Carnival of Soul

A couple of years ago, the singer and upright bassist Kate Davis established herself in the genre of jazz pop. Having cut her teeth in the Portland Youth Orchestra and the Grammy Jazz Ensemble, the musician had accomplished much while only in her early 20s: being named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts Awards winner, and making appearances at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Most notably in 2014, Davis performed a viral jazzy cover of Meghan Trainor’s “All About That Bass” (reworked as “All About That (Upright) Bass”).

But that early success also somewhat pigeonholed her as a budding interpreter of the American Songbook. “I didn’t feel like that was who I was,” the New York City-based artist recalls now, “and I had been groomed into this character and was playing that part. It was hard to stop doing it. I think you kind of become numb to it and you’re like, ‘Well, this is my life now. This is my job.’ And then you kind of go back to the things you love in private and you listen, and you remind yourself why you love music.”

And this is where Davis’ debut album Trophy comes in, as it marks such a dramatic departure from the music she made in her early years–it’s intimate and melancholic indie rock similar to the sounds of such artists as Sharon Van Etten and Lucy Dacus. Recorded in Brooklyn, Davis’ new album is the result of the last few years she spent honing her own sound and live performances. “This is kind of the first time that I’m able to put out a record that feels really truthful,” she says of Trophy, which was recently released, “just a really good representation of where I’m at.”

Featuring Davis’ eloquent voice, this record carries a personal backstory: her father passed away five years ago (it inspired the driving track “Daisy”). “A large part of this record was writing about loss. So that was something that was on my mind, and something that I really wanted to explore, using writing as a kind of cathartic way to get to the bottom of my emotions and my grief.”

Davis’ own personal and intricate lyrics seem worlds away from the American Songbook material she once interpreted. The first single released from the album, the tense yet dynamic-sounding “rbbts” (pronounced ‘rabbits’), evokes that sense of impermanence, as indicated by the song’s very first line: “Nothing lasts forever.” The title of the track is a reference to a now-defunct eatery in the New York City neighborhood of SoHo, but its meaning is more than just food. “It was it was a place that I went to a lot. A lot of personal memories and experiences, kind of in a complicated relationship with a person spent there in that neighborhood. And so it felt like a way to mark that time in my life and that space.”

Other subject matters tackled on Trophy include life’s trials and tribulations, such as the complexities relationships as told in the track the poppy and anthemic “Open Heart,” might seem at first glance seem about a medical procedure that feels cold and clinical. But it is also as a metaphor about her relationship with someone that ended. “This guy was a sweet dude but a hypochondriac. And I think that part of my relationship with him was influenced by the number of times that health was discussed, like ‘I’m dying’ or something terrible is happening. It’s like a smart-ass response: ‘You’re not dying, but keep an open mind and heart for all of your future relationships.’ I think it’s an important message for everybody to think about.”

Hailing from Portland, Oregon, Davis was introduced to music at an early age first with the violin at five years old, and then later the standup bass at 13. She later attended the Manhattan School of Music in New York City on a scholarship. “I got to study classical music as a kid basically through high school, which I think was really important and has made a lasting impact on the way I think about music and the way I write, even though it would seem like those two things are worlds away. And getting to study jazz music in college was a great way to think about writing.”

And yet amid all of that aforementioned early success that was showered on her as a sort of prodigy, Davis felt something was missing. In addition to jazz and classical, her musical sensibilities were also being informed by indie rock artists such as Beach House and TV on the Radio. “Playing jazz and upright bass was always something that I enjoyed technically,” she explains, “but didn’t find a lot of artistic or emotional resonance within, just playing old songs. So I started writing when I was in college in a frustrated place. I realized that I had a voice of my own. It was always in the back of my mind to somehow find a way to transition.”

As she was finding her own footing as a singer-songwriter, Davis collaborated with another New York City-based indie rock musician named Sharon Van Etten. Together they co-wrote the powerful and intense rocker “Seventeen” for Van Etten’s most-recent record Remind Me Tomorrow. Her friendship with Van Etten started when Davis’ then-manager brokered a meeting between the two musicians. “She was so warm and open and generous with her time,” Davis says of Van Etten. “She was just so amazing. At that time she was starting to write with other people and she was like, ‘Hey, why don’t we try this?’ For me, that was like a total dream come true, having listened to her music for at least five years beforehand and feeling like she was one of the people that I looked up to as far as her writing, style and career.”

Now with her own album under her belt, Davis will touring both the States and parts of Europe. She is looking forward to what’s next in her career. “I’ve been really fortunate in my life,” she says. “I don’t have any regrets about the order in which things have occurred. Being able to finally like put something out and stand behind it and say like, ‘Okay, I’ve come a long way.’ There’s no one else pulling the puppet strings. This is all me now. As a creative person, that’s a really important thing to arrive at.”