“I’m sorry it took so long to connect; I’m on Skype now because it seems my phone doesn’t want to call Australian numbers!”
Simon Berkelman aka Berkfinger, frontman of recently split punks-with-soul Philadelphia Grand Jury, is calling from Berlin.
It feels like a perfectly apt way to begin the conversation, considering Berkfinger has spent the last year and a bit creating another life – and musical act – in Europe.
It’s called Feelings and Berkfinger has recently finished his first mini tour of Australia, showcasing just a handful of over 70 songs he’s written, “which are completely different from one another,” he stresses.
“I’ve just been going through them all and picking out what I want the record to sound like, what direction it will go in and the general overall feel of it,” he explains in his characteristically high voice.
After the break-up of Philadelphia Grand Jury, some time and space was exactly what the charismatic musician needed to kick start the creative flow again.
After receiving word about an opportunity to purchase a recording studio in Berlin – at the same cost of a room in a share house in Sydney plus a tiny, one-roomed studio – he leapt at this chance of real estate and established himself a new home.
But the formerly Sydney-based performer admits it wasn’t just the cheap rent that caught his initial attention and kept him in the German capital.“We’ve become a band again which is exactly what happened with Philadelphia Grand Jury – I get lonely!”
“Berlin is very conducive to creativity at the moment. There are a lot of people making something out of not a lot, which I’ve always been a fan of. Usually, if you want to make a record in Australia, you do have to have some money but over here it’s more important to make a creative community,” he says.
Which is exactly what Berkfinger is doing.
The ex-pat now has enough room for his recording studio, a living space, plus something a little cushier than just a couch for when bands head over and need a place to stay.
The Gin Club’s Ben Salter and Michael Tomlinson (former frontman of Brisbane favourite Yves Klein Blue, now based in London and writing and performing under the moniker, M T) are among the fellow Aussie musicians who have taken to Berkfinger’s hospitality.
“There’s always a sort of energy when you’re creating a new project,” he adds. “Anything is possible, you know? The biggest influence is the freedom, just playing on my own.”
Although, he admits sometimes solitude isn’t always bliss. “The Philly Jays started off as a solo project, as well. Then I start this album on my own and slowly Dan (W Sweat, the original drummer – now percussionist for Art vs. Science) got involved. We’ve become a band again which is exactly what happened with Philadelphia Grand Jury – I get lonely!”
Berkfinger remains adamant, however, that no one is tied to the band. Just like the revolving drumming position for the Philly Jays, if ever Dan or guitarist David Rennick (also a member of Dappled Cities) has something else going on, then the Feelings frontman will simply grab some other friends to play with.
“It’s the risk you take,” he says. “Of course there’s going to be the interest of, ‘Oh I liked his other band so let’s check out this stuff’!”
Turns out, we could have checked out Berkfinger’s new stuff as long as a year ago, had he not learned to slow down and take a breath.
“I actually wanted to put an album out last September,” he reveals. “I think if I hadn’t have waited then I would’ve rushed something out just to keep rolling. I mean, ’One in a Million’ (the only single released as Feelings) was written and recorded last April and I only mixed it a month before its release.”“What’s the best way to launch a band here in Berlin? Well, it’s to go to Australia, which is really surprising.”
The singer and multi-instrumentalist has had ample inspiration since moving away from our shores and is looking forward to the northern hemisphere’s impending wintertime to further spur the creativity.
“I think when you get snowed in for a month at minus 10 degrees then it does affect the way you write. Maybe I’ll buy a synthesiser and spend all my snow time writing weird electronic songs,” he ponders aloud.
Though proving successful overseas professionally and personally, he does miss the sun and surf of Sydney and acknowledges a vital point. “What’s the best way to launch a band here in Berlin? Well, it’s to go to Australia, which is really surprising.”
“There’s a whole lot of interest here around the Australian music scene. Every time I go see a band, that I last saw 5 years ago in Sydney, and who have done great things – they’re always playing to a packed out audience over here.”
Berkfinger lists The Jezabels, Cloud Control and Boy & Bear as firm examples of Australian bands making a mark on the other side of the world. Though he’s now one of them too, Berkfinger humbly holds the nerves as if he’s a brand new performer.
“It’s been a year and a half of excitement for me; quite the build-up,” he reflects. “Last time I was in a band I was playing to 12 or 13,00 people. I’m not going back to that but I’ve had more than enough time to get nervous; I feel like I’ve forgotten what it’s like to play in front of a crowd!”
After wowing packed crowds on a recent trip home for a short tour, Berkfinger needn’t worry about the future of Feelings; he was back on stage and with home soil support, as quirky and fun as ever before.
