Kate Peytavin Discusses Her Artistic Journey and Newest Project, “whole heart black”

Kate Peytavin for “something’s off” (2023)

Kate Peytavin from Capitol Records shared the moment she knew she wanted to pursue music, her struggles as a young artist in the industry and a look into her creative process through a press conference hosted by 1824° on Feb. 1. 

Although Kate is now signed with a record label and is making a name for herself in the music industry with intricate sounds and carefully crafted lyrics, she was not completely set on pursuing a music career after failing to feel a musical connection when making songs over Zoom. However, when she flew out to LA for the first time and dedicated a full week to strictly making music, she felt a spark that brought her to tears on the flight back home. 

“I absolutely fell in love with it. There’s such a difference in the songs and I loved working with the people,” she said. 

Kate Peytavin’s popular song, “killing time,” raised questions about the production process and vintage-looking visualizer that was released with it. Kate admitted that the song’s chorus was created from an afterthought that brought the song to life.  

“So after we recorded it we were playing around with production and I can’t remember who mentioned it but they were like, we should try something, you know, really shaky on the chorus,” Kate said, “and I fell in love with that.” 

On her trip to LA, she was faced with several session cancellations because, at the time, she didn’t have any songs out, lacked musical experience and wasn’t a producer’s ideal artist to work with. The lyrics of “killing time” originated from a desire of being taken seriously in the music industry as a young musician, Kate said.

“I am constantly put in a room with older, experienced people and a lot of times that can be super nerve-wracking,” Kate said, “it’s very easy for somebody to look down on you… I have so much less experience than some of these people that I’m working with.” 

Through making music that Kate herself describes as dramatic, she hopes to convey a message of living and feeling in the moment to listeners who tend to suppress their feelings and emotions. 

“Whenever I’m going through times, say like a breakup or anything hard, what I want to do is I want to live in the moment. I don’t want to suppress it like a lot of people tell you to do,” Kate said, “they say, you know, just push it aside and distract yourself, but I think what helps me heal is feeling it and living in the moment.”  

Kate’s newest single, “whole heart black,” released on Feb. 2, features a ‘90s/2000s angst influence by drawing inspiration from artists like Avril and Paramore. Although the song may seem like it can stand alone, Kate admits that it is a piece of the big puzzle. 

“‘Whole heart black’ is about wanting something that you shouldn’t have, but you do it anyways because it feels good in the moment,” Kate said, “I think that there’s a lot of learning to be done, but it’s a very valid emotion and feeling that a lot of people get suppressed for having.” 

From the start of Kate’s career to now, there has been a noticeable change in her confidence and willingness to open up in the studio. Experimentation has pushed Kate out of her comfort zone, which, she admits, has been beneficial to her career. 

“Before I was very scared to experiment,” Kate says, “I had this downtempo thing that was going for me. I knew how to do it and I knew how to do it well, but I felt too comfortable, and I needed to try something different.” 

Kate Peytavin for “whole heart black” (2024)

Kate said she spends the most time daydreaming about what it would be like to sing on a stage in front of a crowd. If she had to pick an artist to open for, she would, without a doubt, pick Suki Waterhouse, who she describes as an ethereal performer. 

“I dream about the day that I get to pick the set design, the lighting and the band members and everything. I’m so so excited about that,” Kate said. 

A goal Kate hopes to accomplish by the end of 2024 year is to film a music video, since she has only created visualizers in the past. 

“I am obsessed with watching music videos,” she says, “I think they are a great form of storytelling, so I am really excited to almost direct and put together my own thing.”

Kate Peytavin’s latest project, “whole heart black,” is out now with more in store for the near future!