The Kate Young String Quintet comes to Worthing Pavilion

Q&A With Kate Young

How are you feeling about your upcoming show in Worthing?

Super excited – this will be the first gig on our album launch tour!

The concert tour is to preview your new album Umbelliferæ. Tell us about the album and what audiences can expect from the live show.

We are at long last releasing the album Umbelliferæ, which is the genus (family) name of the kind of plants that spread their seeds in the wind, with umbrella-like arial parts. The songs are largely inspired by ancient plantlore and traditional uses of wild herbs in medicine from the British Isles. Song leads the chamber-folk style string quintet. The band hails from Slovenia, Austria, France and Scotland, bringing forward many influences of playing styles from their respective traditions.

“A sonically entrancing live act, Kate Young (& string quintet) encompasses folk, world and classical elements.”

The songs in Umbelliferæ are all connected by the theme of British nature and herbology. What inspired you to create an album based on this subject?

Some years ago I was studying a course in Herbalism. I was inspired by the many different names of plants in Latin, and the folklore stories surrounding each plant. Often a plant’s colloquial name will be different depending on what region it is found in in the country. As I learned more, I got deeper into the character of each plant and their medicinal uses. I noticed some relationship between the way a herbalist works [and composing]. Usually one is well versed on the properties of a herb, while some intuition is used. Similar to how it works in music. We are often moving towards creating a ‘sonic shape’, as I like to think of it. In a more or less intuitive way, following a sound that feels inspiring.

Your music and soundscapes evoke visions of both nature and the supernatural, it is otherworldly yet maintains familiar folk sounds. Tell us about the process of finding your unique musical voice.

I suppose I’ve always been drawn to explore the boundaries of whatever genre I currently sit in. And for me that has been folk music for a long time. This album however, reaches towards other sonic worlds such as Classical moments, and Indie-inspired lead vocals. In my musical process, while I have played instruments for many years, I find it helpful to try to compose on instruments that I don’t know well, or don’t normally use. This helps to discover new patterns that I would otherwise find more uncomfortable, or harder to find, on another instrument. For me, I love building layers with the string quintet – it's something I really fell in love with composing for. Yet, I like to maintain the song and its verses at the heart of the arrangement. It serves as a sort of ‘anchor’. Otherwise I feel it could become lost in a void of endless possibilities of ideas.

What inspires you to seek out and incorporate different types of traditional music in your compositional work?

This band was formed in Slovenia some years ago, in something called Ethno. It’s a World music camp, which happens independently in different countries around the world. Lots of musicians meet and teach each other songs and tunes from their traditions. It's really a magical and special thing, I first attended back in 2008. Slowly, over the years some of us started to play together. It's special that we already have many shared musical experiences. We know how each other plays, and look for space to let each other shine. For example, you will hear some moments where Claudia Schwab does some Austrian yodelling! This love of World traditions has always been in the background of everything that I compose for a long time.

Tell us about the other musicians you have collaborated with for this piece.

Claudia Schwab is a fantastic Austrian fiddler and singler/yodeller. Originally hailing from near Gratz, however she has lived in Sligo, Ireland for many years. She has adopted much of Irish traditional playing in her style as well. She also has a fantastic solo project of her own you should check out!

Toby Kuhn is a phenomenal musician – playing cello, hailing from France. He is known for his unique playing style and lives somewhat of a nomadic lifestyle. He hops between project and project across the globe.

Barja Drnovšek hails from Ljubljana and predominantly plays violin in Balkan and Transylvanian styles. Her work is centred around a rich, vibrant music scene where she teaches a lot of young fiddle players. She introduces them to many playing styles from many places.

How do you prepare for performances?

Usually there are some logistics to think about at first, since most of the band are coming from different countries. But once we are together it is an exciting moment. We will usually eat a nice meal together and then rehearse the day before the tour starts. There is often a lot of jamming and yodelling going on as we get to share tunes and songs we’ve learned over the years in the Ethno camp in Slovenia!

What do you think are the main challenges that young musicians face today?

Being an independent musician these days has its challenges as it is far more common to be self-managed, and self-releasing. Of course finding the financial support is a huge obstacle to overcome to mitigate the process of recording and touring. Therefore applying for funding is something that can take up a large portion of one’s time. Also, learning how to navigate the digital distribution platforms when releasing music. And of course, an online social media presence is important if we are to try and grow an audience for ourselves and have a sustainable career in music. It is definitely challenging, however I have found support through the Help Musicians mentoring network. I would recommend applying for this to any musicians at any stage in their career who are seeking advice.

Summarise the show in 3 words.

Otherworldly, vibrant, earthy.

What do you hope audiences will take away from this show?

A sense of connection to the natural world, and to the joyful and mystical world of sound!

The Kate Young String Quintet will be in Worthing for one night only, Tuesday 24th September. It promises to be an immersive show of moving melodies and tranquil songs about the wonders of British nature and Herbology.