • PRAISE JAH IN THE MOONLIGHT
    YG Marley
  • CARNIVAL
    Kanye West And Ty Dolla $ign
  • SATURN
    SZA
  • LOVIN ON ME
    Jack Harlow
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem