Easy Tiger, the debut solo album by singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer, Kitty Liv, who is one third of the acclaimed family band, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, almost didn’t see the light of day.
The songs were originally intended to be for her ears only, but after a few drinks at a dinner party, she played some of the tracks to her older brother, producer and analogue guru, Lewis Durham, who said she had to do something with them.
God bless the power of alcohol, because it would’ve been such a shame if these songs had remained as private demos on Liv’s laptop, because Easy Tiger is one of the freshest and strongest debuts of the year, with a wide range of influences, from rock ‘n’ roll, soul, blues and gospel, to contemporary pop, hip-hop and the ’90s R ‘n’ B of Erykah Badu and D’Angelo.
Written and recorded over a five-year period, and co-produced by Liv and Durham, it’s a very personal and autobiographical record that documents the highs and lows of her first major relationship, which ended in a breakup.
She’s in a much better place now, she tells Say it With Garage Flowers, as we sit down to talk to her at the piano in Durham Sound Studios, the family’s analogue HQ in North London’s Kentish Town, which is where the record was made.
“I didn’t set out to make an album, but, in a way, it turned into a kind of concept record,” she explains. “Fast forward to now and all of that is very much in the past, but the songs remain very much what they are…”
Q&A
Let’s talk about how the new album came about – you’d taken a break from playing with Kitty, Daisy & Lewis…
Kitty Liv: I think the last tour we did was in 2018, in Germany – Daisy was about eight months pregnant, maybe more, which was pretty incredible. When she had her second daughter, we took a break from gigging, and I found I had a bit more time on my hands.
I’d been covertly writing some stuff, but I didn’t let anyone know about it – it wasn’t anything that I intended to show to anyone. I’d come home, sit down and muck around… (she plays some random notes on the piano we are sat at.)
So, do you write on piano and guitar?
KL: Mainly guitar, but for this record, I did write a couple of tunes on piano, which I hadn’t done much of before. I’m not really a piano player – it’s not my strong point, but I love it. There’s stuff you can do on a piano that you can’t do on a guitar, and I like messing around and figuring out chords. My naivety on the piano probably led to me writing some of that stuff, which is quite cool.
Nothing On My Mind (But You Babe), from the new album, was written on piano, wasn’t it?
KL: It was [she plays a snatch of it on the piano].
The rhythm was inspired by listening to funky hip-hop…
KL: Yeah there was a bit of that.
You recorded demos on your laptop, didn’t you?
KL: Yeah – I’d come down here and I’d lay down a drum beat and piece some stuff together. They were songs that I didn’t really think were right for KDL – the family band. I made the demos, and I enjoyed listening to them, but I didn’t intend to play them to anyone. A little while after that, we were having a dinner party, and I ended up playing them to Lewis – we’d had a few drinks…
I think the album will surprise people who know Kitty, Daisy & Lewis – there’s a wide range of styles and influences on it…
KL: Yeah – it’s a big mishmash of stuff that I enjoy playing.
People know Kitty, Daisy & Lewis for traditional music: blues, ‘rock ‘n’ roll, rhythm and blues, ska and soul, but on this album you’ve also embraced ‘90s R ‘n’ B, like Erykah Badu and D’Angelo, as well as gospel…
KL: The songs just fell out of me and they all have that R ‘n’ B / soul thread.
And there’s a hip-hop influence too…
KL: I was listening to a lot of it at the time and obviously that came out. When you’re influenced by something in the moment, it comes out, and then you move on to something that, but you don’t forget about it – you bank it… Everything I’ve ever written has been an accumulation of things I’ve picked up as I’ve grown up – I grew up with a lot of blues and jazz…
Was Neck On The Line the track that started off your batch of songwriting for what would become the album?
KL: Yeah. I started off writing an upbeat rock ‘n’ roll tune and I was also listening to D’Angelo at the time – the two genres started to merge and that song was the result of it.
‘I didn’t set out to make an album, but, in a way, it turned into a kind of concept record’
The album sees you wearing your heart on your sleeve – it was written throughout the course and the breakup of your first major relationship, and a lot of the songs deal with that. It almost feels like a concept album…
KL: Yeah – I didn’t set out to make an album, but, in a way, it turned into a kind of concept record.
Fast forward to now and all of that is very much in the past, but the songs remain very much what they are…
Was making the record cathartic?
KL: Yeah – I made it during the period I was with that person, and writing the songs was a way of me getting my shit out without having to go and speak to people.
Being a musician, you can do that – it’s cheaper than going to a therapist…
KL: Exactly. When we made the record, we went back and re-did quite a lot of stuff, because I felt that with the early versions the songs hadn’t quite found their feet.
I went out on a long tour with Beans On Toast and played a lot – Lewis and I produced an album for him in 2019, I think it was…
We did a run of shows with him, and a few years later he got The Mystery Jets to produce one of his albums – he said he had Jack [Flanagan], who was the bass player in The Mystery Jets, in the band, and did I want to come and play bass? Jack was playing guitar…
The only condition was that Beans On Toast wanted me to support him as well – I’d never done that before, so I was like, ‘Oh my God…’ but it seemed silly to pass up the opportunity, and it would definitely push me out of my comfort zone, and I could sing these songs in-front of people… So, I was grateful to him for asking me to do that – it made me learn the songs, and I went back to the studio and re-recorded them.
The song The River That Flows, which is on the album, originally came out on an EP in 2021, but it’s a much more stripped-down version…
KL: Yeah – when we were going out on tour, after a gig, people would say, ‘Where can I hear your music?’ but I didn’t have anything. I wanted a CD to give people, so I quickly recorded something before we went out on tour. I’d written that song just before we recorded it – it was new and fresh.
The River That Flows deals with depression and trying to move forward and carry on with your life. On the album it has a classic ’60s soul feel – Atlantic or Stax – with a lilting melody and strings…
KL: Oh, great – it’s interesting because it’s probably the song that’s a bit different from the rest in terms of the genres. It’s more where I came from… my background… that one and Keep Your Head Up High. Those are the two songs about lifting yourself up and realising that somebody else isn’t responsible for you and the way that you feel – you’re responsible for that. It was a realisation of that.
And then you need to go and see The Doctor… That’s a song about relationship difficulties and it uses a metaphor – it’s about avoiding your problems…
KL: Yeah – ‘the doctor’ is very much a metaphor for many things – at the time, my partner’s dad was a GP, so that was one element – it was a bit of a cheeky joke… You can also interpret it as being about a therapist… I think that song has many meanings… It’s for the listener to make their own mind up – there are more literal songs on the record.
So, playing on the album you’ve got the Royal Organ Duo (Adrian Meehan – drums and Rich Milner – organ and keyboards) and Lewis on bass…
KL: Yeah – the four of us played live in here, and I played guitar… I rewrote some of the basslines and I played bass on half the record. A few of the songs are Moog-based, which is an important part of the album…
There’s a fat synth sound on some tracks. Did you play that?
KL: Yeah – because we got the initial takes of us playing live… There was a time when I thought I could play the drums to a click and layer it up there from there, but I didn’t really want to do that – it was a bit boring, and I wanted to enjoy what I was doing while I was doing it. It was a lot more fun.
Ade and Rich are good friends of mine, and they were into the music – they were like, ‘Yeah – let’s do it! Let’s make this record…’ I’m really grateful to them. After I did the Beans On Toast thing, Jack and I got together and he started playing drums…
I saw him playing with you at the Lexington in London earlier this year…
KL: Yeah – that was the first tour he did. We did a few dates in Germany, and London was the last one – that tour was amazing. I didn’t know how it would go down. A lot of the people were KDL fans – we have our biggest following in Germany – but I hadn’t put much music out… Was anyone going to show up? But it was brilliant.
The Sun and The Rain deals with the ups and downs of a relationship. Did you write the verse as a rap? Was it an outpouring of your subconscious?
KL: Yeah – I think it’s when your brain is a bit scatty and you’re contradicting yourself the whole time: ‘This happened, that happened, but at the end of the day it’s alright…’
I was having a conversation with myself and I had to organise all my thoughts and make them into a rhyming thing. It sort of fell out of me as a rap.
There’s a key change and in the bridge it becomes a gospel song, with organ. It’s like two songs melded into one…
KL: For me, the bridge is a ray of hope – an enlightening moment…
And there’s some fat and squelchy Moog synth on the track…
KL: Yeah – all of that was an absolute joy to put on afterwards once we’d done the initial take. I’m really happy with the way that particular recording turned out.
Sweet Dreams, which was the first single and opens the album, has a funky, smooth soul groove. It’s quite a sultry and low-key way to start the record…
KL: I think the original track listing started with Keep Your Head Up High but I wanted to end on that…
It works well, because it’s a positive song. If you’d ended with the penultimate track, Passing You By, instead, which is a very personal song and quite sad, that could’ve been a bit of a downer…
KL: Chronologically, that would’ve made sense, ‘cos it’s the last song I wrote and it sums it up, but I think ending the record with Keep Your Head Up High was a good move.
Passing You By is a sad song – it’s written from the point of view of you walking past the flat where you and your ex used to live, but he’s now living there with another woman – but it has a charm about it. It’s not as angry or as dark as it could be…
KL: It’s playful.
It was written on a Spanish guitar that you also used on the recording, wasn’t it?
KL: Yeah – it was recorded in one take. That was the only song when I did the vocals while I was playing the guitar. We didn’t really even have to mix it, as it was just two instruments, and then we got the string players in.
‘Lewis was good at giving me direction – ‘You’ve got to get the feeling out there – you’ve got to fucking sing these lyrics and get the story across”
With the rest of the songs, we recorded the band and then did all the embellishments and overdubs, and then when it was time to do the vocals, I struggled to do some of them because I wasn’t in that place I was when I wrote the songs – you’ve got to gear yourself up to get back in that headspace and try and capture a performance. It was a transition period of getting over it.
I’d do a take and it would sound nice and be in tune, but Lewis would say, ‘It’s functional, but it hasn’t got the vibe – that one has…’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, but it’s a bit pitchy….’ And he’d say, ‘I don’t care….’
Lewis was good at giving me direction – ‘You’ve got to get the feeling out there – you’ve got to fucking sing these lyrics and get the story across.’ He kept reminding me of that.
Keep Your Head Up High is a positive song. Did you write it for yourself as a mantra?
KL: Yeah. It’s interesting because people come up to me after my gigs and say, ‘Oh, fucking hell – that song really spoke to me. I needed to hear that,’ which is really touching.
The harmonica playing, which you’re known for, is at the fore on that track…
KL: That’s kind of the reason I wanted to end the record with it – it’s me signing off, and saying: ‘Its going to be alright – whatever shit you’ve had to endure, this is it…’
Comin’ Up has a laidback soul groove and is about going out a lot in your early twenties – the vocals have a hungover feel. It has a ‘coming down on a Sunday morning’ vibe..
KL: Yeah – it’s definitely a comedown song, but still very floaty…
Lately was partly inspired by a riff from Al Green’s Love and Happiness…
KL: Definitely. It’s one of those songs that gets everyone going, whether you know what it is or not. I feel like a lot of young people would know the song but they wouldn’t know who it is – they’d just recognise it and say, ‘Oh, that’s one of those funky soul songs…’ It starts off with that riff and then the rhythm carries it on. It has a really long outro where he’s ad-libbing over the top, and then the horns come in… I’ve always loved that song.
You wrote Lately about having a sleepless night on the sofa while your boyfriend at the time was sleeping soundly in the room next door…
KL: Yeah – he came in in the morning, heard me writing it and said, ‘It’s not about me, is it?’ I was like: ‘Definitely not – it’s fictional….’ (laughs).
‘The album feels like a huge deal. All of a sudden it was: ‘Fuck! We’re making a go of it, we’re doing a solo record…’
The verses have an edge to them, but the chorus, with strings, is sweeter – there’s light and darkness in the song…
KL: Definitely – that’s a good way of putting it. It’s frustration and anger – ‘for fuck’s sake, c’mon!’ – but the chorus is: ‘I give up – what’s the point?’
Did you get to keep the sofa?
KL: No – I left it there.
So, are you pleased with the record?
KL: I am. It’s a different side to my personality that people weren’t aware of – or maybe I wasn’t aware of. It’s fun to dip your fingers into different pies, try out different things and make different kinds of music. We’re lucky to be able to do that here in the studio – people come in with all kinds of music and we get to work on it with them. That was definitely helpful when we came to make my record – we learnt a few things.
‘The album shows a different side to my personality that people weren’t aware of – or maybe I wasn’t aware of. It’s fun to try out different things’
How does it feel to be getting your first solo album out there?
KL: It feels like a huge deal for me – especially as I didn’t set out to do it. All of a sudden it was: ‘Fuck! We’re making a go of it, we’re doing a solo record…’
One of the interesting things I’ve seen is KDL fans saying, ‘Why has she left the band?’ I don’t know where they’re getting their information from. I don’t want you to listen to it with an agenda – if you like it you like it, and if you don’t, that’s fine.
Do you think it will attract new fans who don’t know Kitty, Daisy & Lewis?
KL: Definitely. I’ve had different people come to the gigs – people who aren’t aware of KDL, which is great. Maybe they’ll discover KDL through it.
The interesting thing about KDL is that we have people from all different walks of life and all ages come to our gigs, which is nice, but, there are certain people, and I think it’s some of the older men, who are like, ‘Why is she doing this and kicked her siblings out?’ All this random stuff.
At first, I thought, ‘That’s a shame that they’ve jumped to conclusions…’ but now it’s actually quite nice that people care that much. I’ve turned it into something positive in my head. When we do put out another KDL album, which there will be, then hopefully they’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Easy Tiger is released on July 26 (Sunday Best). It’s available on Indian Pink or Tiger’s Eye vinyl (both come with a poster) and CD.
To celebrate the album’s release, Kitty Liv will be playing a series of in-stores around the release
- Weds July 31: Rough Trade East (Full Band)
- Thurs August 1 : Banquet, Kingston (Solo)
- Fri August 2: Pie & Vinyl, Portsmouth (Solo)
- Mon August 5: Black Circle, Leighton Buzzard (Solo)
- Tues August 6: Vinyl Tap, Huddersfield (Solo)
- Weds August 7: Jacaranda, Liverpool (Solo or Full Band)
- Thur August 8: Spillers, Cardiff (Solo)
https://linktr.ee/KittyLivInstores
Say It With Garage Flowers 