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Kate Bollinger
Artist

Kate Bollinger

Genre: Alt / Indie, Alternative Singer/Songwriter, Indie Pop, Indie Folk
Origin: U.S.A
Active: 2017 - Present
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Biography

An indie singer/songwriter raised in Virginia, Kate Bollinger crafts introspective, jazz-inflected material whose gentle atmospheres rely on intricate extended chords while her bright, warm vocals take center stage. Early tracks moved across folk, indie rock, and R&B territory before she locked into a mellow indie pop sound on her second EP, the 2019 release I Don't Wanna Lose. One track from that set, “Candy,” was later sampled for and helped shape Kanye West’s 2021 song “Donda.” Bollinger made her first appearance on Ghostly International with the 2022 EP Look at It in the Light, and the label issued her closely observed debut album, Songs from a Thousand Frames of Mind, in 2024. Drawing from ’60s and ’70s pop, rock, and folk, the record’s delicate, time-worn tone was shaped alongside Matthew E. White, Sam Evian, and other frequent collaborators.

Childhood in Charlottesville found her harmonizing regularly with her mother, a music therapist, while her older brothers pursued their own projects in the family basement. She began posting self-recorded songs online in 2013 and soon started performing in local venues. After several years of limited-run CD-Rs, her first proper EP, Key West, appeared in October 2017. Jay Purdy and Todd Erk produced the sessions, which featured members of Philadelphia indie rock outfit the Extraordinaires—Purdy on piano, Matt Gibson on bass, and Mike Harkness on drums. Additional material cut with John Trainum over the following years included the two-song single “Dreams Before.”

Her second EP, I Don't Wanna Lose, arrived in 2019 and featured Trainum on synthesizer and keyboards, Chris Lewis on lead guitar, Jimmy Trussell on bass, and Jacob Grissom on drums. The release opened doors to support slots with Soccer Mommy and a tour alongside Wild Nothing. The next year she issued another Trainum-produced collection, the self-released A word becomes a sound.

An unforeseen 2021 credit arrived when Kanye West’s album Donda incorporated a sample of “Candy,” though the interpolation was ultimately removed from the finished track. Bollinger spent the period opening for Jeff Tweedy, Real Estate, and Faye Webster, then returned in April 2022 with her fourth EP, Look at It in the Light, on Ghostly International. Cut with Trainum and augmented by a string section, the sessions took cues from 1960s and ’70s recordings—particularly Beatles demos—with an emphasis on highlighting individual instruments while embracing natural imperfections.

Those same mid-century influences resurfaced on her full-length debut, a stylistically broader yet consistently understated collection that favored vintage instrumentation and drew from the era’s pop, folk, and rock traditions. Matthew E. White, Sam Evian, Adam Brisbin, and Jacob Grissom all contributed to the arrangements, and Songs from a Thousand Frames of Mind reached listeners via Ghostly in September 2024.

Top Songs

  1. Look at it in the LightYards / GardensLook at it in the Light · 2022Look at it in the Light2:22
  2. Dreams BeforeA Couple ThingsEDreams Before · 2018Dreams Before3:04
  3. I Don't Wanna LoseUntitledI Don't Wanna Lose · 2019I Don't Wanna Lose3:00
  4. I Don't Wanna LoseTalk About ItI Don't Wanna Lose · 2019I Don't Wanna Lose2:12
  5. Look at it in the LightWho Am I But SomeoneLook at it in the Light · 2022Look at it in the Light2:42
  6. Look at it in the LightLady in the Darkest HourLook at it in the Light · 2022Look at it in the Light4:36
  7. I Don't Wanna LoseCandyI Don't Wanna Lose · 2019I Don't Wanna Lose3:51
  8. No Other Like YouNo Other Like YouNo Other Like You · 2019No Other Like You3:28
  9. Look at it in the LightConnecting DotsLook at it in the Light · 2022Look at it in the Light4:34
  10. ShadowsShadowsShadows · 2021Shadows2:38
  11. Songs From A Thousand Frames Of MindAny Day Now (Alternative Version)Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind · 2024Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind3:28
  12. Songs From A Thousand Frames Of MindI See It NowSongs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind · 2024Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind3:28
  13. A word becomes a soundGrey SkiesA word becomes a sound · 2020A word becomes a sound2:44
  14. A word becomes a soundA word becomes a soundA word becomes a sound · 2020A word becomes a sound3:38
  15. Songs From A Thousand Frames Of MindTo Your Own DevicesSongs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind · 2024Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind3:22
  16. A word becomes a soundFeel Like Doing NothingA word becomes a sound · 2020A word becomes a sound2:32
  17. Songs From A Thousand Frames Of MindRunningSongs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind · 2024Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind3:06
  18. Look at it in the LightLook at it in the LightLook at it in the Light · 2022Look at it in the Light2:47
  19. Look at it in the LightI Found OutLook at it in the Light · 2022Look at it in the Light2:53
  20. A word becomes a soundQueen to NobodyA word becomes a sound · 2020A word becomes a sound2:32

Albums

Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind

Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind

2024
Songs From A Thousand Frames Of Mind (Deluxe)
Kate Bollinger · Album · 2024
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  1. What’s This About (La La La La)Kate Bollinger2:11
  2. To Your Own DevicesKate Bollinger3:22
  3. Any Day NowKate Bollinger3:18
  4. God InterludeKate Bollinger2:48
  5. LonelyKate Bollinger3:46
  6. RunningKate Bollinger3:06
  7. In A SmileKate Bollinger3:24
  8. Postcard From A CloudKate Bollinger4:02
  9. I See It NowKate Bollinger3:28
  10. Sweet DevilKate Bollinger3:19
  11. All This TimeKate Bollinger4:35
  12. You're A DancerKate Bollinger0:49
  13. Lonely (Virginia Strings Version)Kate Bollinger4:07
  14. In A Smile (Park Demo 2022)Kate Bollinger2:33
  15. Any Day Now (Alternative Version)Kate Bollinger3:28

Singles & EPs