Kate Havnevik Announces 'The Lightship Conversations'

Ahead of the release of her fourth album Lightship on January 21st via Continentica Records, Norwegian experimental artist, composer, producer and musician Kate Havnevik has released the first episode of The Lightship Conversations, a descriptive interview series about specific tracks on the new album.

The series features conversations between Kate and long-term producing partner Guy Sigsworth, hosted by Norwegian TV and radio presenter Per Sundnes. The series starts by discussing latest single 'Dream Her To Life', with the conversation available to listen to here. Episodes will be released weekly on Kate's YouTube channel and the series will finish on February 9th.

The forthcoming album Lightship is a stunning aural artwork of immense expansive sounds, which has already been receiving great early reviews from the likes of MOJO and Uncut.

The record is full of rare instrumentation and glorious songwriting, which delivers Kate Havnevik's most progressive and beautiful record to date. It has been named after London's most unique floating recording studio on the River Thames, Lightship 95, where the pair recorded the album.

Lightship includes previously released singles such as the majestic 'Taking Flight', which was created with the baroque instrument virginals, while the pulsating electronic pop track 'Into Dark' has been produced with a ring modulator and FM synth. The wistful 'Starlight Fires' features the celesta and creates a fairytale atmosphere with a celebrative beat.

Latest single 'Dream Her To Life' is a curious and playful track featuring Kate's stunning vocals, wide-ranging harmonies, handclaps, and pizzicato cello played on keys, which together produce a dreamy feel-good glacial anthem full of optimism.

Accomplished cellist Ian Burdge (Max Richter, Nitin Sawhney) also performs on the record. He features on the stunning orchestral opener 'Come Back', as well as the darkly sinister, yet ultimately serene song 'Alta'. The latter plays as if to soundtrack a Nordic Noir crime drama and features lush strings alongside a siren serenade from Kate, where her voice muses with beautiful tones yet no lyrics.

Talvin Singh OBE (Björk, Madonna, Massive Attack) also features on the record and provides his unique blend of electronic tabla playing to the widescreen ambient escape to paradise 'Zamami', inspired by a remote island in the Okinawa region of Japan.

Lightship is a wide-reaching record, which reflects artists free from restraints, revelling in escapism and finding comfort in change. It is a voyage into uncharted territories, where bountiful treasures are there to be found.

Kate Havnevik will celebrate the release of Lightship with a headline show on album release day (January 21st) at London's St. Pancras Old Church. Billed An Evening With Kate Havnevik, it will be a show of two halves, with a short interval in the middle, featuring Kate perform her esteemed catalogue alongside Lightship album collaborators Guy Sigsworth and Ian Burdge. Tickets are on sale here.

Kate Havnevik first rose to prominence with her critically acclaimed self-released debut album MELANKTON in 2006, which also proved a hit in film and TV, including having 10 songs featured in Grey's Anatomy - a record for any artist - and following the pandemic has seen new fans consistently engaging with Kate's back catalogue achieving multi-million streams.

Kate is a proudly independent artist and self-released her following albums including You in 2012 and &I in 2015. Kate's last album Mariana's World in 2020 also formed the soundtrack for the Norwegian film Alle Utlendinger Har Lukka Gardiner.

As well as her continued work with Guy Sigsworth, Kate has also collaborated with the likes of Röyksopp, DJ Carmen Rizzo, Schiller and prominent producers such as Marius De Vries (Björk, PJ Harvey, Bebel Gilberto), Paul Statham (Dido, Kylie Minogue), Noel Hogan (The Cranberries).

Kate Havnevik is bursting with creativity that holds no bounds and the forthcoming album Lightship is a beautiful body of work pulling from the outer reaches of the electronic sphere, centralised under a fascinating pop scope and proving to be her most mesmerising album yet.

Watch the first episode here:

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