Canadian metal act Kittie on returning to live performance and recording the new album ‘Fire,’ their first in nearly 15 years, now available via Sumerian Records.
Co-founding sisters Morgan (vocals/guitar) and Mercedes Lander (drums/backing vocals) would go on to release six Kittie studio albums before going on hiatus in 2013.
Recorded with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters, Alice in Chains), Kittie worked at both Raskulinecz’s home studio as well as Sienna Studios in Nashville (once home to sessions during the recording of the 1972 Neil Young opus Harvest, Jimmy Buffett’s 1976 hit “Margaritaville” and more).
Kittie’s do-it-yourself pedigree coupled with their background in both self and independent album release have equipped them with the ability to adapt to a music industry that has shifted drastically in the decade or so during which they pressed pause.
I spoke with Kittie about working with Raskulinecz, recording at Sienna and addressing the world via the new album Fire. A transcript of our conversation, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below.
Jim Ryan: I know you guys have done some self release and independent release along the way. How did those experiences prepare you for coming back with an album now, where I imagine you are taking a little bit more control over things?
Morgan Lander: We’ve always sort of done most things in house I would say. We always sort of had that independent spirit. Sumerian is still an indie label. So, I feel like a lot of it has been business as usual. However, Sumerian Records is very good at promotion. And they have their finger on the pulse of what works these days. Because the music industry has clearly changed and evolved a lot — especially since our last album. I can remember the days of street teams, when you were literally handing out tapes. That shows our age! But, I think, at our core, Kittie still does a lot of stuff in house and makes a lot of these decisions. We work with the label. And only very recently have we acquired a management team. All of the setup for this album was just us gals with Sumerian. So, we were prepared for it, I think. We’ve been preparing for our entire lives.
Tara McLeod: Yeah. The music industry changed so drastically since the last time we released an album. It was 13 years between albums. So, we’ve really relied on Sumerian to offer us some guidance there. We knew how to do an album set up, make a video and release singles, release your album — but the timing is so condensed. And attention spans have obviously shortened. So, they kind of guided us through how to actually execute the release.
Ryan: I was looking at a timeline earlier. Your first album dropped in 1999. Five months later came Napster. And obviously everything would shift pretty quickly from that point on. How important has it become to take a little bit closer look at the business side and be a little more hands on in that way?
Mercedes Lander: Unfortunately, the music business was not proactive about Napster at all — and downloading and things like that. They just weren’t proactive. They kind of ignored it! They ignored it until it became such a big problem. So, I think, for us, we’ve always had a very DIY spirit.
