Review Fix Exclusive: Katherine Abbott Talks “Lullaby For Lucas” And More

Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Katherine Abbott about her new single, “Lullaby For Lucas” and more.

About Katherine Abbott:

Katherine Abbott is a free spirited folk singer/songwriter from England. Growing up in a musical household, she has been singing all her life and began writing songs as a teenager which led to pursuing a musical career through busking & performance. Influenced by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, and Bon Iver and inspired by the quest for freedom and the contrast between reality and dreams; Abbott composes songs on guitar that display poetic and thought provoking lyrical content and a haunting, soulful and soaring vocal delivery. Abbott’s songs blend contemporary subject matter with classic folk songwriting to create something truly unique & captivating.

Review Fix: How did you get into music?

Katherine Abbott: I was lucky in that I grew up in a musical house without a television and with my dad painting and writing poetry whilst playing records loud. My mum sang and acted professionally when she was younger and still sang on stage while I was growing up, so my dad and I would watch her.  I loved to sing from a young age, and was always being encouraged to be creative.  I had piano lessons from an inspirational teacher and musician, I later joined a gospel choir he directed and sang my first solos on stage. Mainly I believe, as a way to cope with the loss of my mother, I started writing songs as a young teenager.  That led to performing in small venues and busking, then recording.  One thing leads to another and here I am, still doing it!

Review Fix: What’s your creative process like?

Abbott: The creative process varies for me with each song or project and there isn’t a precise formula.  But I usually come up with melodic ideas and lyrical concepts separately and at some unexpected moment; the two find each other and fuse together to create a song.  It feels like there’s a lot of playing around and experimenting before something solid is made.  It’s like casting out a wide net in order to catch all these ideas, many of which get discarded and filtered out until something clear is formed.

I’m still trying to work out how disciplined to be with playing and writing, because sometimes forcing creativity can be counterproductive.

Review Fix: What inspires you?

Abbott: Real life experiences and human relationships are what have inspired me the most, which is why I’ve tried to travel as much as I can over the past five years, so I could experience as much as possible.  There are concepts in particular which inspire me to write; the dichotomy between people’s dreams and their reality and the concept of nomadic existence.  My strongest material is always about an experience which has moved me.  But when I feel I’m struggling to find inspiration; I look to my musical idols, new music, films, books and walking.  

Review Fix: What does music mean to you?

Abbott: Music is almost everything to me.  To me, music means pure expression of peoples souls and ultimate connection between souls.  It fills up the voids and empty spaces all around and consoles like a friend.

Music can act as a vehicle to transport and transform you, you can listen to a song and find your perspective and your emotions altered, they’ve shifted subtly and you find you’ve been moved; which I always find miraculous.

Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who had never heard you before?

Abbott: Folk.

Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?

Abbott: So far I’ve played most live shows solo, so it’s just a more visceral sound than the recordings, stripped back and raw, just me and my guitar, without the instrumentation.

Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?

Abbott: The song was inspired by thoughts of escapism and trying to stay grounded whilst trying to pursue ones dreams.  I found myself at lots of crossroads, trying to navigate a change in destination due to altering circumstances and self discovery and trying to stay true to the things I believed in and the person I wanted to be.

Review Fix: What are your goals for 2020?

Abbott: My goals for 2020 are to release an EP soon and then tour closer to the autumn and winter when hopefully things are a bit more back to normal after lockdown and more venues are opening up again.  A lot of venues will need a lot support after this in order to re-open and recover. The prospect of so many closing down after lockdown is beyond devastating. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Abbott: Next for me is working on an EP in the studio and releasing it

Review Fix: Anything you’d like to add?

Abbott: Watch out for the EP that’s coming soon! And thanks for listening folks.