[International] Katherine: Interview + New EP ‘Everyday Ennui’

19 Mar

KATIE BROWN - 19 MAR 2021

“Every day is the same / so mundane / when will it change? / I might go insane”

Released on February 5th via Already Dead Tapes, Everyday Ennui is the stunning and intriguing new debut EP from Indianapolis-based act Katherine, which is duo Heather Rose and Jackson VanHorn (formerly of TV Ghost). Treated with beautifully witty sensitivity, it is intimate and thought-provoking, and incorporates elements of avant-pop, neo-psychedelia and experimental electronica.

The six tracks explore the state of everyday ennui and its broad accompanying scope of emotion and experience, and feature snippets of travel field recordings and film references scattered throughout. Initially begun by Heather as a private project during “long Icelandic nights and rainy afternoons in Basque”, it eventually evolved into a collaborative project with Jackson, who brought his own interpretations to Heather’s material.

An especially soul-numbing kind of apathy, ennui can feel like being trapped in the same mundanity day after day after day with no sign of respite. Playing tricks on the mind, it can cause thoughts and reality to dance together so closely that it gets harder and harder to differentiate the two. Heather highlights this boundary between reality and unreality as being a key element of the EP: speaking of two films in particular that she used sound clips from, Possession and Gaslight, she says “I’m always drawn to films that centre on women who are seemingly unhinged, but there is always more to this unraveling of the human psyche. And it happens between the boundary of reality and unreality…I think Everyday Ennui has some of this duality as well.”

The pair demonstrate this duality masterfully by employing clever juxtaposition throughout the EP, whether in showcasing the dance between the real and unreal (or sanity and insanity), or in preventing the songs from taking too dark a bent: if the lyrics are weightier, they’re often tempered by lighter and more upbeat instrumentation and vocals. This is the case in “Everyday”, where Heather sings “every day is the same / so mundane / when will it change? / I might go insane,” lyrics that perfectly encapsulate the sense of dreariness and mental challenge introduced by ennui, and that could easily have taken the song to a heavier space it if weren’t for the catchy and repetitive pendulum-like rhythm and light instrumentation (reminiscent of the likes of Stereolab), accompanied by Heather’s soft and dreamy vocal.

The juxtaposition plays out similarly in the upbeat track “Side by Side”, where the repeated synth and rhythm loops topped by Heather’s sing-song vocal combine to create a delightful dream-pop track - but listening more closely to the lyrics, you note that she is singing “side by side, inside, outside, madness,” cleverly weaving the two disparate elements together to prevent the listener from becoming too comfortable. Even the way that Heather uses her voice feeds into the duality: in each track she changes her singing style and covers the spectrum from melodies sung classically to moments where her voice is employed more as a texture within the song, and those in which she is almost whisperingly talking to herself.

This manner of combining opposing and unexpected elements is the essence of the EP as a whole. It translates as an almost voyeuristic look into the mundane mechanisms of daily life in a woman’s world where the listener becomes subjected to the various pulls and tugs of this woman’s countless thoughts and whims (such as in the more experimental “Whilom”, where disconnected phrases echo within a cavernous void). But the surprising takeaway is how easy it is to identify with and place yourself within these same real-versus-unreal worlds: Everyday Ennui is beautifully discombobulating when digging a little deeper, but at the same time it reassuringly pulls you back from the brink if you step a little too close.

It is a remarkable debut offering, and we look forward to hearing what is next!

Listen to the EP and read our interview with Heather and Jackson of Katherine below.

Buy the cassette tape / digital EP via Bandcamp here.

Find Katherine on Instagram | Spotify | YouTube

KATIE: WHERE DO YOU BOTH CALL HOME?

Heather: We are currently based in Indianapolis, but it doesn’t exactly feel like “home”. Even though I haven’t lived in Chicago since my teens, it’s where I grew up and feels most like home.

Jackson: I’m originally from Indiana, but I’ve lived in other places. I feel the same. Indianapolis doesn’t really feel like home.

WHAT ARE YOUR MUSICAL BACKGROUNDS?

H: I guess I don’t have much of one really! No formal lessons or previous projects/bands.

J: I’ve been creating music since I was a kid and have been involved with other various projects/bands. Currently, I primarily work under my name, and now with Katherine.

ARE YOU BOTH WORKING IN MUSIC FULL-TIME?

H: No, I work full-time in public health. Work occupies my time and mental space, especially right now, so music helps my mind switch gears and can be sort of an outlet.

J: Personally, yes, with my own music, and all that comes with it, and recently with Katherine as well. My day job was working for a record label for almost 6 years until COVID-19 impacted that.

HOW DOES THE SONGWRITING PROCESS WORK FOR YOU, BOTH INDIVIDUALLY AND COLLABORATIVELY? WHO’S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT?

H: It usually starts with me laying out a sketch for a song, with synths, sometimes field recordings or sound clips,and maybe some vocals. Then Jackson gives it some more life.

J: For the EP, that was pretty much the formula, but we might experiment with things a bit more for the full-length.

A GOOD COLLABORATION IS LIKE STRIKING GOLD. HOW DID THIS ONE COME ABOUT?

H: We’re pretty different creatively, but being in a relationship helped it come about more than anything. We don’t have to worry about offending the other if we don’t like something.

J: Circumstances also helped bring about the project, or helped nudge it along into existence. The pandemic really allowed for the time to complete these songs. Having released a record in October and completed the majority of my next solo record, I was ready to shift gears to finishing material for the first Katherine release. Also, being a collaboration, it was a nice change of pace.

HEATHER: THIS ORIGINALLY BEGAN AS A PRIVATE, PERSONAL PROJECT YOU DIDN’T INTEND TO SHARE. WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO INVITE ANOTHER PERSON INTO IT AND THEN TO RELEASE IT?

H: When I first showed Jackson one of the songs (which later became the song “Whilom” on Everyday Ennui), it was a bit nerve-wracking. I made him promise not to laugh! It just felt too exposing, but that feeling passed fairly quickly. By the time we decided to try to release the EP, it was kind of like, well why not do it? Even though I started it for me, it evolved into something I was okay with sharing. Then Already Dead Tapes responded with interest and it worked out.

JACKSON: WHAT FIRST STRUCK YOU WHEN YOU LISTENED TO HEATHER’S MATERIAL?

J: The first track we worked on was “Whilom”, and I imagined hearing other instrumentation and where that might lead, so I just jumped in experimenting with sounds & building upon what Heather had laid out.

‘EVERYDAY ENNUI’ COMES ACROSS LIKE THE FEELING OF BEING TRAPPED IN MUNDANITY – THE SAME THING, DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY. THERE IS COMFORT AND BEAUTY IN THAT, BUT ALSO CLAUSTROPHOBIA. I THINK THIS IS SOMETHING SO MANY WILL RELATE TO, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE PAST YEAR. WHAT DO YOU DO TO DEAL WITH / ESCAPE FROM IT?

H: I am so used to traveling multiple times a year for work and fun, but of course with the pandemic that came to a screeching halt. Traveling has always made me feel so alive, but also insignificant in the best way. So life does feel so claustrophobic and inescapable right now. I know it is a cliche, but I just try to enjoy the little things to deal with it. A walk in the woods, revisiting albums I love, reading, talking to friends and family...

J: The company of pets does help. I also miss traveling, but the pandemic has allowed for necessary time for writing music, reading, watching plenty of films and delving into other interests. I’m also in school, so that helps too.

TELL US ABOUT THOSE LONG ICELANDIC SUMMER NIGHTS AND RAINY BASQUE AFTERNOONS!

H: I used to spend a lot of time in Iceland and it was like a second home for me. The sun doesn’t really fully go down in the summer, so it can be kind of insomnia and mania inducing. The last two weeks of one summer visit, I was staying at a friend’s flat while they were in Greenland. It’s further out from Reykjavik and near Mt. Esja, so it has such a magical backdrop. I just couldn’t sleep and had so much energy that had to be put somewhere, so I did a lot of writing there.

Shortly after that visit, I moved to Basque Country, Spain. My work day ended in the early afternoon (wow really miss those siestas), but it rains so much in late fall and winter. So I spent a lot of those afternoons writing to pass the time.

HOW DID THE ORIGINAL FIELD RECORDINGS COME ABOUT?

H: I was hiking everyday in Iceland and started to notice all the sounds produced by the landscapes. The sounds of glacial ice, mountain streams, howling wind, etc. were so interesting to me. I recorded some on my phone because that was all I had available to me at the time, but it sparked my interest in field recordings. Later on, Jackson gifted me a field recorder which is what I use now.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY INSPIRATIONS FOR IT, BOTH MUSICALLY AND CINEMATICALLY?

H: In “Eye of the Beholder” there are two sound clips from Andrzej Żuławski’s film “Possession” and in “Whilom” there is a clip from the 1944 film “Gaslight”. I’m always drawn to films that center on women who are seemingly unhinged, but there is always more to this unraveling of the human psyche. And it happens between the boundary of reality and unreality, but I think those two films expose the crumbling of that boundary between duality. I think Everyday Ennui has some of this duality as well. The songs are about grief, disappointment, despondency, etc. - heavier aspects of life, but the music maintains an air of lightness. At least until Whilom, when the tenebrosity and lightness intertwine, exemplifying the crumbling of the boundary between reality and unreality.

J: Musically, I just did what came to mind and followed my intuition. There are some elements of Broadcast and possibly Stereolab on the EP. The latter half of “Eye of the Beholder” reminds me a bit of some of the score from ‘An Elephant Sitting Still’(Hu Bo) by Hualun, which I had listened to a lot, so that might have made its way in as an inspiration for me.

WHO ARE YOUR CURRENT FAVOURITE MUSICAL ACTS?

H: Lately I’ve been listening to L'Épée, Cate le Bon, Vendredi sur Mer, Gyða Valtýsdóttir, Malaria!, and some others. Of course Broadcast is in regular rotation. Oh and the Sky Girl compilation!

J: Rome is always a personal favorite. Lately I've been listening to The Twilight Sad and the recent Brendan Perry album, 'Songs of Disenchantment: Music from the Greek Underground'.

WHAT ARE THE FUTURE PLANS FOR KATHERINE?

H: We are aiming to finish a full length album this year.

J: We already have a handful of tracks, including a couple of covers.

Buy the cassette tape / digital EP via Bandcamp here.

Find Katherine on Instagram | Spotify | YouTube