Dan and Hannah Acfield

Siblings Dan and Hannah Acfield are accomplished songwriters and performers. Having forged solo careers, the pair has finally pooled their musical talent and embarked on a journey together. The result is a colourful blend of indie folk, tied together by two distinct voices that have obviously spent many a car trip harmonizing with each other.

In 2012 they released their EP ‘Turning a Page’. Initially considered a side project, the songs were received exceptionally well; gaining airplay, widespread music media acclaim and solid support from community radio. Due to start recording their debut album in August 2013, Dan and Hannah are excited about what the future holds.

What’s your earliest memory of performing and who inspired you to start?

We sang in school choirs but it wasn’t until about age 15 that we started playing separately in bands and performing. Funnily enough though we both started on bass guitar and progressed from there. Our parents are musical; there was always a record on or some kind of music happening. I guess they inspired us originally.

Where did you play gigs growing up in Rockhampton? Was there a good local scene when you were teenagers?

Rockhampton had a small, young musical community but unfortunately there weren’t heaps venues you could play if under age 18. I think we both did a couple of school dances (playing rock), maybe a few parties and private events. After 18 it was all pubs!

What records have you stolen from your parent’s record collection and why?

Hannah: To be honest dad’s pretty protective of his collection! I managed a copy of ‘Butterstone’ by Scottish folk artist Dougie Maclean – till he noticed it was gone. I love the songwriting on that record, we grew up listening to it and I felt a connection to it.

How would you describe your music to someone who had never heard it before?

Indie Folk with lovely harmonies. A mixture between Jeff Buckley, Katie Noonan and The Fleet Foxes.

Do you share songwriting duties equally?

We do. A lot of the time we write separately, mainly because we live in different cities. Every couple of weeks we send each other a new song via email. Writing together is also something we try and do when we’re in the same place – it seems to work better that way for us. Both ways are great, there’s always something to be learnt from the other writer.

You both live in different cities so do fight over where you’re going to rehearse? Or with technology these days, you can probably rehearse on line together…

We do a bit of both – we have recordings of each other that we rehearse separately with. And if we have a gig we’ll rehearse a day or so before the show in that city. The technology for rehearsing online has still got the better of us – we haven’t found a solution for that yet.

You’re currently in the middle of your ‘Next Chapter Tour’, what has been your favourite moment on of the tour so far, on or off the stage?

Playing the Brisbane Powerhouse was certainly one of the highlights. It’s a great venue and we had wonderful listening audience.

Off the stage – when we were driving home after the Byron show in torrential rain, firstly we nearly ran out of petrol (would have been hell) but then a big huntsman spider crawled up over the back of the driver’s seat sending us into a mad panic. We pulled off the freeway before it had a chance to crawl onto Hannah but once we jumped out of the car nobody could find it! Ah the fun.

If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have?

It’d be in the mountains somewhere – maybe near Warburton, VIC. I’d have Laura Marling, Stevie Wonder, Fleetwood Mac, Midnight Oil, Ray Lamontagne, Ry Cooder, and then a heap of local bands – Mustered Courage, The Basics, Sia, Gotye, Mia Dyson, Dan Parsons, Jack Carty, Melody Pool, Liz Stringer, Bertie Blackman, Tigertown. Honestly there are so many amazing musicians – the list could go on forever!

There’d have to be a bar that stocked local beers only. A bar with fine whisky’s for sure. Then a tent with all the delicious fruit of the world – mango’s, fresh dates, watermelon, cherries and pineapple. As for the attractions – who can go past a ferris wheel? Nobody. We’d have one of those at a minimum.

What is your band’s music the best soundtrack for?

Sitting on the couch have a glass of red, lamenting or perhaps just relaxing.

You’re about to start recording your debut album, where will you be recording and who with etc?

It’s very exciting – we’re recording in a friend’s holiday house in a small coastal town in Victoria. All the recording equipment will have to be brought in and setup. We’ll record it over a couple of weeks with Aria nominated producer/engineer Robin Mai (John Butler) – who we’re super keen to work with. There’s a mini grand piano already set up in the house. And a fireplace! We’re hoping that at the end of each day we’ll be able to sit around the fire, debrief, brainstorm and chat. We’re hoping that being more relaxed and comfortable will enable us to record a warm and organic sounding album.