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About
A decade ago, a petite, auburn-haired singer from Peckham, South London by the name of Katy B came to the fore with debut project ‘On A Mission’; a high-octane hit parade building on the promise of her early pirate radio potential. Suffused with personal vignettes exploring the grey area between raves and relationships, augmented by a malleable voice soaring with impact over UK garage, funky and dubstep productions, ‘On A Mission’ announced the arrival of a new club-conscious renegade with an eye on the revolving door of pop.
‘On A Mission’ was both a commercial and critical success: the title track and Ms Dynamite-assisted ‘Lights On’ reached the top five of the UK charts and Katy B was nominated for both the Ivor Novello and Mercury Music Prize. Its success set the precedent for Katy to make her major label debut three years later with her first UK number one album ‘Little Red’. She secured the chart double and her place amongst the pop glitterati when her collaboration with KDA and Tinie Tempah, ‘Turn The Music Louder (Rumble)’, reached the number one spot on the UK Singles Chart.
2016’s collaborative project ‘Honey’ - featuring credits from the likes of Kaytranada and Floating Points - further showcased Katy’s ability to distil more cerebral electronica with four-to-the-floor club bangers. But after years on a conveyor belt releasing and touring, Katy experienced a period of disenchantment and emotional upheaval, compelling her to take some time away to recalibrate.
After a three-month sojourn in New York, time spent renovating a home in London and trying her hand at writing for other artists, the desire to release music again loomed large. A prelude to a new era came in the form of a vocal rework of Moses Boyd’s ‘2 Far Gone’, reminding the world what a Katy B feature can do; supple, freeform vocals gliding melodiously over cutting-edge production, conveying both feeling and movement in equal measure.
Now, no longer at the behest of a major label, Katy B plans to return this year with a new project on which she’s yet to shed light.
