kitti on Somethin' In the Water, track by track

Today, award-winning Glasgow neo-jazz artist kitti releases her debut album, Somethin’ In the Water on Rebecca Vasmant’s Rebecca’s Records label. It's our album of the month, and in our review we said: “Somethin’ In the Water sees a relationship’s fuse trip, but kitti makes something beautiful out of dancing solo by candlelight.” Now it’s time for kitti to talk us through the record, track by track.

Come On Through (Intro) 
When introducing this body of work I wanted to write something that contained the majority of the song names included, as if to present as an “overture” type beginning to the album. I’ve always loved the overtures when seeing ballets and theatre productions and thought it would be cool to have something along those lines on the first track of the album. The second part of the intro leads into Maybe, setting the tone for future songs that deal with themes of lost love, frustration and self realisation.

Maybe 
This song was written way back in 2018 and was co-written with Matthew Hickman (aka brownbear). A common theme in my songwriting tends to be voicing those feelings that stay reserved in the hope that things work out in the end. I find this song uplifting in that it encourages you to believe that you can be better off alone!

Dreamland (Interlude) 
This interlude sets the tone for the next track on the album, in that I live my life through “visualise = materialise”. I love actively manifesting my dreams, and I work hard on this through meditating, breathing and believing in myself, no matter what life throws at me.

Everything You Wanted 
This is the oldest of all of my compositions. Everything You Wanted is one of my favourites for the reason that every time I perform it, even now, years later, I still believe every word. It all makes sense to me whenever I perform on a stage I never thought I would be able to play on, when I’m given an opportunity I’ve hoped for all my life. This song fills me with gratitude for how far I’ve come. 

Must Be Somethin’ 
Quite often with my songwriting, songs don’t make full sense to me until months after the composition has been completed. I’ve been dealing with suspected endometriosis for a long time, and now all of the lyrics make sense to me. This song can be interpreted many ways, but it makes sense to me that this song embodies the frustration I’ve felt for years of not knowing what’s wrong with my body, the long waiting lists, the intense pain that comes round every month. The anger, disappointment and depression that comes with living with a chronic pain illness. 

Wings 
This song is my own reminder that no matter how hard life gets, you can always be your own advocate. When you’re feeling down and unmotivated, you always have it in yourself to make things better. It’s my way of telling myself that no matter what comes along I can face it. You can be your own wings! 

Wonderland 
I’ve been living with Borderline Personality Disorder and all of its horrible negative stigmas for most of my adult life. The contrasting lyrics in this song sum up how confusing it can be to deal with uncontrollable waves of intense emotions over a short period of time. I think it’s incredibly important that mental health is spoken about openly within the music industry. This song is one I’m most proud of – sonically and emotionally. 

Me, Myself & I 
This song helps me express the longing I feel to be in a loving partnership. This was the first song I wrote fully on the guitar, and it was nice to be able to play around with a different instrument and explore new ways of writing. I ended up falling down the jazz rabbit hole and finding shapes that made this song feel more “old timey”.

Fine Ass (Interlude)
This is one of the less serious songs on the album, but at the same time there’s some really heartbreaking thoughts behind the lyrics. This is just a silly little song that happens to tap into themes of loneliness and longing for that special person to love once again – all while staying on track with future career hopes and fears, wondering if you really can have it all.

Make-Up / Break-Up 
This track explores once again the themes of a situationship – one where your hearts are never in the same place and you both have too much going on to commit to one another. Two people who like one another, but they really should be focusing on themselves. 

Gone 
I wrote Gone very quickly and it didn’t present much meaning to me at first. This is another song that can have many interpretations. After months I came to the realisation that perhaps this song comes from the perspective that it’s alcohol that’s finally left me behind. I’ve been avoiding alcohol for nearly three years now and my life is so much better without it.

I Walk Away 
This is a powerful breakup song that gets me riled up every time I perform it. Thanks to help from co-writer Matthew Hickman, the lyrics really paint a picture of the before, during and after an argument between lovers. I thought this would be a perfect song to finish the album on as it’s a strong soul/blues track that builds over time and ends this body of work with the oomph needed! 

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Somethin' In the Water is out now via Rebecca's Records; kitti plays Drygate, Glasgow, 22 Jan as part of Celtic Connections, and Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh, 23 Jan

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