2022 has gotten off to a good start for North East singer and musician, Kate Bond. Following the success of her debut single ‘Beauty Sleep’, the 22-year-old was named BBC Introducing tip for 2022. As she unveils her debut EP, Lee Allcock caught up with her to discuss women in music, politics and more.
What was your inspiration when writing your highly anticipated debut EP, ‘Divide and Rule’…
My inspiration comes from everywhere but ‘Divide and Rule’ itself came from my mum as she had used this phrase a lot when describing the politics of the world, especially when watching the news. However, the main inspiration was from personal experience and especially from politics surrounding violence against women and non-consensual sex. I think the spark for this EP was the kill the bill protests that happened last year. I found as I developed my songwriting further and started to touch on subjects that were more political in tone, this concept kept coming up. ‘Divide and Rule’ is the first taste of what you would see if you came to a Kate Bond show that potentially isn’t reflected by the releases I currently have on Spotify.
Tell me a bit about the creative process and what you learned along the way…
The creative process differs between songs. For ‘All I Need’, it started with a beat made by EKA Beats at his studio in shieldfield. I then wrote the lyrics quite naturally over the top of the beat. I think it was a very natural connection that sparked this song. When I went to the band with it, they vibed with it straight away – and so did Andy at Blast Studios. I used to want to do everything with producers helping remotely (Alice Haine and I worked together during the pandemic on both ‘Beauty Sleep’ and ‘Yasmine’), which worked for a long time and really well. I think I’ve allowed for a more collaborative approach this time around, getting the band involved in recording and also involving other artists from across the North East. This has been a really fun process and has brought us all together in our musical arrangements and friendships.
What can listeners expect both sonically and lyrically?
Sonically, I’d say we’re very much going back to my roots with a more Neo-soul/hip-hop heavy sound. For instance, my latest release ‘Thinking of You’ is a lot more pop than the songs on the album. Lyrically, it’s perceptive but at the same time hard-hitting and straight to the point. I take a lot of influence from Amy’s songwriting in that regard. I want my music to be the kind that you can vibe to regardless of the content of the lyrics but could also really sit and delve into the meaning if you wanted to.
You’re also devoted to uplifting other women in the local music scene. Tell me a bit about NEWISM and the work you do…
I love women in music and I think NEWISM is a reflection of this. Through our channel on Instagram, we are starting to take a more journalistic approach to interviewing women in the scene and spotlighting an artist each week to showcase what they’re up to including any releases or gigs they want to promote. For Generator Live this year, we have been asked to curate a stage for an all-female line-up (it will be Monday 20th June at little buildings). From our own gigs, we’ve put on two sell-out shows and had women planning and being involved all the way through, from sound engineers to promoters. We really want to keep pushing for more female representation in the scene so we’re hoping that NEWISM as a concept and collective will continue to grow.
You can listen to ‘Divide and Rule’ now on all major streaming platforms.
