Charm of Finches

Background

Mabel and Ivy Windred-Wornes, from Northcote in Melbourne, were raised on folk music at home, including Americana, Appalachian mountain music, and English and Celtic tunes. At eight and eleven, they busked outside a local greengrocer, covering First Aid Kit songs. They attended a Steiner School and started learning violin and cello at age eight. Mabel later picked up guitar on her own, and the pair began writing songs as a duo.

Musical career

Charm of Finches began as a school project in 2014, when the duo were eleven and fourteen. Their friend Michael Johnson heard the songs and, with Evripedes Evripidou, recorded them in his home studio, resulting in the EP Home. The following year, they took home the Darebin Music Feast Songwriters’ Award. Their first full-length album arrived in July 2016, earning praise from Radio National’s Paul Gough as “stunning new folk.”

In 2019, they released Your Company. Early 2020 saw them showcase at the Folk Alliance International Conference in New Orleans and join the inaugural Global Music Match. Your Company later won Folk/Singer-Songwriter at the 2020 Independent Music Awards. By January 2021, they had signed with New York label AntiFragile.

The lead single “Canyon” from their third album, Wonderful Oblivion, came out in August 2021, with the album following on 22 October 2021. Their fourth album, Marlinchen in the Snow, was released in April 2024.

Awards and nominations

In 2020 Your Company was nominated for the Australian Music Prize. At the Independent Music Awards of 2020, Your Company won Folk/Singer-Songwriter (album) and "Fish in the Sea" won Folk/Singer-Songwriter (song). At the Music Victoria Awards, Your Company won Best Folk or Roots Album in 2020; Charm of Finches won Best Folk Act in 2021 and Best Folk Work in 2022. At the National Live Music Awards of 2023, they won Best Folk Act.