KATHY & STELLA SOLVE A MURDER!
The Kathy & Stella song used most frequently in promotional clips is the heroines’ “indomitably perky” podcast jingle. This choice absolutely makes sense from a marketing viewpoint – it’s a literal theme tune – but when you see the show, you realise how unique it is within the full score, how un-Kathy & Stella the chirpy cartoonish sound of it is. These two women were once emos who wrote supernatural fan fiction. They love gritty procedural drama serials. As broadly theatrical as their surroundings may be, they’re in fact a serious freak and geek. It’s just that their podcast theme is by definition a performative choice they’ve made in the hope of attracting more listeners.
My perception of Kathy & Stella’s sound, in the centre of the perky musical comedy they inhabit, is not mainstream or modern. Even allowing for the fact that they were “pushing thirty” in 2022, and therefore forming their tastes in the early 2010s, I don’t see them paying much attention to Beyoncé or One Direction. I suspect that precocious, detail-oriented Kathy might have found some psychedelic funk, jazz and soul in her parents’ vinyls and thrilled to the soaring frenetic energy, whereas earthier, self-indulgent Stella embodied more of a contradiction, enjoying pumping hard rock and the balladry of Céline Dion in equal measure. Throw all of that into a pot with the DVD box set of Cagney & Lacey and, if I’m the one cooking, you get a song that belongs to the duo of Kathy & Stella…
Much to our regret, we only got the chance to record four songs from the show, grabbing an afternoon onstage before a preview ahead of our 2023 UK Tour. They are: the show’s first proper number, the love duet (between the two leads, of course, not some filler romantic interest), the story-moving sequence that kicks off the investigation, and the lush aria that reveals the growing gulf between the pair.
EP recorded at ArtsEd in 2023. Music by MFJ. Lyrics by Jon Brittain & MFJ. Performed by the original cast, Bronté Barbé (Kathy), Rebekah Hinds (Stella), Jodie Jacobs (Felicia+), TJ Lloyd (Justin+), Imelda Warren-Green (Erica+), Chelsea Hall, Jacob Kohli & Sarah Pearson. Musicians: MFJ (Keys 1/MD), Caitlin Morgan (Keys 2/AMD), Laura Browne (Guitar) & Philip Williams (Drums). Engineered and mixed by Ben Robbins.
A SUPER HAPPY STORY (ABOUT FEELING SUPER SAD)
Sally McKenzie, the narrator and autobiographer of the show, loves music. She talks about writing down lyrics and making mix CDs: “Indie, pop, rock, folk, even a bit of classical if I’m in the mood...” The first chapter of the play takes place at one of her favourite band’s gigs. In the second, searching for a misplaced album triggers a meltdown. When the darkest chapter comes, a particular song playing at just the right moment essentially saves her life. Music is therefore an essential facet of the play, and finding the right style was key.
Crucially, though, Sally harbours no ambition to be a professional musician herself. There’s no mention of her playing an instrument or wanting to form her own band. That’s actually one of the things I love about her – at her core, she’s a hungry consumer, a devoted audience member, a supportive fan. She loves other people’s music. And although the play is presented as Sally’s own show—one she has written, produced, staged, and roped friends into performing with her—she is absolutely not hoping to launch a legitimate music career. Her songs are storytelling tools, for emphasis, or lightness, or inarticulable feelings, or even self-admitted sugar-coating, as she sees fit.
When I came to write the music, I made a conscious decision to let the songs be simple, the plausible creations of a 26-year-old solar farm project manager. Piecemeal, pastiche, not smoothly integrated, but very pure of intention, and totally without vanity. One particular moment in the script really jumped out at me: Sally’s friend Toby turning up for a frozen-pizza-and-video-game night. I found the idea of 8-bit loops and Casio chords interesting not only due to its accessibility for the amateur central character, but also as the likely soundtrack to many of the teenage days she recreates for us during the play. That bedrock can still be heard in some of the rhythmic and harmonic choices I had her make.
Demo tracks recorded at Cowshed Studios in 2018. Music by MFJ. Lyrics by Jon Brittain & MFJ. Performed by the original cast, Madeleine MacMahon (Sally), Sophie Clay (Tash+) & Ed Yelland (Toby+), with MFJ (piano). Engineered and mixed by James Johnston.