I’m Katie McBride (AKA bloodsugar, Blue Water) — a composer, producer, and singer. I make music that lives in the space between things: genres, emotions, waking and dreaming. It’s electronic, ambient, sometimes pop, sometimes not. I think of it as a kind of architecture, built from feeling and sound — an attempt to make sense of the invisible.

I started out as a trumpet player, then studied jazz and composition at Humber College in Toronto. After school, I drifted into digital music—drawn to its open-endedness, the way a song could become a world. Ableton became my instrument, and I’ve been writing, recording, and producing my own music ever since. Over time, that practice expanded naturally into other forms: video, visual art, and scoring for film.

My music is often inspired by texture, memory, and atmosphere. I like sound that’s patient—but lately, I’ve also been drawn to pulse and movement, to the places where stillness meets rhythm. Artists like Björk, William Basinski, Aphex Twin, and Miles Davis have all shaped my approach in different ways.

Since 2016, I’ve released several EPs and albums, most recently THE ANGELS ARE CALLING (2024). My third record, RHODO (out fall 2025), continues my exploration of transformation—this time with more light, rhythm, and release. I also compose music for film and television, both commissioned scores and existing pieces placed in scenes. Whether I’m scoring or songwriting, I’m usually trying to answer the same question: what does it feel like to be here?

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Selected work & features

• Original song placement in The Sex Lives of College Girls (HBO)
• Original song placement in GIRL (starring Bella Thorne, dir. Chad Faust)
• Composer for Loathe Thy Neighbor (dir. Sergio Navarretta – TIFF 2024)
• Composer for Lolo (dir. Owen Campbell – New/Next Film Festival 2024)
• Recipient of major funding from FACTOR, Ontario Arts Council, and Canada Council for the Arts
• Praised by The FADER, Clash Magazine, Complex, KEXP, and Line of Best Fit
• Founder of Blue Water, an independent electronic/alt label
• Over 2 million streams across platforms
• Released third full-length albums and five EPs