Photo: Carl Osbourne
We recently talked with the talented Katie Keddie who has released her debut EP. 'Alaska Sadness'.
OSM: You released your first single, 'Eighteen' back in 2019. How did the subsequent global pandemic upset your plans and momentum and did that period offer any positives when it came to your songwriting?
Katie: It had a massive impact as I only really started doing any music at all in 2018 - I had just started to get comfortable playing at open mics and local shows and then couldn't really do any live music for 2 years! All of the songs on the EP were written during that time though, so I guess it was nice to have a bit more time to focus on writing.
OSM: Your debut EP, 'Alaska Sadness' is out now. What can listeners expect from this collection of songs?
Katie: Listeners can expect some melancholy indie-folk-rock with beautiful guitar, harmonies and nice textures.
OSM: What is your general songwriting process - is it very structured?
It isn't super structured at the moment, as I mentioned earlier I haven't really been doing music or writing for very long so it has all been a bit of a learning curve for me! Usually I just come up with a line or two, try to tease out what it is I am writing about and then kind of write down lots of sentences describing the scene of the song and then try to pick out lyrics from that.
OSM: If you had to pick a favourite track from the EP, one that maybe means the most to you, which one would it be?
Probably 'Comfort and Despair' - it was one of the first songs that I wrote where I was like "oh this isn't too bad" haha. It seems to be the one that people have resonated most with too which is nice.
OSM: You are also an established live performer. Do you have any shows scheduled and what have been some of your most memorable shows to date?
I've got my first full band headline show coming up on the 17th June at The Bodega in Nottingham which is super exciting. I'm also playing Splendour festival this year in July! My most memorable gig so far was probably a BBC Introducing showcase I did back in January of this year - it was the first time I had played with a band and it felt so special.
OSM: Does the EP have an overall theme?
I don't think it really has an overall theme, its a collection of all of the first songs I had ever written, so I think the songs are a bit of a brain dump of everything I had ever wanted to write about haha!
OSM: As a songwriter are your influenced by any other bands or artists?
Definitely, I love songwriters like Julia Jacklin, Phoebe Bridgers, Fenne Lily and Adrianne Lenker - I think they are incredible storytellers and are a huge inspiration.
OSM: And finally, what music are you listening to this month?
There has been so so many amazing new releases over the past couple of months - on heavy rotation right now is Runnner's new album, Boygenius and Girlhouse's new EP.