1.Growing Up

I grew up around lots of music so music is ingrained in me and my skin. My dad has always been a musician so we saw live music at least two to three nights a week growing up. It was definitely not a boring childhood. Very exciting way to grow up.

2.Inspirations

Carole King, Francis and The Lights, Bon Iver, Mulatu Astatke, Sufjan Stevens, Joni Mitchell, Allen Toussaint, Mel Tormé. I’m inspired by good songs, good food, good rhythm, good melody and good love.

3.Your Band

Well I’m a solo artist but I have some lovely Perth lads from bands such as Methyl Ethel and Panda Banda in the lineup now. I recorded my whole album in Perth with Matt Gio (Troye Sivan, Rudimentals) and we worked really hard on this LP, making it something we were both really proud of. Eric J Dubowsky (Flume, Chet Faker) mixed my ten-track record and really took it to another level. The record was then mastered in Los Angeles with Brian Lucey.

4.The Music You Make

I was really inspired by the voice and its power when I recorded this album. I was obsessed with choirs at the time of recording and was doing shows around Perth and Sydney with a six-singer choir. So that element is hopefully really apparent in the finished product. My live show is still steeped in that element but I’d say we’ve taken a more modern approach to the live show. It’s a slick set-up of three players and myself. It’s a really textured, upbeat, loud and fun show!

5.Music, Right Here, Right Now

I think there’s some good stuff happening and it’s good to see the rest of the world taking notice. The last artist I saw that blew my mind was Jacob Diamond and band. He was supporting at one of our shows in Perth and he was incredible.

[Katy Steele photo by Cybele Malinowski]

Katy Steele’s Human is out now through Create/Control.

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