Is Five David Kitt's Magic Number?
If I'd second guessed the industry, I could have sold millions!
| 12 Nov 2006
Oh, are we having an interview? asks David Kitt, a little bewildered. The Skinny clears its throat and hopes for the best. Luckily this horizontally laid-back attitude is well rooted in Kitt's persona, his Irish charm well-versed in dealing with the hard-graft elements of life in the music industry, without the tangible rewards that come with global mega-stardom.
"It's frustrating y'know, I feel that none of my records have reached their potential, both commercially and in the sense that I feel I have a responsibility to the music - I wish that more people could have heard my stuff." Kitt's fifth album 'Not Fade Away' has just hit the UK's shores at the end of October having been released to the far more fruitful Irish market some months ago. It's a return to the almost experimental acoustic-electronica with which Kitt started out on debut 'Small Moments' and the hugely underrated 'The Big Romance.' His last album, 'Square 1', was an album by a man head over heels in love and as such was, to say the least, a bit soppy. This polarised his fans, with some finding his honesty a little too cringeworthy and not as musically interesting as previous efforts.
"I felt that 'The Big Romance' and 'Small Moments' were way ahead of their time. I can hear fragments of those records in music which has become big in recent years. I guess if I'd second guessed the industry, I could have sold millions!" As it is, Kitt has a 'comfortable' lifestyle thanks mostly to his success across the Irish Sea, however there is a core UK, European and US fan base that also allows the odd bit of touring now and then. "I love playing live. I'd love to play to more people and be a little more secure in what I do but then I guess I thrive in the adversity of grafting it in the smaller venues around the circuit. I don't have any regrets in this sense though; less touring means more writing, so that's fine." Kitt's love for his job is impressive, especially in the light of the succession of mediocre singer/songwriter's who've been butchering our charts in recent years. "I'm quite happy to follow my own musical path rather than looking around me for the current zeitgeist" insists Kitt. "It's tiring, but it's a good kind of tiring."
Kitt has a Magic Numbers support slot to look forward to ( they are lifelong fans and guest on his new album) - a chance to get his tunes out to the masses? "Yeah, it's definitely a great opportunity, one I'm really looking forward to – there should be a good mix amongst the audience, with serious music fans there amongst the indiepop kids, I'm looking forward to it."
Fade Away? Not likely.
"It's frustrating y'know, I feel that none of my records have reached their potential, both commercially and in the sense that I feel I have a responsibility to the music - I wish that more people could have heard my stuff." Kitt's fifth album 'Not Fade Away' has just hit the UK's shores at the end of October having been released to the far more fruitful Irish market some months ago. It's a return to the almost experimental acoustic-electronica with which Kitt started out on debut 'Small Moments' and the hugely underrated 'The Big Romance.' His last album, 'Square 1', was an album by a man head over heels in love and as such was, to say the least, a bit soppy. This polarised his fans, with some finding his honesty a little too cringeworthy and not as musically interesting as previous efforts.
"I felt that 'The Big Romance' and 'Small Moments' were way ahead of their time. I can hear fragments of those records in music which has become big in recent years. I guess if I'd second guessed the industry, I could have sold millions!" As it is, Kitt has a 'comfortable' lifestyle thanks mostly to his success across the Irish Sea, however there is a core UK, European and US fan base that also allows the odd bit of touring now and then. "I love playing live. I'd love to play to more people and be a little more secure in what I do but then I guess I thrive in the adversity of grafting it in the smaller venues around the circuit. I don't have any regrets in this sense though; less touring means more writing, so that's fine." Kitt's love for his job is impressive, especially in the light of the succession of mediocre singer/songwriter's who've been butchering our charts in recent years. "I'm quite happy to follow my own musical path rather than looking around me for the current zeitgeist" insists Kitt. "It's tiring, but it's a good kind of tiring."
Kitt has a Magic Numbers support slot to look forward to ( they are lifelong fans and guest on his new album) - a chance to get his tunes out to the masses? "Yeah, it's definitely a great opportunity, one I'm really looking forward to – there should be a good mix amongst the audience, with serious music fans there amongst the indiepop kids, I'm looking forward to it."
Fade Away? Not likely.
David Kitt plays Cabaret Voltaire, Edinburgh on November 24.
http://www.davidkitt.com