Neighbourhood Group Springs To Action As Kim Churchill Loses 15 New Songs

Kim Churchill has been reunited with his prized acoustic guitar, as well as 15 as-yet-unreleased songs, after some local legends swooped in to help their embattled neighbour.

In a post shared on Facebook, Churchill insinuated that he’d initially lost his 1968 Martin guitar – as well as a suitcase “full of all [his] songwriting tools and 15 new songs” – at a residence in the Melbourne suburb of Abbotsford. “This is everything dear to me in this world and I’m really hoping you might have seen something,” he wrote to the owner of the house.

Shortly thereafter, Churchill explained, his partner Claire posted in a Facebook group for Abbotsford locals, and two of his colleagues – musician Felipe Baldomir and surfer Sophie Fletcher – helped out by “racing to the scene and printing posters and helping [Churchill] go door knocking all over Collingwood and Abbotsford”. He was eventually reunited with his gear, posing excitedly with his guitar and suitcase in a photo shared with the post.

He wrote in closing: “Thank you Melbourne! There are some damn good people in this city.”

Churchill released his sixth studio album, Dawn Sounds, back in January of this year. Unpacking it for Countrytown, he said of the title track’s inspiration: “I often have wild and distressing dreams. I think it just stems from an outrageously active imagination and a bit of a penchant for worrying.

“I’ve learnt to get up before the sun on these nights and reflect and be outside in nature. I go with the deep emotions the dreams have stirred up and let them gently pass through me to the soundtrack of sunrise and the day awakening. It leaves me feeling deeply calm and like I’ve really processed whatever the dream was bringing up. I just absolutely adore mornings!”

Churchill is currently touring Australia in support of Dawn Sounds, with shows in Corunna, Morton and Carrington booked for this weekend. He’ll kick the new year off with six shows around the country in January, before playing Tasmania’s Party In The Paddock festival in February, and heading to North America for a tour in May. See here for more info on all of his upcoming tour dates.