Local Talent: Kitty Macfarlane

When not serenading patrons of cosy local venues, Kitty Macfarlane studies English & French at the University of Warwick, and will be jetting off for a year in France during the next academic year. Before she departs for her adventures abroad, The Boar catches up with her to discuss her musical career so far, on campus and beyond.

Boar Music: When did you start getting into music? Was it from a young age?

Kitty Macfarlane: I started to play guitar when I was eleven, while I was at school. Within the first two weeks of lessons, my guitar teacher said to me, “right, we’re going to get you performing!” And so, almost immediately, I found myself up onstage – with a really crappy guitar – for the first time! It was only a very low-key event at the school, but was so fun that it really cemented my desire to be a musician.

BM: Was it long before you were writing your own material?

KM: I started writing quite early on, although that’s not something I want to dwell on, because my original songs were awful! But when I was about fourteen, I wrote the first song which I was actually happy to play in front of anyone.

BM: Your current songs contain strong shades of folk music, in the vein of artists like Laura Marling. Who would you say your musical heroes have been as you’ve developed as a songwriter and performer?

KM: When I was younger, I was literally just playing what I was listening to at the time, so mostly covers of Nora Jones and, um, Dido… I’d say I’m more folk-influenced these days: one of my all-time heroes is Karine Polwart – her lyrics are beautiful.

I really like artists who you can go and watch in an informal way; I’m not a big fan of huge gigs. I prefer feeling much more involved in a performance, rather than being lost in the crowd.

Also, when musicians play on a much smaller scale, they’re often only just skimming the breadline. When I performed alongside Wes Finch this June, he told me that he used to hold down a job during the day, while performing in the evenings. He did that until he reached a point where he was able to earn enough money to get by just on the back of gigging. He’s not chasing huge success, and it’s that attitude which really demonstrates an artist’s musical passion.

BM: A few years ago, you were contacted by BBC Radio 4…

KM: [laughs] Yeah! That was quite funny. This was in 2010, when Sandi Toksvig asked for listeners to send in their specific stories and songs about buses. On the off-chance, I sent her one of my pieces, ‘The Bus Song’, and I got a call from her editor quite a while later. He told me: “we’ve already used it, is that okay? It’s going on Radio 4 next week!”

BM: That must have been a great platform for you.

KM: It was great publicity; a number of people got in touch to ask me where they could buy ‘The Bus Song’, and I had to reply with “unfortunately, it’s not available yet!” But hopefully, once I have some recorded songs, I’ll be able to contact some of these people and they’ll still be interested.

It’s really heartening to hear such advocation for getting out and performing on a Saturday night, rather than staying in and watching The Voice or something…

BM: Moving onto university, how have you found the music scene on campus?

KM: I think it’s really good. Because Warwick campus is quite insular, there are a few venues – like Curiositea and the Dirty Duck – which are willing to promote student musicians. During the first two weeks of university, I got in touch with the people behind Unplucked. I instantly started performing, and they’ve asked me to come back a few times since.

I’ve also just started to realise the potential of the music scene in the wider community. I played in the Grand Union in Leamington a few weeks ago, and off the back of that, I was invited to play at the Wild Boar in Warwick.  I got to meet lots of other great musicians, and everyone was speaking about the benefits of local performance. It was really heartening to hear such advocation for getting out and performing on a Saturday night, rather than, I don’t know, staying in and watching The Voice or something.

BM: And how have you found the university experience regarding songwriting? Is it quite inspiring, or do you find it more of a struggle to devote time to your music?

KM: Recently, I’ve found it quite hard, but I’ve always found myself more inspired in the summertime, if only because I’m always more comfortable when immersed in the great outdoors. I strongly believe that songwriting isn’t something you can force.

I’ve been working on my technique more than writing songs these days, and hopefully living in France for a year will drive me to some different things.

BM: What are you hoping to achieve once you’ve returned from France?

KM: I’ve been thinking about doing a radio show, and I’d really like to record an EP – or an album, if possible! I still need to find something that I’m happy with. I’d also really like to incorporate some additional, subtle elements into my sound, like more guitars, maybe even some strings, and glockenspiel. I love the glockenspiel!

BM: Is there anything you’d like to recommend to budding musicians, both on- and off-campus?

KM: Definitely get performing as quickly as possible. For Warwick students I’d really recommend getting involved in Unplucked, and meeting people through that outlet. I’d also suggest familiarising yourself with the local area. For example, there is a lot to be found in Leamington and Warwick: the Clarendon, Lamp, the Wild Boar…

BM: As a final question, where would you eventually like to be with your music? Is your goal to make a career from it, or to keep it as a passionate hobby?

KM: I think you can do both, but I’m interested in so many different things that I don’t want to limit myself to a single path. I would like to mix everything I’m interested in. Also, after speaking to several musicians, I’ve discovered that you don’t need to be making bucketloads of money, or selling big on iTunes, to be successful. I think it was Ed Sheeran who said that he doesn’t mind illegal downloads, as long as people still come to his gigs, and I do agree with that mentality. It’s all about the live music and meeting people as opposed to making loads of money.

To find out more about Kitty and her music, check out her website.