Attend Cat Janice’s EP Release Party + Hear How Music is “Modern Medicine”

Ahead of her EP release party at Songbyrd tonight, Cat Janice talks about the inspirations and influences behind her new music.

When I catch up with D.C. singer-songwriter Cat Janice, she is taking an evening train back to D.C. from New York. She is returning from a writing program with the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Due to the beautiful nature of Amtrak, the phone call cuts in and out, and a baby in the background periodically wails. Nevertheless, Janice remains her effortlessly cool self.

Similar to her alluring synth-pop music, Janice has a calming presence that puts you at ease. Her new EP “Modern Medicine,” out now, offers her signature sound with each track providing insight into the singer’s personal journey. On top of lo-fi dance beats her lyrics range from a break-up to finding love to her ongoing battle with cancer. 

Ahead of “Modern Medicine’s” EP release party at Songbyrd on August 18, Janice shares her influences and inspirations behind the music, which of her songs she is replaying on repeat and what to expect at her release party (hint: space and futuristic costumes are encouraged). 

District Fray: The last time I saw you was at our Music Issue Wrap Party at Autoshop last year where you performed with your partner Footwerk. What have you been up to?
Cat Janice: I can’t believe it’s almost been a year. Well, I beat cancer and then I had a few months off and then it came back. I’ve got an opportunity to start up a DJ group with Cathy DiToro called Step Sisters and it’s blown up way faster than either of us can handle but we’re really excited about it. 

The Recording Academy has a new wing of songwriters and composition where they select one songwriter-composer from eight to 10 cities around the country and pair them with professional writers and composers who can help and mentor to push them in the right direction. I was paired with Emily Warren, who is an incredible pop and EDM and pop-rock songwriter, who has written for Chainsmokers and Dua Lipa and multiple other awesome singers. I got to work with her for the last few months and pick her brain and work on my writing and then I put out an album.

Did Emily Warren from your Recording Academy mentorship provide any guidance on the new album “Modern Medicine”?
Oh, definitely. A few songs I’ve written a few years ago, but I started the mentorship with her in March, and I did finish writing two songs in that time period. One hundred percent of what she showed me and talked to me about ended up going into how I wrote those songs. She had a huge impact. 

Any words of wisdom worth sharing from the mentorship experience so far?
What she really taught me was even if it’s not my story, always have a story to tell no matter what because you want people to relate to the music as much as possible.

Walk me through the inspiration behind “Modern Medicine.”
Well, I named the album “Modern Medicine,” because I believe in expressing yourself and your emotions. You can’t heal until you truly let yourself feel what you’re going through and work through it. A lot of songs on the album are about so many different things. One song is about a break-up. Another song is about falling deeply in love. Another song is about a friend who betrayed me.

Cat Janice. Photo courtesy of subject.

So it was almost like the album itself was your medicine to your psyche?
Exactly. And it’s a funny parallel of what I’m actually going through health-wise with chemotherapy and radiation. Feeling is healing and how I got through some really difficult times in my life, so I wrote a song about it. 

You have been pretty open about your cancer journey, and you noted that after a few months of remission, the cancer returned this year. Where are you in the journey?
Right now, I am back doing a new type of chemo and a trial drug that has had some good results so I am sticking with it and staying positive and doing the best I can. I have a scan this week to see how I’m doing and I’m going to find out the results the morning of my show. I’m excited to see the results and I’m going to share it with everyone at the show. It’s my life and part of who I am and part of the album. 

“Wishing I Was You” is about battling cancer and mortality. What was the writing process like for you with this song?
I wrote the song to get it off my chest. I was going through a really hard time. Not this past June, but the year before the chemo that I was on was really devastating and painful. And I wrote that song in a way for me to get excited about looking forward to the person I will be at the end of this difficult time. It’s one of the more close-to-home songs I have on the album. 

The first track “Chill the fck out” and the second track “Strawberry Morning” use the same lyrics but differ in rhythms and tones. What was your goal with the two?
What’s funny about that is I actually wrote “Strawberry Morning” for “Chill the fck out.” The end of the song originally had that part in it. I felt that the song [“Chill the fck out”] was very fun and upbeat and didn’t want to end it on a low note. “Strawberry Morning” kind of drops out into this piano, ballad feel. I still really liked the ending part, so I took it and kind of remixed it a little bit, slowed it down and put a little groove to it, and let it follow after the song on the album. In a way, I kind of kept it with the song but did not attach it. 

Both of those tracks have the lyrics, “Sipping on a blueberry night.” What does that mean to you?
At the time when I was writing the song I was coming out of bartending and my roommate was a bartender as well. She had bought some blue Curaçao and we were just making fun drinks. Honestly, it slipped its way into that song. The whole point of the song is like, “I’ve had a long day. I’m trying to hang out with my friends and relax. I’m gonna make a drink and slow down.”

Is there one song off the album that you currently have been listening to on repeat?
Yes, “YoungBoi.” I love the rhythm in it. And it was one of the more fun ones for me to write because the song is a very personal story, a very true story. I’ve also never done a drum in that style of beat. Playing it live is awesome. I find myself listening to that song a lot just because I can envision playing it live.

What can people expect at your album release party at Songbyrd?
With my DJ group, Step Sisters, we remixed a dance version of “Chill the fck out” that’s actually coming out on August 18. We’re gonna play the remix at the show and then you’ll be able to play it on Spotify, iTunes and Amazon Music afterwards.

We also have a free after-party right after the show with Step Sisters and we’ll be DJing for a couple of hours. We have a fun futuristic space theme going on with like free goodies for people. It’ll be packed in there, but it’s gonna be a ton of fun. 

Cat Janice (EP Release) show is August 18 at Songbyrd. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show starts at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are close to sold out. Get tickets here. Listen to her latest album “Modern Medicine” on all major streaming platforms and follow her on Instagram @cat.janice.

Songbyrd Music House: 540 Penn St. NE, DC; songbyrddc.com // @songbyrddc

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Nicole Schaller