Cate Le Bon says working on her Mercury Prize-shortlisted LP ‘Reward’ was a "cathartic" experience.
The 36-year-old Welsh singer/songwriter took herself away to small village in the Lake District to work on her acclaimed fifth studio album, and admitted being alone for such a "long time" was freeing and also made her fall in love with the "joy" of writing music again.
Speaking exclusively to BANG Showbiz on the red carpet at the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize at Hammersmith’s Eventim Apollo on Thursday night (19.09.19), Cate admitted: "I don’t think there was an option really. I needed to take away the surveillance of music so I could learn to enjoy it again.
"There really wasn’t any other way I don’t think.
"Making it without this constant surveillance of, ‘Oh I’m making an album and this could be a great song for the album.’
"I was writing for the joy. It was cathartic because I was alone for a long time so I had a bit of a personal reckoning as one does."
During her time in the Lake District, Cate studied at the renowned furniture school Waters & Acland for a year, and was planning to buy herself a "a big saw" if she had won the Album of the Year prize.
She said prior to the ceremony, which saw rapper Dave’s debut album ‘Psychodrama’ crowned winner, Cate said: "I’d probably buy myself some tools, actually — maybe a big saw."
Cate Le Bon had a ‘cathartic’ experience making Reward
