Blending genres with ease, weaving scientific wonder into lyrical poetry, and driven by an unwavering sense of authenticity, Katie Dauson is carving out a space all her own in the modern music landscape. With her latest album Pure Katie, they offer listeners a genre-defying journey built on instinct, inspiration, and a deep love for storytelling through sound. From rockabilly riffs inspired by vintage vinyl to lyrics subtly touched by a background in physics and astronomy, Pure Katie is a reflection of a creative mind unafraid to explore. In this candid interview, Katie Dauson opens up about her songwriting process, the unexpected shift from video games and advertising to a full-time music career, and why joy—above all else—is the heartbeat of her art.
What inspired you to create an album that blends so many different genres and styles?
I wasn’t planning on creating an album like that, blending all those genres and styles, but it worked out that way because that is how the songs came to me when I was writing them. I’m passionate about the genres I ended up going with on the album, and I’m a big fan of those musical styles.
How does your background in physics and astronomy influence your approach to music?
My background in physics and astronomy does influence the lyrics of my songs a lot. You can particularly notice this for the final song on the album, “When Will I Wake Up”. I’m still fascinated by those subjects; I still own a couple of telescopes, and I’ve kept my old school textbooks, which are conveniently put away in my music room.
Can you tell us about the songwriting process for “Pure Katie”? Was there a particular theme or message you wanted to convey?
I wanted the album to be twelve songs in length; I like even numbers for my track lists for albums (not entirely sure why). I started out with mostly different songs on Pure Katie, and as I got closer to recording the album, I would get inspired and write something that I felt was better, so I would replace one song with a new song. That continued into the recording process, right up to near the end, when I wrote “When Will I Wake Up”, which also happened to be the final song I recorded for the album. I wasn’t looking to convey any message, other than making the listener feel happy when they decided to listen to the album.
How do you balance your creative pursuits with your work in advertising and video game design?
Music is my full-time job now. Even though I graduated with honours from both of those programs and pursued a career in both of those fields, the doors to those industries stayed shut. I’m not angry or bitter anymore, but I was always told that I just wasn’t good enough for those industries. It was a nightmare trying to pursue those careers, and it actually worked out for the better. I think I’m much happier now than I would’ve been had I been in either of those professions.
What do you hope listeners take away from “Pure Katie”?
There’s only one word that I think would be the answer to this question: joy.
How does your unique life story influence your music?
Not every song is about my life story. I’ve actually written a couple of songs in the past, one single, and a song on my first album, Past the Sea, about my life, specifically. But I try to stay away from writing too much about myself explicitly. Sometimes, though, I will write a song, and realize well after I wrote it that I kind of did write about myself. But that doesn’t happen often.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself through your music?
This harkens back to an earlier answer from the interview, where I told you that I was always told in my professional pursuits that I wasn’t good enough. But, music has taught me that I am good enough, and there’s also nothing more satisfying than making people happy and helping others through my music.
Can you walk us through your creative process for crafting a song like “Won’t You”?
I was listening to a ten-inch vinyl record, called Rockabilly Jamboree by Sun Records, that I bought at Baxter’s Vinyl in Toronto. It’s a compilation of various rockabilly artists from the 1950s that appeared on the Rockabilly Jamboree TV show back then. A few of the songs stood out to me, in particular Glad All Over by Carl Perkins, and two songs by Jerry Lee Lewis: Deep Elem Blues and Old Time Religion. By the end of the second side of the vinyl record, I had the tune in my head and the entire chorus as well. I closed the door to the room and began to handwrite (like I do for every song) the lyrics. I always write the lyrics first. Once the lyrics were written, I grabbed a beater guitar (because if a song can sound really good on a lousy guitar, it will sound even better on a quality guitar), and began to write the rest of the song. Unbeknownst to me, my Dad was hanging out just outside the door to the room where I was writing the song, and he was dancing to it as I was getting the music down for it. I called him in when I was done writing, and he told me he had already been dancing to it, but wanted to really hear it, so I played it for him. He loved it and told me to play it on a better guitar. I went upstairs, grabbed a really good electric guitar, and got my Mom to listen as well, and they were both bopping to the song on just a guitar. I knew it was a really good song because of that, and decided to make it the opening song of the album.
How do you stay true to your artistic vision in the face of industry pressure and expectation?
I ignore all the nonsense and try to stay true to myself and who I am as a person. I don’t really listen to today’s music, or whatever you call it, and I prefer to sit back, relax, and listen to vinyl records on my stereo system. I listen to as many great artists as I can from the past, because they are the foundation that music should be built on. If you have no foundation, then you have nothing to build upon.
What’s next for you, musically? Are there any new projects or collaborations on the horizon?
I have four singles that are releasing this spring/summer, from May 30th to July 25th, that I’m very excited about. The songs are all very different from each other, and I hope they resonate with listeners. I’m also preparing to go back into the studio soon to record my 7th album, and I hope this next album will take listeners on yet another journey. But, most of all, I hope they continue to enjoy my music and find joy in the art of listening.
Listen to ‘Pure Katie’ –
