Band of the Week: Kate Simko

With a solid background in classical piano, Kate Simko has managed to create a growing catalog of electronic tracks that seems to grow more intense and more interesting with each listen. She has released two eps, a single, and tremendously ambitious full-length album on Ghostly International. Music From The Atom Smashers acts like an album on it's own, but it was created as a sound track for 137 Films’ science documentary The Atom Smashers follows physicists at Fermilab, the most powerful particle accelerator in the United States, in their tumultuous search for the Higgs Boson particle, otherwise referred to as the “God Particle” and “The Holy Grail of Physics.” It is moving and at times beat driven look at one of the puzzling and mysterious places in the Chicago Suburbs.

Kate's most recent release was June's Take You There Ep, and it a perfect example of minimal house as it weaves through loops and bleep. It's a look back to the steady thump of the '90's while laying a pipeline to the sounds of the near future. Recently, Kate was kind enough to answer a few of my questions.

Orange Alert (OA): Your new ep is called “Take You There”, what can you tell us about the ep?
Kate Simko (KS): This is my second solo EP for Ghostly's more dance floor music sub-label, Spectral Sound. I wanted to create something that embraces my Chicago roots while adding more minimal/techy elements I've been feeling over the past few years. I asked Chicago-based DJ and vocalist Brenda D to do vocals because she has a great grasp of the soulful Chicago sound. House music is hot across the world right now, so I wanted this EP to embrace house's hometown, while bringing a modern touch to it.

OA: This is your fourth release on Ghostly in the last two years, what has your experience been like with them this far, and how did you get involved with such a legendary electronic label?
KS: It's been great working with Ghostly. Sam Valenti, the label owner, is very supportive and a genuine music-lover. I met him five or six years ago at a festival and started sending him music. Eventually, I sent him something he was interested in releasing, and it's grown from there.

OA: Unfortunately I have not had a chance to watch “The Atom Smashers”, but living two miles from Fermilab I was fascinated by the music you created for the film. How much research went into those pieces, and was there a particular sound or element that may be overlooked by the listener that you intentionally place in your pieces?
KS: I visited Fermilab when I was in grade school, so it's been on my radar as an important place for a long time. The director spent many hours filming at Fermilab, so they were very entrenched in the environment. When I started working on the music, the director and I spent a decent amount of time coming up with adjectives to describe the space and context of each scene. Also, we included somewhat symbolic musical elements. For example, there is a lot of grainy textures and randomness, which are meant to convey the organic, unpredictable nature of the universe.

OA: How does your skill and training as a pianist come in to play in the music you play today?
KS: When composing, I use my music theory training all of the time. I'm always thinking about harmony and trying to use a cool jazz scale or something. Most of the music I've been making (outside of The Atom Smashers) works better if the motifs are simple, so you can't hear it a lot of the time.

But I like to play around with harmony, tonality, and structure, whenever possible.

OA: Being a “house” producer in Chicago in 2009, do you any connection to the house roots in the city? Is that too far in the past to really factor into how you are perceived today?
KS: House music is what turned me on to electronic music in the mid-90's. I know a handful of the DJ's that used to spin back then, and go out to see them play when I can. And I've been reconnecting with people from the house scene more and more, especially as house and minimal techno seem to be coming closer together as genres.

OA: What’s next for Kate Simko?
KS: Next, I'm working on a short documentary film score funded by The Economist magazine in the UK and finishing up an EP and remix that are in the works. After that, my plan is to focus on my first solo artist album and enjoy the rest of '09 :)

Check out Kate's skills in person:
Aug 22 2009 11:00P Sonotheque Chicago, IL
Aug 28 2009 11:00P Spy Bar w/ Magda Chicago, IL
Aug 30 2009 3:00P Day party @ Bar Standard Denver, CO
Sep 11 2009 11:00P Lightbox London, UK
Sep 12 2009 11:00P TBC Paris, FR
Sep 18 2009 11:00P King King Los Angeles, CA
Sep 19 2009 11:00P The Compound San Francisco, CA
Oct 9 2009 11:00P Projekt w/ Dilo Milwaukee, WI

Listen to: Tevatron Dream (mp3) from The Atom Smashers

For more information on Kate Simko please visit her website.