FEATURE:
Room for the Life, Somewhere in Between
Space for Improvisations and Collaborations in Kate Bush’s Music
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MOST people have this view of Kate Bush’s music…
that has not shifted. I will talk about this is in another feature. How so much of the perception and views around her are guided by the media and their misunderstanding and ignorance. How well do they know Kate Bush?! There is this casual misinformation and misperception of her. When it comes to her music, maybe many think that everything was guided by Kate Bush and there was no space for input. Perhaps others feel that she was being guided by others. Kate Bush is one of the few artists who has ever lived who has written every single one of her album tracks. All songs on her ten studio albums credited to her. For sure, there are other people adding things. Whether it is a string arrangement or guitar part of something else, Bush has had help from those around her. However, when it comes to her music, this is very personal and important to her. Someone who would hate co-writing. How difficult and strange that would be. Few artists who have ever lived have written all their own music. When it comes to their studio albums. Bush has covered artists before but never includes a cover on her own albums. One could say that songs like Flower of the Mountain (from 2011’s Director’s Cut) or In Search of Peter Pan (from 1978’s Lionheart) had some help from distinct sources. It is impressive to consider how Bush’s music has been guided and shaped by her. This is especially true when she became a producer and was more in control of how her songs would sound. Not to say she was controlling and did not allow for flexibility. In fact, on all of her albums, there has been room for improvisation and suggestions.
When it came to the studio, there was this collaborative spirit. Despite the fact Bush was calling the shots, players would definitely be able to have their say. Returning to Aerial briefly. Released in 2005, there was a degree of looseness to some of the songs. Of course, there was also a lot of secrecy. Musicians would be invited in and there was this need to keep things private. However, musicians were invited to improvise on tracks. Steve Sanger, a friend of Bush’s husband, Danny McIntosh, came to Dorset (where Bush lived) to play drums, bells, shakers and percussion. If something worked then that was wonderful. If not, then no harm was done (I am paraphrasing Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush). Bush would lay down her basic vocals the day before musicians would play on some tracks. They would play along with what they heard through headphones. It gave this natural freedom. Musicians could improve and add things. They were not rigidly being led or having to work with all these strict measures. I think that this is something that was not unique to Aerial. Maybe The Dreaming (1982) was a little more inflexible in terms of how loose and natural the sessions were. However, through nearly all of her albums, there was this sense of Kate Bush being this mother figure. Wanting to nurture the musicians and hear their thoughts. She would veto and pull rank sometimes if she knew best. However, there was space for improvisation and some alternate takes. People who played on a Kate Bush album noted the familial atmosphere. How she would offer them tea and there would be food served and wonderful hospitality.
Aerial is an album that very much strikes me as one that was warm and familial. Bush had this vision for the album but the beauty of it is all the different colours and shades. Various musicians adding their own flavours and suggestions. They could add something to the mix because there was this openness. Bush experimenting but not in a gruelling way. Maybe The Dreaming is a slight anomaly in the sense thar there is a denseness to the sound. Even so, she was this supportive and open-minded producer who would welcome collaborative spirit. As mentioned, if she was determined to have her way or sound on record, she would say so and gently, politely shut the conversation down. I would have loved to have watched her in the studio when recording albums like Never for Ever (1980), The Sensual World (1989) or The Red Shoes (1993). Bush is not really a perfectionist. That is what people say. She is exacting and will spend a while with songs. This does not mean she was writing privately, handing instructions to musicians and that was it. In the studio, there would be various players coming up with things in the moment. Perhaps not what Bush has envisaged, some of this naturally appears on the albums. When Bush started producing her own albums, she understood that there needed to be this blend of leadership and collaboration. I have written before how there was this good vibe and happy environment when she was recording out of Abbey Road. Despite Bush auditioning parts and using several players, part of it was so she could get something unique. Musicians coming in and playing something that may not have been concrete in her head. On her first couple of albums – 1978’s The Kick Inside and Lionheart -, Kate Bush was working with experienced musicians and was fascinated by the studio. She was getting advice from them but she was also making them think and play in a different way. Mutual respect that was hugely beneficial to the overall sound.
It all goes back to the way Bush ran her sessions. So warm and supportive, she genuinely cherished and valued everyone who appeared. Even if it is her at the front, things were never purely professional and there was always communication and exchange. I think there remains this misconception. Bush being slavish in the studio and there not being any space for collaboration and improvisation. Circumstances changes from about 1985. Before that, maybe Bush was aware of how much studio sessions were costing her. Her musicians could add their own interpretations and there was definite flexibility. There would be this clash of wanting to nurture collaboration but Bush being aware of the cost and that niggling – and making sure her voice was the most prominent. However, I feel Hounds of Love, The Sensual World and even The Red Shoes saw a shift. From players on Hounds of Love being given some license to take a song where they wanted to (to an extent). Singers like the Trio Bulgarka improvising and guiding things on The Sensual World and The Red Shoes. Players on Aerial playing different parts and if it didn’t hit the mark there was no real stress. Far from Bush’s recording being tense and honed to within an inch of its life, she was a professional and genius producer but also there was this generosity of spirit. Kate Bush is not done recording. One imagines a new album might be more scaled-back in terms of people who play on it. Even so, Bush will not alter how she approaches sessions and those who work with her. There will be opportunity for some improvisation and feedback. Bush is fascinated by people so it is only natural she welcomes communication and collaboration. This is one of many reasons as to why…
SO respected and admired.