FEATURE:
Never Be Mine
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari
Kate Bush and the Art of Not Listening to Other Artists
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THAT title may be misleading…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush on set of the Dr. Hook T.V. special on 20th March, 1980, where she performed Babooshka
however, when it comes to Kate Bush, less is more. That is the case when creating her own sound. I guess one of the most-asked questions of any artist is what their influences are. I guess it is a little reductive and cliche, though the media always needs to label and compare artists. How an artist got to sound like they are. I suppose it is curiosity at worst. At best, we can paint a wider and deeper picture of an artist. No artist is unique in the sense they have no influences or are complete originals. Every artist takes some form of guidance or inspiration from others. Maybe their reason to get into music in the first place. Kate Bush’s motivation for getting into music was not fame or success. It was not driven by another artist. She was not watching T.V. or listening to the radio and thought that she should take up music to be like that artist. Sure, Bush did listen to artists like Elton John and David Bowie and saw something in them that she wanted for her. Something about the way they wrote and dressed that resonated in her. That opened up something that she could not get from people around her. As a hugely creative and curious person, Bush was drawn to these more unusual figures. Music would allow her to explore her love of dance. To adopt different looks and characters. To transform her early poetry and songs intro something bigger and real. This might suggest that Bush was listening to a lot of different music and then taking bits from each to use on her albums. This might have been true for the first few albums. Taking influence from artists like Peter Gabriel and The Beatles. I think that was less apparent from The Dreaming onwards. I could not envisage Bush listening to out-there or less commercial albums and being motivated to write The Dreaming. The same with Hounds of Love. One might hear shades of other albums in her work, though I think Bush was more influenced and connected to people and her own imagination. Not wanting to be compared to anyone else.
I know Kate Bush was asked about her influence in various interviews. She has shared her own loves and musical favourites. However, one of the most interesting takeaways connected to this subject is when Bush is asked about the kind of music she listens to when writing. There is this interesting switch between Bush’s creative process earlier in her career and later. I think a lot of what she listened to as a child and teenager went into The Kick Inside and Lionheart (both released in 1978). Maybe not obviously running through the songs, no doubt there was a case of Bush listening to some of her favourite artists and them providing inspiration for songs and ideas. If the influences were less obvious or less conventional for Never for Ever (1980), The Dreaming (1982) or Hounds of Love (1985), Bush was still listening to quite a bit of music and getting ideas from it. I think her creative process was different mind. I know the Trio Bulgarka featured on The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993). Their music was in her mind when she was writing those albums. However, you can’t really hear too many obvious touchstones. Other artists’ impact making their way into Kate Bush’s albums. I do feel that she would have still listened to quite a bit of other music when creating those early/mid-career albums, to get the creative juices flowing. Things did sort of shift for her more recent album. I have heard interviews for Aerial (2005) and 50 Words for Snow (2011) when Kate Bush was asked what she was listening to. If she had bought any new albums. Though she did drop in Gorillaz and Elton John/Leon Russell – to show she was not out of touch and still kept up with current music -, this was more out of curiosity. These artists not necessarily influencing her.
IN THIS PHOTO: Björk in New York in October 2001
It is amazing how Bush is quite rare in the fact she does not listen to a lot of other artists’ music when writing her own. This gives the impression Bush does not buy albums and mainly leans on older artists. I suspect, if we saw her vinyl/C.D. collection today – I can’t see Bush having many Spotify playlists and downloading albums! -, there would be some contemporary stuff in there. It might seem like a minor point, yet I have always been interested by that question and response. Someone asking if Bush has bought any albums or listening to other albums. Her saying she hadn’t. I think about it a lot. What music Bush listens to and how often she allowed other artists’ sounds into her mind. I guess her songwriting is unique because she does not write whilst listening to other artists. I am intrigued whether any future Kate Bush albums might take a particular direction because she is connecting with modern artists. Even if a legion of artists – from Big Boi to St. Vincent to Björk – have spoken about Kate Bush and her impact on them, Bush has not really engaged or reached out to these artists in a creative sense. It is not strange for someone in their fifties or sixties to rely on older alums and not buy as much new music as they would when they were younger. I would like to think there is a Björk, Radiohead, Tricky or Big Boi album in her collection. I would love it if Björk’s Vespertine (2001) was there and had some impact on Aerial (2005) or 50 Words for Snow (2011). Some 1990s Radiohead nestling with other C.Ds. Maybe Bush taking bits of OK Computer (1997) or even a later work like Kid A (2000) and getting some inspiration from them. Bush does love Hip-Hop, so it would not be a shock of Tricky’s Maxinquaye (1995) or OutKast’s Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003) was in her C.D. rack. These albums might be there for pleasure or occasional indulge.
However, there are signs to suggest that Bush is working on an eleventh studio album. No doubt, when interviews are conducted around that, she will be asked if she listens to much new music or has bought any albums. I can imagine Bush is invested in physical music now more than she was in 2011 or even 2005. This being Kate Bush, one cannot imagine any new albums directing her sound. Could we imagine Bush buying The Last Dinner Party’s debut album (Prelude to Ecstasy)? Was she one of the many who bought Charli xcx’s BRAT? It is unlikely that Bush will collaborate with any of these artists, though I do think she is more open to new music. Will this change the way she writes and how she sounds? I would not imagine so. Bush will continue to write from her own mind and imagination and not really let anyone else’s work direct even. It was a thought that hooked me. There is a lot of great new music. Artists inspired by Kate Bush. I wonder if any of this will see Bush parting ways with some cash and checking it out. Perhaps her creative process is at its best and purest when she is not listening to other artists and new albums. This point warrants greater discussion. It is still humbling how many artists emerging credit Kate Bush. Say that she has inspired them. Bush is no doubt aware of this. She is still this innovator and true original. Perhaps not someone who digests a lot of albums. That said, I have a hunch that Bush at least keeps her ear to the ground in case something of interest emerges! Bush not buying albums or name-checking other artists is not her being dismissive or not recognising others. When you think of Kate Bush’s writing and work, it is very much her own. Bush is at her very best when her…
MIND clear and her voice is her own.