Musically, it was her captivating anti-bullying single, “Caught In The Crowd,” which along with it’s corresponding video, connection with me. Her tongue-in-cheek “Facebook Song” video slayed me along with millions of others, becoming an instant viral hit and it was all over. I was officially a fan.
Nightflight comes on the heels of her successful 2010/2011 US and European tours opening for Ben Folds as well as her critically acclaimed performances at SXSW, Coachella and Lilith Fair supporting Curiouser (her U.S. debut album). While Miller-Heidke released an album in 2011 under the name Fatty Gets a Stylist (her side project, a collaboration with her husband Keir Nuttall), Nightflight is her first solo album in two years. Already out in her native Australia, the album debuted at #2 on the ARIA charts and was previewed on a sold-out Australian tour following her performance in “The Death of Klinghoffer” for the English National Opera in London. To promote the album stateside, Kate is expected back for a string of live shows beginning early next month, including residencies at LA’s Hotel Cafe and New York’s Rockwood Music Hall (check tour dates BELOW).
Recorded in London and Australia, the new record showcases songs about “real people’s lives,” including family members who have passed, teenagers who went missing in the 90s, friends looking for love in the wrong places, and Kate’s own longing for home. All in all, a real uplifting album! While past efforts have seen Kate immerse herself in “high cabaret drama, polished electro-pop and heart-arresting ballads,” Nightfall shows a different side of the talented 30-year old singer-songwriter, focusing on the craft of “pure human storytelling with clear-eyed clarity.”
Produced by collaborator/husband Keir Nuttall and esteemed Australian producer Lindsay Gravina (The Living End, Magic Dirt), with mixing done by Cenzo Townshend (Florence + The Machine, Kaiser Chiefs) the album features eleven “sonically lush and emotionally stark” songs that are both personal yet widely appealing. According to Kate,
“Everything I’ve ever done has been a reaction against the previous thing. Nightflight is definitely a more vulnerable and exposed record than anything I’ve done before. If Curiouser was a playful, dysfunctional adolescent, Nightflight is more like a damaged, melancholy person in her late 20s. With Nightflight, we wanted something darker and more organic, more beautiful and more expansive.”
Check out the NSFW video for first single, “I’ll Change Your Mind” BELOW to see Kate all stalkerish creeping after an ex boyfriend. It’s like the video for Vanessa Carlton‘s “Pretty Baby“, only a bit more violent and bloody in the end. Kate’s also released a little “Behind The Scenes” video where we get some insight into the making of the new album.
Tour Dates:
JUNE 5TH – LOS ANGELES, CA – HOTEL CAFÉ
JUNE 7TH – PIONEERTOWN, CA – PAPPY & HARRIETS
JUNE 11TH – SAN DIEGO, CA – SODA BAR
JUNE 12TH – LOS ANGELES, CA – HOTEL CAFÉ
JUNE 16TH – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – LIVE PERFORMANCE AT APPLE STORE (3PM)
JUNE 17TH – SAN FRANCISCO, CA – CAFÉ DU NORD
JUNE 19TH – LOS ANGELES, CA – HOTEL CAFÉ
JUNE 25TH – CHICAGO, IL – SCHUBAS
JULY 3RD – NEW YORK, NY – ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL
JULY 10TH – NEW YORK, NY – ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL
JULY 13TH – BOSTON, MA – TT THE BEARS
JULY 15TH – PHILADELPHIA, PA – WORLD CAFÉ LIVE
JULY 17TH – NEW YORK, NY – ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL
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