Having recently come across Kylie MacNaugton through her distinctive guitar playing with Glasgow ‘weirdo art pop’ outfit Peter Cat, we were intrigued to find out more about what inspires her, her other musical projects (including rising dark electro band Mercy Girl), and how she feels the industry is for queer artists at the moment.
Following last year’s experimental and introspective album, Starchamber, Peter Cat have just shared a gloriously catchy new single ahead of a full UK tour this autumn. Find out more here and have a listen while you read all about Kylie below!
Hi Kylie, welcome to Get In Her Ears! Would you like to tell us a bit about yourself and what you’re currently up to
Okie dokie! I’m Kylie MacNaughton, a musician originally from Livingston in Scotland, now based in Glasgow. I play guitar and synth and “sing”. I love making big loud music with my friends and watching movies. Currently I’m trying to cool myself down in this heatwave (I’m not coping well)!.
How did you first get into creating music?
I have been playing guitar since I was nine or ten, mostly because I wanted to get Guitar Hero but got given a real guitar instead. I guess I got into actually writing music when, deep into my emo teenage years, I heard My Chemical Romance’s first record, I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love. There’s a certain scrappiness to it. Like, it really sounds like five people in a room playing music together, rather than this super polished production. It just hit me that I could be one of five people in a room playing music and make songs like this too – then I started playing in bands and now we’re here!
We initially crossed paths through your work in the gloriously other-worldly Glasgow collective Peter Cat. What’s it like being part of such a unique project?
Being part of Peter Cat is great fun! All of the songs have a unique vibe and their own challenges to performing them, so it’s always nice to have to be thinking on my feet whilst I’m playing. In terms of this coming about, Graham (Mr Peter Cat himself), had been performing under the name with various bands and as a solo project for while. It was shortly after he wrote his EP The Magus that Graham approached me about performing with him. The music was so much darker and stranger than he had written previously, so I was very excited to join.
Peter Cat released the glistening album Starchamber towards the end of last year – can you tell us a bit about the album and the process of recording it?
So what is Starchamber? Uh, I guess at its core it’s a record about apologising in some ways – about feeling guilty for existing and taking up space. But it’s also about atonement and trying to absolve this guilt. I suppose the maddening sound was trying to capture those feelings. There’s lyrical moments pulling from film as well, and specifically from characters that are in this state of apologia and guilt and depression. Anyway, philosophical ramble over – the actual process of recording was quite old school and intensive. We spent several months fleshing out and getting the songs tight, then two weeks in the studio. Just the four of us in the room at once, trying to capture that live chaos of the music.
Your guitar parts throughout the album really stand out, particularly on tracks like ‘Is That All There Is To A House On Fire?’ and ‘Down From The Mountain’ – what inspired this swirling glam-rock-tinged sound? And how do you generally go about writing parts that complement the rich lyrical storytelling so well?
Thank you! The three points I was pulling from the most whilst recording and writing this album was My Chemical Romance (lol), David Bowie’s Scary Monsters, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. So, I guess there was some weird intersection of glam and punk and noise and pop happening, which I think is how the album sounds in the end. In terms of writing, Graham would sometimes come in with ideas that were pretty fully formed, that I would just tweak to sound like me. Other times there would be sections with no guitar where I would be encouraged to improvise with only abstract prompting, like, “the solo needs to sound like the world is ending, and we’re taking off.” Ultimately, I think the parts ended up complementing the lyrical themes because I was going through a lot of similar emotions at the time. I was teetering on the precipice of coming out at this point, and I was overcome with guilt and shame and embarrassment for existing. I think being in that dark headspace at the time ended up in a roundabout way marrying up with a lot of what Graham was writing about.
Following the album, earlier this year Peter Cat released a special live EP, In And Out Of Glasgow and London: Peter Cat Live – what inspired the decision to release this collection?
We felt that Peter Cat live is a different experience from the recordings, especially with some of the tracks from The Magus which were recorded by Graham on his own during lockdown. So, we wanted people to have a little taste of that chaos at home.
And how is the experience of performing live with Peter Cat, and what can fans expect when coming along to see you?
Peter Cat live is like train that’s just about to come off the tracks but doesn’t quite. The people can expect the same songs they know, but with more energy and chaos and unsanded edges.
When you’re out on tour playing gigs, are there any particular essentials that you like to have with you to keep you going?
I think I travel quite light actually. I’m happy staring into space out the window of the van and listening to music and hanging out with my friends… But, I think maybe the only thing is that I don’t like my hair being “not right”, so I do always bring all the same shampoos and potions and goops I would use at home.
In addition to Peter Cat, you’re also a part of other musical projects GRAVELLE and Mercy Girl – are you able to tell us a bit about them and where we can find out more?
Mercy Girl is a dark electronic band, with songs that are meant to be cried to and danced to. It’s very danceable and moody and synth-driven. We’re playing all across the UK and Europe this year and next, so come along if can and crance (cry+dance)!. GRAVELLE is a project with myself and my partner that we always described as “Industrial Pop” – like equal parts Lady Gaga and Nine Inch Nails. It’s on a bit of a hiatus at the moment, but we can’t be stopped, there will be more songs one day!
And how do you find balancing these different musical projects with work and life generally?
Hard, aha. I exist in a constant state of near burnout.
As we’re an organisation with a focus on supporting new and marginalised artists, I just wondered how you feel the industry is for them at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the years in its treatment of female and queer artists?
I feel like things have definitely gotten better within the music scene in terms of its treatment of people. But I still feel like there’s such a long way to go, it’s very sadly still such a boys club. I’m so frequently the only queer person and only woman in the room. There’s often this palpable disrespect – or disgust even – that I feel from engineers or other bands at my presence. Though, things are improving and I get a lot less flack as a queer person than I have in the past; and that’s definitely thanks to folks like yourself who are platforming marginalised people and breaking apart that shell of machismo that is so pervasive in music.
And are there any other bands or artists that you’d recommend we check out at the moment?
Loads! Too many to count! There’s so many cool people making great music right now! I’m just going to list a bunch of new favourites – girls and gays only – so go listen okay! Model/Actriz, Mandy, Indiana, Mrs Frighthouse, Kopi Romantiko, Underscores, Hemlocke Springs, Guck, Aortarota, Gelli Haha, Ninajirachi.
Huge thanks to Kylie for answering our questions! Be sure to check out Peter Cat’s new single ‘Innocent Driver‘, as well as ‘crance’ to Mercy Girl and keeping your eyes peeled for more songs from GRAVELLE!
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