Kathryn Williams
Saturday 19th August 2023
Kathryn Williams is an English singer-songwriter born in Liverpool, who to date has released 14 studio albums, including a Mercury prize nomination, written, and arranged for a multitude of recording artists around the world. In 2019 her record label One Little Indian put out an anthology 20-disc 2 book boxset spanning her solo career that has now sold out. She is the only female included in the Top Ten list of best Liverpool songwriters of all time. She is also a tutor at Arvon and Moniack Mhor on song writing and has her debut novel, The Ormering Tide published through Wrecking Ball Press to critical acclaim in March 2021.
Williams released her first album, on her own Caw Records label in 1999 with a budget of £80. The follow-up, Little Black Numbers, garnered a Mercury Prize nomination in 2000, bringing her to the attention of a wider public. Williams has collaborated and recorded with artists including Chris Difford, Thea Gilmore, John Martyn, Joel Salakula, Tobias Froberg.
Throughout her career she has toured extensively solo and with bands as well as supporting roles. In 2010, Williams signed with One Little Indian Records, who released her album The Quickening, produced by Kate St John later that year. Her second release on the label, Crown Electric, was produced by Neil MacColl. Its lead single “Heart Shaped Stone” featured a video produced and directed by James Serafinowicz & Al Campbell.
Williams performed the title song “Beyond the Sea” for The Cafe, first screened on Sky1 in 2011. Her songs have also featured on episodes of How I Met Your Mother , Coronation Street, Holby City, Weeds, David Walliams’ Big Swim, and C.S.I.
In 2013, Williams was commissioned by New Writing North to produce songs in celebration of 50th anniversary of the publication of Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar. She performed five of the resulting tunes – “When Nothing Meant Less”, “Battleships”, ‘The Mind Has Its Own Place”, “Tango With Marco”, and “Part Of Us” – at the 10th Durham Book Festival. Teaming up with Ed Harcourt as producer, she released Hypoxia on 15 June 2015.
Williams has been involved in writing retreats & sessions that enable songwriters to share, collaborate and produce ideas as well as learn new skills and techniques. Williams has established her own writing residential courses which took place in 2014-16.
Kathryn performs a concert with her trio and contributes to a Songwriters Circle.
