FEATURE: To Wash Away Your Crown… Madison Beer’s King of Everything and Men in the Industry Controlling Women

FEATURE:

 

 

To Wash Away Your Crown…

IN THIS PHOTO: Madison Beer/PHOTO CREDIT: Forbes

Madison Beer’s King of Everything and Men in the Industry Controlling Women

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PERHAPS an appropriate thing…

PHOTO CREDIT: Elizaveta Dushechkina/Pexels

to write about as we look at next year. We are a day away from it being a new year. In terms of things that need to be prioritised in the music industry is how women are treated. I am thinking about young artists and the way those with power will try and control them. The misogyny that goes hand in hand with that. It is a story as old as time unfortunately. So many young women – it does affect male artists but is much more prevalent with women – are subjected to abuse of power. Madison Beer is a major U.S. artist whose latest album, Silence Between Songs, came out earlier in the year. She released her debut album, Life Support, in 2021. The twenty-four-year-old has had an experience like a lot of young women in the industry. The way those higher up exert power and control. Behaviour that at best is insulting and scary. At worst, it is abusive and criminal! In an interview with NME, Beer discussed her experiences of this:

“Madison Beer has said her song ‘King Of Everything’ is about her relationship with men who have “abused their power”.

The pop singer spoke to NME about her album ‘Silence Between Songs‘, which was released in September this year. In particular, she gave the backstory to ‘King Of Everything’, which includes lyrics such as “Look what you’ve done / Taken advantage of people so young / Ridin’ the high road on everyone’s lows”.

“There’s a few topics, honestly, within that song,” she said. “There’s the direct relationship I’ve had with a few people – many people – who are those men in positions of power that I feel have maybe abused their power or not been great with it… I don’t quite know how to say it.

“You know, [there are] things I’ve seen and been through where now I’m older, I’m like, ‘That’s crazy.’”

Beer also said the song was about “growing up around so many successful businessmen and big celebrities and billionaire managers and seeing how, like, truly lonely a lot of those people were.”

She added ‘King Of Everything’ reflected “how you could have all the success and money and whatever in the world, but if you’re a miserable person, you’re gonna be miserable no matter what.

“It was pretty eye-opening to me and something I always recognised,” she continued. “So yeah, in the least harsh way possible, we wrote ‘King Of Everything’ [about all of that].”

Beer has spoken up about misogyny in the music industry before; last year, she praised Billie Eilish for her bravery in writing songs addressing the struggles of being in the industry.

“I think the topics [Billie] touches on in her music are so prolific,” Beer said. “She speaks about things that a lot of other artists don’t and are maybe afraid to, which is valid because we’ve all been conditioned to be afraid of speaking about certain things”.

There are women coming out speaking about the things they are facing. Whether it is assault or abuse, discrimination or finding they are being made to stay quiet. Madison Beer mentions Billie Eilish and how she has written about it. It can be hard for women to come forward and discuss that toxic side of the industry. Where you are this young artist that is subjected to awful behaviour and misogyny. Madison Beer, whilst she did not give specific examples, has clearly been the recipient of that blatant abuse of trust. That she can look back at it now and confront it is amazing. Her story and recollections will resonate with many women throughout music. It is obviously still happens. Not all young women will be impacted, though it is clear that there are many who do not want to speak out through fear of reprisal and commercial loss. It is obvious that next year needs to be one where the industry needs to tackle its worse aspects. From the high number of sexual abuse cases reported through to the ongoing imbalance and sexism, there is a lot to challenge and overturn. It will not be a quick process. It is important that women in the industry feel safe and secure. It is driving a lot of women out of music. Rarely tackled by many other men in the industry, that desire and necessity to protect women and ensure that they do not have to face what the likes of Madison Beer have gone through is paramount. Misogyny is something that has been rampant through the industry though the decades. Things have slowly improved, though so many women are impacted. Whether it is a label boss or producer that is abusive or controlling or a successful rising group is accused of being an industry plant, why is this sort of thing still so prevalent in this day and age?! It is a major concern that definitely needs to be eradicated.

IN THIS PHOTO: Hester Chambers and Rhian Teasdale of Wet Leg/PHOTO CREDIT: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times

In November, Far Out Magazine wrote how misogyny is destroying the music industry. If women coming into music see what is happening and realise what so many of their peers have to deal with then that is really dangerous. How many are we going to lose because they would rather not have to go through that?! Something that is heartbreaking to consider:

“Pinpointing the different sources of insidious misogyny in the music industry would be enough to fill a book. In fact, many artists, journalists, and authors have actually put pen to paper to expose this exact issue. Contemporary artists, although the freedom to express and experiment musically is less likely to face trolling commentary (unless it’s the internet, in which case there absolutely will be trolls), are still susceptible to the enduring sexism that the industry refuses to loosen the reigns on.

Wet Leg and Björk, for instance, have had to deal with more than enough backlash. The former have been accused of emerging as an “industry plant” since day one because the idea that an all-women band becoming quickly successful just isn’t fathomable, is it? Haim, too, cannot escape the succession of media and internet opinions and let’s not even get started on Taylor Swift.

Let’s face the truth: women in music often face unjust labels, unequal opportunities, and a lack of recognition for their achievements compared to male musicians. Despite substantial progress in recent times, a persistent gender imbalance has disadvantaged our talented female artists for decades. From Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez to Etta James, Aretha Franklin, PJ Harvey, and many more — when will publications feature a more diverse lineup on their covers when celebrating the greatest musicians in history?”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Green/Pexels

I have written about it quite a bit through this year. When there are various cases of misogyny that are reported. Features that discuss the continuing issue. Madison Beer’s words add to that. She is an amazing artist that should not have to speak about this. Men controlling her and the sort of behaviour that is reprehensible! One hopes that there was nothing as serious as sexual assault or abuse. You do worry that there are still so many men in music that feel this is okay. That they can act appallingly around young women. There are women fighting against this and sharing their stories. There needs to be more activation and commitment from the industry at large. More men speaking out and ensuring that there is this unified attack against misogyny through the industry. Without this sort of support, it is women having to battle against something that is solely created by men. Why should they have to do this alone?! They have their sisters in support, yet it is incumbent on men to lend their support. 2024 should be a year of improvement and sanitisation. Where lingering discrimination and gender imbalance is properly addressed and overturned. It is easy enough to do. There doesn’t seem to be the willing and commitment from those who have power and sway. One of the most crucial priorities for next year should be women’s safety. Showing them respect. That there are no cases of women having to talk about being controlled and feeling unsafe or unheard. It is clear that things cannot continue…

THE way things are.

FEATURE: An Embarrassment of Riches: Will the Music Industry React? The IWD FEST 2024: Putting Female Talent First

FEATURE:

 

 

An Embarrassment of Riches: Will the Music Industry React?

The IWD FEST 2024: Putting Female Talent First

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THANKS goes to…

IN THIS PHOTO: Miki Berenyi/PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

Cris Bowden of the Speakeasy Fanzine for making me aware of the IWD FEST. Taking place on 9th March at Bucks Student Union, High Wycombe, it is a showcase of some amazing female artists. Presented by Speakeasy and Loud Women, you can get your ticket here. It is one of the guaranteed festivals where women are not only appearing right throughout the bill. You also get female headline slots – not something that happens much at festivals in the U.K. Below is all the information you need to know about the IWD FEST:

“On Saturday 09 March 2024, the day after International Women’s Day, Speakeasy and LOUD WOMEN have joined together to bring you a day of indie goodness showcasing talented bands/artists with women at their heart: The IWD Fest. Based on statistical evidence, women dominate the music scene; they outnumber men as musical artists and they consistently top the charts, but this data doesn’t seem to translate to the main stage – fewer than 20% of headline acts at UK festivals in 2023 were female-fronted.

The IWD Fest is not only a fantastic showcase for talented artists, but it shall also serve to generate well-needed funds and publicity for SAASSBMK (Sexual Assault and Abuse Support Service Buckinghamshire & Milton Keynes - www.saassbmk.org.uk). SAASSBMK are a women-led charitable incorporated organisation serving those in Buckinghamshire and Milton Keynes whose lives have been affected by rape, sexual assault, and abuse. Their primary aim is to provide support, information, advice, and guidance to victims and survivors, empowering and enabling them to work with the trauma and suffering caused to them and their loved ones by sexual assault and abuse, including non-recent and childhood sexual abuse. All profit generated from this show will be donated to the charity.

Lineup

Formed in the late ‘80s, The Popguns are a magnificent indie band from Brighton. The band, perhaps most well known for their 1989 top 20 hit ‘Waiting for the Winter’, continue to release fantastic music, as demonstrated by their latest EP, 2023's Popism.

Post-punkers Desperate Journalist have been releasing wonderful, melodramatic, and haunting cinematic sounds since their debut LP in 2014, blending elements of likes of The Cure, Savages, and Joy Division. Always receiving rave reviews for their live performances, Desperate Journalist recently completed a successful tour supporting Britpop pioneers Suede.

Formerly of Lush and currently in both Piroshka and her own eponymous trio, Miki Berenyi will be joining us in conversation, discussing her recent autobiography and her time in the music industry.

Da Googie is the solo project of My Bloody Valentine bassist Debbie Googe, who will be performing tunes from this exciting and experimental new project.

ARXX characterize themselves as “if Taylor Swift had only listened to Nirvana.” We think this description perfectly describes their special sound.

Fraulein are a Northern Irish/Dutch duo who intertwine their early nineties grunge and PJ Harvey influences to create a thunderous racket. Having recently toured with The Mysterines and English Teacher, wider success is just around the corner for these two.

Charley Stone with the Actual Band join the bill with a deep CV. Charley was in ‘90s bands Gay Dad, Salad, and Sleeper, among numerous other projects including Desperate Journalist, who she will also be playing with today. Charley is an extraordinary entertainer and with her mesmeric guitar skills and beautiful voice, she is sure to delight and enthrall.

Nadia Sheikh is back at Bucks Student Union after her brilliant solo acoustic show at Speakeasy Volume One. This time around, however, she returns with a full band, new music, and rides in off a successful tour of Spain.

Hurtling’s sound is drowned in glorious guitar tones and noisy bass lines all underpinned by driving drums. Taking inspiration from bands such as The Breeders, Throwing Muses, and Sebadoh, Hurtling use those ingredients to cook up their own unique sonic recipe.

Laura Jayne is a singer-songwriter from the north-east of England. Laura has a stunning voice that sits on top of indie rock instrumentation, with plenty of pop thrown in for good measure.

I, Doris are feminist post-punk delivered with a fun DIY attitude and heaps of humour - a fantastic and entertaining live band that leaves an indelible mark on your memory.

Former Echobelly, Curve, and Nightnurse guitarist Debbie Smith will keep the party going with a DJ set of classic tunes to close out the festivities”.

There is a broad and brilliant line-up there. The objectives are all wise and worthy. The fact that there is so little representation of women in those headline slots is staggering! When women dominate music and are without a doubt available and ready, why are there so many excuses?! That feeling that women are a risk and gamble. It is almost like festivals are phoning it in a lot of the time with their choices. I have written about this a bit recently. It is worth keeping it in mind. I am not sure how next year’s festivals will line up in terms of their headliners. You feel we have reached a stage where there can be no excuses. Nothing that would make any sense anyway. After another triumphant years for music where women ruled, there now needs to be this reckoning. All this talent translating into festival opportunities. Headline slots too. Other countries can make female artists headliners. It seems to be something that afflicts U.K. festivals. This assumption that there are very few options available. Why would that be the case here and yet other festivals book female headliners?! It is all very angering and baffling. I can only imagine what it feels like for women throughout music who are being overlooked and insulted like this! The IWD FEST is a vital thing that shows that festivals can have amazing and varied female headliners.

PHOTO CREDIT: Wendy Wei/Pexels

It is not hard to find and book the talent! With the likes of The F-List providing a directory of amazing female talent, there are options. I also think that if organisers think of all the best albums and songs from the past year, there is another batch of names. I am going to wrap up soon. Before that, earlier in the year, God Is in the TV reacted to the state of affairs regarding headliners. After Glastonbury said that a ‘pipeline’ issue accounted for no female headliners, it seems like the industry also needs to take some responsibility:

“Nadia Khan an artist manager tweeted: “Glasto could quite easily give a headline slot away to an under-represented artist group to be part of the necessary change in the industry.”

Suddi Raval tweeted “Emily Eavis says the issue is that there’s a “pipeline” problem why they have an all-white male-only line up to headline the Pyramid stage. WTF. Just ask any black women. That’ll solve your pipeline problem.”

Lisa Pinky Ward tweeted: “I love you Glastonbury but nothing says it’s nearly #IWD2023 like announcing 3 male headliners on the Pyramid. Fancy committing to all women on the Other Stage or Park Stage? Emily Eavis eyeballing you here. It’s 2023…”

“The music industry needs to invest in more female musicians to create future headliners” explained Eavis. “We’re trying our best so the pipeline needs to be developed. This starts way back with the record companies, radio. I can shout as loud as I like but we need to get everyone on board.” Some said we are “trying” isn’t the best excuse and pointed out that 52% of the 54 names on the first lineup announcement were male. But to be fair to Emily Eavis she has long been an advocate of more balanced bills,  she said was “entirely focused on balancing our bill. It’s not just about gender, it’s about every aspect of diversity.”

Diversity of bills is also important. Glastonbury made an important statement when it chose Jay Z to headline the festival in 2008. This year, 46% of its initial 54 names feature unrepresented racial groups: including Wizkid who will headline the Other stage on Friday, Gabriels who is likely to be a highlight of the early evening on Friday, and Loyle Carner who tops the bill on West Holts on the Saturday.  “We’re probably one of the only big shows that’s really focused on this” she claimed.

Glastonbury isn’t alone. Other festivals including Download, Kendall Calling, Reading and Leeds, and a raft of others, have male-dominated and largely white, headline bills this year.

According to the BBC, a study of the UK’s biggest music festivals found that 149 headline acts – or 74.5% – are male solo acts or all-male bands. Meanwhile, 24 headliners – or 12% – are bands featuring a mix of male and female musicians, with just one headline act identifying as non-binary.

In 2021, The Isle Of Wight Festival’s initial line-up was reported to be 73% male, while TRNSMT’s was 61% male. Kendal Calling also announced an initial line-up with 79% male performers.

Overall, Glastonbury appears to be moving in the right direction. Further down the bill, this year’s lineup features Christine and the Queens, Fever Ray, Shygirl, Adwaith, Kelis, Lana Del Rey, and Blondie, and girl band Flo. Glastonbury has always championed new music. It has also taken risks in the past, Pulp replaced The Stone Roses as a headliner 1995 and stole the show in and Stormzy headlined in 2019, when he wasn’t the biggest act the world. But is the festival at the point where it’s such a huge global event that it can’t gamble on the headliner? But would it be a gamble anyway when some of the world’s biggest artists are women?

Certainly, narrowly billed, nostalgia and lad-heavy fests could learn a lot from the festival’s intentions and how it showcases new artists on its introducing stage and the diverse spread of genres that are showcased every year across the festival. But the fact that Eavis didn’t feel that any of the female artists on the bill were as “bankable” as Guns N Roses to headline, who let’s face it peaked in the late 80s and early 90s, reflects the fact that she didn’t see any of the female acts on the bill as much as a draw, not just for those attending but for the global audience at home as much, as a nostalgic reformed rock band.

Glastonbury sells out well in advance so it wouldn’t have made much difference to ticket sales, as some festival goers don’t go to Glastonbury just for the headliners but for the experience and the many stages and tents, and maybe the chance to glimpse some of the biggest acts in the world.

But she also made a good point in one that these imbalances in festival bills reflect deeper issues of gender disparity in music, the workplace, and society, with the gender pay gap. Plus the issues with a broken pipeline for developing the next generation of headliners in this country.

Vick Bain, who set up The F-List – an online directory of female musicians available to play at festivals – says the issue spans the entire music ecosystem; from inequality in education to barriers in the music business. “There’s still a lot of sexism, and that can be overt or covert, and a lot of stereotyping, which is restrictive to women,” she says. “Women in music education will be encouraged to go into music teaching, rather than performing, or will be rewarded to be singers rather than instrumentalists.”

“Then, women are far less likely to be picked up by an A&R, far less likely to be invested in, far less likely to get a manager or an agent, and all of these things mean you’re less likely to be chosen to play on festival stages.”

A report by Bain published in 2019 revealed that female acts and songwriters counted for just 14% of those signed to 106 British music publishers and that women made up under 20% of those signed to 219 British record labels. It goes back to the number of female artists who are signed, booked and that appear on radio playlists.  There are deep issues around sexism, misogyny, and racism, we have seen over recent years the stories of music industry abuse of power, highlighted by the #Metoo and on a smaller level the backlash towards new female acts like the Last Dinner Party, Panic Shack, and Picture Parlour, who have been tarred with “industry plant” and trolled online, even upon their first release.  It’s not always a welcoming industry for young women or people from minority groups.

Matt Griffiths of Youth Music reacting to the story explained “This, yet again, highlights the systemic issue regarding lack of representation in the music industry. Emily Eavis is right about the pipeline problem and that more needs to be done. But until we all address & ACT on the root causes, we’ll keep seeing festival line-ups like this.”

Standon Calling were one of the first and only major UK music festival to reach the Keychange pledge last year, and this year have gone further in ensuring that have an even split across all their headline slots as well. Last year Self Esteem was headlining the all-female night on the second stage, and had become the first artist in the festival’s 17-year history to go from headlining the second stage to headlining the main stage the following year.

Currently, 55% of the lineup are artists identifying as female or non-binary, an improvement from 30% in 2018.

“I definitely agree with the argument as, at present, there’s a much smaller pool of female headliners, and the number of festivals they’re able to play is affected by exclusivity clauses with other events. The focus on lack of female headliners is warranted but it’s due lack of supply, and we often find it’s the independent festivals who are taking the risk by elevating these artists to headline level.” Standon calling booker and manager Rob Lee explains that there’s a culture of being risk averse from many festival Booker’s, perhaps fearful of not being able to make it work financially, that it’s an issue that’s reflected not just in headliners but lower down the bill, where there is still an imbalance and this is part of the “pipeline” for festival headliners too.

“If there’s a lack of 50/50 gender balance lower down on festival line-ups (i.e. not the headliners), it’s putting up a barrier for developing female talent as they’re not being given the same opportunities to develop as male acts. We’ve found that by booking a gender-balanced lineup, we’re able to support more female and non-binary artists at an earlier stage and give them the opportunities to develop into headliners of the future.” He continues.

“There is definitely an overall feeling that lineups need to be more diverse. It seems as though that is consciously happening, just perhaps not as quickly as it needs to be.” explains Dan Garber of Tape Music Management “ However live (music) is in a period right now where I think people are playing it safe, booking sure thing ticket sellers. Obviously, if lineups have not been diverse enough before, then this can be a tricky time to push this through. Personally, I don’t think that’s any excuse, the talent and the audience is there.”

I think we can all agree that there are ALWAYS amazing female artists in this country – maybe they just need more of a chance? More of a platform? More of an even playing field, when they are often faced with sexism or overlooked for male bands who bookers claim have a so-called more “bankable name”. We can only hope that Keychange makes an incremental difference and that, as festival bills become more balanced and diverse lower down, the pool of female artists for bookers to pick from becomes even greater. To make sure there IS a pipeline for new music and new female artists and bands we need  safeguards, investment, support from the industry and government and bravery from festivals to make change happen”.

I think all of that information above makes it clear that changes can and should be made. That the IWD FEST is so important. Kudos to Speakeasy and Loud Women. It is one of a few opportunities that female artists/female-fronted artists get to on bills and headlining. I understand we should not distinguish artists by gender and divide that way. As I have said before, it is relevant doing so in cases like this. The fact is that women are not being respected. They are putting out the best music but are still not getting headline slots. This celebration of women via the IWD FEST is a lesson to festivals as to…

HOW it should be done.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lucy Tun

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Lucy Tun

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AN artist quite new to me…

who I know is going to be doing incredible things next year is Lucy Tun. I am going to come to some interviews with this amazing artist. Before that, here is some biography about someone that everyone needs to check out. One of those artists who will definitely make an impression in 2024:

“There aren’t many artists who cite Björk, anime, death metal and Ru Paul’s Drag Race as their core influences. But then, Lucy Tun isn’t like most artists. Having burst onto the scene under the alias LCYTN back in 2018 with her self-released debut EP, Good Nights Bad Stories – written, produced, mixed and mastered entirely solo – the British Burmese musician followed it up with the addictive bedroom pop single “Ride”, which has almost half a million streams on Spotify. Now 23, Lucy (a proud Aquarius) has spent the pandemic further honing her sound, returning this summer to release much-anticipated new music under her real name.

Impressively, Lucy has built up a cult following in her native Myanmar. Past releases have topped national charts and in 2019 she performed to over 60,000 people at the famously high-octane New Year’s Eve countdown show in Yangon. She’s in demand at home in London too, with support from industry heavyweights on BBC Introducing and Radio 1. On top of being an accomplished singer, songwriter and producer, Lucy is a skilled DJ with monthly radio shows on Foundation FM and Balamii; not to mention the fact that she was the first-ever artist to livestream a set from London’s Facebook Studios. Pre-lockdown, she even hosted a regular club night, LCYTN & Friends. And the fashion world can’t get enough of her either — Gucci called on her to DJ the launch of their Jackie 1961 bag, Fred Perry highlighted her as a talent to watch and i-D featured her in their Summer 2021 issue.

With a creative output as diverse as her influences, Lucy is as comfortable among the glitter of radio-friendly pop and R&B as she is exploring a more electronic underworld: her music shimmers with impish, hyperactive energy undercut with potent basslines. She isn’t afraid to get introspective either, exploring themes like heartbreak, the complexities of growing up, womanhood and mental escapism. Her genre-defying song catalogue keeps listeners on their toes, weaving lofi 808-smattered production with the joyous familiarity of mainstream 00s pop. You simply can’t keep her in a box”.

I will come to some 2023 interview very soon. It is worth heading back to last year. With there being this early excitement and buzz around her, it is interesting hearing from Tun and how she feels the music landscape has changed when it comes to exposure for Asian women. It is clear that there have been some real changes and steps. NOTION spoke with an artist who has undergone change and a coming of age process:

“In 2018, Lucy Tun — then known through her tracks as LCYTN — had promised her parents that she would hit pause on her music passion to focus on her Economics degree. Only on a family trip to Burma, where her bilingual lyrics had attracted a fast-growing fan base, did her parents find out that she had not in fact abandoned her music dream. Far from it, fans were recognising her from billboard ads and approaching her in public.

A plot twist like a main character identity reveal would usually be the makings of a third act conflict, but for Lucy Tun it was just the beginning. This year, with two EPs around the corner and a full album scheduled for 2022, she’s reintroducing herself without the moniker. There’s power in a name, and I’m curious about the reasons behind the rebrand. “I have a clear objective now. I don’t want to feel limited in my identity as an artist,” she explains. “Becoming more known and more visible has been a big personal change, and I’m still taking it all in. I’m naturally quite a sensitive and anxious person, so sometimes the feeling of having eyes on you will make you a little selfconscious and less experimental.” Her visibility in the public eye has recalibrated her vision of success, too. “I guess it’s all about finding that sweet spot between wanting to give my fans something to enjoy and wanting to create something new for myself.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Nicole Ngai

Lucy’s Burmese identity is in many ways the driving force behind her pursuit of creative freedom. Burma, or Myanmar, is a Southeast Asian country where free speech and digital media censorship are ongoing matters of contention. “I was aware that the creative scenes in Myanmar and the UK were completely different, but making music in both places has opened my eyes to the value of expression,” Lucy says. “I always saw myself to be moving against the tide and moving against stereotypes, starting with my parents’ wariness of non-traditional career paths — which I’m sure many children of first-generation diaspora parents will relate to. Now I have a better appreciation of their perspective.”

Then there’s the internet, which Lucy cites as her muse. “I guess it’s weird to say that the internet is a subculture now, but it definitely was a subculture when I discovered YouTube back in 2007. Gaming culture, Nintendo specifically, was a bonding activity growing up. I had internet friends who were also creatives. Actually, one of them joined me on my first EP and that is kind of how it all started for me. I learned to produce online, I learned to DJ on digital before vinyl, so the internet is probably one of my greatest inspirations.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Nicole Ngai

Now, Lucy sees a golden era for Asian women in music and recalls how the music scene has shifted since her childhood. “The first time I saw Asians killing it in mainstream music was in the rise of J-pop and K-pop. When I was younger there wasn’t really any conversation about Asians in music. Now we have Peggy Gou, Yaeji, Rina Sawayama, Olivia Rodrigo. I’m proud to be representing Southeast Asia in particular.”

Her upcoming work will visit the themes of womanhood, introspection, taking risks and coming of age, delving deeper than her first EP— 2018’s Good Nights Bad Stories — the songwriting on which Lucy looks back critically. “The lyrics weren’t necessarily my best work. I was a first year uni student, and my focus was on having fun and creating new experiences — I never wanted to delve too deep,” she explains. But DJing has given her an edge as a songwriter. “I knew when I started music that I wanted to diversify my sound, so I spent seven or eight months learning how to DJ. From behind the decks there is some comfort in invisibility. It’s therapeutic.” It’s also a learning experience that has nurtured a greater appreciation for style and production. “Growing up, I just listened to whatever was immediate to me. DJing opened doors to a side of music I hadn’t imagined — there are songs without lyrics, songs without any inherent meaning, songs that are just pure serotonin. Then there’s the fact that it’s not your own music. It’s comforting and humbling at the same time.”

She dreams of future collaborations with artists like Pharrell and Kevin Parker (aka Tame Impala), and I can almost hear it already. “Pharrell has such a great philosophy of success — you have to try and fail to succeed,” Lucy tells me. “I’ve always been inspired by him. He has N.E.R.D., The Neptunes, his own solo art, and so many unexpected collaborations in music and business. Tame Impala is also fascinating to me. The fact that he is a solo artist but he’s often mistaken for a band, that’s the kind of range I aspire to achieve.”

For now, Lucy seeks fluency — from her thoughts to her lyrics, from LCYTN to Lucy Tun, from English to Burmese, and interestingly, from music to fashion. “I feel like any strong songwriter is also an amazing communicator, not just with words, but with telling visual stories too. I have always been interested in fashion and sometimes I make my own clothes. Yes, I knit and crochet, it’s my latest Gen Z personality trait!” she laughs. “It’s summer now, but when it gets colder you’ll see me in an obnoxiously colourful crochet hat or something…”

“I feel most at ease when it’s just me in my room, just making whatever I feel like, dressed up in something mismatched and colourful and wacky. My friends will lovingly give me the side-eye for it, but like Pharrell said — no success without failure”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Joel Barney and Oscar Ferguson

Released last month, the Unreal E.P. is one of Lucy Tun’s finest releases. Seven incredible and distinct songs from an artist who is absolutely essential listening. I think that we are going to hear a lot of great things from Lucy Tun next year. It is exciting to hear such a remarkable artist take strides. In September, NME featured an original and thrilling Electronic voice from London’s underground:

“After finishing a degree in economics and Burmese during the pandemic, and fighting through the same sense of loss and disconnection that we all experienced, Tun returned in 2021 with a new project under her own name. Her music as Lucy Tun reflects these personal changes and a desire to embrace being in the limelight.

Debut EP ‘Unreal’ (due November 10), is simultaneously a personal statement from Tun, but also her most collaborative work yet. The recent TikTok hit ‘Kulture Klub’, written with producer J. Ar. J, is a pop smash dripping with charisma and snapping 808s, while thrilling new single ‘Rabbit Hole’ saw her working with older brother Daniel, who gives the track an indie leaning.

“While I was playing the riff, I was thinking of ‘90s stuff like Garbage,” Daniel tells NME on the video shoot for the song in north London. “I think it definitely sounds a bit like a Garbage song.

“…you should check out Garbage, Lucy!” he adds, laughing.

She responds: “I thought you were telling me my song sounds fucking garbage!”

PHOTO CREDIT: Joel Barney and Oscar Ferguson

How does your work as a DJ and producer intersect with your pop music and singing? Do you see them as working hand-in-hand?

“It feels like two different mediums to express my love of music. I love a lot of different types of music, and I think most people don’t really stick to a [single] genre of music anymore. Everyone loves everything, because it’s accessible. My plan is to be able to express myself in all these different ways and not limit myself to just one thing.”

‘Kulture Klub’ went viral on TikTok earlier this year. How do you interact with the platform?

“I’ve never thought about, ‘How can I market my song?’ while I’m writing. I feel like that’s what I speak about with every artist nowadays though, and it’s a blessing and a curse. It was all done retrospectively though. I was not thinking about any of that when I wrote ‘Kulture Klub.

“TikTok is a new thing, but the idea of marketing yourself has always been there. I think about Camden High Street, and people giving out their mixtapes or USBs every day. How different is that to posting a TikTok every day? The essence is still there. If I were to give any words of comfort or assurance to artists who are struggling with it, it’s that you know what to do, because this is something that artists have always been doing – it’s just got a different name. TikTok can be like what MTV was.”

Does the release of ‘Unreal’ feel like the start of a new chapter for you?

“I’m already on the next thing. It’s already there. I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, to actually get the train going. There’s a lot more coming after this, and it won’t be a huge long break. It’s about me stepping into the light and stepping into the limelight. I went into this new project wanting all of that. I want people to know me and see themselves in me and my music”.

I am going to finish with an interview from UCLA Radio from earlier in the month. It is another interesting interview where we get new insights and layers to Lucy Tun. I love how she is influenced by Björk and how an album like Post (1995) resonates. I think that we are going to see this artist take to festival stages next year. There is a lot of love around her. Music that really connects with the listener:

“Chloe Gonzales:  Congratulations on your new EP, Unreal ! How does it feel to have it out finally? How long was it in the works for?

Lucy Tun: A really long time. The first song was made almost two or three years ago. So it’s been quite a long and spread out process of getting it together. It feels really good to have that out and in the world, but I needed two weeks after it was out to just vegetate, and ruminate, and marinate, and take it in. Yeah, I feel super happy that it’s out.

Ethan Kung: You also just recently had your release party, and it looked like a lot of fun. How’d that feel?

Lucy: Oh my god, it was amazing. It was my first headline-ish show. I actually didn’t perform live a lot this year because I was focusing on putting music out, and I wanted to save a live performance for when there was a big moment. It felt really good. It was chaotic at times, it was so busy. I have so many funny stories from that night, and it was also the first time that I actually got to meet new and old fans, because I haven’t done a lot of shows. I think the craziest thing that night was when someone told me that they drove two and a half hours to be at the show, and they got stuck in traffic because a car broke down in the middle of the road.

PHOTO CREDIT: Joel Barney and Oscar Ferguson

Ethan: Across your EP’s seven tracks, there’s a really wide range of influences, from the hip-hop beat on a song like “Kulture Klub” to the really chugging 90’s guitar work on “Rabbit Hole”. Is there a particular style on any of these songs that you can see yourself going further into in your future work?

Lucy: I really like that question. A lot of these songs are made at different points in my life. It was a time of personal growth. I was in uni and I was studying a completely different degree that isn’t music; I was actually studying an economics degree. So I was meeting a lot of different people – London is a very multicultural hub of melting cultures – and I was joining a lot of different music scenes as well. Each song was made in a time when I was in a different musical or cultural scene. So for me, this EP is a celebration of all of that growth, but as it’s my first EP, I just wanted to really lay everything out flat and be like, “this is everything that I’ve been exploring”. I wanted to see what stuck and what didn’t stick.

That’s definitely been my entire year, just seeing how people react to songs that I’ve made. I am very self conscious about my art. Do you know that Kanye West documentary [jeen-yuhs] where he’s playing his music to people, and they’re like ‘get out of my office’? I was almost the antithesis of that – I was very self conscious of playing my music. So to have it out in the world and seeing how people have reacted, I think I’ve learnt a lot from it. There’s definitely some parts of each song that I really want to package together for the next project. I want to be a lot more focused, a lot more direct.

Chloe: In another interview we saw that Björk, for example, was a musical influence – we were wondering if you had any inspiration from her regarding your aesthetic.

Lucy: I actually drew a lot of inspiration from Post. I don’t know if you listened to her podcast [Bjork: Sonic Symbolism]

Chloe & Ethan: Yes!

Ethan: It’s so good.

Lucy: Yeah! So I was inspired by her in the beginning because when I finished the songs I had around 50 that were all in the running of being in the EP.

Chloe: 50?? That’s crazy.

Lucy: Yeah and I was like, “how am I gonna whittle this down?” I would go to my local pub and sit there with my hoodie on at 3pm.

Chloe: Ooo so mysterious *laughs*

Lucy: *laughs* All the people at the pub were probably like, “oh my God, she’s here again.”

I was really trying to think about the EP as a body of work together, and in Björk’s podcast she talks about each album and breaks it down – she uses 5 to 20 words in each podcast to describe the feeling of her albums, and I was really inspired to do that with my EP. If I didn’t do that, then I wouldn’t have been as inspired to also make those kinds of visuals [for the EP]. I also think that she has so many questions – like when I think about her I just see her as someone that’s always asking questions about everything, always curious, and always wants to learn and experiment more and not really be boxed in.

Ethan: Something very iconic about Post is that all the songs are really distinct and draw from a lot of inspirations, but they come together to be very cohesive, which is something shared by your EP.

Lucy: I think that Post feels quite industrial as well. And London, I don’t know if you guys have been to London, but it’s an ever changing place. It’s so densely packed and some areas are like a concrete jungle. I think that living in London, being British has also inspired a lot of the sounds, genres, and themes of the EP, which has a slightly industrial sound as well”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Gunning

There is one more interview I want to take from. DORK included Lucy Tun in their Hype List for 2024. A songwriter whose larger-than-life music and huge talent caught their eye, they are tipping her for big things next year:

“I feel like each single has its own journey and personality. Even sonically and genre-wise, they sound not too similar. I got inspired by how each song had its own feeling and each character in Marvel has its own personality and story,” she continues expanding on the film analogy. “When a really good story is told, whether you’re a musical artist or an artist or a writer or producer, telling a good story is the main thing, if you’re able to expand that story enough so people can find all these details and take that for themselves then that’s a really good piece of art. The details are important, and world-building is important. That takes time. The main thing for me was coming to terms with the fact that good things take time. There isn’t really a rush to put something out. I’ve taken my time to build as much as I can with the songs I have now.” 

The songs themselves feature the kind of wide-eyed ecstasy and endless possibilities of dreaming that characterises her best work, like on previous banger singles like ‘Kulture Klub’. You can hear the genre-mashing sounds of guitar-led rock track ‘Rabbit Hole’ or the disco swoosh of electro turbo banger ‘Diary’. It’s intoxicating stuff. 

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Gunning

As well as being a visionary artist in her own right, Lucy is also part of the loose collective of artists that form the Loud LDN scene focusing on high energy, D&B-driven pop but with an experimental and refreshingly forward-thinking outlook. “It’s a crazy time,” exclaims Lucy. “It feels amazing to be coming up with people at the same time that I know and I’m friends with. It’s all happening at the same time.” Lucy also stresses how hardworking and self-nurturing these artists are in spirit and work ethic, with people like Caity Baser, Charlotte Plank, Issey Cross, and Venbee truly infiltrating the mainstream. A new generation of artists thriving in a new musical ecosystem. “For some of these artists, people will see them and think they have a huge team behind them, but it’s literally just them. The do-it-yourself energy is so high amongst all of these artists coming up at the same time. When you think about how music was consumed 25 years ago, it’s a completely different market. The entry barriers for making an album, recording it, producing a CD or vinyl, getting it in shops and having people buy it or stream it is completely different now. A track can literally be done in your bedroom on your phone. That’s so crazy. I feel really excited to make art like that as well alongside my friends.” 

Going forward, Lucy wants to continue to mesh genres and sounds and warp them to fit her own singular vision. “My idea was if I set the parameters so wide, then can anyone put me in a box?” she asks. “I wanted to put everything out there and get everything off my chest with ‘Unreal’.” So, what’s next, then? “There’s a lot of music, she smiles. “This year was the beginning, and next year is going to be much more honed in. I want to do storytelling on a larger scale and make something more conceptual. That’s something that I’m working towards at the moment. This project is testing out the waters, but the next project after that is going to be much more polished.”)”.

Go and follow Lucy Tun, as she is going to have a very successful 2024. I love the music she is releasing. She is going to inspire other artists coming through that is for sure. Unreal is one of the strongest and most interesting E.P.s of the year. A tremendous thing that everyone needs to hear. In Lucy Tun, we have a wonderful artist…

WHO is here for the long run.

_________

Follow Lucy Tun

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Gunning

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lcytn/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@LCYTN

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@lucytun

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6OtMoXdFTNYbPwyx1M6Yk6

FEATURE: Drag Queens: Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop, and Redefining and Contextualizing Incredible and Empowering Women

FEATURE:

 

 

Drag Queens

IN THIS PHOTO: Cardi B/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop, and Redefining and Contextualizing Incredible and Empowering Women

_________

IF you search for the terms…

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa attending the Variety Power of Women Los Angeles, November 2023/PHOTO CREDIT: Kayla Oaddams/WireImage

‘music divas’, you might get results that use words like ‘tricky’ and ‘difficult’. I think that this is a term that is still mis-defined and used as a negative. There are a couple of definition of diva – the latter of which is more often applied to women in music. It either relates to a famous singer or, as many seem to use the word, “a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please (typically used of a woman)”. Even today, when queens of Pop, Hip-Hop and beyond are owning music and inspiring so many people, they are still called a diva! Used in a judgmental and sexist way. It is not just their influence and individuality that we hear in the music. Artists dressing in a way that is true to them. The music industry often has their own idea of how women should dress and be marketed. Strong women like Dua Lipa realise how important it is women are made to feel comfortable and express themselves how they wish. It seems to be, even in 2023, that is a woman speaks out or tries to call anyone or anything out, then they are seen as a diva. I am going to come to an important book that relates to the music industry and that word, ‘diva’. If some ask if a diva is synonymous with her fashion and particular look, it can also apply to the vocal and persona. I will come more to that. Running at the V&A at the moment is an exhibition that spotlights the diva. You can buy a ticket here. Below are some more details:

“The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London opened its DIVA exhibition to the public on 24 June 2023. DIVA celebrates the extraordinary power and creativity of iconic performers from the genres of opera, pop music, film and more.

The immersive exhibition features costumes from a galaxy of stars. This includes five key looks worn by Rihanna, and Whitney Houston’s 1994 Marc Bouwer floor-length black and gold dress worn to receive her three Grammys for The Bodyguard soundtrack, as well as Billie Eilish’s Stella McCartney Glastonbury outfit from 2019. There is also a lilac Versace deconstructed suit worn by Lil Nas X during a red-carpet appearance in 2021.

In addition, the exhibition shows objects drawn from the V&A collection and loans from across the world. These span the mediums of fashion, photography, design and costumes, as well as music and live performance.

Through its theatrical staging and scenography, a planetarium-style architectural takeover by BAFTA-winning video designer Tal Rosner, and a sonic headset experience by tonwelt, a leading full-service provider of interactive visitor guiding systems, DIVA honours the creativity, ambition, and tenacity of some of the most celebrated divas, from opera goddesses and silent movie stars to icons of the big screen and today’s global stars.

IN THIS PHOTO: Diva Constellations for Act Three of DIVA at the V&A London/IMAGE CREDIT: Tal Rosner

What do we mean by diva?

Curator Kate Bailey speaks about the process of curating the exhibition, exploring and redefining the role of the ‘Diva’, and also examining how the term has been subverted or embraced over time across opera, stage, popular music, and film.

‘Diva’ was a Latin term meaning ‘goddess’. It became part of everyday parlance in the 19th century, initially describing the very best opera singers of the period.

“The exhibition doesn’t provide a single definition of a ‘diva’,” she tells blooloop. “It celebrates how the term has a myriad of meanings. It considers how it has been redefined, subverted and reclaimed across time and genre. We trace the story of the diva from 19th-century opera to a celebration of the diva in music today. This exhibition celebrates how the diva finds their voice and fights for equality and freedoms using their platform and agency to make a difference in society.”

DIVA covers two levels beneath the V&A’s dome. It charts the inception and historical context as well as the evolution of the diva through posters, paintings, bespoke costumes and ephemera comprising around 250 glittering artefacts”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Beyoncé/PHOTO CREDIT: Mason Poole/Parkwood Entertainment/Getty Images (via Teen Vogue)

I do think that the use of the word diva has drastically shifted from that goddess and fierce woman to something nastier and more derogatory. In 2020, the Welsh National Opera wrote about how that word has been repurposed and appropriated by the media. Used to almost shame and undermine women. I do think that we need to shift that narrative and realise that, at times, a diva can be demanding and controversial. More importantly, it is about iconic fashion, incredible talent and this freedom of self-expression that should be embraced – and not subjected to misogyny and sexism:

“Today, in red-top tabloid terms, if a woman is referred to as a ‘diva’ it usually means she’s difficult, temperamental and demanding. Why and when has the word diva, or its associated term ‘prima donna’, become such derogatory and sexist descriptions of women? Both words can be sourced to the world of opera in 18th and 19th century Italy. In a period of huge inequality between men and women in society, at least on the stage of opera houses, the female voice and talent was revered and celebrated quite as much as the top tenors of the day.

“It is no surprise that words that originally highlighted women of talent and success mutated into an unflattering and disparaging description with its roots in sexism. Even today, the media reflects everyday sexism in its descriptions of women in the public eye. Female politicians or entertainers are patronised and criticised for being bossy and difficult ‘divas’ rather than just ambitious and assertive like their male counterparts. So, let’s reclaim diva and prima donna for their true and operatic meanings: in praise of women of sheer talent, star presence, ability and success in their chosen field. Beyoncé is the perfect diva of popular music: strong, brilliant, and supremely successful. Just as Renée Fleming, Anna Netrebko, Joyce DiDonato, Cecilia Bartoli, Angela Gheorghiu, Mary Elizabeth Williams, Rebecca Evans and so many others, are our true divas of today. Brava prima donna!”.

Women judged on how they dress also relates to sexual shaming. That is another thing that is applied to the music diva. Being slut-shamed. If they are not virtuous and covered up then they are subjected to attack and misogyny. The most awful comments and judgements. I have been thinking about the music diva. An incredible new book, Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop, is edited by Dr. Kirsty Fairclough, Dr. Benjamin Halligan, Dr. Shara Rambarran and Dr. Nicole Hodges Persley. You can grab a copy here. It is a book that is vital and very important. Something we should all think about. How that word is applied. What the modern diva is. Here are some details:

“The diva – a central figure in the landscape of contemporary popular culture: gossip-generating, scandal-courting, paparazzi-stalked. And yet the diva is at the epicentre of creative endeavours that resonate with contemporary feminist ideas, kick back against diminished social expectations, boldly call-out casual sexism and industry misogyny and, in terms of hip-hop, explores intersectional oppressions and unapologetically celebrates non-white cultural heritages. Diva beats and grooves echo across culture and politics in the West: from the borough to the White House, from arena concerts to nightclubs, from social media to social activism, from #MeToo to Black Lives Matter.

Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop addresses the diva phenomenon and its origins: its identity politics and LGBTQ+ components; its creativity and interventions in areas of popular culture (music, and beyond); its saints and sinners and controversies old and new; and its oppositions to, and recuperations by, the establishment; and its shifts from third to fourth waves of feminism.

This co-edited collection brings together an international array of writers – from new voices to established names. The collection scopes the rise to power of the diva (looking to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Grace Jones, and Aaliyah), then turns to contemporary diva figures and their work (with Beyoncé, Amuro Namie, Janelle Monáe, Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion, Shakira, Jennifer Lopez, and Nicki Minaj), and concludes by considering the presence of the diva in wider cultures, in terms of gallery curation, theatre productions, and stand-up comedy”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Prof. Kirsty Fairclough is one of the editors of Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop/PHOTO CREDIT: Greater Mancunians

The book is useful in a number of ways. There is still that un-nuanced association with the word. That idea that the diva is controlling and somehow horrible. It is sexist and misogynistic, as there are men throughout the industry who are as bad or worse and are not called a diva or called out at all. It is this word that was once celebratory and a high compliment. Though the centuries and decades, it has transformed and twisted into something one-dimensional and offensive. This woman who is maybe to be avoided. In fact, the word takes on new meaning. It isa broader term that something wholly negative. As Diva: Feminism and Fierceness from Pop to Hip-Hop outlines, Hip-Hop queens today are so influential and empowering. Often seen as diva-like and difficult, they are these cultural figures impacting music, politics, society and art. There are some more villainous examples of divas but, when you look at the legends and the new wave emerging, they are at the “epicentre of creative endeavours that resonate with contemporary feminist ideas”. Go and buy the book and find out more. For me, I have always balked at the idea of a diva and how people perceive it. That dismissive and insulting word that is applied to women who are bold, confident and commanding. Not fitting into ideals or conforming to sexist ideas, there is box (and an exhibition at the V&A) that looks at the way women are kicking back at those who demean and limit them. Fighting against those special expectation. Letting their voices influence fellow women and so many corners of their industry. e really need the diva. Someone who causes trouble and says what needs to be said. Rather than see the diva as an off-putting and negative figure, these strong and inspiring women should be…

CELEBRATED and respected.

FEATURE: New Year, New Opportunities: Plans and Aims for 2024

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New Year, New Opportunities

PHOTO CREDIT: Anete Lusina/Pexels

Plans and Aims for 2024

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I shall keep this…

PHOTO CREDIT: Alessio Cesario/Pexels

mostly about music. We are at that stage where people are making resolutions. Or they are at least thinking of ways to make the year ahead better. I have recently been made redundant, so one of my big aims is to find a new job. Not only a job that I can do and will be okay going forward for some reason unspecified. Purpose I think is what has to define 2024. That goes for my music work too. Of course, other non-music priorities are very much in my mind – including a relationship and maybe (money-willing) some travel. In terms of this website, I think that it is unlikely that it is going to be monetised much. Not so that it can provide any real significant income stream. Rather than have it as a paid site, I will continue to make it free-to-access. In terms of the content, that is the most important thing. Not a great deal with change in terms of regular stuff. There will be a load of Kate Bush features. Lots about new artists emerging. Reacting to news in the world of music. Album anniversaries etc. That sort of thing. One of the most important parts of my blog is writing about gender equality. Women’s rights. I think that this is something that I want to go further with. Maybe it will take some capital to get it going. In addition to writing features around gender equality/women’s safety etc., I do want to get something going in the form of a body or charity. Maybe joining with existing organisations that are designed to protect women’s safety.

PHOTO CREDIT: MART PRODUCTION/Pexels

I also want to use that thought and desire to speak to more women through the industry. Conduct interviews and get their views regarding the climate in which they work. More and more, with each passing week, I am angered by the inequality and horrifying reports of sexual abuse perpetrated by a man in the industry. It is important that as much effort and passion is dedicated to this: helping to highlight what is happening but also trying to wake the industry up and get change. I know there are some amazing people doing this already. Lending my voice and resources is crucial. Together with that, there is also this thing about male allyship. In terms of those through the industry constantly discussing gender, women’s rights and really big issues, there is not a lot out there. Not many speaking out and writing about it regularly. I am not saying I am the only one…though it is very rare to see any vocal allies that are showing their support. That is worrying! I know that there are men in music who care about ensuring women are seen, heard and feel safe. It is that step between having that attitude and actually activating some form of engagement with the subjects. I am not sure how easy it is for there to be a change where journalists, label bosses, artists and all other available male mind looks at the clear issues in the industry and helps to do something. That is why it is important to me to do what I can in 2024 to make a difference.

PHOTO CREDIT: KoolShooters/Pexels

There are other things that I want to do in terms of fulfilling ambitions. I think that there are podcast opportunities. Maybe that will tie into my idea about gender equality and women’s rights. Maybe being able to monetise that through advertising, though also ensuring that a portion of those earnings go to women’s charities and organisations that support women’s rights and safety. I would like to pitch a music T.V. show. There is only one on the box at the moment, Later… with Jools Holland, so having something alongside that would be good. In terms of my Kate Bush work, either doing another podcast or writing something significant – maybe not a book but doing a project or self-funded documentary – would be a sensible next step. I also know how many great artists there are coming through. Ensuring that I get to highlight and speak to as many of them as is possible is a big aim. I have done a lot of that this year, yet there is opportunity to interview more people; go to more gigs and do some live reviews. It is difficult when I do not monetise my blog, though I hope to be able to budget a bit regarding that side of things. Make sure my blog is relevant and interesting. Putting in some audio and video now and then perhaps.

PHOTO CREDIT: Helena Lopes/Pexels

I would love to get to New York at some point next year. I am keen to do as much as I can to fulfil myself. To feel more valuable and purposeful. Do stuff I did not get round to doing in 2023. How achievable that is I am not sure. Losing a job puts some things into perspective. Maybe a chance to do something more meaningful and related to what I love to do. It is vital to me I can be as engaged with people as possible and write as much as I can. I also would like to focus on the personal and making sure I have enough social time as well. I guess everyone has similar aims for 2024. Putting it down on paper (or having it somewhere) is a way you can refer to that list and very much keep it in mind. Rather than them being resolutions, it seems bigger than that. It is about changing your life, however big or small, and really using a new year ahead to think about what is important and what you want to achieve. It has been a great year for my website. Lots of great people have interacted with my work. I have discovered a lot of terrific artists and made some important connections. Keeping that going into next year is crucial. I hope that everyone has a good 2024 planned. It is a chance to evaluate and think about aims and personal goals. A great chance to think about…

PHOTO CREDIT: fauxels/Pexels

WHAT you really want to do.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts - Feel It

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Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

Feel It

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THIS may be…

the last of this run I will do, there is one more song I want to include in the Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts feature. My favourite album ever is The Kick Inside. People will know that. They may not know all of the tracks on that album. People talk about Wuthering Heights and The Man with the Child in His Eyes. The album turns forty-six in February. I thought I had included this song already. It seems not! Maybe not as obscure as other Kate Bush songs – indeed, other songs on The Kick Inside -, there is something alluring about Feel It that means its streaming numbers are quite impressive. Even if Oh to Be in Love outranks it in that respect, Feel It is a song that has reached a lot of new ears. That comes off of very little radio play. This song is not one that you will hear spun much. It is a shame! It is a beautiful tack from Kate Bush’s debut album. I think that more people need to listen to this song. I am going to get to a feature that dives deeper into Feel It. First, here is a little bit of background:

“Song written by Kate Bush. Three voice and piano tracks were recorded on one day for Kate’s debut album The Kick Inside, of which only ‘Feel It’ made it onto the final selection.

Versions

There are two officially released versions of ‘Kite’: the album version and the live version from Hammersmith Odeon. However, a demo version from 1977 has also surfaced and was released on various bootleg cd’s”.

I will come to an excellent feature from Dreams of Orgonon. Even if some feel there are one or two songs on The Kick Inside that are not up to Kate Bush’s best – such as Room for the Life -, there is no denying the worth and sheer excellence of Feel It. A natural standout that should get a lot more focus and discussion around it:

“It’s long been remarked that Kate Bush’s primary instrument is her voice. Even when her melodies are idiosyncratic and sprawling and her albums’ productions demand an audience’s ear, listeners always talk about her voice first. Even an instrumental track like “Night Scented Stock” is guided by Bush’s vocals. Her most recent collection of new songs, 50 Words for Snow, takes a back-to-basics approach of voice-and-piano that Bush started her career with. While the Fairlight will guide Bush towards her best work, there’s hardly a more powerful duo in popular music than Bush and her piano.

“Feel It” is an exceedingly intimate affair, the only song on The Kick Inside to have no session musicians. It’s Bush alone at her piano, saying “no props this time, just hear me play.” “Feel It” is one of the more realist tracks on the album — rather than teaming with mysticism or high concepts, it has a fairly common down-to-earth situation: a one-night stand between two people who don’t know each other very well. “Well, it could be love/or it could be just lust/but it will be fun/it will be wonderful,” sings Bush.

It’s a song of pure hedonism, consequence-free and absorbed in the moment.

Notable is how “Feel It” takes The Kick Inside’s approach of youthful attitudes to adult subjects to its zenith. Its tone is secretive, subtextually whispering “be quiet — this is a sacred moment.” It’s relatively low tempo, with the piano guiding the song in a lugubrious, creeping G minor (with unexpected appearances of F minor and B diminished), almost laughing anxiously with an upward turn on “a little nervous laughter.” To hear a young female British singer to sing so frankly about matters like this in the Seventies must have been astonishing at the time. There’s a sense Bush is as nervous as she is giddy to be writing a song like this and putting it out on a major label.

As Zoey Peresman points out, “[Bush] stretches out the word ‘more’ with her inimitable voice for as long as she can, mimicking the sound of a woman in ecstasy.” Bush stresses the sexual nature of the song, punctuating the calls of “feel it” with sharp “ohs,” making it clear how far she’s taking this exercise.

For a Seventies song about love-making, “Feel It” is unusually explicit. Bush equates sex with music, using phrases like “synchronizing rhythm” and “keep on a-tunin’ in.” She marries her skill at crafting melodies to her love of the sensuous with remarkable ease, but adds an extra factor to the mix: bluntness. (For a similar song, listen to Tori Amos’ astonishing track “Icicle.” Really, play the two songs back-to-back. You’ll thank me later.) The clear references to penetration and other sex acts (“feel your warm hand walking around”) are startling by themselves, but Bush provides them with rhythm, quietly singing the verse and makes the chorus a burst of passion. By the end she trails off with “see what you’re doing to me,” as a song like “Feel It” must. It’s one hell of a track, an underrated Bush triumph of the Seventies. Let’s hope it surfaces on more “best of Bush” lists soon”.

Performed during The Tour of Life, it was a chance to see this erotic and sensual song come to life. It must have been quite strange performing it in front of a very large crowd every night! Feel It is a magnificent number that always has an impact when I listen to it. The second song on the second side of The Kick Inside – after James and the Cold Gun -, Feel It begins this run of love songs. It leads to Oh to Be in Love and L’Amour Looks Something Like You. From a teenage writer, there is something very mature and accomplished about the song. Mixing moments of juvenile lust with poetic thoughts, it is no wonder many people love Feel It. Kate Bush’s vocal is absolutely beautiful! Inhabiting the song fully, she brings you into things. Puts you in the scenes she is singing about. Such a powerful and passionate track, I hope that there is more coverage of Feel It next year. A Kate Bush song that ranks alongside her best deep cuts, I wanted to end this run of features with a true great. A gem on a debut album that cannot be compared to any other. Go and listen to the whole album, as there is this great build-up to Feel It. Such a beautiful song, I know the emotions that many experience when they hear it will hit. You will also…

FEEL it too.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Hinako Omori

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Luca Bailey

Hinako Omori

_________

THE latest album from…

Hinako Omori comes in the form of this year’s stillness, softness​.​.​. It is a remarkable work from an artist I must admit I was not familiar with until recently. I have seen her tipped by other sites, so I set out to find more about her. A remarkable talent, I think that everyone needs to get involved with her music. I am going to get to some interviews. First, from her Bandcamp page is some details about stillness, softness​.​.​. It is an album that everyone needs to seek out:

“For Hinako Omori, synthesisers are a portal to the subconscious. Far from being sterile or austere, “synths really do respond to how you’re feeling,” says the London-based artist, producer and composer. “There have been times where I’ve felt stressed and my synth would go out of tune. I took it to a repair place once, thinking that something was wrong with it, but it was fine; I think it was to do with my energy levels. So when I sit down and write something, whatever comes out is relevant to how I feel in that moment because the synthesiser is responding to it. The music really becomes a map of my emotions.”

If her highly critically acclaimed debut ‘a journey…’ (2022, Houndstooth) was about healing others with its soothing sounds, Omori’s next album unexpectedly became one of healing herself. Looking back at the lyrics to ‘stillness, softness…,’ “it was very much an inner journey of uncovering stuck points within myself and coming to a sense of peace with them,” she says. Omori was particularly taken by the idea of our shadow selves – the dark parts of ourselves that we keep hidden – and the need to reconcile with them in order to break free. “The relationship with ourselves is consistent, and when it's healed, wonderful things can come from that,” she adds.

Since 2022’s critically acclaimed debut album, ‘a journey…’, Hinako Omori has fast become one of the UK’s most compelling breakthrough musicians, blurring the lines between classical, electronic and ambient. A concept album inspired by the ancient Japanese ritual of forest bathing, a journey…’s lush textures, rooted in nature, were called “remarkable” by Pitchfork and received heavy rotation on BBC 6Music. Omori’s potent blend of therapeutic frequencies, drones and her ethereal falsetto connected: she has since supported Beth Orton, Anna Meredith and Ichiko Aoba, played with a 60-piece orchestra for BBC Radio 3’s Unclassified and, later this year, will join Floating Points’ esteemed ensemble at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles to perform Promises, his collaborative album with the late Pharoah Sanders.

‘stillness, softness…’ explores a new sonic range within Omori’s world of analogue synths – namely, her Prophet ’08, the Moog Voyager and UDO Super 6, an analogue hybrid synthesizer that creates binaural, 3D-simulating sound. The album is darker, more expansive and more noirishly theatrical than her previous work. Whereas Omori’s debut was largely instrumental, here the vocals are front and centre – “it’s more vulnerable,” she nods – as she opens up on themes of dreams versus reality, solitude, reconnecting with who you are and, ultimately, finding strength in yourself.

Omori calls ‘stillness, softness…’ “a collage of experiments” which she then pieced together “like a puzzle”, each song representing a memory room. The end result is seamless, a continuous cycle of 13 vignettes that flow in and out of each other, recorded and written between her bedroom in London and her grandmother’s house in Yokohama, Japan. “It was very DIY,” she laughs. “I was whispering into the microphone because I didn’t want to wake anyone up.”

Omori was born in Japan but grew up in south London and studied sound engineering at the University of Surrey. Her interest in machine music began before that, in college, thanks to a teacher who introduced his class to analogue synthesizers. “It sparked a curiosity in me,” says Omori. “I grew up learning classical piano, and the minute I came across synthesizers for the first time it completely drew me in. With a synth, you get to truly sculpt the sound: it opened up all these endless possibilities for expression that I had never even thought about before.”

After university, she joined the touring bands for both indie musicians and arena acts including EOB, James Bay, KT Tunstall, Georgia and Kae Tempest, the latter of whom Omori still plays with regularly. “I’ve learned so much from those experiences,” says Omori. “If it wasn’t for working with these wonderful artists, I don't think I would have had the confidence to do what I’m doing now.” Her confidence, she says, is still a work in progress, which is partly what the album speaks to. Its title might be ‘stillness, softness…’ but the album is actually about making yourself uncomfortable in order to grow. “It’s about embracing the things that we want to hide away from, and that we feel ashamed of,” she says.

The album on the whole is Omori’s most accessible yet, and one that evidences her true range as a composer, artist, arranger, vocalist and synth virtuoso. It closes with the title track, completing the cycle. “I wanted it to evoke a state of peace that you reach within yourself,” says Omori. “I think of it as a blanket of sorts, very gentle, very calming.” That softness, she says, is the ultimate strength – and one that will guide us through life with love and compassion for ourselves and others”.

I am going to come to some 2023 interviews with the amazing Hinako Omori soon. Before that, Fifteen Questions learned more about a stunning composer and artist. Someone who I hope gets so many more people heading her way next year. I have only recently found her. I am determined to follow her career closely. Omori is a singular talent of immense stature and gravitas:

“Name: Hinako Omori

Nationality: Japanese

Occupation: Musician

Current Release: a journey… on Houndstooth

Recommendations:  Backside of the Moon by James Turrell - I’m endlessly inspired by James' work. By some synchronicity, when we’ve been on tour I’ve ended up in cities with James’ installations without knowing they were there beforehand - it’s been a magical way to discover his work almost by way of synchronicity! My favourite piece of his is in Naoshima, Japan - you walk into a seemingly pitch black space, and after adjusting to the environment for a while you notice there’s been a light there all this time. It takes your breath away. /Trans-Millenia Music by Pauline-Anna Strom - the most otherworldly, magical sound worlds and sonic atmospheres imaginable. Completely timeless and boundless, and ever evolving. Every time I listen to it, I discover something completely new. In the liner notes for this album, Pauline-Anna wrote “I consider myself the ‘Trans-Millenia Consort’, by which title I wish to be known. This to me is a personal declaration that I have been in previous lives, that I am in this life, and that I shall in future lives be a musical consort to time.”.

When did you start writing/producing/playing music and what or who were your early passions and influences? What was it about music and/or sound that drew you to it?

I started learning the piano when I was 5 from a wonderful teacher called Anne Hodgkinson. I think there’s something so important about the connection with a teacher, and Mrs Hodgkinson was so inspiring, kind, caring and so patient with me.

I started experimenting with writing/producing much later on, perhaps around 4 years ago - mainly with small snippets of synth recordings which were saved away on a hard drive until I found a home for them in a song or piece. I’d become fascinated by synthesisers through my Music Technology teacher at college Lloyd Russell, who was in an electropop band at the time - he was a synth genius and definitely inspired me to delve into synths and the magical sound worlds you can create with them. He also suggested the sound engineering course I went on to study at University of Surrey, for which I’m very grateful for.

Tell me a bit about your sense of identity and how it influences both your preferences as a listener and your creativity as an artist, please.

As a listener, perhaps the identity side ties in in terms of where I’m physically based at the time and the music that’s being created or performed directly around in this physical space - I feel very lucky to be based in such a multicultural city as London, with an abundance of creativity that surrounds us.
As for the creating side of things, I’d be interested to hear from the listener’s perspective of what they feel from listening to my music - everything is subject to perception, and I’d love to keep things as open as possible without necessarily tying an identity to it, to allow space for it to be perceived by the listener in their own way.

 

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and art?

Experimenting with pieces of equipment has been the main starting point for the projects I’ve been working on - sometimes having no real plan or structure behind how something may turn out and seeing what comes naturally can take you on a fun and unexpected journey.
 
How would you describe your views on topics like originality and innovation versus perfection and timelessness in music? Are you interested in a “music of the future” or “continuing a tradition”?

That’s a really interesting question! I think my answer would be a nice balance of both. I guess perhaps there is sometimes an underlying element in things that are created now in which we are continuing a tradition, in a sense, by way of having been inspired by something we’ve seen or have learned in the past - so we’re holding the torch and continuing with this idea, honouring it. Of course that’s not to say that there are so many new things that will arise that haven’t been thought of or realised before, but it’s nice to think that there’s a magical thread piecing together the different journeys that each individual has been through to get to where they are now, and what has inspired them along the way.

The state of perfection is something that is very difficult to perceive - what is perfect to one person may not seem that way to another - and the same with timelessness - but perhaps in a sense if the creator is happy and satisfied with a body of work and releases it into the world, it becomes a timeless entity to which people can connect with indefinitely going forward”.

There are a couple of recent interviews that I want to bring in. In November, Magnetic Magazine spoke with someone who was capturing natural sounds. There are artists who blend this into their work, though Hinako Omori’s process and angle seems to be a little different. The way that she finds sounds that take her work to new places. Whether you call it strictly music or something else, this is a blend of the natural world and studio coming together perfectly:

“CAPTURING NATURE

Before the studio visit, Omori researched the area to find the types of natural sounds she wanted to capture. She was especially interested in the rustling of leaves in the wind and the cleansing qualities of water, and she made a point of scheduling a visit to the Chew Valley Lake to record aquatic movement for the song “Ocean.”

On the day, she and the studio’s head engineer, Katie May, drove to the nearby Mendip Hills, equipped with a Neumann KU100 binaural microphone shaped like a human head and designed to record 3D audio. “It allowed us to capture sound that felt like you were in the space, rather than just a stereo recording,” she explains. “It was a phenomenal, massive recording.”

But, even with a lot of pre-planning and research of the area, the art of field recording typically depends on the natural offerings of the moment. “It’s nature,” she says, “and you can’t predict what’s going to come out, what you can record.” It requires a lot of patience to capture the essence of a scene over time.

INTUITIVE COMPOSING

“It would have probably been a very different record had it not been for the invitation [from Real World],” she admits. There were only a couple of weeks from when she accepted until the studio date, so she had to assemble the music quickly to prepare for the session. Luckily, Omori’s approach to composition is rather intuitive – she gathers and makes sounds, rearranging and experimenting with them until they merge into a harmonious work, much like a collage.

“It kind of mapped itself out. I started piecing together the melodies and keys, and found that the next one was starting in that same key. It’s almost like the music was telling me which order to put them in. So I kind of just went with it.”

She employed the same approach when mixing the record and weaving in the field recordings. Other than the deliberately sought-out water sounds for “Ocean,” most of the audio she picked up was recorded instinctively and then allowed to fit organically around the existing work, “rather than specifying ‘oh I definitely want this sound here,’” she says. “Weirdly, it didn’t feel forced… And I didn’t want to change the sounds of nature in any way because it is a map of where we were. And so none of it’s [produced with] effects, there’s no processing on it. I just wanted to make it as it is.”

STORYTELLING

It might not be surprising that an artist with such a connection to the natural environment feels compelled to preserve it, too. “With music,” she explains, “I feel like we have a unique opportunity to directly connect with people’s feelings.” So, for a project with the BBC, she reimagined Vaughan Williams’ best-known work, “The Lark Ascending,” in an electronic arrangement to highlight the UK’s declining bird population. “I got the score of Vaughan Williams sent over from the archives and was lucky enough to have the space to experiment with that and create something new.”

She was careful to stay faithful to the original score out of respect for the composer. The innovative part of the project came from her choice of instrumentation – she used the field recordings of the lark’s song to recreate the original violin melody, which required a lot of careful, detailed editing. She was surprised by the variety that appeared from a recording that initially sounded like a series of simple tones. “Every millisecond has an inflection or a melody or something. You think it’s one note, and then you dive in and discover there are probably 50 notes in here. So that was a joy to sit with.”

Her contributions to Brian Eno’s charity project, Earth/Percent, were created with a similar goal. The organization encourages artists to pledge a small percentage of their income to be distributed between various climate interventions, including energy transition, climate conservation, climate justice, and policy change. Omori contributed works to the organization’s two most recent Earth Day compilations – first in 2022, with a vocal interpretation of Michio Miyagi’s “Haru no umi” [“The Sea in Spring”], which was composed for the Japanese instruments koto and shakuhachi in 1929”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Almeida

I am going to wrap this up with an interview from The Line of Best Fit. They spent time with someone who, in their words, surrenders to the magic of the unknown. Even if you are not a fan of Ambient music, I think that Hinako Omori’s music definitely needs to be checked out. The beautiful and powerful stillness, softness… is too good to be ignored. I am interested to see what comes from her next year:

“These thoughts and each song on stillness, softness... represent what Omori coins as a “memory room”, connected by neural corridors. In making a continuous album, Omori shows how different memories can be accessed which inform another to emulate a stream of consciousness. While music is a collaborative experience for many, Omori is an artist who can only create alone. This solitary endeavour manifests as a pensive meditation, the sonic palette of stillness, softness being all at once melancholy and hopeful, before finding peaceful equilibrium. However, when it came to sharing the clutch of singles preceding the album, – the pensive “ember”, introspective shift of “foundation” and “in full bloom”, and the propulsive “cyanotype memories” – the prospect of vulnerability became daunting.

“When you start sharing it with other people, I have noticed that I definitely feel more vulnerable because there were more lyrics this time and that perhaps has a certain energy around these songs now,” Omori explains. “But, at the same time, there was something inside me that felt I needed to share this. We are all existing in this world together. It’s almost like a puzzle where we’re figuring out certain situations. There is a sense of togetherness; vulnerability can be a really beautiful thing.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Almeida

While stillness, softness... deals with the healing of Omori herself, her 2022 debut album, a journey…, focused on the healing of others. Originally written for WOMAD Festival’s online programme during lockdown after receiving an invite by organiser and producer Oli Jacobs, whom Omori studied alongside at the University of Surrey, Omori explored ways to bring nature’s therapeutic qualities indoors. “In Japan, we have a phrase called ‘shinrin-yoku’, which is forest bathing. Time outside and within trees has such a beautiful, calming effect on us [and] our bodies; I wanted to make an aural representation of that.” Incorporating sounds from the scenic abode of Real World Studios, where the project was finished, its lightness is at odds with its successor.

Omori’s intuitive playing is propelled by the emotional connection she feels with her synth, a sentiment she first explored as a college student when her teacher leant her a classic 80s SH101. Adverse to manuals, she instead displayed an inquisitive naivety in learning its workings and describes the instrument’s dynamic range as a “treasure box” to explore, with a lot of love imbued into it by its creator. “What were they thinking and feeling when they made it? Each [synth] has its own sonic character; getting to know that is like getting to know a friend. The more time you spend with someone, the more intimately you get to know the inner workings.”

It is a curiosity that has never left her, but Omori finds comfort in not being tied to the outcome, and stillness, softness... has opened a lot of doors in her mind in regards to listening to her own intuition. “Ultimately, we have all the answers within; we can surrender to the unknown and have faith that things will unfold in the best way. There is magic in the unknown”.

I am going to end it there. Go and check out this incredible artist. She is someone who is truly remarkable. Having delivered a celebrated headline show at London’s ICA earlier in the month, it is clear there are a lot of supporters behind her. People who really connect with her music. For anyone who is unfamiliar with Hinako Omori, then do make sure that you follow her. Being drawn into her sonic world is…

AN unforgettable experience.

____________

Follow Hinako Omori

PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Almeida

Official:

https://www.hinakoomori.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hinakoomori/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/hinakoomori

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/31vAiCz7AsxXsljIGKg4UB

Bandcamp:

https://hinakoomori.bandcamp.com/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/hinakoomori

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hinakoomori

FEATURE: Anniversaries, Celebrations, and the Fans’ Hopes: Kate Bush and Possibilities for 2024

FEATURE:

 

 

Anniversaries, Celebrations, and the Fans’ Hopes

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush onstage in Copenhagen, Denmark on 26th April, 1979 for The Tour of Life/PHOTO CREDIT: Jorgen Angel

Kate Bush and Possibilities for 2024

_________

WE are almost in 2024 now…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

and there is speculation what the year could hold relating to Kate Bush. I really can’t say too much about a new album. It could come at any moment you feel – or maybe not at all. As much as we would love to see an eleventh studio album, there is no predicting when it will happen. I have said before how there has been this momentum from the past couple of years that would have given heart and inspiration to Bush. New fans discovering her work. I do think that an album is an ambition that we may not see fulfilled for a little while. There are a couple of important anniversaries I want to revisit and approach from a new angle. I did mention recently how 2024 sees the thirty-fifth anniversary of The Sensual World. This is going to be quite a big occasion. Even though that album, alongside the rest of her ten studio albums, have been reissued recently, I feel there should be some special appreciation and spotlighting of The Sensual World. It has not really been given any expansion of deep diving. I am tempted to do a podcast episode on the album, as I still think it is one of Bush’s most underrated releases. There are singles from the album that would benefit from a 4K HD version. I would say this about all of her videos, though the fact The Sensual World and This Woman’s Work are especially stirring and epic means that it would be wonderful to see a thirty-fifth anniversary tie-in. I do wonder whether there will be more articles and books written about the album.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

It is such an important album. Between 1985’s masterpiece Hounds of Love and 1993’s The Red Shoes, it came in the middle an artist peak and an album that soon took her away from public attention for nearly twelve years. There is a lot to unpack and dissect when it comes to The Sensual World. There is another big anniversary that we celebrate next year. In fact, both of the remaining two big anniversaries I can see relate to Bush’s live projects. The Tour of Life will turn forty-five in April. Before the Dawn is ten in August. Alongside The Sensual World, they are both really important moments in her career that have huge anniversary approaching. I wonder whether there will be individual anniversary celebrations or a midway combination – perhaps something in June. The Tour of Life has not had an official DVD or album released. I have spoken about this before. The lack of high-definition videos of the tour. There were sets filmed, yet there is nothing that has been combined into a documentary. As The Tour of Life is forty-five next year, it would be great to have a new documentary or programme. This was Kate Bush’s biggest undertaking to that point. It was a live revelation and iconic thing. The same could be said of 2014’s Before the Dawn. Nobody felt that Bush would be back on stage. Well, some did…though they could not have predicted what was to come. With no DVD or anything filmed having been aired, there is only the live album. There is scope to have a tenth anniversary documentary of Before the Dawn.

Her two live ‘projects’ (a tour and residency) warrants much more exploration and expansion. Photos, interviews and fan reaction. There could be something in the form of a radio show that details each of the two. As The Tour of Life is coming up first, I think there should be some effort to make the forty-fifth anniversary of the first night – which happens on 2nd April (1979). There are book opportunities. As one of the most captivating live performers of her generation, scope for there to be documentaries that mix fan insight together with those who were involved in each – her band and collaborators from 1979 and those who were part of Before the Dawn. Together with that thirty-fifth anniversary of The Sensual World, there are a few exciting possible opportunities for Bush to say a few words or authorise a new release or reissue. Lionheart’s Wow is forty-five on 9th March. That will definitely be worth a few words. Enough to get our teeth into. Bush is not really someone who marks anniversary with reissues. Seeing as she has put back out her studio albums, and before a new studio album, there would be value in ensuring that the young generation who are discovering her music now get to know such important points in her career.

As much as anything, there will be desire to hear Kate Bush speak. She did talk with Woman’s Hour in 2022. After such an eventful and interesting past couple of years, a more extensive discussion with Kate Bush would be transfilling. It has been a time of retrospection in terms of her work. There does need to be something new. Even if it is a new release or packaging of her live material or an album like The Sensual World. Maybe there will be a new album. We will just have to wait! I am excited to see how people react to the upcoming anniversaries for The Tour of Life, Before the Dawn and The Sensual World. I feel 2024 is going to be another exciting and big year regarding Kate Bush and her music. As so many new people have found her music and America have embraced her in a way they hadn’t before, that will open up opportunities. Artists influenced by her work creating incredible work of their own. Perhaps the U.S. will show their affection with programmes and documentaries. There are going to be plenty of magazine specials and articles. A couple of books at least. There is also that air of unpredictability that means something extraordinary can come without warning. After a wonderful year where there has been some activity in the Kate Bush camp, I feel like some backlog and slate has been cleared. A path cleared in terms of reissues and older material. New ideas and a fresh phase is ahead. We all look forward to what Kate Bush treats…

2024 has in store.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Nukuluk

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Will Reid

Nukuluk

__________

THERE is a very interesting group…

PHOTO CREDIT: Will Reid

who I want to direct people to. There is no doubt that there are few that sound like Nukuluk. A five-piece who take their members from various parts of the globe, their most recent E.P., SUPERGLUE, is a terrific release that people need to check out. I am going to come to a 2023 interview with the band. Before that, there are a couple of older chats that are important. I think that they give more depth to a very intriguing musical proposition. I want to start with Fred Perry and their question and answer with the amazing Nukuluk:

“Nukuluk are an experimental hip-hop collective from South London. They release their new EP 'Disaster Pop' on 17th November followed by a launch party at The Windmill, Brixton a few days later on 20th November 2021.

“Name, where are you from?

Nukuluk (Monika, Mateo, Syd, Olivia, Louis), from London/Plymouth/Paris.

Describe your style in three words?

Mo: Discreet, branding, earthtone.
Ma: Out of touch.
S: clunky gruff lost.

What’s the best gig you’ve ever been to?

S: Goat (JP) at Oslo Hackney - such amazing ideas, tightest rhythms and a saxophone with a Coke bottle shoved down it. Sadly they aren’t on Spotify, so special mention to the legendary Das EFX who I somehow saw at the New Cross Inn.
Ma: Outkast at Bestival, big energy, real showmen.
O: GORILLAZ. It was just really good.
If you could be on the line up with any two artists in history?

Ma: Prince and Meshell Ndegeocello so I could learn a thing or two about playing my bass.
L&O: Definitely Up Doggy Dog and probably Radiohead.
S: Actress and Nearly God. Both sonic and emotional pioneers in what they do with music and an endless production inspiration.

Which subcultures have influenced you?

Mo: I was all hip-hop growing up, people looked like me and they were angry and rebellious and wanted more. Obviously, I realize now they weren’t telling my story, but I resonated with what they were saying.
S: I grew up around my parents’ punk and dub culture which was wicked - the values and the energy of it all. I think the approach to genre-mashing and collaborating is something that inspired me, as well as this idea of articulating a lot of truth through the songs.
L&O: Midnight Mass (seasonal), Soup Bible (also seasonal), Goldsmith’s Student Union, Londis, Group Therapy.

If you could spend an hour with anyone from history?

Ma: Andrzej Zulawski because I’ve fallen in love with his films recently and have many questions unanswered.
L: Dennis Hopper, I wanna see how horrible he really is.
O: Maya Deren is my favourite :)

Of all the venues you’ve been to or played, which is your favourite?

L: Royal Festival Hall is always fun, I like to dress up.
O: WORM, Rotterdam - Google the toilets.
S: Graham’s Arch near Ladbroke Grove station - an old wood workshop where I played my first gigs as a kid. Lots of smoke and hummus!

Your greatest unsung hero or heroine in music?

Mo: Francis Bebey. I grew up listening to his music, and love the mix of humour and sincerity in his writing. People in the UK tend to focus on his instrumental work because of the language barrier, and it annoys me to see very cool very serious DJs missing out on the light side of his music.
L: Stephen Malkmus - Melodically and lyrically my favourite artist, I was the perfect age when I got into his music and I still don’t understand a lot of the words to Pavement songs.
O: Paddy Steer - he builds all his synths and has a big fish head with a vocoder in it and it slaps.
S: Richard Dawson - obviously he’s got his fanbase, but I think he deserves more! I can’t see anyone’s lyrics that come close to how he depicts life in Britain. From touching upon this medieval generational trauma with his record 'Peasant' to the follow up '2020' about freelance graphic design work and Kurdish families getting bricks through their windows, his lyrics just embody the weird social nightmare of parts of life in Britain.

The first track you played on repeat?

Mo: 'Salomé' by Donny Elwood.
Ma: 'Boombastic' by Shaggy.
O: 'When I Come Around' by Green Day.
L: 'The Ketchup Song (Aserejé) - Spanglish Version' by Las Ketchup.
S: 'Lost In The Supermarket' by The Clash.

A song that defines the teenage you?

Mo: 'Suicidal Thoughts' by The Notorious B.I.G. I didn’t have any suicidal thoughts, I was just obsessed with the song.
Ma: 'Promises' by Fugazi. I remember it being very cathartic when I thought I was angry.
L: 'Femme Fatal' by The Velvet Underground, Nico.
O: 'Mote' by Sonic Youth but also just all of 'Goo'.
S: 'Untitled #8' by John Frusciante. My friend Anna showed me this record when we were kids and I’m pretty sure it ruined my life; proper gateway experimental music, beautiful guitar riffs you recognise from Red Hot Chili Peppers tunes surrounded by eerie tape delay and samples of laughter and conversation. I was a bit of a sad kid…”

I am going to move to another interview. This is from 2021. Even though it is a couple of years ago, we do get to capture this group who were near the start of their career. That excitement and buzz that was coming from certain corners. I still think there are so many people that do not know about them. CLASH spent some time with Nukuluk:

“It doesn’t make sense, does it? For a song to feel quiet, surely music is the opposite of quiet. But some moments in NUKULUK’s new EP 'Disaster Pop' feel delicate, gentle even. They nestle soundscapes to nest in between sporadic bursts of hip-hop power. Each song drips through each other. It collects in bodies then disperses. Even though the EP finishes on the song 'Rain', each track flows into each other like liquid. And it feels like all of the members drink from this liquid, and share it.

They are definitively a collective, with Louis playing drums alongside producing the drums, Mateo plays bass and makes the visuals to accompany the songs. Olivia plays the synth and sampler, adding vocals and producing. Syd does vocals, produces, plays guitar and sampler and makes videos, and Monika does vocals. Together they carve screeches into soundscapes, mangle field recordings of screams into sonic, claim them, turn them upside down and then power them up.

Some of their songs, like 'Feel So', feel like an awakening, or a realisation. Syd's voice laps with the waves of sonic that flow forth and back around them. Monika's voice cuts through the sonic like an arm through water, trying to swim. Followed by 'Nu Year', a song that flows and breaks, in a way that feels like floating over waves on a body of water, staring at the sky.

The synth sounds pauses and repeats like a glitch, unnatural movement, a suspension, feathered in the air. But if this EP is floating, 'Rain' drops it to the ground; a song that immediately strikes as nostalgic, studded with field recordings. This feels symbiotic, as pads of the member’s vocals pat like water joining the earth, a group, a ecosystem. A safe little world, NUKULUK are inviting us into a corner of themselves. And this is what NUKULUK is about really, inviting us in.

So, in this conversation Clash talks to Monika and Syd of NUKULUK about this process of creating as a collective, tempting disaster, and recycling and repurposing sounds, making something of what might be discarded…

NUKULUK seemed to pop out of nowhere with all of this finished stuff that's just so polished, so how did you form as a collective?

Monika: I had never stepped into a recording studio, I hadn't really written anything. But Syd had a lot of faith in me from the get go, even when I didn't have a lot of faith in myself and that I think is what really underscores the collective because I remember, and I don't think I can ever forget when the only two people really listening to the songs was me and Syd.

And then when Louie came, it was the first time there was an external voice that was actually gassed about the project. And he put a lot of care and affection and saying what he loves, that made a huge difference, that bond of the three of us just was very creative and helped us to finish the songs. When the whole collective formed, and we had made the songs, we were like, right, we have 12 songs, let's pick five, let's finish them and let's put them out. And then we pick the names together, and then we finish the songs. And there they are. And I think that's why they feel so finished. Because they're a real labour of love. Lots of layers of doubt, change, people coming in a resurgence of faith.

I want to know a bit more about the relationship of your lyrics to the music. How did they form? Was it you guys that wrote the lyrics? Or did you speak with each other about what you wanted the song to be?

Monika: Syd writes his magic on his own. And, I just find it extremely beautiful. 'Feel So' is the core example. I just listened to the melodies and what Syd was saying. I recognised him and I know what he's trying to say. And then I just felt like I had enough space to just go and be like, okay, what's my take on this emotion? When I feel this emotion, what do I want to say about it? And that's our why verses are so different. But they're very, very deeply connected.

Syd: You really have to believe in the world you're building or the environment you're addressing.

It was the start of the pandemic. I had loads of uncertainty. I could see that freelance artists were pretty low down the queue of who the government was gonna make any accommodations for. And I was really frightened. And then to have Monika, almost show the same pain, but from such alternate point of view. It was such an amazing form of communication. Sometimes my voice is kind of like a melancholic observer of a situation. And Monika's voice can then go into that situation and sort of be inside of it, and kind of confront it. So I'm sad boy far away. And he's some force driving through in the middle of it”.

I am going to end with an interview from DAZED. This is an interview from this year. There are not too many recent interviews. I hope that this changes as we look to next year. Regardless, every interview with Nukuluk is interesting and offers something fresh. There is no doubt that the quintet are going to be making some significant moves in 2024:

“It’s hard to label Nukuluk, but they like it that way. The South London collective – made up of vocalist Monika, bassist Mateo, vocalist and guitarist Syd, synth player Olivia, and drummer Louis – would prefer that you just enjoy the chaos. There’s plenty of it across their discography, with tracks like “Kick Snare” playing out as an abstract aural collage of the unfiltered human psyche, with outbursts of rage, confusion and loneliness. There are moments of intimacy and softness also, found in cyber-ballads that perfectly capture the band’s ability to execute a wide, dynamic range.

There is something distinctly robotic about Nukuluk’s sound, heard in the glitchy drums, contorted samples and cold soundscapes. Yet Monika’s emotionally charged vocals, paired with their white-hot live sets, show that there is still a very human band putting the pieces together. The band’s new EP SUPERGLUE marks their first extended release since 2021’s Disaster Pop, and sees them at their most experimental yet, mixing live instrumentals throughout alongside their established electronic sound.

The strength of the band comes from its separate and varied contributions. “We’ve been told a few times that we look like five people from totally different scenes that have all come together and are doing the same thing,” Olivia tells Dazed. Each member’s uniqueness is what makes the collective’s sound so eclectic, but also their obvious chemistry keeps things cohesive across their releases. Down below, they tell us more.

How would you describe the sonic landscape of your new EP?

Syd: We hadn’t really been playing live when we made the first EP. With this EP, we made it over the first year of us playing loads of shows and developing that live sound; there were no live drums on the last EP, for example. Our dynamics have shifted a lot more into that, our live show is quite punky sometimes and I think that comes through on the new record in a way that it really didn’t last time.

What is your approach to playing live? What do you want to translate to the audience when you play live?

Syd: It’s very theatrical, we go from being super intimate and vulnerable to super high energy.

Louis: That’s what makes [the band] so unique as well, you wouldn’t be able to make this type of music which we’re making with any other person. Everybody is so valued and so important, if we lost a member, it just wouldn’t translate at all. We’re playing with themes that people can relate to, something that people can have an emotional response to.

How would you describe your collective creative practice?

Mateo: We are an experimental group, and we don’t fit into a genre necessarily, and I don’t think we’re necessarily looking for a home either with that. We want to be able to push around and be in different scenes. One of the things for me that’s so exciting about this project is that we can metamorphose and become this different thing on the next record or in the next video.

Syd: We don’t have the resources to have a fancy studio, but we are quite adept technologically, so we can make that work in this weird, modern, digital, punky way.

Olivia: A lot of our production is quite spontaneous and we’re always finding horrible plugins to try and use.

Monika: There are also some really intentional elements. For me, with lyrics, I spend hours and days chewing over them, it‘s just my writing style. The music aspect, the rhythm and delivery over the beat get to be more spontaneous. Music is a lot like that: there are some things that you chew on for days and hours, you can be really intentional with them, and then maybe they happen in a flash on your first take.

What would be your funeral song?

Louis: If I were the first one to go, I’d like a four-piece Nukuluk performance.

Mateo: This George Clinton song called “Super Spirit” – it’s really upbeat.

Syd: I’d go with “Blank Expression” by The Specials because it’s just so fucking jolly.

Monika: I would go with “Soldier On” by Richard Hawley, which is one of my favourite songs ever. It’s really sad.

Olivia: Silence. I’d make it noise-cancelling in there.

What adjective would you least like to be described as?

Syd: Zany.

Olivia: Spunky.

Monika: Derivative.

Mateo: Scaly.

Louis: Reptilian.

If you could only listen to one musician for the rest of your life, who would it be?

Louis: Beach Boys.

Syd: Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Monika: Gil Scott-Heron”.

Having released the magnificent SUPERGLUE earlier this year, there are new eyes and ears on Nukuluk. I am new to them but, having read back at interviews and heard their older music, I am now going to see where they go next. I am excited to see a genuinely fresh and original force release such terrific music. Make sure you have them in your sights. They are primed for success…

AND worldwide recognition.

____________

Follow Nukuluk

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nukuluk_nukuluk/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nukulukband

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Et8hq133uIvzPHLhi6tCL

Bandcamp:

https://nukuluk.bandcamp.com/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf3wpHDVh94Q4Ti4TUPOOaQ

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/nukuluk/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from the Finest Albums Celebrating Big Anniversaries in 2024

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1984/PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Watson

Songs from the Finest Albums Celebrating Big Anniversaries in 2024

__________

I have already…

run a series of features combining songs from albums who have important anniversaries next year. Running down from those turning fiftieth. The final playlist related to the fifth anniversary albums. I wanted to do an ultimate playlist where there is a portion of each from those individual playlists on the one. It is exciting thinking about all the awesome albums that will have these big anniversaries next year. You will recognise most of them, though some might be unfamiliar to you. Below is a playlist with cuts from albums that have significant anniversaries next year. It makes for a rather epic and diverse…

LISTENING experience.

FEATURE: To Watch in 2024: Gretel Hänlyn

FEATURE:

 

 

To Watch in 2024

Gretel Hänlyn

_________

I featured the mesmeric and superb Gretel Hänlyn…

PHOTO CREDIT: Brennan Bucannan for The Line of Best Fit

in a feature before. Rather than spotlight someone who is very much on the way up and has had a successful 2023, I want to revisit an amazing West London-based artist who is set to have a tremendous 2024. She is one of the coolest and most talented artists on the scene. I would expect to see her playing Glastonbury and maybe thinking about an album. A person who is amazing solo, yet there is a guestlist of artists I can see her collaborating with. I am going to end with a new DORK interview. They tipped Gretel Hänlyn for big success next year alongside a range of other immense artists. In 2022, Hänlyn released the album/long-E.P., Slugeye. Head of the Love Club (another long-E.P.) was released back in March. As it is Christmas Day, I wanted to use this special day to talk about a very special artist. Someone who is so oriignal and instantly compelling. I am going to start out with an interview that I may have used last time around. Earlier in the year, The Line of Best Fit saluted a wonderful and hugely impressive young artist on the rise:

“Hänlyn, aka Maddy Haenlein, has taken time out of her afternoon to catch up at a pub in central London for a chinwag over a pint. She sips on her Guinness contently, feeling better after a nasty infection earlier in the week. But also coming in armed and ready with the prospect of new music, a run of live shows in April and a festival slot alongside the legendary Iggy Pop this Summer, her drink is sure to taste that extra bit sweeter.

“I feel really happy with how things are working out,” says Hänlyn as she reflects on her musical journey to date. She first cropped up in 2021 with her distinctively brooding vocals marking her adrift from her contemporaries.

The buzz around Hänlyn has only grown since. Her debut EP Slugeye gained her critical acclaim and this month she deliver its follow up Head of the Love Club. It’s a bold new body of work which showcases an evolving artistic persona with depth, vulnerability and a brazen edge that’s characteristically ‘Gretel’. Most of all, it’s a statement that showcases just who Hänlyn is.

“I wasn’t trying to please any majority,” Hänlyn assures. “A lot of the time during recording, I was messing around with different vocal lines and styles that made me go ‘eugh, I hate that, let’s do it!’. It’s often the things that are ugly and a little too honest that resonate with people rather than nice, romanticised lyrics. They’re the kinds of things that make people think about what’s going on in their lives.”

Hänlyn’s capacity to confront challenges in her own life as a 20-year-old adult has been resolute. As a teenager, she went through an illness which impacted her muscle growth. This particularly affected her diaphragm, meaning that she had to learn how to sing all over again. “Emotionless” is how Hänlyn says she felt during that time and the numbness she experienced then continues to pervade her today.

“This is a little heavy, but I remember the time when I’d just finished my GCSEs, my mum sat me down and she told me that she had cancer," Hänlyn explains. "I didn’t feel a thing. Nothing happened inside of me. A few weeks ago, my aunt died. When I was told that, I didn’t feel a thing. It’s so weird. It makes me think like ‘what is wrong with me?’ But I think music is how I process emotions. I don’t get that catharsis without having processed it through a song first.”

That cathartic release sprawls across Head of the Love Club, which fuses elements of Gothic fantasy influenced by her background in short horror stories with searing doses of introspection. From energetic lead singles like “Drive” to more pensive moments like “Little Vampire”, as well as the gloriously abrasive title track, there are a diverse range of soundscapes which paint the EP in a myriad of eerily dark and colourful tones. “When I go into a song, I don’t want there to be a reference track of what it sounds like,” says Hänlyn. “I had a clear idea of what of what I wanted and what I feel would impress me as a listener, which was how I approached the project.”

Her latest material has been essential for her to compose: “During the time when the majority of Head of the Love Club was written, I had quite a strange and unique relationship with someone who was a lot older than me,” she says looking down slightly nervously. “There was quite a strange dynamic; for around a year, I found myself being so confused and obsessed with this person that I felt powerless, like a little girl. So, a lot of the EP is me reflecting on that relationship and often how tiny it made me feel”.

You can check out Gretel Hänlyn’s music here. There was a lot of love out there for her during this year. As she relaxes today and enjoys some family time, I know there is a part of her that is also thinking about next year. Personal and career plans. I think she is going to be an artist who will take some big steps next year. I want to come to a CLASH interview from July. When it was mentioned that she is being compared to artists like PJ Harvey and Florence Welch, Hänlyn said that this was really cool:

“There was a very exuberant, extravagant young man dressed all in sparkly pink called Zack, who I promised I’d get a drink for because he was singing all of the lyrics, but I couldn’t find him afterwards. Zack if you’re out there!” laughs 20 year-old musician Gretel Hänlyn via Zoom. Real name Maddy Haenlein, Gretel is known for her powerful vocals and unique blend of rock, indie and grunge. The young singer-songwriter has built a dedicated fanbase since the release of her first single ‘Slugeye’ in September 2021. Despite a whimsical and offbeat musical persona, Gretel herself comes off grounded and self-aware, speaking with refreshing candour and warmth as we sit down to discuss writer’s block, the pros of being self-critical and creating your own fantasy worlds.

“I didn’t always sing like this,” Gretel explains as we discuss her commanding voice, “I had a developmental issue where I didn’t really have enough muscle especially in my diaphragm so I couldn’t sing very well, and it took a lot of energy to sing. So one of the things that made it a lot easier to sing was lowering my larynx […] I do consider that to be my singing voice, but with this next EP I’ve kind of allowed myself to use my voice as more of an instrument.”

The ‘next EP’ in question, ‘Head Of The Love Club’ is out shortly, but its creation wasn’t the easiest process for the young singer: “Before I wrote this new EP, I had really bad writer’s block for a while and everything that I wrote I absolutely hated, but I didn’t throw away the demos. [The EP] ended up being the songs I wrote in my writer’s block.” Gretel remarks how the EP cathartically tackles “themes of ongoing rejection, how it feels to have an obsession that you’ve mistaken for love.” When writing the EP, Gretel found she kept returning to the same subject matter: “I found that I kept on talking about this one character, who is based on a real person, who I refer to as the ‘Head Of The Love Club’. This was someone in my life and I was tackling a very unique relationship with him where I didn’t know where I stood. There was a lot of confusion and my age definitely played a big part in my own naivety in that situation.”

Entering the music industry at such a young age wasn’t without its struggles, however. “I remember when I first started entering the music scene and I think it was my Mum who said that I might get hate for being too similar to Ellie Rowsell. I mean she’s just another great woman in rock, why are we drawing these comparisons when there are so many dudes who sound exactly the same yet they have earned their own place?” Often placed alongside the likes of PJ Harvey and Florence Welch, Hanlyn seems proud of the comparisons. “I like getting compared to cool ladies!”.

I am going to end with that DORK interview that acknowledges Gretel Hänlyn as a wonderful artist we need to watch next year. Before I get there, I am going to bring in this interview for Head of the Love Club. If there is maybe a sense that the very best is still ahead, this long-E.P. (or is it technically an album with eight tracks?!) is a hugely strong release that showcases a London artist with a big future ahead:

“Gretel Hänlyn’s Head of the Love Club is a boundary-breaking addition to the indie-goth-pop icon’s unrivaled discography. Using occasional pop devices to fuel her punk-adjacent eccentricities, Hänlyn has written an EP made in heaven for lovers of Fiona Apple, Mitski, and Mazzy Star, and is a modern gateway to all things grunge.

“Dry Me” tells us everything we need to know. Raw, grungy guitars meet Hänlyn’s low resonance and half-spoken delivery for an avant-garde, '90s alternative-inspired opener. Subtle instrumental touches like a cascading acoustic piano and fitful drums welcome us to the rule-breaking dreamscape that is Head of the Love Club, where pop boundaries are smashed through with a post-grunge uppercut.

“Drive” keeps the ambiance alive as spiraling, looping electronic drums dance under distorted, hooky vocals. Meanwhile, “King of Nothing” is a work of lyrical finesse, punching cleverly crafted lines over dissonant chords. With nonchalance, Hänlyn spits out, “You’re the king of nothing at all, you huel-fueled diet / fake tan fucker...” “Wiggy” is the catalyst for the EP’s shift in pace, maintaining the blithe, grown-up-teenage-dirtbag tone but relaxing the arrangement. Hänlyn’s signature unbothered cynicism coins us the iconic line, “Falling in love isn’t weak it's gross...”

While “Little Vampire” flaunts its '90s grunge flair, title track, “The Head of the Love Club,” is a witchy standout on the lineup. A gritty, distorted guitar marches out the beat while ethereal background vocals set the moonlit, smoke-shrouded scene. It’s a love song, but Hänlyn-style—every twinge of desire is matched with scorn, ambling through Mitski-esque melodies.

“Easy Peeler” is fringed with delicacy, a gentle sort of sadness that Head of the Love Club doesn’t reveal to us on other tracks. The acoustic fingerpicking lilts over the distorted bass line in a satisfying contradiction—soft meets steadfast. “Today (Can’t Help but Cry)” rounds out the EP with a hopefulness that masterfully balances the bitterness we begin with in “Dry Me.” A wistful guitar riff loops over droning synths, evoking a bit of '80s, The Cure-style nostalgia. The light arrangement lets Hänlyn’s voice soar, and listeners will finish Head of the Love Club with an addictive blissfulness”.

Let’s come to the Hype List inclusion from DORK. Fans of the majestic music Gretel Hänlyn is putting out, they spent time with an artist reflecting on an important year. It is clear that there is nobody out there like her! I can also see her having this T.V. or film career, as she has a natural magnetism and cool that you love to see on the screen. Go and follow this astonishing artist:

“Her songwriting and storytelling abilities and knack for bewitching wordplay mark Gretel as a special talent. It’s a craft she’s spent years honing and is forever evolving. “I’ve been going into rabbit holes left, right and centre and trying to find that thing that I want to have when I’m writing,” she explains. “I’ve definitely almost had it, but I’m trying to refine it and find the purest form of writing I possibly can.” There’s a constant desire within her music to take things further, either musically or thematically. In 2023, she felt like all the pieces that make Gretel Hänlyn so exciting were falling into place on the back of the most productive year of her career so far. “It’s been a year of artistic discovery,” she smiles. “Just before going on tour, I finally came home to myself as an artist. I feel like I really understand myself and the fundamental values of what I want as an artist. I want to enjoy writing and get some catharsis from it. It doesn’t have to be anything other than pure writing. It doesn’t have to be clever. That’s what 2023 has been for me. Discovery and building, building, building.”

 PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Louise Bennett

The thing that Gretel is building, is music in its most primal form. Powerful emotions distilled to their purest qualities. The realities of trying to make it in the music industry, though, often force artists to second guess themselves or subconsciously work against their natural impulses. As her nascent career has progressed, Gretel’s development as a writer has seen her fully realise that those early impulses are most potent. “It’s so interesting because when I first started writing, it was what I think of as really pure, just feeling your way through the dark type of writing,” she reflects. “Feeling it out and using instinct. That’s when I first started going to the studio and challenging myself with writing parts for instruments other than just guitar and vocals. As my musical tastes developed, I naturally put more pressure on myself to be smarter with my songwriting. Even copying certain sounds or certain atmospheres for songs and getting inspired by other things but feeling my way through the dark around it. I went down a rabbit hole of feeling like nothing was right, and nothing was ever enough. I was never clever enough, and it wasn’t leftfield enough. That’s the rabbit hole I went down this year, and I’ve come out the other side and I’m back to feeling my way through the dark and not knowing or trying to force my writing anywhere. I’m not pressuring myself to compare myself or my career to other artists that are maybe the same age as me or have a similar sound.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Louise Bennett

There might be some artists out there who have a similar sound in that they also make music primarily focused on guitar, but there’s no one out there quite like Gretel Hänlyn. Distinctive and singular in a way that makes her stand out, she’s continuing a lineage of women making exciting indie music while also forging her own path. “I always had obsessions growing up with artists in the same way that a lot of quite young women obsess over a certain band or another female artist or a boyband, or an emo band. I always had those obsessions, and I would deeply follow the characters,” she remembers. “I don’t think it actually clicked with the writer inside of me until I started listening to Wolf Alice. Female-fronted guitar bands. I looked at it, and I was like, wow. That sounds absolutely incredible, the amount of energy and female rage. I found it all very impressive. I was also getting into a lot of folk music when I was 14, and that inspired me to start writing. It was a combination of having that representation in female guitar bands plus the songwriting inspiration of people like Tim Buckley and Nick Drake. Nico was a big influence earlier on because she had a low voice, just like me. That encouraged me to feel allowed to sing. It was that musical and songwriting element, plus I was writing a lot of gothic stories at the time, as well inspired by Nick Cave. It all had a bit of a folky beginning, and then I got into the studio and started using other instruments, and it all got a bit grungier and full band-y.”

Those gothic stories are what became the heart of Gretel Hänlyn; from her debut EP ‘Slugeye’ to the grand flourishes of her latest work, it’s all there. It’s not just despair and sadness, though; despite the emotional resonance of her music, often it’s playful and funny and engaging. There’s a gothic underbelly which allows her to take her songwriting stories to wonderful places. “It’s a bit cheeky,” she laughs. “It’s just being real because one thing that I love is the beauty and the humour in the grotesque. It’s making jokes about something bleak because nothing is ever black or white; nothing is ever just completely shit. There’s always something funny; there’s also always something depressing about something really happy that’s happening. There’s always something incredibly pretty about something horribly ugly. It’s using the contrasts to make people smile or cry if they feel like they shouldn’t be smiling.” It’s these amplified emotions crashing into each other that make her songs such rich tapestries. “Exactly! Black looks blacker next to white, and white looks whiter next to black.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Louise Bennett

As the world of Gretel Hänlyn becomes more expansive, she’s looking for ever more elaborate ways to take things further. This may or, intriguingly, may not involve a debut album in 2024. “I’m currently working on a body of work, and I’m deciding what I want it to be,” she says. “Whatever it is, it’s the final milestone of me building the base of what my music is going to stem from. This is the last chapter of the beginning. It’s a mixture of both challenging and really great, well-written music, and then from there, the main thing for me is touring and playing music live. That’s my favourite part of all of this, playing live and travelling.”

In 2024, Gretel’s main ambitions are to continue building and reaching new heights. She’s already played her biggest London show this year at Village Underground and is looking to step up to the next rung on the way to her ultimate goal of headlining a stage at Glastonbury. But what about some of the new music she’s working on right now? “I’m not sure yet that this is the debut album. All I know is that I’ve got loads of songs, so it probably is. When I was writing it, I was thinking it’s a cult classic,” she laughs. “It’s a collection of songs; some of them have some really gnarly parts. Each song is quite fearless. Each song sticks out like a sore fucking thumb. I love it.” She also excitedly teases what might be her best song yet, “I have written a six-and-half-minute track that feels brutally Gretel. It’s called ‘Shame’.”

At one, with herself as an artist and the world that she’s inhabiting, Gretel Hänlyn is setting a marker for other new pretenders to try to reach. Good luck. “I just want to release loads of music and just throw shit at the wall and see what sticks. I’ll use that to write a big body of work. This is the first chapter of this next bit where I’m fucking Gretel Hänlyn”.

Go and check out the brilliant Gretel Hänlyn. She is, as you see there, entering a new chapter. Beginning this new phase. With support from stations including BBC Radio 6 Music, there is a lot of love behind this unique and promising artist. I am looking forward see where Gretel Hänlyn heads next. She is one of my favourite artists around. I know 2024 is a year where she will…

ABSOLUTELY smash it!

___________

Follow Gretel Hänlyn

Official:

https://www.gretelhanlyn.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/gretelhanlyn

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/gretelhanlyn

Bandcamp:

https://gretelhanlyn.bandcamp.com/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@ggrrretel

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/gretelhanlyn

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/thisgretel

FEATURE: Divisive Yet Extraordinary: Kate Bush’s February-June 1981

FEATURE:

 

 

Divisive Yet Extraordinary

Kate Bush’s February-June 1981

__________

THIS is another Kate Bush feature…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush poses at East Wickham Farm in September 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Moorhouse/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

that is about a particular time period. I think that there are some pivotal moments and months. One time period that was about moving from the release of one album to another. There was this moment when public opinion was still split. Alongside celebration and awards, there was also this lack of complete embrace from the public. I want to bring in a timeline that starts off in February 1981 and takes us to June. A short period of time, there is a lot of change and development. I will stop and various points and expand. I wanted to choose this period of time, as Never for Ever (released in September 1980) was still being talked about and there was this interest. Maybe Kate Bush has moved on and was very much engaged with The Dreaming (released n September 1982). There was this thing where she would still be promoting one album and another one was being worked on:

“February 1981

Kate's childhood home, East Wickham Farm, which has at its core a 14th-century hall, is listed as a building of special historic interest.

Kate does some session work on a cover version of her song Them Heavy People by new EMI artist Ray Shell.

February 21, 1981

Kate is voted Best Female Singer of 1980 in the Sounds poll.

March, 1981

Kate is making demo tapes of the material for her next album at her own demo studio.

April 1981

In a special Sunday Telegraph opinion poll Kate is voted "most liked" and "least liked" British Female Singer.

That period here is intriguing. Because of its history more than Bush’s association with it, East Wickham Farm gets this honour. Preserved as a building of special interest. Even though Bush does not live there and her siblings are based elsewhere, you can still see East Wickham Farm in Wickham St, Welling. It is pretty much as it would have been in the 1970s and 1980s. It is emotional thinking about Kate Bush recording there. In 1981, it would have been quite a moment for her parents, Hannah and Robert, that their home was deemed as this significant historical artefact. A building that could not be torn down or changed dramatically. Not long after that happened, Bush won that Sounds poll. It is strange that, whilst one corner of the industry was celebrating her, that Sunday Telegraph poll must have been confusing! Definitely a divisive result, how did that impact an album like The Dreaming? Was that sense that some did not like her compel her to make an album very much different to what came before.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: Brian Aris

Never for Ever was a bit experimental and different, though The Dreaming is more layered and darker in many senses. It can be a dense album that maybe reflected a changing musical landscape. After a first three or four months of 1981 where songs were being written and there was at least some recognition from the industry and fans, it would have given her momentum when she headed into the studio. Not long after Bush headed into the studio to start recording The Dreaming, its first single, Sat in Your Lap, was released. It was a very quick recording process that was born out of a moment of urgency and inspiration (a case of Bush having a bit of a creative block, she saw Stevie Wonder play in London and was influenced to write a song). There was a bit of a strange start to recording:

May 1981

Kate goes into Townhouse Studio with Hugh Padgham as engineer to begin the recording work of The Dreaming album. The backing tracks for three songs are put down before Nick Launay takes over as engineer. In a session that lasts until the end of June more backing tracks are laid.

The fact that Hugh Padgham was not really committed and one of the few people who was not completely happy to be around Kate Bush’s music. It would have been strange to go into a variety of studios – as she did for The Dreaming – and work with new personnel. Those outside of her family circle; people that might not be aware of her past music. They were just coming in as professionals without being confirmed fans perhaps. If Never for Ever was a happy time where there was more highs than lows, The Dreaming did seem to be more of a strain. A different type of work regime. Maybe more intense and longer hours with little time to relax and joke around.

I think 1981 is one of her most varied years. In terms of projects offered and the sort of stuff she was doing. There were the BBC TV programme Looking Good, Feeling Fit, later in 1981. Bush had a little break in October up in Scotland. A chance to unwind for a bit before being immersed once more in the recording process. In August, Kate Bush headed into Odyssey Studios with Paul Hardiman as engineer to record the overdubs on all tracks in a four-and-a-half month session. It was a really intense year that was punctuated by some nice diversions and moments. One of the great things that happened in 1981 is that, in May, she was offered the role of the Wicked Witch in the T.V. series Worzel Gummidge. Bush was offered a lot of film and T.V. roles. Nearly always having to turn them down, it would have been fascinating to see what could have been if Bush turned to the screen. Maybe too much of a distraction from the music and main passion. I always think that Bush, with more exposure and experience, she would have been a fine actor! I am going to finish off soon. I will take things up to June 1981:

June 1981

The video for Sat In Your Lap is made at Abbey Road.

June 21, 1981

Sat In Your Lap is released. A pivotal point in Kate's career”.

This really exhaustive and different way of working. Bush was solo producing for the first time, so maybe she was not giving herself enough time out and break. Look at what she did in 1981. There was the recording, though she also had some interviews and assortment of media appearances. 1982 was when The Dreaming was released. It was much more about getting the music finished and it promoted. 1981 was this balance between time in studios and some ‘outside’ time. Consider Never for Ever in 1980 and how it sounded and it was received. The next album was very different! The whole background was different too. When it was released into the world on 13th September, 1982, Bush’s career and the public perception of her would…

CHANGE in a radical way.

FEATURE: From the Screen to the Studio: Could the Next Step for the Beloved Hannah Waddingham Be a Debut Studio Album?

FEATURE:

 

 

From the Screen to the Studio

PHOTO CREDIT: The Standard

Could the Next Step for the Beloved Hannah Waddingham Be a Debut Studio Album?

__________

IT is not unusual for actors…

to have a separate career in music. As I have said in different features, actors do step into music and can find success. The other way around is more common I think. Artists such as Lady Gaga going into acting. Maybe it is more natural and easier from that experience of live performance and videos to transition into acting. Maybe actors need an extra level of experience to go into a studio or adapt to music. I guess there is a natural connection between the disciplines. An attraction that means we see some awesome artists take to the small and big screen. To me, it is harder and more appealing when actors go into music. It can be harder to get it right. Perhaps there is more pressure on their shoulders or that emphasis on the voice is more than you have on artists and their performances. I did hear that Florence Pugh was releasing an album. That was reported a while ago now. Let us hope that this happens next year. With an amazing voice that is quite deep and smoky, she old head in various sonic directions. Whether she is going to be more Folk and Indie or goes in a more Jazz and Soul direction (or splices them together), I know that it will be fantastic. When it comes to an actor born for thee studio, there is one that spring to mind. Hannah Waddingham, in addition to being a great actor and comic force, is someone who can definitely hold a tune!

Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas was shown in November. It is available to stream here. I am going to come to a review of it. Even if one might think Hannah Waddingham is suited more for Opera or maybe showtunes, I think that there are no limits when it comes to her music potential. It does seem, in the interview for Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, the actor was looking to talk more about her music influences. I didn’t see any questions asking whether she would be interested in an album. I can see a studio album coming. Waddingham will get offers for stage work and musicals. I think an album that does not necessarily have to be theatrical could come to light. She could go in any direction. I want to start with an interview with Gay Times they were keen to find out more from one of the most loved humans in the world. Someone who is a national (British) treasure:

“Thank you, Hannah! Home for Christmas feels quintessentially you, which I can imagine is quite hard to do with Christmas because the genre has been rinsed to death. When creating this special, how did you make sure that it would scream Hannah Waddingham? Or rather, Wadders?

Because I think when you’re just off 50, you know who you are, and you know who you’re not. So, Apple were very kind listening to me and my manager and we wanted it to be exactly what we wanted it to be. They were totally along for the ride and really facilitated that. When we would have meetings, even in the first pitch I said, ‘It’s very important to me to have the London Gay Men’s Chorus because I’m a patron of theirs.’ I love the idea of them flooding the stage. I said, ‘It’s important that I acknowledge my mum and why we’re there. If I could have the English National Opera chorus, who have been uncles and aunties to me all my life, that would be an amazing privilege. And my guests have to be people that I have a connection with, regardless of whether they’re known or not. And I have to have a live, beautiful big band and I don’t want anyone on that stage who can’t cut it live. I want everything to be done so that we go back to a bygone era of live performances.’

Christmas is ruled by pop divas. We love the men, but not as much. Did you take any inspiration from any pop divas when doing this special?

No, basically! I really didn’t. I would never. That’s why I contest the whole “Queen of Christmas” thing because I think I’m a very different beast. I come from the acting world, the theatre world. And I think there’s room for all of us. I was very clear in my pitch that I wanted it to be, at its heart, a theatrical production because that’s in my bones. That’s all I’ve ever known. So, for my television audience to meet the theatre audience that I’ve come from and for it to be encapsulated on Apple TV+ as a platform to, hopefully be a hearty perennial, that’s all I really wanted. I wanted people to just forget their troubles, come in and feel like they’ve been absorbed into this glamorous, opulent environment.

I was absorbed. And you’re right, there can be multiple queens. Why does there have to be one?

Yeah, we’re all very different. I would never say that Mariah Carey was any more important than Kelly Clarkson or Michael Bublé. There’s room for all of us. All the food groups are represented.

When did you first notice the LGBTQ+ community’s support? You are huge with queer women, when I told my best friend who’s a lesbian, and my sister who’s a lesbian, that I was interviewing you… They went nuts.

I don’t know why I am! I really don’t know why I am. I mean, I’m here for it. I think probably in musical theatre, I would get a lot of letters back in the day, which is just so lovely and why I was so thrilled to do Eurovision as well. It was so lovely coming out on the stage and being engulfed by this gorgeous wave of support from the gay community”.

I am going to move onto Los Angeles Times and their interview with Hannah Waddingham. The more I read her words about the Christmas special, the more I think he infectiousness of performing live in a big show will compel Waddingham to go into the studio and maybe record some original material. It is clear that there would be big demand for an album from Hannah Waddinghgam:

“You become emotional at a couple of points, including when you talk about growing up in the theater and having your daughter, who was 8 at the time, in the coliseum watching you onstage at the same age you were when you watched your mother perform.

There was my little girl in the box I’d always been in — the most glorified, beautiful, stunning little toddler pen for me, where I would be left safely, and she was in there at exactly the same age. Then my mom was sitting at the back of the auditorium with my dad, but my mom has Parkinson’s and is in a wheelchair. When I was putting this together, I didn’t know whether either of my parents were going to make it through to see that day, and it got me. But I wanted to keep a lid on that, because it’s not good for your voice, and I had to sing “Oh, Holy Night” completely clean.

Why did you dedicate that specific song to your mom and daughter?

It’s my favorite beautiful, traditional Christmas song. Often Christmas specials are about the show, and I wanted it to really be a moment of quiet and focus. I wanted to let my guard down and sing for my mom and my daughter. I wanted to just be center stage, mike stand, no bells and whistles, and just say to people, “This is why I’m still here. I can still strip it back.” It was unbelievable the silence in the auditorium for that. I don’t know how I got through it, but it’s the best I’ve ever sung in my life.

Had you sung with the English National Opera Chorus before?

No. When the English National Opera Chorus heard that I was doing it at the coliseum and why, some of the opera singers from my mom’s era who are still there offered to come and sing with me. When they came to rehearse, they ran on the stage and were hugging me and crying going, “We couldn’t be more proud of you! We all watch everything you do!”

Tell me about some of those song choices and musical guests.

I didn’t want famous people for famous’ sake. I wanted people who mean something to me. Luke Evans and I have known each other since we were 20. Sam Ryder I think is just one of our greatest talents. “Please Come Home for Christmas” was on Leslie Odom Jr.’s album, and it made my head go dizzy. I thought, “I have to sing that with him.” Also, I said to my little girl, “You choose someone,” and before I even finished the sentence, she said “Leslie Odom Jr.!” She’s obsessed with “Hamilton”.

I am going to wrap things up soon. The Independent were among those who showed a lot of love for Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas. After a huge last few years that has seen her appear in huge shows like Ted Lassso, it must have been quite an event being at the London Coliseum:

“Hannah Waddingham must be knackered. The West End legend slash one-woman beacon of joy started off 2023 by saying goodbye to Ted Lasso, the big-hearted Apple TV+ football comedy that earned her legions of fans on both sides of the Atlantic. She returned to theatreland to preside over this year’s Olivier Awards, then earned national treasure status in the UK during her stint co-hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. It was a perfectly pitched performance in more ways than one: a classically trained singer, Waddingham hit all the high notes in musical segments and leaned into the competition’s inherent camp. And – move over Mariah – she’s just put in a double shift as the new Queen of Christmas, lending her megawatt grin to festive ad spots for M&S and Baileys.

Her last hurrah before clocking off for the festive season? Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas – an all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza for Apple, filmed at the London Coliseum. It’s reminiscent of those Audience With… specials that used to crop up on ITV’s Sunday night schedule – look closely and you’ll spot that channel’s poster boy Dermot O’Leary in the audience – but with some additional big-budget gloss (Waddingham and her guests are bathed in a glorious golden glow throughout). The perks of working with a megabucks tech giant, presumably – although Waddingham is definitely giving Apple its money’s worth. From the moment her cab pulls up outside the Coliseum, she’s belting out a festive ditty, charisma turned up to 11.

Once inside, she’s greeted by a receiving line of adoring Ted Lasso co-stars as she makes her way through the corridors; the effect is a bit like a very glamorous remake of Peter Kay’s “(Is This the Way to) Amarillo?” video. There’s just enough time for a sweet pep talk from her young daughter Kitty before Waddingham sweeps onto the stage, resplendent in a sequinned gown straight out of Dreamgirls (her dress code, she quips later, is “Christmas business casual”).

What follows is essentially an old-fashioned variety show. The musical numbers are interspersed with a smattering of physical comedy (spare a thought for poor Nick Mohammed, aka Ted Lasso’s Coach Nate, who spends much of the run time suspended from the rafters after being “hoist by his own petard”, as Waddingham puts it) and a few sketches that double up as Richmond AFC reunions. Her Lasso co-stars put in a game performance, mugging for the cameras like court jesters while dancing on stage in tailcoats and brandishing candy canes, although some of their skits seem to be more of an excuse to trade compliments and “love you’s” rather than punchlines.

There’s also the obligatory appearance from 2022 Eurovision runner-up Sam Ryder, plus duets with Hamilton’s Lesley Odom Jr, matching Waddingham’s sartorial splendour in a quilted silver suit, and with Beauty and the Beast’s Luke Evans (the pair share a friendship going back two decades). Phil Dunster, who plays Ted Lasso’s Grealish-like Jamie Tartt, also gets the chance to soft-launch a potential side hustle as a Bublé-esque crooner when he gatecrashes a rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”.

Waddingham is full of effusive praise for her guests (“I love you to bits and bits and bits!” she exclaims to Dunster and singing duo The Fabulous Lounge Swingers, after their song) – of course it’s a little luvvy-ish (what did you expect, darling?) but the overall effect is one of winning sincerity. The Coliseum is a venue weighted with emotional significance for the star. Her mother, the aptly named Melodie Kelly, was a mezzo-soprano in the English National Opera, she tells us, and the young Hannah would spend hours watching her perform there. No wonder she gets a bit weepy when she dedicates “O Holy Night” to her parents and her own daughter”.

We have seen great examples of actors who are natural musicians. That they have this awesome voice or a natural affinity for music. From Jeff Goldblum to Zendaya, there are these cases of actors naturally taking to music. I do think that Hannah Waddingham could be a classic case of an acclaimed and established actor going the studio via acting and theatre. Maybe people have their ideas of what her sound would be. She is someone unpredictable in terms of her roles, so you couldn’t really guess where she might head. After the hugely positive reception of Hannah Waddingham: Home for Christmas, there is that curiosity and desire. Maybe 2024 is a year when we will see a debut studio album from one of…

THE adored Hannah Waddingham.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lip Filler

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Lip Filler

__________

A band with a dedicated following…

and live shows that definitely set them out for greatness, I wanted to spend time with Lip Filler. The five-piece consist of  Jude Scholefield, Nate Wicks, George Tucker, Verity Hughes and Theo Pasmore. The band’s eponymous E.P. was released back in May. It is a fantastic release from the extraordinary quintet. I cannot wait to see where they head next. I am going to end with a review from one of their recent shows. Before that, it is worth getting to some interviews. So that we can learn a bit more. Mancunion spoke with Lip Filler earlier in the year. With their lead having the same kind of vocal sound and swagger of Jamie T, I was intrigued from the start. However, the more I learn about the band’s history and dynamic, the more compelled I am to dig deep:

“We recline on backwards-arcing, blood-red chairs in one of Dot to Dot’s many hand-picked venues, as singer/keyboardist George Tucker reflects on their previous show in Bristol with a zealous glow: “Honestly, last night went f*cking smoothly… We actually came off stage with no complaints or issues, it was great. We even said before coming up here, we may as well get pissed beforehand ‘cos we played so well last night.” The mop-haired singer’s disbelief at the lack of on-stage issues speaks wonders about Lip Filler, a band equally inspired by the D.I.Y mentality of punk rock as by the uncontrollable spiralling of The Libertines.

The frontman’s tongue-in-cheek proposal for a day of drinking before the gig is quickly mediated however by guitarist/singer Verity Hughes, seemingly the level-headed one behind Lip Filler’s organised chaos: “Nah, we’re gonna play well tonight. Give the people of Nottingham their due diligence … We’ve checked out the venues here, and it’s nice … I like the street where Black Cherry Lounge is … there’s some nice little venues tucked neatly around there.”

Lip Filler seem happy to be out of their native sphere of the London music scene – a scene which I gather through their insights to be equally suffocating as it is stimulating: “Gigs in London are cliquey as f*ck”, the quiet, but barbarously witty, Nate Wicks (drums) asserts. I, somewhat shamelessly, ask if this is another way of saying that all the bands in London sleep with each other: “Well, we are figuratively in bed with each other.”

In a genre full of pretension and attempted crypticness, it’s refreshing to see a group of indie rockers express a childlike enthusiasm for travelling to new cities (even if it be a Midlands one), and a grateful disbelief at strangers singing along to their tunes. Lip Filler are truly a band in their heyday, with no sign of youthfulness fading: “Well, if it was anything like last night… we’re gonna have fun”, Theo Pasmore, Lip Filler’s shaggy-haired bass extraordinaire, states with a humble confidence.

PHOTO CREDIT: Holly Whitaker

Lip Filler take pride in their D.I.Y approach, not just to their music, but to every aspect of the group’s image and admin: “There was this Instagram ad that we put out when we dropped ‘Haircut’… this video of me and Jude in the kitchen… just, like, pissing about. Really hyperactive, really skitty… I think that got out to a lot of people somehow. […] We just get crazy ideas for ads… I’m confident that we’re more involved with the advertising side of things than most bands are. Every visual aspect of our band… I’m sure most bands are very hands-on with their marketing, but I feel like we must be more involved with it, surely? I’ve edited all the music videos we’ve put out. We’re really full-on about it.” This is echoed succinctly, with a dry self-deprecation, by George’s drummer: “We pride ourselves on our… skits.”

Even though George is undoubtedly the frontman, he’s more than happy to share the stage with his bandmates Jude and Verity. Lip Filler are a band with three singers – think Fleetwood Mac but without the failing marriages. “I respect these guys so much… I used to go to the Straight Faces’ [Jude and Verity’s teenage band] gigs all the time, like, I’d watch their gigs when I was a kid. I love the sounds of these guys’ voices – and with ‘Monster Truck’, I wouldn’t have it any other f*cking way. It’s so great how we bounce off of each other the way we do.”

Jude expands on this democracy: “I think all of our creative decisions are only in the best interest of the track. When you first start playing, I think you’re all in this state where you’re like ‘right, f*ck – this is my part’, like you’ve got to be heard individually. Whereas now we’re all at this stage where we can take a step back.” There’s a competitive element here, but not one between the bandmates themselves: ‘The competition is to find the best idea. In that respect, you’re not competing with anyone” Nate judiciously outlines. There is a genuine affection beneath the bandmates’ interactions, a mutual respect for musical projects both old and new – and, impressively for an indie rock frontman, an eager encouragement towards other bandmates taking the lead on vocals”.

There is a load of buzz and love around Lip Filler. The Indie Scene sat down and spend some time with the band about their new E.P. and where they want to head from here. They are quite new out of the block. I think that what they have produced on their debut E.P. stands them aside for, other bands coming through. Next year will be a big one for them:

“Who or what are your biggest influences?

Always a tough one as it’s a big old melting pot. We each tend to have our own individual influences then some shared ones too — if that makes sense. Nilüfer Yanya, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem and Blur to name a few.

Congrats on your recently released EP. How long did it take to make and did this include any long, late night studio sessions?

All the instrumental tracks we recorded in more or less two days at Narcissus Studio in West London; we had a good few nights doing vocals and tidying things up with St Francis Hotel at his studio. Never too late though as we’re very sensible kids.

Which song within the EP was the most satisfying to make?

Tough question, you’ll probably get different answers from all of us. Gotta be between Cool and Monster Truck though. Cool because it was the first song we released as a demo and Monster Truck because it was the latest song we’d written at the time. So, even though they’re completely opposite reasons: one because we knew it like the back of our hand and the other because it was super fresh and exciting to work on.

Any festivals you’d like to be on the bill for in the near future?

I mean there’s one festival that starts with G that any band would say at this point. Apart from that I guess any and all really, the fun thing about festivals is being able to cut a tiny little slice of whatever city you’re in, ram it in ya gob then you’re off. That’s the fun bit, exploring the country and making weird memories.

What’s next for you guys? Can’t wait to see what’s on the horizon!

We’re constantly writing, recording, making demos and all that good stuff so I guess we’ll have to see. If we come up with anything good we’ll let you know”.

Ahead of a run of dates that happened earlier in the year, FORM got some insight from the band about how being based out of London affects their sound. Lip Filler were preparing to perform gigs in South, North, West and East London. It was a great way of spreading the gospel of Lip Filler. It is clear that their live shows set them out as future legends:

“Ahead of their first of four headline shows across London this summer, we had a little chat with Chess Club’s latest signees Lip Filler about their inspirations, how their live show compares to Madame Tussaud’s and why they decided to play in each corner of the capital this year.

1.     WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE THAT ONE LONDON SHOW WASN’T ENOUGH, AND YOU ABSOLUTELY HAD TO GO ROUND THE COMPASS ON YOUR UPCOMING X4 DATE TOUR OF THE CITY?

In a democratic vote we discovered that the band like the number four more than it likes the number one. We got a bit excited by this and went all out and booked four venues. Later that night right we found a compass, realised it had four points and just laughed in complete disbelief then thanked god

2.     YOU’VE TOUCHED ON THE OVERSTIMULATION OF LONDON LIFE IN PREVIOUS INTERVIEWS, HOW WOULD YOU SAY THIS HAS AFFECTED LIP FILLERS’ SOUND?

I mean when you’re all cooped up in the same place together, I think creative processes can maybe become overstimulating too and I feel that’s kind of reflected in the songs we write. Whether it be structurally or just some wack ass noise thrown in randomly, I think Lip Filler wouldn’t be fillin’ if we weren’t overstimulated 24hrs a day, 7 days a week, 4 weeks a month, 12 months a year, 10 years a decade.

3.     LIP FILLER IS STILL VERY YOUNG, BUT YOUR TWO RELEASED SINGLES (‘COOL’ AND ‘HAIRCUT’) ARE ALREADY DISTINCTIVE WITH YOUR SOUND. DID YOU HAVE A CLEAR IDEA OF WHAT YOU WANTED LIP FILLER TO SOUND LIKE WHEN FORMING?

Haha, not at all. We don’t even know what we sound like now, let alone when we started. We’re still figuring that one out but the best way to do so is just to continue writing bangers. Bangers. Yeah. Mash. Bang.

4.     WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR THE BAND?

The future looks bright with a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow; a rider with pineapple juice, a pack of Sauvignon Duals and pre-cooked Richmond sausages. We also got a busy summer so follow us on Instagram and keep an eye out for our festival dates.

5.     FOR SOMEONE WHO HAS NEVER HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF ATTENDING A LIP FILLER SHOW, WHAT SHOULD PEOPLE EXPECT FROM YOUR UPCOMING LIVE DATES?

Expect: impeccable timing; smiles and fun for a straight 40mins; incredible support acts; George’s frontman-ship; umm pyrotechnics and an all round unforgettable experience comparable to Madame Tussaud’s”.

I am going to finish off now. I know there will be more interviews with the group in 2024. They have had a pretty busy year all in all. Some memorable and killer live sets that have been well received and brought in new fans. On 30th June, from the Shepherd’s Bush flat where the band formed and all live, NME caught they play an intimate gig that was made to sound pretty epic:

“To gain access to Lip Filler’s final date of their Double Decker tour, first you have to meet them in the pub. Fans who have purchased tickets to previous dates of the tour – which encompasses north, south, east and now west London – have been invited to a special secret show in Shepherd’s Bush. When you spot the buzzy, excitable five-piece, they then lead you down the street, into an alleyway, through the store room of a chicken shop and up the back stairs into the flat where they all live and write music together.

Inside, the band treat their humble abode like it’s The O2. A pop-up merch stand (a piece of A4 detailing prices for a few items) is set up in the kitchen, before guitarist Verity Hughes leads NME upstairs to the “cinema room,” which is looping the band’s music videos, tour diaries and more on the TV. “This is the room where we formed,” she tells us, delighting in creating the band’s own folklore at such an early stage.

Across a small number of live shows in the capital and a self-titled debut EP released in May, Lip Filler have developed a reputation as a rowdy, sunny-side-up indie band imbuing their sound and their shows with pure chaos. Inside guitarist Jude Scholefield’s bedroom, they begin their set with ‘Cool’, a track that positions frontman George Tucker as a Jamie T for a new generation, rowdy but thoughtful and always energetic. On ‘Monster Truck’ though, he’s closer to King Krule, sitting on the grubby end of the indie spectrum and letting darkness take over.

PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Mukuze

Across seven songs, including an encore because – miraculously in 2023 – the neighbours haven’t complained yet, drinks are thrown and cigarettes are burned into the carpet in a set of unbridled energy that rarely feels possible in this age. It also helps that Lip Filler want to play way, way bigger venues than this room.

“All the way to the back!” Hughes shouts out of the bedroom and to the cluster of people watching from the landing to encourage a singalong on ‘Monster Truck’, like she’s on the Pyramid Stage. “We’ve been very extra,” a sweaty Jude tells NME with a smile on the back stairs after the show. “We got a smoke machine and a strobe light!”

In August, Lip Filler will move out of the flat that birthed them and disperse across London. With new music coming, this show, which serves as the end of their first era, is a tantalising glimpse into their ambitions for the future”.

A debut E.P. and a growing reputation means that Lip Filler are going to among the groups tipped for big things in 2024. They have already provided their live chops. With songs that are perfect to get crowds going but are also primed for some of the best radio stations around, there is no telling how far they can go! If you do not know about Lip Filler, then do make sure that you check them out now. Next year is going to be one where the five-piece transition…

TO the next level.

______________

Follow Lip Filler

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lipfillertv

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/LipFillertv

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0hPY5LO0VQyjgop1JBsKfQ

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqHeRGNPgKoK-TqOFiaBsVA

Bandcamp:

https://lipfiller.bandcamp.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/lipfillertv/

FEATURE: Restacking the Deck: Whilst There Is Greater Exposure for Women D.J.s, There Is Still a Bias and Imbalance That Needs Addressing

FEATURE:

 

 

Restacking the Deck

IN THS PHOTO: Peggy Gou is one of the world’s most renowned and talented D.J.s

Whilst There is Greater Exposure for Women D.J.s, There Is Still a Bias and Imbalance That Needs Addressing

__________

THERE have been plenty of features written…

IN THIS PHOTO: D.J. Rowena Alice

and testimony from female D.J.s like Annie Mac, we hear that her and her peers are often dismissed. There is tokenism or the sense that they are less talented than their male peers. I am going to come to a feature that DJ Mag published where they listed the one-hundred top D.J.s. You can see that, among their hundred names, there are very few women! I am going to see how gender discrimination exists when it comes to women D.J.s and whether they are being included and celebrated. Whilst there is greater progress regarding the success of and focus on transgender and queer D.J.s - and women D.J.s playing in gay clubs -, is that the story across the board?! If things seem a bit bleak in some regards, the fact that female D.J.s are playing twice as many gigs as their male counterparts suggests that the industry is opening up to their talent and drive. Does this reflect a rare moment of progress and opportunity…or is it the fact that women feel like they have to grind and push that much harder to get enough exposure to get similar recognition to men?! I personally think that the latter is true, though some would say that there is now an improvement regarding recognition of female D.J.s. NME recently reported the figures around the gig ratio between men and women:

“According to a new study, it has been reported that female DJs play twice as many shows as male DJs.

The study from music tech company A2D2, made by using data from DJ Mag’s Top 100, revealed that women may have to work twice as hard as men in order to reach the same recognition as them. A2D2 reported that although only 11 female artists appeared on the list, they account for 40 per cent of the top 10 hardest-working DJs.

A2D2’s research read: “Delving further into the data, we identified that on average female DJs gig nearly twice as hard as the men on the list.”

It continued: “The average number of gigs for a male DJ was 13 in 2023, whereas the female DJ’s average was 23, quite a considerable difference. This speaks volumes about their determination to make a mark in an industry historically dominated by males.”

The data also determined that house and techno were the UK’s most dominant genres in 2023, while German and Belgian DJs were rising in popularity. The music tech company said that their analysis “further identified the dominance of House and Techno in the UK’s EDM landscape as over a third of the DJs analysed specialise in these thumping tunes”.

Like all my features regarding gender equality, I don’t want it to become simply about gender. What I mean is that female D.J.s do not want to be labelled ‘female D.J.s’. They just want to be ‘D.J.s’. Of course, as we are talking about women and opportunities, I want to highlight the fact that there is inequality. Some incredible women D.J.s do need to be given opportunity. Rather than it being tokenism or box-ticking booking a woman to D.J., it should be a case of recognising the wealth of talent  out there. Have things moved on from some dark and sexist days?! I am looking back to a couple of features from 2022 (this, from 2021, spotlighted women D.J.s and music industry figures battling gender discrimination). The first, from The Guardian, talks about Dance festivals and line-ups. I know there are different aspects to D.J.s and where they play. Whether in gay clubs or mainstream festivals, there is a range in fortunes and diversity when it comes to the D.J.s. In 2022, Jaguar spoke about her experiences as a D.J. and how club and festival lineups are overwhelmingly dominated by male artists.

“In the 1970s and 80s, dance music was born from minorities – the LGBTQ+ communities and Black and Brown people in Chicago, New York and Detroit – as a means of escapism and freedom from a world that was not built for them. The disfranchised created a microcosm to express themselves and feel safe. If you look at top-tier DJs and festival lineups in the UK in 2022, however, this doesn’t add up. Calvin Harris, Fatboy Slim, David Guetta – white men dominate the modern electronic scene, mirroring the world we live in, and those not part of the canon face many challenges.

My report, Progressing Gender Representation in UK Dance Music, is a deep dive into the gender disparity among artists within the UK electronic music scene. The seeds of the report were sown during the pandemic, when I became a DJ with no gigs. In a period of reflection, inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests, I questioned what I really wanted from my career.

I found my purpose. On my BBC Radio 1 shows, championing minorities was already a priority, but I wanted to do more to make UK dance music a more equal place for the next generation. In 2020, I launched Future1000 with Virtuoso, a free, online initiative where women, trans and non-binary people aged 12 to 18 can learn to DJ, in an accessible way. While researching the report I couldn’t find many official resources with data about gender in dance music, so the Jaguar Foundation was born and we decided to create our own research and provide solutions to gender inequality.

Through interviews with UK dance music artists, industry heavyweights, and those already lobbying for change in this area, we put together a strong narrative around what the challenges are, and what we can do to accelerate existing progress. This was backed up by plenty of data analysis, looking at festival lineups, radio airplay and the gender of ticket buyers at club nights.

Just 5% of dance songs in the charts were made exclusively by women and non-binary artists. On radio it was 1%

The findings show a lack of diversity in dance music’s live ecosystem, both on lineups and behind the scenes, and how women and – even more so – trans and non-binary people fall victim to not fitting into the “boys’ club”. For me, the most shocking results were linked to more mainstream representation. When we analysed data from the Official Charts Company, just 5% of dance songs were made exclusively by women and non-binary artists. On radio – and this breaks my heart – it was 1%. And regarding electronic festival lineups in 2022, we found that only 28% of the artists are female or non-binary; at larger festivals that shrinks to 15%. How many of those women or non-binary people are the headliners? Hardly any – just look at major festival lineups this summer, where big male headliners still dominate.

One solution we provide in the report is that of the inclusivity rider: a booking contract clause stating that the artist will only play on a lineup if there is least one other woman, trans or non-binary person, or a person of colour, playing alongside them. If everyone had one, especially dominant male DJs, we would see accelerated change. The big male DJs would still get booked, but the lineup becomes more diverse. Diverse lineups lead to diverse audiences; stats show that ticket buyers reflect who’s on the bill.

An inclusivity rider is also important when it comes to safety for women and non-binary people. As a DJ, you’re travelling around at unsociable hours, often alone. Not everyone has a tour manager, booking agent or someone to accompany them. I’ve been in situations where I’ve felt uncomfortable when travelling. I know a DJ whose drink was spiked in the green room at their own show. In the report, DJ Ifeoluwa talks about being punched in a club. They reported it to the bouncer who did nothing. Many of the women and non-binary DJs we spoke to experienced having men jump into the booth and start playing with their mixers. Now some of these artists have a safety clause in their contract stating that no one can be behind the decks during their set.

There are other challenges for women and non-binary people too, such as the added pressure of how they look. Too often I’ve read comments referring to the success of some women DJs being down to their attractiveness. I have friends who dress androgynously when they DJ – or do anything front-facing – because they’re afraid to oversexualise themselves and be judged. During a DJ live stream my friend didn’t wear a bra and all the comments were about her nipples, rather than her performance. It negatively affected her mental health and confidence. It’s exhausting to have to battle through all this every day. When I did my first Boiler Room session this year, I was so nervous – not about the gig, but about what trolls were going to say in the comments.

I hope that Progressing Gender Representation in UK Dance Music becomes a launch pad to make positive change. I would love for CEOs of record labels, venues, or booking agencies to read it and start to question everything, especially the male gatekeepers in our industry. Ask yourself: are the acts on my roster diverse? Am I doing enough to welcome minorities? Are the women and non-binary colleagues being treated with respect? I need you to really look inside, acknowledge the findings, start again if you have to, and do the work”.

If many festivals and clubs still have a long way to go, it is clear that the queer clubs and queer club nights are embracing women. In an industry where female D.J.s have been seen as less technically skilled as men and able, then there are a new wave – such as Peggy Gou, Charlotte de Witte, Arielle Free, Rowena Alice, and Carly Wilford etc. – who are incredible D.J.s and artists in their own right. This article from The Guardian highlights how women D.J.s are getting their dues in some safe and embracing spaces:

“In recent years, there have been greater efforts to establish equality through initiatives such as Smirnoff’s Equalising Music campaign; this year the He.She.They collective are supplying Ibiza’s only lineup with a 50/50 gender balance. Despite this, there are still concerns about the gender pay gap. Every Forbes list of highest-paid DJs since 2012, which also accounts for endorsements and record sales, consists solely of men. “You have the Blessed Madonna working with artists such as Dua Lipa, but financially she’s not getting a look in, and we have to ask ourselves why,” says Paulette, who longs for a “female equivalent to Carl Cox, Pete Tong and Calvin Harris”.

IN THIS PHOTO: DJ Paulette/PHOTO CREDIT: Lee Baxter

The assumption that women are still underappreciated, though, is arguably a heteronormative one: in queer scenes, they’re thriving. McDermott is still heavily involved with Manchester’s queer scene, on Suffragette City, a non-profit night that raises funds for women’s refuge and trans support charities, and all-inclusive festival Homobloc, an extension of longstanding party Homoelectric. “To see such a mixture of young and old, to see all our trans siblings and non-binary kids … I didn’t imagine I would see it in my lifetime,” she says emotionally. “There are still battles to be had, but it’s incredible.”

Paulette has historically been welcomed with open arms in the queer scene with mainstream clubs playing catch-up. “For years I didn’t work on the straight scene at all,” she says. “There were two separate circuits going on.” McDermott thinks this disparity partly comes down to the way women tend to DJ. “Women will often play what they want to dance to, or enjoy, rather than have their heads down and only think about technical stuff,” she says, identifying “an openness about the passion that sometimes doesn’t cut through with [straight] guys.”

In recent years, in part due to livestreaming of DJ sets, there has been an increased emphasis on DJs’ technical ability, and women have often been scrutinised and subjected to sexist comments. Murphy recalls worrying about online abuse in the lead-up to her first Boiler Room set, and even DJs who have emerged in the age of social media are similarly wary. DJ and broadcaster Jamz Supernova, who all three women highlight as someone leading the charge for the next generation, points to a minor mistake she made in a live stream for DJ Mag. “I had one clanger and my thought instantly wasn’t on the people who were there vibing and who didn’t seem to notice, but on the comment section,” she says.

There is also the pressure, often driven by social media, to remain “relevant” to a young audience – but these older DJs refuse to be cowed. “Ten years ago, I was told that no promoter will ever employ a Black female DJ with grey hair,” Paulette says. “I just thought: I’m gonna grow the biggest fucking grey afro and I’m going to work better than I have ever worked in my entire life.” Jamz Supernova says that it’s particularly important to her to be a mother figure to younger artists. “When I was going to raves, [I thought] there were no women,” she says. “Now I’m working my way back historically: it’s not as if they weren’t there, they just weren’t in my periphery.”

Is there yet more work to be done? “We should keep striving forward,” says Supernova. “I’m loving all the amazing south Asian and trans DJs who are appearing more on lineups.” All the women hail the very real change that has been happening in club culture. “There’s been a lot of advancement in the last five years,” says Murphy. “People who have been around for decades are starting to get more notice.” McDermott agrees: “The next generation has got it. I think they’ll be all right”.

There are incredible women out there. From amazing Black women D.J.s to a list of the women D.J.s too good to be ignored, there is definitely a lot of talent out there! That new finding about women playing many more gigs a year than men shows that there are opportunities. Does that indicate the fact they still have to push that much harder just to be heard, or is it more of an improvement?! There is no doubt of the calibre out there in terms of club D.J.s. From Rowena Alice and Peggy Gou, through to Charlotte de Witte and Alison Wonderland, through to the queens that are succeeding in the gay club scene, I wonder why we still have features like this - and those that seem to suggest men are dominating when it comes to quality. As an addressment and tackling of gender inequality, there are female collectives. This is aimed at ensuring bills do not have just one woman – a ‘token woman’ –, and that there is more balance. Something I have not mentioned too is that, when you have gender imbalance and one female D.J., there is that lack of protection. I recently reacted to a song by Georgie Riot, Something Something and Ruth Royall called Dark Days. It is a song that talks about violence against women. Experiences so many women D.J.s have faced. There is still so many cases of women being sexually assaulted whilst they perform. In such loud and often packed spaces, it hard to police these crimes - and yet they do not to be confronted. D.J.s like Rebekah are fighting against this through Dance music. In addition to inequality, there is also that danger women face during and after their sets. Mingling or working their way through the crowds, they are vulnerable to abuse.

IN THIS PHOTO: Ruth Royall

This article states why there need to be collectives for women. So that there is not a sole woman D.J. on a line-up at a club or festivals. There is also that protective nature. A chance for collaboration and demonstration of the incredible and varied talent that is out there:

“But why is this the case? Seemingly, other areas of the music scene do not display this same level of sexism. Yet as a whole, the backbone of the industry is certainly male-dominated, with females making up a mere 2.6% of music producers, hence why female DJs remain so under-represented. This has led to the perception that there aren’t actually many women interested in DJing, when in reality the industry is not actively trying to give these women visibility.

The result has been a drive for all-female collectives. Paving the way for this collaborative stance was Nancy Noise and Lisa Loud in the UK’s Second Summer of Love in the late 80s. With the rise of acid house and the electronic scene, these DJs stood out as two of the few women visible within this culture.

Rather than being a lone DJ, a trend has emerged where women’s success as DJs is dependent on these collective strategies.

PHOTO CREDIT: Yasin Aydın/Pexels

Female collectives seek to be an empowering force, focusing on diversity and inclusivity for women in the scene and highlighting the importance of strength in numbers for representation. These collectives have initiated conversations that have been crucial to change yet also highlight the sad reality that they are needed in the first place.

This need for female collectives can be contrasted to the unspoken collectives which male DJs partake in. Whilst male hegemony has meant male collectives are not a necessity for their visibility, male DJs nonetheless form gender-based alliances. Upholding their dominance in the scene, these DJs tend to publicly support their male friends, which contributes to all-male set lineups. This exclusivity has been acknowledged by many female DJs who claim these unspoken male collectives are what dominates the field. Often, being a DJ proves to be about who knows who, and an unwillingness to branch out in recognition of new female talent.

In light of these all-male lineups there is an overwhelming need for balance as it is not enough to just have one girl on a lineup where they become the ‘token’ female DJ.

MC Lioness has spoken out on this issue. As one of the leading ladies in grime, the self-named Lioness argues that although her skills match that of any of her male counterparts but in being one of the only female MCs she is often presented as a ‘token’ female MC.

To be the singular woman on an otherwise all-male lineup is not only daunting but leaves these DJs exposed to verbal and sexual harrassment when performing. London born-and-raised Sherelle exemplifies the need for collectives in order to battle this tokenism and to feel safe and supported when playing events. Until recently Sherelle was part of 6 Figure Gang, a collective joined together by friendship and a mutual affinity for all things bass. It is this collaboration which helped Sherelle to find her own voice in the scene”.

There is a lot to unpack still. It is evident there are so many incredible women D.J.s. Of course, it shouldn’t be able gender and dividing. However, at a time when there is still imbalance and less recognition compared to male D.J.s, there needs to be changes. Polls are being published that still list male D.J.s as superior and essential – whereas women are in the minority. For so long, the decks have been stacked against women. Environments where they are subjected to abuse and assault. One or two women on a bill. With news that women are getting more gigs than men and there is this drive and determination, perhaps things will change soon. It shows that there is this culture where women have to fight and play longer. An industry still imbalanced. Let’s hope that next year is one where there is a…

RESTACKING of the decks.

FEATURE: Get Your Sh!t Together… Issa Rae’s Power Critique of the Music Industry and the Way It Debases Black Women

FEATURE:

 

 

Get Your Sh!t Together…

IN THIS PHOTO: Actor Issa Rae’s series, Rap Sh!t, both celebrates and highlights the razor-sharp wit and warmth of Black women in Hip-Hop, in addition to showing how they are debased and consumes them/PHOTO CREDIT: Cass Bird for ELLE

Issa Rae’s Power Critique of the Music Industry and the Way It Debases Black Women

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I recently wrote a feature …

 IMAGE CREDIT: Max

around rapper Megan Thee Stallion and how there was a lot of misogynoir around her when she said she was shot by Tory Lanez (who is serving a ten-year sentence for shooting her). The fact that many thought she was lying. This sort of questioning of credibility is something that a lot of women face daily. It is rife in the music industry. Being belittled, gaslight and abused. Black female artists face it more than anyone else. There seems to be this discrimination and unflinching misogynoir that has been present through Rap and Hip-Hop for a while now. It seems that there is no rest for Megan Thee Stallion. Someone who is always being called out and discredited. She is not the only example of a Black woman in Rap getting this sort of treatment. In a music scene that treats Black female rappers often as side characters, the confident and incredible powerhouses like Megan Thee Stallion and Trina are influential and empowering women around the world. I will come to some research and words I might have already used for that Megan Thee Stallion feature. This may not seem like the most festive feature – as it is Christmas Eve! -, though it is important to tackle misogyny and misogyny through the music industry. It is my thoughts again as actor Issa Rae (who recently appeared in Barbie) highlights the insidious nature of the music business. The way Black women, especially throughout Rap, are debased dehumanised, disbelieved and demeaned. Rap Sh!t shines a spotlight (or blacklight, given the grubbiness on display) on an industry that needs to clean itself up and tackle its discrimination and disrespect against Black women. From the start, it is important to point out that is a drama/comedy and not a documentary. It features fictional rappers and their story (though I think there is a touch of City Girls to them), though it is an accurate and relatable portrayal of what Black women in Hip-Hop face. Written by and starring Aida Osman, there are episodes directed by Amy Aniobi and Ava Berkofsky (and starring RJ Cyler).

I usually quote chunks from articles. On this occasion, as The Guardian’s feature about Rap Sh!t has so much important detail, I will leave it unedited. It is alarming learning what Black woman through Hip-Hop have to endure. How they are perceived. A lack of respect. Maybe the scene is not as bad as it was years ago. It is clear there is still a very long way to go:

“Actor and writer Issa Rae once called the music business “probably the worst industry I’ve ever come across”. In a 2021 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Rae criticized the business as “abusive”, full of “crooks and criminals”.

“I thought Hollywood was crazy. The music industry, it needs to start over,” Rae said.

Rap Sh!t, Rae’s latest series since her critically acclaimed Insecure, acts as a fable on the music business’s insidious nature. The dramedy, following two emerging Black female rappers, is a razor-sharp and hilarious study on how Black women navigate the industry and the cost of carving out space for one’s self. Now in its second season, Rap Sh!t provides a stinging critique of how the music industry consumes and debases Black women, while also offering a hilarious and heartfelt story of two underdogs pursuing their dreams.

The show follows two up-and-coming female rappers from Miami, navigating the underbelly of the music industry while figuring out early adulthood. Shawna (Aida Osman) is a hotel receptionist, trying to build a legitimate rap career. She is frustrated on multiple fronts: the stagnation of her artist following and the pressure she faces to use her sexuality to inspire attention.

While talented, clips of her delivering socially conscious raps in a mask only garner pithy likes. “I want people to focus on the lyricism,” Shawna quips, when asked why she hides her face.

Mia (KaMillion) is a single mother working three jobs, including a popularish OnlyFans. Compared to Shawna’s sanctimoniousness, Mia embraces her sexuality and the pleasure that comes with it. But she struggles with her own feelings of being adrift, especially in the face of balancing parenthood and her aspirations. When the two reconnect on a night out, they write the ever-catchy song Seduce and Scheme. Once it goes viral, Shawna and Mia embark on a tour with tour manager and sex work manager Chastity (Jonica Booth).

Rap Sh!t emerges as Black female rappers continue to dominate the airwaves, from Miami duo City Girls to Megan Thee Stallion. Their music is empowering and fun, with lyrics that embrace the freedom of being sexual, feminine and dominant as the world tries to dictate otherwise.

Spliced with videos from Instagram and Tik Tok, season one focused on the currency of clout as a tool (and detriment) for emerging artists to be seen. But season two sinks into an even darker terrain. Having now achieved the “dream” of a tour, Shawna and Mia are met with the rotten core of the music space.

The writers of Rap Sh!t confidently touch upon a kaleidoscope of issues, including clout, cultural appropriation and misogyny within rap. Reina (Kat Cunning), a white rapper, gains more notoriety than Shawna and Mia, despite having less talent. She is able to cosplay as Black, hairstyle and all, a wink to known racial chameleons like Iggy Azalea.

Music producer Francois (Jaboukie Young-White), who invited both women on the tour, treats them as pawns, grabbing on their coattails to ride their wave of success while passing them off as soon as another opportunity emerges.

The show also continues Rae’s legacy of delivering hilarious, realistic portrayals of Black women. For five seasons, Rae starred in Insecure, which followed the daily lives and romantic relationships of Issa (played by Rae) and her best friend Molly (Yvonne Orji). The show was rightfully described as groundbreaking for its rejection of cliche and its attention to the everyday disappointments that mark real life.

Rap Sh!t also includes Rae’s attention and reverence of Black female friendship. Shawna and Mia are frequently each other’s last defense against the toxic treatment of the music industry, especially in the face of abusive men. Between stops on tour, they share details of their sexual and romantic relationships, sleepover-style.

But the show also includes grittier topics of poverty, abuse, and mental health. Shawna, Mia and Chastity all struggle to make ends meet while embarking on what is supposed to be a life-changing tour. Even those who have “made it” are notably miserable as their turn with fame and success proves to be poisonous.

Rap Sh!t feels ever more relevant amid the real life degradation of Black female talent, including the assault of Megan Thee Stallion and the subsequent mistreatment of her. It acts as a mirror and interrogation of these events, an engaging and funny depiction of how the music industry really “works”.

We live in a time when I think a lot of women in Pop are less sexualised and expressive than before through fear of abuse and misogyny. Being judged, shamed or criticised for being explicit or simply confident. This is definitely happening in Hip-Hop! Affecting incredible Black female rappers who are using their music to feel liberated and celebrate their bodies. Linking to Rap Sh!t and the misogynoir in the industry, I can bring in this feature from earlier in the year. Alongside this wave of Rap queens defiantly embraced their sexuality comes those who turn it against them:

“Women in rap have been making music about their bodies and sexual endeavors since its inception. In a new era of sexual liberation and body positivity, contemporary female rappers ranging from Megan Thee Stallion and Latto to Sexyy Red and Sukihana are channeling the fearless candidness of their predecessors, unapologetically expressing their sexuality and desires on tracks that have also become some of rap’s biggest hits in recent years. Despite this, it’s been unfortunate and frustrating to see some people use these artists’ hypersexualized personas against them, particularly in excusing abuse and unwanted sexual advances from men.

This problem came to a head this week, when videos surfaced of YK Osiris forcing himself on Sukihana for a kiss at the Crew League basketball tournament in Atlanta. In clips shared online, it’s clear that she’s shocked by his advances and is trying to dodge them, but no one helps her. Amid these clips going viral, a video from a three-month-old episode of Kandi Burruss’ Kandi Koated podcast surfaced, with the clip showing Burruss’ co-host A1 making aggressive sexual advances toward Sukihana.

Although visibly uncomfortable in the interview, Sukihana tries her best to navigate it, laughing off A1’s advances and even telling him he’s being aggressive. Still, the co-host doesn’t get the hint, instead continuing his advances and arguing that Sukihana liked them, with no one coming to the rapper’s defense.

In 2022, Latto shared how she dealt with sexual harassment leading up to the release of her debut album, 777. During an appearance on Big Boy’s Neighborhood, the rapper alleged that one of the people featured on her album initially wouldn’t clear the song because she wouldn’t respond to his advances.

“It’s a feature on my album that was difficult to clear. They’re trying to drop their nuts on me because I won’t respond to a DM,” she said. “We think like, ‘Oh, well that just comes with the game being a female rapper.’ No it shouldn’t, though. You know you ain’t doing that to your fellow male rappers!”

Although she never revealed who harassed her, many speculated that it was Kodak Black who she was referring to (he appears on the track “Bussdown”), who denied it was him on social media. Shortly after this, Latto suggested that she regretted bringing up the matter during an appearance on The Breakfast Club, saying: “You hear, like, ‘Oh, female rappers have it harder.’ But I really wanted to give a little insight as to what specifically makes it harder for a female rapper. I didn’t want it to distract from the music or anything, so I kind of wish, in a way, I didn’t say that.”

But women in this industry and beyond shouldn’t have to be afraid or regret speaking a necessary truth, and calling out wrongs done to them. It’s clear that there’s still a double standard when it comes to women rappers who are autonomous in their sexual expression, with their hypersexualized personas seen as a justification for the abuse they face. But, as Sukihana succinctly put in an Instagram post following the incident with YK: “I am human, a woman, a mother and daughter before I am an entertainer. No matter what my lyrics express, I still have boundaries and a right to have them”.

I am going to wrap up soon. Tying this to the theme of misogynoir and abuse Black female Hip-Hop artists face – and the fact the industry is not really acting on it -, it is worth coming back to Megan Thee Stallion. A case of a high-profile artist who faces so much scrutiny and doubt regarding her version of events and story during the Tony Lanez trial. A stereotype of Black women pervades. That they are promiscuous, deceitful and teasers. It is worth reading this Vox article from August. The pain and critique that Megan Thee Stallion faced and suffered. How the trail is over – her pain is very far from over. The music industry have to answer a lot of questions and make efforts to implement #MeToo and a campaign against abuse and misogyny aimed at Black women:

“Megan is also being scrutinized. Whether it’s the pause she took before she answered Gayle King’s question about whether she was intimate with Tory Lanez or people questioning why she was on the cover of Forbes or why she wrote an op-ed in the New York Times or why she went out partying “too soon” after she was shot, her every move in the past two years seems to be watched and policed. Can you talk about the level of scrutiny she’s been receiving since she made the allegations?

The criticism she received for pausing after Gayle asked her that question is an extended metaphor. Why can’t she have a pause? Can she have a moment? Everything she’s doing at this moment is being examined. She’s not the one on trial. She’s not the one that’s being brought before the criminal legal system. He is. And yet, every single movement, blink, gesture, or decision that she is making is under this very powerful microscope has the ability to reshape the narrative.

The pause in that moment, I think she might have just been caught off guard by the question. And having to disclose your sexual life — it really is no one’s business. Because even if she were intimately involved with Tory, even if she had said yes, there’s nothing that changes about what that violation is. And had she said yes, that would have been a confirmation for folks of all of these other narratives that she’s jealous and lying. The conundrum that a lot of Black women victims and survivors of intimate violence face is that, no matter the outcome, they will forever be under this microscope. And not only that, folks will make jokes, and malign and vilify these women to make these women the ones who are accountable for harm, and not the person who harmed them.

I’d like to talk a little more about the stereotypes about Black women that we’ve seen emerge in this case that are being put onto Megan. We’ve already talked about some of them, like Black women as hypersexual jezebels. And then there’s also the idea that she is aggressive and angry, aided by her “Black” facial features and skin complexion. I’ve seen people argue that Megan had to have done something to provoke Tory, whether that was to hit him or berate him. Megan has even had to come out and say she didn’t first assault Tory that night. How has this stereotype factored into how this case is being treated?

The stereotypes abound in this case. It’s a terrible storm of these racialized gender stereotypes of Black women. It’s about her size, Blackness, and womanhood that are being put on display here and being used to say that she is the aggressor. We heard that with Chris Brown and Rihanna — that because she’s a West Indian woman, she had to have been beating on him first. With Megan, we’ve heard the “she’s so big and he’s so small” narrative that plays into this physicality argument that’s being made about her. Even with her saying this is what happened that evening, people latch onto these problematic narratives that are rooted in stereotypes that Black women are loud, angry, and they put their hands on you. People have claimed that Tory was just defending himself. These stereotypes about Black women endure, and there’s no grace or compassion.

And there’s no sense that Tory could be lying. We don’t even have a framing or a term for how we think about distrust of men in the way that we do for women. There is this framing of women as irrational and emotional, which is viewed as a negative. At the same time, it’s impossible for the general public to imagine Tory having an emotional response that night and acting out of that emotional response. His emotionality isn’t put on trial. No one is really asking, why do you think the gun even came out? Or what does it mean for him to be in that space? What is the emotional geography of what happened in that car?

IN THIS PHOTO: Megan Thee Stallion/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

And in thinking about Tory’s emotional response in that way, it seems like the public also doesn’t have the range to fathom that such violence could have actually happened to Megan. It seems that people can’t process or aren’t even trying to process the allegation that someone could have just pulled a gun out and shot at another person’s feet, saying “Dance, bitch!” according to an LAPD detective. This, despite the many examples of this kind of violence taking place against Black women and despite Megan showing photos of her foot with bullet fragments, among other evidence that’s so far available to the public. What do you make of that?

When I talk to people about the data around the prevalence and pervasiveness of violence against Black women, their jaws drop because they don’t really conceive of it as an everyday occurrence. But it’s something that’s a part of so many Black women’s experiences that it becomes very easy to dismiss this case as spectacular. And so they treat it as something to choose a side on. That’s a misguided approach because the side that we all need to be on is ending interpersonal and intimate violence. We don’t want anyone harmed. And there are more layers to this; not only are some people saying Tory wasn’t the one to harm Megan, but they are also saying she just wasn’t harmed at all.

The broad consideration here is that 40 percent of Black women at some point in their lifetime will experience some form of physical violence, quite often in an intimate or interpersonal context. That is a significant number. Megan has now become part of a club no one wants to belong to — the club of millions of Black women historically and contemporarily who have faced non-fatal assaults, and in some cases fatal assaults. I think getting people to understand the gravity of this problem, the reality of interpersonal violence, and its frequency is an important part of this work.

This case comes at an interesting time in our country, in which Me Too backlash is real. What final thoughts can you share with us about where we are as a culture when it comes to violence against women and violence against Black women? And what might this case’s outcome mean for discourse going forward?

It’s important to note that these are artists of a particular generation, so everything is online. Megan came forward with what happened to her on Instagram Live. That is a marker of the times. This is also happening post-Me Too, so of course there is backlash and the idea that we have gone too far. We are seeing that retrenchment in real time, and it’s occurring alongside the growth of incel movements. We tend to think of that movement as white, but we are seeing Black men in these spaces who are committed to this hatred of Black women and women more broadly. This case sits at a nexus of these various movements, both progressive and regressive colliding. The outcome of this case and the responses to it will tell us a lot more about where we are and what it means to go forward.

Watching this case unfold, I’m sure it’s only made Black women and girls less assured of coming forward given what’s at stake. But this might also move some women to come forward, since Megan came forward despite the onslaught she has faced. Those are both possible. The outcome of this case will also further reveal our very ambivalent and complicated relationship with the criminal legal system, guilty or not guilty. The way we respond in this moment is very telling. There is a selective way that we deal with the criminal legal system when we want it to dole out what we believe is justice. Because there is a Black person on both sides of this, the faith we have and the lack of faith we have in the criminal legal system will be put on display in a very robust way”.

Isaa Rae’s words, “I thought Hollywood was crazy. The music industry, it needs to start over,”, really sting and are powerful. Rap Sh!t does explore and highlight abuse that women face. It also highlights how there is this supportive and wonderful friendship. The vibrancy and vivid personalities that add so much colour and brilliance to conversations and the music. That is what needs to be celebrated and prioritised. Black women across Hip-Hop not judged when they are sexual and confident. This toxic attitude that is levied at them. You can see from the video above why the #MeToo movement has not reached Hip-Hop. Not much allyship at all from men happening. That initial thought of a Hip-Hop #MeToo was five years ago. There needs to be new support and call for one! Rap Sh!t, in addition to showcasing bonds and the amazing relationship between Black female rappers, you also get the darker side of the industry and how they are treated. There are so many things that need to happen next year regarding women in music. In terms of parity, opportunities and the way they are treated, more needs to be done to protect and listen to women. Help bring about changes in the way they are (mis)treated and represented. Misogynoir and abuse against women in Hip-Hop is a real problem. Tackling that is something that needs to be…

ADDED to the list.

FEATURE: To Watch in 2024: Ego Ella May

FEATURE:

 

 

To Watch in 2024

PHOTO CREDIT: Jelani Pomell

Ego Ella May

__________

BECAUSE the mighty…

Ego Ella May has been on the scene for a little while now and I already know about her music, rather than include her in Spotlight, I thought it is best to highlight her as someone who will make big steps in 2024. The music she has put out already is absolutely stunning! Her latest E.P., FIELDNOTES PT III, is one of her very best. She is a supreme talent that everyone should know about and listen to. I am going to start with an older interview and come to something more recent. First, here is some biography about Ego Ella May:

“Ego Ella May is a British-Nigerian award winning singer-songwriter and musician. Hailing from South London, the critically acclaimed artist has an all-encompassing love of music, which she channels into her own genre blending R&B, neo-soul and contemporary jazz compositions.

At the heart of Ego’s writing is a deep passion and respect for jazz. Touching on her writing process and her connection to her craft, she explains: “Everyone’s ears are so different, so I let them be the judge, but the root of it all is jazz. I write what’s on my mind, or if I have a burning desire to write. My favourite quote is “you have to read, to write” so I spend a lot of time reading novels, poetry and books about my history”.

Ego Ella May has a high level of admiration for people who show their vulnerabilities through music, and uses this as a source of inspiration; “It’s so easy to lie to yourself and others, so I really admire people who have the audacity to be truthful”. Her songwriting takes influences from equal measures of reflective moments of solitude and conversations with friends which she demonstrates with effortless power in each unique voicing.

The fast rising talent is quickly building a noteworthy catalogue of releases including her impressive debut LP HONEY FOR WOUNDS, a soul-tingling blend of Jazz, R&B and Neo Soul vocal musicality. Incredibly honest self-penned, personal and observational lyrics are laced with tales of self-healing, protest, love and loss, global issues and more. This is all set to a sonic backdrop crafted with some of the most exciting creatives including Alfa Mist, Theo Croker, Eun, Melo-Zed, Oscar Jerome, Joe Armon-Jones (Ezra Collective), Wu-Lu, Eddie Hick (Sons of Kemet), Maralisa (Space Captain), Tom Excell, Andrew Ashong and more.

This release led to her taking home the Best Jazz Act award at the 2020 MOBO Awards, and also made an impressive debut on COLORS TV, performing “In The Morning” and “Girls Don’t Always Sing About Boys”). Tracks from ‘Honey For Wounds’ have been featured in Issa Rae’s ‘Insecure’, Netflix’ ‘Sex Education’ + ‘Dear White People’, Oprah Winfrey’s OWN series ‘Queen Sugar’, BBC comedy ‘Dreaming Whilst Black’ and many more.

Following the release of the deluxe release of her debut album in June 2021, a win at the 2021 JAZZ FM Awards (Best Vocalist), several features + writing credits for the likes of Ari Lennox, Theo Croker, Kojey Radical and many more as well as a sold out headline UK tour, Ego also released 2 parts of her critically acclaimed EP series - FIELDNOTES (FIELDNOTES PT II received a 5 star review in the Telegraph newspaper)”.

Honey for Wounds is one of my favourite albums from 2020. At a time of lockdown and separation, the music of Ego Ella May was very important for so many people. I thought it was worth going back to then and her chat with CLASH. I think it was 2020 when I discovered her music. I was instantly struck by it! A distinct and hugely powerful voice that infuses the senses. Another reason I am featuring her now is I believe that 2024 will be her best year yet. Many still do not know about her music. Honey for Wounds is a good starting play if you are new to Ego Ella May:

“Do you still feel the album is a suitable vessel for your creativity?

100%. It’s a collection of songs, isn’t it? One that focusses on how you’re feeling a certain period of time. I think albums are super-important, still… although I guess that could be argued, given how many people opt for singles! But I do think having an album as that body of work and collection of songs is still super-important, and it can convey who you are… as one thing. This one project can be like: this is me, here you go… please listen to it!

The album itself feels very defined. You used the phrase ‘music to heal to’, in fact.

I think particularly on this project I really had to focus on it. But then again, I’ve found music really healing for me. I’ve always been a fan of music, just an active listener from when I was super-young. I’ve just always known the power that music has – to heal you, to inform you, to make you cry, to make you happy. So many different emotions that music can spark. For my album, I really think it definitely changed me as a person. It definitely contributed to my healing journey, and it’s important for me to say that because – and especially now – a lot of people are looking for an escape or a way of healing, and I think the album may help with that. I’m happy it came out in this time. People have found it calming, and that’s the effect I want.

There’s a number of guests on here – how to do you choose who to bring in?

Well, luckily everyone that helped me with this album are just friends of mine. It’s been an interesting process because some of the songs are actually years old… and it was formed with me going to the studio with one of the producers, and we’d sit there and be like: OK, what do we want to talk about today? It was a really organic process.

Some of the times where I’m starting out on a guitar, they’ll step in and help me to develop it. Sometimes we’re literally jamming… like, there’s a whole band in the room and we’re singing what we can come up with, and we’re topping up the best bits and working with that. Other times, it’s like an actual beat that I’m working with… so I have to stick to the beat! But it just varies.

One of the things I love about this album is that they’re no set way of doing something. Each song has a different story, and a different way of being made… and that was important, as well, it was nice to do things in a different way each time.

Is the process really about being truthful to the song, then?

Oh completely. It’s nice to not exactly have a set way of doing things, it’s more about being true to it. Let’s just make this song happen in the way that it’s supposed to, but we’re not going to force it in any way. It was very free.

Do you think as a creator you’re always tapping into some form of psychic energy?

I do think of it as psychic energy, yes. To be fair, I’m very tapped into what’s going on in the world. Well, sometimes… and sometimes I have to take myself away from it because I do find it overwhelming. I’m an over-thinker, so I tend to think about the state of the world, and also self-care.

All these things that pop up into my mind that then turn into songs… I find that when I release then it really holds weight with a lot of listeners because it’s so honest, and it’s my truth… which isn’t far off from the collective truth, I suppose. It’s always a topic of discussion.

It was the same sort of thing when I wrote ‘Girls Don’t Always Sing About Boys’ or ‘How Long Til My Home’. All of my singles have come at the perfect time! It’s been very strange, but it’s also made me engage in the conversations we’re having right now.

‘Table For One’ feels a little more personal…

It’s the one that’s always going to be closest to my heart… just because of how it came about. And it was just all of us getting into the studio – me, Joe, Oscar, Eddie, and Wu-Lu – and we were just jamming. We just said: let’s go studio, jam, and see what happens. And then afterwards me and Miles chopped up the best bits of the jam, and ‘Table For One’ was this beautiful instrumental right in the middle of the jam, and I wrote around it.

That’s how it came about – it was about trying to find your independence after being forced out of a relationship. Trying to find a way to do all the things that you usually do as a duo, but then doing it by yourself. It’s such a different self. Even ordering for yourself as a restaurant – it’s so daunting, but also a really independent thing to do. It’s about navigating the steps that come after being in a relationship. It’s about being by yourself and being OK with that.

To wrap things up, where do you go from here?

I feel like I can definitely wrap up this chapter in my life. I’ve always wanted to make an album, release it on vinyl… and I’ve accomplished all that. It’s been ticked off my bucket list now!

So now I’m embracing a lot of the feedback and continuing on with more songs, and making a plan down the line once I have more finished songs. I have quite a few that are in demo stage, so it’s hard to say what I’m going to do with them. I’m just taking my time, enjoying make music, and letting people enjoy the album!”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Whistles

I will soon come to her new material and some of the press around that. There have not been that many new interviews from Ego Ella May. Most of them have been from 2020 and 2021. I hope there are more chats with her next year. One of the best artists we have right now. Someone who has many years ahead of her. I was interested in this interview from Whistles. There was an emphasis on Ego Ella May’s style and fashion - though there was some query and curiosity around her phenomenal music:

“How did you get into music?

I have always been a huge fan of music and my dad was really into it – there was always music in our house. I started experimenting with SoundCloud and things naturally progressed from there. I built up a following and then I released an EP – I took it slowly. After the EP, I took a step away from music for three years before returning.

The album that changed your life?

It would have to be Hotter Than July by Stevie Wonder. He’s been my unofficial singing teacher. I used to listen to his music over and over again, taking note of the riffs and everything he does with his vocals.

Have you seen him live?

Yes! It was unbelievable. I saw him in Hyde Park in 2010 and he was headlining this festival. I went to queue up at 6am and tickets were around £50, which would never happen now.

How would you describe your sound?

Alternative, soul and jazz – those are my favourite genres and I think my music dips into them all.

Where does your inspiration for lyrics and melodies come from? Are you influenced by current affairs, literature and culture?

Definitely, all of those things. A lot of my inspiration for lyrics comes from conversations I’ve had with people though, which has been challenging in the past year. I’ve missed those organic and interesting conversations that keep me inspired. I’m also constantly reading and that always influences how I write.

Dream musical collaboration?

I want to say Frank Ocean but I don’t know where he’s gone? He always disappears! I would say him though, if I could find him. He’s very mysterious, isn’t he?

How do you stay motivated and inspired?

Nowadays, mostly, I just try to accept when I’m not feeling motivated or inspired. That helps me much more than trying to force motivation, as that can lead to frustration. I try to just accept those moments and wait for them to pass.

I’ve never heard anyone say that before when I’ve asked about staying inspired and motivated – it’s very refreshing to hear.

Honestly, it’s a game-changing shift of mindset”.

One of my favourite singles from this year has been Undone. Taken from FIELDNOTES PT III, it is a beautiful and wonderful song. We can relate to its lyrics and inspiration. CLASH got the inside track around this brilliant cut. Again, if you are someone unfamiliar with Ego Ella May, then do ensure that she is a priority artist. One that you will keep close to your heart:

“South London musician Ego Ella May marks the end of her ‘FIELDNOTES’ collection with the towering soul of new single ‘Undone’.

Produced by Lvther, ‘Undone’ is a musical safe space gesturing forward to new beginnings. Inspired by the book I May Be Wrong by Bjørn Natthiko Lindeblad – a Swedish business executive who swapped his career to become a Buddhist monk for 17 years – Ego memorialised its core message of lucid living and reinvention.

Ego says: “It’s about letting go of control, ditching the facade that so many of us find ourselves latching onto, the question of what would happen if we simply left it all behind and started again…it’s possible! When I read that book, it opened up so many possibilities and helped me remember that I can start again whenever I choose! This song marks a new beginning for me and simultaneously the closure of FIELDNOTES in a way as I wrap up this chapter, and I knew I wanted to lead with this one”.

I don’t think enough people reviewed FIELDNOTES PT III. An incredible E.P. whose songs should be played across radio, she has been continuingly championed and featured by the likes of BBC Radio 6 Music. I do know that 2024 will be a busy one for touring. Taking this new music to the people. This DJ Mag article highlights some words and personal insight from Ego Ella May about the final FIELDNOTES E.P. It is such a fabulous work that I would recommend to everyone:

“Ego Ella May has released her new EP, ‘FIELDNOTES PT III’.

'FIELDNOTES PT III' was preceded by the 'Higher Self' and 'Undone' singles, and 'Take It Easy (Miles' Song)', produced by Wu-Lu. This new EP marks the final instalment of the British-Nigerian artist's 'FIELDNOTES' series.

“This is the third and final part of the FIELDNOTES project that I started in lockdown, and so much has changed. So many lessons have been learnt and put into this music, but the best part is that I’ve been lucky enough to work with my friends on this project; Dougie Stu, LVTHER, Sam Posener and Wu-Lu.

"I’ve co-produced three out of the four songs and I’m incredibly proud of that.
It’s about coming back to yourself time and time again, it’s about love, it’s about growth pains and it’s about listening to your inner voice. God speaks in whispers. I can’t wait for you to hear this!” she says”.

An artist I have liked for a long time now, I feel that next year will be among her most successful. A treasure of an artist that sounds like nobody else. Do follow Ego Ella May. I am looking forward to see what she has in store for 2024. With the incredible talent inside of her and that wonderful music under her belt, this captivating artist will…

GROW and grow.

____________

Follow Ego Ella May

Official:

https://www.egoellamay.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/egoellamay/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/egoellamay

Bandcamp:

https://egoellamay.bandcamp.com/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7ANeFdhioipksT9lqg0Ay6

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/user/egoellamay

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/EgoEllaMay

FEATURE: Spotlight: swim school

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

swim school

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THERE is quite a bit…

to unpack and explore when it comes to swim school. One band that are bound to be big names in 2024, I have only recently discovered their brilliance. The trio make such phenomenal music that sort of blends in some '90s sounds and older touches with something fresh, vibrant, urgent and nuanced. A stunning cocktail that is a big reason as to why they are being heralded and championed as ones to watch. They have been on the scene a while now but, as a band who were making their early steps during the pandemic, they have really started to get into focus and the spotlight this past year or so. One change is that they are now a trio after starting their life as a quartet. I cannot really include old promotional photos for that reason (I would recommend checking out their cover version of a brilliant Deacon Blue song from a while back). Before carrying on, here is some more detail regarding the incredible and must-hear swim school:

“Based in Edinburgh, Swim School are a 3 piece, indie-pop band made up of Alice Johnson (Vocals/Guitar), Lewis Bunting (Guitar) and Matt Mitchell (Bass). Announced in 2019, but having originally formed at the end of 2018, Swim School already host an eclectic collection of songs featuring the inspired tones of The Cure, Wolf Alice and The Night Café.

They dived into Scotland’s burgeoning indie scene with their debut single ‘sway’ which turned heads and attracted the attention of both Vic Galloway and Janice Forsyth at BBC Radio Scotland, Tenement TV, Record of the Day, The Sun Newspaper and Jim Gellatly at Amazing Radio. Since then Swim School have released the singles ‘take you there’ and ‘too young to know’ which have been equally accredited”.

I am interested in this interview, as Alice Johnson discussed swim school’s duality E.P. She was also revealing how she experienced misogyny at gigs. How there still is this poisonous attitudes towards women. DORK got more insight from an amazing lead and one of the most captivating voices in new music. Part of a band who are going to have a very busy and successful year ahead:

“You’ve just released your new single ‘Delirious’, about misogyny – what is it that drew you to putting those experiences into a song?

We had a busy festival season last year, so we were constantly working with new sound engineers and people who work in music, and I had more bad experiences than good. I encountered a lot of sexism, rude comments and lack of respect from the men we worked with. As a woman in the music industry, I have experienced misogyny before but never so consistently over a short space of time.
When we would show up for festivals, I would feel so excited yet so anxious about how I was going to be treated each time. Constantly being disrespected and talked down to started to have an effect on me – it got to the point in which I felt like I wasn’t good enough. 
The turning point was when I was in the hotel room with the boys after one of our festival sets and just feeling so angry – I’d had enough. I knew that I deserved to be on that stage as much as the boys in my band, so I said to them, “I want to write a really angry, heavy song about misogyny so I can channel all my anger into it. I also want to put my guitar down and just be on the microphone, as that would be a statement.” And, of course, they were keen, so we started writing when we got back to Scotland the next day.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rory Barnes

Was it important for you to tackle the issue head-on? Now at least you have something to play in soundcheck if someone is being a dick, right?

For me, it is so important to tackle these issues that affect me because I know that they affect others. There is something comforting in hearing that someone else is and has gone through what you are going through. I truly believe that sharing your experiences can help others overcome similar experiences. When it comes to sexism and misogyny, there is no easy way to avoid it. I noticed at times, these men would come up to me when the boys weren’t close so they could make their comments whilst I’m alone and in a vulnerable situation. It is never a nice experience; at first, you feel like crying, then you have this anger, but also the moment’s passed, so there’s not much you can do. The sad thing is that it felt like a routine for me – but now I have a song to show for it and to show that they will never stop me from doing what I love.
It’s funny because now if we ever have a bad experience with a sound engineer during soundcheck, I turn to the boys and say that, “‘Delirious’ is going to go off tonight”. A positive in getting pissed off before playing that song live is that it makes the performance even more energetic and angry – it feels therapeutic. It also feels good to take a bad experience and channel it into something productive rather than letting it destroy you and your confidence.

Are there any songs by other artists that tackle similar issues that have resonated with you?

I actually think writing ‘Delirious’ was the first time I didn’t have a song that I wanted to use as reference – all I knew is that I wanted big guitars, big drums and heavy synths. The fact I had all this anger built up already meant we wrote the song so quickly. I wrote all the lyrics in the space of 10 minutes – they came so naturally.
One song that I could have taken inspiration from would be ‘Rebel Girl’ by Bikini Kill when it comes to the song’s energy, anger and passion. The song is about the support and inspiration you feel from other women, and that is an aspect I want to include in the music we write.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rory Barnes

It’s from your new EP, ‘Duality’ – how long have you been working on it for? What was the timeline like?

I actually wrote the chords and lyrics to our first single from the EP, ‘Kill You’, in my bedroom last February. I showed it to the boys, and they loved it, so we finished writing it together with the plan to release it as a single. We then started writing more songs, and before we knew it, we had a body of work that we loved, so we decided to postpone the release of ‘kill you’ and record the EP.
We created it with producer Iain Berryman – we can’t put into words how amazing and talented Iain is. He brought out a new side of swim school’s sound, and we can’t thank him enough. We recorded the whole EP in London which felt so surreal for us and felt like a massive step up – we honestly loved every second of the experience, and now we can’t wait for it to be out.

You’ve got two angry songs and two love songs on the EP Which do you find easier to write?

Definitely the angry ones. ‘Kill You’ was the first love song I had ever written, and then I wrote ‘Don’t Leave Me Behind’ after. Both these love songs share the aspect of feeling vulnerable whilst being and falling in love, yet I feel so vulnerable releasing songs about being vulnerable. I get embarrassed writing about love songs, yet I find it so easy to write about mental health – I’m not sure why, haha”.

I will come to some more detail and depth regarding duality. First, that METAL interview that I mentioned. It is a fascinating discussion. Against, that discussion around misogyny and sexism cropped back up. Something important to tackle in music. It is also something more men in the industry should speak up against. It is being mainly left to women to highlight:

“Congratulations on your recent releases – your second EP, Duality and newest single, Bored. How has it been since these songs dropped?

It’s been crazy! We really pushed ourselves in the studio and worked hard to get these songs to sound the way we envisioned them. We worked with Iain Berryman, who is so insanely talented, and he brought out a new confident side to Swim School which you can hear in the EP.

Bored was released as a surprise single. What about the song made you want to keep it a secret until its release?

The EP was basically finished, we went into a songwriting session with Bored and fell in love with its meaning and sound. After talking with management and our label, we decided to add it onto the EP, and I’m so glad we did!

PHOTO CREDIT: Rory Barnes

Furthermore, it was released about two weeks after Duality was. This seems so soon to be putting out new music after the release of an EP. Why did you choose to do this instead of including Bored in the initial EP?

So Bored is technically part of Duality, but we liked the surprise aspect of putting it out after we released the EP. As a band we like to keep things interesting and keep our fans on their toes, which is why our songs never sound the same. We love changing up sound and bending the rules, we never want to be just one genre.

Do you think the later release of Bored took away from people to give the proper time to appreciate Duality?

No, not at all. Like I said previously, it keeps everything exciting. Our fan base has grown so much this year, and they have been so supportive that we thought why not, they deserve another song. I personally think it went down so well with the fans.

Bored is somewhat of a song that builds upon ideas talked about in the song Delirious, one of the tracks in Duality. There’s a clear correlation between the single and the EP. Could you tell us more about it?

Our songs represent events that have happened in our lives over the year. Delirious was so relatable to so many of our fans that it actually empowered me to continue to stand up against misogyny and sexism. With Bored, I wanted it to have a more positive outlook on the situation. I wanted it to be all about confidence and empowerment.

One motivation for your music is the inner-industry misogyny. Are there specific instances or social patterns that you’d like to share that inform the kind of music you create in response to this injustice?

The main inspiration behind Delirious was the constant sexism I encountered from male sound engineers during festival season last year. Although it’s mainly a middle finger up to sound engineers, to me, it has evolved to be about misogyny and sexism in general, not just the music scene. When I’m writing lyrics, I try to be direct with the subject, but also not too detailed, so the listener can relate to the lyrics with their own personal experiences.

Your style is obviously very indie-infused and pop-influenced. Additionally, it seems somewhat anger-driven, rightfully so. From your first EP to now, you are strongly leaning into that indie pop, punk rock type feel. How would you describe your style? And how do you see it evolving further as you continue to create?

We are definitely less pop-influenced than when we first started the band. In our early stuff you can hear that heavier side to us whether that’s in the middle section of Sway or the intro of Too Young to Know. I think it’s always been within us, and we have found that confidence to create this sound we love. For me personally, I found my voice through certain experiences in my life, and I feel confident enough to write about them and perform them, and that’s probably why they are anger-driven.

How do you see the music you like inform your own approach to songwriting?

The reason our sound as a band is so diverse is that we each have our own personal music tastes and preferences, but we also share the love for so many bands. This means when we are writing we can agree on what we love, yet bring our own unique elements to the songs”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Rory Barnes

Going to another DORK feature, and we got a rundown and exploration of duality from swim school. Giving us the stories behind the songs. There is no doubt that they are going to conquer loads of incredible stages next year:

“I saw the quote, “Duality is a situation in which two opposite feelings exist at the same time”, and that described the EP perfectly. The songs are based on experiences that I have gone through. The fact that you can feel contrasting feelings at the same time can be confusing and take its toll on you mentally, but I find that writing is the best way to cope with it.

KILL YOU

‘Kill You’ is about being in love and wanting to spend the rest of your life with someone. It’s about the confidence you feel when you are in a good relationship, and you feel comfortable enough to show your vulnerability. I didn’t want it to be your stereotypical love song either, which is why I chose the title ‘Kill You’ – it almost contradicts what the song is about.

DELIRIOUS

2022 was our busiest year yet as a band as we travelled the whole of the UK playing new venues, cities and festivals. Playing all of these gigs meant we were constantly meeting and working with new sound engineers, but not every encounter was good. I experienced a lot of sexism; I was constantly disrespected and patronized, which led to me feeling like I wasn’t good enough. Instead of letting it get to me, I decided to write ‘Delirious’ and reminded myself that insecurities are the root of sexism.

BORED

‘Bored’ is a follow-up to ‘Delirious’ – the way I see it is that ‘Delirious’ is talking about experiencing sexism, and ‘Bored’ is what I’ve learnt and the confidence I found when I finally started standing up for myself. It’s a powerful song which is a middle-finger to others who don’t support you and talk behind your back. Again, the song is very much tongue-in-cheek lyrics, making something positive out of the negative.

DON’T LEAVE ME BEHIND

We wanted to write our own version of those cheesy, early 90s love songs, and I think we nailed it. It contains a lot of synth, which gives that floaty, loved-up feeling. The gang vocals at the end is one of my favourite parts of the song as it adds to that 90s feel.

‘Don’t Leave Me Behind’ is the emotions you feel when you meet someone you have a genuine connection with, but you don’t know where you stand with them. You think that they feel the same as you, yet you aren’t sure, and your mind can’t stop thinking about them.

OVER NOW

‘Over Now’ is about someone toxic finally leaving your life and them not having a hold over you anymore. The person promised you the world but ended up treating you badly. It’s about telling them that you finally see them for who they really are, that you no longer need them and how much better you are now.

The repetition of the words “it’s over now” is you not believing that it’s really over, and you are trying to convince yourself by saying it over and over. The song ends with the same dynamic it started with – it starts soft and with just vocal and guitar and ends with just the vocal too. The repetition gets harsher and anger as it builds, yet it comes down to just one vocal at the end, representing that alone feeling after the toxic person has left. The song goes through a lot of different emotions- anger, relief, sadness and happiness”.

There are plenty of massively positive reviews for duality. Here is DORK giving their views. It is one of the best E.P.s of this year for sure. There is a review from Atwood Magazine that I want to bring in before getting to some new buzz and celebration for an amazing band. If they are not on your radar then they really should be. I really love what they are putting out:

“Swim school, the Edinburgh hailing trio consisting of frontwoman Alice Johnson, guitarist Lewis Bunting, and drummer Billy McMahon, recently released their third EP, titled duality.

And it is honestly genius, as it works to dissect themes of love and life in four songs. What might be the most genius thing about this EP is that while it is a dip into an utterly dreamy landscape exploring love and life, the collection holds two anger driven songs and two more lighthearted tracks. Splitting the album perfectly and living up to its namesake.

Leading off the EP is “kill you,” and with Alice Johnson’s angelic vocals paired with the atmosphere generated by the backing instruments, this little tune envelopes you in a safety blanket. With a bright twinkling sound and large spacious guitars ebbing and flowing behind and around Johnson’s vocals the landscape story that is told in this song is utterly beautiful.

Looking at the lyrics, this track tells a story about the security of knowing that you have someone to grow old with no matter what life throws at you, “Ooh, I wanna have you with me / When days are old, our looks have faded / If you’re not there, well, I’ll be waiting.” It is lovey-dovey in the best way, shedding a positive light on the prospect of growing old with someone you hold dear. Additionally it may be noted that in following the theme of duality, the band juxtaposes violence with kindness as the song states in the first verse, “And if you were to go and leave me on my own / I think I’d kill you in the nicest way I could”.

I am going to end by, once more, returning to DORK. They are huge fans and supporters of swim school. No surprise they just inducted them into their Hype List 2024. This is their picks for artists set to dominate next year. It is clear that swim school are going to be among the most exciting and promising groups making big steps throughout 2024:

“How do you even begin to describe the year that Swim School have had? Support slots for Pixies, Lovejoy and Inhaler, slammed-out festival tents, releasing one of the best EPs of the year in ‘Duality’ – and all while working day jobs. Their year is far from done, too, as they take to the road again in December with The Amazons across the UK. Guitarist Lewis Bunting is chomping at the bit to get out there. “Their first album was so important for me musically, and we’re getting to go to a whole load of places we’ve never been before, so I can’t wait!”

Swim School aren’t the first band to work multiple jobs while trying to find time to write and play live, but it’s hard to think of anyone working as hard as them right now. “We get back home mid-December; we’ll probably take a few days off then be back in the studio,” levels frontwoman Alice Johnson. “It’s the Hannah Montana lifestyle,” she jokes. “We don’t care about making millions; we just do it for the love of music, and if we can do that full-time, then that’s the dream, really”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Grace Equi

There are so many signs that their gruelling schedule is paying off, especially with regard to the band’s confidence in their ability and their trajectory. Not only have they personally been through a rollercoaster of a twelve months, but they’ve had to put up with a lot of external pressures that they frankly wouldn’t get if they had a male lead singer, particularly when it comes to comparisons with other female-led bands. “I get less of it now,” Alice reveals, “but it’s like women can’t be original or talented in their own right. It’s just such lazy misogyny, it’s like, ‘Oh, you must be inspired by them because she’s a woman’.” The fact that these comparisons are dying off, though, shows that Swim School are now icons in their own right.

Confidence is oozing from this band, more so now than at any other time in their history and it’s reflected in both their writing and live shows. 2024 promises another new body of work, their fourth multi-song release in as many years, but this one brings with it a real sense of ownership and self-assuredness that can only spell great things for the new year.

Struggling to not give too much away, Alice teases that “it’s more inspired by 90s shoegaze. It’s more energetic, heavier, more mature, and more genuine.” Lewis agrees, adding: “It’s just us saying what we want, the way we want to do it. It’s the music we’ve always wanted to release.”

“We don’t want to be the next ‘insert female-fronted band here’. We want to be the first Swim School.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Grace Equi

Their newest work will not only feature a super personal, stripped-back moment but also harks back to the band’s roots by re-releasing an earlier track. “We went into the studio when we originally released the song and weren’t comfortable enough to say ‘no’ to producers. But now, we’re using the original room record, so it’s the way it’s supposed to sound.” Taking their cues from Alice’s long-time idol, Taylor Swift, they’re not only taking charge of their own future, but they’re also entering their superstar era.

Outside of the studio, their nonstop live schedule will kick back into top gear, with a UK headline tour on the cards. “We’d love to get back over to Europe. We had so much fun over there, and of course, we’re manifesting Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds!” says Alice. Festival season this year gave the band a host of “pinch me moments”, not least making a main stage debut at Glasgow’s TRNSMT Festival, with their family and friends in the front witnessing them take the leap into the upper echelons of today’s immensely exciting guitar-rock scene. “It’s so hard to imagine what’s next. Everything’s so good already; how can it get better?”

So, basically, 2024 is going to be another huge year for Swim School. Alice knows that “all my lyrics are really depressing”, but at the band’s heart is a genuine love for what they do and for each other, which allows them to be bold, brash, and brilliant.

“We don’t want to be the next ‘insert female-fronted band here’. We want to be the first Swim School.” If 2023 was the confidence boost Swim School needed to climb up to the high board, then 2024 will be the year they dive off it into stardom”.

They raise interesting points regarding gender. It does seem like a lot of people mentioned ‘female-fronted acts’ like it is tokenism. A novelty. Something special. As they say: they just want to be a band, without gender being the issue. It is important to highlight, though, that they are fronted by Alice Johnson, as festivals still struggle to include enough women. So too do radio playlists. For that reason, then there does need to be focus around the fact that there are great bands led by amazing women. In all other senses, swim school should be highlighted because they are a brilliant and tight group making the best music you’ll hear. It will be an exciting year for them coming up. After a stellar 2023, they will have some time to recharge before heading back onto the road. Out into the crowds next year. Summer festivals, new music and so much to look forward to. If you have not discovered this amazing Edinburgh trio, then do go and investigate further. The brilliant duality is a wonderful E.P. that everyone needs to hear. No doubting the fact that swim school are on their way to becoming legends. Nothing is going to stop that. A terrific and hugely talented young band that…

WE can all be very proud of.

____________

Follow swim school

 PHOTO CREDIT: Grace Equi

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/weareswimschool/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@weareswimschool

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/weareswimschool

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7hC74DRW4q3obXLB5lTq4F

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyW4fU6YXtK2iglP1cb3djw

Bandcamp:

https://weareswimschool.bandcamp.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/weareswimschool/

FEATURE: Bells for Her, Cornflake Girl: Tori Amos’ Under the Pink at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

Bells for Her, Cornflake Girl

Tori Amos’ Under the Pink at Thirty

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ONE of the best albums…

in one of the best years for music, Tori Amos’ second studio album, Under the Pink, was released on 31st January, 1994. I think it is a perfect start to a truly historic and remarkable year. Following the successful 1992 debut, Little Earthquakes, Under the Pink showed even more sides to one of music’s true originals. It was prefaced by its first single, Cornflake Girl, on 10th January, I wanted to spend time with a classic album. Recorded between February and October 1993, a truly wonderful thing was released into the world in 1994. To mark thirty years of Tori Amos’ remarkable second album, I wanted to go deeper inside. I will bring in a couple of the many impassioned reviews. Amos produced the album alongside Eric Rosse. Including some of her best-known songs – among them, Pretty Good Year and God -, this is an album that is still being played and talked about to this day. It is baffling to see that there were a few mixed reviews for Under the Pink when it came out. Maybe a backlash against an album whose sound was very different to anything around in 1993/1994, it is almost impossible to fault the remarkable music. Even deeper cuts like Cloud on My Tongue are startling and brilliant. With Tori Amos being this singular songwriter who was not embraced by quite as many people as she should have been in 1994, some even think Under the Pink is underrated or forgotten. I would not say that…yet there is an argument to suggest Under the Pink is not as revisited and celebrated as much as other albums from 1994.

Maybe not as concise as Little Earthquakes – Under the Pink is fifty-six minutes long -, it moves away from tackling the patriarch towards female betrayal (the way women betray one another). If most diehard Tori Amos fans favour her debut to sophomore album, there are a lot of wonderful reviews and praise for a really important album. Taking Tori Amos fully to the mainstream. A distinct and established artist who would continue to release amazing album. She is still recording to this very day (her most recent album, Ocean to Ocean, was released in 2021). There are some articles about Under the Pink out there I want to bring in. I shall start with a 2012 feature from Spectrum Culture. They write why this stunning album deserves a second look:

“Tori Amos’ 1992 solo debut, Little Earthquakes, served as the first step in a revisionist negation of her beginnings with Y Kant Tori Read. That synth pop outfit offered occasional hints of how she might develop: “Heart Attack at 23” has a sweet piano intro and features Amos’ expressive phrasing. But the band’s pop veneer was too thick and both the music and the band experience chafed. While Little Earthquakes offers more musical depth and expressiveness than Y Kant Tori Read, her second solo album, Under the Pink, is where Amos truly defines her artistic voice.

In particular, her piano steps forward, enveloped in richer, orchestral arrangements and she perfects an oblique writing style that hints at the stories behind the songs rather than telling them outright. Where Little Earthquake’s “Me and a Gun” told a straight narrative with a powerful simplicity, the songs on Under the Pink are cloaked in metaphor, augmented by the music. On “Bells for Her,” the dark, hollow sound creates a sense of doom and inevitability. The lyrics acknowledge this, “Can’t stop what’s coming/ Can’t stop what’s on its way,” but otherwise the thread of the story is hard to unravel. In interviews, Amos has said that the song refers to a break with a good friend that never healed. Rather than explain that overt message, the arrangement conveys the feelings behind the story with a brittle vocal and chiming tones that are vulnerable with regret.

This use of masking has become central to Amos’ writing style. On the one hand, her voice is deeply expressive and the songs feel like private gems of personal experience. But even as she confesses or exposes herself, she cloaks the revelation in metaphors that soften the focus on the details. It’s never clear whether this is to give the songs a broader stage or to distance herself from conflict or pain. Outsiders perceive that disconnect as a kind of shallowness. They dismiss her as a less experimental version of Kate Bush and it’s true that both women are singer/songwriters with a history of classical piano. But fans appreciate that Amos hasn’t shielded her internal perspectives as much as Bush. They find a sense of depth in the layers of metaphor. They surrender themselves to the emotional truth of the songs and accept that the lyrics may never deliver clarity.

Aside from developing her artistic voice, Under the Pink explores themes that confront gender role and religious expectations. This is another aspect that alienates some listeners. Amos takes a strong feminist position in her writing, but rather than becoming strident, she generally finds ways to surprise. So, on a song like “Baker Baker,” she reverses the stereotypes. Instead of the man, she’s aloof and unable to commit and it’s costing her the relationship: “And he tells me I pushed him away/ That my heart’s been hard to find.” But even as she describes herself in that situation, her perspective is more nuanced. She’s torn and regretful about the loss even as she accepts the truth that she couldn’t have faked her way through that commitment. The track is overtly sentimental, with Amos’ tortured, emotional vocals and the orchestral accompaniment, but the song survives the schmaltz.

By contrast, “God” jolts the listener with casual blasphemy. Condescending to God, she compliments His daisies but scolds Him for His absence. The funky groove crosses Steve Miller’s “Fly Like an Eagle” with “One Thing Leads to Another” by the Fixx. Spiky shards of guitar chaos rip loose in the spaces around the choruses, like a guilty voice in Amos’ brain reacting to her heresy. This kind of feminist response to patriarchal Christianity becomes another common thread throughout her work. Unlike “Baker Baker,” the risk isn’t about her feelings; it’s about making her disdain public.

Much like her first solo album, Under the Pink establishes a soft-loud dynamic shift, alternating from song to song. But even the softer tunes have their jarring moments. The first track, “Pretty Good Year,” eases in gently. The delicate piano and Amos’ aching voice are wistful and the added strings increase the poignancy. Still, the piano hints at darkness every now and again by toying with the song’s key signature. Just as the tune seems to fade down to an open, twinkling piano line, angst spews out like a lanced wound: “What’s it gonna take,’til my baby’s all right?” This blindly grasping frustration is the heart of the song’s undercurrent of loss. Amos clearly chose her opening track carefully to lull the listener with pretty piano and strings only to disrupt complacency with that hot flash of tension. When the sweet sound returns, it can’t be fully trusted. This becomes Amos’ stage persona as well. Loose and flowing, attractive and talented, Amos nurtures hidden edges and darkness underneath which she allows to surface periodically for effect”.

Maybe Little Earthquakes is more instant in terms of its revelations and meanings. Under the Pink is a more complex album that requires you to immerse yourself in it. An affecting and moving album that lingers long in the memory, Dig! explored why this album has such a lasting and huge impact. A fascinating album where Tori Amos explored the inner world. Rather than what is happening on a surface level, she explores something deeper. Revealing, honest and personal, I am still blown away by Under the Pink:

“If the raw, confessional Little Earthquakes was a diary, Amos considered Under The Pink, which was released on 31 January 1994, to be closer to an impressionistic painting. Or, in another analogy she used, if she offered herself “naked” to the world in Little Earthquakes, Under The Pink involved putting on some clothes. That’s not to say her second album – which went on to hit the top spot in the UK charts and has sold more than two million copies – is not deeply personal. “If you ripped everybody’s skin off, we’re all pink, the way I see it,” Tori told Performing Songwriter in 1994. “And this is about what’s going on inside of that. That’s what I’m really interested in, not the outer world but the inner world.”

To tap into the inner world, Tori and Eric Rosse – her then producer and partner – headed to New Mexico to record the album, where they set up in an old hacienda they called The Fishhouse. “Thanks to Bösendorfer for making the best pianos in the world, for sending one special ‘girl’ out to us in the desert,” Amos wrote in the album credits.

“YOU HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT TO UNDERSTAND IT”

While Little Earthquakes found Amos wearing her heart on her sleeve, listeners might have to work harder to deduce the meaning of Under The Pink. In a liner note for the 2015 deluxe release, Noah Michelson writes about the songs’ “intimately coded and sonically experimental mazes”. As Amos explained to Keyboard magazine: “I had this whole thing going where I liked codes and going with your senses. It was a bit of a maze, and you as a listener had to work to find out where we were going. Little Earthquakes was a bit more voyeuristic. You could sit back and watch this girl go through this stuff. You can’t on Under The Pink; you have to go through it to understand it.”

Cornflake Girl – the album’s biggest hit – is a case in point. With its catchy chorus, the earwormy track might sound deceptively cheerful, but it was born from a conversation about female genital mutilation. “How women behave toward each other within the global culture of patriarchy is the discussion that the song Cornflake Girl wanted to take part in,” Amos wrote in her book Resistance. “My friend Karen Binns and I were talking about the idea of betrayal,” she explained in a liner note to Under The Pink’s reissue. “Raisin girls were the girls that wouldn’t let you down. Cornflake girls were the mean girls.” Released as Under The Pink’s first single, in 1994, and featuring gospel singer Merry Clayton on backing vocals, the track reached No.4 on the UK singles chart, establishing itself as one of the best Tori Amos songs in the process.

“YOU DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT MY ROLE IS… I FOUND THAT REALLY FUN”

Amos’ second Top 10 hit in the UK, Pretty Good Year was another multi-layered song with enigmatic references to Lucy – the skeleton discovered in 1974 who became a household name – and Greg “who writes letters and burns his CDs”. Speaking to The Baltimore Sun in 1994, Amos recalled how the song was inspired by a missive from a fan in the UK: “It was a pencil drawing. Greg has kind of scrawny hair and glasses, and he’s very skinny and he held this great big flower. Greg is 23, lives in the North of England, and his life is over, in his mind. I found this a reoccurrence in every country that I went. In that early-20s age, with so many of the guys – more than the girls, they were a bit more, ‘Ah, things are just beginning to happen.’ The guys, it was finished. The best parts of their life were done. The tragedy of that for me, just seeing that over and over again, got to me so much that I wrote Pretty Good Year.”

It’s a song that starts demurely, with the cascading crystal-clear notes of Amos’ Bösendorfer piano, but transforms, as so many of Under The Pink’s songs do, into something angrier and more personal when Amos sings: “Well, hey/What’s it gonna take/’Til my baby’s all right?” “You don’t really know what my role is,” the artist mused. “Am I Lucy, or am I that eight bars of grunge that comes out near the end where I express, and then nothing, everything else is Greg’s story? I found that kind of really fun.”

“THOUGH I CAN’T CHANGE WHAT HAS HAPPENED, I CAN CHOOSE HOW TO REACT”

While her first album took on the patriarchy, Under The Pink turns its attention to the way women betray each other – not only in Cornflake Girl, but on songs such as The Waitress and Bells For Her. “So I want to kill this waitress,” begins the former, unequivocally. “She’s worked here a year longer than I.” Amos is too interesting an artist to ever be one-note, though; there’s humour in the almost-shrieked chorus: “But I believe in peace/I believe in peace, bitch.”

In Bells For Her, Amos reassesses a female friendship: “And now I speak to you, are you in there?/You have her face and her eyes/But you are not her.” In an interview with the Dutch music magazine OOR, Amos said the song marked “one of the most emotional moments on the record, because it handles the end of a friendship”. The track was, as Amos revealed to Creem, “written and recorded exactly as you hear it. The lyrics came in that moment. It was almost like a trance, how that song came.” It was also the only song on Under The Pink not to be recorded on the Bösendorfer, but instead “an old upright that Phil [Shenale, string arranger] and Eric [Rosse] demolished or made better, I’m not sure,” Amos noted in an album credit.

She explores female pleasure, too, in songs such as Icicle, another track with a seemingly-innocent opening that explodes into something else entirely: “And when they say, ‘Take of his body’/I think I’ll take from mine instead/Getting off, getting off/While they’re all downstairs/Singing prayers…” It’s not the only song on the album that sees the daughter of a Methodist minister return to challenging the religion of her childhood. Famously, the single God garnered plenty of controversy with its shrieking guitars and rat-filled video, but Amos’ lyrics are almost friendly when she sings: “God, sometimes you just don’t come through/Do you need a woman to look after you?”.

There are some reviews I want to highlight before I finish off. In 1994, Rolling Stone were perhaps not quite prepared for that mix of challenging and raw mixed with the more intimate. With very few artists around like Tori Amos in 1994, it must have been an unexpected and unusual experience tackling Under the Pink. You can see how this album has impacted artists in the years since. Many who have taken influence from Under the Pink:

“Under the Pink, Tori Amos‘ second solo album, continues the singer/songwriter’s exploration of her life’s journey from the confines of a strict religious upbringing to personal and artistic freedom. She is armed with an attention-grabbing mezzo-soprano and lyrics that can kill with a turn of phrase. And Amos is still unsatisfied. God, parents, boyfriends, girlfriends, herself: No one escapes judgment.

Once again, Amos accompanies herself on piano, with drums, bass and guitar assisting; the occasional string arrangement or synth is added for not-so-subtle effect. Amos’ piano, more often than not, is deceptively soft; her voice drips with bitter disappointment or fills with paranoid self-awareness, as on the opener “Pretty Good Year,” an apparent paean to idyllic childhood in which Greg, the young protagonist, “writes letters with his birthday pen/Sometimes he’s aware that they’re drawing him in.” Her acoustic bent is well served on the album: The piano is not hidden beneath grandiose group arrangements as it was on her previous outing Little Earthquakes (1992), and her quirky hesitations and sudden shrieks are more in tune with the emotional states of her characters. Under the Pink still doesn’t match Amos’ riveting, piano-only live performances, but it sure comes close.

Amos acts as narrator throughout the album’s 12 vignettes, switching from first person to third person and back. The strength of her convictions (or the terror of her lack of them) can be off-putting, but typically her lyrics are more intimate than intimidating. On “God,” one of the album’s (relative) rockers and its first single, she proclaims simply: “God, sometimes you just don’t come through/Do you need a woman to look after you?” “Bells for Her” has a vaguely yuletide air (the piano notes ring like chimes), but it is anything but cheery. Girlhood friends face the adult games of love, war and death with a strange, existential hope. There is fantasy violence (on “The Waitress,” Amos wants to murder a flirting, inattentive waitress); molestation and rape (“Icicle”); deception (“The Wrong Band”); and expectation and anxiety (“Baker Baker”).

Under the Pink is Amos’ honest reporting of a life fraught with turmoil and disappointment. Can it take her beyond her devoted cult to greater popularity? Possibly. The album is focused, the lyrics quirky and personable, the melodies eccentric enough to entice and simple enough to be catchy. Those qualities — and her emotional fearlessness — make Tori Amos a musical find to treasure”.

I will finish with AllMusic and their impressions of Under the Pink. On 31st January, 1994, Tori Amos followed up an album that was a success in the U.K. but less so in the U.S. Under the Pink reached twelve in the U.S. It went to number one in the U.S. Perhaps audiences here more embracing and understanding of Tori Amos’ sound and vision:

“Tori Amos' second full-length solo effort has often been considered a transitional album, a building on the success of Little Earthquakes that enabled her to pursue increasingly more adventurous releases in later years. As such, it has been unfairly neglected when in fact it has as good a claim as any to be one of the strongest, and maybe even the strongest, record she has put out. Able to appeal to a mass audience without being shoehorned into the incipient "adult album alternative" format that sprang to life in the mid-1990s, Amos combines some of her strongest melodies and lyrics with especially haunting and powerful arrangements to create an artistic success that stands on its own two feet. The best-known tracks are the two contemporaneous singles "God," a wicked critique of the deity armed with a stiff, heavy funk-rock arrangement, and "Cornflake Girl," a waltz-paced number with an unnerving whistle and stuttering vocal hook. While both memorable, they're actually among the weaker tracks when compared to some of the great numbers elsewhere on Under the Pink (other numbers that more openly misfire are "The Waitress," a strident and slightly bizarre rant at such a figure, and "Yes, Anastasia," which starts off nicely but runs a little too long).

Opening number "Pretty Good Year" captures nostalgia and drama perfectly, a simple piano with light strings suddenly exploding into full orchestration before calming again. "Bells for Her" and "Icicle" both showcase what Amos can do with prepared piano, and "Past the Mission," with Trent Reznor guesting on gentle, affecting backing vocals, shifts between loping country and a beautifully arranged chorus. The secret winner, though, would have to be "Baker Baker," just Amos and piano, detailing the story of a departed love and working its cooking metaphor in just the right way”.

Recorded in Taos, New Mexico in a hacienda and at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, there was mixed fortunes for the singles on Under the Pink. Cornflake Girl went top five in the U.K. and was a worldwide success. God did not perform that well (though it hit number one on the US Alternative Airplay (Billboard) chart. Pretty Good Year went to seven in the U.K ., though it looked like it did not chart in the U.S. Past the Mission was top-forty in the U.K. The fact that Under the Pink was a commercial success and is still discussed and loved to this day proves that it has incredible nuance and importance. It has the unenviable task of standing alongside the best albums in 1994! Such a breathtaking work from an iconic songwriter. When it turns thirty on 31st January, I know there will be new inspection and consideration of Under the Pink. I think it definitely stands out as one of the very best albums from a…

PRETTY good year.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: The MOBO Awards 2024: The Shortlisted Artists

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Little Simz is nominated for several MOBO Awards (including Best Female Act)

The MOBO Awards 2024: The Shortlisted Artists

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IT is that time of year…

where we are starting to get award ceremonies announcing shortlists for 2024. One of the most essential dates in the calendar is the MOBO Awards. Taking place in Sheffield on 7th February, they celebrate some wonderful and hugely important artists across multiple genres. Although there are some genres and categories not represented – Ambient, Reggae and some sub-genres deserve a little more love -, there is a good balance and sense of scope. In spite too of some notable omissions this year (Lorraine James missed out; Hak Baker should be in there), there is a mix of wonderful established acts and newcomers standing alongside one another. What I wanted to do is finish on a playlist with songs from most of the artists who have been shortlisted. There are entertainment categories as well - but, as this is a music blog, I shall stick with a music playlist and let that be my main focus. Maybe a separate feature on that in the coming weeks. The Guardian provide details of who has been nominated in all categories:

“Little Simz and Stormzy have topped the nominations for the 2024 Mobo awards, which celebrate Black music in the UK and beyond.

Each of them are up for album of the year with LPs that bring symphonic, gospel-infused heft to rap: Stormzy for his heartfelt and ambitious This Is What I Mean, and Little Simz for her surprise-released No Thank You. Both are nominated in the gendered best artist categories, while Stormzy has a nod for video of the year and Little Simz is one of 10 nominees for best hip-hop act.

Pop artist Raye’s career renaissance continues – after she was left in limbo for years by a major label, she released her album My 21st Century Blues independently and to huge success, with the track Escapism reaching No 1. She is also nominated in artist, album and song of the year categories. J Hus (another album of the year nominee), PinkPantheress and Central Cee also get three nominations each.

Ezra Collective, the jazz ensemble who won this year’s Mercury prize, could make it a brace with a nomination in the album of the year category. Rounding out the category is Potter Payper, whose album Real Back in Style reached No 2 in the charts while the rapper was jailed at Pentonville prison in London – he has since been released.

A vintage year for the song of the year category sees four all-star team-ups – J Hus and Drake, Central Cee and Dave, PinkPantheress and Ice Spice, and Raye and 070 Shake – go up against Stormzy’s Hide & Seek and Jorja Smith’s summer anthem Little Things. Smith is also nominated for best female act alongside Raye, PinkPantheress and Little Simz, plus R&B singer Mahalia and girl group Flo.

Central Cee and Dave face off against each other in the best male act category despite releasing a hugely successful collaborative EP together, topped with global hit Sprinter. As well as J Hus and Stormzy, the category is rounded out with rappers Nines – who has hinted at retirement – and D-Block Europe.

The award ceremony will take place in Sheffield for the first time. Awards founder Kanya King said: “What makes Sheffield unique is that there is a rich underground scene with talent yet to break through, and with the community outreach the Mobo awards always does, the hope is to engage with and elevate that underground scene.”

The awards, founded in 1996, will take place on 7 February, with highlights broadcast on BBC One.

Mobo award nominations 2024

Best male act
Central Cee
Dave
D-Block Europe
J Hus
Nines
Stormzy

Best female act
Flo
Jorja Smith
Little Simz
Mahalia
PinkPantheress
Raye

Album of the year
Ezra Collective – Where I’m Meant To Be
J Hus – Beautiful and Brutal Yard
Little Simz – No Thank You
Potter Payper – Real Back in Style
Raye – My 21st Century Blues
Stormzy – This Is What We Mean

Song of the year
Central Cee & Dave – Sprinter
J Hus – Who Told You (ft Drake)
Jorja Smith – Little Things
PinkPantheress & Ice Spice – Boy’s a Liar Pt 2
Raye & 070 Shake – Escapism
Stormzy – Hide & Seek

Best newcomer
Ama Lou
AntsLive
Debbie
Jayo
Nippa
No Guidnce
Rimzee
Strandz
Tamera
Tunde

Video of the year
AntsLive – Number One Candidate (dir Tom Emmerson)
Enny – No More Naija Men (dir Otis Dominique)
Jords – Dirt in the Diamond EP1: Mobay ft Tay Iwar / Stay Close ft Kranium (dir Renee Maria Osubu)
Little Simz – Gorilla (dir Dave Meyers)
Stormzy – Mel Made Me Do It (dir Klvdr)
Tion Wayne – Healing (dir Wowa)

Best R&B/soul act
Bellah
Jaz Karis
Mahalia
Ragz Originale
Sampha
Sault

Best hip-hop act
Avelino
Clavish
Digga D
Enny
Fredo
Giggs
Little Simz
Loyle Carner
Nines
Potter Payper

Best grime act

Bugzy Malone
Duppy
Flowdan
Manga Saint Hilare
Novelist
P Money

Best drill act
Central Cee
Headie One
K-Trap
Kwengface
M24
Russ Millions
TeeZandos
Unknown T

Best international act (US)
Doja Cat
Drake & 21 Savage
Travis Scott
Ice Spice
Latto
Lil Uzi Vert
Nicki Minaj
Sexyy Red
SZA
Victoria Monét

Best African music act
Adekunle Gold
Asake
Ayra Starr
Burna Boy
Davido
Libianca
Rema
Tyla
Uncle Waffles
Wizkid

Best Caribbean music act
Byron Messia
Destra
Kabaka Pyramid
Popcaan
Shenseea
Valiant

Best jazz act
Blue Lab Beats
Cktrl
Ezra Collective
Masego
Reuben James
Yazmin Lacey

Best alternative music act
Alt Blk Era
Arlo Parks
Deijuvhs
Kid Bookie
Skindred
Young Fathers

Best electronic/dance act
Aluna
Nia Archives
PinkPantheress
Salute
Shygirl
Tsha

Best producer
Info
Kyle Evans
M1onTheBeat
P2J
Steel Banglez
TSB

Best gospel act
Annatoria
CalledOut Music
Guvna B
Limoblaze
Tofunmi Adorna
Triple O”.

If you are unfamiliar with the MOBOs and the great work they do, you can follow their Twitter page. Also on Instagram. There is a stellar selection of artists in the running for this year’s MOBO Awards. I have put together a playlist of songs from the vast majority of those who are in contention. It just goes to show you what quality and calibre there is out there! It also highlights that the MOBOs is one of the strongest and most worthy music award nights…

OF the year.