As day one Catie Turner fans, any day we get to fully gush about what a once-in-a-lifetime artist Catie Turner is, it is a good day! From the first song Catie put out with ‘21st Century Machine’ to now, as we’re gearing up for her upcoming song, ‘I Might,’ there has been a through line with incredible storytelling, and soft, yet powerful vocals. As Catie has come into her own as an artist further, it’s been apparent in how raw the lyrics have become. That has never been more prominent than on ‘Last Name,’ which is Catie’s most recent release. We were lucky enough to get to chat with Catie Turner all about ‘I Might,’ ‘Last Name,’ and so much more!
Pre-save ‘’I Might’ here!
Hi Catie! Thank you so much for chatting with us! To start us off, how would you describe your music to someone who is tuning in for the first time?
Hi! Thank you so much for having me! What I’d let someone tuning into my music for the first time know is that there’s gonna be a lot of honesty; whether it’s unfiltered or through some heady metaphor, you’re going to walk away knowing exactly how I felt about – or in – a certain situation.
‘I Might’ is your next release! What can you tell us about the concept of this track?
Remember what I said about honesty just a question ago? Yeah, this track is very telling of that. I, like many women, thought I was broken because sex wasn’t this amazing thing for me. Honestly, it became more about the performance than anything: “I can be the girl of your dreams”. It wasn’t until I found myself in a secure and stable relationship that I saw intimacy as a connection rather than a reward for good behavior, and this song is a testament to that.
Upon listening to ‘I Might’ for the first time we were immediately struck by the lyrics, is there a specific lyric that has stuck with you since it was written?
“He’d get his rocks off if he thought he’d slain my innocence – I always let em’ think.” I think that line encapsulates my beliefs around sex and who I was doing it for – always putting on a show and my performance being a shield.
When you were crafting ‘I Might’ did you have any ideas for visuals to go along with this track?
The FIRST day I was crafting ‘I Might’ I was mostly trying to get through thoughts of “my mother is going to hear this!,” and then the following realization “my EXES are going to hear this!” It took a couple of days of time and space to fully appreciate it as a song instead of a terrifyingly vulnerable confession, however when that day did come, I saw flashes of cyanotype in my brain: paper being fully transformed into art by the sun.
‘Last Name’ was your last release, this song, to us, felt like we were getting a true look into your mind, it felt so deeply personal, how do all those emotions come out and become lyrics? Do you find that the emotions have to be processed before they become art, or is the making of the art a way of processing?
I think, personally, I find there to be a sweet spot with making my music: processed enough to even name the feelings, but not so far removed to where you lose the connection. That’s how I get my most consistent work. But sometimes even your process changes, and it is on a song-by-song basis. ‘Last Name’ was a happy accident, and It was a song that even showed me how I was feeling. I was upset about something else – amazingly stupid with hindsight – and I just started purging these thoughts out loud to Ruslan ( producer/part-time therapist), and suddenly everything came unraveling; I got to follow each thought as if I was following a ball of yarn, and then the song was born! I left that day going, “huh – maybe I am affected by my feelings, who knew?”
And speaking of ‘Last Name,’ are we going to see a future project that features both ‘Last Name’ and ‘I Might?’ Or are we looking at stand-alone tracks?
For right now, I think they’re both stand-alone tracks. But I’m a Gemini Moon, and I’m very indecisive, so I guess this is where I wink and shrug my shoulders with a hair toss.
As we are writing these questions ‘21st Century Machine’ came out just shy of seven years ago, when you look back at that track, and then at ‘I Might’ what do you see as the biggest area of creative growth?
That makes me want to throw up – but not in a bad way, if that makes sense. The passage of time and the emotions that come with it make me hold onto the desk like a ship is going down. I think, on the first listen, the most obvious growth is in production. You can hear all the discoveries I’ve made in the past seven years, even down to the simplicities like putting harmony on the song. I was such a baby, only having a side bang and an acoustic guitar to give me strength (rip to the side bang) and to make my music. But the most growth, I think, comes down to myself. I have physically grown up, and so the topics I write about reflect that and ultimately reflect my creativity. With more life lived, you get more of everything, and while you’re trying to grapple with that everything, then you throw in ‘firsts:’ first relationships, first endings, first situation-ship, first parent dying. I’m coming into myself, and It’s very sweet to think that so much of my young life got to be documented in my very own sonic diary.
Once again, thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us! Before we let you go, what can fans expect as we go further into 2025?
You can expect a lot more ‘me’ in 2025. I’ve been a little social media/reality hermit, but I’m ready to share my tunes and to be seen. I love what I do, I love that I get to do what I do, and the music I’m making reflects that love for art. Thank you so much for having me!
We would love to hear from you! What is your favorite Catie Turner song? Let us know by commenting down below or by tweeting @TheHoneyPOP! We are also on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok!
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