Katie Schecter on Embodying 'Empress' with Nostalgic Sound and Modern Power
Words by McKayla Grace
Photos provided by Katie Schecter and Big Hassle
Katie Schecter is a formidable force and a delight. In her newest album “Empress,” released Friday, Oct. 17, the R&B rocker channels icons like Amy Winehouse and Bill Withers. Her slow, nostalgic delivery of punchy lyrics adds an eeriness to the final product that makes for easy–but never passive–listening.
When Katie and her then-boyfriend-now-husband Nick Bockrath of Cage the Elephant moved from New York to Nashville, they felt they had struck gold. By 2014, they had been dating for two years and Nick had been traveling to Nashville frequently for recording sessions. The pair had been left wanting more from the New York scene, and Schecter describes their early days in Nashville as “kids in a candy store” where their pocket of the industry was growing but not saturated. It was the perfect place for a young couple to grow their career and family.
By the time Katie was putting the finishing touches on “Empress” she was pregnant with her now three year-old daughter. “Having a baby inside your belly makes it really hard to breathe,” jokes Schecter, sharing that singing is so much easier now with the literal weight off her chest.
“Empress” was recorded on a tight deadline because Katie wanted to wrap it up before her newest creative project entered the world. Schecter knew her first year of motherhood would be one of “survival mode,” and having this album tied with a bow would make that transition just a bit smoother. Katie looks back on that time with gratitude to her husband Nick who stuck by her and encouraged her while they navigated an incredibly busy season professionally and personally.
Thankfully, her friends at The Diamond Mine in New York were ready and willing to bring “Empress” to life and recorded it live-to-tape, which adds another layer of nostalgia and raw authenticity to the album.
Drawing inspiration from soul and R&B legends past, Katie shares, “I was really into Curtis Mayfield and listening to a lot of Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry productions, like a lot of just like the OG reggae and ska stuff. And I feel like that's really clear on the song ‘Kaleidoscope.’ But, yeah, I mean, I'm always digging for new old music, stuff that maybe was a little bit under the radar like the garage girl groups of the 60s… Shangri-Las would be kind of a more known example, but Denise & Co and a lot of these gals who didn't really get that much shine time, but are so rad.”
The grit and and groove of that era is what really sets “Empress” apart. A single listen to tracks like “Hide My Weapons” and “Pay It No Mind” will transport listeners to a bygone dive. But when asked about modern artists, Katie pulls no punches: “I mean, I struggle constantly to find people who are alive, who I like. I am hateful. I don't care.”
But she hasn’t locked herself in a time capsule. She still loves and respects artists like I I'm really into Sierra Ferrell, Natalie Bergman (a personal friend), Remi Wolf, Kacey Musgraves and Jack White.
She admits, “The internet makes it sort of hard to even focus on just one thing. But there's tons of amazing music happening and coming out right now. It's a very exciting time for art, even though it's not an exciting time for really anything else.”
Schecter made the most of this moment in the industry by creating a third studio album that flows thematically from start to finish. It’s a smooth listen that establishes and refines her sound. She shares that the sonic consistency was very intentional, wanting to make her work as accessible as possible to the widest range of listeners, all without sacrificing her own unique voice. “This record feels more me than anything I've ever done. It feels the truest to like who I am and where I'm at and what I want to leave behind.” She wonders out loud, “If we got so much closer to my true sound with this, what's the next record gonna sound like? I'm already plotting.”
The final track on the new album, “Hiding Place” is the most vulnerable on the album, an ode to her daughter and a promise of protection. Katie shares this track is “when my life really began.” Her husband flew in an audio clip of the first time she heard her daughter’s heartbeat, and she's even credited in the liner notes. “That maybe comes from the rawest, most vulnerable place that I could access within myself… So that also feels very human and real and just meant to be.”
“Empress” isn’t Schecter’s first foray into feminist art, and it won’t be her last. “Huntress,” a track on her debut self-titled album, carries the same theme. “I love a powerful woman. I strive to be one. I'm surrounded by them, and I want to raise one. So I think that that's always in the back of my mind.” Katie credits this mindset to her growing up years in New York City, raised by a strong, independent mother and attending an all girls school that encouraged the students to make a difference in the world around them.
“Hiding Place” rounds out the album and this commitment by reminding listeners that feminism is more than taking back power. It reflects the full female experience, jagged edges and soft sentimentality coexisting to make three-dimensional art.
Katie reflects on our current times and mourns the climate in which she is raising her daughter. “They should stop making laws about our bodies. They don't have any business doing it. And they got here by way of an empress… It makes no sense that I'm raising a daughter in a world where that's a reality. I don't know how much I want to constantly be negative or be resentful and talk about it all the time. All I can do is lead by example and be a woman in my own power. Say what I mean, mean what I say, and try and set the tone.”
In everything she does, Katie strives to remind people “we are all here inhabiting this one space together. And there is a very, very urgent need for us to remember our humanity and start seeing each other as humans.” She sees music as one of the best ways to accomplish that goal. “If I'm at a show, I'm looking around the audience, I don't give a f*ck who anyone voted for in that moment, like we're all there watching the same show, and that's what I'm trying to focus on... I think the powers that be are trying to drive a wedge between us and keep us weak. We have to try and work through our shit rather than slam doors on each other, right?”
With “Empress,” Katie Schecter is doing her part to keep the doors wide open.