Here at After Nyne, we’re big advocates of strong women in music, and Kat Eaton definitely fits the bill. Having launched her solo career in September 2013 with her debut single ‘Alien’, Kat’s lyrical depth and vocal dexterity garnered immediate support from BBC Introducing, who named it one of the top 25 singles of 2013. After releasing her debut EP, ‘Live At The Foundry’ in 2014, in association with Ont’ Sofa Records, Kat decided to focus her energies on building her sound as a recording artist, heading back in to the studio to define her sound and record her brand new single ‘Giving It Up’.
Her new track was unveiled exclusively to the UK on Sunday the 31st of May by Sir Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2 which went down a storm. Our music editor Lulu Jones caught up with Kat to have a chat about her burgeoning career.
Kat we LOVE your voice, how did you get into music?
I used to listen to my dads record collection all the time when I was little – he has thousands of records and I remember loving reading the sleeves and learning all the lyrics to Leonard Cohen’s record I’m your man! I obviously had to sing his songs the octave higher! I starting singing and writing when I was about 10, but I was painfully shy so never sang infront of people. my parents got a video camera when I was about 13 and it was then that I secretly filmed myself playing Eva Cassidy songs on guitar and singing! I watched it back and decided i wasn’t that bad so at 14 I took the plunge to sing at my school concert and I’ve never looked back!
You’ve been compared to the likes of Paloma Faith and Amy Winehouse – who’s your biggest influence?
Ohh too many to mention. I love those two artists, and I also love Stevie Wonder for his vocal chops, Aretha Franklin for her effortless power, Joe Cocker for his raw emotion and Susan Tedeschi for her tone.
Obviously you play the piano as well as singing, is there one instrument you’d love to play but you don’t?
I play guitar a little bit and I really want to introduce this into my set more. Other than that I’ve always wanted to play sax cos its just very cool!
If you could play at any venue anywhere in the world, where would you want to play and why?
Royal Albert Hall – might seem obvious but its such a beautiful venue with so much history and so many of my musical heroes have played there. Also I’d like to play the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Birmingham, Alabama – its where John Mayer played on ‘Any Given Thursday’ DVD!
If you weren’t singing, what do you think you’d be doing instead?
I honestly can’t imagine doing anything else – it has to be music!
And finally, what advice would you give to people who are trying to start out in the music industry?
Be prepared for doors shutting in your face, and then prepare for others opening. There’s no more room for egos or divas so treat everyone with respect, even if they don’t treat you with respect – you never know who you’re talking to or who they might know. Don’t expect anything to be handed to you. Work hard and expect nothing in return, other than the satisfaction of your creation. Congratulate yourself at every hurdle, even the tiny ones, but never get complacent. Dream big because you might as well!
Check out the video to ‘Giving it Up’ here:
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