German capital Berlin has over the last few years developed a reputation as being one of the creative hubs of Europe. Australian singer-songwriter Kat Frankie is part of Berlin’s burgeoning creative community, having made a musical name for herself in the German city since arriving at the end of 2004.

Despite never having visited the city before moving there, and with no German language skills at the time, Frankie quickly became involved in Berlin’s music scene. “I was doing that classic Australian thing of a year overseas,” she says. Instead of landing in London, Frankie chose Berlin, and now she says, “It’s my home.”

Among Berlin’s attractions to its resident artistic contingent are the inexpensive cost of living and cheap rents, and the associated DIY atmosphere. Support from local government also contributes to the ongoing growth of Berlin’s creative community, says Frankie. “It’s a fun place to live. Creativity is currency here,” she says.

While there is a high level of unemployment in the city, there is a concurrent sense of community and engagement with the Arts that fosters artistic endeavour. “Berlin’s reputation as a creative place is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Artistic minded people base themselves here because of its reputation.”

Frankie wrote songs and performed shows while living in Sydney, but it took the move to Europe to set her on the path to making a career from music. “I didn’t really feel part of it [Sydney’s music scene],” she concedes. “I had a day job in interior design, I worked for an architect. Sydney is an expensive city. It’s hard to call yourself a musician in Sydney.”

Last year Frankie released her debut LP Pocketknife, a pensive first offering that is picking up airplay on the national radio waves. Recording the LP was a long process, says Frankie, and one that afforded her the opportunity to work with “some really wonderful Berlin musicians.”

“I recorded it in chunks,” Frankie reveals. “I went back to Australia for a couple of months [during the recording], and I think that is the best thing I could have done. I came back, and then finished making it. I was able to make objective decisions about the songs and stripped a lot of stuff out.”

Literature offers Frankie a lot of her inspiration for song-writing. “I read a lot,” she says, “and I enjoy playing with language.” Her song-writing tends to embrace concepts before melody. “I like situations with tension and variant perspectives.” Inspiration comes from “enjoying words and the strange things people say.”

For a wordsmith such as Frankie, learning a second language can only provide further fodder for inspiration. While she claims her German fluency is only okay, she can have a conversation and even read the odd German novel. “The Germans love wordplay,” Frankie says, and suggests it is possible that her lyrics are infused with a German-leaning grammar at times.

Mentions of Frankie in the music media often reference celebrated female musician PJ Harvey, based perhaps on their similarly dark and intelligent musical styles. The comparison is, says Frankie, “kind of funny, because she’s way cooler than I am. She is really courageous…more than her songwriting, I admire her courage.”

Kat Frankie’s Pocketknife is available now through Vitamin Records. She’s bringing her songs back to Australian audiences this month. Catch her at the following shows.

Sat 12 Apr – Surry Hills Festival, Sydney
Sun 13 Apr – Cooks River Festival, Sydney
Thurs 17 Apr – Northcote Social Club, Melbourne
Fri 18 Apr – Spectrum, Sydney