Kathryn Williams: Difference between revisions
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'''Kathryn Williams''' (born [[1974]] in [[Liverpool]], [[England]]) is a singer/songwriter. |
'''Kathryn Williams''' (born [[1974]] in [[Liverpool]], [[England]]) is a singer/songwriter. |
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==Background== |
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'''Kathryn Williams...''' |
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Kathryn Williams is a singer-songwriter whose work is characterised by delicate vocals and acoustic instruments. She has been compared in style to such artists as [[Joni Mitchell]], [[Laura Nyro]] and [[Joan Baez]] and is a former Mercury Music Prize nominee, and a Gold-Record artist. |
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Born in Liverpool, and now living in Newcastle after doing an art degree in that town, Kathryn Williams is one of the UK's most respected and critically acclaimed singer-songwriters. |
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Kathryn released her first album, Dog Leap Stairs on her own Caw Records label in 1999 (making it one of the first DIY albums to be released on any scale). Famously made for the princely sum of £80, the NME declared it “jaw-droppingly beautiful”. The follow up, Little Black Numbers, garnered a Mercury nomination, bringing her to the attention of a wider public. A spell with EastWest / Atlantic followed (Old Low Light, 2002 and the Relations covers album, 2004), before she returned to her independent roots with 2005's Over Fly Over. She released her sixth album, Leave To Remain, on Caw in 2006. |
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Caw Records is a family affair, run by her husband Neil le Flohic, while the album artwork is a series of original oil paintings and pencil drawings by Kathryn. She is also hand printing a limited number of prints for sale. Kathryn and Neil take their 2-year-old son on tour with them. |
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Though Kathryn has collaborated with the likes of John Martyn, Badmarsh and Shri, Thea Gilmore, Tobias Froberg and Ted Barnes, Two will be the first project to be released under joint names. |
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Kathryn and Neill co-wrote most of the album, with the exception of Innocent When You Dream, which is a Tom Waits song. Neill was singing and playing that song as a warm up in the studio- Kathryn told the engineer to hit the record button and went in to join him on a harmony. This first time through the song is what you hear on the record. Two further songs on Two are written solely by Kathryn- 6am Corner and Blue Fields. |
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Kathryn plays guitars, melotron, hammond and harmonium on the album |
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'''Neill MacColl...''' |
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In her youth, Williams studied an art foundation course in her native Liverpool, before moving to [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] to study for a degree in fine art. After a friend heard Williams' music, they booked a gig without her knowing it. Williams was intending it to be a one-off event, though she soon found herself being booked again and again by people. |
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Was born into a hugely important family in the world of folk-accoustic music. His father, Ewan MacColl and mother, Peggy Seeger, were the famously purist pair at the heart of the British folk revival of the early sixties. Whilst nobody is purely the product of their parents, the influence of a father who wrote such classics as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Dirty Old Town” and a mother who is a supremely talented multi-instrumentalist is undeniable. Neill was part of his parents' touring band from the age of 15. |
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Then there were the siblings- Callum MacColl is a well-respected musician, and Kirsty MacColl's reputation speaks for itself. Kirsty was Neill's half-sister- they were seperated in age by only six months, which meant “we had a very close relationship, but also a very strange one”. Kirsty was in Neill's first band, Spring: “we threw her out, because we didn't need a girl singer”. |
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A series of bands followed: new romantic fops The Roaring Boys, The Liberty Horses with brother Callum, and The Bible with Boo Hewerdine, before Neill turned to a career as a guitarist, singer and producer (he rightly rejects the phrase “session guitarist”) His career has included long spells in Eddi Reader's band, several years with David Gray, as well as Nanci Griffith, Boo Hewerdine, David Gilmour, Lou Rhodes, Beth Gibbons, Steve Earle and KD Lang, amongst others. |
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The other side of Neill's work for the past few years has been as a film and TV composer. |
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Interestingly, The MacColl legacy continues, as both of Neill's sons are in successful bands of their own, (Bombay Bicycle Club and LoFi Culture Scene), which has given Neill a new job: “i'm a roadie for 2 teenage bands”. |
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Neill plays guitars, autoharp, dulcimer and hammond on the album |
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==Commercial success== |
==Commercial success== |
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Revision as of 18:37, 1 March 2008
Kathryn Williams |
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Kathryn Williams (born 1974 in Liverpool, England) is a singer/songwriter.
Background
Kathryn Williams... Born in Liverpool, and now living in Newcastle after doing an art degree in that town, Kathryn Williams is one of the UK's most respected and critically acclaimed singer-songwriters. Kathryn released her first album, Dog Leap Stairs on her own Caw Records label in 1999 (making it one of the first DIY albums to be released on any scale). Famously made for the princely sum of £80, the NME declared it “jaw-droppingly beautiful”. The follow up, Little Black Numbers, garnered a Mercury nomination, bringing her to the attention of a wider public. A spell with EastWest / Atlantic followed (Old Low Light, 2002 and the Relations covers album, 2004), before she returned to her independent roots with 2005's Over Fly Over. She released her sixth album, Leave To Remain, on Caw in 2006. Caw Records is a family affair, run by her husband Neil le Flohic, while the album artwork is a series of original oil paintings and pencil drawings by Kathryn. She is also hand printing a limited number of prints for sale. Kathryn and Neil take their 2-year-old son on tour with them. Though Kathryn has collaborated with the likes of John Martyn, Badmarsh and Shri, Thea Gilmore, Tobias Froberg and Ted Barnes, Two will be the first project to be released under joint names. Kathryn and Neill co-wrote most of the album, with the exception of Innocent When You Dream, which is a Tom Waits song. Neill was singing and playing that song as a warm up in the studio- Kathryn told the engineer to hit the record button and went in to join him on a harmony. This first time through the song is what you hear on the record. Two further songs on Two are written solely by Kathryn- 6am Corner and Blue Fields. Kathryn plays guitars, melotron, hammond and harmonium on the album
Neill MacColl... Was born into a hugely important family in the world of folk-accoustic music. His father, Ewan MacColl and mother, Peggy Seeger, were the famously purist pair at the heart of the British folk revival of the early sixties. Whilst nobody is purely the product of their parents, the influence of a father who wrote such classics as “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” and “Dirty Old Town” and a mother who is a supremely talented multi-instrumentalist is undeniable. Neill was part of his parents' touring band from the age of 15. Then there were the siblings- Callum MacColl is a well-respected musician, and Kirsty MacColl's reputation speaks for itself. Kirsty was Neill's half-sister- they were seperated in age by only six months, which meant “we had a very close relationship, but also a very strange one”. Kirsty was in Neill's first band, Spring: “we threw her out, because we didn't need a girl singer”. A series of bands followed: new romantic fops The Roaring Boys, The Liberty Horses with brother Callum, and The Bible with Boo Hewerdine, before Neill turned to a career as a guitarist, singer and producer (he rightly rejects the phrase “session guitarist”) His career has included long spells in Eddi Reader's band, several years with David Gray, as well as Nanci Griffith, Boo Hewerdine, David Gilmour, Lou Rhodes, Beth Gibbons, Steve Earle and KD Lang, amongst others. The other side of Neill's work for the past few years has been as a film and TV composer. Interestingly, The MacColl legacy continues, as both of Neill's sons are in successful bands of their own, (Bombay Bicycle Club and LoFi Culture Scene), which has given Neill a new job: “i'm a roadie for 2 teenage bands”. Neill plays guitars, autoharp, dulcimer and hammond on the album
Commercial success
Her next step was recording some of her music onto CD. These quickly sold at her gigs, so Williams set up her own record label, Caw Records, to release her music. However, after her second album, Little Black Numbers, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, the increased popularity of her music forced her to sign a licensing deal with Eastwest Records. Little Black Numbers reached number 70 in the album charts in 2001. The follow-up, Old Low Light reached number 56 in 2002.
Her influences include Nina Simone, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Simon And Garfunkel and Velvet Underground. She listens to classical and Cuban music, as well as artists such as PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, though she says she will always go back to the influences she grew up with, as a security blanket [citation needed]. She has sung on the new Badmarsh & Shri album and worked with Twisted Nerve artist Pedro.
She has a reputation as a warm, engaging and powerful live performer, whose confident stage presence belies the fragile persona which characterises much of her recorded work. In 2006, she was a special guest on Tom McRae's Hotel Cafe Tour. Following this, Kathryn Williams completed a hugely successful tour with Tobias Froberg as support, to promote her current album 'Leave to Remain.'
The next single from the acclaimed 'Leave to Remain' album is called 'When' and features the artist appearing in a CGI-produced music video. The release date for this single is to be confirmed. Williams is currently recording her next studio album with Neill McColl.
Discography
Albums
- Dog Leap Stairs (1999)
- Little Black Numbers (2000)
- Old Low Light (2002)
- Relations (2004)
- Over Fly Over (2005)
- Leave to Remain (2006)
- Two (2008) with Neill MacColl
Singles
- "The Fade EP"
- "Soul to Feet"
- "Jasmine Hoop"
- "No One Takes You Home"
- "In a Broken Dream"
- "Shop Window"
- "Beachy Head"
- "Hollow"
- "When"
- "Come With Me" (2008)
B-sides
- "The Fade EP" – "Kiss the Forehead", "Some Kind of Wonderful"
- "Jasmine Hoop" – "Foreign Skies"
- "No One Takes You Home" – "Without Beat of Drum"
Misc
- "Night Baking"; on the charity album Colours Are Brighter - October 2006
- "Words from the Garden"; Words from the Garden is a poets in residence involving Kathryn Williams, Nev Clay, Emma McGordon and Anna Woodford. This CD is a selection of their writings from The Alnwick Garden over the winter of 2006/07, set in a soundscape by Caroline Beck with music by Kathryn Williams and Nev Clay.