Interview: Katy Steele

It’s been years since Little Birdy called it quits, but Katy Steele is nowhere near ready to put down the microphone – she’s preparing to release a solo album this month, and planning to follow it up with a tour. We chatted to the singer about ‘Human’, finding an authentic sound, and the art of being prolific.

You’ve got ‘Human’ coming out this month on October 21st, how did you find the process of making your first solo album?

It’s been quite a process, really – a huge process. I’ve had to really search for what I wanted to put out as a first offering as a solo artist, so I went through so many different sounds and so many different producers and so many different songs and it took a really long time to get to where it is now, so I’m just ecstatic that it’s finally coming out because I’ve been waiting a long time for this. The great thing is that it just feels so right and real. Yeah, it’s taken a long time, but I feel like the artist that I’m meant to feel like right now, so it would have been premature if I’d put anything else out before that. It’s an amazing feeling.

How long did you spend working on the album?

I was only working on this album for about two years, but before that I was in America for about four years and I did a whole album over there with a Brooklyn producer and an American band, and I had an American manager and all that, and it just didn’t really feel right. I don’t know, it just didn’t really happen. It wasn’t what I wanted to come out with as my first piece of the puzzle, so that got scrapped and then I started working with another producer, a Nigerian guy in Brooklyn (laughs) – yeah, it’s pretty random.

We did another whole record with him, which was a bit more in the kind of direction that Sia’s in at the moment – it was quite pop, really high-end kind of pop, and again I was like, “I don’t know if this is me.” So I scrapped that and then I came back to Perth and started working with a Perth producer, and just felt really comfortable and at home and felt like I’d learnt so much being overseas. We just kind of hit it of and then that was it, so I was in the studio with him for about a year, and then we got a Sydney mixer – Eric Dubasky, who’s mixed Flume and Chet Faker and all that, he mixed it – so yeah, it’s been a bit of a process, but we’re finally there.

Sounds like you’ve been busy in your solo time since Little Birdy just figuring out what you want to sound like! During the process of creating ‘Human’, did you find it challenging to create a sound that was distinctly different to what you did with the band?

Yeah, it was harder. I did keep that in mind. I really didn’t want to come out with an acoustic-sounding record because I just feel like that’s a cliché kind of process that you choose – the lead singer leaves the band and then they go and do an acoustic folk record and play in theatres. I was like, man, that’s so boring and so expected. So I really wanted to explore and experiment, and that’s kind of what I did. It did have to sound really different from Birdy.

I can’t even really remember what Birdy feels like, it’s so long ago for me. That was my band from my youth, I guess, and now I feel like a fully-fledged adult, but I don’t feel old. I just feel more experienced. I know exactly what I like and what I don’t like and I know what I want, and I don’t really want to be a mainstream pop artist. I want to be a cult artist that’s around for a really long time and that’s why it’s exciting for me. It’s just a first record, and where I go next is anyone’s guess. That’s exciting for me as well.

It’s a good place to be, knowing where you want to be and what you want to sound like. Your first single Where’s The Laughter is very distinctive, quirky, and upbeat – can we expect to hear more of that style on the album?

I’d say that’s one of the most upbeat tracks. It’s a good introduction, I think, because it is such a different sound. The record’s got a lot of texture, a lot of colour, a lot of percussion, lots of choirs, lots of big drum sounds – there’s heaps going on. The next single should be out in a week actually, so it will be good to see what everyone thinks about that one as well (laughs).

We can’t wait to hear it! You say this debut is a snapshot of the last few years of your life. What was your biggest inspiration during the writing process?

I think it was just about letting a lot of things go. That was huge inspiration for this. I was just so frustrated and tired and I’d got to this point where I was like, “man, I just want to do something honest.” I felt like I’d been trying too hard for the last couple of years and I wanted to be on stage so badly, singing again and doing what I’m meant to be doing, but I couldn’t really find the right songs.

Like a lot of other artists, I really struggled with depression and anxiety and you can’t really write properly when you’re going through those kind of phases of your life. You’ve got to ride it out, and I kind of had to do that. So I guess the inspiration for me was getting it off my chest and feeling really powerful and strong in what I was singing about. The record’s really just about all of those emotions and feelings and finding strength again.

How did you feel about releasing all those feelings on an album? Most people would probably find that kind of openness and vulnerability incredibly intimidating.

I’ve never really had a problem with that. I’m just that kind of person. If you met me in a bar, I’m the kind of person who will talk to anyone. I’m a bit more private now, I guess, since I’ve been out there but I’m just like that as a person. I don’t find that scary. I don’t know why, but it just doesn’t really bother me. I don’t think about it too much. People might think of me and go, “She’s always so emotional”, but I don’t feel like that. It is natural for me – what I sing about just comes out of my mouth. It falls out. There’s nothing calculated about what I do, and you either like it or you don’t. That’s the way it is.

That’s really cool, it’s a good way to think about it. You also premiered the music video for Where’s The Laughter last month, and that seemed to involve a lot of intense eye contact with the camera – how did you find the experience of shooting the clip?

Yeah, it was really interesting, we actually just shot that against a green screen, so it was quite different for me. I’ve never actually done that before because I’ve always usually done performance-based clips. When we were in Birdy, it was kind of different for videos back then, so now they can do a lot in the box. I basically worked with a video artist, Tristan Jalleh, and he created the whole world that I’m in. We played around with the idea of me having my own cheerleading squad and that’s how we doubled up all the versions of me. Yeah, it’s cool!

I really want to push things with my album – with all the new stuff, I want it to be really visually exciting and different. I love all that stuff. I love having different levels and elements to my music – I don’t want it to be this sort of sterile thing, especially in today’s market and today’s world. I mean, look at my brother’s band [Empire of the Sun] (laughs) – it’s all about the visuals. He’s actually doing the next video, so hopefully it’ll be a similar thing.

Such a musical family, it’s amazing that you’ve both had such success in the industry! Have you got plans in the works to tour with ‘Human’?

Yeah, we do have plans. I think it’s getting announced next week.

So what can we expect from your solo tour?

Hopefully I’ll have some gospel singers with me – maybe. I’m kind of refining how I want to do the tour. It’s a pretty slick set up at the moment, it’s me and three other members, and I’m going to hopefully have Tristan create some really cool visuals to go behind me for the album tour. The single tour was really fun  – we just played some shows in September, and it got a really amazing reaction. At the moment I’m just singing out the front, which is really cool, but for the album tour I think I’m going to pick up a few more things to play with – drums, percussion, I might jump on the piano for a few songs. There’s no guitar on the new album, so it kind of missed that element of me playing the guitar, but it’s a real different vibe.

You’ve got so many other elements thanks to all those other instruments, you could do whatever you wanted.

Yeah, exactly.

You’ve been part of a successful band and now you’re releasing a solo album – it’s an incredible career that you’ve built, so what’s next for Katy Steele?

I’m already working on the next release (laughs). I’m just going to keep on pumping out music, I want to be really prolific as a solo artist. I always wanted to be like that with Birdy, and it seemed to be quite hard…you know, there’s just so much work that goes into a record, especially if you want to do it properly, with all the PR and everything. I think it’s just such a different world now – I mean, people release records overnight, they drop whole visual albums…it’s completely different now.

I want to be a lot more prolific with my output and I want to be putting stuff out there constantly, so I’ve got to work out the best way to do that, whether that means starting my own label or [whatever else]. I’m just going to keep busy – I’m not sure exactly what’s in the pipeline, but I’m sure we will all know soon.

Katy Steele’s solo debut ‘Human’ is set for release on Friday the 21st of October.