WATCH / SHARE “MAKER TAKER” HERE
WATCH / SHARE “IN MONTREAL” (LIVE WESTERN AF VIDEO)
KAÏA KATER’S NEW ALBUM, STRANGE MEDICINE, OUT FRIDAY
PRE-SAVE STRANGE MEDICINE HERE
‘‘Strange Medicine suggests that hers is a talent built to endure. ...dizzyingly fresh and satisfyingly rich" 9/10 UNCUT | Americana Album of the Month
Strange Medicine feels like the grand soundtrack for an as-yet unwritten film of epic historical proportions.” Exclaim!
“With Strange Medicine, listeners are welcomed into a world where heartbreak, rumination, and a quest for catharsis are gates through which one passes into history.” No Depression | May 2024 Spotlight Artist
“The contrast between the airy melody and the dark lyrics creates tension, making listeners feel the weight of the societies that have railed against these strong women and tried to eradicate them." CBC Music on "The Witch" Feat. Aoife O’Donovan
"Over the plucky sounds of banjo and strings, the two capture the city's unique spirit in a romantic character study." Billboard on "In Montreal" Feat. Allison Russell
NORTH AMERICAN TOUR BEGINS MAY 17
Photo Credit: Janice Reid // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES
Tomorrow, Grenadian-Canadian musician Kaïa Kater’s new LP, Strange Medicine, will be available everywhere. Today, the celebrated songwriter is sharing the video for album track “Maker Taker”, a song Kater says she couldn’t write “without picturing the myriad of ways the words would be perceived by others – friends, managers, agents, labels. I decided instead to journal my thoughts without the expectation of presenting them to anyone. These are the messy feelings that came out: the duality of loneliness and the addictive adrenaline of the stage, the desire to de-condition my femme upbringing of centering others over self, and finally, the goal to please myself first in my songs and performance—something I had previously only ever understood to be fundamentally selfish and vain.”
WATCH / SHARE “MAKER TAKER” HERE
Today also marks the release of the Western AF video for “In Montreal”. “I’ve admired Western AF’s videos for a long time,” says Kater. “When we decided to collaborate on a shoot together, I knew that I wanted to sing something that had the feeling of being hopeful despite hard times. 'In Montreal' was the perfect song, and the light coming through the stained glass windows of St Ann’s church (Brooklyn, NY) felt like the embodiment of recovering parts of yourself even when you feel like your world is coming apart at the seams.”
WATCH / SHARE “IN MONTREAL” (LIVE WESTERN AF VIDEO)
MORE ABOUT STRANGE MEDICINE
Produced by Kater and Joe Grass (Elisapie, The Barr Brothers), Strange Medicine is Kater’s first new album in six years (following 2018’s Grenades) and her most personal record to date. Created during a period of deep self-reflection and reinvention, the new music finds Kater expanding her creative scope as she celebrates the power of women and oppressed people throughout history, while also sharing meditations on her own life. In addition to “Fédon”, Strange Medicine also features previously released single, “The Internet”, as well as collaborations with Aoife O’Donovan (“The Witch”) and Allison Russell (“In Montreal”).
Reflecting on the project, Kater shares, “The through line for me is just stories. It was the story of my dad on Grenades, and on Strange Medicine it’s the story of people in history who might not have had their proper shrift. It’s also my chance to finally write about the times in my life when I didn’t feel like I had a voice, in order to give myself one now.”
WATCH / SHARE “FÉDON” FEAT. TAJ MAHAL
BUY / STREAM “FÉDON” FEAT. TAJ MAHAL
LISTEN / SHARE “THE INTERNET” HERE
BUY / STREAM “THE INTERNET” HERE
Since her debut, Kater has released three full-length albums including 2018’s Grenades, which was nominated for Contemporary Roots Album of the Year at that year’s JUNO Awards and long listed for the Polaris Music Prize. Released to widespread critical attention, NPR Music praised, “vivid, sensory images and poetic language…We’re lucky that Kater’s shared her fully formed vision with us,” while Rolling Stone declared, “plaintive, mesmerizing…[Kater] writes and performs with the skill of a folk-circuit veteran” and No Depression proclaimed, “You want some authenticity in your folk music or bluegrass – I give you Kaïa Kater.” Additionally, Kater has been featured as part of NPR Music’s “Tiny Desk Concert” series and toured extensively across North America, Europe and the U.K.
LISTEN / SHARE “IN MONTREAL” FT. ALLISON RUSSELL
BUY / STREAM “IN MONTREAL” FT. ALLISON RUSSELL
WATCH KAÏA KATER’S NPR TINY DESK CONCERT
Based in Canada with a foothold in Brooklyn, Kater’s music is influenced by the sounds of Canada, the Caribbean and Appalachia, reflecting her diverse background. In addition to own her work as a singer and musician, Kater took part in the Slaight Music Residency at the Canadian Film Center and wrote original music for BET’s series, The Porter, for which she won Best Original Song in a Drama Series at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. She also wrote music for the new film, My Dead Friend Zoe, which premiered at SXSW.
BUY / STREAM “THE WITCH” FT. AOIFE O’DONOVAN
WATCH / SHARE “THE WITCH” (LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO)
PRE-SAVE STRANGE MEDICINE HERE
TOUR DATES
May 17 Groton, MA Groton Hill Music Center
May 18 Cambridge, MA Club Passim
May 21 Hamilton, ON Mills Hardware
May 22 Toronto, ON TD Music Hall
May 23 Montreal, QC La Sotterenea
May 24 Kingston, ON The Broom Factory
May 26 Ottawa, ON Red Bird Live | SOLD OUT
June 1 Brevard, NC NC Guitar Celebration
June 5 Evanston, Il Evanston Space
June 6 Ann Arbor MI The Ark
June 7 Paw Paw, MI The Lucky Wolf
June 9 Frankfort, KY Josephine Sculpture Park
June 12 Brooklyn, NY Union Pool
June 13 Philadelphia, PA World Cafe Live Upstairs
June 14 Baltimore, MD Creative Alliance At The Patterson
June 15 Floyd Country Store, Floyd, VA
June 16 Pearl Street Warehouse, Washington, DC
June 20 St Peters, PE Festival Small Halls
June 21 Charlottetown, PE Festival Small Halls
July 11-14 Winnipeg, MB Winnipeg Folk Festival *
Aug 4-5 Canmore, AB Canmore Folk Music Festival*
* Performing with New Dangerfield & as Kaïa Kater
MORE DATES TO BE ADDED SOON
STRANGE MEDICINE TRACKLIST
1. The Witch (feat. Aoife O’Donovan)
2. Maker Taker
3. Mechanics of the Mind
4. In Montreal (feat. Allison Russell)
5. The Internet
6. Fédon (feat. Taj Mahal)
7. Floodlights
8. Often as the Autumn
9. History in Motion
10. Tigers
