Cat Clyde releases her new album, Down Rounder
Canadian indie-folk artist Cat Clyde has unveiled her full-length album, Down Rounder on her own Second Prize Records.
Yesterday Cat unveiled a new single, “Everywhere I Go,” along with a video to accompany the release. The breathtaking coming-of-age track touches on the realization of having to let some things go and hold other things close. That the duality of difficult experiences are often opportunities for growth and deeper insight.
Clyde immediately sparked with producer Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney) in Los Angeles’ famed Sound City studios, laying down the entirety of the record in six days flat and striking listeners with an intimate, livewire electricity. Her malleable singing voice and contemplative, poetic lyricism espouse an essential connection between our spiritual center and the natural world that surrounds us.
Explaining the album’s title and thematic bent, Clyde shares:
“I’ve always felt like a rounder. I feel the term encapsulates the lost and searching nature of railroad hobos, cowboys, gold miners, adventurers – a rounder is someone who moves around through natural landscapes looking for answers, to make sense of it all through movement and experience. To find something or some place that could feel like home, to belong to the land and feel a part of something greater. During the making of this record I felt very lost and low and felt the songs were a way for me to explore myself and venture more deeply into my own natural landscape within. I was a down rounder, low down but still a rounder.”
Cat captured a photograph of a dog that she and her partner Strummer Jasson spent time with in Quebec during the pandemic for the record cover, which was designed by Jasson. Captured on film in the pup’s favorite lookout spot, Clyde shares,
“She was with me during the writing and early recording process and was a great friend to me during that time. I believe dogs are the truest rounders and felt her image suited the cover perfectly. She is also found on the cover of my last release Blue Blue Blue. A guardian and true rounder, the most bon bon Chien.”
Listen to Down Rounder below and learn more about Cat Clyde via her socials.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Cat Clyde, and I am an artist based out of Ontario, Canada. I’ve been pursuing my music career for almost ten years now and am highly influenced by an array of music and artists, including Lead Belly, Etta James, Billie Holiday, Peter La Farge, Lee Hazlewood, Peggy Lee, and much more. I love older music, gospel, punk, folk, jazz, and anything that really moves me from the inside. It excites me that there is so much out there I still haven’t heard.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
I have released my new album titled Down Rounder. I recorded the majority of the album at Sound City Studios in L.A. with producer Tony Berg, accompanied by some incredible musicians, including Mason Stoops (guitar), Sebastien Steinberg (bass), Kane Ritchotte (drums), and Jacob Jeffries (keys). Two songs were recorded with Strummer Jasson at Second Prize Studios – one of which (The Gloom) was recorded at both studios, and the final tracks blended together. In those sessions, I was accompanied by: Ryan Gavel (bass), James Taylor (guitar) and Strummer Jasson (drums), and Mia Barcia-Columbo (cello). I am very close to these new songs and feel that I grew a lot during the process of making this record.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
I pull inspiration from nature, my environment, and the people around me. I pull from music I love, poetry, art, and books. Being an artist full-time, my environment is consistently inconsistent, and I am always finding new anchors inside of people, places, and things to ground myself and keep collecting for my mission – which is to create.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
I have an upcoming tour opening for Lissie in February in the UK. I’m very much looking forward to going as it’s been a few years since I’ve been back. I’ll be touring as a three-piece (drums, bass, and myself) with new songs and new energy.
What’s your goal for 2023?
My goal for 2023 is to keep showing up as my truest self, keep shedding and keep evolving, and always remaining honest and true with myself and my expression.