Kitty, Daisy & Lewis

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis have not only been bandmates for the last 10 years but have actually always known each other – they’re siblings. From using only vintage recording equipment to supporting Coldplay when they were still in their teens, they’re an intriguing bunch. They’re bringing their warm, toe tapping tunes along to the Arts Centre this month, along with their ‘rents on guitar and double bass. I caught up with the youngest Durham, Kitty, to find out more.

How come you decided not to have a more traditional band name but have it as your names?

We started out about 15 years ago, and just by accident I guess. When we were young we didn’t think of ourselves as a proper band, we were just doing it for fun. A friend of ours who was running Tapestry Festival asked us to play it but we didn’t have a name. So he just put our names in that order on the poster and it just stuck!

You’re siblings. Was your house filled with music when you were growing up and how did you develop your individual tastes?

That’s a good question. We grew up listening to similar things and in general we do have similar tastes now. We’re close in age, but Daisy’s the oldest and when we were kids she grew up with the Spice Girls, but when she’d bring friends home she’d listen to Elvis or someone more obscure that they wouldn’t have heard. They’d be jumping around getting totally into it, which was the case with all of us; we’d bring our friends back and play them something weird like Johnny Cash. I’m the youngest so I guess I learnt a lot from the other two, but I branched out a bit and we went our separate ways as we got older.

You’ve been playing together since you were young. Was your aim to make a career in music together?

Even before we were going to gigs we were making music for fun together. My dad came from a big family and they used to sing together so whenever there was a family gathering all the uncles and aunts would get their guitars out and there would be sing-a-longs. Our parents used to sing to us and my mum used to play records a lot at home just for herself but we’d hear it. There was always a guitar or piano that you could play. We never really started out to be anything in particular, and it still isn’t like that really. We’re still fumbling along.

I know your mum used to be in the seminal band The Raincoats and your dad is a mastering engineer and owns a recording studio. They must have helped you a lot?

Even when the band had been established for quite a few years it still didn’t feel like it was our career. They took a back seat and weren’t in the band at first. My dad had his own business for 30 years so he’s good at that, and my mum too, so without them we wouldn’t be able to do this in the same way.

Your parents play guitar and double bass when you tour. Is it cool or a bit cringey to have your parents there when you maybe want to get off your head and hang with some groupies? Do they give you your own space?

Anything goes on tour! A lot of people find it weird. They’re cool though; we go out drinking together and they join in, and a lot of the time they’re misbehaving rather than us. We do what we want and they’re very chilled out.

Is a democratically run band or is there an unofficial leader?

Not really, it’s fairly equal. When we’re writing the three of us do it separately and then we bring all the bits to the table. In the past we all took credit for our own things but for our latest album we’ve all said we’ve all written equally so everything is split equally in terms of credit. It’s pretty equal all round.

Your latest album, The Third, seems to have a larger sound. Your track Baby Bye Bye has a pretty banging beat for example. Did you want to achieve something in particular with this collection of songs?

Yeah definitely. The first two albums were recorded in the back room of my mum’s house, which was our studio for years. If you’re recording in a small room, it’s gonna sound like it was recorded in a small room. When we did our first album it was just an 8-track tape machine with a few coats hanging up for acoustics; it was very much done on the spot. So by the time we came to this album we decided to get a new studio, some different equipment, a lot of which is homemade, Lewis makes microphones and he made a mixing desk too. This time we had a 16-track so we could some more stuff with that and a bigger environment to work in. We wanted a posher and bigger sound and to be able to layer more things. In the past we ran out of channels and couldn’t put everything on that we wanted to. So this time we could have more backing vocals, and a string section and all the rest of it which was really exciting. Plus our songwriting has developed as we’ve grown up and obviously us as musicians, our songs are quite different now.

How do you go about deciding who’s going to sing on which song?

Well generally whoever’s written the song sings it, apart from one song on the album called I Should Have Known which was written by my mum which Daisy and I both sing.

You use vintage recording equipment and don’t use any computers in your music. Why is that important to you and your unique sound?

We never have, and my dad has always used old gear because it does sound better, like a record sounds better than a CD, it’s the same thing. As soon as you put it through a computer you lose some of the bottom of the top end and it’s a weird, harsh-sounding thing. When we were kids we had access to that equipment and my brother is a bit of geek and used to like fiddling with that stuff. It just works for us!

Your second single was released on a 78 record. Where does your fondness for this format come from? Have you heard of Norwich’s own DJ 78?

Oh cool! I think I’ve heard of him! Lewis has always loved 78’s and he DJ’s with them as well. We actually released the first 78 album in 50 years. The term ‘album’ comes from 78’s, because you get a book of discs, like a photo album. We’ve released every one of our albums on 78 and even if you can’t play it it doesn’t matter ‘cos they’re so beautiful to own. Very expensive to make though!

So far your career has had some moments which must be real highlights…being on Blue Peter, supporting Billy Bragg, playing at Glastonbury. What’s been the best moment so far?

That’s a tough question, a lot of things have happened in 10 years! I left school at 16 because by that point I knew I didn’t want to do anything but music. So I came home from school after my last exam and my mum said “So, the Fuji Rocks trip’s been cancelled”. I was really upset as I wanted to go back to Japan. Then she said “But do you want to go on tour with Coldplay for six weeks round America?” I was like “Whaaaaaaaat??” So the next day we flew out to LA. I was 16…it was incredible. We played stadiums and arenas and we were just this little family huddled together in the middle of the States playing for 30,000 people a night. Fucking incredible! That was one of the best things.

Kitty, Daisy and Lewis play Norwich Arts Centre on 29th January. Tickets from ueaticketbookings.co.uk