Introducing #199 - Raveloe
Let us introduce you to Scottish songwriter Raveloe - who has just released her new single ‘Catkins’ via Olive Grove Records. Kim Grant, the multi-instrumentalist, producer and songwriter behind Raveloe, was raised in Motherwell. An industrial town packed with rows of council estates, Grant had to find escape in the smallest of things - whether that be a flower growing from a crack in the road or a plot of grass sprouting up in the most unlikely place.
Raveloe will celebrate the release with a headline show at Glasgow’s The Glad Cafe on Thursday 2nd December.
Hey there, how are you? Where does a name like Raveloe come from?
Hey, I'm doing pretty good, I'm currently in Utrecht and just ate some pancakes with friends. I was supposed to play a gig here then the lockdown happened a few days before but I came anyway. The name Raveloe is a fictional town from a Mary Anne Evans (George Eliot) book called Silas Marner, it's about a reclusive weaver.
So your new track ‘Catkins’ is out now - can you tell us what it is about?
At the start of the year I had a break up and also went to therapy, it was a challenging time and I think I was processing and reflecting in general so this all filtered into the song. I was learning that I feel it's important to be compassionate to yourself and also to cultivate an honesty with yourself which in turn can help you be more honest in general. I was feeling like I was holding a lot of pain and parts of myself back from myself and those closest to me which was only creating more weight and difficulty. The song acknowledges this processing and how by delving into past trauma and working through it, you can make it out the 'the other side'. The other thread of the song is the transitioning time of year from winter to spring, I felt a parallel between the change in my life and the change of the season, I was acknowledging the natural way of change and how part of me longed to cling to what I knew. This struck me particularly when I saw some catkins on a tree outside my hallway window, they were so beautiful and delicate and I found myself already feeling sad about their temporality.
Where are you from and what are your favorite things to do there?
I'm from a small town called Motherwell but I live in Glasgow. I go to a lot of gigs as if I am not playing one a friend is likely to be, there are so many lovely venues here like The Hug and Pint, The Glad Cafe and Mono. I also like to go for coffee with my notebook at least once a week somewhere and generally just walking a lot around the west end where I live, along the river, through the park. When weather and time allows skateboarding is fun and going to the pub with friends as these long cold nights are drawing to keep my spirits up too.
What are the key influences when it comes to your music?
Musically, even though it might not be sonically obvious, The Microphones, Big Thief, Liz Phair, Rilo Kiley, P J Harvey and The Evens are a few. I am influenced by all sorts of things though, self reflection, mental health, people or things I read about, nature, time and our relationship to those elements.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to your music before?
Sometimes tender and sometimes tearing apart.
Now the track is out there, what next for you?
I have my debut headline show on the 2nd of December at The Glad Cafe in Glasgow, I have also been writing a lot so I plan to get into the studio to record an album and play gigs as much as I can.
