Frankie and Charles

What started as a love story in April 2018, soon turned into, not only a love story, but a creative project that would push both of us to attempt things that, by ourselves, we could not fathom.

‘Frankie and Charles’, as we like to call ourselves, provide a unique musical experience using live vocals, well-crafted electronic beats, acoustic guitar, keyboard bass and classic and contemporary keyboard sounds with Ableton Live being at the crux of our live performance rig. This music technology allows us to create a full and energetic sound while remaining… “juuust the two of us”♫♪.

Our pairing could not have worked so well without the experience we had already accumulated years before our meeting . Charles’ pseudonym Charlie Heart, widely known to be “the Piano Man”, is a tastefully presented singer and classically trained pianist, seen to be playing at some of Sydney’s most renowned venues including the Golden Age, Novotel Manly, Tony Bilson’s No. 1 Wine Bar, Hemisphere and more.

He slowly began his journey toward becoming a ‘One Man Band’ by catching on to a very important technological advancement in live music performance today - the ‘Digital Audio Workstation’. This technology allows him to play bass and keyboard at the same time (amongst many other things) which is especially important as his repertoire is riddled with Jazz/Funk/Soul and we all know… there is no movin’ without the groovin’. With this skill now up his sleeve, all he needed to complete his ‘One Man Band’ was a stomp box and tambourine… or so he thought.

Enter Frances Castley.

And then there were two. The ‘Two Man Band’.

Frankie a.k.a. Frances started gigging as a soloist straight out of high school. For several years, Frankie rolled around her Roland Cube and acoustic guitar, serenading the streets of Sydney for a buck… or two… hundred. After feeling as though she had reached a ceiling with her busking, performing and songwriting, Frankie decided to study Electronic Music Production at TAFE where she extensively learnt how to use Ableton Live to produce and to perform.

By combining our pre-existing skills with looping and beat mixing, we have lifted the proverbial ceiling significantly and can now move our audiences in a way we never thought possible.