Willow Katherine Kayne | |
|---|---|
| Born | Willow Katherine Kayne |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Years active | 2020–present |
| Member of | Loud LDN |
| Website | http://www.willowkayne.com |
Willow Katherine Kayne is a British singer. She won anIvor Novello Rising Star Award in 2021. She is a member ofLoud LDN.
Willow Katherine Kayne[1] was born toToploader'sDancing in the Moonlight.[2] Her sister makes classical music,[3] and her mother, Emma, was a teaching assistant at St Patrick's Catholic Primary School inCorsham,[4] who had previously produced music videos byThe Prodigy,Nick Cave,[5] andErasure.[6] In 2011, theWiltshire Times noted that a "ten-year-old" Willow and a classmate had addressedWiltshire Council, following threats to withdraw the subsidised bus she was travelling to St. Patrick's from; the same article noted that she travelled there "fromMelksham".[4] She also attendedWiltshire College & University Centre.[7]
When she was fifteen, she temporarily lost the sight in her left eye, and permanently in her right;[8] she had contractedacanthamoeba, which ate three out of four layers of hercornea.[7] At the time, she was interested in a career in graphics, but changed course after listening to her favourite songs while blind and hearing things she had not heard before.[8] She started making music in 2018, after receiving a new computer bundled withGarageBand; she would later make music with a torrented version ofLogic Pro. Early tracks were released onSoundCloud.[3]
In 2019, she andKenya Grace made the Top 21 in ISawItFirst,[9] a nationwide search in collaboration withCapital Xtra intended to find new women musicians, winning a music video for "Ctrl Alt Dlt".[10] On 28 April 2021, she released her début single, "Two Seater";[11] the song had been written a year earlier. After being used in aTikTok advert, the song received over 1,000 abusive comments,[8] which Kayne responded to by writing her second single, "I Don't Wanna Know",[12] which she released on 22 July 2021.[13] In September,[3] she won anIvor Novello Rising Star Award in 2021, along with mentorship fromNile Rodgers,[14] and later that month "Two Seater" turned up on theFIFA 22 soundtrack.[3] On 2 November 2021, she released a third single, "Opinion",[15] which had been written the year before, and about abusive comments she had received.[16] On 1 February 2022, she released the EPPlayground Antics, which featured "Two Seater", "I Don't Wanna Know", and "Opinion".[17]
On 5 May 2022, Kayne released the single "Final Notice",[17] a commentary on her experience as a woman in the music industry, which was released alongside aHuman Traffic-inspired music video.[6] On 1 July that year, she released another single, "White City",[17] an ode to inequality inWhite City, London,[18] which featured "Final Notice". On 22 August, she released "Rat Race",[17] which was also about her experiences of living inLondon,[19] and which featured "White City" and "Final Notice". On 23 September that year, she released the four-trackMr Universe EP,[17] the title track for which featuredGeneral Levy and was produced byToddla T,[20] and which featured "Rat Race", "White City", and "Final Notice".[17]
In November 2022,Venbee used a November 2022NME article to point out that she,Piri, Kayne,Charlotte Plank,A Little Sound, andCharlotte Haining were members ofLoud LDN.[21] On 19 May 2023, she released "Cola Head",[17] a song about infidelity,[22] as an independent artist,[23] and then the following April she released "Robot Lovers", about the effects of technology on love.[24] In 2025, Kayne co-wrote "Lovesick" for girl groupXO, featured on their debut EPFashionably Late.[25]
Kayne's primary influences arePharrell Williams, British rave culture, andBristol,[2] although when "Mr Universe" came out, she citedM-Beat andE-Z Rollers as inspirations,[20] and when "Cola Head" came out, she citedthe Neptunes.[22]
