The Kates on their debut EP, empowering girls to play music, and feeling inspired in West Cork
The five piece from West Cork release their debut EP on September 20
West Cork five-piece The Kates are Eve Clague, Liz Clark, Mary Beth O’Mahony, Míde Houlihan, and Paula K. They release their debut EP Pictures Here Of Dreams on Friday, September 20, with a launch show at Scannells as part of Clonakilty International Guitar Festival at 9.30pm that evening.
The Kates tour dates:
September 20: Scannells, Clonakilty
September 27: Connolly’s of Leap
September 28: Coughlan’s, Cork
October 27: Upstairs at Whelan’s, Dublin
The Kates started in 2017, with the idea to showcase the depth and variety of songs by women, featuring covers by artists like Sharon Van Etten, Orla Gartland, Angel Olsen, Lucy Dacus, Patti Smith, the Staves, and Haim. Some seven years later, their debut EP of original material, with songwriting and vocal duties shared across the five members, arrives, having been recorded at Wavefield Studio just outside Clonakilty. It’s a rollicking five songs with the ethos perhaps defined on the opening song ‘Unbalancing’: “I need something bigger than this.” The vocal harmonies on the single ‘All That Talk’ are delicious, melding with guitar solos, while closer ‘Always’ sounds like it was made to be played loud in a live setting. The Kates deliver something very big on their debut EP. You can get it on their Bandcamp page from Friday, September 20.
All five of you have played, sang and written your own music for years, and released albums of original work. How did the idea of the Kates and making music together develop? Was it a case of power in numbers?
The concept of The Kates came from a charity night Paula's family used to put together in aid of OvaCare, a Cork-based ovarian cancer charity. Paula had the idea of all the music on the night being only songs written or performed by women and all the local musicians got really behind it. She put together a band of local female musicians and friends to play for that night only but the response was so great, we kept on going! It's definitely power in numbers too. We're all solo artists and have experienced that side of things and it can be lonely. Being in a group of female musicians is exceptionally empowering and motivates us and hopefully inspires a few girls to pick up an instrument. We work well together and get the best from each other.
The press release says the Kates were "formed with a mission to highlight the need for more women in music". I guess it's easy to get depressed about the stories you hear every so often about this (like lack of radio play, lack of women headliners on festival bills). Was it a case of simply being proactive and taking it into your own hands?
Yes! 100% correct. You need to be the change you want to see in the world and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to be more visible. Representation is so important.
How collaborative is the EP and the band? Am I right in thinking you each wrote a different track on the EP? How did the creative process work? Did the songwriter bring the track into the room and you all worked on them together?
The EP is really collaborative. We all wrote a track each and brought them to rehearsals where we fleshed them out, made a few changes, worked out harmonies. Then in studio Brian Casey and Sarah O’Mahony really helped to hone the songs and also gave us incredible encouragement and boosted our confidence. We all have different styles as singer songwriters but somehow what we have really gels well. We love creating layers of harmonies and we think that's what binds our songs. Five singers is kind of rare in a band.
Did it take long to make the EP? Where did you record it and what was the process like?
We recorded it over three gloriously unhinged days in the outskirts of Clonakilty in a recording studio named Wavefield. You'll see by the video to the first single ‘All That Talk’ that we had such a great time. Brian and Sarah were incredibly kind and knowledgeable and were really getting in on the fun we were having.
You're based in West Cork. I'm from Rosscarbery so you don't need to tell me how great the place is, but it seems like such an encouraging place for musicians, is it? The likes of De Barra's seems to have been integral to your development?
It really is. There's a great school in Clonakilty called Scoil na mBuachallí and the principal there, Barth Harrington who retired this year, is music obsessed. So the boys in that school either play instruments, get involved in lighting, directing, producing, singing anything to do with putting on a musical or a battle of the bands. This has fed into the culture of music in Clon. Mol an oige agus tiocfaidh sí. So we want to do our part for the West Cork girls. Every year we get a young girl to join us on stage at Clonakilty International Guitar Festival, to give them the experience of playing to a big audience and the feeling of having a band of women around her, lifting her up. We had Mia Brophy last year, an incredible guitarist who melted our faces, before that we had Isobelle Moore, a beautiful singer songwriter and this year we have Lilia Noonan, another fantastic young musician, she's only 12! We're so lucky to have pubs like DeBarra's and Shanley’s who regularly host artists of all genres and popularity. The West Cork population, too, though, are into it. They're into the arts, expressions of individuality and are great to support projects, be it West Cork’s first LGBT musical written by our own Liz Clark or helping us to fund our EP. We're so, so lucky and so grateful.
You're playing Clonakilty International Guitar Festival on September 20. I know members of the Kates have played it in various guises over the years. Any standout memories of acts you've seen at the festival over the years?
It is probably the best festival in the world. The pubs, the local butchers, the hospital, nursing homes, all host gigs, planned and unplanned. It brings us all together and we as local musicians love to play as the crowds are unreal. It's wholesome and yet absolutely nuts. So basically it's perfect. All Our Exes Live In Texas, A Burial At Sea, Mama Kin, Steve Cooney, Jon Gomm, Junior Brother... so many standout gigs. Even during covid they pulled it together virtually.
What plans have the Kates got for the foreseeable future?
We hope to write more songs together and record an album. We love playing together so much, the feeling of camaraderie. and the joy we get from it is so empowering and addictive so we would like to keep gigging and we'd love to do a few festivals next summer and we'll go from there! We all have day jobs so this is almost therapeutic. Picking up an instrument and connecting with each other, expressing ourselves without fear, that's freedom. That's an exceptional feeling.
Finally, what is your favourite song(s) by an Irish artist right now?
We love all of Niamh Regan’s new album! Fontaines DC too.