Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…
Katie Saunders of The Southern Electric
We asked Katie what it means to her personally to be an indie music women artist:
“I’ve waited a long time to release the songs I’ve been writing because I’ve been sick with Lyme Disease for twenty years. To still be alive and actually have the opportunity to be a female singer-songwriter means everything to me. It is literally the dream that kept me going whilst undergoing life-saving surgery. I am now able to offer hope to women dealing with chronic pain, you can pull it back even once you’ve reached rock bottom.
I wanted our track ‘Dying Star’ to be about living with an illness and learning to cope with the things it throws at you. My husband (and producer) has screaming levels of tinnitus and I have hearing sensitivity so I have to wear ear plugs at the supermarket. Our lives are about negotiating these issues, which obviously can be quite tricky when you are a musician! Sometimes my own voice is too loud for my ears when I’m recording and I’m the only person who listens to heavy metal really REALLY quietly!
The songs that we write are not your average songs. As a woman it is important to me to share stories that relate to women or tell the stories of women. ‘The Forgotten’ which is due to be released in a couple of months is about the reality of women and children being trafficked, and ‘It’s The End Of The World’ is about empowering everybody to stand up to the corporate forces that are poisoning our planet. I’ve spent a lot of time being sick in bed and I’ve had time to stew on the injustices of the world. We as women, need to sing it from the rooftops if we’re going to make a difference.”
The Southern Electric is a micro band consisting of just Katie Saunders her husband Duncan Glasson. They are currently making music and living in the south of France. Originally from the UK, Saunders and Glasson are both professional musicians and after being together for 16 years, have finally created some tracks together. They both write, sing and play multiple instruments between them. Duncan was involved in the house music scene in the nineties (he remixed for Paul Oakenfold, Britney Spears and Spiller just to name a few) and then went on to compose music for television for twenty years. Their music combines symphonic elements with groove-based electronic soundscapes.
The Southern Electric’s single, ‘Dying Star’ and entire catalog is available on Bandcamp and their website, https://thesouthernelectric.com/music.
Follow Southern Electric on their Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.