Australian sibling duo Charm Of Finches (Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes) recently released their fourth studio album, Marlinchen In The Snow (19th April via Spunk Records).
An album of interwoven layers, both musically and thematically, fragile but with a quiet strength, it soothes and disturbs in equal measure, whimsical but wise, like the bird in the fairy tale, it rises to sing the truth.
Mike Davies, KLOF Mag
They are our latest ‘Off the Shelf’ guest, in which we ask artists to present objects from a shelf or shelves from their home and talk about them. Check out their video for ‘If You Know Me’ ft. Sam Bentley (The Paper Kites)
‘If You Know Me’ is about having a resting b*tch face and navigating communication in the initial stages of a relationship – haha. When we were recording this song we felt it needed something extra and so we cheekily asked Sam Bentley from The Paper Kites if he might jump on it in some capacity. He came back with an incredible second verse which completed it perfectly.
Off the Shelf with Charm of Finches
Film Camera (Mabel & Ivy)
This was our Dad’s film camera which he has given to us now. We love to take it on tour – even though it is a little bulky and heavy. It’s quite a novel thing for us to take mysterious photos and have to wait to get them developed. We love the uniqueness of each photo on film!
When our dad was in his twenties, he took it on his travels around Europe, and now we’re doing the same. We’ve taken it on our tour of the UK, from the bottom to the top of Sweden (200km from the Arctic Circle) and to Nova Scotia, Canada, when we recorded our album in the winter of Feb 2023. Some of our favourite photos are the ones we took of us standing on the huge frozen lake outside the recording studio.
Rings from Berlin (Ivy)
In 2022, we went on a four-month tour in the UK and Europe. We would do six shows a night and then have a day off. We had two weeks where we had no gigs booked, so we decided to visit as many European countries as possible before the next show rather than resting! I loved going to markets in Europe – second-hand earrings and rings are the ideal souvenir as they don’t make your bag too much heavier! These rings were from a flea market in Berlin, from one of those jewellery stalls where you rummage through mountains of tangled chains and stray earrings and then barter for a good price – my favourite!
Record Collection (Ivy)
I got a record player for my 19th birthday and started collecting records with Mabel. We now live together and keep adding to the collection. We inherited a bunch of records from our Grandma, including Tapestry by Carole King, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys and the hilarious Musical version of ‘War of the Worlds’. Our favourite records that we own are probably Carrie and Lowell by Sufjan Stevens, Year Of Meteors by Laura Veirs and The Freewheelin’ by Bob Dylan.
We love the intention that goes into choosing an LP from the shelf, taking it out of the sleeve with care as you place it on a turntable and gently lower the needle.
Cello (Mabel)
I bought this cello when I was eighteen. It sits in our living room on a stand, ready to be picked up and played. I first started playing when I was nine years old – it was my first instrument. Ivy and I grew up going to Steiner school, where everyone learns a stringed instrument and plays in an orchestra as a class. Ivy picked up violin when she was eight. I love to compose on the cello, and every now and then, I’ll play an old piece from a recital, and it’s amazing how it all comes back into the fingers with muscle memory!
Ivy and I compose and record all the string arrangements for our albums and they have always been an important ingredient of the songs. I love experimenting with all the textures you can create using the cello – it can be smooth and mellow as well as scratchy and grating. You can make great sounds with the bow bouncing on the strings too using the hair on the bow or the back of the bow!
Soyuz Microphone
This is a beautiful little microphone handmade in Russia, which we used to record pretty much everything on our 2022 album Wonderful Oblivion. It was COVID lockdown here in Melbourne, and we had nothing else to do, so we bunkered down in Mabel’s bedroom and turned it into a home studio, complete with a vocal booth made of blankets and mic stands. We recorded most of it ourselves and sent the files over to our producer, Daniel Ledwell, who lives in Canada. He would then record things like bass, horns and percussion and send files back to us. We had lots of early morning Zooms (because of the time difference) and loved working with him – so much that we went over to Canada to record our album ‘Marlinchen In The Snow’ with him.
Vintage Dress Collection
We’ve been collecting vintage dresses from op shops (you call them Charity Shops in the UK) and vintage shops since we were in our early teens. We’ve always loved wearing extravagant frocks on stage! Over the past couple of years, we’ve started collecting vintage wedding dresses and dying them different colours, then wearing them in our music videos and photoshoots. On the album cover of ‘Marlinchen In The Snow’, we’re wearing two wedding dresses dyed red. They look way cooler that way!
Moomin Troll Mugs (Mabel)
Ivy and I are big tea drinkers – Ivy also loves her coffee like most Melbornians. We have lots of lovely mugs, but the Moomin troll mugs are our favourites. The Moomin Trolls are from the children’s books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. We read them when we were kids, and the Moomins have a special place in both our hearts. Drinking lemon and ginger tea with honey is a bit of a before-show ritual for us. It soothes the throat and is also yummy and comforting. I love to drink English breakfast tea with oat milk every morning at home, and it’s one of those comforts on tour to start the day the same way you would if you were at home. When you’re in a different place every night, in a different hotel room and constantly meeting new people and saying goodbye – a cup of good ol’ English breakfast tea stays the same.
Toy Horse
This toy horse was our mum’s when she was a kid. Now, it sits on the shelf in our apartment and regularly cameos in our music videos. In 2021, during the long lockdown in Melbourne, we made our kitchen into a set for the music video for our song Canyon, and it was a prop along with a kitchen pan, a wooden spoon and a little plastic spider.
The horse also appears in our video for Clean Cut, off our new album. For that clip, we transformed a Melbourne warehouse into a doll museum and got a bunch of our friends to dress up as dolls and clowns.
Fur Coat (Ivy)
I bought this coat at an op shop in country Victoria (the state we live in). I love it because it looks great with pretty much anything and keeps me super warm. We go to the UK on tour a lot, which we have learnt can’t be relied upon for warm weather in the summer! We can’t wait to brave the UK weather on our Album Tour this May-August. Wear your best coat to one of our shows! (Dates below)
Charm of Finches UK Tour
9-11May: Focus Wales, Wrexham, Wales
22 May: Glad Café, Glasgow
23-26 May: Orkney Folk Festival
6 June: St Mary’s, Chester
7 June: Live Room, Saltaire
8 June: The Greystones, Sheffield
9 June: The Hive, Shrewsbury
10 June: Temperance, Leamington Spa (sold out)
11 June: Kitchen Garden, Kings Heath
13 June: Exeter Phoenix, Exeter
14 June: Bristol Folkhouse, Bristol
16 June: Whitstable Sessions, Whitstable
18 June: The Fleece Inn Barn, Evesham
19 June: King’s Arm, Manchester
20 June: The Lexington, London
21 June: Ace Space, Newbury
22 June: Pound Arts, Corsham
23 June: The Folklore Rooms, Brighton
25 June: Acapela Studio, Cardiff
27 June: John Wesley Memorial Church, Oxford
4-7 July: Gate To Southwell Festival, Nottinghamshire
2-9th August: Sidmouth Folk Festival
9-10 August: The Magpies Festival, York
More Dates TBA
Marlinchen In The Snow is released on 19th April via Spunk Records.
Tickets: https://www.charmoffinchesband.com/shows