Kate Aumonier

b. Sussex, England. This Balham, London-based singer-songwriter grafted away behind the scenes for several years before making her album debut in 2004 with the acclaimed Here I Am. The former drama school student was talent spotted by veteran UK producer Glyn Johns, an old friend of Aumonier’s father. Johns was impressed by her vocal talents and recommended Aumonier travel to Los Angeles and team up with his son Ethan, also a renowned producer. Johns found Aumonier session work on Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt’s Grammy-nominated duo album, Western Wall: The Tucson Sessions. In 2000, Aumonier returned to the UK where she began a residency at one of London’s up-and-coming venues, the Kashmir Klub. A prestigious support slot on Dr. John’s UK tour furthered her musical education. Aumonier then teamed up with songwriter Tim Lind and began writing material for a planned solo project, which moved closer to fruition when she signed a recording contract with the When! offshoot of Sanctuary Records. The four-track Fall From Grace EP was released at the end of 2003 and attracted a number of glowing reviews, with attention being paid not only to Aumonier’s raw vocal talent but her ability to craft sumptuous, melodic pop rock songs. All of the tracks from the EP were included on Here I Am, which was released in July 2004. Moving between conventional singer-songwriter material (‘By This Time’, ‘Simple Heart’), radio-friendly pop (‘Morning After Girl’) and rockier tracks (‘Laugh As You Fall’), the album fully revealed the potential Aumonier had unveiled on her debut EP.