Photo Credit: Strummer Jasson

Getting in tune with nature, looking for understanding in this wild world, and so much more was on the table when we got a chance to chat with Cat Clyde. That includes Cat’s 2023 release, ‘Down Rounder,’ which drops on February 17th. 

Kendra: You have this look that reminds me of my summers at Warped Tour but a sound that takes me back to when I fell in love with the likes of Sheryl Crow and Paula Cole as a kid. With that, I’m interested in what artist, song, or even a whole album made you want to be more than a fan of music, but be someone who made music?

Cat Clyde: The first time I heard Lead Belly it really changed my life. I heard a version of “Where Did You Sleep Last Night” by Nirvana on YouTube around the age of 13. I loved the song and wanted to know who had written it and then ended up finding the original version. It just moved me so deeply. I felt as though I could feel all the colours of emotions that he was expressing and felt so in awe of that fact that something captured so long ago could continue to translate such deep and complex feelings so simply inside of a song. I felt recognized in that moment and I wanted to share my deepest feelings in that same way, to last forever and move someone just like me in the far away future long after I was gone.

Kendra: So it’s been a minute since you dropped an LP. How do you think the time in between ‘Hunters Trance’ and ‘Down Rounder’ and all that transpired in our world since 2019 has impacted your artistry?

Cat Clyde: When I look back, so much has changed. I’ve grown so much and learned to be so much more in tune with myself and what I need to keep the flow in my life. I’ve deepened my relationship with myself, my art, music, and cultivated meaningful relationships with other artists, and people. I am always still learning and everything is always changing and I look forward to each moment I exist in this strange world.

Kendra: There is a lot that went into ‘Down Rounder’ but I like the aspect of connecting with nature. Is there anywhere outside of your home in nature that you find the most musically inspiring? If so, did you write any of the record there?

Cat Clyde: When I wrote this record I was living in rural Quebec and was surrounded by a maple forest, the St. Lawrence river, ponds, creeks, and country roads. There were spots I would frequent like the chicken coop, the river, some certain trees – but I think more than anything to see so clearly the consistent and small changes that would happen every day that would turn the wheel of the seasons was most inspiring. How in springtime I could hear the ferns at night crawling up the dry winter undergrowth under the spring moon, the geese flocking, making nests, and raising their young. The summer storms, waves crashing and the river freezing over sparkling afternoon snow, and cozy silent winter evenings. It was like a never-ending song playing and I didn’t want to miss a single verse.

Kendra: With “Mystic Light” you sing, “Please help me understand,” and while the line is simple on paper, there’s such a weight to it because it seems like we’re all just trying to understand everything from the mundane everyday things to the cosmos. For you, if you could be granted one wish to understand anything in life – what would it be, or would you want to keep wondering about it because that makes life more interesting?

Cat Clyde: I think if I had to understand something right now – it would really just be a deeper understanding of myself so that I could be more relaxed in the presence of others and make choices in my life without guilt or shame that reflect who I really am and who I want to be.

Kendra: So time for a side note – with love in the air, I’d love to know what is the #1 song you’d put on a mixtape as part of a Valentine’s Day gift?

Cat Clyde: “First Day Of My Life” – Bright Eyes

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Down Rounder’ out on February 17th and a UK tour already set for February and March, is there anything else already in the works for after that?

Cat Clyde: Setting some more tours and shows up currently. I’m really excited for what this year will bring.