Tag: Kate

It’s 2021 Babyyy! (an EP debut)

Admittedly, it has been 2021 for almost a month. Is it everything we thought it would be? Probably!

Kate shares her voice and lyrics with the SGP family on her very own debut EP, “The 2021 EP”. This was a project that started back in late November, when Kate came up to Vienna House 2b and was inspired to throw down some melody on a guitar progression I (Steve) was messing with. From there we found ourselves writing about 2.5 songs in basically one session; the two complete tunes ended up on this EP.

For these first two, Mike was kind enough to take some rough mixes and record understated drum parts, which really fill out and liven up the tracks. I had initially tried some programmed and live-recorded drums myself, but my rhythm wasn’t jiving with, er, the other instruments I recorded? Well, I was glad to play more of a producer role and get to hear and choose some tasty fills for the songs!

Track 1 – I Miss You

In this song, Kate recalls her youthful memories of Llano TX, and her relative(s) who mean very much to her. This was a fun one to write, because she pretty much had a complete poem which we set to music, so most of the time spent was on melody and rhythms.

Track 2 – Cycle

Kate wanted to explore some country sounds and singing on this tune. In this one she borrowed from a poem of hers, but we ended up tweaking some lines to be a little tongue-and-cheek country-esque. While the singing is definitely more playful, the lyrics are an interesting balance of funny imagery and thoughtful perspective. I gave a shot at slide guitar, and boy was it tricky!

The third track was actually written and recorded right around (and after) New Years. I think we came up with the chorus during another Kate visit to the Viennas, and kind of sang it to each other for a week or so. I finished up most of the instrument recordings by mid-Jan, and recently Kate laid down her vocals.

Track 3 – 2021

This tune was inspired by the crazy times we live in, as well as soul music from the 60s and 70s (as Mike pointed out, the intro has vibes of Midnight Vultures too!). Kate also pays homage to the great Britney Spears in her rhythmic ostinato (“Gimme gimme more!”). I had lots of fun doing the instruments, but also doing an early morning one-taker of the spoken word intro (I did pitch it down one semitone for that extra Barry White effect).

Look for more projects with Kate in the future!

-Blonski