FEATURE:
It Could Sing You to Sleep
IMAGE CREDIT: Mark Wallis
Why Kate Bush Valuing the Authenticity and Warmth of Physical Music Is Important in the Modern Age
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ALTHOUGH the image above…
IN THIS PHOTO: A Before the Dawn official press photo/PHOTO CREDIT: Gavin Bush
is not actual DVD artwork, it is a fan-made design of a hypothetical DVD for Kate Bush’s Before the Dawn residency. She did put cameras in the Eventim Apollo to film her performance. Some seats were moved on 16th and 17th September (2014) to film the show. There was this desire to release the residency in DVD form. However, Bush was not happy with the film and it will remain forever unreleased. Not a slight on the team who filmed it and the quality of their work. However, maybe the overall effect was quite washed-out and you did not get the same atmosphere and immediacy that one got from the residency. Bush might not have liked how she looked. Maybe like a spectator filming the show rather than it being this immersive and dazzling production, respect to Kate Bush for withholding the DVD! Releasing something she is not happy with would go against her ethos and values. What is interesting is that Bush considered it being filmed to start. The idea of keeping the experience secret and for those who paid to be there. However, for prosperity or as a record of what went down, that would make sense. It is amazing that, in the modern age, there exists a residency/live show with almost no visual record. A few people did film and take photos – against Bush’s advice and warning – but, for the most part, only those who saw Before the Dawn know what it was like. It is this wonderful bonding secret. Though, for those who never got to see her, we will forever wonder what it was like being there. It got me thinking beyond that residency and Bush’s values as an artist.
IN THIS PHOTO: A Before the Dawn official press photo of Albert McIntosh during Hello Earth/PHOTO CREDIT: Gavin Bush
It is clear, from the way she has reissued her albums and made sure the sound quality is as good as it can be, how she wants people to listen physically – and not just stream albums. She also reissued the albums again and designed these new vinyl editions. Bespoke and wonderful, this is an artist who goes out of her way to ensure that the listener has the best experience. From seeing the vinyl to putting the needle down, Bush is involved with each step. Briefly going back to Before the Dawn. I think she was pioneering in terms of wanting phones to be kept away. Asking people not to film the show or take photos, for the most part, people obliged. There were those few who disregarded the advice. This being Kate Bush’s tribe, most respected her wishes and were present in 2014. Did many artists prior to 2014 do that?! In years since, everyone from Jack White to Alicia Keys to Bob Dylan have asked audiences to comply. Putting their phones in pouches that they can collect after the gig. It is a divisive subject. Many feeling this is policy is not fair and they might need their phone in an emergency. This idea of it being strict. However, if an artist wants their audience to be involved in the show, then it is fair enough! I have written about it before and still wonder if Kate Bush was among the first to ask for a phone-free audience. What her request proved is how top of her priority list is for people to connect with her work. In physical terms, mastering the sound and being involved in that process. The physical aspect of an album. Hard as it is to fight against the streaming tide, Kate Bush is standing firm!
When it came to Before the Dawn, she wanted the sort of live experience she had when she was young. When she performed in 1979 for The Tour of Life. There were no phones (as they had not been invented) and everyone was focused on the stage. The more technology advances, the more it replaces human contact and interaction. Bush sees similar dangers in the digital world. Music becoming a commodity and something ephemeral. People skipping tracks or jumping through an album. How digital music can disappear or be manipulated. When it comes to her albums, she both wants as many people as possible to listen on physical formats. She also values the experience of listening to an album in full. When she writes and produces her albums, that is how she wants people to experience them: in an unbroken state. I am going to expand on this for another feature. However, it is timely to discuss Bush’s dedication to physical music and something traditional yet relevant today. How vinyl and formats like cassette and C.D. are rising and coming back. It is about preservation and legacy. Making sure that people pass her albums through the generations. That her music is presented in its finest form. That it has this warmth and tactile feel. That it has this rich quality. You can see this consideration and architecture across her whole career. The videos and photoshoots. Making sure everything is as striking, original and appealing as possible. If another album does appear in the future, you know Bush will make every effort to make the listening experience as wonderful as possible! Maybe she will expand the physical format options and release it on cassette.
I am going to wrap up in a second. I am sort of glad there is not a Before the Dawn DVD. It means all the hard work Bush and her team put into the set design, lighting, costumes and every detail of the performance was for those who were there. A theatrical experience. It would lose clarity, colour and depth if it was transferred to DVD. Even if it was HD and on Blu-ray. Same with her albums. I always prefer listening to them on physical formats. Streaming is okay, though Bush encourages people to buy albums and hear them as she intended. I do admire how she has these values. Some might say her reissuing albums is a cash-in. Something to exploit a new wave of fans coming on board. In fact, it is Bush knowing people are discovering her music fresh and she wants to make sure they buy her albums. So they can be kept and played for years. So the songs she recorded years ago are as affecting and real. Maybe one day she will upgrade her music videos to HD and they will come out on DVD. Before the Dawn never will. That is a good thing. In a music world where social media and the digital rules, anything Bush does going forward always will prioritise the physical. Making sure her music, videos or anything else is presented in her own vision. Always thinking about the fans, it is another reason she is so loved. If you are new to Kate Bush and maybe have streamed some of her music, I would urge you to invest in an album or two. Take that step and get that ultimate pleasure: hearing that beautiful music radiate with warmth and richness. Words Bush definitely has in mind when remastering and working on the sound. Against the dominance of streaming, physical formats are fighting and resonating with people who want to connect with music. To feel the music. That is the beginning of…
A new dawn.