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Hi Kathryn, welcome to VENTS! How have you been?
In spite of all that is going on, I am doing well. Thank you for having me!
· Can you talk to us more about your new single “Friends (Don’t Wanna Be)”?
“Friends (Don’t Wanna Be)” is about the realization that people who put you down and make you feel small, don’t deserve to be in your life. It is also a celebration of the act of reclaiming the power and sense of self-worth that we can lose in an unhealthy relationship.
· Did any event in particular inspire you to write this song?
The song started as one of those ideas that just poured out of me and “wrote itself”. It wasn’t until I brought it to my frequent collaborators, songwriting and production duo Joshua Bartholomew and Lisa Harriton (collectively JoLi), that I realized the story came so naturally because I was telling the story of that unhealthy relationship I had to force myself to end a couple of months prior.
· Any plans to release any sort of video for the track?
Yes! We are working on that now. We wanted to focus on the emotional journey that I/the narrator in the song experienced instead of the undesired friend, in the hopes that it will encourage my audience members to evaluate their own relationships and only put energy into those that build them up.
· How was the recording and writing process?
We paid great attention to finding the right balance of intimate/vulnerable and strong/empowered when writing the lyrics in order to capture the warring emotions that can surface when you have to say goodbye to someone you care about because they aren’t capable of caring for you. Capturing that balance vocally created an added challenge.
· How has the whole quarantine influenced your approach to writing?
There have been pros and cons to our new normal. It has been a challenge to do writing sessions on Zoom (dealing with sound lag, having to engineer my own vocals, constantly uploading and downloading large files just to share ideas) and I miss being in the same room as my collaborators. On the other hand, I have been able to work with some great new collaborators whose schedules have changed. Before quarantine, sessions were deferred until all parties could be in same city. Now, collaborating remotely feels very routine.
· Did you write this song with the whole live stream performance in mind? In that case, was the approach to writing any different?
I don’t usually write songs for specific performances, and this song was created before quarantine. That said, the songs performed in the High School Nation live stream were chosen with that audience in mind. Likewise, knowing that we would be doing a live stream performance for HSN led to the decision to have “Friends (Don’t Wanna Be)” being the lead single.
· With a large audience in Latin America – how does this influence your music? Do you try to appeal that audience by bringing some of the Latin culture sensibilities?
I always try to write music in a way that I hope will be universally relatable and empowering to people of all cultures. That said, I recently wrote a song with Troy Samuela and Maize (both of Greg Kurstin’s No Expectations) that plays with rhythms and production elements that are popular in Latin music, as a thank you to my Latin American fans, particularly those in Brazil, for all of their support.
· Does the new single mean we can expect new material – how’s that coming along?
I have been sitting on a number of unreleased songs and have continued writing and recording new music, so you can definitely expect more material to come out soon.
· Any tentative release date or title in mind?
The next single will be “Exhale”, which is set to be released this summer. Given the mental health challenges caused and exacerbated by quarantine, “Exhale” feels particularly relevant right now.
· Tell us about your new docuseries Chart Breakers. What has been the most fun part about filming it? Was it easy for you to open up about the process of creating a song?
We are very excited about Chart Breakers and hope it will give music lovers a sneak peek into a process that is truly fascinating. People always say there is no formula for writing a hit song, but then you work with someone like Sandy Vee (who co-wrote and produced Katy Perry’s “Firework”, Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World”, and many more) and discover that maybe there is! The experience has been a lot like seeing a great magic show and then having the magician show you how all the “tricks” were accomplished.
I was a bit nervous to record the songwriting process given how vulnerable you have to allow yourself to be to share ideas. Then I had the first session with Sandy and found him and his understanding of creating a hit so fascinating that I wanted to record the process, if only so that I wouldn’t miss anything he said. The nerves went away.
· Any plans to hit the road?
I barely have plans to leave the house! Like with other artists refraining from touring, the health and safety of my fans is very important to me. While I absolutely can’t wait to be back performing for a live audience, I just have to be patient. I‘ll continue engaging with my audience remotely in the meantime.
· What else is happening next in Kathryn Dean’s world?
I’m currently working on a COVID parody with Chris Mann that we’re both excited about. We all need a bit of humor right now and I think this will hit that spot.
