Photos by Joanna Chan

When Monica Wat and Cat Rose first crossed paths at a Youth Music NextGen Community event in Bristol last year, the seeds of a future creative collaboration were sown.

Monica, a singer-songwriter from Hong Kong, was still navigating the NextGen application process, while Cat had just travelled up from Plymouth to meet her grant manager in person for the first time. Their connection was instant - rooted in a shared love of folk music, mutual curiosity, and a natural sense of kinship.

Fast forward to this spring, and the two Youth Music NextGen Fund artists have gone on to share the stage, with Cat supporting Monica at her debut London headline show. Their collaboration was born not from strategy, but from genuine connection, nurtured through open conversation, video calls, and a shared belief in music’s power to create community. 

Monica and Cat reflect on the importance of vulnerability in their songwriting, and the unexpected but beautiful outcomes of simply saying hello.

How did you connect?

Cat: We connected in person at a Youth Music event at Strange Brew in Bristol which was an awesome evening and I learned a lot! 

Monica: I was still fully based in Bristol at the time, and music networking events like that one was quite rare! Like in many networking events, amidst the smell of beer, dazzling lights and loud music, I tried to say hi and chat with as many people as possible. I remember speaking with one of the Youth Music Grant Managers and Cat joined us because she travelled all the way from Plymouth and was meeting her Grant Manager in real life for the first time! I had yet to successfully apply for the Next Gen Fund after my first attempt at the time, so I especially wanted to learn from those who already did, and Cat was one of them.

What inspired you to collaborate after meeting at the event?

Cat: I really liked that Monica was asking about the folk scene in Bristol and this caught my attention as I am a folk artist too.

Monica: I didn’t know that Cat already noticed me because of my question to the panel until now! As for me, sometimes at networking events, I just intuit the aura of someone instantly and would know whether we’d feel a connection. Cat exuded this calming, friendly energy and was also really humble about her musical achievements, so I felt an instant connection with her. I found out she is an indie folk artist as well. At the time, I was feeling quite lonely being a female-identifying singer-songwriter from Hong Kong in Bristol, so it’s a beautiful rarity to meet a fellow singer-songwriter like Cat who I could have meaningful conversations with. 

After the event, we set up a video chat to get to know each other more properly. It’s wonderful because often at networking events, I’d feel such joy meeting new kindred spirits and then never hear from them again. But Cat and I were both genuinely keen to stay in touch. 

A while after that video chat, I was planning my first-ever headline show in London as the launch of my debut EP ‘FairyLights’. Amidst the stress of promoting the show and making ends meet, Cat reached out about playing together some time in Bristol, so I told her about my upcoming show and that I’d love it if she’d like to be part of it. But I knew it might not be what she was looking for because it’s a London show. However, to my delight, Cat was up for it and it worked out perfectly! I will never forget that.

How do you feel your individual musical styles complement each other?

Cat: We are both folky. 

Monica: And we’re both oddly inspired by death and cemeteries at such a young age…? But in all seriousness, yes, my musical palette leans indie-folk – at least for my first album cycles – and so does Cat’s. I also think we both have a kind of voice that gives our songs a whimsical, almost haunted quality at times. Her songs fuse such rich, poetic imagery with a serene yet eerie soundscape too. 

Having Cat as the opening guest of my first headline show really helped setting the mood and atmosphere at the Morocco Bound Bookshop; it felt like a balm to my spikes of nerves and stress, mostly because I burnt out from preparing the show and even lost my voice the week before. It was also my first time singing some of my unreleased songs which are especially raw and vulnerable, drawing from difficult life experiences like displacement. It was soothing to witness how Cat is not afraid to be vulnerable in her lyrics either, like singing about her anxiety of performing. 

Do you have any plans for future collaborations or projects?

Cat: Not at the moment but we’d definitely be up for it!

Monica: I’ve been gearing up to start recording my Youth Music NextGen Fund EP ‘Gaslight’ so that is my focus at the moment. I have never recorded a duet before, which I know Cat has ample experience of, so perhaps some day! But this question may inspire new collaboration ideas already…

What advice would you give other artists looking to connect and collaborate with others in the music industry?

Cat: Feel the fear and do it anyway! Networking can be nerve wrecking but you never know if you don't try! Also everyone is probably as nervous as everyone else and don't underestimate the power of hello. 

Monica: I find it interesting when people speak of ‘networking’ like it’s a formal, professional rite of passage. Perhaps I grew up feeling isolated making my kind of music in Hong Kong, so having all these events to join since migrating to the UK three years ago is miraculous to me. I am so drawn to creative, musical souls that it feels like a calling to just genuinely connect with as many of us as possible.

As for collaboration, I think more practical elements like clear and consistent communication, respect for each other’s talents and viewpoints, and mutually agreeing on collaborative arrangements (and writing them down if need be) are also vital – that may be my law graduate self speaking. It’s important to work with those who bring out the best of us, and not each other down.

How has being a NextGen Fund artist enabled you both to make music on your own terms?

Cat: Being a NextGen Fund artist has enabled me to make music on my own terms by having full control and freedom to explore my artistry and meet so many wonderful musicians.

Monica: I think it’s definitely an important stepping stone. Becoming a NextGen Fund artist not only provides me with a bigger budget to create my next EP ‘Gaslight’ (e.g. to bring in more live instruments and to hire recording studios) without stressing out about finances as much, but it also instills within me a sense of validation. Not that it needs to be this way, but now I can tell some judgemental aunts and uncles in our society that I do get some money to make my music and it’s real work! What’s more, it is affirming that I received funding for the songs I wrote truthfully about my life experiences, like bereavement and struggles with jobs, however difficult they were. To be recognised by such a national, established organisation also surely opens doors to more connections and opportunities. But I’m also aware this is just the beginning for me. First, I need to go and record that EP…

Follow Monica and Cat on Instagram:

@monicawat7

@catrosepoetry