Dear Reader (formerly known as Harris Tweed), is an alternative pop band, from Johannesburg, South Africa. The band was formed in 2006 by singer-songwriter-pianist Cherilyn MacNeil and producer/bassist Darryl Torr. In 2010 the two amicably parted ways, and Dear Reader is now the solo project of MacNeil, who currently resides in Berlin. In August 2006 MacNeil and Torr released their first album The Younger, through South African record label, Just Music), under the band name, Harris Tweed. In 2008 they adopted the name Dear Reader, after the Scottish textile company Harris Tweed asked them to stop using their name. In 2008 MacNeil and Torr recorded their first album as Dear Reader called, Replace Why with Funny. The album was produced by Brent Knopf, of Menomena/Ramona Falls. Soon after, they signed a licensing deal with Berlin based indie label, City Slang, and the album was released in February 2009 – in Europe by City Slang, and in South Africa by Just Music. In 2010 Replace Why with Funny won the award for Best English Adult contemporary Album at the South African Music Awards. In 2010 MacNeil and Torr amicably parted ways and Cherilyn relocated to Berlin, where she wrote the material for the follow-up Dear Reader album, Idealistic Animals. The album was recorded in Leipzig, Germany and Portland, Oregon, again with the assistance of Brent Knopf and various other friends and musicians. Idealistic Animals was released in Germany and South Africa in September 2011 and in Europe and the UK in November 2011. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 2012 South African Music Awards. In 2012 MacNeil began work on the follow up to Idealistic Animals. This time, MacNeil produced the album herself, and recorded and edited most of it in her one-room apartment in Berlin. Dear Reader's 4th studio album is called Rivonia, and each song on the album is a story inspired by South African history. The album was released in Europe and South Africa in April 2013. In April 2013 Dear Reader played a live radio concert with the Babelsberg Film Orchestra, which they recorded and released in December 2013 under the name We Followed Every Sound. Sites: YouTube, Twitter & Facebook
