Harkin: ‘I knew that when I did solo stuff I wanted it to be without compromise’

Leeds-born Katie Harkin’s first solo album is released today through her new record label. She spoke to Duncan Seaman.
HarkinHarkin
Harkin

The path to Katie Harkin’s first solo album has been long and circuitous but, six years after her band Sky Larkin bowed out, it is finally due to be released today.

In between there have been plenty of diversions. A spell as touring guitarist in one of her favourite American rock bands, Sleater-Kinney, was followed by similar work with Waxahatchee, Bright Light Bright Light and Kurt Vile and Courtney Barnett.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There were TV appearances with Sir Elton John and Dua Lipa, and collaborations with Turner Prize winner Helen Marten and the comedian Josie Long.

Fitting in a record of her own was always going to take time.

“My ambition for a long time has been to play music every day,” says the 34-year-old. “It’s a very simple and huge ambition to have. I knew that when I did solo stuff I wanted it to be without compromise. So when I was working on it I waited until something emerged that had its own personality before I shared it with anyone.

“Those incredible opportunities that I’ve had to play with other people were not things I planned for either, so I just rolled with it.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Temporarily joining Sleater-Kinney was a particular highlight, as Leeds-born Harkin was a longtime fan of the band, who were one of the prime movers in the riot grrrl movement of the 1990s. “I went to see them when I was a teenager so the novelty is never going to be lost on me,” she says. “It was really unimaginable in the best way possible.”

However it was an opportunity to tour with the US indie singer-songwriter Torres that motivated her to start writing in earnest. “I was playing Primavera festival in Spain with Sleater-Kinney and I said to her, ‘Oh yeah, I do solo stuff too’, although at the time I had about two songs. She said, ‘I have this European tour coming up’ and she offered me the opening slot on it so I had to go home and write half an hour’s worth of material.” For a while she wrote covertly, not wanting others to hear what she was working on. “It was more for myself to figure out what I wanted to do. I feel I could have made ten records that weren’t right but was the first time doing something that I completely dedicated myself to every element of it, so I didn’t see any reason to compromise.”

Although Harkin began composing in the Peak District, where she was then living, many of the songs on the album took shape on the road. She says the contrast between rural and urban settings influenced her writing.

“I think they both inspired me in different ways. The cities are thrilling and full of human ambition, and then being in nature I find it thrilling to be somewhere that’s untameable and wild. There is a kind of wildness in both settings and it felt natural for me to switch between the two.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She recognises in herself “an introvert-extrovert balance” between being a writer and a performer who craves different environments.

“I’ve been lucky enough that it’s informed my life for so long since I was a teenager. My life for a number of years now has consisted of touring and then hermitude of some kind. Part of the question in a post-Covid 19 world will be whether musicians will be travelling in the same way as they were before. Previously when I travelled an awful lot I definitely craved the space of the countryside, but it’s another part of retooling our expectations and responding to this crisis in the most appropriate way. Maybe I’ll feel differently after I haven’t been on tour for a while.”

Having been “taught by some of the most wonderful musicians” in recent years, she feels she gained a “certain amount of muscle memory” from them.

“At no point did I sit down with anything conscious, but it was the most wonderful set of teachers to have had. So much of touring is just a knowledge exchange. When a band is very successful they’re under pressure to not deviate from that one role that they have in that one band, and just to keep making that one brand of product, whereas being able to freely collaborate with a lot of people I think it opened me up to experiences to learn and be inspired in ways that within the traditional music system people are not necessarily prioritising.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Harkin is releasing her new album on Hand Mirror, a company she has set up with her partner, Kate Leah Hewett, a poet and live arts organiser.

They see it as more than a record label, with plans for literary publications and live events in the UK and US. “We have both enjoyed being part of a creative community for a 
long time and it feels like the right time to be using the experiences we’ve had and offer that to other people. Starting Hand Mirror was so that it would all be under one umbrella. This is dedicating ourselves to a lifelong commitment people can check in.”

Harkin is released today. www.handmirror.online

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.