Getting to Know Kat Vinter
Berlin-based Kat Vinter has just unleashed her latest single. We asked her to tell us about herself:
I am a solo Australian songwriter/artist living in Berlin. Wish I could add ‘multi-linguist,’ to the description but German is NOT EASY TO LEARN!
Sooner or Later is a song about not knowing what is going to happen to you, how you’re going to survive or eat, if you’re going to fall deeply in love or be alone forever… how many amazing and terrible things are waiting for you… and then just accepting that sometimes you have no control. Sometimes when you feel like everything is coming apart, new opportunities are forming around you.
It was written the day before my four-year relationship ended so I guess there was something in the air that day. It’s not necessarily a love song though… It’s kind of applicable to a lot of situations that we face as humans. The overall message is quite positive despite the brooding nature of the track.
Berlin is a grimy, inspiring, bohemian creative melting pot. It just grabbed me the first time I walked through the streets of Kreuzberg on a songwriting trip. I didn’t know anybody but somehow I felt like I had to be there. Three months later I met my German producer Hannes and Norweigan co-writer Laila. Since then we’ve been working on the Kat Vinter catalogue between Berlin and a small cabin on the border or Norway and Sweden (total isolation, no internet, phone service, NOTHING…..). It’s been about 18-months and now I’m fucking ready to get it out there!
I’m currently listening to Kwabs, Sohn, Banks, Son Lux, Shlohmo, Cashmire Cat.
I spend too much time obsessing over the details and emotions of the exact present and ignoring the big picture. I’m quite impatient and want everything to happen NOW NOW NOW! But I’m really glad I took my time to figure out who I was as a solo artist and things are beginning to fall into place. I also spend too much time watching pop music videos. I will fall asleep within five minutes of a film but new music videos will keep me awake for hours.
It might surprise people to learn that I’ve lived in five different countries in the past eight years and I don’t know when I’ll stop looking for ‘home.’ Australia, UK, Ireland, USA, Germany. I think the abrupt changes really help when I’m writing my material. When you travel and drastically change your circumstances, you feel things you’re not used to. You come closer to the essence of what it is to FEEL.
I want to play and write music forever. It’s the only way of life that holds any meaning for me. It’s a constant struggle and at the same time the single most fulfilling thing I can do with my time. Music is like an ex that I can’t get over… keeps inviting me around and asking for attention. Makes me cry makes me feel alive. WE WILL GET BACK TOGETHER AND TRAVEL THE WORLD!!
To keep up to date with everything Kat Vinter has got going on, including tour dates and the release date of her EP, then follow Kat on Facebook. In the meantime, have a listen to Sooner or Later below:
Interview by Bobby Townsend.
