FEATURE: Tantalising Lines and Divine Rumours: Might a Collaboration Between Kate Bush and Big Boi Happen?

FEATURE:

 

Tantalising Lines and Divine Rumours

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional shot for Director’s Cut (2011)/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Might a Collaboration Between Kate Bush and Big Boi Happen?

___________

THIS will be genuinely short…

qaaa.png

IN THIS PHOTO: Big Boi

because I have another Kate Bush feature to put out on Wednesday! A lot has happened this week in the music world. Taylor Swift put out an unexpected/’surprise’ eighth studio album, Folklore, that is a completely different direction for her - and it gathering its fair share of five-star reviews! The nominations for this year’s Mercury Prize were announced on Thursday, and Kylie Minogue released a brilliant new track, Say Something, too. It seems that good news is coming in more, and we are being treated to these great releases! I just had to react to the news that maybe, perhaps…there might be a collaboration between Kate Bush and Big Boi. CRACK were among several sources to report the news:

“Big Boi has hinted that Kate Bush may feature on his upcoming Big Sleepover project with Sleepy Brown.

Speaking toSiriusXM Volume, Big Boi listed Bush as his second favourite artist of all time and spoke about meeting her following a performance in London during her 2014 sell-out 22-date residency at the Hammersmith Eventim Apollo.

“And at the end of the show, she invited me and my wife back to the dressing room to have a glass of wine.” Big told the host. He then revealed that three years later they met up again. When asked whether we might hear a collaboration soon, Big Boi answered, “Stay tuned, stay tuned. Just stay tuned. I can’t even talk about it right now!”

Of course, there is every chance that this could all be tease and, in fact, the Kate Bush we could hear in a Big Boi recording is pre-existing – maybe a sample from one of her classic hits. It would seem strange to be asked the question about a Kate Bush collaboration and then, rather than deny it, sort of give a cheeky grin and tell people to stay tuned. The potential hook-up has been met with a lot of curiosity and excitement. There is no telling when we might see (the) The Big Sleepover project, as Big Boi says that he wants the album to arrive when there is greater movement and we can all get together. As he is in the U.S., this might be a fair few months away! Of course, as we all have to realise, it that there has been no announcement made officially by either Big Boi or Kate Bush. I just thought that it was worth writing about, as there has not been a huge amount of musical activity from Kate Bush since 50 Words for Snow came out in 2011. As a super-fan of Kate Bush, I am not going to wrestle Big Boi for the title of The World’s Biggest Kate Bush fan, as that title is hotly-fought and contentious! It is evident Big Boi is an enormous fan, and he contributed to a documentary about Kate Bush in 2014 that was broadcast on the BBC (Big Boi appears from 37:02).

Big Boi’s last studio album, Boomiverse, arrived in 2017, and I am excited to hear new music from him. Of course, if we do get some new music from him this year and there is no hint of an original Kate Bush vocal, then there will be an air of disappointment – though, there is nothing to say Kate Bush herself is quiet and not preparing to announce something. I love the image of the two of them sitting down for dinner in 2017, as they are very different people but, in reality, they share a lot of musical D.N.A. and passion. Some say a collaboration might sound a bit mis-matched, but think about the collaborations Kate Bush has had through the years. Though she has not performed with anyone quite as different as Big Boi, she collaborated with Peter Gabriel multiple times (on backing vocals for No Self Control, and Games Without Frontiers on Peter Gabriel III: Melt, and the duet, Don’t Give Up, from 1986’s So); she had Roy Harper provide backing vocals on her single, Breathing (from Never for Ever, 1980), and she provided vocals for his track, You, from his 1980 album, The Unknown Soldier) Kate Bush sung with the Trio Bulgarka – they are a Bulgarian vocal ensemble - on her albums, The Sensual World (1989), and The Red Shoes (1993). Kate Bush had Lenny Henry perform on a track from The Red Shoes, Why Should I Love You? Mica Paris provided some backing vocals for Kate Bush’s 2011 album, Director’s Cut, and there have been many other cases of different musicians and singers entering Bush’s world. She has been all over the musical map since her career began. I might do a separate feature on her collaborative nature but, from incorporating unconventional instruments in her songs, to her unique vocal phrasings and incredible lyrics, Bush has always strayed from the boringly conventional and embraced something much more interesting and original – so it would not be a shock is she was to trade lines with the OutKast legend (though one doubts Bush will be rapping!).

The slightest whiff of any new Kate Bush news and music is cause for great celebration and, though many would like the arrival of a new album from her, the potential of a collaboration would be fantastic. We shall have to wait and see because, whilst the rumours were out of the bag on social media yesterday – and there followed a few articles documenting a possible Big Boi-Kate Bush song -, it might be a long while before we get anything substantiated. In the meantime, one can only imagine what Kate Bush and Big Boi together would sound like and, if she is in the mix of a new project, whether she provides piano, vocals, or is sampled in some way. I am ramping up my Kate Bush writing ahead of her birthday on Thursday (30th July), and I couldn’t wait a few days to put out my thoughts regarding the Big Boi tease. Kate Bush fan sites and Twitter feeds have seen people post comments and theories, and Big Boi himself has sort of augmented that possibility by retweeting a post from someone who said that, finally, a Kate Bush and Big Boi link-up is happening. Whether you thought you needed it or not, 2020 could provide the world with one of the most unexpected collaborations in recent years! We shall keep an eye and ear out to see what, if anything, comes about, but I cannot help thinking that two musical giants (if very different) like Big Boi and Kate Bush together…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Young/REX/Shutterstock

WOULD be something to witness!

Sam Liddicott