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KGRL Exclusive Kate Akhurst Interview
KGRL had a chance to interview Los Angeles-based Australian singer/songwriter, Kate Akhurst. The interview was made possible by our FPA herself, Kate Akhurst. A million thanks goes out to you our dear FPA!
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KGRL: Can you give us a brief introduction as to who Kate Akhurst is?
Kate Akhurst: I'm a 23-year-old singer-songwriter from Sydney Australia, and I'm currently pursuing my music career in LA.
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KGRL: Your bio talks about how you began your musical journey at age 9 where you began trumpet lessons. Why did you choose trumpet as your first instrument?
Kate Akhurst: I chose the trumpet mainly because...I wanted to play saxophone and they had run out of saxophones so they just handed me the trumpet, so I sort of took that. In the end it actually worked out perfect[ly] because we had a trumpet in the home because my dad used to play trumpet so he gave me his and I just sort of went from there. So, it was by default in a way.
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KGRL: What really got you to want to do music? And now, with the release of your debut, as a career?
Kate Akhurst: I've always just been a sort of songwriter, so it's sort of like a hard question because I've always wanted to do music. Mainly what made me choose to do it as a career was when I got my first publishing deal. Once again, I was a songwriter, you know -- polished as a songwriter -- but they were sort of like, "Why don't you try and sing your own songs?" And so I did, and that's sort of what started me doing it as a career myself, as an artist myself.
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KGRL: Your music is categorized under Indie Pop. If you were to talk about your music to those who have not heard you yet, how would you describe it?
Kate Akhurst: I would describe it as piano-driven, so it's sort of like a cross between Gwen Stefani and Kate Bush. That's how most people describe my music -- with sort of Jazz harmony chords and arrangements, and horns, and also a darker side where it's more like just piano sort of like in the Kate Bush vein.
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KGRL: Can you tell us what you do to make your music stand out from amongst other pop artists?
Kate Akhurst: I don't really consciously think of anything that I try to do to stand out from anyone. I...guess I just do what I do, and I love what everyone else is doing too. I don't really ever sit down and think "How am I going to make myself sound different?" I just hope that if I have my own style, that that will sound different enough.
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KGRL: You used to play gigs with a band while attending school. What songs did you use to play/sing back then?
Kate Akhurst: All the songs we did -- once again, I was songwriter at heart -- [were] all original stuff. We all loved the Red Hot Chili Peppers so we played a lot of their songs, but most of it was original.
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KGRL: We read that you studied Jazz. Did you get a musical degree in Jazz?
Kate Akhurst: I studied a course in Jazz so it wasn't like a musical degree from a university or anything like that....My teacher from the course, [whom] I started seeing for private lessons as well...is named Nick Fowler and he's an amazing musician. He's taught me for years now. If I was back in Australia I'd still be learning from him.
That's sort of like how it happened. I didn't necessarily get a degree. I'm not very good at that school stuff.
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KGRL: How much do you think Jazz music influences the way you write music? How important do you think having a background in Jazz is in the way you write?
Kate Akhurst: I think it's important in...that Jazz [has] unlimited possibilities....Anything can fit into Jazz, in a way. It makes you realize that [with] infinite possibilities you can do anything. I think that's a really liberating thing in song writing. Jazz is great for that.
I think it influences the way I write not in the way that everyone would necessarily hear it, [but] in the way I think about harmony and melody. I think [it] mainly influences me the most like that.
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KGRL: Can you tell us how your songwriting process is? Do you write lyrics or music first?
Kate Akhurst: It all comes out at the same time. I normally write because I'm feeling something and it's bubbling up in me. I sit down at the piano, play my first chord, and then it all comes pouring out from there. So, luckily it comes at the same time normally. It varies but that's the usual [way].
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KGRL: What was the first song you wrote? Did it ever make it into your debut album? If not, are you planning to use it someday?
Kate Akhurst: The first song I wrote...didn't make it on[to] my album because it's bad. I think any first songs are normally [bad because] you're just starting out. Yeah. No, it didn't make it onto the album and I don't plan on using it.
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KGRL: The album was a product of your collaborative efforts with your producer/arranger Vince Pizzinga. How did you choose who to work with in your record?
Kate Akhurst: It's sort of the other way around. I started doing a record once I started working with Vince. He understood me so well and what I wanted to do, and he saw everything that was in my head musically. It's sort of like I started out saying "Let's do an EP. Let's do five songs." Then it turned into an album. It just seemed like a no-brainer. I would always work with Vince from that point.
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KGRL: Why did you name your record Like Little Red Riding Hood?
Kate Akhurst: I named the album Like Little Red Riding Hood because it's actually a lyric in one of my songs, Cause And Effect. The lyric is:
I'm like Little Red Riding Hood in the Holly woods.
That's because most of the album was written here in Hollywood and it felt like a fairytale to me. It was sort of like crazy. There was a big bad wolf there [and] and all the little things that go along with that story. It felt like that to me and like I said, it just felt like a fairytale. I thought that the whole album could fall under that sort of feeling.
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KGRL: Where did you draw inspirations for writing the songs in your record?
Kate Akhurst: I draw inspirations from absolutely everything. People ask that a bit and it sounds like a dumb answer but it's actually as simple as that. Everything I do in my day influences me and makes me think, and that's what comes out in my songs.
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KGRL: How long does it usually take for you to finish writing a song?
Kate Akhurst: Usually it takes...if it's a good song, maybe two days.
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KGRL: How long did it take to finish the album?
Kate Akhurst: It was probably between three to six months. I was flying back and forth from Sydney to LA and I was writing it. If you include getting the album artwork and everything it might have been a year. Actually recording it probably [took] about three months.
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KGRL: Do you feel like this record is in the right direction as to how you want your music to be?
Kate Akhurst: Absolutely. I think that it's a perfect[ly]-captured moment of who I am. I think that obviously we grow and my next album will be different, but that album is exactly who I am and I wouldn't change a second of it.
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KGRL: Congratulations on the release of your phenomenal debut in both digital and CD form! The CD is currently only available at your record label's website. We'd like to know what other mode of distribution are you planning for your record?
Kate Akhurst: I think I'm going to keep it available online for the time being, until...I'm a bigger artist where I can have it in CD stores. I'm actually just happy with keeping it online for now.
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KGRL: How hard is it for you being an independent artist?
Kate Akhurst: It's really hard. It's really, really hard. I mean, there [are] parts that are amazing [like] the control that I have over my work. It's mainly up to me. It's between Vince and I and our manager Sandy. I mean, [those] are the only people that I have to deal with. That's a really great thing because the team is small and I make all the decisions. That part of being an independent artist is awesome. I like it.
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KGRL: Your songs are very catchy. I'd say most of them fits nicely for TV shows and movies. Have you considered shopping your music to TV and movies?
Kate Akhurst: It's on the top of my list at the moment. I definitely want to get one of my songs in TV or film or even an ad. I would love to just see it out there like that.
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KGRL: We read the whole list of your musical influences. Can you tell us who you think have influenced you the most in your songwriting style?
Kate Akhurst: My songwriting style? I think that's a hard one. I love Nelly Furtado's songwriting style. I think that that's influenced me. As [far] as songwriters, my favourite songwriters are people like James Taylor, Prince, Stevie Wonder [and] people like that. They don't necessarily influence me....They are just geniuses and I love listening to [them]. As far as my songwriting style [goes], I think it's my own. I just sort of do what I do.
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KGRL: Which amongst the songs you wrote is your favorite?
Kate Akhurst: My favourite song [is] probably End Of The Day because that is the song that has pretty much gotten me here today, where I am. It was one of the first that I ever did with Vince, and it was a song that got me some exposure in Australia. It just is sort of sentimental to me for that reason: it sort of started this whole thing off.
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KGRL: How about the ones you love performing live?
Kate Akhurst: Performing live? I love all of them for different reasons....I think the one that I really like doing (because usually [it's] just me and the piano)...is Six Cold Feet....It sort of takes me into another place and when I stop I don't realize that I'm gone until I'm out of it again....I love that feeling. It's probably my favourite to do.
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KGRL: What was your best experience playing live so far?
Kate Akhurst: It was probably my showcase that I did back in Australia. That was just such an amazing time. I'd been away for most of the year in LA. I came home and all my friends were there and my family and it was [a] packed joint. Just seeing everyone's face[s] there for me was pretty -- I was pretty blown away so that was amazing.
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KGRL: Have you tried collaborating with any other artist to write a song?
Kate Akhurst: Not for myself. I haven't. I've actually started a writing team with Vince called Fiction and we're writing for other artists, together. We've been collaborating with other artists for that but not for my solo stuff.
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KGRL: Anyone you wish to collaborate with someday?
Kate Akhurst: I don't know, but I always worry about that question....Every songwriter that I love or every musician that I absolutely adore, sort of [does] it on their own and I'm always scared that if I was ever to have the chance to work with them, I'd be so nervous, or they wouldn't write the way that they do by themselves so it might just turn out not very good. So, not really. But as [for] producers and stuff -- Vince and I went to see Pharrell from N.E.R.D. perform the other week and that was awesome and I would love to work with someone like him because he's a freak.
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KGRL: Are there any new artists you listen to?
Kate Akhurst: I love The Ting Tings. I think they're really cool and I guess they are relatively new. I really like Santo Gold. I think she's really cool. We saw her at Coachella and that was awesome. MIA -- she's old but she's new on the charts. I think she's awesome too.
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KGRL: If given a chance, would you choose to sign up with a major record label?
Kate Akhurst: Yeah, sure. If it's the right deal for me. That's the problem that I've had. I have been offered a major deal but it just wasn't right for me. But definitely I would love to be on a major label if it was right for me.
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KGRL: We've been playing the two new tracks you recently recorded, Animals & Champagne and Sex & Knickers. They both are AMAZING! How many songs have you recorded for the second album so far?
Kate Akhurst: I've probably recorded just those two, actually. I've been writing all year for other people and I sort of am just taking a bit of a break, just refilling everything inside of me...and getting new inspiration for my own thing. I think my new album will probably start next year [2009].
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KGRL: Any last words for the KGRL listeners?
Kate Akhurst: Thank you so much for listening and for supporting me. Thank you.
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A million thanks goes out to our FPA, Kate Akhurst!
Transcription was done by our good friend, Flour (E.S.).
Kate Akhurst Links:
Official Website: http://www.kateakhurst.com
Myspace Page: http://www.myspace.com/kateakhurst
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