Katey Morley

She's been compared to Feist, Portishead, Rickie Lee Jones, Nelly Furtado and Emmylou Harris, but everything about this singer/songwriter/DJ resists categorization. Her own music has strong elements of pop, folk and jazz, but she has sung for reggae artists, r'n'b, house and trance outfits (you can hear her on Paul Okenfold's Perfecto club hit “Invading Privately” on Dance Nation 2003).
Katey's versatile voice and observant lyrics make for an engaging and intimate listening experience. Upbeat electronically fused tunes demand repeat listens, while acoustic ballads surprise and enchant with their depth and simplicity. Call it what you want, just don't use words like sweet, soulful or passionate to describe her music. Though it may be all of those things, she has an acute aversion to descriptive terms and rebels against the chic-singer genre. “I can't stand that phrase!" she exclaims. "All these women writing these morose, pathetic songs about lovers who’ve hurt them...! Of course," she continues wryly, "I do it, too, I'm probably the worst offender. But I am usually laughing by the time I have finished writing the lyrics. I just don’t dwell.”
This simple philosophy makes for astounding lyrical clarity, originality, and a nice, hybrid collection of tunes. Her forthcoming album “Heart Full of Thumbs" is co-produced by Duncan Coutts, of Our Lady Peace, and Scott Curry, who gave Emily Haines of Metric her first leg-up, 8 years ago, and features some of Toronto’s most heavy guest musicians: Jeremy Taggart (OLP), Maury Lefoy (Jann Arden), Dafydd Hughes (Feist), Jody Brumell (Zepplinesque) to name a few. Not "dwelling" on any one topic for too long, there are songs about lovers, yes, as well as best friends, teachers, her dog, her parents, her apartment, and anything else that has caught her wandering, watchful imagination.
Katey's live act is a must-see. There’s something about her fragile confidence, and slightly awkward personality that is very compelling. Her energy is big and contagious, and her band is a super-tight, rotating unit of gifted jazzers, rockers and self-confessed electronics nerds. And yes, unpredictability rules; no song ever sounds the same way twice. Though it is obvious they may not know where things are going, the band--and the audience-- luxuriate in this journey, submerged in an obvious state of enjoyment and musical serendipity.