Mark Bérubé and Kristina Koropecki met over ten years ago in Montreal. Shortly afterwards, Kristina joined Mark’s solo project as a live musician. Together they toured many times from Canada to Europe, back to Canada and back again. They finally ended up in Berlin in 2014, initially going their separate musical ways, until 2018 finally became the birth year for the new, equal duo project Kliffs. One year later, the debut “Temporary Cures” was released via K&F Records. Numerous national and international concerts, including support tours for Wallis Bird, Gisbert zu Knyphausen and Sophie Hunger, earned Kliffs their first fan base. The debut album was praised by Deutschlandfunk (“sophisticated lyrics”) and Rolling Stone magazine (“grandeur, grand gesture”), among others. The two musicians have always remained versatile and busy. Kristina played on tour with Agnes Obel, among others. Mark recently sang in Sophie Hunger’s touring band.

The songs for this album were written and shaped during the Covid pandemic; without concerts and with plenty of time to think and polish. For Kliffs, this time proved how important music is in their lives: “In a way, the album is a testament to our deep conviction to continue with music whatever the circumstances are around us.”

Mark and Kristina wanted to limit themselves to using only those instruments that they could play themselves. So the choice of instruments that were available also influenced the sound of this album: nylon string guitar and cello, synthesiser and vocals, flutes and simple drum beats. Plus clarinet lines from Mark, who played clarinet for the first time in over 20 years. “We decided to record this album in a way that really highlights the fact that we are a duo. We decided to not have any drummer or bass player accompany us,” Mark explains.

Kliffs worked with Daniel Freitag for the first time on their second album. His talents as a sound engineer, producer, musician and songwriter were a perfect match for Mark and Kristina. They spent many hours in his studio in Prenzlauer Berg and let themselves be driven by the synergy. They were always coming up with new ideas that everyone involved could be happy with. Kristina describes it like this: “The warm friendship we now share with him can be heard in the inviting naturalness of the album.”

Each song on the new album is conceived as a single letter; to a sister, an employer, a doomsday conspiracy theorist, a missive home from the scene of an epic anti-capitalist protest, or a letter to a deceased friend. These letters deal with a range of issues that have touched Kliffs, from a crisis in a personal relationship, to trying to get inside the brain of someone who believes in judgement day, to the righteous struggle of killing those deemed not righteous enough. To a basic sense of hope, despite the 24/7 news of war, climate disasters and economic hardship. And the simple statement of telling the one or ones you love that you are here – fully.

“Believer”, one of the album’s focus tracks, was born out of one of those rare occasions when Mark was sitting at the piano and everything outside of that moment kind of fades away. “The traffic down below in the street below my Kreuzberg flat, the 24/7 news cycle about the war in Ukraine, the proliferation of grey hairs in my beard, the realisation that the dreams of my 20s were beautiful dreams, the thoughts of what kind of world will my kids live in in the future – all of this faded. I felt light as a dragonfly.”

Mark sang the lyrics to “Call me a believer” and felt a slight tingling sensation on the back of his neck. He realised that he had to write this song about resilience. About finding an anchor within yourself that in turn allowed you to embody the idea of hope. About how love can provide a sense of uplift and how it’s the best hammer you can have to break through all the walls you feel are crashing down on you. It’s become a warm, life-embracing song. “but call me a believer / I’ve never lost the fever / that comes from loving you / yes I’m a believer / who’s never lost the fever / that comes from loving you”

“After the Flattery” reaches out to us with confidence, shows the courage to be vulnerable in its limited production, writes intimate stories and sings from an open heart. All of this is the basis and gateway for coming together in trust, going deeper and finding out together what is really important.