Polly Havelock spoke to singer, songwriter and producer Kate Lomas ahead of her upcoming gig at Thousand Island to talk all things ‘Happy Like This’, her evolution as an artist and when fans can anticipate a full length record.
Hey Kate! Your latest release track ‘Happy Like This’ has absolutely dominated Spotify’s New Pop Revolution playlist. How have you found the response to the song so far?
Helloooo! Yes very very happy thank you! The response has been pretty positive which is a relief haha. I’ve been working on this track for quite a bit now, and after last years releases I definitely felt the pressure this time round. Don’t want to jinx it but people seem to like it!
In terms of the tracks lyrics they definitely have such a deep meaning of learning to embrace living in the moment, despite the constant battle you have with yourself to strive to achieve bigger and better things. This message clearly resonates with you alot. What was the particular spark or experience that inspired this lyrical message?
The initial idea definitely stemmed from being a DIY artist in such a competitive/impossible industry. I went through a phase of feeling very down about the lack of success of my artist project. I kept telling myself that I needed something good to happen, I needed that ‘big break’ to assure me that I’m doing ok and it’s not all for nothing. I came to a point where I realised something needed to change, what I regarded as ‘success’ was completely out of my control and if my own happiness is relying on something that’s out of my control, how will I ever be happy? So I decided to re-evaluate my own meaning of what I need to be happy and came to the conclusion that success was the privilege of being in the moment, making music and being around great people, the glory can follow.
You also have an accompanying music video to support ‘Happy Like This’ in the works, which sees sun soaked scenes involving parties, sports courts and swimming pools a plenty. How do these scenes and the vibe of the music video generally correlate with the tracks sound or lyrics?
I wanted the video to be in simple environments but everything to have a dreamy yet light hearted feel. A bit like when you’re a kid and you’re just in the moment and you don’t need or think about anything else. The idea is that each scene has a slightly different mood and feel, as though life is just flashing before your eyes and you’re reflecting on all those happy, childlike moments.
Continuing on the theme of the video, and it was magnificently directed by Paolo Gentilini. How did this whole operation with working with Paolo come about and what was the process like of bringing the video to life?
Paolo is fabulous. He’s a good friend of mine and I was introduced to him via my friend and fellow artist TIANI. We have such a good time on our shoots. We’re a little team, Paolo shoots and TIANI creatively directs and whenever I’m feeling awkward or begin to have a diva stop (unfortunately this happens, I just can’t help it), I’m handed some sort of Croatian alcohol and we have a party.
Off the back of ‘Happy Like This’ release, you are set to headline a gig at Thousand Island later this Autumn in London. For those who haven’t seen you live before, could you sum up a typical Kate Lomas show in three words?
Dancing, dad jokes and a confused sense of euphoria!
Back to your entire discography of material, and your music orientates around the indie inspired electronic pop sphere in terms of its sound. Moving forward with new releases, do you see yourself experimenting with more sounds outside of this or do you want to stick to these genres and simply evolve with them?
Absolutely, I’ve been cooking up some new tunes with my producer, Guy Britton, and we have many things to put out there in the new year. The new stuff still shares the same light hearted pop feel but maybe digs a little deeper…
Throughout your career so far you have experiences some major moments, from amassing over a whopping 1.5 million Spotify streams to making your Glastonbury Festival debut. Does achieving all these impressive accolades give you the motivation to go on to achieve even bigger or better things or is simply having such a strong support system and your passion for music enough?
This question kinda reflects back to my answer in question 2… It’s good to strive for better but it needs to be for the right reasons. At this point in time, my idea of success is to release great music that reflects my artistry with my amazing team. If people happen to like it, then even better!
Finally, when can fans expect to see a full length album be released? What’s the rough time line in terms of getting a record out at the moment?
I have a bunch of songs that I’m working on at the moment that will be coming to your ears in 2020. Not sure if it’ll be an album yet but if all goes to plan, there will be something!
Kate Lomas will be performing Thousand Island, London on 2nd October. You can find out more information on her official website. Find Kate Lomas online on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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