Kat Spina is here today to share a story of vulnerability and deep love. Kat Spina chooses to detail her music with honest occurrences, and her recent single "Hold On" doesn't fall short in any way. Writing the single after the loss of her grandmother, Kat Spina decided to shape her grief into a brighter and more hopeful perspective. Kat Spina ultimately wants to showcase resiliency with her music, and we can guarantee that "Hold On" is the pinnacle of fortitude.
One aspect we must comment on is Kat Spina's soft and delicate vocal range. It's what allows her music to come off as incredibly angelic and inspiring, and her voice would fit perfectly into any empowering single. "Hold On" recently debuted as a music video this month, and Kat Spina knew exactly how to pull on listeners' heartstrings with the visuals. We're getting incredibly intimate with Kat Spina in "Hold On," and her echoing message of hope and reassurance is what really sticks with you. Listeners get exposed to a variety of dance mirages from Kat, which add to the effortless flow the music video encapsulated. A certain level of innocence is held constant within Kat Spina's character, and she showcases this quite well visually once bringing youthful presences into her video. The entire atmosphere presented in her music video offers a chance to build a new perspective on the current circumstances. All in all, "Hold On" and its music video might have you feeling a few goosebumps here and there, and you might find it difficult to not fall effortlessly in line with the inspiring message of Kat Spina.
Hey Kat Spina, welcome to BuzzMusic! We’d like to say how moved we were by your compelling lyrics within “Hold On”. What helped you express your emotions, and write from such a deep and emotional place for “Hold On’?
Trust. That is what helped me express my emotions. I remember sitting on my bedroom floor, overwhelmed, I grabbed my untuned guitar, silently strummed a few chords and the first line poured out of me... "stay with me, that was the plan." When I brought this to my songwriting partner, he encouraged me to really dig at these emotions to let them go. From there, I started to share my experience honestly and candidly. By telling the story to him, I found myself uncovering all the emotions from a very vulnerable space.
Seeing as Kat Spina’s single “Hold On” was originally written in 2017 after the loss of your grandmother, did you take this time to perfect the song, or was it stored away waiting for the right time to be released?
Great question! Soon after these emotions started to pour out and a majority of the song was there, I moved away from it because it felt heavy to keep at it. I still wasn't healed and simultaneously I was also processing the end of a romantic relationship that carried heavy weight. I needed to move on to some upbeat and fun songs. So, it sat on the shelf for a little while. It wasn't until I had a chance to collaborate with I AM SNOW ANGEL (Julie Kathryn) that this song came back into play. To prepare for our session last May, she asked me to send a few demos/rough cuts of songs I'd be working on. From the 3 songs I sent, this one spoke to her and so we went for it. I really trusted her instincts to run with it.
We’ve heard that Kat Spina grew up listening to Mariah Carey and your father's Motown records. How do you think these influences have helped you over the years when finding your sound?
Sure. That's soul music! For me... the greatest strength/asset I've discovered about my sound is the fact that I am the only one of me. My voice has a unique fingerprint. I tried very had to mimic the sound of Mariah (and other pop divas) because I was enamored by their power. But its her voice and as she says "they can't take that away from me" and I wouldn't want to. I love being influenced by singers that you know went to a very tender and emotional space to evoke their sound. It's beautiful and a path of discovery I've been on since age eight. Of recent, I think my voice is reaching new heights, I'm unafraid of striving for my soprano range and tapping into the colors of my range.
We’ve heard that you have quite a broad discography and have collaborated with many notable producers. Could Kat Spina expand on how your single “Hold On” differs from the rest of your music?
I do! I'm having a lot of fun releasing my archived/unreleased tracks via my website monthly. I'm discovering so much! HOLD ON is different from my other material because it intertwines IASA's (Julie Kathryn - producer) celestial and floaty musical atmosphere. She wanted to really treat this with an intimate and electronic production using my voice to create some extra tonal layers. This is the first track I ever had the courage to play an instrument on! She invited me to free play on the piano part and that was amazing.
What can we expect to see from you throughout the rest of 2020?
More songs of resilience! I have a cover on deck that I started worked on pre-Covid and it's a perfect follow up! I also have another dance track coming out this summer along with a song of empowerment this fall. Also, stay tuned my music video for HOLD ON that I self-shot and invited my music students, friends and family to contribute footage.