Kate Stewart speaks with Lowkey R&B
Kate Stewart hails from West London and is making her mark on R&B with her latest song “The Game.” In her newest release, “The Game” Stewart sings about not giving up on someone even though it might be hard. “Love you, you might hate me, you might feel a way/Ten rounds I got knocked down but I won't lose face,” she sings. The UK native wrote the song with her brother David Stewart and Jessica Agombar. “The Game” follows the songstresses’ previous releases “Hate You” and “Numb.”
Take a look at our interview with Kate below and watch “The Game” music video above:
AH: So let’s start off with your background, where are you from and how did you begin singing?
KS: I am from West London and I began singing when I was able to talk. I grew up in a very musical family, so I’ve always been around it. Both my parents and my brother are in the industry and we are literally like the Von Trapps, there was never a silent moment where one of us wasn't singing or making music. I then went to a stage school when I was 11, and that's when music and drama became my life, and realized it’s all I wanted to do.
AH: Who are some artists you grew up listening to?
KS: I grew up listening to all the divas! Whitney Huston was and still is my all-time favorite singer. Christina Aguilera was my idol growing up as well. I honestly think she taught me how to sing. I would just lock myself in my bedroom and listen to her music, copying all of her ad-libs until I managed to get it right. Stripped was the album that really got me into R&B. I also listened a lot to Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, Diana Ross, and the list goes on!
AH: Did you write “The Game,” if so how was the writing process?
KS: It was a very easy one! I wrote the song with my brother David, and a writer called Jessica Agombar who are both incredible and by far my favorite people to work with. My brother is an amazing producer and songwriter. Since writing and producing “Dynamite” by BTS, he’s of course been extremely busy, so we wrote “The Game” after a while of not writing together. Like always, the process came very easy to us, I don’t think I’ve ever written a song I don’t like with David and Jess. We are so comfortable together and they know exactly what I like. I came to the session with the title, and we took it from there.
AH: How did the production process go for “The Game?”
KS: David just started with the chords, and then it went on from there. He always starts with chords because if we can write an amazing song over a piano, we know it's an amazing song before all the bells and whistles from the rest of the production are added. We knew we wanted it to be big and epic sounding and David is incredible at making atmospheric music that sounds like it could be in a movie. I feel like that's what we did on this song.
AH: The visual for “The Game” was done in black-and-white where you can really focus on the song and the visual elements are not a distraction to the track. Was this done on purpose or did you have a different idea in mind when making the music video?
KS: No, you’ve got it spot on. Whenever I make a song that I really love, I can always picture how I want the video to be in my head and it was no different with this one. When it was done and I heard the song finished, I immediately saw the video in black and white. I saw it to be very simple, almost like a fashion film. I knew I wanted to be wearing a suit, and keep the styling very androgynous. Just like you said, I didn’t want it to be distracting from the song, because the lyrics can be interpreted in so many different ways. I wanted it to be a video that's pleasing to the eye, but not necessarily with a big confusing storyline that would be distracting from the lyrics.
AH: If you could feature any artist of your choosing on “The Game” who would you choose? What artist do you think would fit nicely?
KS: Kendrick Lamar! Let’s think big!
AH: How is “The Game” different from your previously released singles this year “Hate You” and “Numb”?
KS: I think all these three songs work really well together and they all sound cohesive, but I think with each song they just sound bigger and bigger. “Hate You” was very chill, very R&B, “Numb” was still super R&B sounding, but with a lot of pop elements, and “The Game” takes it that one step further, it's got elements of both, but also sounds big and epic.
AH: What can you tell fans about your EP? What are you the most excited or nervous about the release?
KS: There's a song on there for every mood. Even though they all sound cohesive, and very much like me, they all have different elements. I explore a lot of different genres and moods, the storylines and lyrics are relatable and I just hope people love it as much as I do! I don’t feel nervous, I have worked so hard on it, and I’m so so happy with the outcome, I’ve done all I can do, and I really love this project.
AH: Where can we stream “The Game”?
KS: Everywhere, on all the streaming platforms!
AH: Where can we follow you to keep up with your upcoming EP?
Instagram - kstewartmusic
Twitter - KStewart_Music
TikTok - katestewartmusic