Kathryn Williams

Born in Liverpool in 1974 and long based in the north of England, Kathryn Williams has since the late 1990s developed an intimate folk-writing style centered on her voice, the acoustic guitar, and discreet arrangements that sometimes blend chamber pop, light jazz, and British songwriting. She began in a self-produced mode with Dog Leap Stairs in 1999, then broadened her audience with Little Black Numbers in 2000, an album nominated for the Mercury Prize. Over the years, Kathryn Williams has built a steady career splitting between solo records and collaborative projects, with Old Low Light in 2002, Relations in 2004, Over Fly Over in 2005, Leave to Remain in 2006, then Two in 2008 with Neill MacColl, The Quickening in 2010, Crown Electric in 2013, Hypoxia in 2015, inspired by Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar, Resonator in 2016 with Anthony Kerr, Songs from the Novel Greatest Hits in 2017, Midnight Chorus in 2021 with Carol Ann Duffy, Night Drives in 2022 and Willson Williams in 2024 with Dan Willson, aka Withered Hand. Kathryn Williams has also collaborated with Boo Hewerdine, Chris Difford, Ed Harcourt, John Martyn, or James Yorkston, and shared the stage with artists drawn from the folk, indie and British singer-songwriter circuits.