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MP3 Kate McMahon - Six-Storey Caryard Apartment Block (strings version)
1 MP3 Songs in this album (6:35) !
Related styles: Folk: Alternative Folk, Folk: Folk Pop, Solo Female Artist
People who are interested in Holly Throsby Regina Spektor Sarah Blasko should consider this download.
Details:
Liz Stringer asks Kate McMahon 5 questions - an interview
LS. You haven''t been playing piano for very long but you''re already so good at it. How does that work?!...
KM. My relationship with the piano has been a rocky road for sure. When I was about 10 my parents started me on classical singing lessons, which I was really excited about, but the singing teacher''s condition of giving me lessons at such a young age was that I learn piano as well. I was not very impressed. I hated the piano lessons and never practiced, and after a year of wasted money my parents decided to stop bothering! I started writing songs at 18 and realised I needed some kind of backing for my voice, but by that stage I was living in a share-house, so I had no access to a real piano. I managed to get hold of a cheap little Roland for $50 that was being thrown away by a school, but the sound that it gave out was so tinny I could hardly bear to play it. Still, I used it to nut out the chords for my songs and imagined a wonderful grand-piano resonance in my head. Needless to say, my piano-playing skills didn''t develop much with that little baby. It was a real love/hate relationship. I wasn''t faithful. I used to go to music stores a lot and play their beautiful pianos there, and whenever I visited my parents I hardly saw them as I would run straight to the piano room. I kind of gave up on piano for a bit and got together with a guitarist, but my desire to create songs was too much, and I could never get enough time to rehearse with him as I needed. I needed my own instrument. So I saved up the money. It took me about a year as I was an arts student without a job, but eventually I got there. And THEN oh dear, oh dear my car died on me. Of course, I didn''t know that it was a goner until I''d already spent all my savings trying to get it fixed. So I was left with no car and no keyboard. I moped so much my mum offered to lend me the money for the keyboard, and thank goodness for that! Two weeks with my new baby in my arms and I got offered my first solo gig. I whipped up a set and haven''t looked back since. We travel everywhere together and I''ve really noticed that I''ve gotten a lot better, but it''s just because I play and play and play. Whenever I''ve had a bad day, or a good day or any kind of day, it''s always the thing that makes me feel the best.
LS. Who are the artists that you like that you think most influence your style of music?
KM. I tend to get obsessed with an artist for a long time and listen to them and only them for months at a time. So I can track my musical obsessions from my early teens, year by year. The first album I ever bought was Green Day''s Dookie, and I still fall hard for that 90s grunge. My biggest influences in my songwriting, though, would have to be Fiona Apple, Regina Spektor, Laura Marling and Holly Throsby, with a bit of Elliot Smith thrown in on the side.
LS. As a young artist starting out in Melbourne how have you found the range of gig opportunities around town? And what''s the best gig been so far?
KM. I moved from Ballarat to Melbourne at the start of this year for the opportunities that I knew were here, and I''ve never been busier or happier. In terms of opportunities to play there are plenty, Melbourne has such an accepting culture when it comes to music that whatever style you play you''re bound to find the right venue for you. What I''m loving the most, though, is how many artists I''m meeting who are doing it the same as me. Just about everyone I run into either sees or plays live music every weekend. It''s a real buzz to be constantly surrounded by such a supportive arts culture.
LS. You seem to be writing a lot of songs at the moment! Where, lyrically, do you draw your inspiration from? And, has moving to Melbourne from Ballarat recently affected your songwriting in any way?
KM. Anytime my brain gets a chance to be distracted it will. And then it takes me into its fantasy land. I have no control over this. One of my latest songs stemmed from my morning stupor when I was standing, dazed, waiting for the kettle to boil. As I waited and stared, unseeingly for what seemed like hours, my eyes came to rest on the power cords of the toaster and kettle. They were twisting around each other on their way to the power point, and my brain saw them dance. They were two lovers on the kitchen bench in the heated passion of a full love affair. They were intertwined, reaching, yearning. And then the kettle boiled and I made my coffee and went to work. Of course, this developed into a song.
My move to Melbourne has been great for my song-writing because everything is still so new. I see everything with fresh eyes, and every street is interesting to me and worth exploring. I''m also starting to write about the city, because I love it so much, which gives a new kind of narrative to my songs. They''re becoming less introverted and more observational.
LS. What are your plans for your music over the next few years?
KM. One of my goals for my music over the next few years is to record as much as possible, as I''m writing so quickly I need to get them down before they''re gone again! I would also like to experience playing in as many different venues as possible, as each room is different and delivers a new experience. Of course I have goals like releasing an album and getting it out there, but to me the most important thing is that I want to keep the playing of the music experiential. I never want to lose sight of that wonderful feeling I get when I connect with my music and with other people when I play. It''s such a special thing, and if I can keep this blissfulness going then I''ll be very, very happy.
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