FEATURE:
A New Director’s Cut
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo for 2011’s Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush
What Will Future Kate Bush Visuals and Videos Entail?
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I cannot say with any profundity…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton
that I know how Kate Bush thinks and where her ideas come from. In terms of music videos or how she wants her photos to look. I am going to look ahead to the possibility of an eleventh studio album and speculate what direction Bush could head in. For many upcoming features, I am looking back to her debut album, The Kick Inside, Wuthering Heights (its first single) and the years before 1978. Really going back to the start and spending some time looking at Kate Bush the teen prodigy. It is important to explore that as we head into a new year. It does seem likely that we will be graced by a new Kate Bush album in the future. She dropped that little bombshell, sort of, when speaking with Emma Barnett for BBC Radio 4 recently. Rather than this being evasiveness, you do get the feeling Bush wants to bring us new music. In terms of what that could entail, I will go into it for another feature. In terms of the sounds, themes and even personnel. However, I have been thinking about the visual aspect. What was notable from 2005’s Aerial onwards is how Bush has promoted those albums practically invisibly. We got generous reviews and plenty of words from her for Aerial, Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow (both 2011). For Aerial, there were some promotional photos shot by Trevor Leighton. For her 2011 albums, some nice shots from her brother, John Carder Bush. The icon not hiding her face away or shying from photography. Although she guards her privacy fiercely, she knows she has to have promotional photo taken. It is part of the campaign and extension of the album itself. Whilst Aerial’s photos didn’t have a particular theme, it was just nice seeing Kate Bush’s face! For Director’s Cut, there was more of a concept. Bush very much in the mode of a director. Examining a roll of film. One where she was hugging a cat (not a directorial duty but it was cute!) and there was this distinct tone, colour palette and feel. For 50 Words for Snow, alongside Bush in some artic gear looking very snug, she was shot ‘conceiving’ songs and in this directorial mode still. A creator and visionary. That trusted bond with her brother and that creative collaboration that has existed for about sixty years now. I do imagine that he will take photos for her if there is indeed another album coming.
ALBUM PHOTO COVER CREDIT: John Carder Bush
I can’t see Bush wanting to work with too many other photographers. We will have to wait for a title before we get any impression of what direction the photos might take. Whereas her early career saw her mixing album promotion shots with press photography and various different shoots, that has been limited since 2005. Fewer new photographers and working with the same photographer for the most part. I imagine John Carder Bush would be in her mind for all future promotional images. Though she might take a chance on a new photographer. In terms of the album visuals, more and more, I predict Bush will not include her own face. The last album where we did see her face was 1989’s The Sensual World. With her mouth covered by a flower, The Red Shoes in 1993 featured only feet…in red shoes. Aerial was a waveform of a blackbird song. Director’s Cut was an image of some film, whilst 50 Words for Snow is a woman kissing a snowman. It is an image inspired by one of the album’s songs, Misty, where a woman enjoys a tryst with a snowman after which she wakes find a puddle of water in her bed the following morning. Perhaps more intriguing and varied than simply having an image of Kate Bush on the cover, there is that feeling of the album covers being less personal and more to do with the music. I can appreciate Bush wants to keep the music about the music. There have been no press photos of her for quite a few years. I think about ten years or so. The year she took Before the Dawn to the stage and picked up an award for it too. Bush was nominated for 2012 BRIT Awards as Best British Female Solo Artist, but lost to Adele. She also made her first public appearance after a decade years, picking the South Bank Sky Arts Award in the Pop category for 50 Words for Snow. It has been a bit of a gap since we have seen her at an event or photographed by the press. Ten years in fact.
I think promotional interviews are likely to be very similar to how they have been for her latest albums. We will not see Bush in the flesh or on T.V. Not even a filmed podcast. Though it would be nice to see her filmed and speaking with BBC Radio 6 Music or BBC Radio 4 from a studio or great location, I feel it is more likely she will be at home and it will be audio-only. I will delve more into that side with a feature about a possible new album. I am in speculation mode. You can’t blame me! Kate Bush has always been innovative when it comes to music videos. If she winces at some of the early videos – around 1978 through 1979 – and feels that they are not representative of her, she can be very proud. They are moving and memorable because she is in them! A presence that is instantly magnetising and mesmeric. I think there was a turning point from Army Dreamers/Breathing onwards. Two singles released from her 1980 album, Never for Ever, you could see her videos becoming more cinematic. Bush learning from every shoot to the day she would direct her own videos. From Hounds of Love on, we saw Bush put her stamp on videos. She had assisted and co-directed prior to directing the video for Hounds of Love’s title track. You could feel a distinct colour palette. With nods to directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Bush expanded and broadened her vision. I love the videos for The Big Sky, Experiment IV, The Sensual World and This Woman’s Work. Bush also directed Eider Fall at Lake Tahoe in 2012. That was a video for an edited version of Lake Tahoe – taken from 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. In terms of her video output, she has lent more into animation that live action. She did appear in King of the Mountain in 2005. That was the only official single from Aerial. The video was directed by Jimmy Murakami. Bush was conscious about her looks and weight and, as such, has not appeared in her videos since.
She did direct the video for Deeper Understanding (from Director’s Cut) in 2011. That was not hugely acclaimed and, though ambitious, is pretty odd and messy. I have said that before. However, Bush did also direct the video for Little Shrew (Snowflake) that has just been released. It is a magnificent animation that ranks alongside her best work. You can read more about it here. Working alongside illustrator Jim Kay, what was released – a video to raise funds for War Child – is a masterpiece that stirs the emotions. It has just won several awards at the International Film Festival at Cannes. I do feel Bush wants to work more with animation in the future. Even though the latest video took a lot of time, the fact Bush has directed a couple of animated videos already suggests she is comfortable in that medium. It means she does not need to be in the video and is not limited by imagination or budget. Able to create something extraordinary and cinematic for less money than it would cost to shoot live. I love how she is a big fan of music videos and always wanted to see The Ninth Wave (from Hounds of Love) visualised. That was brought to the stage in 2014 but could well be visualised in the future. Maybe she will continue to archive and make animated videos for some songs from 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. I do assume any future Kate Bush video will either be animated or feature other actors. In rather pretentious and self-indulgent fashion, I am going to end with a video concept. One that does not have a song attached to it but would be a slightly large-budget video inspired by filmmaker Michel Gondry. The reason I bring this up is because Bush has always been a visual innovator. Whether it is her album covers or videos, as a director, she very much explored ideas beyond the cliché Pop videos and what here peers were doing. Directed by Julian Doyle, the video for Cloudbusting (from Hounds of Love) is dazzling and unique. Some of the moment on the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve show Bush is a direct who can produce jaw-dropping moments. Her video for Little Shrew (Snowflake) is a work of wonder!
This is someone who will release more music and very much have visuals in mind. As Bush loves vinyl and has gone to great lengths to reissue her albums and ensure they reach new people, she will put so much effort into the album cover and the vinyl itself. Whether it is another animated cover or one that is more photographic but does not feature her, I am not sure – though the former seems more likely. I do feel it is a long shot we will ever see Kate Bush appear in one of her videos again. Perhaps too conscious still about her looks and that niggling self-conscious voice that was an issue when she was filming Aerial. I do think animations will feature heavily through any music videos she provides from now on. Bush is a magnificent director across multiple mediums and visual styles. I know we will get promotional photos but, as a new album is likely to have only one single released – and, therefore, one video -, it does beg the question as to what it might entail. I think Bush is one of these artists who still loves making videos. How important they are and how they connect to music. As such, I do wonder whether she will indulge in a video that is filmed rather than animated. This is purely self-indulgent, but I have recently written about how music videos are not as innovative as once they were. Maybe it is budget constraints or a feeling videos will not be seen and are not as lucrative, popular or even necessary as they were decades ago. It is a shame music is becoming less visually-minded and we are seeing fewer groundbreaking videos and few genuinely standout album covers. Kate Bush is an artist who could have a big budget and would still engage with music videos. Taking them somewhere genuinely new. I also wrote in that feature how we are not seeing pioneering video directors like Michel Gondry or Spike Jonze emerge. I had a video ideal combining his work on Beck’s Deadweight, Björk’s Bachelorette and more specifically Cibo Matto’s Sugar Water.
It is odd to search for a song that a video goes with. Having the egg before the chicken! I sort of feel like it would suit a five-minute song similar to Arcade Fire’s Ready to Start. However, it is an adaptable concept I feel would perfectly suit a Kate Bush song. I also think that it could open a film adaptation of The Ninth Wave. Something I am determined to see come to life. So this video idea might well be the opening sequence before cutting to the first scene. Maybe a director like Roxana Baldovin or even Michel Gondry could direct. It would be a wonderful new direction for Bush. The idea would feature a film director making a movie and a woman going about her life who wants to be an actress. It would be shot in New York and the left-hand side of the screen is the filmmaker putting together the film in December 1985 (or completing it then, at Christmas). The action would be reversed, so that we start from the final scenes and completion and work back to the very start – as he searches for his lead actress. We see the end of the film an actress accidentally killed by a falling piano. The video would sync the left and right sides of the screen similar to that of Sugar Water. On the right is the actress whose life is going forward. It would start in June 1985 and would work to September in the final scene, where the screens merge and the two meet in a café called Michel’s, where upon they would put together two scarps of paper. The director’s says ‘Thank God’ (his note referring to the fact the actress dies) and the woman’s says ‘I found you!’ (referring to a suicide note that mentions her unborn child). They would then hold hands and smile as people take away parts of the café set which are actually small chairs and props (thanks to forced perspective). The twist is that the woman will be the actress who eventually dies but she is pregnant and wants to start a new life. We wonder whether this is a dream the director had or is it hers? Also, what is real and what is not. Almost like Christopher Nolan directing a music video! In the same way as this treatment is me searching for a song to go with the video, the woman is trying to find a very specific film role based on her experiences and desires. The point is that the filmmaking is quite mundane and ordinary and her life is extraordinary and film-like. There would be the occasional crossover between left and right screen where a jogger, people on the street and car accident would crossover and merge.
PHOTO CREDIT: Ali Pazani/Pexels
At the start, we see a huge action scene or bustling street that looks like a movie but is the woman’s real life. There is a camera filming a film that is comparatively boring. The video would have humour. Sign gags and visuals jokes (drug references and 1980s nods; a vat of morphine that ays ‘Property of John Candy’) together with some physical comedy, some genuine horror, suspense, romance and genuine emotion. The woman is pregnant and wants to build a life for her child. She is carrying around a letter that might be a suicide letter but changes her mind. Her life is too hectic and she wants to escape into the fantasy of the film world. The letter becomes damaged and tears. A dog tries to snatch it near the end. The film director has a script that is being re-written according to the action in the right of the screen. As he tears pages and gets rid of some, that affects the action in the woman’s life. The same with her letter and the film. The film is about a woman who has a boring life and wants to find excitement. The reverse of the woman’s life. There is this symmetry and connection between both sides of the screen. A point in the middle where the characters both stop and there is action behind them. The camera swings to the right on the left-hand side and goes to the other side and the camera on the right swings to the left as we see a brief shot of someone asleep. A blink-and-you’ll-miss-it reference and key to the video. Like eyes blinking. The camera swings referring to eyelids opening and closing again. Nods to directors like Spike Jonze and a taxi driver with a cow’s head (a reference his video for Daft Punk’s Da Funk). There is a moment outside an abortion clinic. The woman visits a music shop and puts on a vinyl of the (Kate Bush) song that is playing and listens to it as words from the song appear on the wall in the street that she runs past. Both sides of the action end in September 1985 (the month Hounds of Love was released, which will be referenced in a comical way) and the woman has got this message to meet the director. The director needs to reshoot his film but the woman does not know the fate of the other actress. Is it the same woman but the dead woman is her and the action is her dream? They both sit at a small table and have scraps of paper that they put together and we close in on them merging to say, ‘Thank God I found You!’. It then pans back up as they smile and the set is cleared and we fade. Is it a dream or was it part of the film? It is very Michel Gondry-esue in terms of layers. Rather than these being single-take scenes, Gondry’s influence would be in terms of the editing and leaning heavily on the video for Sugar Water and similarities to videos for Beck, Björk and even Lucas (Lucas with the Lid Off).
It is essentially me coming up with a specific video that would suit a particular sound and hoping Kate Bush comes up with it! To be honest, the treatment could fit a Kate Bush song. However, if she does go in the same direction as she did with 50 Words for Snow, then it may be a challenge! However, as she wants to do something different, you never know! What I do know is that she will still put a lot of emphasis into music videos. She has directed some stunning ones. I do hope that she takes a visit to live film again and shoots directs or conceives of something great. In my treatment idea, I wanted the woman to be played by U.S. actor Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) and the film director by Donald Fagen (Steely Dan). Bush is a Steely Dan fan and it would be a fun combination. With reference to other videos such as Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, Childish Gambino’s This Is America and Weezer’s Buddy Holly, it would be ambitious! I would like to think Kate Bush would be into something like that. It depends whether the music would fit the idea. Maybe destined to have an interesting five-minute video treatment go unclaimed. If I knew how to make music and had a large budget – probably at least £100,000 – then it would be worth it. No matter. The point of this feature was to cast ahead and think about Kate Bush as a visual artist. Someone who always has been an innovator and visual thinker. The videos she has appeared in and directed have been these incredible pieces of cinema. Even the earliest videos have this real sense of wonder and beauty. I do like how she is still directing and spend so much time on the Little Shrew (Snowflake) video. Someone who puts so much effort into getting the look of a video right. So much story and brilliant images.
IN THIS PHOTO: Rachel Brosnahan in 2018/PHOTO CREDIT: We Are The Rhoads for Variety
I love how Bush’s love of films has worked its way into her music which then goes into her own videos. That exciting possibility that a new single might come at some point. What will the song be and how will the video go? What will it encompass? Maybe it will be another animation or Bush will direct a live action video with her own concept? Perhaps she will work with a new director and charge them to direct something based on her treatment. It seems unlikely Bush is going to appear in anymore videos. That is a pity but you can see why she might not want to commit. Instead, we could get something radical and boundary-pushing. I do worry that the art – and that word ‘art’ is very deliberate – of the music video has gone. Mainstream artists can afford bigger-budget videos but they are not using that money to do much truly innovative and mind-blowing. Smaller artists can do a lot with a smaller budget but their videos do not get as many views so less impetus to do anything that inventive. We do need more major artists looking at the classic videos and trying to equal them. Kate Bush, if and when she does give is new music, could very well do that. Create a video that stays long in the mind. Whether because of it intricacies and layers of a beautiful simplicity that is affecting and singular. Bush is this stunning filmmaker so my hopes are high for the future. This tantalising and hugely exciting possibility for…
A new director’s cut.