Music > Interviews

This Is The Kit

25/02/15

This Is The Kit is the musical project of Kate Stables, originally from Winchester but now living in Paris. She won over Guy Garvey and other notables like Marc Riley, Iron and Wine and The National, who she has supported live. Her third album, Bashed Out, is out in April and give us another delicious slice of her delicate yet powerful songs that stay with you for ages afterwards. Kate sings of love, of family, of nature, and the feelings that go alongside these universal themes. It’s just the most awesome music from an artist who is not afraid to experiment but knows her own style so well. I asked her about working with John Parish and if she enjoys going on tour.

Have you always sung and made music? 

Yes I suppose I have. My dad taught me a few basic chords on the guitar when I was little (the same basic chords I'm still using to this day!) and I learned the trumpet when I was at school. My family has always played music and sung lots, but I guess it wasn't until GCSE music that I properly started making my own music, so to speak. I had the family four track in my room and would spend a lot of time messing around with that and filling up tapes. I'm slowing using up/wiping over all the old archives now though by making mix tapes for people. Most of the four track stuff I did when I was younger doesn't need to be heard again by anyone!

You have a very organic musical and vocal style; for me your style is like folk, but more than folk. At times there’s a touch of psychedelia. It feels very much imbued with a woman’s strength to me (if that’s not too hippy a thing to say!). Where do you get your inspiration for your songs? 

 Thank you! That's actually a very complimentary thing to say! I read and collect a lot of folk tales and stories from around the world, so the stories most likely make their way into the songs. But also there's a lot of every day (or less every day) things that happen and that make it into the songs; thoughts, mulling overs, conversations.

Yours has been a kind of word of mouth rise to fame…loads of people have told me how much they’ve enjoyed watching you as a support act, and in a lot of cases enjoyed seeing you more than the main act. Do you work hard on your publicity and marketing? 

I guess I personally don't work that hard on marketing or publicity. I work hard at touring mainly. I think that's how a lot of people have come across us; like you say, we've done a lot of shows where we've opened for other people. But recently the team of people involved in the This Is The Kit project has expanded somewhat, so now there are people whose job it is to be more Internet and promo savvy, spreading the word about releases and gigs in ways that I personally would most likely never get round to!

You’ve lived in France for some time now. What was it that caused that move, and do you think you’ll come back some time?

I'd been living in Bristol, which is where I met Jesse, and then the moment came when it felt like a good time for an adventure. We were working with a label that was based in Paris at the time, Microbe Records, and a lot of our friends in Paris were involved in the label and so it felt like a nice move to make. We've learned a lot and have met such excellent people here. We're not quite ready to leave yet. But who knows what might happen one day. Anything could happen at any moment! 

Your debut album was produced by John Parish, from PJ Harvey fame. What was it like working with him on that record?

It was just a total pleasure. He's a true gent and very good company to hang out with. He's very good at hearing the music and understanding the process of making it into a coherent album. Plus he's very diplomatic, so if I were doing something that maybe wasn't a good idea, he'd be able to suggest doing it differently in a very agreeable and diplomatic way. A good life skill! It was also quite a quick painless process. We simply went to Italy for a weekend and recorded pretty much all the tracks in a couple of days. Then it was a question of finishing bits off and mixing tracks in a couple of sessions when we were back in Bristol passing through. Excellent. No fuss.

You have worked with a lot with other musicians including Rozi Plain and The Liftmen. How did you come to meet all these fellow musicians?

I guess when you're a musician you meet and work with other musicians, a bit like if you're a lawyer you work with and so end up meeting other lawyers. But Rozi I actually met before This Is The Kit as we went to the same secondary school where we grew up in Winchester. The guys from The Liftmen I met through Jesse and the Bristol music scene. You meet people by doing and making, and for me that's what it's all about.

Your most recent album came out in 2010, Rob da Bank chose one of your songs for his folk compilations and things got big quite quickly for you! Since then you’re played with The National, Sharon Van Etten and Iron and Wine. What’s been the best moment of your career so far?

Good question. I guess I could choose a moment that has exposed This Is The Kit to the most amount of people or I could choose a moment that, as an artist or individual stuck in my memory as a formative and significant personal moment. But let me see, if I was to try and tick both of those boxes then being on tour with The National was an amazing once in a lifetime experience that also probably introduced our music to a lot more people. But life is full of excellent and significant moments so ask me the same question at another moment and I dare say I'd have a different answer. Who can say?

I get the sense that you have very eclectic music taste, listening to a wide range of genres, but which are the albums or artists that you keep coming back to?

I do love listening to African music. The older the recordings the better, like the recordings that Hugh Tracy made in the ‘50s and ‘60s. A favourite record of mine is the Living Is Hard album released by Honest John Records. It's recordings of West African musicians who were living in the UK in the early 20th century. But I also always come back to Richard Dawson; I just love everything he's done. His recordings are sublime and his live shows are earth shatteringly great.

You’re off on tour for a month this spring in the UK and France; what’s the best and worst thing about being on tour?

The best thing about being on tour is being with three of my best friends and getting to play music with them every day and meeting new and excellent people. Plus I love travelling and seeing new places, even if sometimes we only get to see motorways and the inside of venues!  The worst thing about it is being away from my family for far too long, and this sense of neglecting your family is made worse by physical and emotional fatigue. It’s pretty tough, but you have to find ways of staying in touch and trusting that everyone is fine and managing.

This Is The Kit play at Norwich Arts Centre on 11th March. Tickets from www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk