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Your typical 21st century childhood puts a lot more focus on video-games than on fostering creativity, but one set of siblings is certainly going against the grain. "That is so not true! I care so much about our songs that it only seems like I always win, but I do give in if Arlo's right. My best friends are from Sudan and Australia. What about the dreaded sibling rivalry? Are these two an exception? Mum Sam states that they "still have their moments". "Hannah always wins because she is so bossy!" This is Arlo's reply, naturally. "We're lucky in that our parents are cool with us doing this, as long as it makes us happy. What about schoolfriends' reactions to their unorthodox hobby? Arlo tells me that when hisclassmates discovered he actually recorded a CD, they all wanted to buy it. "It made me feel good inside," he says in an innocent and frank manner typical of children. Hannah is equally enthusiastic and positively beams at thequestion. If things were any different, Heavenly Blue would hardly have come about, right? "Exactly!" The duo decided to team up officially soon after Hannah started taking guitar lessons and jamming informally with Chasing Pandora's Melissa. "At the same time Arlo started drum and cajon lessons. Eventually we started to write our own songs. Arlo also mentions his cajon teacher Dru, as a great sourceof inspiration. "I feel great after a lesson with him. Any other inspirations? "My dad. "I have some great friends. Eclectic seems to be the keyword to music with this duo. "Sometimes I wonder why he makes me practise a Metallica riff. Then I realise that it does help me improve my playing, and I see that he has a plan!". The two burst out laughing and Hannah follows up her statement with a "we are best friends most of the time" - and in all fairness it's easy to see that this is true, most of the time. Sometimes Arlo comes up with a beat that just gets me excited to write too and other times I have the song and melody and he fits the beat to it. The way Hannah and Arlo speak about music, I find it disconcertingly difficult to remind myself that I'm talking to two schoolchildren. I would never have heard Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen if dad hadn't played them to me. I would also never have known Mamma Mia and Madonna if it wasn't for my mum . You cannot win them all," Hannah says with a grin. Hannah's first album - bought with a birthday voucher - was a Katy Perry CD when she turned seven. One of her best memories is when her father took her to see the singer perform at the Hammersmith Apollo. For Arlo, his first brush with the world of music happened with a Linkin Park CD, which he still practises to this day. He also has a soft spot for Coldplay and for nu-folk outfit Mumford and Sons ("I just love the different instruments they use. "Well, to be honest I don'tlike pop and heavy metal,"Hannah says. My friends support me, like my family. |
Wednesday, 6 June 2012
New kids on the rock
