The hydrating remedy for your Sunday night hangover; an indie songwriter's cocktail that goes down smooth, made with bittersweet piano stylings and the magnetic, sentimental voice of a 20-something who narrates the Wonder Years of a later generation.

9 MP3 Songs
POP: Piano, POP: Today's Top 40



Details:
The following review was written by a teenager for his his school newspaper. There is no pretentiousness, no assumed knowledge of music - just a genuine description of what he heard in Out of the Basement...and why he liked it.


"Many artists strive to connect with their listeners on a personal level through their music. They attempt to write the soundtracks of their fans' lives and more often than not fail miserably. These artists could learn a thing or two from Kat DiSimone. It's simple really: To connect with other people, you must first tell them who you are.

Sincerity comes naturally to Kat. Her songs are so intensely personal, one feels that they are listening to her sing words from a diary. These songs are real. They are not written to nameless people who do not exist. This is Kat DiSimone's story. Lucky for us, she's allowed us to listen in.

Kat accompanies herself with incredibly melodic piano that slows and quickens with her voice in perfect agreement with every note she sings. Her playing is dangerous and unique. These songs cannot be measured with a metronome. They reel back and forth, quieting only to intensify slowly in perfectly pleasurable piano pop fashion. The subtle changes in the melody lines and the tempo variations occasionally leave one wondering where DiSimone could possibly be going with it all, but every time she brings the song back in a way that displays a musical intuition that is bound to impress anyone who listens.

Her history makes the story even sweeter. Kat DiSimone grew up in a small town in upstate New York. She began playing at 5 years old and started lessons at 9. Three months and 3 teachers later, she quit, but continued to play by ear. In high school, she spent her time tapping out Scott Joplin and Mozart off of her father's vinyl records. In college, she began writing songs with lyrics, skipping classes to play in the basement of the university's fine arts building. Kat did not have the benefit of growing up performing. She is a relatively late bloomer to the musical community, which makes her music all the more noteworthy.

Anyone who listens to this extremely talented musician cannot help but be moved by the honesty that is so obviously present in her music. The production style is raw in the best of ways. What you hear is what you get. There are no tricks here, just a fantastic voice and wonderful piano work. A self proclaimed "basement musician" one cannot help but be amazed at such beautiful sounds coming from such humble origins.

Kat DiSimone is indeed a rare find; someone who is talented beyond belief, does it all herself, and appreciates all the support she receives. If you like your pop to be about faceless people and vague ideas, maybe this is not for you. But if music with significance and integrity appeals to you, Kat DiSimone is definitely your kind of artist."

- Dean Engle