Cati Landry
Cati Landry steps into 2025 with a renewed emotional depth, unveiling a new chapter of her artistry through her latest single, “Overdrive.” Co-written with Neil Wogensen and brought to life with JD Carrera on steel guitar and Parker Law on drums, the track unfolds like a sunset-soaked confession of love, loss, and emotional overwhelm. Built on haunting steel guitar lines and warm, melancholic hues, “Overdrive” captures the weight of grief transforming slowly into grace. It’s a piece that speaks to anyone who has ever felt flooded by feeling—holding on through the hurt while searching for the faint glimmer of hope shimmering at the edge of the horizon.
”Overdrive” is now available everywhere !
Hi Cati, how are you? What's your story?
Hi Virginie, I’m good thank you. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, in the countryside on Vancouver Island in Canada. It rains for almost 8 months a year and the sky is silver, and the island feels distant from the rest of the world. I’ve been singing since I was a little girl and writing songs since I was around 17. My story is still being written, but right now we’re at the point where the girl leaves her hometown for the city and starts pursuing her big dreams.
What did you grow up listening to?
Well, being from the Pacific Northwest, Nirvana was everywhere. I love the way you can feel the dark mysticism of this place captured in their songs. My Dad actually saw Kurt Cobain play at a tiny punk club in Victoria, shortly Dave joined the band, and before Nevermind. He also loved Neil Young and Frank Sinatra. My mom played Stevie Nicks, Britney Spears, Prince, Madonna, Diana Ross, Shania Twain, The Dixie Chicks. And my Grandma loved classic oldies and country like Roy Orbison, Elvis, Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. Then as a teenager, I fell in love with artists like The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, Mazzy Star, Jeff Buckley, and Lana Del Rey.
When did you know you could sing?
When I was about 7, I got the courage to sing in my school’s talent show. Being on stage really transformed me and brought me out of my shell. I’ve been singing ever since, but started doing intense classical and jazz training when I was about 11 years old, and that’s really given me strength and control over my voice as an instrument.
Do you remember the first song you've ever written? What biggest lessons have you learned as a songwriter since then?
Yes I do, the first song I ever wrote was about a girl from the middle of nowhere, watching the horizon and wondering what was out there. Would her dreams come true? Would she find true love? Based on a true story, haha. I think the most important lesson I have learned as a songwriter is to stay true to your perspective and your ideas. Learning and studying the craft as much as you can is really important too, so integrate all of that. But no one else has your exact voice or vision, so keep that front and centre.
"Overdrive" is your newest single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
I was going through a hard time, and I was sitting there, watching the sunset, and I started writing it as a conversation with someone that I’d lost… all the questions I’d like to ask them, the things I wish I could tell them because I know they’d understand better than anyone, and then the biggest question of all, which is really...when you lose someone where is all that love in your heart go? In the thick of that pain, how can you go on?
Could you describe the songwriting/process behind this song? When did you start working on it? Who helped you create it?
I wrote Overdrive alone one night in my room. I was studying songwriting at Berklee College of Music at the time, and doing a lot of collaborating and co-writing, which is something I love doing; but this song hit me in a moment of stillness and self-reflection. I was going through a lot of loss at the time, and some of that pain finally found an outlet in this song. Then, I started working on the demo, and eventually took it to a producer I love working with who I really trust named Neil Wogensen.
What's your favorite lyric on "Overdrive"?
I have a couple but one that I really love is “it gets so hard to tell sometimes between the moment and my mind / I always try, but I get caught in the fault line” because it captures this painful feeling I’ve tried to describe so many times, about feeling anxious and a little disconnected from reality.
What do you want people to feel when listening to it? What message do you want to deliver through this song?
I really loved something that a writer said in a feature on the song I just read, that it’s about searching for grace in grief. I hope that the song can be a moment of grace and understanding for anyone out there who feels heartbroken in a way that might feel too big and too overwhelming. This song really reminded me to honour my sensitivity as a gift. Even in the most painful moments.
Could you list a few records that influenced the music you are making today?
Absolutely.
Influences:
Bella Donna by Stevie Nicks
Golden Hour by Kacey Musgraves
Nancy by Nancy Sinatra
Bloom by Beach House
Live Through This by Hole
Elvis Presley by Elvis Presley
Ultraviolence by Lana Del Rey
A Deeper Understanding by The War on Drugs
Nebraska by Bruce Springsteen
Begin Here by The Zombies
Songs of Leonard Cohen
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
The hardest part is that there are times when it feels like no one else understands the vision you have, and that can be crazy making, and also make you feel like you always have something to prove. But the best part is whenever a part of that vision gets realized, like when the muse comes down and gives you a new idea for a song, or a recording turns out just how you had hoped, or when a fan writes you a message about how much a song means to them.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I would definitely go back to a more community oriented approach, with less of an immediate emphasis on results and more of a focus on craft and artistry. I don’t like how talent and artistic integrity don’t seem to matter much anymore, at least in terms of grabbing attention. So many of my all time favourite artists were deeply introverted, shy people and I hate to think they would have been overlooked for not being good clickbait. I also wish there were more supports in place for artists.
In your opinion, what would make the world a BETTER place?
Something that would undeniably make the world a better place would be for society to uplift artists and the arts, to create more opportunities as well, and not just when something has been a proven successful commercial product. When I was studying Shakespeare, my professor told us this quote from Churchill, when they were proposing to cut all arts funding to support the war, he said “then what would we be fighting for?” It’s a known thing that all the great leaders and minds of every age have read philosophy and Shakespeare. Steve Jobs’ idols were John Lennon & Bob Dylan. Art is also one of the most important ways to instill empathy for other people’s experiences and stories. It’s such an essential part of the fabric of society, and I think that’s being lost in its conflation with content. The beginning of very important conversations often start with a piece of art or an artist who is willing to be bold enough to be disruptive.
What biggest lessons have you learned this year?
I’ve learned a lot about protecting my energy, and also that you shouldn’t stay somewhere that no longer feels right just because its comfortable.
What can we expect to hear/see next?
I have so many demos and songs written that I would love to share, but I think I have something fun coming up next.
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