FEATURE:
Music Made for Pleasure, Music Made to Thrill
The Overlooked Wonder of Kate Bush’s Experiment IV
__________
AS part of a run of Kate Bush features…
I am returning to various albums and songs that I feel are underrated. Of course, with the success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) and its continued chart dominance, many people are streaming that track and its sister album, Hounds of Love. That is great! Any attention Bush’s music gets is great, though I wonder how many people are digging deeper and listening to other albums and tracks. One song that many people may not even be aware of is Experiment IV. Released as a single in 1986 to promote her greatest hits album, The Whole Story, here is a song that could easily fit into Stranger Things – the Netflix show that helped propel Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) to the top of the charts as it featured – because of its tone and video. In fact, many people have noticed a resemblance between Kate Bush dressed as a ghoul/monster for that video and a Stranger Things character, Vecna. In fact, certain parts of the Experiment IV video (which Bush directed) have almost been replicated in Stranger Things. It is clear that the makers know about the song…so I wonder whether it could make an appearance on the show (as there is rumour another Kate Bush song could feature before the finale’s end). Experiment IV is a song that has a darker theme. Scientist building a machine/device that produces sound that could kill people could be lifted from a spy thriller. The video is suitably cinematic and tense! Bush showing what a visual and accomplished director she was. She does make some fleeting appearances in the song, though the likes of Dawn French and Hugh Laurie pop up among the cast!
Before going deeper into the song, the Kate Bush Encyclopedia provided information about Experiment IV. Among them is an interview, where Bush discussed the background to one of her most underrated and best singles:
“This was written as an extra track for the compilation album The Whole Story and was released as the single. I was excited at the opportunity of directing the video and not having to appear in it other than in a minor role, especially as this song told a story that could be challenging to tell visually. I chose to film it in a very handsome old military hospital that was derelict at the time. It was a huge, labyrinthine hospital with incredibly long corridors, which was one reason for choosing it. Florence Nightingale had been involved in the design of the hospital. Not something she is well known for but she actually had a huge impact on hospital design that was pioneering and changed the way hospitals were designed from then on.
The video was an intense project and not a comfortable shoot, as you can imagine - a giant of a building, damp and full of shadows with no lighting or heating but it was like a dream to work with such a talented crew and cast with Dawn French, Hugh Laurie, Peter Vaughn and Richard Vernon in the starring roles. It was a strange and eerie feeling bringing parts of the hospital to life again. Not long after our work there it was converted into luxury apartments. I can imagine that some of those glamorous rooms have uninvited soldiers and nurses dropping by for a cup of tea and a Hobnob.
We had to create a recording studio for the video, so tape machines and outboard gear were recruited from my recording studio and the mixing console was very kindly lent to us by Abbey Road Studios. It was the desk the Beatles had used - me too, when we’d made the album Never For Ever in Studio Two. It was such a characterful desk that would’ve looked right at home in any vintage aircraft. Although it was a tough shoot it was a lot of fun and everyone worked so hard for such long hours. I was really pleased with the result. (KateBush.com, February 2019)”.
I love the fact that there is this fourth experiment that the government/scientists have been working on for some secret purpose. Why would they want to kill with sound!? Bush’s voice sounds hushed at certain moments and alluring the next. It is a wonderful performance. Her lyrics discuss the nature of the machine and how, though it can appear to be a great device or breakthrough, it is a nightmare: “They told us/All they wanted/Was a sound that could kill someone/From a distance/So we go ahead/And the meters are over in the red/It's a mistake in the making/It could feel like falling in love/It could feel so bad/But it could feel so good/It could sing you to sleep/But that dream is your enemy”. With such a striking video, production by Kate Bush, and a composition that meant the song could have slotted onto Hounds of Love (her 1985 album), I wonder why Experiment IV does not get more affection, airplay and discussion. I have said before how the composition reminds me a bit of Peter Gabriel. Of course, at the same time Experiment IV was in the charts, she was also in the charts with Gabriel on his song, Don’t Give Up (from his album, So). With great violin work from Nigel Kennedy, Experiment IV is a superb track that so many more people need to know about! Given the attention around Stranger Things and how it has helped to get Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) to the top of the charts around the world, Experiment IV seems like it is ready-made to feature on a big show like that. Who knows? Maybe it will! If you have not heard the brilliant and epic Experiment IV, go and find it now and…
PLAY it loud!