Katell Keineg
Encyclopedia
Katell Keineg is a Breton-Welsh singer-songwriter
, based in Dublin and New York
.
and raised in Cardiff
, Katell Keineg is the second child and only daughter of Breton poet and playwright Paol Keineg and his then wife, Judith, a Welsh political activist and schoolteacher.
Both parents were active in their nation's respective independence movement, Judith with Plaid Cymru
, Paol with the UDB
. The family moved to Wales where, exposed to Breton and Welsh folk music, Katell beginning singing, mainly in choirs and eisteddfods. Early influences included George Harrison
, Robert Plant
, The Beatles
, The Skids
, and Led Zeppelin
.
She has cited The Song Remains the Same
as influential; she watched it in the same year she began busking in Cardiff, which led to travels around the UK and Ireland
playing at ad hoc gigs and festivals.
After taking a law degree at the London School of Economics
, she lived for a few years in Cardiff and, at age 25, moved to Dublin, having particularly come to enjoy the city and its ambiences. Despite her annual trips to New York City
, Dublin remains her home.
was captured for posterity by Irish TV in the summer of 1992, by which time she had become one of a number of regular performers at the famed, now defunct Sin-é
in lower Manhattan.
Her first release was a seven-inch single called "Hestia" on SOL, an independent label co-owned by musicians Bob Mould
and Nicholas Hill
. She was signed by Elektra
in 1993 and in 1994 her debut album, Ô Seasons Ô Castles was released. It garnered much acclaim, most especially from fellow musicians, the album's compositions demonstrating her keen, moving voice in a subtle range of styles. One of the songs, The Gulf of Araby, was played regularly by Natalie Merchant
at concerts for several years and is featured on her live album "Live in Concert, New York City - June 13th 1999". Merchant also invited Keineg to sing on her debut album, Tigerlily
, on the song Carnival.
in the summer of 1997. However, her second album, Jet, while it sold well among fans, was not well marketed by Elektra. Jet featured a biographical song about bisexual Argentine
surrealist painter Leonor Fini
. In the same year, her friend Jeff Buckley
drowned in the Mississippi River
at age thirty. An interview with Hot Press, meant to publicise her new album, was marked by this tragedy. Katell returned to New York where she sang at a tribute.
Following disappointing sales of Jet and a change of management at Elektra, Keineg endured a number of unhappy years at Elektra during which time she released no new music. Eventually she was able, after intense negotiations, to secure a release from her contract with Elektra and to gain back rights to her first two albums. Katell completed this process a couple of years ago, and after they were out of print for a while, Ô Seasons Ô Castles and Jet are now available again on the Field Recordings label (see www.katellkeineg.com for details). Also as a result of the return of the rights for the albums to Keineg, all of her music is now available on iTunes.
's River Man sung at a Nick Drake Festival at St. Anne's, NYC, Waiting For the Weight of Space and Beautiful Day.
It was followed in 2004 by her third album, High July, released via the independent label Megaphone Music.
A mini tour of North Wales followed, with an appearance on S4C's Wedi Saith evening programme in which she played a cover version of Super Furry Animals' Y Gwyneb Iau.
Katell began recording new songs at Ann Scott's studio in Dublin, and played several times at The Living Room in NYC, culminating in a month-long Friday night residency in February 2007. Katell and Ann are due to tour in Ireland in autumn 2007.
A new album entitled "At the Mermaid Parade" was released in March 2010.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, based in Dublin and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Early life
Born in BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
and raised in Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Katell Keineg is the second child and only daughter of Breton poet and playwright Paol Keineg and his then wife, Judith, a Welsh political activist and schoolteacher.
Both parents were active in their nation's respective independence movement, Judith with Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru
' is a political party in Wales. It advocates the establishment of an independent Welsh state within the European Union. was formed in 1925 and won its first seat in 1966...
, Paol with the UDB
Union Démocratique Bretonne
The Breton Democratic Union is the main autonomist and regionalist party in Brittany and Loire-Atlantique. It advocates devolution for Brittany as well as the promotion of the Breton language and its associated culture....
. The family moved to Wales where, exposed to Breton and Welsh folk music, Katell beginning singing, mainly in choirs and eisteddfods. Early influences included George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...
, Robert Plant
Robert Plant
Robert Anthony Plant, CBE is an English singer and songwriter best known as the vocalist and lyricist of the iconic rock band Led Zeppelin. He has also had a successful solo career...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Skids
The Skids
Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson...
, and Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
.
She has cited The Song Remains the Same
The Song Remains the Same (film)
The Song Remains the Same is a concert film by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. The recording of the film took place during three nights of concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York City, during the band's 1973 concert tour of the United States. The film premiered on 20 October 1976, at...
as influential; she watched it in the same year she began busking in Cardiff, which led to travels around the UK and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
playing at ad hoc gigs and festivals.
After taking a law degree at the London School of Economics
London School of Economics
The London School of Economics and Political Science is a public research university specialised in the social sciences located in London, United Kingdom, and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
, she lived for a few years in Cardiff and, at age 25, moved to Dublin, having particularly come to enjoy the city and its ambiences. Despite her annual trips to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Dublin remains her home.
Ô Seasons Ô Castles
In the early 1990s she began living in New York for a time. A live appearance in Times SquareTimes Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
was captured for posterity by Irish TV in the summer of 1992, by which time she had become one of a number of regular performers at the famed, now defunct Sin-é
Sin-é
Sin-é was the name of a music venue in New York City which helped launch the careers of several noted musicians in the early 1990s.-Original café:...
in lower Manhattan.
Her first release was a seven-inch single called "Hestia" on SOL, an independent label co-owned by musicians Bob Mould
Bob Mould
Robert Arthur "Bob" Mould is an American musician, principally known for his work as guitarist, vocalist and songwriter for alternative rock bands Hüsker Dü in the 1980s and Sugar in the 1990s.-Early life:...
and Nicholas Hill
Nicholas Hill
Nicholas Hill was a native of the Low Countries who came to England in 1519 and took out letters of denization in 1544. In 1546 the first book with his name in the imprint was issued, and between then and 1553 he printed twenty-three books, mostly for other people...
. She was signed by Elektra
Elektra Records
Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
in 1993 and in 1994 her debut album, Ô Seasons Ô Castles was released. It garnered much acclaim, most especially from fellow musicians, the album's compositions demonstrating her keen, moving voice in a subtle range of styles. One of the songs, The Gulf of Araby, was played regularly by Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
at concerts for several years and is featured on her live album "Live in Concert, New York City - June 13th 1999". Merchant also invited Keineg to sing on her debut album, Tigerlily
Tigerlily
Tigerlily is an album written, produced, and performed by Natalie Merchant, released on June 20, 1995 . It is her first solo album after splitting from the 10,000 Maniacs...
, on the song Carnival.
Jet
For the next two years she continued to gig regularly, gaining new fans at events such as Lilith FairLilith Fair
Lilith Fair was a concert tour and travelling music festival, founded by Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, Nettwerk Music Group's Dan Fraser and Terry McBride, and New York talent agent Marty Diamond. It took place during the summers of 1997 to 1999, and was revived in the summer of 2010. It...
in the summer of 1997. However, her second album, Jet, while it sold well among fans, was not well marketed by Elektra. Jet featured a biographical song about bisexual Argentine
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
surrealist painter Leonor Fini
Leonor Fini
Leonor Fini was an Argentine surrealist painter.-Life and work:Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she was raised in Trieste, Italy. She moved to Milan at the age of 17, and then to Paris, in either 1931 or 1932...
. In the same year, her friend Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
drowned in the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
at age thirty. An interview with Hot Press, meant to publicise her new album, was marked by this tragedy. Katell returned to New York where she sang at a tribute.
Following disappointing sales of Jet and a change of management at Elektra, Keineg endured a number of unhappy years at Elektra during which time she released no new music. Eventually she was able, after intense negotiations, to secure a release from her contract with Elektra and to gain back rights to her first two albums. Katell completed this process a couple of years ago, and after they were out of print for a while, Ô Seasons Ô Castles and Jet are now available again on the Field Recordings label (see www.katellkeineg.com for details). Also as a result of the return of the rights for the albums to Keineg, all of her music is now available on iTunes.
From the ... End of Time? to High July
Following a few years out of the public eye, in 2002 Katell released a four-track CD titled What's The Only Thing Worse Than The End of Time? which more than marked a return to form. It consisted of the title track, an exquisite live version of Nick DrakeNick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
's River Man sung at a Nick Drake Festival at St. Anne's, NYC, Waiting For the Weight of Space and Beautiful Day.
It was followed in 2004 by her third album, High July, released via the independent label Megaphone Music.
Current work
In spring 2006, Katell toured the UK with Adrian Crowley and Ann Scott. A high profile interview with Darcy Frey appeared in the New York Times, published July 2, 2006 and this sparked new interest in Katell's music in the USA.A mini tour of North Wales followed, with an appearance on S4C's Wedi Saith evening programme in which she played a cover version of Super Furry Animals' Y Gwyneb Iau.
Katell began recording new songs at Ann Scott's studio in Dublin, and played several times at The Living Room in NYC, culminating in a month-long Friday night residency in February 2007. Katell and Ann are due to tour in Ireland in autumn 2007.
A new album entitled "At the Mermaid Parade" was released in March 2010.
Singles
- "Hestia"
- "Partisan"
- "Franklin"
- "One Hell Of A Life"
- "Smile"
- "What's The Only Thing Worse Than The End Of Time"
- "Shaking The Disease"