Interview - Kate Nash (March 2013)

Kate Nash is an artist who has split mainstream opinion since she exploded onto the scene back in 2007 with debut album ‘Made of Bricks’, and as her career progresses it has become clear that the division amongst her listeners seems to drive her to produce fresh new music that pushes her boundaries as a musician. With brand new ‘riot girl’ tinged album ‘Girl Talk’ having just dropped and a nationwide tour happening next month, Kate took some time out of her busy schedule to talk about everything from Quentin Tarantino to Twitter.

Was the recording of the album half as fun as ‘Girl Talk’ sounds?

Yes! It was a mix of extreme highs and lows. I was going through a real shitty time emotionally but I was also staying in a mansion in LA making the record of my life, hanging with my best friends, working with Tom Biller and Jeff Ellis and putting all my bullshit into my art. It was the most surreal and beautiful life changing time ever.

You’ve described yourself in the past as a sort of ‘marmite’ artist. Do you think the direction of the new record will split people even more or do you expect loyalties to stay put?

I don't know, I think people that truly get me as an artist will have seen this record coming. People that don't really know me and all the outside work I do might not get it or like it, but whatever it's awesome so it doesn't worry me. I have so much faith in this record; it's my best work.

Much of the new album was written on bass guitar, how different was that process and do you think you’ll work that way when putting together your material in the future? 

Yeah I feel really good on the bass, it makes me feel strong and powerful, and it’s like putting an actual weapon on when you play it. I just go with what's inspiring me at the time though, but for now, bass feels good. 

What sort of avenues have been opened up by embracing the punkier sound? Have the kind of people who come to check out your live shows changed dramatically at all?

I think there are more men at my shows, which is interesting, but a lot of the same loyal fans are there. I think it will be interesting to see how the year progresses.

Do you think your sound will continue to evolve or do you think you have found your niche with ‘Girl Talk?’

I dunno, it's hard to say! I kind of learnt not to say things ahead of time because I change how I feel so frequently. I used to think I knew it all but now I know I don't. I also think it's important to progress and change as an artist.

Do you look back at ‘Made of Bricks’ and ‘My Best Friend Is You’ fondly?

Yeah I do now; the more distance I have from the records the better. I think it's hard when you only have one record because you get so sick of playing the same songs over and over. When you have 3 you're more relaxed and have so much choice it's harder to get bored.

Your UK tour looks incredibly exciting with some fantastic venues being visited. Are you playing any of these places for the first time?

Yeah, Narberth? I'd never even heard of Narberth until now! It's an extensive tour and it should be a lot of fun.

You perform with an all-girl band, something that’s unfortunately quite a rarity these days. How does it feel to be flying the flag for female musicians in such a diverse way?

I felt it was important to have an all female band because I'm always encouraging girls to play music and write their own songs. If they can come to my show and see examples of that then it might inspire them and give them the confidence to start doing it themselves and hopefully we can change those numbers. 

We understand you’re an aspiring actress with some experience already under your belt. Do you see this becoming a focus in the future of your career and do you ever see it replacing the music?

Yeah I think so, I studied acting and theatre at college and it was always something I saw myself pursuing. I was lucky to find representation in LA and then it sort of went from there. The last movie I did was a British film called Powder Room starring Jaime Winstone, Sheridan Smith and Oona Chaplin, it had such a strong and amazing cast and was so much fun to be part of. I'm really excited about it.

If the dream is to be in a Quentin Tarantino movie as we’ve come to believe, which of his classics would you have most liked to been a part of and what role would you have played?

Kill Bill, i mean Uma would have been the dream but then the movie wouldn't have Uma in it and wouldn't have been as awesome. I would have to turn myself into Uma and then do the movie and go back. I love Kill Bill so much. And Death Proof, to be one of those chicks would have been cool. But I wanna be in Faster Pussycats Kill Kill, which I heard a rumour he is remaking!

What current British artists are you excited about and who would you tip for the big time?

SHUGA, The Tuts, Sam Duckworth has a load of cool new projects, and my friend Jon Jackson is amazing.

We see you’re a regular Twitter user, do you see the social network as a good outlet for an artist or can it be an occasional burden?

I think it's an incredible way to stay in touch with fans, especially for a musician, it takes away the middle man and everything can come straight from the horses mouth. It can be annoying but I’ve got used to it and there's a lot of love on there too. I think you have to be careful with socials to make sure you don't expose too much and use it as a diary or something. I don't believe in airing your dirty laundry, but it's fun and you can communicate with people in a really cool way. For example George Watsky tweeted last November "someone should tell @katenash to do a song with me" and i checked out his stuff, loved it and we ended up working together on a song called ‘Hey Asshole’ on his new record ‘Cardboard Castles’ which is out now, so in that way it really is amazing. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer our questions, Kate!

‘Girl Talk’ is out now under Have 10p Records/Fontana.

Kate’s Spring (April) UK tour dates are as follows:

Nottingham Rescue Rooms (6)

Sheffield Leadmill (8)

Preston 53 Degrees (9)

Newcastle Warehouse Hoult's Yard (10)

Aberdeen Lemon Tree (12)

Inverness Ironworks (13)

Glasgow Oran Mor (14)

Middlesborough Empire (16)

York Fibbers (17)

Hull Fruit (18)

Manchester Gorilla (20)

Liverpool Masque Theatre (21)

Leeds Cockpit (22)

Stoke Sugarmill (24)

Bristol Fleece (25)

Narberth Queens Hall (26)

Gloucester Guildhall (27)

Plymouth White Rabbit (29)

Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms (30)

London 100 Club (May 1)