At pointblank Music School we’re committed to showcasing a range of artists we not only feel are an inspiration to aspiring musicians everywhere, but who push at the expectation of modern musicians to create something truly unique. Kate Simko is one such musician who ticks all the boxes for us. A Chicago native and veteran of the Midwest rave scene of the 90s, Simko has been around her fair share of pioneering electronic artists. The inspiration gleaned from watching the likes of Derrick May and Derrick Carter, as well as her classical training and her talent for the craft, have resulted in a widely respected career on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, and recently, with the London Electronic Orchestra, she has added another impressive string to her bow (no pun intended). We headed down the road from our London school and caught up with Kate backstage at her recent show at the Jazz Cafe with the LEO to find out what goes into their remarkable show.
In the video, Simko explains how she came to London to study a Masters degree at Royal College of Music London with the expectation that she would have to put her background in dance music to one side for the duration. Instead, Simko’s composition professor maintained that she must continue to embrace her identity as a musician, a large part of which is grounded in electronically generated sounds. So the London Electronic Orchestra was born. As we see and hear in the video, the orchestra allows a composition’s life and movement to come from the players instead of effects, with Simko’s writing and each instrumentalist’s character mixing to form something truly unique.
Kate Simko and The London Electronic Orchestra
Kate Simko’s career has largely been about distilling her training in classical and jazz piano, via the underground sounds of her native Chicago. The crossover was sparked while studying a bachelors degree in music and DJing on local radio simultaneously. She went on to study in Chile and release ‘Shapes of Summer’ with Andres Bucci. She has since gone on to release on Leftroom, Spectral Sound and more recently Vinyl Factory, which is where you’ll find the LEO releases.
If you want to learn everything about making music from composition to sound design to live performance, our BA (Hons) Music Production & Sound Engineering Degree in London is our most comprehensive course, covering all that and more. Take our Virtual Tour to take a look at our state of the art studios. If you live elsewhere, we also offer an online Music Production & Sound Engineering Degree. For more info visit our contact page.
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