Many of you may never have heard of young English singer/songwriter Katey Brooks but a couple of years ago she released her debut album, PROOF OF LIFE,  which we reckoned blitzed several highly hyped UK females… Katey’s new singles and album will be available in the spring/summer:

BIOGRAPHY

Singing ‘folked-up soul’ in a rich, deep voice lilting effortlessly across the scale, INDY Music Award finalist Brooks is “on the road to becoming a phenomenon” (Trevor Raggatt, Wears the Trousers magazine).

Katey Brooks independently released her debut album ‘Proof Of Life’ in March 2010, and the following month, the album reached No. 1 in the Amazon Folk Chart, as well as being chosen as ‘Album of the Week’ on BBC Bristol Introducing. The album has since gone on to be chosen as Venue, and Shakenstir Magazine’s Top Albums of 2010. ‘Proof Of Life’ has also received an overwhelming amount of critical acclaim nationwide.

Brooks’s most recent offering, the ‘(You’ve Got To) Live NOW’ EP has also been receiving it’s fair share of success.  Recorded with the legendary engineer/mixer Stuart Bruce (Stevie Wonder, Van Morrison, Lana Del Rey) at Real World Studios, in a short time the EP bagged Katey and her beautiful band a headline spot on the BBC Introducing Stage at Wychwood Festival this year, as well as extensive play on BBC 6 Music, and regional BBC stations.  She has also had the privilege of receiving play on BBC Radio ‘s Jo Whiley Show.

September 2012 was a big month for KB when her releases received a huge accolade, after she was approached by Starbucks USA, asking to use tracks from ‘Live NOW’ and ‘Proof Of Life’ for their in-store and online playlists. Naturally she very gladly accepted, and the deal was signed. Fans across the pond will be able to hear Katey Brooks tracks in their local Starbucks any day now!

In June of 2012 Katey won the WOMAD Band competition and went on to perform with her band on the Charlie Gillett Stage, receiving a hugely warm reception.  Katey and the band had clearly blown the crowd away, after Womad officials said the queue for her CDs was the longest they had seen all weekend!

Besides her own works, Katey Brooks’s rich vocal depth and style has recently earned her a feature on BBC Radio 2’s Children in Need Album ‘Bandaged Together’, recorded at Abbey Road with artists such as Bill Wyman, Nick Mason, and Paloma Faith, as well as being asked to provide a track for Odetta Holmes tribute album ‘Beautiful Star’ which incudes the likes of Ane Brun and Anais Mitchell.

Last year Katey was honored to be asked by Anna Gabriel, to be part of The Voice Project; which supports women’s groups in Uganda who have been using songs passed by word of mouth to call child soldiers and abductees back home in Africa’s longest running war. Katey was filmed performing Ane Brun’s ‘One More Time’, at her home in Bristol, and the film was released last summer on voiceproject.org, to much praise, including a big seal of approval from Ane Brun herself.

Brooks has played Glastonbury, Dot to Dot, Bath International, and many more, toured all over Europe, and most recently toured the UK in the Spring of this year, playing beautiful venues across the country including concert hall Bath Forum, supporting Mike and The Mechanics, Salisbury Arts Centre, supporting BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Winner Chris Wood, and the legendary Hootananny Brixton in London.  In previous years Katey has had the pleasure of supporting Newton Faulkner, Grammy Award Nominees Cutting Crew, and Mercury Award Nominee Lou Rhodes to name a few.  She has also had the joy of sharing the stage with BBC Radio 2 favourite Tom Moriarty, and BRIT Nominee Beth Rowley.

The future is extremely bright for Miss Brooks, with tracks ready for the next album; and plans for a release and tour in Spring 2013…