FEATURE:
A Massive Noise
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982
Kate Bush’s The Dreaming and Starting Anew
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ONE of the greatest…
turning points and most notable points of Kate Bush’s career was when she started work on The Dreaming. I am focusing on this album again as there are aspects of it that I have not covered in detail before. I am going to be dipping back into the pages once more of Graeme Thomson’s Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush. In terms of the most notable element of The Dreaming, I think I have discussed its percussion before. The sheer noise and volume of the album. If you think of Kate Bush’s first two albums, The Kick Inside and Lionheart, it was very much with the piano at the front. Perhaps informed more by her upbringing and early love of the piano, it was only natural that this would be what enforced those 1978 albums. Of course, there were a range of instruments and vocal element in the mix. However, this was very much the sound of Kate Bush passionate, tender, bold, pioneering an unlike any female artist around. If the sound palette is pinks, blues and reds – I have brought in colours to describe her sound – then, as mentioned previously, things changed for 1980’s Never for Ever. Retaining some of the more ethereal and tender moments of the first two albums, there was a range of new sounds available from the Fairlight CMI. Some darker greens and blues. Still a lighter and more accessible album, there was a dramatic shift and introduction of blacks, browns and greys for The Dreaming. That does seem like it is a downbeat and haunting album. However, that indicates an artist – and producer – who was pushing away from her earliest sound and keen to think ahead and embrace something more modern.
Because of that, many critics did not know what to make of The Dreaming. Released in 1982, volume and depth is what defines the album. More political in places, it is a denser album. New influences very much helped to enforce and mould The Dreaming. Roy Harper was one. Both were working in Abbey Road Studio 2 when Bush was making Never for Ever. Harper popped in to add backing vocals to Breathing. Bush featured on You (The Game Part II). Pink Floyd were also major influences. Peter Gabriel was the most significant factor when it comes to The Dreaming’s experimentation and percussion. They first came into professional contact when Gabriel appeared on the bill for a Bill Duffield tribute show during Kate Bush The Tour of Life. Bush appeared on a couple of Peter Gabriel songs and she very much had an affection for what he did. I think the percussion on The Dreaming was a turning point. I have mentioned this before. Hugh Padgham was pivotal. An exceptional engineer, he was responsible for creating the ‘gated’ drum effect at Townhouse’s ‘stone room’ studio during his work with Steve Lillywhite. That effect of the “thunderous rhythm cannoning off the stone walls followed by an almost immediate, uneasy silence was the sound Bush craved”. She admired watching Peter Gabriel in the studio and the guts it took, Rather than relying on the limitations of a drum kit, she wanted something more tribal and raw. No sizzle of the cymbal or hi-hat. In terms of kit at Townhouse, there was the Solid State Logic (SSL) 4000 B console, which “integrated a studio computer system with an in-line audio console”. There was a SSL B desk. It had so many compressors and gates. All of this was new to Kate Bush. However, when you think about the sound of The Dreaming and even the seeds of Hounds of Love (1985), you can trace it back to her witnessing what was happening at Townhouse and how the percussive sound there was utilised by Peter Gabriel.
There is sophistication and real range on The Dreaming. However, it is the sense of explosion throughout. Jump scares and this tribal sound. A sense of fear and anxiety. The pulsating tribal drums of Sat in Your Lap. Something more dense and frightening on Pull Out the Pin and The Dreaming. The sheer howl and energy of Get Out of My House. The pulverising and blast of percussion during Houdini’s chorus. There Goes as Tenner, All the Love and Night of the Swallow are perhaps the lightest tracks on The Dreaming. In terms of connecting with other instruments and dynamics. Not as reliant on percussion and this heaviness. This feature about The Dreaming goes track by track. Consider that they say about Sat in Your Lap and the percussion: “Within seconds, this song grabs your attention with a quick tempoed drum beat, rumbling and reverberated”. Pull Out the Pin: “Starting off, we are introduced to more natural drums and reedy melody transporting us somewhere completely different. Kate brings us to the jungles of Vietnam, now singing as a Vietnamese soldier fighting in the war”. Leave It Open: “Within the first minute, we hear loud sampled drums, Kate’s voice through a phaser and then through heavy delay”. The Dreaming: “We are introduced to a didgeridoo and heavy engulfing drumbeat. After a sudden BANG! Kate starts to sing in a prominent Australian accent”. Get Out of My House: “One of my favourite Kate songs of all time, it is a whirlwind marriage of an emotionally driven story and totally innovative music production. It wastes no time making itself known, a haunting descending tone and drums start busting in”. There is no doubt that Hounds of Love remains Kate Bush’s most ambitious, accomplished album. I think The Dreaming is her most intense and loudest one.
IN THIS PHOTO: Björk photographed for Le Monde/PHOTO CREDIT: Vidar Logi
I am surprised others have not written about this. How there was this marked shift from 1980 to 1982. Technology had a big part to play, though it was clear Kate Bush wanted to make music with more bite and thunder. Witnessing Peter Gabriel and Hugh Padgham create something new and special opened her eyes It was a real revelation. That sense of a massive noise. It is all over The Dreaming. It is present on Hounds of Love, though the sense of explosion and tribal energy used in a different way. The percussion sound of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), Hounds of Love and even The Big Sky a little different. It was that move of direction towards percussion and a heavier sound on The Dreaming that impacted Bush’s scope and songwriting on Hounds of Love. The Dreaming remains unloved by some. Seen as too weird or on the fringes. A bit of a hard and heavy listen. Maybe if you were expecting her to repeat what she did on her first three albums. The biggest sonic evolution of her career, it was a necessary move. That sense of guts and bravery. Knowingly going in a less commercial direction in order to explore something fresh and more exciting. Knowing it could damage her career and lead to low sales – The Dreaming sold far fewer copies than The Kick Inside and Hounds of Love -, it was a moment that resounds to this day. Artists recording right now who very much took The Dreaming to heart. I think about Björk and many of her albums. You can hear her inspired by The Dreaming and what Kate Bush produced for that album. As I round off Kate Bush feature 999, I wanted to reflect on the role of percussion. Whilst there was some natural drums on The Dreaming, it is the way she harnessed the Fairlight CMI and also utilised acoustics and the studio space to create something more dramatic, unusual and impactful that stands out. This controlled chaos. Lunacy with heart. It is an amazing album that still sounds unlike anything else. When working with Peter Gabirel prior to her starting work on The Dreaming, maybe she did not think she could work in the same way and get the same sounds. A dream perhaps. However, this incredible pioneer and ambitious producer soon turned those dreams…
INTO reality.