In this edition of Music Is To Blame’s What’s to Blame? interview series, Katie delves into the joy of small Glasgow venues, Elliott Smith and the secret to finding peace under major labels.
Hi, Katie, it’s lovely to meet you! Could you do us a favour and introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Katie Gregson-Macleod and I’m a singer-songwriter from Inverness, currently sitting in my neighbour’s flat in Glasgow!
I really admire the storytelling aspect of your latest singles. ‘Mosh Pit’, especially, just feels so heartfelt. How much of yourself do you feel that you put into your music, in terms of the lyrics?
Thank you! It really depends on the song, I think - not all my songs are autobiographical. That EP, and that song in particular, however, were very personal. It’s all written about a relationship that I had and was in at the time. It’s all love songs.
It really comes from a place of love, which is the first time I’ve done a whole project like that. I didn’t purposefully embark on a love song EP back at the beginning of the year, but when I got dropped by my label, I just kinda looked back at all my music and knew I wanted to create my debut album, so I was just finding all these songs and seeing how they fit together. From this, I realised that I’d written about this very peaceful kind of love. ‘Mosh Pit’ is very personal, because it’s this vignette of the relationship, and it feels like floating through those different moments, which was a very nice lack of pressure for me. I was just giving little snapshots from my brain that felt like love.
It’s really interesting to hear the variety of it all. Now this upcoming tour seems to be your biggest yet - how are you feeling about it?
I feel excited! It’s far away enough at the moment and I’m quite busy this summer, so I can put it to the back of my brain for now, but it’s gonna be great. I’m looking forward to visiting places I’ve never been before, really. It is the biggest tour in terms of venues, and we’re going to Belfast, and lots of places in Scotland and England that I haven’t been before.
The whole thing will still feel very stripped back, though. It’ll just be me and my support act driving around, with a guitar and a piano. Back to basics in the perfect way. I haven’t done a headliner tour in two years, so you forget that people are listening in a room sometimes - it’ll be good.
To be the main act, drawing them in?
That’s always nice, isn’t it? I’ve done some support tours and festivals over the last few years, but nothing really compares.
What’s your favourite venue that you’ve performed in?
Hmm, there’s always old faithfuls like King Tut’s [Wah Wah Hut] in Glasgow. I loved Hoxton Hall too, and I loved that show generally - my first one in London! Paradiso in Amsterdam is pretty gorgeous, but to be honest, my ideal kind of gig is just playing in a small room like Tut’s.
Yeah, with small gigs, it doesn’t matter how grand or fancy the venue is, there’s a personal level that you can’t really compare.
I know! King Tut’s was where I was first playing all these support slots, so it’s been with me my whole career, and I just knew I wanted it as the first headliner spot on my tour. Now my name’s on the steps! It’s an iconic venue, and an iconic venue in my life as well.
Which artists or bands do you feel are an influence on your music?
Sonically, those influences are changing as I’m making my debut record quite soon. They’re a lot closer to my heart now, and I’m slowly getting into the world that I want to be in. I would say, as a songwriter, my ultimate god-tier would be Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith, Leonard Cohen, Carole King. Oh, I could go on forever! Maybe Bridget St John and Paul Simon, too. There are too many to name. My references for this new album were a lot of the classics, drawing most inspiration from the folk realm, but from a whole heap of stuff too.
Oh, I love Elliott Smith! Sorry, I got really excited at that mention.
There’s nothing better! As a songwriter and musician, with his arrangements, he’s pretty much as good as it gets for me.
People in the creative fields often have a reason for why they chose their specific craft. Why was music the one you felt you could express yourself best with?
I was definitely one of those people growing up who just wanted to do anything creative, so it was theatre, film, music, the lot. My absolute dream would be to marry my interests together and write a musical, so I’d love to go back to theatre someday. Writing songs is just something that I’ve always loved, though, and I started playing pub gigs at 16 years old and festivals at 18.
After leaving school, music was the thing that I turned to as my creative outlet and career. It wasn’t long before I found communities through music too, and the whole thing wraps its talons around you slowly!
It can be very hard to choose. How does the songwriting process go for you? You hear of artists having these tips or tricks, and I’m just curious.
Again, it really differs all the time. I wouldn’t say I struggle, but if I don’t have the impulse to write, then I don’t try. It’s a lot more spontaneous than that. I can’t sit down for an hour and make myself write. Some songs are more of a labour of love, sometimes I’ll go to the pub, take my guitar and just see if any ideas emerge, but I just can’t force it.
That’s the best way to do it, to give yourself some time and grace.
One of my friends is a really busy person, and came up to me and said, “I’ve got this album to record in 4 weeks and I’ve not written anything for it yet, so I’m going to do it all in the next 3 weeks”, and it’s amazing, and I’m like “Oh I hate you”.
Oh, how dare he!
I know, and everything he was playing was great too! In three weeks, with vague ideas.
There’s getting a balance between discipline and relaxation, and then there’s that.
Madness. Couldn’t be me.
For the instrumentals, how would you say that relationship with the lyrics forms?
Some songs, like ‘Mosh Pit’, start with a guitar part that instructs the rest of the track. That kind of upward and downward movement goes through, with a ticking bomb string, and it helped the feeling of the song emerge.
Others are more of a simple chord movement, but I’m absolutely terrible at writing instrumentals for existing songs, which is what I’ve been doing for most of this EP. I’m at my most comfortable in the initial genesis of an idea; I really struggle going back to add further wisdom to it.
I’d like to know, as our publication is called Music is To Blame, what would you say is to blame for your latest EP?
Finding peace, I think? The EP is called ‘Love Me Too Well, I’ll Retire Early’ and the whole thing centres upon the relationship between peace and ambition. When I was on my major label, I was becoming less and less interested in the version of success I was being presented with. I felt quite disengaged with these ideas of my career being thrust upon me, but at the same time, I’d fallen in love, and it was all in a very peaceful part of London, so it was a great juxtaposition.
The titular, opening track is directed towards my partner, the label and the listener all at the same time with the lyric “Want to live up to your fantasies / Want to be all that you see in me”. Yes, it captures relationship insecurity, but also all these expectations I felt as an artist, and how I no longer wanted to live up to them. So it’s all about peace, really, I’m gonna blame peace!
And can you describe the EP in three words?
I’ll start with adoring. The whole EP is about adoring something. Number two is Highland, it’s Highlands as heck! It was made there too, born and bred. Thirdly, I would say relaxed. Not only to listen to, but also the process of creating it. Thinking about it, that’s a very strange list when put together. They all make sense, though!
You can pre-order ‘Love Me Too Well, I’ll Retire Early' here and catch Katie on tour here!
Sofia Neal
Image: Megan Henderson
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