Kate Fagan
Biography
"A gifted singer and poet set to become one of this country’s enduring singer-songwriters... welcome to a major new Australian talent."
Bruce Elder, Spectrum, SMH (July 2007)
Kate is certainly no stranger to the world of Australian acoustic performance and recording, hailing as she does from one of Australia’s preeminent folk music families, The Fagans. Kate and brother James joined their parents’ duo act as kids and the family band performed together at every major folk festival across the country. Kate has said of the experience: "I was lucky. My brother and I grew up hearing music every day. We were surrounded by instruments and it didn’t seem strange to hang out at festivals or travel to gigs in remote places. Instead of watching TV we invented radio programs, wrote songs and recorded our voices with old tape decks. I’ve always had some kind of soundtrack in my head. Playing allowed it to breathe." The family eventually found their way to the UK where the band has gained a loyal following, and where James now lives and works in an internationally successful duo with renowned fiddle player and singer Nancy Kerr. "The experience of performing as a family has shaped me as a musician", she muses, "but it also shaped a sense of adventure and travel, and that it’s OK to travel to the end of the earth for a great gig if necessary. Or just to follow a particular inclination, no matter how wild it is."
Given all this, it was perhaps inevitable Kate would strike out on her own at some point to deliver an inspired take on the musical landscapes that shaped her early years. Her solo debut Diamond Wheel marks that moment while taking Kate in new directions as a songwriter, producer and arranger. Released independently, the album secured national distribution through MGM and has landed glowing reviews. Bruce Elder observes: "Roll You Sweet Rain sounds as though it is part of some ancient folk tradition. And, well, Clear Water sounds like a song Joni Mitchell forgot to add to one of her early albums. Seriously, Diamond Wheel is that good." The songs on Diamond Wheel reveal Kate's uncanny ability to match a poet's eye with melodies that immediately feel familiar and close. Some revisit older musical forms, while others turn "easily and attractively" (SMH) down the roads of contemporary blues and rock. Insights into ways of the human heart sit neatly alongside images drawn from the well of alt-country and roots traditions that surrounded Kate during her childhood. The overall effect is timeless and sparse.
Just two days after its launch, Diamond Wheel won the 2006 National Film & Sound Archive Award for Best Folk Album, and Kate found herself running to keep up with people's interest in her music. She now performs with some of the hottest acoustic musicians in the country and has just completed a successful festival tour in the UK, which included a live appearance on BBC4 TV direct from the mighty Cambridge Folk Festival. Life as a poet has also taken Kate out on the road, and has led to artistic collaborations with a diverse group of writers and musicians both at home and abroad. Interviewed by Bernard Zuel last year, Kate spoke of her double life as a songwriter and poet: "I've always had a real love of both sound and language and I’ve worked very much in both areas. There are many different ways you can navigate what being alive is about, and for me those two came up pretty early in my life, and I’ve been playing some kind of duet, or maybe just a roulette, with both of them."
So what next for Kate? After an Autumn tour of Australian festivals, which will include an opening set for Ron Sexsmith at the Blue Mountains Festival and a stretch of shows with songwriter Lucie Thorne, Kate will hit the studio to record a follow-up to Diamond Wheel. There's no doubt her second album will shimmer with road dust and diamonds, whichever way the wheel rolls.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Kate Fagan 0424 741 826 / kate@katefagan.com / http://www.katefagan.com
