Katherine Abbott is a free spirited English singer/songwriter from Stratford-upon-Avon who writes songs inspired by the quest for freedom and the contrast between dreams and reality.
Interview conducted on June 11, 2020
By Dan Locke
London’s Katherine Abbott. Entitled “Lullaby for Lucas” the stunning track is about forgiveness and not being so quick to judge others and glows with warm guitar melodies providing the backdrop for her delicate, ethereal vocals and storytelling lyricism.
What is your upbringing?
I grew up in a musical household and I’m an only child, we didn’t have a television, so I was always encouraged to be creative. My mother sang and performed and I loved to watch her, she was an actress in musical theatre in Australia in her twenties and later would sing in amateur productions around the UK where me and my Dad would watch her shows.
My Dad paints and writes poetry. He’d put on loud music in the kitchen at weekends while he painted circus performers on big canvases and the three of us would dance to Annie Lennox, Texas and Joni Mitchell.
How did you discover music?
Through my parents playing records a lot at home, the three of us would dance around the kitchen on the weekends, especially to Annie Lennox and Joni Mitchell, they were our favorites. Also watching my mum sing on stage, I think that must have had a big impact on me caring about music.
How did you get your first guitar and do you still have it?
My Dad gave me a guitar for my sixteenth birthday gift and yes, I do still have it.
How did you start to write music?
I started to sing at the piano a lot after my mum died as a way of dealing with the grief of losing her I think and songs started creeping out of me, I wasn’t trying, it just happened, my best friend and I used to sit at the piano and come up with songs together. That was how we spent our time.
What was your first performance like?
I was a teenager when I played my first paid gig, it was in a working men’s club in Coventry on the outskirts of town, a very dark room with a sticky carpet and a disco light. I set up my piano and played and I think people liked it.
In 2010, you toured. You only lived out of a rucksack with camping out. Tell me about that?
I went touring with a band first, we played in small venues across Spain and France, we would play, then drive out of town and set up camp for the night. We were on the road for about four months.
I guess I got a taste for that lifestyle so a year later I went to Spain on my own with my guitar, picking up gigs in bars in quiet towns. I stayed in hostels for a while but eventually found a community, far from any town, it was very quiet there, not many people living in this beautiful vast expanse of bushland by the ocean, I lived in a tent there for two months just going to the town once every two weeks for supplies. I think it was the best experience of my life so far. I wrote and played a lot there, because I felt so in tune with nature and for me, that feeling cuts through all the noise in my head that can prevent me from feeling inspired. I sometimes wonder if I’d be brave enough to do that now. It was just before phones and social media were so prevalent, so there was another aspect of freedom I’m only aware of retrospectively, it’s crazy to think now I barely contacted anyone during that time and I didn’t take a single photograph.
What are your feelings about the Me 2 Movement and how it has helped female performers?
Thanks to female performers with high profiles such as Lady Gaga, Sheryl Crow, and Kesha speaking out about their experiences in the Me-Too movement, there was a much-needed voice given to individuals with less of a platform in the female performing community. I thought it was an incredibly courageous movement that proved how integral it was through the amount of attention and support it gathered.
(It was much needed and gave strength to women at the mercy of powerful male figures in the industry, an industry where boundaries are blurred and there’s no clear cut path to success and it’s easy to be misled or take advantage of. It’s amazing to see all the positive change which has been taking place.)
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
It was called ‘The Highway Song’, – I did record it, but luckily, it’s under lock and key and not available anywhere!
Tell me about your new single “Lullaby for Lucas”?
Lullaby for Lucas is a song about forgiveness and about not being so quick to judge others. Back in 2015, I walked the Camino de Santiago busking my way along, I would walk all day and busk wherever I arrived in the evening. I met a man named Lucas one night who’d been an opera singer in Vienna but had lost his voice to drink and had taken to living a nomadic existence. We had a jam in a bar one night and he tried to sing but his voice just came out as this croak which bought him to tears.
How do you stay healthy while touring?
It’s a battle sometimes to be honest – my mental health is dependent on my physical health – both of which can be up and down when touring. If I drop the ball; I suffer and find it harder to tap into my creative energy.
I’m lucky because I like to live on the move, I feel most alive being on the road and in tune with what I need, maybe I thrive off adrenaline! but I think everyone has different methods they learn over the years about how to keep their minds and bodies healthy.For me, exercise is key, when possible I love to swim, go for long walks and practice Ashtanga Yoga, and I try to eat healthily.
Do you still do street performances?
I’ve honed my craft through street performing – the lessons I have learned through busking are invaluable. I’ve met some great people over the years and learned a lot about performance. I’ll probably always take the opportunity when the right moment arises.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
It’s a double-edged sword for the artists who suffer financially in an industry where it’s hard enough as it is to make a living, but I’d be a massive hypocrite to criticize because I stream music every day. I listen to music all day long, when I can.
Having any song at your fingertips is pretty magic if you ask me and from a personal point of view – I’d rather a person were able to listen to my song than not because they couldn’t afford a record, I’d rather it be shared. It’s great to be able to share globally!
Digital vs. vinyl?
I prefer the sound of vinyl; you can’t beat that crackle. But I listen to music a lot whilst walking, so I rely on digital too.
Any plans to tour?
It’s hard to make plans right now, but yes – I have plans to tour when possible.
What are your feelings about the social uprising going on in the United States?
I think it’s absolutely amazing. It proves that so many people out there want to fight the injustices which prevent equality amongst humanity. A lot needs to change.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song means to you?
Free Falling, the live version by John Mayer (originally by Tom Petty), it evokes a feeling of freedom and euphoria and hits me right in the heart and I get shivers all over every time I hear that beautiful intro.
I heard the song for the first time on a record player in a bar and asked the DJ what the song was, I forgot about for a while and someone put on a video of John Mayer playing it live in L.A one night while I was in New Zealand and it was like being reunited with a lost love.
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
It’s hard to say – nobody knows exactly what the future holds. The industry constantly changes anyway and part of a musician’s job is to be adaptable to change. It’s absolutely heartbreaking though seeing music venues facing permanent closure across the globe. There’s a perhaps naive part of me that believes they’ll find a way of re-opening as I don’t like to imagine the alternative, all these legendary places which hold so much history, the idea of them sitting empty or going to waste is a very sobering thought. There have been a lot of musicians trying to raise funds through various campaigns on social media, live-streams, and the like. The solidarity is touching.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Drinking too much, then abstaining from drinking too much, then drinking too much again! I’m trying to ration time on social media.
Working on upcoming releases has been a great blessing during this time, working closely with my amazing manager has kept me engaged and focused.
I’ve been focusing on playing guitar, learning songs I’ve wanted to learn for a long time which I haven’t had time for. I go on long walks to clear my head if the walls start to close in in the afternoon! I’ve been writing songs, the melodies flow more often than lyrics at this time so I would also say – don’t beat yourself up for not creating a masterpiece during quarantine!
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I’ve been trying to brush up on my piano playing and reading sheet music!
Lots of people are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Are you planning to do something like that?
There are a few coming up that I’ll announce online in the next couple of weeks.
Do you think it will be possible to make a living doing concerts this way?
I don’t like to imagine live streams are the future of concerts, that idea gives me the heavies!
First it was an article in the New York Times, then Rolling Stones talked about it and finally Live Nation CEO said that concerts may not start again until fall of 2021. Do you think this could happen?
Anything’s possible, I hope it’s not that long – but we can’t shoot predictions that far into the future. Nobodies are sure of anything. I think it’s best to try remaining positive about the future, hope keeps us going. I quite like the idea of drive-in concerts! I’ve always wanted to go to a drive-in movie on a date or something, I think there’s something quite romantic about drive-ins.
With Social Distance being the norm. Do you feel that it may be the end of music festivals for the next couple of years?
Again, I just don’t know, maybe when festivals start up again, people could wear those funny social distancing hats with the 2-meter tubes, people dress up at festivals anyway, so why not? But I think this is an important time for us to consider the environmental impact festivals have and how we could shrink the negative effects on the planet in the future through festivals.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
That’s a cool idea, like something from a sci-fi film, I’ve seen an amazing hologram of David Bowie, I’m sure he’d approve of that idea.
But I’m more in favour of real live performances and I don’t think it’s endangered, it’s a human tradition that I don’t believe will die. If people want to try new things with technology – then great! But I’m more of a traditionalist and there’s no way holographic concerts will replace real ones.
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
Still Working hard, continuing to work with the people I’m working with now, and possibly some new collaborations! I hope to be recording and touring new places. I’d love to play on a line up with one of my inspirations- like Cat Power or Valley Queen one day.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
Thank you so much for having me, Unrated! To anyone reading, I’m sending you love and hope you’re finding ways to stay creative and hopeful during lockdown, and keeping the love alive during these strange times.
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