FEATURE
for me , some lyrics will come but usually for me the music , or the music with the lyrics comes . Andy who I ’ ve co-written two of the songs with on the album , one on his own , writes in a completely different way . He writes a lot of lyrics down as he thinks of them and crafts it . The songs we ’ ve written together are actually a really good combination because we ’ re so different in that . I ’ m much more intuitive in it coming out of me and then he ’ ll come at it from a different point of view saying I really like that but this bit could be a little better , then we work on it together . It ’ s great because he has this approach that I don ’ t , it works well .”
Speaking of Andy Hobsbawm , Kate ’ s husband , he has a key role to play in Kate ’ s music career . Having seen Andy ’ s terrific support later that evening in taking on the stage chatter and re-tuning the guitars down to compensate for the vocal effects of poor Kate ’ s cold , it is clear they share a close partnership . Lead guitarist and co-writer on the album , Kate is keen to point out that “ Andy was a big part of bringing the album to life .”
Kate obviously has a huge body of work behind her , with more waiting for us to discover . I was keen to FACEBOOK : know if , for her , there ’ s a
TWITTER : favourite track on the album , one that means instagram : more to her . Cruel question , I know . It was a bit like asking her pick her favourite child ! “ That ’ s hard for me to answer ! We ’ ve sat with some of these songs for a long time some of them are newer , but every single one of them I love . I wouldn ’ t have put them on the album if I hadn ’ t . They ’ re very different . There ’ s a sound that runs through them and talking about genres , there ’ s slightly different sounds in each song . ‘ Carve Me Out ,’ being such an emotional song for me , has a different kind of resonance for me , but I can ’ t pick one !”
Following her own route into music , Kate is a strong advocate for doing what you love . I asked her if she had any advice for aspiring singer-song writers out there , unsure whether to make the
web ( videos & live dates ): www . kateellis . com
' carve me out ' is available from : Amazon , iTunes & Google Play
FEATURE
leap . “ I would say , more and more people are doing different careers in their lives . You cannot go wrong doing what you really love to do and want to do . I think it ’ s very easy to over-ride that with a sense that you have to do the responsible thing , the sensible thing . In the end , I think that ’ s always a dead end to do that . You have to follow what you love doing . Not just because you won ’ t be happy otherwise , but I also think you won ’ t be doing it well . I do think there ’ s so many different things one can enjoy . I think one should explore . When I did law , I wasn ’ t sure what I wanted to do . I actually thought I was going to be writing , in fact I started thinking about a book I wanted to write , then I got into a magazine job and then I thought I ’ d llike to take up guitar on the side that ’ ll be fun . So , there ’ s no planning , but if you ’ re out there exploring what you want to do , you ’ ll run into it .”
So , what ’ s next for Kate Ellis ? “ We ’ re working on a mini tour Sept / Oct time . We ’ re doing another release , in the next couple of months . I ’ m releasing another video , which will be my third , for ‘ Night Before the Dawn ,’ which was released as a single . We ’ re also doing a gig in London in Islington on 27th September , to launch the vinyl edition of the album , so that ’ s very exciting . Really focusing on the album , getting it out there and doing some gigs around it ’ s promotion .” In fact , Ellis is already excited at the prospect of starting work on the next album . “ This one has been so long in the making that we have this bunch of songs , we ’ ve probably got half an albums worth . So , it ’ ll be fun to get back into those and figure out what they ’ re going to be , write new ones . Next year I ’ ll properly start thinking about that .”
A hugely talented singer-songwriter , mother to two children ( a boy and a girl ), wife to Andy , a role model , Kate Ellis is an inspiring woman who isn ’ t afraid to expose her emotions via her music . She is one busy lady : “ I ’ ve got two kids , so that ’ s what I ’ m doing the rest of my time . I love reading . We , as a family , love seeing movies . Basically there isn ’ t a lot of extra time to be honest !” - KA
/ kateellismusic
@ kateellismusic
/ kateellismusic