• Kitten and The Hip: You’re very welcome, and thanks for inviting us!

• Kitten and The Hip: We started about three years ago, almost by accident. We were writing toplines for Djs and pitching songs to people. The I came up with this backing track and Kitten and our then writing partner Kristian Booth wrote a nice tune on top of it. We sent if off to a friend who worked at HedKandi and he got back almost immediately with an offer. That track was Don’t You Worry About That. We then began to write a bunch of other songs, free from the tyranny of ‘what major labels are looking for’ and became much happier people. We started touring as soon as we had enough songs for a set and have been out on the road entertaining people for the last two years.

• Kitten and The Hip: Ashley Slater is the producer, Scarlett Quinn is the singer and we both write the songs together.

Facebook: Facebook.com/KittenHip
Twitter: @KittenAndTheHip
Website: www.KittenAndTheHip.com

MuzicNotez: Who were your musical influences, idols, or bands growing up that have helped mold you into the musicians and group you are today? Or helped mold the music that you create?

• Kitten and The Hip: Ashley’s early days were filled with the sounds of jazz and easy listening, along with a lot of American soft rock and a big dab of country and western. He grew up in a small village in the mountains of California, where the men were men and the bears were nervous. Consequently, he never even heard any ‘black music’ until he left home and moved to the UK. He arrived there just as punk was in full flow, and was exposed to all kinds of British pop like Bowie, Genesis, Kate Bush and Ian Dury. Then, along came ska and it all seemed to make sense. Kitten grew up listening to mainstream pop and lots’ of UK indie bands, both of which have informed her songwriting. VIEW THE FULL INTERVIEW HERE >>