Kathryn Williams

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风格: #民谣流行
地区: United Kingdom 英国

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2001年，她以独立发行的第二张专辑《Little Black Numbers》，获水星音乐奖(Mercury Music Prize)提名年度最佳专辑。最后没得奖，惹得一堆媒体为她叫屈。原来在一年前专辑刚发表的时候，她便被誉为长久以来最令人兴奋的新生代词曲创作人∶MOJO以“无止尽的感动”形容之；Time Out更以“天才”称之。甚至早在99年她初试啼声之作《Dog Leap Stairs》，NME就已经盛赞她的作品散发出“简直叫人掉下巴、不敢置信的美感”！

她出生于28年前，这成长于民谣家庭家庭的利物浦女孩一度想当艺术家，直到朋友坦言不讳，她才真正放下画笔，正视自己写歌演唱的才华。但空有一箱子美好的旋律，她却从没想过要发表，好不容易在朋友鼓励下登台演唱，也立刻吸引了唱片公司注意，却又碰上录完试唱带后便没了下文的鸟事。此举反而刺激了她，于是她成立自己的厂牌CAW自己发行，从此这拿著吉他弹唱的女孩便步上了掌声不断的坦途。除了受邀出席向Nick Drake致敬的演唱会，与Bernard Butler等人同台依旧抢尽风采之外，还参与了Lee Hazelwood历年金曲的翻唱计划。一切来得突然，就像之前英国乐坛挖到David Gray那颗宝一样；这回发掘到的是Kathryn Williams这块已然发著光的玉。

当然，这年头宣称自己受Nick Drake影响的恐怕超过两打，而期望著自己有天能如Bob Dylan与Nina Simone般长青的Kathryn Williams，她清新甜美的民谣吉他弹唱究竟如何突出，恐怕不是那些外在的名声解释得了的。因为那些潜藏在歌中，常有些似雾既缠绕又迷离，甚至梦般抽象的气质与声调，肯定是要听进了心底才能感悟。於是她被拿来与Stina Nordenstam、Beth Orton相提，与Suzanne Vega、Margo Timmins (Cowboy Junkies的女主唱)并论，彷佛企图整理出那些流窜于她们之间，总难用言语描绘出的景致。

2002年，她仍然在自己的厂牌CAW，发表第三张专辑《Old Low Light》。有她担任精神科医护人员的吉他手朋友David Scott跟她共谱了几曲；PJ Harvey近期的混音班底Head坐镇制作并上场秀了一段竖琴；出身古典，目前已是师字辈的Laura Reid再度统筹弦乐部分，铺陈著孤寂远眺的背景；老搭档Jonny Bridgwood沉厚探底的Double Bass引著爵士乐入场，跟著现身的亦是混迹爵士乐圈多年的Graham Hardy吹奏的小号，在”Daydream And Saunter”中展现她简直可比Joe Henry后来的内敛气度。

不得不这样说，Kathryn Williams总是令人惊叹。

Often compared to Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake — quite favorably, no less — singer/songwriter Kathryn Williams was born in Liverpool in 1974. Her father was a folksinger and, as a child, Williams studied piano and guitar while listening to such '60s icons as Bob Dylan. Later, while attending art college in Newcastle, her songwriting prowess began to outpace her dexterity with a paintbrush. She began writing songs in private, citing a diverse array of influences including Nina Simone, Bob Dylan, Tim Buckley, Van Morrison, Leonard Cohen, the Velvet Underground, and Nick Cave (whose "Into My Arms" played at her wedding).

Fed up with music labels who did not return her phone calls, Williams released her debut, Dog Leap Stairs, on her own Caw Records. Co-produced by PJ Harvey associate Head, the album reportedly cost a mere 80 pounds to record (with some sources quoting as little as 75). Williams used her art school education to self-design the album cover's arresting image, setting a tradition that would be repeated on most of her subsequent releases. Dog Leap Stairs received praise for its spare arrangements and unique perspective on British folk, and Williams began to assemble a devoted following. That September, she played before an audience of 2,500 when she appeared as part of "English Originals," the Nick Drake tribute night at London's Barbican. Her performance of "Saturday Sun" was heralded as one of the highlights of the charity event; it also led to the invitation to provide backing vocals to Drake friend John Martyn's 2000 release Glasgow Walker.

Williams poured even more of her own money (3,000 pounds this time) into 2000's Little Black Numbers, which was again co-produced by Head and released by Caw. It garnered her best reviews yet from the notoriously fickle British press and would go on to secure a prestigious Mercury Music Prize nomination (an award won that year by Badly Drawn Boy). The resulting sales pulled Williams out of debt and led to a licensing arrangement with East West (a subsidiary of Warner), which re-released the album in 2001. Williams continued to branch out beyond the confines of folk when she contributed "Day by Day" to Signs, a 2000 release by the Indian-born electronica duo Badmarsh & Shri (which also appears on the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation soundtrack). Another surprising collaboration was "Demons in Cases," a 2002 single with electronica act Pedro (aka James Rutledge). Williams proceeded to record her third full-length, Old Low Light, with Head in South Wales and Newcastle. Released by East West in 2002, the cover features a family photograph of Williams and her father at the beach. By this time, Williams' backing band had solidified, comprising Laura Reid on cello, Jonny Bridgewood on bass, David Scott on guitar, and Alex Tustin on percussion. Later that year, Williams contributed "Easy and Me" to Total Lee! The Songs of Lee Hazlewood, which she then followed with three releases over the next three years: Relations (2004), Over Fly Over (2005), and the intimate Leave to Remain (2006). Throughout her career, Williams has also released a number of singles, an unusual move for a folk artist, but also a sign that she has crossover potential. And that she does; hence the frequent comparison to more pop-oriented artists like Beth Orton, Turin Brakes, and Belle & Sebastian.

Kathryn Williams

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