Sydney’s unique soul-pop vocalist Kitty Clementine will release her debut self-titled album via Clumpty Records on March 6th. But, who is Kitty Clementine?
She began in the underworld of Sydney’s artist-run spaces, warehouses and speakeasies. She could be singing a jazz ballad one moment, a baroque aria the next, and screaming indeterminate noise for the encore. She was known for giving performances comprising of song, spoken word poetry, and performance art. She directed bands built out of hybrid instruments, junk percussion, and choirs. Though many knew her for these off-the-wall productions, few realized where she came from.
On her sixth birthday the family left South Africa. By this time she had already declared that when she grew up she was going to be a singer and a writer. The girl wrote her first song at eight, and never stopped. She studied baroque and opera through high school; performance, musicology and composition when she left; and finally was accepted into Sydney Conservatorium of Music’s Jazz Degree. “It was there that my mentor taught me something life-changing: In order to truly master your art form, it must be lived, not just studied.” So, supported by her mentor, she left the Conservatorium and took on the musical life.
I had nothing to lose.
I took a chance on whim and embarked on my dream.
The journey began with a plane ticket to New Orleans. She had two months in North America with little money, and no plans except to embrace every experience and use it to write enough material for an album. The trip took her from the bawdy bars and tattoo parlors of the French quarter, on a journey that had her hitching through Alabama, North Carolina, up to Seattle, through San Francisco and eventually back to Los Angeles.
Kitty Clementine arrived in LA off the back of a pickup truck, with a book full of new songs, to a serendipitous week in Jeff Bova’s studio. Together they laid down an album in seven days.
I am Kitty Clementine. I make reality magical and I run hot on the heels of revelry. I am sharp, I am fierce, and I have stories you won’t believe. So fluff up your feathers and run the road. Be brave and wild with me.
♪ Kitty Clementine – Blow That Horn (from Kitty Clementine LP)
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[source: planetary group]
