Ms Kitty is the dazzling frontwoman of The Fabulous Red Diesel, a jazz band based on the south coast of England. At home, she’s called Kat, and welcomed me in for a cup of tea. We talked nature, nurture and the creative process following the release of the band’s latest album.
It was the last bright day of 2023 when I stepped through beaded curtains into Kat’s kitchen. Green walls, purple cupboards; emerald tiles, a violet ostrich feather; bell jars full of fermenting mead. In the garden beyond, plants cascaded across the sun-drenched patio, frequented by drowsy flies drunk from the inky grapes lolling over the garden wall. Kat introduced me to a few of the plot stakeholders: Edward the cactus, who was left by the previous tenants; a bird of paradise reminiscent of her late sister; a Virginia creeper keeping time with its seasonal colours. The sea dazzled in a bright triangle between the horizon and the treetops, and we sat, both a little hungover, healing in the sunshine and the birdsong.