Princess Chelsea on her new LP, returning to Berlin, and the joys of living on the outskirts

Chelsea Nikkel, alias Princess Chelsea,
brought her charming, onerous, twee-indie Pop back to Berlin last
week for a show at the Funkhaus, her fourth time performing at
the venue.


While she wishes she had more time to explore Berlin on her
tours, the city never fails to impress the New Zealand musician,
or to draw a crowd: “a lot of people choose to travel here to
Berlin from other countries where I haven’t played to come and
see me, so maybe they think ‘Berlin , that’s gonna be the big
show!’ And it always is a really good show.”


Her new LP, “The Loneliest Girl,” was recorded entirely in Glen
Eden, a suburb of Auckland where she grew up and returned as an
adult. “I’m getting a little bit older now…I feel a bit more
detached from the Auckland social scene, and even in some
respects the music scene.” Between international tours and the
production of three LPs, it’s understandable that a little
distance could be grounding: “I’m just out here in West Auckland
chilling in my studio, and I don’t really care about
anything.”

By Jack Riddell