AK Patterson
“The best new music I’ve heard” – GUY GARVEY, BBC RADIO 6
“The best new music I’ve heard” – GUY GARVEY, BBC RADIO 6
AK Patterson is a London-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music blends gritty honesty with haunting beauty. Known for her unflinching exploration of dark and complex themes, Patterson crafts songs that find hope in the bleakest corners of human experience.
Described by fans as “Buckley with boobs” (in reference to Jeff Buckley), she prefers to label her style as modern chamber pop fused with the melancholic spirit of 90s Lilith Fair.
At the heart of her performances lies her compelling storytelling and a powerful vocal delivery—a skill she honed during her youth, playing violin and guitar in the back of an Irish pub. Her distinctive sound is further defined by an unconventional approach to songwriting and her mastery of unusual guitar tunings.
2025 promises to be a milestone year for Patterson, with the release of her third EP—an evocative collection of songs that explore London’s dark underbelly. Drawing on themes of organised crime, her time spent working in a men’s prison, and personal struggles with heartbreak and isolation, the EP reflects Patterson’s relentless drive to turn adversity into art.
This year, she was invited to support Dan Smith from the band Bastille, who said the first single, I Don’t Know How to Die, from her upcoming EP was “hauntingly beautiful”. The single marks her triumphant return after a painful eight-month struggle with a throat condition that temporarily robbed her of her voice. The track features an emotionally raw vocal performance reminiscent of Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek or Caroline Polachek’s Insomnia. The music video was filmed in New Zealand, featuring haunting visuals of black sand dunes and tumultuous seas. Her second single Morticia was championed by John Kennedy on Radio X.