Kat Von D enlists Linda Perry, Peter Murphy & Charo for debut album

With Peter Murphy, Charo and a contortionist involved, Kat Von D's synth-heavy music venture is readymade for Vegas.

Here's the scoop...

Long before the history-making tattoos, ubiquitous television shows, best-selling books, and influential beauty empire, Kat Von D sat down at a piano for nearly two hours a day and played. In essence, music became her first creative language and most trusted outlet. Classical training and a deep appreciation for music of all genres essentially underscored her life. She studied voice under Ken Tamplin six days per week, strengthening her vocals. In 2012, she began writing with Grammy-winning tunesmith Linda Perry. 

Following this experience, Kat continued to write on her own, sitting at the piano and summoning songs from raw emotion. During 2014, she retreated to London to record the original mix of what would become her full-length debut album Love Made Me Do It (KVD/Kartel Music Group) before cementing it with her band—Gregg Foreman (Cat Power, Delta 72) [synth 1], Sammi Doll [synth 2], drummer Dave Parley and contortionist Brynn Route. They moved into a bungalow cottage on her property, lived together, and finished the record. 

A pastiche of shapeshifting analog synths, post-punk dreamscapes, gothic hues, and shy pop magnetism, these eleven songs echo the eternal will of the perennially brokenhearted to love until death. It’s highlighted by standouts such as the first single “Exorcism,” “Protected” featuring Peter Murphy of Bauhaus and produced and co-written with Danny Lohner (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle) and “The Calling” capped off by never-before-heard recordings from original scream queen Vampira. Along with the aforementioned Linda Perry, the album also includes contributions from Dave Grohl, Ladyhawke, TV On The Radio's Dave Sitek and Charo – yes, that Charo.

“With anything I’ve ever created, I always hope audiences enjoy the final product,” she leaves off. “The music should speak for itself. I’ve spent years tattooing lyrics, album covers, band logos, and song titles on people. I hope this music translates on the same level to listeners.”

The release of the album's third single, "Enough" will be accompanied by a video written and directed by visual artist/photographer Franz Szony. Known for his surrealist portraits of Orville Peck, Vanessa Hudgens, Dita Von Teese, Violet Chatchki and Gigi Goode, Szony's video for "Enough" (watch it below) depicts a darkly humorous gothic tale inspired by Kat and Franz 'love for old movies. “Kat is an incredible artist first and foremost, and applies her artistry to everything she does... the way she lives, dresses. I greatly admire people who live their fantasy with everything they do… her music is another avenue for her to bring people into her art and storytelling.  Her song lended itself perfectly to something cinematic and camp. ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari’ and Fellini were two inspirations we both loved,” says Franz Szony. 

Franz is also the mastermind behind creating the dreamlike settings bursting with detail and illustrating the imaginary of the fantastic world Kat lives in. Taking us from a candle lit bathtub scene of Kat bathing in black water, through a Fellini inspired boat ride across rough waters where she sails by mythical siren - played by aforementioned contortionist Brynn Route, Franz Szony creates a fever dream which give us a glimpse into the theatre of his and Kat’s imagination.

Talking about working with Franz Szony, Kat says; “To me, Franz’s work marries the world of beauty and the macabre and it was a dream come true to create something epic with him. After a few DMs, we met up at my house and brainstormed ideas. Franz hand drew some rough sketches and came up with this surrealist approach to the video. So many details went into creating his vision, from the set design, to the props, and to the outrageous costuming that was completely handmade.” 

Kat Von D's Love Made Me Do It album is out August 27th but you can pre-order a copy right here. Tickets are on sale for her upcoming US west coast tour dates on her site: https://katvond.com.  Watch Kat introduce her band followed by videos for "Exorcism," "Enough," "I Am Nothing," and "Fear You" below.