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New Album Out Now: Spirals

by Kate Ellis

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  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    Record/Vinyl + Digital Album.

    A lot of people have asked me about Spirals coming out on vinyl so I’m thrilled it’s finally here!

    The physical properties of a vinyl record as an object have always been very important to me. My dad’s collection really influenced me musically growing up and shaped the music I love and write.

    300 hand-numbered, limited edition records will be available on 3rd March, but if you PRE-ORDER a copy now I’ll send it out early so you’ll be the first to get it. I'll sign the record and send it out with a personal note.

    The vinyl record comes with a previously unreleased BONUS track that’s not on the CD. My cover of the iconic song Hurt by Trent Reznor, most famously re-interpreted by Johnny Cash at the end of his life, was recorded during the album studio sessions with producer John Reynolds (Sinead O’Connor, Indigo Girls).

    Includes unlimited streaming of New Album Out Now: Spirals via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 3 days

      £25 GBP or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    The CD comes in a beautiful gatefold digipack wallet format with a 4-page booklet inside. Artwork by legendary designers Pentagram.

    You can also order it in a BUNDLE with various combinations of CD/Vinyl + T-shirt, plus a badge, sticker and a signed postcard with lyrics to the title track.

    I'll sign the CD and send it out with a personal thank you note.

    Thank you. x Kate

    Includes unlimited streaming of New Album Out Now: Spirals via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days

      £10 GBP or more 

     

  • This bundle includes:
    * A signed copy of the Spirals CD in a beautiful gatefold sleeve with booklet, artwork by the legendary Pentagram studios
    * A limited edition (Black or White) Spirals T-shirt designed by Pentagram (*NB. Black Medium is currently out of stock)
    * A Spirals badge and sticker designed by Pentagram
    * And a signed postcard with the lyrics to the title track Spirals

    This saves £3 compared with individual prices, plus the badge, sticker and signed lyric postcard which are only available with the bundles.

    I'll send it out with a personal thank you note.

    Thank you! x Kate

    Includes unlimited streaming of New Album Out Now: Spirals via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 20 

      £22 GBP or more 

     

  • T-Shirt/Shirt

    100% organic T-shirt with original Spirals design by legendary design studio Pentagram. Mid-weight cotton with a unisex fit –great for everyday wear.
    *NB. Black Medium is currently out of stock

    PS. A bit more information on some things that are important to me...

    Organic cotton is a more environmentally friendly fabric because it uses less energy and water to make and doesn't use GMOs, pesticides or chemical fertilisers. The manufacturer SOL’S is also a member of Fair Wear Foundation which respects a detailed and strict Code of Labor Practices.
    ships out within 3 days
    edition of 50 

      £15 GBP or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £7 GBP  or more

     

1.
Can't Not 03:40
Can’t Not The dark skies, the crow flies Never too far away The light’s gone and the wrong song Playing over again I can’t make the wild winds blow I can’t make the seasons slow All the ties I just can’t undo And I can’t not love you I try to forget you Let live and lie low But I hear you and I taste you Everywhere that I go I can’t travel back in time Can’t turn water into wine I can lie, but I can’t make it true And I can’t not love you Say you never see my eyes Tell me that you never break down and cry Show me when you’ve found a way To put all this away I’ll call it a day You tell me you’re happy And I could be happy too But I read signs in between lines And I don’t know if that’s true I can’t make the wild winds blow I can’t make the seasons slow Tell me why, no matter what I do I can’t not love you No, I can’t not love you
2.
Bluebirds And Rye Hey little girl are you looking Are you looking for me? Hey little girl ‘cos you’re looking Like a picture that I used to be The waters around you are rising And you don’t know if you’ve got the fight Just stop holding your breath And find a soft place to rest There’s nothing but bluebirds and rye Hey baby girl, see I know the drill Wearing your secrets and lies Sometimes you feel like a shadow of me Looking out through a new pair of eyes The waters around you are rising And you don’t know if you’ve got the fight Just stop holding your breath And find a soft place to rest There’s nothing but bluebirds and rye You build a world and the cracks show up everywhere You fall in love and you find out they never cared How much worse if you gave up and never dared to love Hey little girl, it’s not far away You will have your day to shine Trust me now, it’s too hard to live When really you’re just scared to die The waters around you are rising And you don’t know if you’ve got the fight Just stop holding your breath And come lay down your head There’ll always be bluebirds Always be bluebirds and rye
3.
Another Way 04:33
Another Way A little boy he was loved but not quite good enough Her kisses sweet but his father’s touch was a little rough Love always made him want to pull away And that’s what he did ‘Cos he couldn’t see another way Father’s angry words playing on repeat He never looked too deep inside for fear of what he’d see And as soon as he’d get home he’d want to run away So he left them ‘Cos he couldn’t see another way I don't want to see everything you see Even though your darkness stays a little piece of me But now I know why you’d always turn away Despite trying every day You couldn’t see another way Keeping tabs on who’s naughty and who’s nice He keeps his southern whiskey and his bitterness on ice And he railed at the injustice every day And he never stopped ‘Cos he couldn’t see another way I don't want to see everything you see Even though your darkness stays a little piece of me But now I know why you’d always turn away Despite trying every day You couldn’t see another way He met a woman who loved him just as he was But nothing she could do to prove that he would be enough So he told her that he was poorly made And he left her ‘Cos he couldn’t see another way I don't want to see everything you see Even though your darkness stays a little piece of me But now I know why you’d always turn away Despite trying every day You couldn’t see another way
4.
Wonderland 03:19
Wonderland My heart’s aching Every inch of me is shaking To see the beauty that we’re breaking Our wonderland A willow weeps into her cup And sees her fields turn to dust The trees that stalk me from all sides With eyes of a hundred fireflies A dead oak frozen like a lightning strike Autumn colour like God’s own bonfire light And a crown of leaves Weighing down on me My heart’s aching Every inch of me is shaking To see the beauty that we’re breaking Our wonderland I see the knot set in the bark Like a bullet in its heart Lava flowing down the trunk And we’re all going up in smoke A dead oak frozen like a lightning strike Autumn colour like God’s own bonfire light And a crown of leaves Weighing down on me My heart’s aching Every inch of me is shaking To see the beauty that we’re breaking Our wonderland Our wonderland
5.
Scars 03:06
Scars I hate the way your fingers Brush the hair from my face When you’re feeling nervous And things seem out of place I hate the way you kiss me baby Since you ask With your alligator skin And your crocodile heart I’m crawling on the ceilings Make me walk up the walls I’m chewing off my nails Pacing up and down the floor I’m begging for the question And I’m looking for clues Why my life’s so sweet When your passion is so cruel I got scars Drive your nails through my heart I got blood on my hands From emotional demands I got scars Heaven has no rage like Love to hatred turned But after four bourbons, three scotches two shots and a chaser I was ready to forgive him again Well we eat like pigs And we drink like fish And we live like rats or some Low-down reptile kings If we crawl like snakes Making crooked tracks Rest your copperhead On my diamondback baby Shed some skin maybe Grow some wings or a heart I got scars Drive your nails through my heart I got blood on my hands From emotional demands I know you’re keeping score But I come back for more I guess this must be love ‘Cos we can’t get enough I got scars
6.
Wolf 03:33
Wolf She looks out through a glass As the happy people pass And she will never know The secret to their lives Why everything seems right Is it just a roll of dice Sitting quietly and still Legs hanging from the sill Looking at the ground Saying why can’t I see The wolf in front of me Until I’m caught inside his mouth No I see him coming ‘round No don’t let him come around No don’t let him come around again Maybe I’ll find somewhere Far from his lonely stare But what would I do Without the devil I knew? Well I wouldn’t know Now I see him everywhere I’ve got used to his dark hair Sleeping at my feet ‘Cos you find what you look for And the wolf that you feed more Will always win the war No I see him coming ‘round No don’t let him come around No don’t let him come around again But what would I do Without the devil I knew? Well I wouldn’t know
7.
Other Side Of The Street Right from the start he was Into my heart Leaving a mark on me I thought I was hard Unemotionally scarred In control of my destiny He had heavenly eyes And they took me by surprise I instantly fell under his spell He took me to heaven And left me in hell He's on the other side of the street Walking away now Kicking the dust up under his feet Walking away now Love is a loyal friend That just won't leave you till the end Although you try to struggle free There was a time when I didn't mind Wasting my life away It was alright, I was never uptight Happy to be that way He opened up my eyes And I really came alive Now I can see it's killing me There's nothing where he used to be He's on the other side of the street Walking away now Kicking the dust up under his feet Walking away now Love is a loyal friend That just won't leave you till the end Although you try to struggle free
8.
Spirals 02:56
Spirals I’ve been walking for a while I’ve been walking mile on mile While my thinking spirals and spirals Still I keep on walking I’ve been thinking overtime And I’ve been going crazy Now I’m walking out on my mind Memories getting hazy I’ve been walking for a while Walking down my crumbling town Now I don’t know where I am But still I’ll keep on walking I’ve been thinking overtime And I’ve been going crazy Now I’m walking out on my mind Memories getting hazy I’ve been walking for a while I’ve been walking mile on mile And now, I think I know this place I think I loved it dearly I’ve been thinking overtime And I’ve been going crazy Now I’m walking out on my mind Memories getting hazy I’ve been walking for a while Now I’ve found this place somehow But there’s so much more unfound So still I’ll keep on walking I’ve been thinking overtime And I’ve been going crazy Now I’m walking out on my mind Memories getting hazy Yes, I think I know this place I think I loved it dearly
9.
I Am The Tree Winter's calling And the leaves begin to change They're falling down around my feet Like children as they play As they play, as they play Another game Winter's calling And my arms begin to shake Shadows getting longer As generations fade away Fade away, fade away But here I stay Ooh… With the falling of the leaves Ooh… As the ground begins to freeze That's how it's meant to be I am the tree Light around my head Wind between my leaves Nothing but the sky to hear me grieve And so the branch becomes the tree Lean your head and let my hair fall down your face Love me still as we grow old, remind me of this day Of this day, of this day Come what may Ooh, with the falling of the leaves Ooh, as the ground begins to freeze Ooh, let it sink in by degrees Ooh, what my mother passed to me Ooh, seasons come and they will leave That's how it's meant to be I am the tree
10.
The Story You’ve Been Told I don’t know what you’ve been told Every time I ask you always turn to go Why you’re standing in the cold I don’t know what you’ve been told I don’t know what hurt the most When you were left alone or held far too close Now you’re hiding in your hole From everyone you know I don’t know what you’ve been told So throw your ghosts away They’re not real anyway Keep your head held strong and low And when you feel you’re breaking It’s just your past unmaking You’re perfect, you are whole I don’t know what you’ve been told When you were on your mother’s knee She couldn’t see beyond her suffering you see And you were more than she could hold And we don’t know what she was told Now only you can know But have you ever thought of simply letting go Of the lies that you’ve been sold The dreams you cannot hold And the story you’ve been told So throw your ghosts away They’re not real anyway Keep your head held strong and low And when you feel you’re breaking It’s just your past unmaking You’re perfect, you are whole I don’t know what you’ve been told I don’t know what you can see Everything you are looks beautiful to me I see your heart, I see your soul And that’s all I need to know Don’t let it weigh you down There’s nothing to be found In the story you’ve been told

about

My new album Spirals is the record that allowed me take the whirlwind in my head and put it to song.

I started writing songs when I decided to put down my law degree and pick up a guitar. This led to my debut album Carve Me Out in 2017. The title track was the song I wrote the morning after my mum died, so this very personal record marked the end of this period of my life.

My second album Spirals came out of a process of soul searching that followed – to quiet the thought storms in my head and find my balance in the world.

The album was produced by John Reynolds (Sinéad O’Connor, Indigo Girls, Damian Dempsey). It was recorded in his New Ayr Studios in London and features an amazing line-up of musicians.

The theme of Spirals reflects my attempts to find a new understanding of ways to cope with the demons and dramas that can take over our minds. It’s about getting lost in the maze of obstacles and pain we encounter in life – how we go around in circles inside our head, or try to get back things we can’t, or solve a pain there’s no solution to. And it’s about getting out of these spirals to a more peaceful place on the other side.

Thank you for your support! x Kate

credits

released February 18, 2022

Kate Ellis – Lead vocals and acoustic guitar
Pauline Scanlon – Backing vocals
Clare Kenny – Bass
John Reynolds – Drums and percussion
Thomas Collison – Keyboards
Andy Hobsbawm – Acoustic guitar, melodica
Chris Hillman – Electric guitar, pedal steel, resonator, mandolin 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10
Joseph Paxton – Violin 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10
Graham Kearns – Acoustic and electric guitar 4
Sarah Snoxall – Cello 6
Jonathan Colombo – Pedal steel 3
Luke Cissell – Violin/viola 1
Dennis Cottard – Strings 3

All tracks engineered, produced and mastered by John Reynolds
All tracks mixed by John Reynolds and Tim Oliver

Photography: Dave Watts
Artwork: Pentagram

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about

Kate Ellis London, UK

Kate Ellis is a Louisiana-born singer-songwriter who uses melancholy Americana and
Folk to conduct fearless soul- searching.

An Observer newspaper journalist described ”hauntingly beautiful songs", while Americana UK gave her second album ‘Spirals’ 9/10 calling it “An irrefutable, unquestionable joy” and Folk Radio UK called it, “Beguilingly sung, melodic, warm, tender, open and insightful.”
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