An indie singer-songwriter who has toured the world as a member of ARIA Award-winning group All Our Exes Live In Texas, Sydney artist Katie Wighton recently released her debut solo album, 'The End'.
With a passion for songwriting and telling stories through the art of music, 'The End' was a creative process whereby Katie found her songwriter voice."I made this record because, like everyone on the planet, I feel like I have something to say," shares Katie.
"But unlike everyone on the planet, I am privileged enough to have the means and skills and time to use music to express it. "Songwriting is my medium and I am head over heels, madly in love with it. From the kernel of an idea to the final finished song, I love every second of the songwriting process.
"I'm very excited to release my little baby album into the world! Some of these songs are nearly five years old. So they're well and truly ready to see the light of day.
"I hope you can relate to them in some way – even though that would MAYBE mean you've had your heart broken which definitely isn't what I want for you!
"Also I'm pretty keen to play these puppies for you live. So if you live in Melbourne, Sydney or Brisbane make sure you check out the dates on my website and get yourself along to a show."
'The End' is your debut solo album; how does it feel to have your collection of songs together on the one release out in the world?
It's a complex feeling! I feel relieved that I've finally put it out there, and I'm really grateful to the lovely people who have reached out and told me they're enjoying it.
James and I worked really hard on the songs and I'm proud of it. At the same time, I'm so disconnected from those songs now so it's a gear shift to think/ talk about them again. I think they aren't really my songs anymore. They're now for the world to (hopefully!) enjoy and resonate with.
The record has been released for two weeks; how's the response been (both from fans and industry) and any heartwarming moments that make you pause and reflect positively about making, sharing music?
I've had lots of people individually reach out and say some really lovely things too. That brings me so much joy – to know I'm connecting with people in that way.
I got to do an interview with Hamish Macdonald on ABC Radio National, which is honestly a dream come true. Felicity Ward (!!) and the wonderful humans at The AU Review said some beautiful things too.
In terms of the rest of the 'industry', I have no idea what they think. . . If I'm being honest, thinking about what the industry thinks about me is absolutely exhausting. I'm 34 and I've spent the last 10 years trying to be honest and vulnerable and do what feels authentic to me.
I've never been 'cool' and I'm trying to be okay with that haha. It's really hard not to care! But honestly the more I care, the less I create!
You've said this album is a collection of memories, moments and snapshots related to 'endings'; was that a concept you began with or did it naturally evolve that the songwriting leant itself to that particularly subject matter?
It definitely naturally evolved into that.
I was looking at these songs and they all came from this really devastating time in my life. So many endings and so much grief. And it just felt right to tie them all together in that way.
Being your debut solo album, for those still to 'discover' Katie Wighton, how do these collection of songs introduce you the artist?
Hmmm! Great question. I honestly think this record was me finding myself as an artist.
I wanted to be honest and write with vulnerability which I think I did. And I think the album has a 'sound' which I'm also proud of – and grateful to James Seymour for!
How special is it to have the record released on vinyl?
Oh yeah, that is SICK! So special to have my very own album on vinyl.
Some of these songs are close to five years old; do you have a vault or similar that you store songs that don't fit with your current mood/ flow or another reason that you an revisit at a later time?
Not really. These songs just took a while because I was still finding myself as an artist I think.
I'm already back in the studio recording the next thing, which feels a little more like 'me'. But that's what it's about. It's a long life. This album isn't my magnum opus haha.
The songwriting process; from an unformed idea through all the refinements, teasing out the song's identity, sound – is that a process you live for, to bring your own thoughts to a sonic form?
I bloody LOVE songwriting. It's my absolute favourite.
And I always know when I've written something I'm proud of and I like because I listen to it over and over, and edit the lyrics and melodies until they're what I think is perfect. To be honest, it's the easiest part for me. The production feels like the tricky part – hence why I outsource that haha!
You shared this week on IG that your Fender Tele is called Celeste! How spiritual do you get with your different instruments, treating them almost like they have their own soul?
You've done your research, you angels! That's so sweet! I don't think I'm THAT spiritual about my instruments.
That being said, my little Martin acoustic guitar that I took around the world with All Our Exes is my absolute favourite instrument. She's so special. Her name is Emmy-Lou and she just gets better with age – just like her namesake! So maybe I do get spiritual with them!
The art of collaboration; I'm assuming given your roles in other groups, especially AOELIT, you enjoy the art of making/ creating music with others; correct? Is there a certain aspect you're more drawn to?
I do love writing with other people so much. For two reasons. One is when I get to write for their project and help them find exactly what they're trying to say. Watching someone fall in love with their own song is heaven! And then writing for my own thing I try to get people who have something I don't.
I wrote a bunch in Nashville with Kai Welch and he has managed to turn my ramblings into such poetry. I wrote a song recently with a woman in Nashville called Hadley Kennary which I absolutely love. She has such a gorgeous voice and was able to change my melodies ever so slightly to make them soooo much more beautiful.
I'm always learning new things about songwriting and writing with others just speeds that process up.
You produced the album with James Seymour; what did he bring to the project that elevated it beyond even what you had imagined it could reach?
Patience! Haha, the man was very patient with how many changes we had to the songs. It was crazy. There are like four versions of a couple of those songs, haha.
He also plays every instrument so well which made the recording process so easy. I love his energy and heart too. He pulls some amazing guitar sounds and helped create a really strong sound all together. Plus he's my very dear friend so I always felt comfortable giving my opinion.
It takes a team to bring an album together, then market it and push it out to the world. You posted your thanks to a host of folks via IG after the album's release; how important is it to have people surrounding you who you not only trust intrinsically but that also elevate your own creative efforts via their contributions? Any special TYs you want to add?
Oooft community is everythiiiiing to meeee.
My dear friends Hannah Blackburn, Rhiannon Atkinson-Howatt (Merpire) and Elizabeth M. Drummond were such a support to me throughout this process. They've all released albums so they totally get it! We chatted a lot about the release process and the pandemic and the music industry in Australia in general.
Lizzie and I lived together through the pandemic and she listened to this record so many times. She's a musical genius so the fact that she liked it meant a lot to me. She was also in a band before she put her own solo EP out and we had lots of big chats about the new challenges of that.
My partner Jarred has also been a huge support throughout this whole process. A LOT of the album is about him and he played drums on the whole thing. . . A more patient, gracious, egoless man you will never find. He also helped me record vocals on Russell Island in his studio. And again, listened to it 1,000 times through all its iterations! He's a brilliant musician and producer so it was incredibly helpful to have someone I trusted help me make final decisions!
Finally, my friend Jake Turner in Nashville gave me so much great advice. His belief in me meant a lot to me and helped me keep going when I wanted to bail.
An aside, from some of the BTS vids of the record making process on your IG it looks like you and the team don't mind a side dish of daggy fun; maintaining some semblance of well-being when creating, do you need those lighter moments to refresh and in a certain way feed the creative desires?
Oh absolutely! I make music with people I love. And the daggy fun is a huge part of connecting/ unwinding before/ after a show or a creative time. I'm very lucky that I have such wonderful people around me.
You have launch shows in Bris, Syd and Melb; excited to bring your 'babies' to a live audience?
Hahha my babies! I wish you could hear me say that – my catchphrase whenever I see my friends is 'Here come the babies!' I'm so excited!
Three of my best friends are in my band – my partner on drums, Mei Wa on bass and Mark Webber on guitar. I absolutely love playing and hanging out with them and they've made playing these songs live an absolute dream. We just sold out the first Melbourne show too, so we added a second one!
Practice, rehearsals required to get ready for a run of lives shows; do you need hours and multiple sessions to get into that mind-frame or can you simply plug in no notice and jam out like you've never left the road? Mmmmm a little from column A and a little from column B?!
The band and I will rehearse a bunch in the lead up to the first show. I probably won't do much solo practice – Lord knows I probably should haha! Vocally I feel pretty solid but guitar has never come that easily to me.
You've released a couple of music videos for singles lifted from 'The End'; given it's a different art form how much independence do you allow videographers to detail/ storyboard ideas from songs you've written from a deeply personal space?
It depends on the song I'm doing the video for. Sometimes I have really strong ideas (like 'Take You Home' for example) but the wonderful Rick Clifford is sooooo clever so I try to let him guide me too. I'm a bit of a control freak but I also know where my weaknesses are.
Thanks for your time; anything else you'd like to add?
Just thanks for such a lovely interview and so many in-depth questions.
Katie Wighton 2023 Tour Dates
Sat 8 Jul - Longplay (Melbourne)* sold outSun 9 Jul - Longplay (Melbourne)
Thu 13 Jul - The Great Club (Sydney)
Sun 23 Jul - Black Bear Lodge (Brisbane)
