Katell Keineg was born in Brittany and was brought up both there and in Wales. In the mid-nineties, she went to live in New York and was quickly embraced by the buzzing café scene around St Mark’s Place’s Sin-é. In 1993, while building her reputation for “conveying a nearly beatific sense of joy in performance” (Los Angeles Times), she released a seven-inch single on Bob Mould’s SOL Records label. That same year, Katell sang on Iggy Pop’s “American Caesar” and following his passing of her single on to Elektra, they signed her and released her first album “O Seasons, O Castles” in 1994.
1997 saw the release of Katell’s second album “Jet”. Recorded in Bearsville,“Jet” received rave reviews and led to much touring in the U.S. and Europe. It was even named one of the “Best Overlooked Pop Masterpieces Of The Decade” by Esquire. Keineg’s live work has included singing with Jeff Buckley, Allen Ginsberg and Calexico, opening for many people from Morphine to the Tarafs De Haidouks.
In 2002, free from merger-addled Elektra, Katell released an E.P. entitled “What’s The Only Thing Worse Than The End Of Time?” on Brooklyn based indie, Field Recording Co. The recording included a live performance of “River Man” from a tribute to Nick
Drake held at St Ann’s Church in Brooklyn. In their review of the night, The New York Times declared her “…a young songwriter due for her own cult, who travelled the fine edge between rapture and loss so essential to Mr Drake’s art.”
Following the release of a second E.P. (Shaking The Disease), Keineg released “High July”, her third album, in late 2004 to further enthusiastic reviews. A re-recorded version of “On Yer Way” from that album was used on the soundtrack of Deborah Kampmeier’s indie film “Virgin” with Robin Wright Penn, also in 2004.
Katell was the subject of a 6-page profile in The New York Times Sunday Magazine in July 2006 which led to sold out gigs in New York City. Summer 2007 was spent playing European festivals with concert pianist Katia Labeque’s experimental band, B For Bang, whose first album was released in January 2008. Keineg releases a 4-song E.P. this autumn that includes the re-recorded “On Yer Way” and a Welsh language cover of the Super Furry Animals song “Y Gwyneb Iau”. She is currently recording her fourth album.
Please note: This site is not maintained by Katell personally and there are no comments on it.
