Scottish singer-songwriter Kerri Watt has just released her heartfelt new single Old School Love. The track is a moving ballad which has all the markers of a classic love song and a sound which is a step away from that of her other recent tracks The Wild and Long Way Home. With Old School Love, the vibe carried off by the production was key in creating the atmosphere that Kerri envisaged when penning the track with Kerri noting “I wanted the song to sound classic and timeless like its title and think we managed to capture that in the production.” When asked about why she chose to go down the mellower route for this track Kerri said that “it was important that it also felt old school in a way so stripping it back and keeping it all natural instruments felt like the way to go with this.”
The inspiration for Old School Love is Kerri’s relationship with her boyfriend and the idea for the song came about early on in their relationship: “I was on the road playing shows and telling my tour manager Steve about this new relationship I was in and how we’d met and fallen for each other in a really kind of classic, romantic way” she then went on to describe it as being like an old school love and that then became the title of her new track.
The track begins with gentle guitars and Kerri’s vocal tender and pared back layered on top. The piano accompaniment adds to the mellow and classic vibe Kerri was aiming for. Reaching the first chorus, her vocals remain steady and restrained, the listener aware that bubbling under the surface there’s a wealth of vocal power ready to burst through. The track builds with the addition of a brooding drum beat and we begin to learn if Kerri’s personal love story. The lyrics “Running tired, I was losing hope, then our eyes locked and you felt like home” conjure up feelings of loneliness and despair which are then washed away when two lost hearts finally find each other. The chorus flows in beautiful waves and Kerri finds her stride, loosening the restraint on her vocal and letting her voice free. It’s an uplifting track that celebrates the simple joys of love and provides a message of hope to those still on their journey to it.
Since the release of her last single The Wild, Kerri has been travelling and experimenting with her sound. “I had the opportunity to go to Nashville for a while and write with a few successful songwriters out there.” This experience also opened up other doors to Kerri within the music industry: “Spending time in a city full of songwriters made me realise just how much I love that side of the business too. So I’ve been working at writing for some other artists.” Another exciting development was the opportunity Kerri had to write a song with Embrace. Kerri was introduced to the bands singer Danny McNamara a few years ago and later his brother Rick who plays the guitar in the band and who produced Kerri’s last 3 singles. “When Danny wrote this new song and decided they wanted a female vocalist on it I was absolutely honoured to be asked. I had the opportunity to perform it with them at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium supporting Coldplay for 2 nights recently and that was unbelievable. I can’t wait for more people to hear it!”
Kerri has toured with some big household names such as Nina Nesbitt, The Overtones and Starsailor and, looking to the future, there are a few more artists that Kerri would love to have the opportunity to work with such as Amos Lee and John Mayer. “I look up to them both so much as songwriters. Amos also plays the kind of venues that i think my music works best in which is concert hall size. The sound at those gigs is usually lovely and they’re big enough to feel exciting but still intimate enough that you can really connect with the audience.”
Kerri played at Glasgow’s Mugstock festival last weekend and will be playing at the Liverpool Folk On The Dock festival this August bank holiday. She says she’s putting together her first headline tour for the Autumn and can’t wait to get back on the road again.
Find out more about Kerri here and watch the video for Old School Love below.