Kitchener, ON-based country singer-songwriter, Katy Topham has released her latest single, “California”.
Although the first few chords of the track sound like a sunny warm hug, accompanied by a light piano and echoey guitar line, it’s deceiving. As Topham sings her first line, “I hear that oceanside is brilliant/ this time of year,” there’s an impending sense of beautiful forlorn.
She sounds on the verge of tears and her honey-sweet voice immediately stops the listener from any sense of distraction. For the next three and a half minutes you learn about a relationship gone awry, resulting in one person moving to California, the very place the singer feels at home.
“Essentially the song is about losing a dream to someone you thought you loved,” Katy says.
“California” isn’t a track to be heard in the background while you’re doing the dishes. This is a song meant to be heard alone, late at night on your headphones, when your household and the rest of the world are asleep.
“It’s a melancholy song with a hopeful twist allowing the listener to dance along,” she says. “I want my fans to relate and connect with the stories I’m sharing. I hope they resonate with California and each song to come as I share a little piece of my heart with each of you,” she says.
Katy is hard at work on her debut album and hopes to release it later this year, but you can expect at least one more single before then, so stay tuned.
“The album is kind of a love letter to the old me; I see you, I see your pain, I’m letting you go now, I’m okay now.”
Katy also has an online show tonight (June 24, 2021) with Accomod8u in Kitchener! Watch LIVE here.
Watch the video for “California” below, and find out more about Katy via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
I’m Katy Topham, Kitchener Ontario singer-songwriter. I am proud to say as of 2020 I’m a full-time mom and musician. I love both my jobs very much, they’re both unpredictable and keep me on my toes!
I usually play in Kitchener/Waterloo and surrounding areas, hoping to get back to that soon!
Tell us a bit about your music and writing style.
I would classify myself as a country/roots artist. I plan to release an album by the end of the year as long as covid allows, it will consist of a lot of songs I wrote between 2012-2014. The songs deserve to be heard and now felt like the right time. In terms of writing style, they all tell stories of my life experiences; I do my best to be raw and honest about my own feelings in the hopes that it speaks to someone.
California (written by myself & Carrie DeMaeyer), my newest single, has a beautiful melancholy about it that brings tears to my eyes every time… even though I wrote it. Essentially the song is about losing a dream to someone you loved, who you thought cared about you. Over the years the song has become a bit of a love letter to my old self – saying goodbye to her and her pain and moving into a positive place in my life. I truly hope everyone can find something in this song that resonates with them.
What have you been doing to keep yourself creative during the pandemic?
Right at the beginning of the pandemic I actually gave birth to my beautiful son! I’ve been lucky enough to be able to stay at home with him and work on music full time. I’ve been doing zoom writing sessions and getting into the studio to finish these singles when we’re able. I think as a result of being able to stay at home, I’ve ended up being more creative than I have for the past few years! Four out of five singles I’ve released have been during the pandemic. It’s also been a lot of fun doing online shows for the masses…. Though I greatly miss playing live!!
A little one helps with creativity as well, you would be surprised by the song ideas that come out of listening to children’s bands like “The Wiggles” all day! I plan to make one of my next projects a youtube channel for kids involving songs and learning activities!
If you were asked to suggest only one of your songs for someone to hear, which would it be?
I’d say the newest single is a pretty accurate representation of myself as an artist so I’d hope they listen to California. It might be a more somber tune of mine, but the lyrics are striking, Carrie DeMaeyer and I wrote a song that contains a large piece of my heart and I’m happy to share it.
Canadian Beats is all about Canadian music, so who are your current favourite Canadian bands/ artists?
Lately, I’ve been listening to my lovely friend Eric Bolton’s music, brilliant musician, and Robyn Ottolini has come up a lot in my Spotify playlists recently, she’s a fantastic writer and very cool musician as well. Check them out!