Tess recently had a chat with Loren Kate to talk about her new single "One of These Days"
Tell me a little bit about how you first got into making and performing music.
When I finished high school I had no idea what I wanted to do. I headed to Byron Bay for schoolies week and called my mum when the week was up and told her I wasn’t coming home. It was here I started writing songs and learning more chords than the 4 I had up my sleeve already. I began busking and learning more about music and songwriting from the local street folk. I penned my first song at 18 years old, a late bloomer I guess. The song was about a Canadian boy called Joshua who was living in a tent just near mine.
From there, I started playing open mic nights and slowly worked my way to playing my own shows.
Was there a specific moment or person that made you realize that music is what you wanted to pursue professionally?
I had many hairbrush movements as a young child, and there was always something deep in me that was drawn to songs and songwriting but I had no idea how that was going to play out. Although my Dad wasn’t around alot, when he was, he always had a guitar nearby and I always gravitated to it. I loved watching him and hearing the stories behind the songs he would play. But I guess it wasn’t until I started writing my own songs and playing open mic nights that I really thought ‘this is what I’m going to do’.
Probably the point of no return ws winning the Emerging Artist Award at the Nannup Music Festival back in 2008. When you are recognised for your work, it gives you faith that you’re on the right track.
I’m always genuinely curious about what artists want to convey with their music. If you had to explain it without using genre names, how would you describe it?
I hope that I convey the importance of telling stories, stories that are sometimes so difficult to talk about. I hope by showing my own vulnerability and finding courage to share, others feel it’s ok to share their own. So without a genre, I would say it’s emotional music, always delivered with a sense of hope.
Going off of that, who are some of your musical influences?
All the great storytellers! I’m a bit stuck in the past…
Paul Simon, Tracy Chapman, Bob Dylan, Natalie Merchant, Leonard Choen, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor…
Let’s talk about your new single, ONE OF THESE DAYS. First off, congratulations, what is ONE OF THESE DAYS reflecting on? Can you give us your story behind this song?
I tried my best to stand in my brother’s shoes to write this song. He has struggled for a really long time with a drug addiction and every single day I hope that something will change. He used to make beautiful things out of wood, hence the references to tools and building in the song. It’s about finding yourself at rock bottom and finding the tools necessary to find your way out of challenging circumstances.
I always love hearing about the song writing process so I was wondering if you could give me a glimpse into what it was like specifically for ‘ONE OF THESE DAYS.
Songs are like babies for me… some take a long time and can feel tiring trying to get them out, to find the right words. And some just pop out, and you wonder, ‘where did that even come from!’.
‘One of these days’ was somewhere in the middle, although the words came quite freely, I think emotionally I was holding back, scared of saying too much.. So the story took a little while. Being such a personal song, and a song written about someone else, it took a while to feel satisfied that I told the story well enough.
The accompanying music video is interesting. Are you able to give us some insight into the making and meaning of that?
We filmed the clip in an abandoned house on a friend’s property. The place was absolutely trashed, I actually cleaned it up for the music video because you couldn’t actually step inside without stepping on piles of rubbish. As soon as I saw the place I thought ‘someone has to make a film here.’ And so that’s what we did. Together with my good friend and videographer, Brad Halstead, we came up with a storyline that would see the actor, ‘Paul Riechstein’ play an alcoholic man who has lost everything. Trapped in this house, which is like a representation of my brother’s head. My brother has a 4 year old son, so we brought that story line in, of trying so hard to kick a habit for the people you love, but first you have to find that strength inside of yourself to make change.
Were there any major changes made to “ONE OF THESE DAYS” once you got into the recording studio, whether it be in the lyrics or something sonically?
No, not really. I wanted something simple and Shane Nicholson delivered on that. It turned out just as I had imagined with simple driving percussion and bass, added electric guitar but with strong, delicate vocals and acoustic guitar.
What is some music industry-related goals or benchmarks that you’re aiming to reach in your career the next couple of years?
I’ll be releasing my new album in May, and after that I’d like to do a big tour of small halls, campfires, churches and houses. It’s taking a little while to shift to the idea of touring again after so much time at home. But I’m so keen to pack the car with cushions, fairy lights and the chai pot, and visit towns that may not get to experience live music very often. Spaces where drinking isn’t the focus, where people come to gather to share in a rich musical experience.
Thank you for chatting to us, and once again congratulations!