16 artists are being nurtured by the Southbank Centre as Emerging Artists in Residence in what they're styling an "eclectic hub for music and performance". Keeping you ahead of the curve, we're getting closer to this multi-talented bunch of singer-songwriters, rappers, MCs and beatboxers, spoken word artists and DJs in a series of interviews. We caught this one live, back in August.
Who are you and what do you do?
Catherine A.D. - multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and professional malcontent. That's why I make music - two parts catharsis, one part revenge, three parts glitter. I send out satellites to the suburbs (batteries not included) so people can build their own transmissions. It's like pirate radio for heartbreak.
Where do you live and what do you like about it?
Wherever my heart lands. Currently living out my Anais Nin fantasies on a house boat in Little Venice.
What inspires you about London? What's your favourite bit?
Patterns in the pigeon shit. Favourite bit? Underneath the table at the bar Garlic and Shots. The British Library. The tiled floors of the V&A. The back of a bus with my iPod turned up listening to The National.
How much time do you spend at the Southbank Centre? Have you found any secret bits?
I go through phases of practically living there to not being there at all when I'm in the studio. I like the industrial sized lifts in the back of the Queen Elizabeth Hall, and if you stand at the top row of the QEH you can give yourself vertigo if you look down...
What does the EAR programme mean to you?
This is the first year that the Southbank have run the programme so we're very much pioneers and explorers and can make of it what we want. It means free rehearsal space. It means discounted coffee. It means singing jazz improv with Ayanna and forgetting myself. It means writing 'Sour Times' with Riz MC. It means playing with Martha Wainwright.
What do you hope to achieve through it?
Immortality and infamy
What was your first place to perform in London and where do you aspire to perform?
The Spitz, now turned into a gastropub, I miss it. I'd love to play the Royal Albert Hall. They have nicer carpets than the RFH.
Who in your genre should we be watching/listening to and why?
Amanda Palmer of the Dresden Dolls. She wears a corset well.
What would mark you, by your own ambitions, as an Established Artist in Residence rather than an Emerging Artist in Residence?
When Brian Eno phones asking to produce my second album...
Have you ever busked?
No. But I did play cocktail piano in the foyer of the Hilton for a while. Upmarket busking I guess you could call it.
Have you ever been sick on the tube?
Not on the tube but there is a line in one of my songs about puking on my shoes in King Cross one new year's eve. I also once threw up in front of a line of paparazzi outside of the Q Awards.
'The Bedroom Sessions' by Catherine A.D. is now available on all major download stores.
Check out all interviews from the Emerging Artists in Residence so far.
