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Who is Kate Havnevik?

I am a girl from Norway who ended up living in London making music. I play piano, guitar and sing. I’ve got my own little homestudio where I sit and write my songs all day long...... Actually I am half English as my dad is English, a real Cunningham.:-)

There has been some name changes in recent months. What’s up?

Well, after a trip to LA, where a lot of people misspelt and mispronounced my name, I suddenly thought my name was’nt catchy enough. I was even asked if I would consider changing my name.... I came back very confused so for one gig at the Bush Hall in London I advertised myself as Kate Kobro, the name of my great grandmother. I thought it would be more catchy .... but I was wrong........ I soon realised I wasn’t comfortable with the change, It just didn’t feel like me. So I went straight back to being Kate Havnevik..( or Havonovich, like some people say.....)

Your collaborators are usually what you can call top class. Are you picky on who you work with?

I don’t know if I am picky.... I just like to work with very good people. It is important for me to trust the producers I work with musically, to beileve we have the same vision of the song and sound, then make the best result we can.

Your song “Breathe Deeper” reached number 5 on the KCRW charts last year. What’s the story behind that?

Well that was quite funny actually. Sat Bisla at A&R worldwide in LA had a copy of my demo, they gave a copy to Nic Harcourt who hosts Morning becomes Eclectic on KCRW. He really liked the song and started airing my demo quite a lot . He soon had lots of calls and requests for the song and it was the 5th most requested song at the time . It felt very strange and crazy as it was just a demo . I was very flattered as Nic Harcourt is one of the most influential radio DJ’s in LA. KCRW later invited me to do a live session on Morning Becomes Eclectic which was a lot of fun!!!!!!

When are we going to hear more of Kate live?

Very soon......... I hope ....... Well I have just a few things to do in the studio first, and then I’ll be getting a band together in the summer! then I will hopefully start doing some live shows this autumn.

You seem to be developing more than one sound. Will you be releasing all your recordings one day?

I would really like to release anything I have written that is worth listening to!! So YES hopefully . I have a lot of passions in music and some are very different in sound. But I do feel that my melodic patterns, mood and voice usually ties it all together. I think the music industry is too eager to put you in a pigoen hole. I hope to be able to explore a lot within my music.

Considering that your music is quite versatile... where do your influences come from?

I grew up in a home with almost only classical music (ocationally The Beatles or Kate Bush), as both my parents are classical musicians, so that has definitly been a big influence. Then later I was listening a lot to David Bowie and Pink Floyd . Later I got into songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Jeff Buckley. All in all I like artists who are quite individual and creative like Beck and Radiohead.

LA or London?

Is LA on offer? Well at least, London is closer to my heart as I have spent a few years here. It is very busy and big at times, but also so vibrant and full of possibillities and opportunities. I have only been in LA once but I loved it !!! I love the space and just driving around. I also like the way people live , in houses with gardens ,more like in Norway, but it was a bit hot for an arctic girl.

What about Norway?

Norway is a great place. I love the nature there and being outside a lot . We have beautiful scenery and nice warm wooden houses. My whole family lives in Oslo and I go home quite a lot to see them . You can swim in the ocean, go into the woods or up the mountain skiing. I love it!!!!!!

You seem to work a bit with Icelandic musicians and collaborators. Where does that connection come from?

My best friend is from Reykjavik so I have quite a lot of Icelandic friends in London, and after a few trips to Iceland and a gig I started collaborating with some of them. Icelandic people are very artistic and creative, there are lots of great musicians there.

Electronica or Acoustica?

A mix of the two would be nice!

Any top secrets that you’d want to reveal to us?

Yes, of course I want to tell you all my sectrets!!!!! Hmmmmm, what are they again, .....oh .. yeah when I was 16 I stole a pair of shoes......and erhmmm ..........I am a bit of a nerd........ don’t tell anyone , please !

You will now be featuring on 3 albums coming out this year. Tell us about them.

Okidokey..... the first album I am featuring on is the next Royksopp album ‘This understanding’ due to release in June. I feature and co-write on two songs. The second album is The Mono Band, a record made by Noel Hogan (guitarplayer of The Cranberries). I have co-written and sing one song on this album . It will be out next autumn. The third record I am on is an album called The moment of the lost art, an album by producer Carmen Rizzo. I co-write and feature on two songs on that record. This album will also be out later this year sometime. !!!!

Some rumour was that you had been working with Moby on some tracks. What’s the truth in that?

Well, Moby was looking for collaborators for his record Hotel, he heard my demo and really liked my voice ...so... I was given some tracks by Moby and was asked to write songs over them , which I did . I wrote 3 great songs and everyone loved them including Moby. But unfortunately the songs didn’t make it on his record. That’s just the way it goes. But it was a nice try.

Is it true that you dated “United States of Whatever” and “Sifl & Olly” maestro, Liam Lynch?

That’s a cheeky question...... and I should probably say that’s none of your business ,.... but what the hell.........Yes I did date him for nearly 2 years when we were studying in Liverpool. It was really fun when he started making Sifl and Olli, I helped him building his blue screen and saw the whole show being born . He is a great guy and very talented,we are still good friends. .... do you wanna know about my other ex-boyfriends now....?