SEATTLE (January 12, 2020) – Seattle singer-songwriter, Katie Kuffel, announces the release of “1999” on February 3. Kuffel’s breathy vocals bring into focus blurry childhood memories, while enlivened instrumentals colorize their nostalgic filtered hue. It’s an energetically healing tune of childhood innocence playfully wrestling with adult acknowledgment of intergenerational trauma and family pressures experienced in youth. “1999” is off the album, Alligator, due out early 2021.
Kuffel says, “There are a lot of autobiographical moments in this tune. I grew up with two older brothers, who’d have to watch me a lot of the time, since both my parents worked. Lines like ‘brother found a caterpillar in my cup’ and ‘A picture of your wedding vows lives on my fridge, 33 years says to choose love is what love is” are both real things.” The song casts reflections on parent-child relationships, cracking them apart though through a lighthearted melody that dances away from the pains of the past.
Kuffel expresses an empowering depth and self-awareness throughout her album. Topics on Alligator range from intergenerational trauma viewed through kid glasses, a song about how a volcano would experience time, seasonal depression, and about her own disability. No matter the scale of her theme, Katie finds the universal thread to captivate her listener, reminding us we’re all human, and to embrace the messiness inherent in being alive during this turbulent, modern era.
Alligator Track Listing
- 1999
- Carillon
- Love Language
- Reminders
- Honey
- Ships
- Passerine
- Veil of Isis
- Wintertide
- Mt. St. Helens
About Katie Kuffel
Kuffel has had a fair bit of classical training, but her real musical education occurred in the opportunity to sit in and play with a plethora of diverse musicians. She’d play the cello and sing with her dad’s group of friends (all drinking beer and playing bluegrass on the porch). She’d sit in and jam with a Gypsy Jazz group at the farmers market. While in Japan and in San Francisco she learned the basics of Koto music. Then there was the Peruvian doomgrass band she played with when she first moved back to Seattle. She accompanied speakers, and slam poets in live, improvised events.
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Live Streams
Praise For Katie Kuffel
“With her bluesy, smoky voice and frenetic energy, Kuffel has established herself as one of the best live performers in the city.” – PHILLIP JOHNSON, Seattle Music News
“‘…a testament to working through challenges rather than trying to win in a conflict. So many songs bemoan the feeling of victimhood but this one addresses the evolved concept of building something out of conflict.” –Americana Highways
