We recently caught up with singer-songwriter Katie Nicholas to talk about her music, her new EP and an exciting up-coming live show.
Liverpool Noise: For our readers who don’t know you, tell us a bit about yourself.
Katie Nicholas: Hey Liverpool Noise, I’m a singer-songwriter from Liverpool! I’m also a videographer and brand designer (for my job!) and there’s never enough time in the day for it all. While all these creative pursuits are enjoyable, the thing that brings me most peace is poetry – and I guess that goes hand in hand with the music.
Liverpool has always been home but time away from it definitely shaped who I am today, for better and for worse. At 18 I left to start a new life in London, working as a graphic designer for a global advertising company. I worked for many well-known brands but over time found my light dimming as my deepest wish was to pursue a career in music.
At that time I’d released my first music video “Chemistry” which went viral and led to receiving the Michael Molloy Youth Music Award sponsored by Mayor of Liverpool in 2013. In 2015 my debut album “Dizzy” was released, which led to all kinds of fun, festival exposure and radio play, but juggling the fast-paced 9-5 as an indie artist led to burnout and frustration – I was still stuck in my job, unsigned and unable to spin all the plates. The momentum and excitement around the music was at a high, but I plummeted under the pressure.
Over time the work-life grind got the better of me, I’d always walked a tightrope with depression and anxiety and that too began to swallow me up. With no time, energy or confidence, I retreated into the shadows and tried to live a “normal life”. During this time of no music, poetry became daily therapy on my 2-hour tube commute to work. I began to depend on this as my only outlet.
Years went by, many ups and downs, yet in that time I never stopped writing. The dream always stayed in tact, but I found the more I suppressed my creativity and voice, the harder it became to catch up or even begin sharing the endless work I’d created and accumulated.
This is why I’m so happy to come back with my upcoming music release, “Feather”. It’s my most honest work, standing alone as poetry too, and tells of my battles of the heart, mind, slipping time and the soul.
It feels like a rebirth – showing how I lost my way and that I feel I’m now arriving right on time.
Liverpool Noise: How would you best describe your music?
Katie Nicholas: Constantly evolving and always honest – I’d fail miserably if I were to write something I don’t fully believe or feel. I don’t like the idea of conforming to genre “rules”, because I use music ultimately to express and understand myself, but I do like to pick and mix genres, lending elements and instruments to support and bring the best out a song and it’s message.
I’ve had a track record and reputation for writing catchy country-pop songs, but it must be noted that there has been a steep silence and stand-off between the 17-20 year old that self everyone still remembers, and this current version of me, a whole decade on.
The new songs of “Feather” could be identified as acoustic folk, laced with classical arrangements by Isabella Baker on violin, with subtle tones on piano by Anna Corcoran which bow their head to artists like Norah Jones. I think the core of this music has naturally taken shape from old-school influences like Judee Sill and Eva Cassidy’s version of “Over The Rainbow” and “Songbird”.
Maybe there’s some rebellion in me or I’m just overwhelmed by the pace of our disposable modern world, but I chose to step in the opposite direction to what’s sonically current. I wanted to go simpler, back to basics, and be reminiscent of the timeless artists I still listen to today, decades after their releases – that’s when you know music is real and coming from the right place, it lasts.
You can still hear my Americana roots (and I can assure those will be back soon) especially in my playing style. I’ve always been an elaborate cross-picker, be it banjo or acoustic guitar. These new songs have been constructed with complex chords, ever-changing keys and even changes of time signature mid-song. I think there’s a real theatrical and musical element that ties these songs together.
Liverpool Noise: What’s your process for creating music?
Katie Nicholas: My writing process has no rhyme or reason. I know a lot of musicians carve out a specific intention or routine to get in the right “space” for writing, but for me I think the best work comes to you when it wants to. I don’t believe in poking the bear. Of course, my opinions here won’t be particularly backed by everyone, but I’ve definitely discovered what works for me.
I find the less pressure I put on it, steering clear of the writer’s block – a symptom of panic, the more I write…and the more I can’t stop. It happens anywhere, everywhere, on a bus, in the middle of night. A song in one piece or fragments that always resurface when they need to.
In terms of process… It could be a line, a melody, and like a thread you can choose to pull it – you either take it and knit the whole jumper or you throw the straddler in the bin and forget about it. The less you think, the more present you are and FEEL it, you’ll realise you are conduit of a message that flowed from a collective well much bigger than you. That message will be universal if it’s true and from the core of you.
Regarding the EP, Feather came together one week before the studio time was booked in at Sloe Flower Studio. I must mention James Wyatt, the producer and mix engineer of this set – never have I found a producer to be so encouraging and sympathetic to an artist’s vision and approach. The way we collaborated and instinctively pulled this work together was effortless and joyful throughout. And in that same way, a week before the sessions, I knew something would appear. I took the title track “Feather” written in 2018, and the other 3 songs arrived: “Sitting Ducks”, “Tethered Doves” and “The Poet”.
Liverpool Noise: Where are you and what are you up to right now?
Katie Nicholas: Right now I’m in one of my favourite coffee shops in Liverpool, “Chapters of Us”. I’ve just finished my design job for the day, and much like my London days, I’m stealing every moment I can out-of-hours to prepare for the EP release (2nd December) and live show at the Liverpool Nordic Church with Strings (1st December).
Liverpool Noise: If you had to tell people to go and listen to just one of your songs, which one would you choose?
Katie Nicholas: I would tell them to listen to Feather, the single will be out 22 November before the EP.
I have issued takedowns on all my old releases to make way for the rebirth of my music – these can still be streamed, downloaded, and ordered from Bandcamp (the 2015 “Dizzy” album as well as older, more obscure releases). If you’d like to listen to something sooner, check out “Friend” on my YouTube Channel or the SSL 2 Advert where I play “Chemistry”.
Liverpool Noise: What else does 2022 have in store for you? And 2023 plans?
Katie Nicholas: The end of 2022 is going to be fun! November will see the pre-buzz of the release, with merch available to order, CDs stocked in our local HMV as well as a celebratory live show in December with Strings at the Liverpool Nordic Church – a beautiful Grade II historic building, which is the perfect location to set Feather free into the world.
2023 won’t be slowing down, as my next EP is scheduled with reworked versions of my earliest country/americana tracks. This will also be accompanied by a video series, recounting a decade of unreleased music, showcasing the eras moved through as a songwriter, plus so much more.
Feather + Strings @ Nordic Church
Event ticket link: https://skiddle.com/e/36204846
More details about Feather at katienicholas.co.uk and you can sign up to Katie’s mailing list for updates.
Be sure to follow Katie on her socials at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube to stay up to date.
