Kathleen Lee is a Melbourne-based folk singer songwriter.Her sound can be characterised by its lullaby-like melody, haunting vocal style and lyrical artistry. Her lyrics, while speaking of loss, love and sacrifice, retain a naturally uplifting spirit; making hers a sweet kind of sadness.
In this interview, we chat with Kathleen about her influences, her newest project, and more.
Full Q&A, links, and a stream of Nice Kind of Pain below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
When I was a girl I used to listen exclusively to very gentle, lyrical, folk music, mainly Leonard Cohen but Bob Dylan, Paul Simons and Cat Stevens occasionally crept in there too. I love music where the lyrics and the melody are intricately connected and work together to tell a story or express an idea. I found this most profoundly in Leonard Cohen’s music. I love his simple, no frills, delivery and the beautiful arrangements of his songs. I doubt I would have ever considered singing if it wasn’t for him.
How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?
I started recording my songs about five years ago. I realized I’d written enough to make a little album. I came from a film making background and didn’t know anything about how to record music. I ended up singing them all into a zoom recorder in my bedroom. Each song was just a single track with absolutely no effects, mixing or mastering on them. I put them straight through garage band onto a CD. I am still fond of these recordings, much fonder than of the second attempt where I tried out heaps of effects without knowing at all what I was doing. I uploaded both these “albums” onto bandcamp but that was about the extent of the “sharing”. Since then I approached a producer, Isaac Barter, and I’ve been recording everything in a much more professional manner with him, including this latest EP.
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
My writing is very much influenced by my life. I write about my feelings, ideas and thoughts. I am motivated to keep going because I enjoy the experience so much. I love the act of creating things. It is extremely satisfying to me. Especially when I like what I have created. Lately my new band has been the greatest influence on my playing. It is a wonderful new challenge to have to keep in time with them and play in consistent or predictable ways. I also find that I can reach greater heights in my performance with their energy pushing me along.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
I try very hard to write honest songs that celebrate feelings. I hope to do it in a way where the feelings can be shared with people who listen to the music. More specifically in this project we tried to achieve a certain kind of very warm, nostalgic sound.
What was the last song you listened to?
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
I suppose i prefer vinyl but out of a combination of laziness, never having money to spare and inconvenience I listen to MP3’s much more.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
I mostly use spotifiy to listen to music but prefer Bandcamp to spread my own music. Bandcamp is great because it’s really easy to use and an awesome way to sell your music worldwide.
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
I suppose just reaching the right people is hard. Lots of people are busy and don’t have the time to listen to music. Also I think my sort of music isn’t the kind of music you listen to at parties or for fun. So I guess it’s just hard to find the kind of people who like really slow music.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
I gig but just around Melbourne at the moment. Hopefully in future I will gig in other places too.
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
I have a website, a soundcloud page, a bandcamp page and facebook, twitter and instagram. Facebook and instagram are probably the best places to see what I’ve been up to lately, I post fairly regularly.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Listen to more music! Especially slow music. I would recommend Canary, a Melbourne based band with some very beautiful, slow music. https://soundcloud.com/canaryband
