Start Listening To: Kat King
Glossy synth pop and warm production beam from Kat King’s fabulous new single ‘New Sun’.
Can you tell us who you are, where you’re from and about the music you make?
Hi! I’m Kat King, I’m from a small town of around 3000 people in Kansas and I’ve been living in Kansas City for the past 4ish years. When I first started performing music my style was much more singer-songwriter, always playing on acoustic and heavily influenced by folk-rock music. I think growing up in that small of a town in the country, my exposure to different styles of music felt semi sheltered. Once I hit college my world of music really exploded and, though I’m constantly inspired by a wide range of styles, I really gravitated towards indie-pop/indie-rock. That’s been a pretty consistent projection since I’ve been in KC and started writing with a band. That being said, singer-songwriter is in my bones and will probably always come through a bit.
How did Kat King form?
In middle school is when I first remember starting to perform my music. I went by my full name, Kathryn King, from then through my first two years of college. More and more people started calling me Kat in my friend groups in college and it dawned on me one day that Kat King had a pretty nice ring to it and felt more true to my personality so I decided to make the stage name swap. When I moved to Kansas City I had a goal to find a consistent band to play with me and it started with my bass player, John McCain. We’d known of each other in college but were properly introduced at a house party in KC and the two of us started practicing together. I did an Instagram reach out to try and find drummers in KC and that’s when I was introduced to Daniel Cole. He came to a practice and the three of us really clicked musically. We had a couple of other musicians rotate in and out but hadn’t landed on a consistent 4th member until I met Derek Melies while we worked at a coffee shop/bar together. I think our friendship was pretty instant and we’d had a gig that we needed a fill in guitarist to join us on. I knew Derek played in a previous band so I asked him if he’d be interested in trying out a practice and I’m so glad I did. The four of us really found a special sound together and we ended up recorded our EP “Say What You Mean.” We realized after though that we couldn’t do every part on those songs that we wanted with just the four of us and I’d been desperately wanting a female vocalist to harmonize with me and to fill in 3 part harmonies. I’d known of Kara LePage through Blue False Indigo and I shot my shot with the assumption that she’d be too busy to fill in with us but she was down and it was another instant match on keys and vocals. Since then the five of us signed with Manor Records and are putting out our first song all together this week! All of that being said, I still gig as a solo artist and also with the full band.
Where did you get your name?
My parents. Thanks mom and dad!
How has Kansas City influenced you as artists?
Since being in Kansas City I’ve gotten to share gigs with such an awesome variety of acts. There really are so many cool pockets of performers here and it’s so fun to see what other people are doing and to use that to inspire ideas within our group. I’ve also gotten to collaborate with a range of styles I never would have imagined and leaning into different styles always inspires me musically. I want to do them all! The support from musician to musician here is also inspiring within itself. It’s pretty cool to see so many musicians playing in multiple projects and coming out to shows that aren’t theirs. It always makes me want to be more active as an artist in this community.
How are you feeling about the release of your new single New Sun?
I’m really excited to finally release something new over a year after our last release. We’ve been playing this song for a pretty long time now and it’s almost surprising that it isn’t release yet haha. I think this song has a great summer energy and I hope people feel release when they listen to it. However, as excited as I am I actually think I’m mostly feeling proud of the band for putting so much energy into it and grateful that I get to make and release music with them. This release feels specifically special in that way.
Can you tell us more about the lyrics?
It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to write over it but I knew it felt like a road trip song. We were in the midst of the previous presidential election and I’d been on a lovely hike with a friend and it was so nice to turn our brains off from the world and enjoy nature and good company. After that I decided that was the feeling I wanted to lyrically portray in the song. It’s so necessary to give yourself a break from how scary and disappointing the world can be to enjoy what’s good in our lives and recharge so you can be an active citizen who’s not just paralyzed in fear. It’s at least true for me but I’d like to think that’s a collective need. So the verses are pretty straight forward, I mean it literally starts with “Let’s drive,” haha. And the chorus gets a little more metaphorical, encouraging people to escape for a bit to recharge.
How do you produce your music?
That’s been a bit of a process that we’re still figuring out. Currently we’re tracking ourselves with our own equipment. Luckily John is a tech genius so he keeps us on track (literally) and can solve any of our technical issues. Once we’ve tracked all our stuff we send it all to our producer who currently lives in Philadelphia and then it’s just sending feedback on his mixes until we get it where we want.
Can you share something interesting about the band that has nothing to do with music?
John (our bassist) is a mad cook in the kitchen. He’s made us a few band dinners where he’s completely spoiled us with an incredible meal, including presentation. Ask him about food and I’m sure he’ll talk your ear off with a recipe you’ve never considered before.
What do you love right now?
My partner just moved in and I love the space we’ve created in our home and having a little family (us and our kitties Garbage and Sonny).
What do you hate right now?
The political climate of this country.
Name an album you’re still listening to from when you were younger and why it’s important to you?
Brandi Carlile’s self titled album from 2005. She was by far one of my biggest inspirations growing up. Her folky-ness, lyrics, and voice are so raw in that album and those songs got me through a lot of young crucial experiences as a kid. I think it’s timeless in a way because all of those songs could theoretically just be played live in a living room with no amplification needed and that seems rare these days with the amount of production we do to our songs. That album just feels like home.
Is there any new music from 2022 you have been enjoying?
It hasn’t been a great year for me in terms of listening to new music so far but I’ve really enjoyed 2022 releases from Nilüfer Yanya, Julia Jacklin, and Orion Sun.
Is there anything else you would like to share with us?
If you’re interested in what we’re doing I encourage you to follow us on Instagram (@katbking), Facebook, or wherever you stream music! We’ve got a lot of releases and show dates on the way and that’s the best way to support us and stay in the know.
