FEATURE:
It’s in the Trees, It’s in the Skies
PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
of new material coming from Kate Bush, many are connecting with her work through reissues and retrospection. It is a way of keeping her music active and seen. I am not sure whether there will be new music ever again from Kate Bush. I guess the fact that she is revisiting her past work and ensuring new fans connect means that she wants her music to be heard and preserved. An artist who takes the time to ensure her music is as good as it could be, that is the mark of a dedicated creator. In terms of legacy and influence, one cannot say that it is small and in the past. It is obvious that a lot of artists have been inspired by Kate Bush. Even now, without there being new signs of material, artists are connecting with Bush’s past work and taking guidance from it. I will come to other artists who have been influenced by her. Far Out Magazine recently wrote about an interview where Santigold discussed her love of Kate Bush. How she has brought some of Bush’s distinct vocals and magic into her own music:
“There is no doubt about it: Kate Bush is one of the most influential artists ever to live. With her unique vocal acrobatics and rich storytelling lyricism, she’s a name regularly brought up when musicians share their inspirations.
In conversation with Los Angeles’ iconic record store, Amoeba, Santigold shared some of her biggest inspirations and favourite records. In the mix, she talks at length about the Nigerian musician Fela Kuti, calling him one of her “favourites ever in the world”.
Other artists like N.W.A, Chuck Berry and De La Soul get similar praise. Helping to build an image of all the influences and genres that inform her own alt-pop meets hip-hop sound. However, a vital puzzle piece to the world of Santigold comes in the form of Kate Bush.
Picking out a box set compilation that features her 1980s albums Hounds Of Love and The Sensual World as well as the 1993 album The Red Shoes, it features some of her best work. “I’ve just always been influenced by her,” the singer says.
“Particularly, I love ‘Rocket’s Tail’. It’s one of my favourites,” Santigold says of the 1989 track. A roaring, storytelling rock song that burst into one of the most dynamic crescendos of Bush’s career, it’s a criminally underrated cut. “It showcases her full vocal range and the theatrical element,” she adds.
As a vocalist, Bush’s unique stylings and incredible range have inspired so many. From the first time the world heard her high-pitched voice on ‘Wuthering Heights’ to all the creepy voices and characterful moments heard on her later records, she’s had the world hooked. Santigold is just one of generations of artists that can’t help but reference Bush’s work to add some weirdness and charm.
“On my song ‘Creator’, it’s really funny because one of the producers said ‘do some Kate Bush shit in the beginning,’” the singer continues. “So we did it, and I was like [squeals] and he was like ‘OK…’” she laughs. Talking about the high-pitched introduction to the 2008 hit, Bush’s influence is heard loud and clear”.
Look around modern Pop, and there are artists who are keeping Kate Bush’s music alive in the form of their original takes. Not only is Dua Lipa’s recent track, Houdini, the same name as a Bush track from her 1982 album, The Dreaming; promotional images of Lipa with a key on her tongue is almost the same as Kate Bush on The Dreaming’s cover (where she has a key on her tongue to pass to Houdini (Del Palmer). Even though there have been articles about Kate Bush’s influence through the years, there has not been much modern examination. Artists like Tori Amos and St. Vincent have been inspired by Bush. How many are discussing the crop of new artists coming through?! Even if they do not explicitly mention Kate Bush in interviews, there is no doubt that a spirit or aspect of Bush’s work and approach has made its way through modern music. Back in 2020, this COMPLEX article from Brianna Holt revealed how Bush might be away from the public eye – yet her influence is strong as ever and very much evident:
“She is highly praised by her peers, too. Big-time artists like St. Vincent and Adele have publicly expressed how Bush’s music influenced their own work. Prince noted her as his favorite lady. Even Tupac was a Kate Bush fan. Big Boi, a longtime stan of “Running up That Hill,” shared that he would listen to the song everyday on his bike ride to and from school. During a phone call earlier this month he told us, “I fell in love with her songwriting and how her songs would tell stories. It was deep. From there she became one of my two favorite artists." The connection he formed to Bush's music grew so deep that he spent a week in England trying to pin her down while he was in town for press meetings.
After texting and talking over the phone for years, the two finally linked in 2017 for dinner which the Outkast member tells me “was the coolest experience ever.” He continues, "We talked mainly about our children... She wasn't really recording at the time because she wanted to focus on her kid. That's another thing that really brought us together—centering our family. We had a nice little dinner and we just sat there and chatted for like an hour or two."
Big Boi was one of the many celebrities who attended Bush’s “Before The Dawn” show in 2014. The 22-night concert residency, which was held at the Hammersmith Apollo in London, sold out within 15 minutes online, 35 years after Bush’s last tour. Big Boi has been hinting that a Kate Bush collaboration of some sorts might be in the works, but he's hesitant to say more. "And there's a big surprise coming as well," he told us. "I can't tell you all the details right now, but yeah, something is coming."
For fans, it can be quite frustrating to admire someone who is so distant, especially in the digital age. Very little is known about Bush’s day-to-day life, and social media doesn’t provide a stance on her political views or evolving taste and perspective. It isn’t even certain when and if another Kate Bush album will ever come, leaving fans with no choice but to be patient with her timeline and dive deeper into music that already exists. Luckily, powerful art coupled with a mystifying personality has left a lot to explore since the release of her debut album in 1978. Maybe that is why Bush has continued to persist over time. After all, an artist who is not yet fully understood can often be the most compelling”.
If you look at young artists coming through who are taking risks and producing music that has even a hint of Kate Bush, it shows that, consciously or not, her influence continues and is impacting after all of these years. Maybe Hounds of Love and the dominance of that album will narrow the sonic scope. Many using this album as a reference point, rather than broadening their horizons and discovering Kate Bush’s full range and brilliance. Regardless, when Bush was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, it did help when it comes to visibility in the U.S. The nation finally embracing Kate Bush. With that, a whole raft of artists and fans were keen to share words about what Kate Bush means. This article mentions the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Considering the depth and breadth of Kate Bush’s artistry and talent, was she done full justice?! I shall come to a point later: how there needs to be a comprehensive salute to Kate Bush and what she has given the music world:
“Rapper Big Boi (“Big Sleepover”), whose real name is Antwan Patton, sponsored Bush’s induction, saying in his speech that he listened to “Running Up That Hill” every morning as a kid. Like with Clark, Patton should not be mistaken as yet another celebrity riding off Bush’s name to appeal to pseudo-nostalgic teenagers. Patton has long been a fun-fact within the Bush fandom as an unexpected superfan. Patton even name-dropped “The Dreaming” and “50 Words for Snow,” Bush albums that, despite the popularity of her big hit, have not received any resurgence by proxy.
“I know what some of you are thinking,” Patton said. “What does Kate Bush have to do with hip-hop? She is such a unique artist, you might as well also ask, ‘What does Kate Bush have to do with rock ‘n’ roll?’”
Patton’s question reflects the evolution of the RRHOF from a marketing tool to promote rock artists to a marketing tool to promote artists of all genres. Bush’s induction may seem long overdue for those who trust on the RRHOF as a rite of passage for musical legends. The RRHOF has only recently worked to compensate for its suspicious gender inequality–only about 22% of its inductees are women, as of the last induction–but Bush’s induction resonated not as a moment waiting to happen but a moment the organizers felt obligated to prepare. Bush does not need the RRHOF just as she does not need a Grammy.
Bush’s induction ceremony will probably mark the end of a phenomenon collecting the cultural influence of ‘80s nostalgia, TikTok campaigns on behalf of Gen-Z and extensive promotional marketing outside of Bush’s direction. While Bush has always been a musical icon in her native U.K., where she performs in residencies instead of touring concerts, for the longest time her fame in America was as an eclectic foreign import, the likes of Björk (“Fossora”) and Florence Welch (“Dance Fever”).
The “Stranger Things” tie-in was not completely anachronistic, as Bush did have little but some presence on the American charts. “Running Up That Hill” originally reached no. 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would be difficult, though, to find a non-hipster American alive at that time who remembers Bush as being as accessible as the show made her out to be. The phenomenon was the result of how music listening operates in the 2020s. The culturally diffusive capabilities of the Internet and the algorithm-based curation of platforms like Spotify and TikTok fostered two trends: the popularity of old music and the popularity of obscure music. These both converged to propel Schrodinger’s pop hit: a classic song that defined the ‘80s sound while not actually leaving a mark. Bush’s experimental but influential music placed her in the perfect zone for a new generation of listeners to adopt her as their Boomer alt-pop queen”.
It is humbling when artists like Dua Lipa, Santigold or even Björk mention Kate Bush and her importance. It is all around us. In the music of established and huge artists. Obviously weaving and working its way through so many new artists. From TikTok-focused Pop artists to experimental Folk and even modern Art Rock bands like The Last Dinner Party, you can hear and sense Kate Bush’s presence working and influencing. It makes me ask, once more, why it seems okay that all the documentaries and coverage about her from the past decade or so is sufficient. There have been podcasts and some short documentaries about her in the past few years. There really has not been anything comprehensive. No true or definitive career-spanning spotlight of this musical genius. Given everything she has achieve and how many years she has been around, why is there a reluctance to do justice to Bush’s legacy and importance? You do not need new words and footage of Kate Bush to make it valid. She herself would not object. It is frustrating when you know she is influencing so many artists, yet there is precious little in the way of documentaries. Regardless of Kate Bush’s clear influence, it will always be smaller and more limited if there is not wider knowledge of her entire discography. Radio stations are unwilling to push out of their comfort zone, so documentaries are a way of introducing people to her full body of work. Let’s hope that somebody is working on a documentary. In any case, a modern superstar like Dua Lipa clearly channelling Kate Bush shows that she is relevant to this day. I feel that Kate Bush’s music will move and compel artists…
FOR generations more.