Kathryn Williams
Singer-songwriter Kathryn Williams has gone from releasing her first album with a budget of £80 to gaining a Mercury Prize nomination and enjoying considerable success over seven beautifully performed, passionate and melodic albums.
Her first major live performance was a Nick Drake tribute concert at the Barbican in 2000, and her delicate, intense, finely-crafted songs certainly follow in this tradition. Other influences include Nina Simone, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Simon And Garfunkel and Velvet Underground. Her catchy folk-pop sound belies her love of Americana, which she’s happy to own up to: ‘‘That’s more what I grew up with than the English tradition. I was listening to Dylan and Joni Mitchell… But I also love The Velvets and grungy New York stuff. The things that influence you aren’t necessarily gonna come out in obvious ways, unless you’re trying to copy. I don’t sound like Lou Reed or Tom Waits. But when I listen to them, I learn.”
Kathryn has collaborated with John Martyn, Badmarsh and Shri, Thea Gilmore, Tobias Froberg and Ted Barnes, and most of the songs on her latest album, Two (2008), were co-written with Neill Maccoll. The album sees Kathryn playing guitars, mellotron, Hammond organ and harmonium.
She’ll be performing in the new Caught By The River area at Port Eliot this year, and will also be doing a special collaboration with Romeo Stodart, lead singer of The Magic Numbers.
www.kathrynwilliams.net
“The music is richer than ever… just lovely.”
Time Out
“Williams’ voice is a thing of hushed and delicate beauty”
The Guardian
Links:
- Video interview with Kathryn Williams from BBC Liverpool 08
- Interview on Folk Radio
Video:
Kathryn Williams – ‘Hollow’:
