Kathryn Williams
Background information
Born	1974, Liverpool, England
Website	www.kathrynwilliams.net

Kathryn Williams (born 1974 in Liverpool, England) is a singer/songwriter.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Commercial success 3 Discography 3.1 Albums 3.2 Singles 3.3 B-sides 3.4 Misc 4 External links

Early years

Kathryn Williams is a singer-songwriter whose work is characterised by delicate vocals and acoustic instruments. She has been compared in style to such artists as Joni Mitchell, Laura Nyro and Joan Baez and is a former Mercury Music Prize nominee, and a Gold-Record artist.

In her youth, Williams studied an art foundation course in her native Liverpool, before moving to Newcastle upon Tyne to study for a degree in fine art. After a friend heard Williams' music, they booked a gig without her knowing it. Williams was intending it to be a one-off event, though she soon found herself being booked again and again by people.

Commercial success

Her next step was recording some of her music onto CD. These quickly sold at her gigs, so Williams set up her own record label, Caw Records, to release her music. However, after her second album, Little Black Numbers, was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, the increased popularity of her music forced her to sign a licensing deal with Eastwest Records. Little Black Numbers reached number 70 in the album charts in 2001. The follow-up, Old Low Light reached number 56 in 2002.

Her influences include Nina Simone, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Simon And Garfunkel and Velvet Underground. She listens to classical and Cuban music, as well as artists such as PJ Harvey and Nick Cave, though she says she will always go back to the influences she grew up with, as a security blanket. She has sung on the new Badmarsh & Shri album and worked with Twisted Nerve artist Pedro.

She has a reputation as a warm, engaging and powerful live performer, whose confident stage presence belies the fragile persona which characterises much of her recorded work. In 2006, she was a special guest on Tom McRae's Hotel Cafe Tour. Following this, Kathryn Williams completed a hugely successful tour with Tobias Froberg as support, to promote her current album 'Leave to Remain.'

The next single from the acclaimed 'Leave to Remain' album is called 'When' and features the artist appearing in a CGI-produced music video. The release date for this single is to be confirmed. Williams is currently recording her next studio album with Neill McColl.

Discography

Albums

• Dog Leap Stairs (1999)
• Little Black Numbers (2000)
• Old Low Light (2002)
• Relations (2004)
• Over Fly Over (2005)
• Leave to Remain (2006)

Singles

• "The Fade EP"
• "Soul to Feet"
• "Jasmine Hoop"
• "No One Takes You Home"
• "In a Broken Dream"
• "Shop Window"
• "Beachy Head"
• "Hollow"

B-sides

• "The Fade EP" – "Kiss the Forehead", "Some Kind of Wonderful"
• "Jasmine Hoop" – "Foreign Skies"
• "No One Takes You Home" – "Without Beat of Drum"

Misc

• "Night Baking"; on the charity album Colours Are Brighter - October 2006
• "Words from the Garden"; Words from the Garden is a poets in residence involving Kathryn Williams, Nev Clay, Emma McGordon and Anna Woodford. This CD is a selection of their writings from The Alnwick Garden over the winter of 2006/07, set in a soundscape by Caroline Beck with music by Kathryn Williams and Nev Clay.

External links

• Official website
• Official Forum
• Kathryn Williams on MySpace
• A fansite