Cathy Battistessa is an established singer, songwriter and performer with tracks featured on numerous artist albums sold world-wide. Mostly known in the genres of Dance and Chillout music, her songs feature heavily on such Cult Artist Compilations such as Cafe Del Mar, Buddha Bar, Hed Kandi, Ministry of Sound, Hotel Costes and Defected compilations.
Cathy Battistessa is now recognised internationally as ‘The Voice of Café Del Mar’, writing and performing legendary chill-out songs such as ‘More Than Ever People’, ‘Oh Home’, ‘Shine‘, ‘Speck of Gold’ and ‘Riva’. Many of her classic chill-out and dance floor hits are featured on such artist and compilation albums as Defected, Ministry of Sound, The Afterlife Lounge, Café Mambo, Café Ibiza, Hed Kandi and Buddha Lounge.
In 2000 Cathy co-wrote the UK top ten hit ‘A Little Bit Of Luck’ with DJ Luck & MC Neat. Cathy has collaborated and composed with numerous innovative producers, writers and artists across the globe including Valgier Siggurson (Bjork), & Chris CoCo (BBC Radio), Stephane Pompougnac (Hotel Costes), Jose Padilla, Paco Fernandez, Knee Deep and Slow Pulse from Ibiza. She has also enjoyed continued success co-writing with Steve Miller from Afterlife on tracks such as ‘Shine’, ‘Go Easy’, ‘Let It Go’ and the title track of the Afterlife Lounge Album, ‘Speck Of Gold’.
Jan 2009 began with a tour of the most exclusive venues in Dubai, supporting Fat Boy Slim and performing exclusively for MTV. July offered the privilege of a lifetime for Cathy – being invited to perform for His Holiness the Dalai Lama at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt, in Honour of his birthday and to help raise money for The Free Tibet Campaign.
Performing alongside many other artists such as Roachford, Ani Choying, and human-rights campaigners, this event proved to be a soulful recognition for Cathy and a monumental experience meeting His Holiness, receiving the blessing, supporting the Free Tibet campaign and being involved in such a profoundly important world issue. Cathy has been busy crafting her eagerly awaited debut solo album, a soulful journey in sound, inspired by worldwide travels and collaborations with musicians & artists from the remote jungles of Brazil to the moonscapes of Iceland.
Cathy Battistessa, as multimedia fine artist, has been acclaimed for her bold use of colour, texture and her innovative use of natural and reclaimed materials.
“Sparkling with seemingly endless energy, Cathy has a depth that reaches far into the soul of things. She sees, seemingly without looking, she knows, seemingly without listening, and she moves through our realm with unprecedented intuitive grace. Cathy’s art visualises a world seen with a different set of eyes, the eyes of the soul – seeing beyond matter or form, depicting in aural colours and earthly tones. Living an ordinary life in an extraordinary way, Cathy can shine the brightest light unto all of us, through her magical and spiritual excursions into the world of creative expression. Like no other, Cathy Battistessa can make you jump at the sudden realisation of who you really are.”
Bart Karski, Head of Ursula Von Rydingsvard’s Studio . New York
Cathy has travelled, exhibited and performed extensively throughout Europe and the Americas’, deriving inspiration for her art and music from diverse cultures and remote civilisations. Exhibiting internationally in both group and solo shows, Cathy’s work is now held in numerous private collections across the globe. She has undertaken commissions for an eclectic mix of clients from the world of film, theatre, dance, music and commerce and has recently completed a series of commissioned paintings for a noted private collector in Switzerland. Cathy is currently working on a collection of energetic landscapes, soundscapes and portraits inspired by and featuring many of the individuals involved with the creation of her solo album, due to be launched simultaneously in 2010.
Excerpt from an interview with Cathy Battistessa for an arts programme on ‘Cultura Radio’ Centro de Cultura, Bahia, Brazil 2007.
Cathy: “It is the soul of the subject, issue or the ‘being’ I am interested in. That is what moves me. If someone is sitting for me it’s a huge responsibility and it can be a bit like a ‘reading’ of that persons’ soul. It’s just so incredibly intimate; I appreciate and honour that trust that has to be present always – between the artist and sitter. Painting is very inward looking, enables me to explore and tap into the unseen, outer layers of my existence, express all the accumulated energies and emotions in a very private way, whereas singing and performing is about bearing your soul in public. You have to be prepared for that and of course its highly energetic, extremely physical. It catapults me way ‘out there’ and leaves me suspended several layers out in the stratosphere… each time I have to claw my way back to centre, back to base! Sculpture on the other hand is a completely different experience. Creating with my hands seems to be the perfect meditation. It’s peaceful and healing, and for me it can be a direct and immediate release for held, suppressed emotions and past issues. It is truly a blessing to have artistic perspective and there are infinitely more pockets and threads I have yet to explore.”