Kat s Blog

A blast from the past

Posted on August 1st, 2010 by Kat.
Categories: Interviews and press.

0 comments.

Fluting around the World

Posted on June 16th, 2010 by Kat.
Categories: Interviews and press.

From Las Vegas to Russia, Kat Epple crosses cultural divides with her magic flute.
by Cathy Chestnut

Everyone knows who Kat Epple is. The lithe, blonde flutist is a fixture on the sidewalk, steps or stage at just about any major cultural event that happens in this area.
With 15 albums to her name, Epple has produced from her North Fort Myers studio music and soundtracks for television programs and networks, including National Geographic, NOVA, CNN, Turner Broadcasting, Guiding Light and Another World.

The recipient of eight Emmy Awards, 10 Addy Awards and a Grammy nomination, Epple’s musicality includes composing ambient electronic music. Her muse has taken her around the world – from the hinterlands of the Amazon in search of indigenous flutes to a concert tour through Russia to major art exhibit openings by modern artist Robert Rauschenberg, with whom she is close friends.

A Lee County resident since 1990, Epple is a self-described “travel junkie” who has been to China, Africa, Europe, Peru, Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica and the Caribbean to learn about different cultures and their musical traditions – and to share her music with them.

What drew you to the flute? I’ve always loved the sound of the flute, even as a child, before I knew what it was. I guess it’s just the sound. Also the mythology and fables around flutes and flute-players, from The Pied Piper to Pan.
Tell me about your flute collection. I have around 200. I’ve been to Africa, China…I love to meet flute makers and flute players and play music with them.

What is the most fascinating thing you learned about music or anthropology in collecting flutes? Almost every culture has its own version of flutes. You can travel down the Amazon and see a flute in one village, and a few miles away, the next village has a different flute, different dance tradition, different language.
How did you meet Robert Rauschenberg? At the home of Dr. John and Mrs. Fran Fenning [in Fort Myers]. I was blowing on empty wine bottles and he was playing with chopsticks, playing on the plates and the wine bottles, and we were making music together.

You’ve traveled with him all over the world for art openings, from New York City to Spain, to France. What is it like traveling with him? He is such an inspiration to me. He’s opened up a lot of the world to me, with art, travel, etcetera. He and I sometimes talk about how art and music are so similar. When I approach visual art, I approach it as music. That’s the way I see it.

He did your last album cover for Azure Pieces of Life? Yes. I was really honored. [The piece is titled Catfish Tails.]
As a friend and a colleague, what is it like being close to someone so world renowned? I always feel like I’m in the company of greatness. Traveling with him is like traveling with a rock star.

You play at a lot of interesting gigs, from New York to Los Angeles to Las Vegas. How does that happen? I’m really good at staying in touch with people and in my travels, I meet a lot of people. That’s just the web we weave of people we get to know.

0 comments.

Article in North Fort Myers Weekly Newspaper

Posted on June 16th, 2010 by Kat.
Categories: Interviews and press.

When did you move to North Fort Myers? How long did you live there for? 
I moved from San Francisco to North Fort Myers in 1989. I had just been signed with a new  record company, and wanted to move to a more peaceful environment to compose music. I grew to love southwest Florida, so twenty years later, I am still here! 

What inspired you to become a musician? 
As a child, I always loved the sound of the flute. I also loved the legends and the lore about flute players. The Pied Piper of Hamelin, the Greek legend of Pan, and the Native American Medicine flute player are all examples of stories about the power of the flute.  I learned to play the flute, then started to collect and play flutes from other cultures.  I  became a composer, a sound engineer, and recorded music for my own albums, then became a composer of music for television shows and film scores.

What do you enjoy most about what you do? 
 Playing the flute can be a beautiful, healing, spiritual experience. I guess that is my favorite thing.

Why did you agree to play for the benefit concert? 
I appreciate the work Calusa Musicale does to support and  encourage young musicians in Southwest Florida. I am happy to be a part of their event.

Do you have anything else you would like to add? 
I will be performing all original music with my keyboardist/composer friend Chuck Grinnell.

short bio:
Emmy Award-winning, and Grammy-nominated composer and flutist, Kat Epple, has released 23 albums of original music, composes television and film scores including “National Geographic,” PBS, “Nova,” and “Guiding Light,” and has performed at the Guggenheim Museums, Metropolitan Museum, United Nations, and the National Gallery. She travels throughout the world collecting flutes from other cultures and features some of those flutes in her live performances. Her music has been described as celestial, yet earthy, primeval, and innovative. 

0 comments.

Music for promotional packages of spa, resort, massage, meditation, yoga retreats, motivational workshops

Posted on June 7th, 2010 by Kat.
Categories: Musical Travels, Interviews and press, News.

One hour of music specifically created for release as a cd album for spas, massage studios, hotels, restaurants, resorts, etc. This beautiful professionally produced, relaxing music can be licensed by spas, massage studios, resorts, etc., with their corporate logo, contact info, photos, and text info. “Relaxing healing music for (your establishment’s name here)”. Deal directly with the owners of the music so that you can simply obtain perpetual rights to package this music as your own promotional or sales material. It is the perfect promotional gift for “goodie bags”. Simple contracts are available for quantities from 100 to 10,000. The client has the option to design the album cover, or we can create all the artwork for you, using your logo, and promotional material. The music is classy, elegant, professionally produced, and available to represent your product.
Here are some examples of CD albums cover ideas:
Listen to musical examples
All instrumental music.

Tranquility Hideaway

Listen to other examples

0 comments.

Fluting Around the World

Posted on March 29th, 2010 by Kat.
Categories: Interviews and press.

From Las Vegas to Russia, Kat Epple crosses cultural divides with her magic flute.
by Cathy Chestnut

Everyone knows who Kat Epple is. The lithe, blonde flutist is a fixture on the sidewalk, steps or stage at just about any major cultural event that happens in this area.
With 15 albums to her name, Epple has produced from her North Fort Myers studio music and soundtracks for television programs and networks, including National Geographic, NOVA, CNN, Turner Broadcasting, Guiding Light and Another World.

The recipient of eight Emmy Awards, 10 Addy Awards and a Grammy nomination, Epple’s musicality includes composing ambient electronic music. Her muse has taken her around the world – from the hinterlands of the Amazon in search of indigenous flutes to a concert tour through Russia to major art exhibit openings by modern artist Robert Rauschenberg, with whom she is close friends.

A Lee County resident since 1990, Epple is a self-described “travel junkie” who has been to China, Africa, Europe, Peru, Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica and the Caribbean to learn about different cultures and their musical traditions – and to share her music with them.

What drew you to the flute? I’ve always loved the sound of the flute, even as a child, before I knew what it was. I guess it’s just the sound. Also the mythology and fables around flutes and flute-players, from The Pied Piper to Pan.
Tell me about your flute collection. I have around 200. I’ve been to Africa, China…I love to meet flute makers and flute players and play music with them.

What is the most fascinating thing you learned about music or anthropology in collecting flutes? Almost every culture has its own version of flutes. You can travel down the Amazon and see a flute in one village, and a few miles away, the next village has a different flute, different dance tradition, different language.
How did you meet Robert Rauschenberg? At the home of Dr. John and Mrs. Fran Fenning [in Fort Myers]. I was blowing on empty wine bottles and he was playing with chopsticks, playing on the plates and the wine bottles, and we were making music together.

You’ve traveled with him all over the world for art openings, from New York City to Spain, to France. What is it like traveling with him? He is such an inspiration to me. He’s opened up a lot of the world to me, with art, travel, etcetera. He and I sometimes talk about how art and music are so similar. When I approach visual art, I approach it as music. That’s the way I see it.

He did your last album cover for Azure Pieces of Life? Yes. I was really honored. [The piece is titled Catfish Tails.]
As a friend and a colleague, what is it like being close to someone so world renowned? I always feel like I’m in the company of greatness. Traveling with him is like traveling with a rock star.

You play at a lot of interesting gigs, from New York to Los Angeles to Las Vegas. How does that happen? I’m really good at staying in touch with people and in my travels, I meet a lot of people. That’s just the web we weave of people we get to know.

0 comments.

Interview in ProgFiles Music Magazine

Posted on January 25th, 2009 by Kat.
Categories: Interviews and press.

Interview with Kat EPPLE (Emerald Web) by Hande BURDG

KAT EPPLE, flautist and composer, is our interview guest this month. She has won 8 Emmy awards, was nominated for a Grammy and she has released 18 albums internationally. Most of you know her as the other half of the legendary ambient/new age duo EMERALD WEB. She has a very large collection (over 200) of flutes that she gathered from all around the world during her travels. Kat composes original New Age/Jazz/World/orchestral music and has produced film scores and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island. She also owns a record company and works on both sides of the music industry as a musician and as a business woman.
TPF: In the progressive music scene, compared to other genres, female performers do not have a strong presence. Some people think it is because progressive music requires active listening and that women are not very good at that. I even read some discussion boards about this a while ago, and sadly saw that some women think that since they are usually “busy with kids and work around the house”, they really don’t have enough time as men do for active listening. As a woman it frustrates me to hear such comments from other women who think we all want to hear the macho man sing “baby I will make you mine tonight” kind of songs. What are your thoughts on this?
KE: Women and men are “wired” differently, but I don’t think women are less capable of active listening. Most people never really listen to music.
TPF: This is sort of connected to the first question. Ambient music mostly relates to the “spiritual” side of life. There are more female composers and instrumentalists in this domain then there are in rock or classical or jazz. What do you think the reason is behind this?
KE: Ambient music can be more personal, and is often composed by one or sometimes two people, while Rock and Jazz ensembles tend to be larger. Anyone who has been a part of a band knows that there are a lot of egos flowing when a rock or jazz band is composing and rehearsing together. It is just the nature of strong musicians with their own ideas to want to vehemently express those ideas. Sometimes in the past, I found it uncomfortable to create music in this atmosphere of confrontational comradery. It is not a problem once you learn to stand up for your musical ideas, and not to take criticism as a personal affront. That may be more difficult for a female at first.
TPF: You have traveled around the world and collected hundreds of flutes. Drums and flutes were probably the first instruments that man invented. Among the flutes you collected are there any that made you say: “wow, how did they come up with this?” This could be sound-wise or material-wise…
KE: I am often amazed by flutes I find. One of the most exciting instruments I ever played was a Pre-Columbian flute. The owner of the artifact had a collection of many recently excavated ancient sculptures from South America. He did not realize that one of them was a flute. When I insisted that it was, he took it out of the museum case, and said “show me”. I put my breath through the ancient ceramic figure and a beautiful note from a distant past rang out. I was excited to be the first musician to play this flute in hundreds of years. It was like awakening a sleeping songbird. Some of the Native American flutes are made from beautiful wood, such as cedar, mesquite, and applewood. Each flute has a different timbre based on what material it is made from, and depending upon the design.
TPF: When you are in a country that you have never been before and you don’t speak the language, how do you know where the right place is to find a flute? It seems like you have radars
KE: I keep my ears open, and find the musicians. Often, the flute players are also flute makers and they have flutes for sale. If you buy a flute, you can usually get some free lessons with it. Flute makers are always pleased when they realize that you are serious about playing their flute, not just buying a nice souvenir to hang on the wall. In fact, flute makers often make two kinds of flutes: one that they make for tourists, and flutes that they make to actually play music. Many times I have been in a country and a culture where I obviously don’t fit in, and I don’t speak the language. I often find that once the people understand that I am a musician, I am accepted into their circle and invited into their homes.
TPF: You compose music for National Geographic, PBS Nova, Guiding Light, Another World, NASA and many more. While you were with Emerald Web you guys composed music for Carl Sagan. How did this all come to happen?
KE: We started out composing for industrial films, commercials, etc, while also releasing electronic music albums. Carl Sagan and his television producer heard some of our album music, and thought it would work for their productions. Because we already had some knowledge of how to score to picture, he gave us a shot. After that, he used us for all of his productions. Scoring music for film or television is a very different skill set from writing a song. Plus, composing custom music to match the director’s ideas of what the music should sound like, sometime starts out as a guessing game with many pieces of music being discarded until you hit the feel he/she is looking for. For years I composed music for soap operas. That was fun! The Soaps incorporate almost every emotion and mood, so it is an opportunity to branch out and create musical styles that you might otherwise never have tried. One of my musical “specialties” was the “maniac lurking in the bushes” genre. I also create a lot of “dream sequence” music. It was a great learning experience. More recently, I have been creating music for an action adventure film, a nature documentary, and a film about the Pope for PBS. It is all created on digital samplers with a few flutes peppered in.
TPF: The sound of Emerald Web, as written in the progressive music literature is considered to be the beginning of New Age/Space music era in the United States. Who were your influences, both yours and Bob’s? You truly had a unique sound… How did you come to the decision of “OK, this is how we will do it!”?
KE: Influences: Brian Eno, Larry Fast, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Walter and Wendy Carlos, Subotnick, Edgard Varcse, Louis and Bebe Barron(Forbidden Planet Score). These were some of the pioneers in electronic music. King Crimson was a big influence too. Bob Stohl and I both were very interested in synthesizers, the Lyricon, and musique concrete. I started on a Buchla, then moved to an Arp 2600. We also used acoustic instruments in our music, especially flutes, but also guitars, percussion, oboe, and cello. We never made a decision to make this kind of music. It was what came naturally to us, and just evolved over time.
TPF: When you started your solo career your music became more acoustic. In one of your previous interviews you say that after Bob passed away you found healing in music. Do you think it was an inevitable direction for your current sound as it is much more spiritual now?
KE: I use the same amount of tracks of digital keyboards in my compositions, but samples have improved so much that they can sound very acoustic. My most recent album releases include very simple production, and reflect my live performance sound. I enjoyed getting away from lots of production, and concentrating more on composition. My more electronic sounding recent music has not been released on an album yet. My music continues to grow more connected to my spirituality. It not only reflects my spiritual journey, it is also a big part of the process.
TPF: You have a record company and you are on both sides of the “music”. How does Kat Epple keep the balance between the spiritual side of music and the not at all spiritual (business) side of it? Don’t you sometimes hate the music industry?
KE: > I spend a lot more of my time on music business than I do on playing or composing music. I enjoy doing both. I don’t hate the music industry, but I also don’t rely on it.
TPF: Are there any projects in the works like maybe more traveling around the world or new CD’s? Will there also be more Emerald Web albums on CD format?
KE: I have many hours of new music that I plan to release in the future. When I am composing for film or television, that usually takes all of my time and focus, so the albums are put on the back burner. I hope to release the old Emerald Web albums on CD, or at least make them available for digital download. They are still on analog reel to reel masters, so I need to digitally re-master them one of these days. I am planning many exciting travels in the near future. I have several new albums coming out, and recently released. One is native-inspired solo flute, with very simple production. Another one includes some of my film score music. That one will consist of a variety of moods, styles and instruments. I hope to travel over the coming year as a part of the Worldwide Peace Marker Project. Proposed destinations include Cambodia, Nepal, and Dubai.
TPF: What would you suggest to someone who wants to start playing flute? Like what brand, and what instructional books or DVD’s? Or are you planning to release something like that?
KE: As far as a standard C flute (classical flute), I would suggest getting an open holed flute. There are many fine flute brands, and for the money, an overhauled used flute may be better than buying a new one. The most important thing is to get a flute, and start learning to play it. If you LOVE playing it, and can’t wait to play it again, then you’ve got what it takes to become a flutist. If you can find a teacher who will teach you simple flute technique and how to improvise, you will be able to have fun playing it soon.
TPF: Thanks a lot Kat for taking the time to answer our questions.
KE: You are welcome!
KAT EPPLE’s Official Website: KATEPPLE.COM

0 comments.