LISTEN: KTEE – ‘So What’

Having amassed over 97,000 views for her music videos along with successfully qualifying for The Voice, Austrian pop star KTEE brings her fresh, empowering pop sound to UK shores with her latest single ‘So What’.

‘So What’ is KTEE’s message to women everywhere that even when life kicks you down, you don’t have to stay there. A danceable riff takes us into the catchy pop track as KTEE oozes determination through effortless vocals akin to Katy Perry. The punchy, catchy chorus defies you not to sing along to its message of self-growth. And, in case the listener is too busy dancing along to catch the message (easily done with the track’s contagious rhythm), KTEE takes advantage of the bridge to eliminate any doubt – “… as long as your heart beats, there’s nothing to lose” she reassures us.

With its funky bass-line and catchy riffs layered beneath the singalong chorus, ‘So What’ is a track reminiscent of feel-good summer days filled with freedom. Each element to the single combines perfectly to make ‘So What’ the pop anthem which women everywhere need to be singing from the bottom of their lungs.

‘So What’, the new single from KTEE, is out now.

Nicky Lee-Delisle
@Nicky___Lee

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Introducing Interview: Liv Austen

Following the release of two EPs and support from the likes of BBC Radio 2 and Pop Dust, Norwegian born singer-songwriter Liv Austen has now shared an uplifting new single.

An anthem for anyone who’s made mistakes in love, ‘Don’t Regret A Single One’ is an utterly infectious and wonderfully charming slice of glistening country-pop.

We caught up with Liv to find out more…

Hi Liv, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
Thank you! I’m a singer-songwriter living in London. I am originally from Norway, but moved to the UK seven years ago and fell in love with it – and I now call it my home! I started writing songs as a teenager and released my first EP independently in 2014. The songs I released at the time were quite country inspired, as that was what I was in to at the time, but now my music reflects both country and a lot of other influences I have musically.

How did you initially start creating music?
I went to school in Brussels; we had an amazing music program at my school, but I think I was the one who was the most serious about it. I often stayed behind after school in this amazing room in a little “tower” in my school (it was a really old, cool building that looked like a castle!) and play piano and sing. Suddenly the songs just started coming to me. I realised that I had these phrases in me, both lyrically and melodically, that perfectly described how I was feeling – much more so than I could just by speaking to someone, and it had to come out (Inside Wants Out is the most relatable album title for me, ever!). So I just kept writing, and the songs kept coming. And I haven’t stopped since.

Your new single ‘Don’t Regret A Single One’ is out now – can you tell us what it’s all about? Are there any themes running throughout the song?
‘Don’t Regret A Single One’ is about my past love interests. I had to kiss a few frogs and fall flat on my face several times to learn about myself, and I wanted to celebrate the (many!) mistakes I have made in love, and emphasise to others how that is a positive thing. It is a bit of a defiant anthem too – the chorus is quite strong and unapologetic, and as I say in the song: “if I stayed with my high school sweetheart, I wouldn’t be who I am today”. I needed to make those mistakes to be the person I now am. And I won’t apologise for not being a perfect, flawless girl who got it right the first time, and I will not be ashamed of having had several partners in my life. That’s essentially what the song is about.

You’ve been compared to the likes of Carrie Underwood and Little Big Town, but who would you say are your main musical influences?
Those are very flattering comparisons, I have to say! I am a huge fan of both Carrie and LBT. Carrie was my gateway drug into country music, so she will always have a special place in my heart. I love some of the more pop-leaning country too, there are some absolutely fabulous songwriters and artists doing it at the moment: Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris and Sam Hunt for example. As a songwriter I always come back to Alicia Keys, she had a huge influence on me from a very young age and my love for songwriting definitely comes in large part from her. Shania Twain is another big influence for me.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
I feel like I’m always at gigs! A few years ago, when country was still small but growing here in the UK, I would be so excited whenever an American artist I loved would come over and gig here, and I’d go to everything – now that country is back big time, there are not enough hours in the day to catch all of the gigs, but I try to focus more on UK acts now. There are so many unbelievably great homegrown acts, and I love being able to call myself their colleague.

And what can fans expect from your live shows?
Just that; a show. My fans know that I am a songwriter and that I can do acoustic solo gigs with my guitar or a whole evening with just me on the piano; but that’s not really my main aim as an artist, I want to put on a show. When I have my whole band with me I rarely play an instrument, I love just getting up there with the microphone and connect directly with the audience. We want to have fun and help create that collective “high” that fans and audiences can experience at live gigs, because it leaves you feeling so great about life!

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any new/upcoming bands or artists you’d recommend we check out?
I will seem totally biased in this because I am mentioning people I know, but I wouldn’t bring them up if I didn’t think they were great. If you are in to contemporary country/pop I would recommend you check out Lisa Wright and Clara Bond, Robbie Cavanagh is brilliant too if you like a more Americana type sound.

And how do you feel the music industry is for new bands at the moment – would you say it’s difficult to get noticed?
It does take a lot of constant work for sure, and it is a full time job whether you have time for that or not, but the great thing is that people do love good music and will be your loyal fans if you keep them happy by doing live gigs and connecting with them on a regular basis!

Finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Liv Austen?
I am very excited to be playing Country2Country at the O2 in March (9-11.03), the UK’s biggest country music festival, and I am excited to see how far Don’t Regret a Single One can go. I am working on an album that I am very proud of, and if all goes well that will come out later in the year!

Huge thanks to Liv for answering our questions! 

‘Don’t Regret A Single One’ is out now.

 

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Premiere: Hollie Haines – ‘Keep Moving On’

Following last year’s debut EP The Walls I Built, London based singer-songwriter Hollie Haines has returned to grace our ears with a charming new single.

Flowing with delicate, folk-infused melodies, ‘Keep Moving On’ is an instantly catchy slice of sunny alt-pop. As Haines’ exquisite vocals soar alongside a vibrant, Americana-inspired energy and shimmering crystal-clear harmonies, we’re offered a thoroughly uplifting treat for the ears.

Listen to ‘Keep Moving On’, for the first time, here:

 

‘Keep Moving On’, the new single from Hollie Haines, is out 23rd February.

 

Mari Lane
@marimindles

 

 

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Interview: Berries

Having blown us away many a time with the raw passion of their energy-fuelled live shows (including playing for us at The Finsbury and a special acoustic set for us on Hoxton Radio), London trio Berries are fast becoming the next big thing, and have just released another slice of fantastic alt-rock with new single ‘Faults’.

We caught up with Holly from the band to talk influences, plans and spare trousers!

For those who don’t know, could you tell me who Berries are and what you do?
We are a three piece rock band based in London, consisting of Holly on lead vocals and guitar, Lauren on Bass and Lucie on drums!

And how did you all initially get together and start creating music?
Me (Holly) and Lucie had been jamming for a while and then Lauren moved up to London. We grew up together and she is awesome on guitar, so I approached her about joining us on bass. She was really up for it and we went from there! We share quite a few musical influences and we always wanted to play in a band together, so it was great timing!

Your fantastic new single ‘Faults’ is out now, can you tell us a bit about what it’s about and what inspired you to write it?  
Absolutely, it’s pretty sarcastic… I was inspired to write it after watching The Hours which is an amazing film! The whole idea of being ‘perfect’ and ‘faultless’, and how people always place far too much importance on that when really it makes no difference what so ever!

And how would you say it differs from your previous releases?
It’s definitely slower in tempo and more reflective than our other releases. We tried some reverse guitars and a lot more harmonies, so we just played around with more effects on this track.  

 

You’ve been compared to the likes of The Breeders, but who would you say are you main musical influences?
Good question! As a band, we like to think we are channelling some Sleater Kinney, with a kick of Subways and a splash of Biffy Clyro,

And over the last couple of years, you’ve received lots of praise from the likes of John Kennedy and Tom Robinson, which must have been super exciting! But what challenges have you faced as a new band trying to be heard and gain attention from the industry?
Yeah we absolutely love their support! We have been pretty lucky with opportunities, but as with every band we just put everything we have into our live shows and write music that we are excited about as a band and hope everyone else likes it! It’s such a great scene in London at the moment so we are excited to be part of it, constantly surrounded by amazing bands and musicians!!

You’ve wowed us many times with your energy-fuelled live shows, but are there any particular gigs that stand out as a highlight for you?
Thanks! Well, we absolutely loved playing your night supporting Rews at The Finsbury, and also Camden Rocks Festival which was pretty special, but overall I think it has to be when we sold out The Black Heart in Camden… That was a really amazing night for us as a band!

And having travelled up and down the country for many gigs, do you have any tour survival tips?
Always carry spares of everything!!! In our case, drum kick pedals and trousers! We were playing Head For The Hills Festival last July and Lucie’s kick pedal broke, she continued on without it and we made it to the end of the track but then when she ran to try and find a spare, she flew backwards on her arse and grass stained her trousers and her glasses flew off! This was mid-set with a tent full of people wondering what the hell was going on! It was amazing, we still burst into laughter now about it!

As we’re a new music-focused site, are there any other upcoming bands or artists that you’d recommend we check out?
Definitely check out Nina Fine she is an incredible singer/songwriter, and also we’re getting really into Bloom Twins.

And, finally, what does the rest of 2018 have in store for Berries?
We’re constantly writing new music and recording so definitely some new releases! We head out on a tour with Scruff Of The Neck in March and we will be visiting Brighton, Liverpool, Manchester and  London where we will be playing a headline show at The Camden Assembly and then we have some festival appearances lined up, and we are currently in the middle of planning an Autumn UK Tour, so nice and busy!!

Huge thanks to Berries for answering our questions!

‘Faults’, the new track from Berries, is out now. And you can catch them live next month:

2nd March – Liverpool, Sound
3rd March – Manchester, Aatma
16th March – London, Camden Assembly
23rd March – Brighton, Sticky Mike’s Frog Bar

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