Kitty Coen – Everything’s A Mess

By starrymag | December 5, 2023

By: Alejandra Gil M.

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) Dark, Melancholy, Witchy, Western, Alternative

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) Lana Del Rey, Alt-J, The Black Keys, Sierra Ferrell, Dolly Parton, Grimes

Q) Your music feels like a beautiful fusion of southern charm and modern indie influences, creating a sound that is both familiar and refreshingly new. How much of being born and raised in Texas has influenced your music?

A) A large part of my writing is influenced by growing up in Texas. In high school, we would take our fake IDs and go to Billy Bob’s to two-step and there would always be a country western band there. I always remember being so in love with how the band was locked in with each other and how the singer was more like a storyteller. Later, during senior year, a lot of bass music raves started to pop up around the Dallas area and that influenced a lot of the electronic elements you hear in my music.

Q) Your new single called “Everything’s A Mess” is out now. Talk about the message behind it.

A) I wrote “everything’s a mess” when I was in a depressive episode. I do suffer from mental illness and it’s something that has followed me around for pretty much my whole life. This particular time I moved from Austin, Texas to Nashville, Tennessee. It was the first time ever navigating my adult life all alone. I felt very isolated and disconnected from those around me. I locked myself in my room for about four days and wrote the song and at the end of those four days I did feel much better and hopeful, so I thought it was appropriate to end the song in that same fashion.

Q) What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can come up with the lyrics?

A) I actually do the opposite of that. Most of the time I write the lyrics first, sort of in the fashion of a poem usually with a guitar or piano in hand to help me map out the cadence of the melody. Then, I start to build the music around what I like to call “the bones of the song.”

Q) An official lyric video shot by Hollon Beasley was also released with the single. How involved were you in developing the art behind it?

A) I edit and create the treatments for all of my videos now. I find I am much more fulfilled when I have a say in the majority of the aspects for my art, specifically the visual ones. Hollon is my manager as well as my videographer now and we are both growing and learning together which is such a beautiful and rare thing to find in this industry.

Q) “Everything’s A Mess” offers refuge to others in the midst of hardship, to those that feel lost or overwhelmed–a gentle reminder that it’s OK to not have everything figured out. What do you hope people take away from it?

A) Everything is gonna be ok baby! Go touch some grass.

Q) In addition to the song being released you shared a nostalgic, angsty self-directed official music video for self-love anthem “unfollow me.” Inspired by Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” video and subsequent iconic visuals of the 2000s pop-punk greats like Paramore, Avril Lavigne, and P!nk–and everything seen on VH1–the “unfollow me” video embodies this Y2K, playful angst. What was it about these artists that inspired you to create this song?

A) These artists inspired the visual but not so much the song. The song was inspired by Nirvana and 90’s guitar tones seen in bands like Superheaven and Third Eye Blind. I’ve been super into 90’s music the past year. The visual was very much a nod to the plot driven music videos seen in the early 2000’s.  I remember walking home from the bus stop excited to see the new music videos dropped on Fridays when VH1 and MTV were still a thing. I wanted my younger fans to feel that with the “unfollow me” video. Everyone loves a glow up story.

Q) Has there been a song you released that was more emotional for you to record or maybe challenging for you in some way?

A) “Everything’s a Mess” for sure. The song changes so much from the beginning to the end and it was so personal to me that I kept changing lyrics as we went. I also had to literally scream in the studio so that was pretty difficult having to harmonize screams.

Q) After beginning your ascent into live music in early 2020 with “Dark Soul,” touring across the U.S. supporting bands like Mt. Joy, and Jive Talk and an appearance at Austin, TX’s SXSW, tastemakers around the world have taken notice of your eclectic, genre-bending sound and eye-catching, bold aesthetic. What does it mean to get more and more recognition for your music?

A) It means everything to me — validation is an artist’s kryptonite. At one point or another, it can really be the thing that makes or breaks you in your “hustle.” Art is not like a normal job in the sense that it’s not consistent. Sometimes I want to tour the world and be the next Stevie Nicks. Other times I want to crawl away and live in the mountains with just me, a guitar and my cat. But when people you don’t even know start to love and support your art, it is a feeling unlike any other and keeps you going.

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) Chappel Roan or Orville Peck. I have the perfecttttttttttttttt song that’s coming out in January — stay tuned!

Q) What album/group are you currently listening to and why do you like it?

A) Ethel Cain – Preacher’s Daughter. I love the fact that it’s a conceptual album that tells a story all the way through.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?

A) I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!! Thank you for everything and keep sippin’ that Kitty Coen koolaid.