Interview: Kat Tracey on her most recent release “Echos in the Rain” and her music journey

Photo by Chad Carfagno

Kat Tracey’s music defies simple labels. Her newest single “Echoes in the Rain” is no exception as it weaves pop influences and melancholic indie sounds. Kat is currently a Philly-based artist with seven released singles and a debut EP on the way. We had the chance to talk to her about her music journey, what to expect for the new EP, and what her goals are as an artist.

Photo by Chad Carfagno

SOUND STAGE: Who is Kat Tracy as an artist?

KAT TRACEY: I would say right now I'm kind of in this experimental phase of learning who I am. I like experimenting with new sounds and listening to different people and seeing what inspires me.

SOUND STAGE: Can you tell us a little bit about your music journey?

KAT: Music has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. I always did choir and then I did a little bit of theater in high school. I really liked theater, but I always liked writing my own stuff too. When I went to college I was just doing theater classes and whatever music stuff I could pick up. I knew I wanted to take music more seriously but finding the resources to get started was tough. And then, I was diagnosed with cancer going into my senior year of college. That’s what fueled me to really take initiative and get started by just putting my stuff out there. After that, everything sort of fell into place. Right after I finished treatment, I joined a wedding band company in Philly and through that, I met a lot of people and I connected with different producers. 

SOUND STAGE: How long have you been cancer-free now?

KAT: I’m about to be three years free!

SOUND STAGE: Oh wow! Congratulations!

KAT: Thank you! Yeah, time flies, I’m glad it’s over. 

SOUND STAGE: You cite Mk.gee as one of your major influences. I thought this was interesting because I think the guitar is super prominent in all of your songs. Do you write and play all your guitar parts? 

KAT: No, I’m actually not great at guitar [laughs] but I have a lot of friends that are really good at it. The one influence that really stands out to me in music is the guitar. I love having very guitar heavy songs. I'll always bring my guitar-playing friends in for studio sessions. What we do in a lot of the songs is start with a little guitar hook or some kind of guitar rhythm and base the song off of that. 

SOUND STAGE: Well, even if you don’t play the guitar, you really know how to write guitar parts, it’s very impressive. You just recently came out with your song, “Echoes in the Rain.” The song’s lyrics are pretty gut wrenching but the sound is upbeat. However you do a great job of giving it an underlying melancholy tone throughout. Can you tell us about the process of creating this one?

KAT: This was a time where I was writing a bunch of different stuff. I was at work, and when I don’t have anything to do, I like to go through type beats on YouTube and try to get inspiration from that. Two of the influences for that song were a Holly Humberstone song and a Léon song. I heard a little hook off of one of the songs and I really liked it. Then I started drafting lyrics. I was thinking about a situation I was going through with a guy at the time. Even though it wasn’t exactly my experience, I decided to write as if it were. I was experimenting with the lyrics, trying to figure out how I could tell the story from my perspective, like I was actually living it.

SOUND STAGE: Do you write your lyrics first? 

KAT: I would say it usually depends. It's a little more challenging for me to just sit down and write lyrics because I really like to write to music. Even if I just hear a five seconds of something, it helps me come up with an idea. I would say probably the sound comes first or the idea of what I want it to sound like. 

SOUND STAGE: You said that you're currently writing a new album. What can fans expect from that?

KAT: My goal is to get my EP out, ideally in the winter time. I'm like really experimenting with my voice and different instruments. I’m adding different elements to it, and I’m really excited to see how people react. I want to experiment with a few different sounds, while making sure they blend together. I’m curious to see what people gravitate toward. Overall, I think it’s going to be a little more serious and fun at the same time, while also exploring aspects I haven’t included in my other songs. 

SOUND STAGE: Do you think it's going to be a multi-genre project? 

KAT: I would say like slightly, but it all blends well together. There’s nothing that will be totally out of left field. 

SOUND STAGE: I love that you're experimenting with new sounds and everything. “Echoes in the Rain” is getting a lot of deserved traction right now! 

KAT: Thank you! I’m trying to see how I can build on that. For me, if I hear something I like, I usually start writing with it right away. That’s great in some ways, but it can also be challenging because you want to find the right sound for each project.

SOUND STAGE: Have you been writing songs ever since you started your music journey? 

KAT: Pretty much! The first song I ever wrote was a church song [laughs] because I grew up going to church. 

SOUND STAGE: [laughs] That’s so cute I love that. What can fans expect from you in the future? 

KAT: I really want to be an opening act for an artist and travel a little bit to get my name out there. I always wanted to be a festival artist, so I definitely want to do some of those. Right now, the most important thing for me is establishing my brand. Eventually I want to have my own tour one day and put out an album.

SOUND STAGE: Well, I am very excited to hear the new EP come out and I can’t wait to see how you continue to grow as an artist!