Kate Walsh is a true individual. A girl who wants to do things her way and generally does. She has enviable qualities as a singer with a rare and delicate timbre to her voice, an engaging songwriter, and not least an accomplished guitarist and pianist. Walsh had only just celebrated her 20th birthday when her debut album, Clocktower Park,came out in 2003 on the independent UK label Kitchenware, home to the likes of Prefab Sprout and Editors. The singer then achieved a certain degree of fame after her self-published and promoted follow-up record, Tim’s House, topped the UK iTunes album chart in March 2007.
This success sparked a bout of media frenzy that resulted in major labels forming a disorderly queue for her signature. Universal barged their way to the front, and Kate Walsh duly found herself on Mercury Records with a budget to make her third album. Sticking to her principles, Walsh retained the services of local Tim’s House producer Tim Bidwell, and Light And Darkwas duly delivered in August 2009. By this time, Mercury had decided that their promo budget would be better spent on Pixie Lott, and Walsh was back on her own label. This potted history takes us to 2010, and Kate Walsh has just delivered a fourth album,Peppermint Radio. Yet once again there is a twist. Rather than a selection of Walsh’s own delightful songs, the collection is a bold set of covers.
Consequence of Sound meets up with Kate Walsh as she is getting ready to spend a first Christmas in her new home in her adopted town of Brighton, on the English south coast. The singer is dressed for the British winter but confesses that her boots let in water as we hit a sudden downpour while heading for lunch at the homely Bill’s Café. The eatery is a bit like being in Kate’s kitchen but on a bigger scale, and so a perfect place to share some home truths. A look back on 2010 seems to be a good starting point.
“Yes it’s been a busy touring year. I’ve supported Paolo Nutini, Turin Brakes, Mark Knopfler and have just finished my own headline tour,” Walsh muses, dropping the names in a matter-of-fact fashion. The singer confesses to being more comfortable in small, intimate venues but recognizes the experience gained from playing on a big stage. “We had 17,000 people at Nimes (Arena in France) for Mark’s gig. Amazing, but way too big for me. There’s no sense of relationship with the audience.” In contrast, six nights at London’s Royal Albert Hall with the ex-Dire Straits man and a mere 5,000 people a night worked for her. “Ah, the Albert Hall was magical. You can’t see anyone from the stage, but you sense the atmosphere all around you. It’s like standing on the edge of a cliff in the middle of the night, knowing the sea is below though you can’t see it.”
Walsh’s manager, Jonathan Morley, has been a dab hand at placing her on some prestigious tours. On this occasion, Walsh was handpicked for Mark Knopfler’s UK and French gigs on the strength of how she and her gifted sidekick, cello player Jo Whippy, played in a single live performance. She acknowledges her reliance on her driven and focused manager. “Sometimes I think I don’t want it enough. My career is a by-product of being able to write songs and being blessed with a nice voice,” she explains in her customary modest way. She clearly isn’t in this for the fame, and there’s a sense of her happily settling for a comfortable lifestyle. Walsh has experienced quite different sides of the music industry in her short career to date. The question of whether she is happier back again as an independent artist, compared to when she was with a major label, seems to answer itself.
“The 2007 iTunes thing was a mad time. Everyone wanted the story, but the real pride and pleasure came from the record [Tim’s House] being a totally DIY success.” Finding herself on the industry conveyor belt was a mixed experience, and there was a sense that her label didn’t quite know what to do with her, though she is quick to say that her personal A&R was really supportive throughout. There was no pressure for her to dress provocatively or act out a rock and roll lifestyle, but the lack of direction maybe showed through in her being over-styled conversely as a rather twee princess: all Chinese silk, pastels, and hair clips.
As an artist now very much in control of her own career and clearly from preference, I wonder if she misses anything about being signed, other than perhaps the money? “I can rack my brains to think of something, but I really don’t think there’s anything I miss. Obviously the big major labels have the clout you need to be seen and heard, but it’s not necessarily used in the right way or for the right reasons. Being indie, and based on the resources available right now, my promotion is largely word-of-mouth, which suits me fine as it means people are enjoying the music enough to want to tell their friends about it rather than having it rammed down their throats. This process obviously means it takes much longer for your music to be heard, but I believe it’s the best way of ensuring a long career.”
Walsh built up a strong fan base in her early years through MySpace especially, despite her techno-phobe assertions. It’s clear that her fans are dear to her. “I wouldn’t be where I am now without my fans. They enable me to keep touring and inspire me to keep writing. I hear such wonderful things from people who take the time and the trouble to tell me what my music means to them. It’s easy to forget that once a song is written, recorded, and ‘out there,’ it takes on a whole new life of its own. I have to be honest in saying that I’m pretty rubbish at the whole Twitter/Facebook/MySpace thing. I’m just not really very inspired to sit in front of a computer screen, but almost the whole music industry hangs on digital media these days, and I really must try to get to grips with it all.”
Turning to her latest release, Peppermint Radio, Walsh admits that she was almost prepared for a slating but has been nicely surprised by the mostly positive reaction. The covers album was conceived as she began to feel more content with life and less wont to dip into the well of past heartache for material. Rather this was a chance to pay some dues to a selection of artists and songs that she had grown up with and took inspiration from. Her intention was to show respect for the songs by not trying to mimic the original versions but putting her own pared down stamp on them. The result is a calming experience, which leaves a warm, soft feeling inside — like having a cup of herbal tea at home.
The sleeve notes to Peppermint Radio hint at how her songwriting muse is moving slowly from a therapeutic role to one where she’s writing for the simple love of it. In a way, this album provides a bridge to just that. She admits to getting over “we are not worthy” feelings when first contemplating a Radiohead song (“Subterranean Homesick Alien”). She is equally proud of the less well-known tracks, Turin Brakes’ “Feeling Oblivion” and “Monochrome” by The Sundays. Other songs mirror her own experiences or simply transport her back to the days of growing up with her mum, dad, and two brothers. By stripping away the production, slowing down the tempo yet retaining some hooks, her interpretations leave enough of the songs to aid recognition but ensure her personal stamp is left. Moreover, you can hear every syllable of the lyrics, and their meanings resonate all the more for it.
So where does the covers album leave Kate Walsh as far as future plans are concerned? She says she is now able to write songs when in a happy place, not just when looking back on the heartache of past relationships. “This last year has been quite life-changing, and my whole focus has shifted from self-pitying to being hopeful about the future. It’s all still work in progress, but I’m learning to tap into another stream of my emotions and turn it into something creative. And you’ll just have to wait to hear the new songs to know what I mean!”
The singer admits that plans for 2011 are still on the drawing board but seeds are being sown. Through her publishing company, she has started some co-writing for the first time, which she is finding “interesting, though it’s early days.” She’s aiming to take a break from touring to work on a new record, trying “something a little different next year” as the singer rather coyly puts it. She sees herself in music for the long haul but has an unfulfilled ambition that is characteristic of her approach in life. “I’d really love to get more involved with music therapy in the future. I’ve been fortunate enough to help out with some community music projects this year, and it’s something I feel passionate about. Music has been used to heal since the year dot, but we seem to have lost that sharing aspect of it along the way. It’s such a reward to give music as a gift that can help change someone’s life.”
Meanwhile, we can all share the gift that Kate Walsh brings to contemporary music through her beautiful original songs and her fascinatingly personal take on classic British music.
