 How did the band come to be?
My name is Katya Richardson, and I’m a composer and producer based in Los Angeles. I first got into music via piano lessons, and have been writing my own music since before high school. I studied composition and film-scoring at the University of Southern California, and now work as a freelance film composer and multi-disciplinary artist. Do you have any releases coming up in the new year? Yes! I released my debut electro jazz EP, Left From Write, in April. It’s a sonic reinterpretation of dyslexia and features electronic grooves, jazzy saxophone, and looping vocal textures. It was originally written as part of a collaboration with a choreographer, lighting designer, and animator and dancers from the Norwegian National Ballet. What is something you want listeners to take away from your music? Music transports and connects us in unspoken ways, and I think the most timeless art is the kind that is reactive and questioning. My music is very cinematic, and as a storyteller, my most important goal is to channel that innate part of humanity, which is communication. I want to move and inspire people in a genuine way. With everything that is going on in our world what is one cause or organization that you are passionate about? I am particularly passionate about equality within the music industry, specifically educating and encouraging young women to pursue careers as composers and musicians. What is your writing process like? I am very tactile when writing, so I usually start by improvising at a piano or playing with different sounds and instruments in my studio. I generally approach each project - whether it be a film score or a song - as its own entity, so the process is a little different each time. I would say that most of my music is naturally cinematic and emotive, and I like focusing on certain elements for each piece. I’m super into minimalist textures and vocal loops, and sometimes a whole piece is about exploring that. Other times, my jazz piano background kicks in and I find myself prioritizing melody and harmony. To follow up with the last question, what inspires your sound? Classically, I’m influenced by minimalist composers like John Adams and Phillip Glass, and the electronic aspects of my music are largely inspired by the jazz fusion of Flying Lotus and dance composer, Son Lux. In terms of current muses, I really look up to the work of Isobel Waller-Bridge; there aren’t many female film composers out there, and I love how her recent score to Vita and Virginia (2018) showcases grungy electronics and traditional strings to both romanticize and modernize the 1920s. I think it’s super cool when genres collide and something traditional, like a film score, can still be innovative and genuine. Any tours coming up soon? None planned yet! Most of the music I write is recorded and produced beforehand, but I would like to put together a live synth and vocal set soon. Anything you would like to tell our readers? You can check out my newest EP on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/album/0KNJa0wQm7ezIkgPmASCHY And if you’d like to stay up to date with my latest projects & see footage from the EP release, give me a follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katya.richardson/?hl=en Thanks for having me!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |