Happy International Women's Day, with one week to go until Sam and Ruth's release and 10 weeks to go until Kate's new release.
Sam and Ruth tracks from Changeable Heart have been making their way across many, many airwaves on various radio stations up and down the country as well as some great reviews so we're dead chuffed about all that. www.notmanandkelly.com
Kate's Proclaimers Plot gardening project is coming on a treat and she managed an all-girl family pancake race on Tuesday which was brill, even though there was some cheating by the yoof. We love a pancake day here!
Kate's release date and new artwork have gone live this week so that's quite exciting and we even managed to pin her down to answer a couple of questions in the calm before the storm of the album release...
Sally: The album mastering is finished and it's all off to be pressed now...how do you feel at this point
Kate: It’s always a bit nerve-wracking at this point actually cos it’s the point you have to just let it go!! After nurturing an album for so long, it’s always a bit worrying sending it off out into the world. But I’m so pleased with how it’s all turned out
Sally: Can you let us into any sneaky clues about the album? Are all the songs on a theme? Was it cathartic to write? Was it easy or quick to write?
Kate: OOOh well I don’t want to give anything away obviously!!! But there are songs on there that I’ve been wanting to do for a while, songs that have been part of our family since I was young. There's also a song on this album that I’ve been writing with my dad for the last few years, when I say the last few years, I mean, when we’ve had a glass of wine or two our thoughts would return to it, so we made up bit more, and on it went. Finally, I finished it!! Woo hoooo!! So I’m very pleased about that. There’s no theme though, some songs are traditional, some I’ve written, some I’ve found in my old books and tinkered about with until they become new songs. Not going to tell you any more at this point!
Sally: Is it hard to keep an album secret until its release when you've been working on it for so long? Do you want to tell everyone or do you want to wait until you think it's ready and the best it can be?
Kate: I want to wait. I’m very, very good at keeping secrets! There are things that I want to tell people, but I’m good at keeping tight-lipped. There are a couple of surprises on the album that would ruin the pleasure of people discovering them if I tell all beforehand.
Sally: what's next now for you?
Kate: I’ve already started a new Christmas album!! I have all the songs sorted now and have started rehearsing them up with Damien (very handy being married to a brilliant guitar player) I usually do an album a year, alternating between Christmas and ‘normal’, and because I didn’t do an album last year for one reason or another, I wanted to do two this year to keep both gigs fresh. I always think, if you feel creative then keep creating. I might even do three this year mwahahaha!!!!
Thank you to Kate for giving us a great insight into this point in the album process.
Can't wait for the release now!
Earworm of the week: PPPPPPPPPancake Day (from Maid Marion on her Merry Men) - what an earworm it is too!
This week’s teabag count: 64
Steve's Quote of the Week: "I keep saying the wrong worms"
More next week…