FEATURE: Second Spin: Imelda May – 11 Past the Hour

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

Imelda May – 11 Past the Hour

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THERE are a couple of reasons…

why I want to include Imelda May’s latest studio album in Second Spin. The Irish songwriter turns fifty on 10th July. An incredible artist who I don’t think gets enough credit and airplay, the phenomenal 11 Past the Hour is among her best work. Released on 16th April, 2021, the album features collaborations with, among others, Ronnie Wood, Gina Martin and Shola Mos-Shogbamimu. I don’t know how many people know about the album. You can buy it here. I do think that Imelda May is one of the most astonishing and multitalented artists of her generation. I am going to get to some reviews of the wonderful 11 Past the Hour. Some reviewers felt the album distilled May’s talents. It was a bid for commercial appeal at the expensive of her authenticity and personality. Others felt the album had some songs that sounded like they were from other artists. Perhaps not as sharp and defined as albums like 2010’s Mayhem or even 2017’s Life. Love. Flesh. Blood. I think that 11 Past the Hour is a rewarding and rich album. There are one or two weaker tracks through, for the most part, it is a very strong and memorable release. Before getting onto some positive reviews, I am going to start with an interview from HMV. It seems like 11 Past the Hour was a chance for Imelda May to break away from a narrative. To explore new ground and possibilities:

“When did you start work on the songs for this album? Were you writing on tour?

“I need to wind down after tours, I can’t just set the wheels straight in motion. It was lovely this time. I didn’t give myself a timetable, I just wrote for myself, as and when I wanted to. I mostly finished before the lockdown, but I added a couple of extra bits. I ended up with a lot of songs.”

How did you find streamlining that down for what became the final album?

“There were a few songs that I really wanted to keep, but I don’t like long albums. I don’t like overstaying my welcome, I want to leave people wanting just a little bit more. These are my absolute favourites and the songs I knew would work alongside them.”

Did you have a goal of how you wanted this album to move on from Life Love Flesh Blood?

“No, I just write as I feel. If I let myself move and progress on a personal level then I know my writing will follow. I was happy with where I was in my life. I didn’t need to feel like I was driving at something, I knew I’d progress in my own way.”

You’ve got some great guests on there. Noel Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Miles Kane, how did those collaborations come about?

“I knew each of them. I don’t believe in things being set up by labels or management, things are better unfolding naturally. I’ve known Miles for a long time and I was delighted when he said yes. I don’t know if ‘What We Did In The Dark’ would have made the record without him. I just knew he’d be perfect, we had so much fun. It was the same with Ronnie and Noel, they liked the songs and we went from there.”

Were you able to physically be there with any of them? Or did it have to be done remotely?

“No, I was there with each of them. It was done within all the rules, hardly anybody in the studio, all the doors opened, separated appropriately. I like to be in the room with people I’m working with, the vibe is so important to the song.”

Must have made for a different experience, having to be careful when you’re used to being free in those scenarios…

“Recording was done all before lockdown and I was able to get the bones down with the musicians. It is weird. Of course, it is. But the vibe is still there and that transcends everything. The vibe of the songs was bigger than the Covid-19 guidelines.”

Would the album have come out sooner if it wasn’t for the pandemic?

“Oh yes. Much sooner. I think everything was just figuring out how to go about putting out an album in the midst of all this. I’ve had three tours cancelled now. In the end, I’ve just decided I want this album out. Normally it’d coincide with a big live plan, but I just want it out. The tour isn’t until next April now, but I can’t wait another year. I feel like we need new music. People are gasping for new music. The love I’ve felt from these latest singles has been more than for anything else I’ve ever done. That convinced me. I love this album, I want people to have it.”

You’ve talked in other interviews about it being an album with a lot of love. Is that something you were aware of during the writing or something you’ve only discovered after it was all done?

“That was definitely afterwards. In other interviews, they’ve been trying to make me nail down a theme. I don’t know. I love letting the song lead me. I’ve restricted myself in the past and I’ve made myself stick to a narrative and I don’t want to do that anymore. It kept coming up, so I thought about it, I was lying in bed going over the songs and it’s love, all kinds of love. Romantic love, lustful love, fighting for love, acceptance and opening yourself to love. There’s even a song written from the perspective of Mother Earth, written during the bushfires and laying waste to the Amazon. ‘Made To Love’ is from love’s own perspective. Now I know it’s the theme, I’m very happy about it, I just didn’t know it beforehand.”

If a song needs to lead you, does that mean you discard songs very quickly if they’re proving difficult?

“Not necessarily. I do during the writing process. I co-wrote with a few different people, mostly with Tim Bran and Davide Rossi, but also with Pedro Vito and Sebastian Sternberg. I’m a lyricist. I write lyrics and poems daily. I need people for the arrangement who can lead me somewhere I wouldn’t go myself. Every session they’d come along and play me things they’d been working on, then we’d take it on. That takes you in all kinds of different directions. You have to wait for something to move you, then my hand can’t keep up with my head. That’s in the writing, but if a song makes it through that and into recording, sometimes it’s tricky.”

Do you lose something?

“Something just doesn’t sit with it. That’s when you have to decide, is it worth working on or should I let you? If I know I’ve written a good song, I’ll stick with it, I’ll try and find a way. I won’t give up easily when you’ve got that far.”

Is there a track on the album that’s a particular example of that?

“‘Made To Love’, I almost let it go. I was happy with the song and what Tim and Davide had done. It moved me from the start and I came up with the lyrics and melody quite quickly. We had the bones of it down, but when it came to recording, something really didn’t gel. Everyone had done everything right, but it didn’t gel with me, it didn’t feel like it had enough rawness.”

How did you fix it?

“Everybody needs people who are very, very honest. People who will be straight with you. Bono is one of those people for me. I don’t talk to him a lot, but he’s there when I need him, especially if I’m really stuck. I told him what was happening and he said ‘Send to me and I’ll have a listen’. I asked him what he thought and if I should get rid of it? He said: “Absolutely not! Keep working on the chorus. You have something”. It was ‘Don’t Be Afraid To Love’ and he suggested flipping it and giving it a positive spin and he was right. It changed the song completely.”

It’s a messy, unpredictable process…

“It is, but it helps to have people who know what they’re doing and who’ll be straight with you. If you play it to family and friends, it’s difficult for them to disassociate from you personally. I just couldn’t put my finger on what was wrong. I’m so glad Bono told me to stick with it and keep going.”

He’s written a hit or two in his time…

“He knows his s**t for sure. Sometimes if you have a negative lyric with a positive chord sequence, if you flip that on its head and have a positive sequence with a negative sequence, it turns the song around. Gives it a new balance.”

When did you decide that 11 Past The Hour was the right title for the album?

“It had been in my head for a while. ‘Breathe’ was the first song I wrote for the album, I’d just met Tim and Davide, it was the first day we wrote together and that was what came out and I was so happy. And I kept seeing the number 11 everywhere. It was weird. I started looking up some things and it turns out it’s a call in lots of different cultures over time. It’s a call for intuition and awakening and it’s led me down this path that includes paganism and pre-Christian Ireland."

"I started to dig into my heritage and it went into astrology and numerology. In Ireland, there’s this place called Newgrange, it’s 2,000 years older than the pyramids, it’s 5,000 years old! You can go inside and put your fingers in the grooves that somebody chipped away at 5,000 years ago. People who were creating art that they knew would last, art that they knew they would never see the end of, leaving things for future generations."

"That was all because of seeing 11:11. I wanted to tell a story with that song. I wanted to write a song that tells people it’s okay to still feel like a child and want to be scooped up and comforted and told it’s all going to be okay. That’s the perspective I wanted. Somebody to tell you ‘Dance with me, darling, everything’s going to be fine’. And, if you look on the album cover, I got this perspex piece of artwork made, it’s beside me on the bed. The reflection reflects off the headboard of my bed and it says 11:11. No planning at all!”

Among some of the more mixed reviews, there were plenty that were positive. Really dug into the album. This is what Irish Times had to say when they sat down with 11 Past the Hour. An album that I would very much advise people to listen to when they get the time. One worth buying:

“The days of pigeonholing Imelda May as “the Irish rockabilly singer” are well and truly over. The Dubliner’s stylistic reinvention – kick-started with her 2017 album Life Love Flesh Blood – continues apace with her sixth album. Here, May sounds completely at ease with both the musician and the woman she has become, and that acceptance brings a soulfulness to songs such as Diamonds and swoonsome lullaby Solace.

Many of these songs address the intoxicating rush of new love. The seductive title track and Can’t Say nod to Dusty Springfield and Burt Bacharach’s songbook, respectively. Others take a more determinedly independent line, such as Different Kinds of Love and Made to Love, an anthem for acceptance.

In between, May mixes it up with some forthright contemporary pop-rock numbers. Just One Kiss, featuring Noel Gallagher on vocals and Ronnie Wood on guitar, is fine, thought a duet with Miles Kane on the brisk, seedy What We Did in the Dark sounds too out of step with the album’s tone.

Her collaboration with partner Niall McNamee on the lush Don’t Let Me Stand on My Own is altogether better, but the poppy stomp, dramatic strings and decisive air of menace on Never Look Back, the closing track, say it all: the old Imelda may not be completely gone, but this new era leaves no room for nostalgia”.

There are a couple of further reviews I want to spotlight, to argue the case for this brilliant album. If 11 Past the Hour passed you by the first time, then that is understandable. Released in April 2021, it was a very strange time. How willing people were to embrace music. In terms of buying it anyway. That is why I think that we need to re-investigate 11 Past the Hour. In their review, Hot Press found plenty to like when it came to Imelda May’s sixth studio album:

“11 Past The Hour marks Imelda May’s first new full-length album in over three years, and it offers fans much to unpack.

The opening title-track delivers a more accessible spin on the literary style of Tom Waits or Nick Cave, employing visceral poetry over a musical backdrop that harks further back, to the music of Jacques Brel. It moves seamlessly into ‘Breathe’, another vivid tune – replete with sweeping strings – that finds May showcasing her superb vocal chops.

After the smooth, sultry openers, ‘Made To Love’ marks a notable departure. Over an uptempo arrangement not dissimilar to an ABBA-style Eurovision banger, May takes on the persona of universal love, as she sings about love as the antithesis of prejudice. When we arrive at the bridge, which is reminiscent of Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’, May declares: “I’m every refugee, you see/ I’m every bum on every street/ I’m bi, I’m trans… I’m Africa, I’m Pakistan… I’m Irish, Palestinian...” There may be listeners who’ll see it as over-earnest, but May won’t care. With the help of activists Gina Martiin and Dr. Shola Ros-Shogbamimu on backing vocals, ‘Made To Love’ aims to both embrace and embody the inclusiveness that is – or should be – at the heart of the very idea of love.

The record picks up momentum again with ‘Don’t Let Me Stand On My Own’, a folk-tinged ballad drawing on May’s Irish roots. Another highlight is ‘Can’t Say’, which sees the singer’s husky voice at its most compelling. ‘Never Look Back’ bookends the record nicely, returning to the dark, creeping strings of the opening tracks.

In its big and generous heart, 11 Past The Hour is a fascinating, creative, and resonant offering from one of Ireland’s most renowned rock ‘n’ roll artists”.

I am going to wrap up with a review from AllMusic. It is clear that, from her fifth studio album, Life. Love. Flesh. Blood, there was this yearning (from May) for growth and change. An artist who was pushing her music to new places. This really comes through on 11 Past the Hour. It is an eclectic and arresting album with many highlight:

“Having transformed her sound with 2017's empowered Life. Love. Flesh. Blood, Ireland's Imelda May continues her bold artistic metamorphosis with her sixth studio album, 2021's 11 Past the Hour. At turns dusky and ebullient, 11 Past the Hour builds nicely upon May's past work as she continues to move away from the twangy retro-rockabilly of her early years and fully embrace the anthemic, yet still organic pop/rock she showcased on Life. Love. Flesh. Blood. Co-produced by Tim Bran (James Morrison, London Grammar), the album finds May joined by an elite cadre of special guests, all of whom add their distinctive pop charisma to the proceedings. Early in her career, May's vintage-inspired Chuck Berry-esque rock caught the ear of Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, who then brought her on tour with him in 2019. Here, Wood continues the goodwill, applying his crunchy electric guitar riffs to several tracks, including "Just One Kiss," a very Stonesy duet with another special guest, Oasis' Noel Gallagher. Wood also plays on "Made to Love" a soulful pop anthem featuring backing vocals by noted women's rights activists Gina Martin and Dr. Shola Mos-Shogbamimu. That May, who has worked on charities dealing with homelessness and domestic abuse, chooses to spotlight two nonprofessional singers with strong activist voices speaks to the deeper messages at play in her work here. Equally uplifting is "Don't Let Me Stand on My Own," a folky and soulful Celtic duet with singer Niall McNamee that brings to mind Rod Stewart's '70s work with the Faces. May also brings along Last Shadow Puppets' Miles Kane for the wicked, Berlin-esque post-punk anthem "What We Did in the Dark." Thankfully, none of the guest choices seem overly calculated and primarily feel like natural additions to the album. Furthermore, while the duets are a highlight, May's solo work also shines here as she delves into the Johnnie Ray-meets-Portishead-sounding title track and proves her diva mettle on the rousing piano ballad "Diamonds." With 11 Past the Hour, May has crafted a generous, collaborative album that feels like she's lifting others up, just as they are lifting her”.

On 10th July, Imelda May turns fifty. I was thinking of celebrating that with a playlist. Mixing together her best album tracks. Instead, I wanted to focus on album of hers that did not get the love and true respect it deserves. Her latest, 11 Past the Hour, is well worth seeking out. I am not sure whether Imelda May has another album coming soon. Let’s hope so. This amazing artist is someone…

YOU should better acquaint yourself with.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Always on My Mind: Neil Tennant at Seventy

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Always on My Mind: Neil Tennant at Seventy

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ONE of music’s true legends…

IN THIS PHOTO: Chris Lowe and Neil Tennant in 1987/PHOTO CREDIT: Cindy Palmano

turns seventy on 10th July. One half of Pet Shop Boys, I wanted to salute the magnificent Neil Tennant. I am keen to get to a playlist of incredible Pet Shop Boys hits and deep cuts. There are interviews with Pet Shop Boys from this year such as this and this. The duo (Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe) released Nonetheless in April. One of their best albums to date, it is their fifteenth studio album. It shows the consistency and brilliance of the duo. Here is some brief biography about Neil Tennant:

“Neil Tennant is a British singer and songwriter most famous for being part of the synthpop duo the Pet Shop Boys. Born in Newcastle in 1954, he moved to London in the 1970s to study and soon became part of the popular music world through music journalism. In 1981 he formed the Pet Shop Boys with Chris Lowe. They topped the charts with their re-released debut song "West End Girls" in numerous countries in 1985-6. Since then, they have released 65 singles, 14 studio albums and 3 soundtracks. Tennant has also done solo and other collaborative projects. In 1994 he came out as gay in Attitude magazine and has advocated on behalf of gay rights. He is patron of the Elton John AIDS Foundation”.

It is a shame there is not more in-depth biography about Neil Tennant. Considering he is such an iconic and beloved songwriter and lead, there will be more written about him as he approaches his seventieth anniversary. Whether you are a Pet Shop Boys fan or not, there are scores of songs in their catalogue impossible to ignore. From West End Girls to It’s a Sin, they have created some classics! I hope that the mixtape reveals some depths to the duo. You will get a lot of the classics, together with some deeper cuts. Alongside Chris Lowe, Neil Tennant has been responsible for some of the most memorable songs of all time. It is a collection of incredible gems from…

THE amazing Pet Shop Boys.

FEATURE: Army Dreamers: Revisiting the Thought of Two Different Kate Bush Projects

FEATURE:

 

 

Army Dreamers

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

Revisiting the Thought of Two Different Kate Bush Projects

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I have written about…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985

two different and distinct Kate Bush projects. Well, not ‘projects’ as such. Albums that would be welcomed. I am not sure whether we will get a new Kate Bush album anytime soon – or at all. It is always a risk and guessing game. I know that people bemoan the reissuing of her albums. She has done this a couple of times in the past five or six years. It is great that fans have access to her work. There is a desperation for something new from. I have stated how it would be great to have a DVD for Before the Dawn. The tenth anniversary of the start of the residency happens in August. I think a new documentary would be good. I do feel that there are two possibilities that fans would welcome. The first relates to a greatest hits or new collection. It would not be like reissuing albums. There has been a reissue of her rarities and B-sides. Rather than this being another retread, it would be a perfect chance and time for some of her best tracks, alongside a few unreleased or less-known numbers to sit alongside one another. We have not had a greatest hits collection since 1986. In terms of introducing new fans and pleasing existing ones, I do think that an album dedicated solely to her work is overdue. It would have its own title. The reason I bring this up is because the increased interest in Kate Bush’s music. It would not be an expansive album. Maybe a double vinyl and a version available on cassette and C.D., this would provide entry point for new fans. A chance to go beyond the big hits. Some would push back and say that this would be a bit too much. Considering the album reissues. Right now, we have so many people paying their respect to an artist who is still very much in the mix. Many might not be able to afford all the studio albums. Price is a factor. Re-releasing the same thing is not going to win everyone over. I don’t think we will see her studio albums get reintroduced and repackaged. I feel that a new album is a gamble. We can never say for sure either way.

I like the thought of this new greatest hits. Maybe a collection. Maybe it would offer little to those who have the albums and know her work. Even so, there could be this big market among those coming to Kate Bush fresh. Perhaps the song choices would be contentious. How would you limit it down?! I don’t feel it would be exploiting fans. Instead, so much has happened since The Whole Story came out in 1986. This is a new era for Kate Bush. A new generation have come on board. I still think there is a problem with younger listeners streaming Kate Bush rather than buying her music. Maybe they naturally go for Hounds of Love when thinking of a studio album. Sure, they could get a taster of her other studio albums from streaming sites. I do think that an anthology or slimmer greater hits collection would prove popular. Perhaps the last time there would be some retrospection. Clearing the path for new work. Or maybe a full stop to Kate Bush bringing out her music. That would be a sad thing. You know how many artists love Kate Bush. Are influenced by her. As I have written before, everyone from legends and music icons like St. Vincent and Björk take inspiration from her. Newer artists coming through such as The Last Dinner Party definitely have shades of Kate Bush. I know I am repeating myself to an extent. Great acts like The Anchoress are fans of Kate Bush. If you think far and wide, there is a wealth and world of artists who look up to her. I am heading ever closer to a documentary and getting them all together!

That is a feature and thought that I will explore later on. I do still believe there is a new documentary possibility. One where we do not need to see Kate Bush appear in. In terms of tribute albums, now more than ever seems like a  time to discuss it. It has not happened before. Uniting major artists and newcomers, maybe with poetry or spoken word, there is an album idea. One that would surely not find objection in the Kate Bush household. She knows how many artists are influenced by her. There have been minor collections of Kate Bush songs covered by other artists. Nothing especially memorable or authoritative. There was this wave of Running Up This Hill (A Deal with God) covers following its inclusion in Stranger Things and chart success. Ranging from the slightly good to the abysmal, I do think there is opportunity for a genuine reimagining of the song. Think of bigger tracks of hers that could be covered by an artist you would not expect to sing it. The most appealing reason to consider a tribute album is those lesser songs. The deeper cuts. Together with an anthology or greatest hits albums, an opportunity to bring perhaps a couple of dozen musical Kate Bush fans – and, you know, maybe others who could recite her songs or are not necessarily artists – together would be amazing. I am not sure what you would call it. DO NOT call it This Woman’s Work! Or Running Up That Hill. There are more interesting and original naming opportunities! Many might say that this could not happen because Kate Bush would not allow it. For a start, she would not have to. People can cover her songs and I don’t think that EMI or Fish People would necessarily need to give sign off. If there was a stricter route where Kate Bush would need to sign off, I think that she would not object. Touched by so many artists covering her work. There have been plenty of Kate Bush covers through the years. She is not that strict when it comes to allowing people to interpret her work. Maybe recording sessions at Abbey Road Studios. Amazing possibilities and combinations spring to mind!

There is a lot to be said for both ideas. In terms of drawing together existing work into a collection or single album, it is a step away from the studio albums purely. A chance to collect together single releases but also some different and deeper songs. At a time when so many major artists reissue their studio albums so shortly after they first come out, nobody could begrudge a Kate Bush greatest hits collection. I think that the collections that have come out – The Whole Story in 1986; This Woman's Work: Anthology 1978–1990 in 1990; The Other Sides in 2019 – are perfectly fine. There is room and justification to have something new in the world. A beautiful thing that could be kept by fans for so many years. I know it is not the same as a new album. I fear so many people are missing out on her work. Its full extent. Perhaps not a greatest hits, then: more a deeper dive from 1978 (her debut, The Kick Inside) to 2011 (her latest studio album, 50 Words for Snow). In terms of a tribute album. It does not signal an end of her career or some grizzly eulogy. It is also not opportunistic. It is a beautiful way of combining artists one might love to see collaborate with Kate Bush but may never. Those who have but have not tackled one of her songs. A fascinating glimpse into some of her beloved songs and some that people might not know. Who knows, seeing this love and demand for her music might well compel Kate Bush to at least think of the possibility of gifting the world with new music in the future. I can understand people’s reticence with what they might see as reworking old work or slightly repackaging it. I definitely don’t see that. Definitely when it comes to a tribute album. Instead, as there are magazine articles and books published about her, there is room and many valid reasons why we should have an anthology/greatest hits and a tribute album. When it comes to the amazing and hugely influential Kate Bush, we can never be done celebrating…

THIS woman’s work (bugger!).

FEATURE: Cosmic Love: Florence + The Machine’s Lungs at Fifteen

FEATURE:

 

 

Cosmic Love

Florence + The Machine’s Lungs at Fifteen

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A hugely impressive and important…

PHOTO CREDIT: Immo Klink

debut album turns fifteen on 3rd July. Fronted by Florence Welch, Florence + The Machine featured, in 2009, Christopher Lloyd Hayden, Isabella Summers, Rob Ackroyd and Tom Monger. Lungs is the amazing and epic debut from the group. Recorded across several studios – including The Smokehouse in London -, it featured incredible singles like Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), Dog Days Are Over and Kiss with a Fist. Even though I really like all of Florence + The Machine’s five studio albums, I think that Lungs is still the best. Exhilarating, urgent but also full of layers and nuance. I wanted to mark the fifteenth anniversary of one of the most essential and important debut albums of this century. Lungs features production from James Ford, Paul Epworth, Stephen Mackey, Eg White and Charlie Hugall, with additional production by Isabella Summers. Lungs has been reissued several times: an expanded version, Between Two Lungs (2010), a digital E.P. subtitled The B-Sides (2011), and a Tenth Anniversary Edition (2019). I am going to get to features and reviews for Lungs. There are not that many press interviews with Florence Welch from 2009. I found one, from DMY, that I want to start out with:

“Momentum has been building in earnest since the start of the year, with the debut album ‘Lungs’ hitting number two when it was released back in June. This summer’s slew of festival dates and a recent Mercury Music Prize nomination suggests the pace looks set to continue.

Despite the critical acclaim however, spend a few minutes with Florence and her music and you’ll find that she’s an odd candidate for mainstream approbation. Underneath the glossy production, ‘Lungs’ is full of witchy-woman weirdness and demented gothic fantasies: there’s something wonderfully vivid and violent about the noise she makes, most evident in the gleeful savagery of “Kiss With A Fist” and “Girl With One Eye”. She’s far more willowy and slight in the flesh than one would imagine, even having seen her on stage, and it’s hard to equate the soulful bellow with the porcelain girl perched on the sofa.

We get off to a guarded start – she seems a little aloof and polished, with a whiff of media-training, but she brightens up as the interview moves from small talk to art and angst. Once the conversation flows, she reveals an enthusiastic and scattershot brain, her mind wandering mid-sentence, gesticulating at random as she jumps from top to topic. By the time we’ve finished she’s bursting into spontaneous song sprawled on the pub floor. Her exuberance is infectious, and, as she leaves the room, I get the feeling that, at her very core, Florence cannot help but make music.

I know this sounds obvious, but I want to talk to you about the music. I think there is a really epic quality to the album…

Yeah, I think that’s a good word to use!

It’s not trivial kitchen sink observations, it seems to be far grander…

Y’know what, I think I have always had trouble writing – I can’t even write a diary – I’ve always found it hard to document real life. I try to remember things by items of clothing or strange things that happen. I think it comes from reading a lot – reading a lot of poetry and being interested in language and phrasing and things like that. I think I wanted to make things that wouldn’t stick out as a point in time, d’you know what I mean? Something that was more all-encompassing, more trying to create a landscape or feeling, or a nightmare that someone could walk through.

Something that would stand the test of time?

Yeah I think so. I wanted to make something that was classic rather than of the moment.

Self-doubt is obviously universal, but the violent imagery is something that’s often associated with male artists – like Nick Cave or Tom Waits. Are you conscious of being a ‘female singer’ at all?

Well, I think that throughout history there has been something really intoxicating about female performers. I know from having watched and being really inspired by them. I think it’s that mix of being really powerful and very vulnerable which is I think something that women can convey perhaps better, or perhaps it comes across better in women because we’re more emotional creatures. But that strength and fragility in one package, which I think is wonderful. I mean, going all the way back to Ma Rainey and early blues singers, I think people have always been interested in female singers.

Are there particular female singers that you’ve been inspired by?

Well, vocally Etta James and Eva Cassidy. I think Alice Glass from Crystal Castles, like, her performances just blow me away! It’s like this tiny little creature with such demonic presence. She’s completely mesmerising; terrifying and wonderful. I really though she was incredible. She seems like this really strong female presence and again it’s like that masculine and feminine conflict – taking yourself apart. The thing is a lot of my performance comes from watching male artists and like punk bands; that sense of domination, of controlling the stage and it being your domain. So it’s a real mix. It’s like an internal battle onstage, an exorcism thing.

These are obviously your musical influences, but on a wider artistic scale, where do you draw inspiration from?

I think it’s things that are beautiful and sad. Like the model for Millais’ Ophelia – what was her name? She died of pneumonia from modelling in the bathtub. [PR, helpfully: “Lizzie Siddal”] Lizzie Siddal! Thank you! I’ve been trying to remember that for as long as I have been talking about her. It’s a really great back-story to that – she was like a muse for a lot of the pre-Raphaelites and they were all really into lithium, and she was doped up in the bath and the candle went out and she didn’t want to move because he was so into his painting, and she got pneumonia and died. And it’s just that sense of beauty and sadness behind everything.

If you were trying to describe the feel of your music to someone who couldn’t hear it, is there a particular painting or image that you could point them towards that best describes the atmosphere you’re trying to create?

Oh… um…[pauses for thought] probably a mix of that woman who did the Exploding Shed , Millais’ Ophelia and that Jenny Holzer painting. Have you ever seen that one where it’s like “Don’t talk down to me. Don’t try to be nice to me. Don’t…”

Yeah, I know the one.

It’s just a bright pink painting – I’ve got a postcard of it – but it’s just so amazingly aggressive. It’s great!

Is there a particular track on the album that you’re most proud of?

I think probably “Cosmic Love” is my favourite. I think that one feels like it just happened so naturally out of half an hour. I wasn’t even thinking about it. I mean it didn’t even exist before that half an hour; none of it existed. Not on the piano, or going round in my head. It just suddenly appeared and it was perfect. Well, I thought it was perfect. At first I thought it was a bit too romantic even; but it’s not that romantic, it’s quite dark. But yeah, that’s my favourite one.

Are you working on anything new at the moment, or are you still just processing the album?

I’ve sort of started. I’ve written some other stuff. I’m just looking forward to getting back in the studio. I feel like this album’s out there, it’s doing its job and I’m getting to play it, which is really fun. But there’s this ‘dissatisfaction with self’ – “must create” – “I’m unsatisfied, I must make something, I must verify myself!” I feel like every time I come on stage those two sides of myself get put back together and it all makes sense. For a minute.

Can you be creative on demand? Do you think, “right I’m going to sit down and write an album over the next three months”, or is it a continuous process?

I think sometimes in my life I was most creative when I was doing other stuff, y’know, when I had a job, and went to Art College. It’s quite good to have it as a sideline I think. I might go and get a job! You get inspired by daily life more. This [the attendant PR and make-up artist and the back-to-back interviews she has already done this morning] can be a circus…

I imagine the process can be a bit too cerebral otherwise…

Yeah. It’s like, hmm, inspiration…[twiddles her thumbs]

Our photographer, Mikael, then proceeds to lie her on the carpet, where she looks suitably dead and tragic, and we continue the interview with intermittent breaks to accommodate Mikael’s directions and Florence’s spontaneous outbursts of song.

Mikael: Has anyone every told you that you look like Kate Bush?

[lying on her back] A couple of times, yeah.

Me: Do you get annoyed by comparisons to other people?

No. I mean, I think it’s just a way for people to understand it, and determinate if you like this you might like that… Thing is, my voice isn’t anything like Kate Bush’s. I think it’s the… well, she uses a lot of drums.

Perhaps it’s the persona. She’s got this whole – I hate to use the word – kooky thing going on…

Ah, the [mock American accent] ‘K word’… I’ll be like serious one day and not serious the next and everyone’s the same. Some days you’ll be tired and some days you’ll be… no-one’s ever one thing all the time, so it’s strange to be put into one persona.

Following a break in which she and Mikael compare tattoos, Florence is now posing for photos in front of a mirror on the wall

You said you couldn’t play any instruments when you first started out. Was it frustrating trying to communicate what you wanted to your band?

Well, I think because I can sing, it wasn’t frustrating. Making music was more like improvising, so it was such a rush when I found something that worked. So it was all about the feeling, and I think that comes across in the music. You can hear this absolute joy at being able to make sound. And building things out of my own ideas of what a song should be like was exciting. It was like building and experiments, y’know? With rhythms and chords. That’s why everything’s like “bang, bang. Stop, start.” It’s because I have no skill, I just have [theatrical whisper] enthusiasm!

So you try to convey your enthusiasm to the band and they interpret it?

Well yeah, but it’s kind of hard because you tell a really skilled drummer “well, you know, I want you to play the drums worse. Play it more like I play it!”. And then there’s no guitar on the album, so my guitarist has to make all these pedals to play like cello, or make a big weird electronic noise. But yeah, I think they understand it. They understand the passion…”.

I will move to an anniversary feature from Albumism. In 2019, they marked ten years of Lungs. I know there was some division among the press regarding Florence + The Machine. Many heralded them and Lungs, whereas others were a little less kind. Many writing them off. Lungs is still powerful fifteen years later. Even deeper cuts like Girl with One Eye and My Boy Builds Coffins are fascinating and should be played more:

“Debut albums can be incredibly tricky things to navigate. On one hand, you have the freedom to completely be yourself and deliver something that is true to you. There are no proverbial chains restricting your process or tying you to your past. Your voice, should you have discovered its purpose at this early stage of the game, is completely yours to own and to do with what you want. If your newfound audience love it, then you have succeeded in gaining more than you previously had.

On the other hand, if for some reason they don’t take to what you are offering, then that will not only be your debut album, but it may also prove to be your final LP. The price of this untrodden path, it would seem, is somewhat unattainable, and just may be a one-off musical experience.

Luckily for us, Florence + The Machine were able to bless the world with their debut album Lungs—a thirteen-track affair (with eleven of the tracks co-written by Florence Welch herself) that delves into everything from rock, soul and a whole lot of indie pop. And whilst Welch is in a unique league of her own vocally, it would be hard not to draw inspiration, comparison if you must, from those that came before her, part Kate Bush, part Annie Lennox, and yet utterly Florence Welch. Not bad work for a then-fledgling singer-songwriter who at the time, was all of just 22 years of age.

The lead single “Kiss With A Fist” created some controversy at the time with the lyrics speaking to what appears to be domestic violence. Coupled with the somber tone of the lyrics, and a slightly aggressive sound deeply rooted in garage rock and elements of punk pop, Welch explained that the song was indeed not about domestic violence, but rather the strength and force that love can sometimes find two people engrossed in. The psychological aspect over the physical, a binding of emotions that firmly sits in fantasy, not reality. Whilst the song was a solid first single, both lyrically and musically, it failed to chart well.

Following in the footsteps of “Kiss With A Fist” was the second single “Dog Days Are Over,” a beautiful track that draws on the richness of indie pop, blues and even folk, which in turn, allows the vocal prowess and beauty of Welch’s voice to be placed on full display. The unexpected explosion of notes and sounds throughout the song also paved the way for a sound that would soon be firmly associated with the band. This single was the first time that the audience got to truly hear the ethereal, almost whimsical component to Welch’s voice, two qualities that would also stand in contradiction with her tone, a commanding force in its own right.

Upon closer listen to the album’s third single “Rabbit Heart (Praise it Up),” it is impossible to ignore the multi-layering of Welch’s vocals, giving the effect of a mass choir rolled into one hauntingly beautiful voice. Although the lyrics are shrouded in darkness (“This is a gift / it comes with a price / Who is the lamb / and who is the knife?”, it is again the contradiction of these lyrics, which are steeped in fear and coupled with an uptempo sound, that managed to prime the way for the band’s first bit of solid chart success, reaching # 12 in the UK charts.

Florence + The Machine were a welcome, if not slightly frenetic, change from the tabloid fodder that was engulfing fellow Brits like Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse at the time. Whilst both singers were delivering profound work even with all the turmoil that fame and the like was bestowing upon them, it was Florence Welch, the self-proclaimed geek with red hair and porcelain white skin, that was forging a path for a type of voice that had not been heard in quite some time. Hers is a voice that seems to call upon the past and yet is entirely entrenched in the present.

This maturity in her voice was never more evident than on the songs “Drumming Song” and the cover of Candi Staton’s “You’ve Got The Love,” both also released as singles from the album. With “Drumming Song,” a love song that swims in the awkwardness that love sometimes makes us feel, Welch conveys an intensity and desire that belied her two decades on this earth. “You’ve Got the Love,” a song of empowerment, again allows the then-novice Welch another opportunity to bring her voice and vulnerability to a well-loved, timeless classic, something that she does to perfection.

Given that nearly half the songs on the album were released as singles, it would be criminal to ignore the beauty and complexity of songs like “I’m Not Calling You A Liar,” “Cosmic Love” and the loss of love which “Hurricane Drunk” so painfully demonstrates. It is incredibly hard to imagine that someone so young was able to write about so much loss; loss of love, loss of one’s self, and yet still convey a type of positivity. The loss is temporary, but the love is for a lifetime, or so we are somehow led to believe if we look and listen a little deeper.

At first glance, it could have been easy to dismiss Lungs as yet another British band delivering the stock standard indie pop of the time, along with splashes of rock and punk wrapped up in a neatly produced album. In some ways, that isn’t such a far-fetched idea. With a production team that consisted of accomplished soundsmiths like Paul Epworth (Bloc Party), James Ford (Simian Mobile Disco, Arctic Monkeys), Stephen Mackey (Pulp) and Charlie Hugall (Halsey, Ed Sheeran) who also offered writing support, Lungs ensured that the group became something far greater than just another one-hit wonder. Both Ford and Mackey also brought invaluable experience as band members, giving way for both the technical and artistic perspectives to meet, creating an organic approach which guaranteed that this album was only going to ever be considered nothing short of superb”.

I am going to end with a few reviews for the spectacular Lungs. The first is from DIY. They stated how, with so much hype surrounding Florence + The Machine leading up to Lungs, that it could have been a disappointment. Critics were very much forced to eat their words and sneers when the album did come out:

“After the sheer amount of hype (including a Brit Award!) that Florence and the Machine has been receiving for the past six months or so we were convinced that debut album ‘Lungs’ stood not a cat in hells chance of living up to it. We were spectacularly wrong. ‘Lungs’ is an extraordinary contemporary pop triumph. A fresh, new, individual and exciting record. It makes us tempted to put money on the Mercury already.

Overall ‘Lungs’ is best described as transcending. It blends its creators influences of everything from classic pop (Kate Bush is often cited as a predecessor) to gospel music, and if the closing ‘bonus’ track (a cover of ‘You’ve Got The Love’) is to be believed, dance music. Forthcoming single ‘Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)’, with it’s gentle yet striking harp parts sounds exotic whereas the already ubiquitous ‘Kiss With A Fist’ is a rocky blues number like Jack White used to write before he started messing around with bagpipes. There’s many touchstones here (fans of Guillemots ‘Through The Windowpane’ will probably enjoy this for it’s orchestral splendour) but overall there’s nothing that this album sounds exactly like, as is its beauty.

Overall it’s hard to pick out highlights from this album as it works so well as a whole. At the same time it’s not impenetrable and there’s plenty that could and has worked as a single. ‘Dog Days Are Over’ is a fantastic example of this. It opens the record, yet as a stand-alone single is a triumph in itself. ‘My Boy Builds Coffins’ due to it’s subject matter should come off as some deliberate attempt at quirky, but as it’s delivered with such gusto it’s captivating. This brings us to our favourite song here, ‘Howl’. Only four seconds over what is traditionally considered to be the perfect length of a pop song it’s stunning in its depth and builds spectacularly to a euphoric climax.

Not helped by the fact that the album is called ‘Lungs’, more has been made of Florence Welch’s voice than any other aspect of the music. And yes, her voice is stunning but if this were to be the only attraction to the music then this would not be the record that it is. Her cast of supporting musicians, The Machine that is, all pull more than the weight of mere session players. A solo artist Florence may be, but there’s some great musicianship on display here and it more than compliments the delicate, yet powerful arrangements.

‘Lungs’ isn’t a record for everyone, it needs to be said. Those who favour a more stripped down, or ‘lo-fi’ approach will more than likely baulk at the shiny epic-ness of this. It’s understandable, but this is their loss. We’re sure that Florence and the Machine will live up to the expectations thrust upon them, and with this only being the debut album there’s still time for Ms Welch to get even better”.

There are a couple more reviews worth bringing in. The BBC had their say on a magnificent album. Even though Lungs missed out on a Mercury Prize in 2009 - Speech Debelle’s Speech Therapy won that year -, the critical acclaim and success it acquired – reaching number one on the U.K. album chart – means that it was this ground-shaking debut from the group. Led by the phenomenon that is Florence Welch, Lungs still has plenty of life and wonder fifteen years later:

“Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock since the beginning of the year, you’ll be aware of Florence and the Machine. Before even releasing an album, the first lady and her revolving band have been championed by BBC Introducing, invited to play Glastonbury and support Blur at Hyde Park, and won the Critic's Choice Award at this year’s BRITs. Now they're being tipped for Mercury Prize glory. How can an album possibly live up to the pressure of all that expectation? I don't quite know… but it does by the gallon.

Florence Welch's distinctive voice intertwines beautifully with harps, strings and drums as she sings her inimitable 'soul inspired indie' and 'Tim Burton-style fairytales'. The gothic pop of Lungs has been excellently produced by a crack team - Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Jack Penate, Maximo Park), James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Last Shadow Puppets) and Steve Mackey (Pulp, M.I.A.).

There's so much brilliant stuff it's difficult to know where to begin. The soaring crescendo of new single Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up), the achingly beautiful Howl and a breathtaking cover of The Source classic You Got The Love. Drumming is a fabulous nail-on-the-head song about what it feels like to be in love.

There are touches of Mama Cass on happy clappy debut single Dogs Days Are Over and at the other end of the energy scale, the twinkly loveliness of Hurricane Drunk. The low points are few – perhaps that I'm Not Calling You A Liar falls a bit flat between choruses, and the lyrics to Girl With One Eye are closer to disturbing than kooky. But mostly it's sheer gleeful bliss listening to Lungs.

Florence says music is, ''at best a kind of magic that lifts you up and takes you somewhere else''. With vocals building from breathy almost-nothings to soaring, arching crescendos and the accompanying harps, strings, hopes and dreams, this album takes you somewhere you'll never want to come back from. When news gets out that she writes her best stuff, ''when drunk or hungover'', Florence's transition from unknown to British classic will be complete”.

The final review I want to spotlight is from SLANT. They were full of praise for a debut album from a group like nothing on the scene in 2009. I remember when Lungs came out. I was blown away by it. I was familiar with Florence + The Machine, though I was not quite prepared for the scope and power of Lungs:

“Amid the ecstasies of praise for her songwriting, one of the less generous comments made this year about Florence Welch, frontwoman of Florence and the Machine, was journalist Miranda Sawyer’s description of her as “big-boned.” It was a surprisingly revealing inaccuracy. Although in fact physically slight, Florence—with her pre-Raphaelite tumble of russet hair and strong jaw—is a dramatic beauty given an illusory voluptuousness by the gossamer folds of her stage costumes. She has a powerful voice (a chorister’s range perverted by gothic cadences) and a feverish stage presence, dangling from lighting rigs and intermittently launching herself into the audience at her shows. She might be svelte, but in her music Florence certainly gives a full-bodied performance.

The opening number of the band’s Lungs, “Dog Days Are Over,” begins yearningly: Harp strings gently buffet Florence’s fluttery vocals as she describes how “happiness hit her like a train on a track/Coming towards her, stuck still, no turning back” before a swell of drum beats and handclaps lift the song to its exultant chorus. Florence urgently proclaims, “Leave all your love and your longing behind/You can’t carry it with you if you want to survive,” and for an exquisite moment it feels as though any heartbreak could be so easily surmounted. Inevitably, the momentum of the album slows after the impassioned rush of such an opener, but it remains a compellingly eccentric work. “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),” for instance, is a swirling coloratura about ritual sacrifice, and when Florence, her voice somewhere between terror and junked-up rapture, sings, “This is a gift, it comes with a price/Who is the lamb and who is the knife?,” she gives the scenario a frightening beauty.

Despite the album’s morbid overtones (“Girl with One Eye” reaches a new extreme in schoolgirl viciousness) Florence and the Machine is a less somber outfit than Bat for Lashes, with whom Florence is frequently compared. If Bat’s Natasha Khan prefers to go on a spooky midnight ramble to decide a boyfriend’s fate, Florence is more apt to sock him one: “Kiss with a Fist” is a wildly impolitic ditty about mutual domestic violence (“A kick in the teeth is good for some/A kiss with a fist is better than none”). It doesn’t quite work. Although there’s something slightly churlish in unfavorably comparing a finished song with its demo, “Kiss” worked considerably better in draft form, the roughness which made it seem like gutsy slapstick, rather than simple provocation, somewhat lost in the finessed album version.

Florence’s music is particularly sensitive to studio gloss; her singing is a fine balance between elegance and frenzy. Indeed, with a voice that is both soaring and ragged, Florence is perhaps offering tribute to her respiratory system in the album’s title. But if her lungs let her hold those high notes (or even better, as on “Between Two Lungs,” enable a first intimate moment between two lovers), Florence’s body also rankles in its ability to betray her feelings.

On the fittingly titled “Drumming Song,” Florence’s pounding head and heart in the presence of an ex reaches an audible volume, the dissonance amplifying until it becomes her puppeteer: “I swallow the sound and it swallows me whole.” While she can command her swooping vocals, her body rebels, wracked by fear, grief, and desire. She is made bestial by a relationship’s decay in “Howl,” her transformation a lycanthropic fantasy possibly too overtly sensual and bloodthirsty to find favor with Stephenie Meyer devotees, not least when she promises to “drag my teeth across your chest to taste your beating heart.” Only when she gets utterly soused on “Hurricane Drunk” does the free-fall from control seem pleasurable. Catching sight of her lover with another girl, she’s now sufficiently unmoored from her feelings to be wry about her heartache: “I brace myself, ‘cause I know it’s gonna hurt/But I like to think at least things can’t get any worse.”

Appropriately for a collection of songs where uncontrollable emotion develops into a kind of dyspraxia, the album stumbles in places. However earnest the attempt, Candi Staton’s “You Got the Love” surely doesn’t need any more reinterpretations, even if Florence cutely reintroduces good grammar into the title by changing “You” to “You’ve.” As that small gesture implies, Florence is still punctilious even when life beats her down; when it raises her up, she is magical”.

 On 3rd July, the immense Lungs turns fifteen. I hope that more people write about it. Certified six-times platinum, it was a remarkable success. Introducing the world to this exceptional group, Lungs was much more than its six singles. It is a complete and compelling album where every track hits. If you have not heard Lungs for a while, then go and do so now. It is a pleasure writing about it ahead of…

ITS fifteenth anniversary.

FEATURE: Groovelines: London Grammar – Wasting My Young Years

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

 

London Grammar – Wasting My Young Years

_________

I am thinking about London Grammar…

as their third studio album, The Greatest Love, is out soon. It comes eleven years after their remarkable debut album, If You Wait (2013). You can order The Greatest Love here or here. We have to wait until 13th September to get that album. A lot has changed in the past few years for Hannah Reid, Dan Rothman and Dominic ‘Dot’ Major. Reid has become a mother. The group’s inspirations have changed and expanded. I wonder how Hannah Reid feels about the trio’s greatest song – in my mind anyway. A song that deals with maybe some misspent youth and regrets, she is now a bit older and wiser. A new addition to her family. Their second single, Wasting My Young Years, followed Metal & Dust. Released in June 2013, Wasting My Young Years peaked at thirty-one in the U.K. It is an impressive chart position, though it was worthy of so much more. That debut album, If You Wait, was acclaimed. I don’t think that we had really heard anything quite like London Grammar. I am surprised that the album was not shortlisted for a Mercury Prize in 2014 - as it could have been in with a shot of winning. The songwriting throughout is incredible. Even though each of the trio has their strengths, it is depth and power of Hannah’s Reid’s vocals that really make every song go deep. Her lyrics too. On that 2013 debut, we get such maturity and impact from her words. Her stunning vocal range is something to behold! Perhaps the finest and purest distillation of her vocal wonder is on Wasting My Young Years. I think more people should talk about this song. As London Grammar have a new album coming along, I wanted to go back over eleven years to a very important time. A single that got a lot of praise. I am going to bring in a couple of reviews.

I would love for there more to be out there about Wasting My Young Years. Such is the potency of the song. How affecting it is. Testament to Hannah Reid’s songwriting – Wasting My Young Years, Interlude (live) and If You Wait are the other solo-written tracks on If You Wait -, I would love to see London Grammar live to see how this song sounds now. They have performed it live this year. The relationship with the track has shifted. The trio have grown and changed. Across the Ocean had their say on the song back in 2014:

“Cinematic in scope, ‘Wasting My Young Years’ serves a worthy successor to their breakthrough smash hit ‘Strong’ – a track now boasting in excess of 7 million views on YouTube.

Since receiving its first play on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show, ‘Wasting My Young Years’ has garnered strong support at UK radio not to mention more than 8 million plays online.

The track is taken from London Grammar’s #2 ARIA Chart debut album If You Wait – a release that saw the band awarded iTunes UK Album Of The Year and nominated for Best Breakthrough Artist at this year’s Brit Awards, as well as most recently taking home the converted Best Song Musically and Lyrically award for ‘Strong‘ at the Ivor Novello awards.

Their first trip to Australian shores culminated in a host of rave reviews from three SOLD OUT headline shows, whilst in the country for The Falls & Southbound Festivals; landing not one, but three coveted spots in triple j’s inaugural Hottest 100, including a Top 10 placing with ‘Strong’”.

I am going to wrap up soon. I remember when Wasting My Young Years came out. I was thirty at the time. It was quite an eye-opening song. I could relate to many of the lyrics. Hannah Reid was only twenty-two when the song was released. There is this mantra-like quality to the lyrics. Certain lines and phrases reiterated and repeated. My favourite section is: “Don't you know that it's only fear/I wouldn't worry, you have all your life/I've heard it takes some time to get it right/I'm wasting my young years/It doesn't matter if/I'm chasing old ideas/It doesn't matter…”. It can be interpreted as Hannah Reid being more general or oblique. You get the feeling that she is discussing maybe a slow start to a music career. Spending time not perusing her dreams or making some errors when it came to priorities. In September 2013, The Guardian interviewed London Grammar. There was a bit of context and explanation around Wasting My Young Years:

“The band met while at Nottingham University, where Reid and guitarist Dan Rothman drafted in Dot Major from the year below to add percussion (at their first gig as a three-piece, this involved him playing the djembe) to their sound. After just a handful of shows, they were signed to Ministry. The label, best known for its rave compilations, seems an unlikely fit but, says Reid, "the fact they were independent gave us a chance to go away, work on the songs and wait until we were ready."

The song that got them noticed – Wasting My Young Years – is a chilling look at the despondency of youth. Reid says it was written after a breakup and is about the pain of investing time in someone who squanders it. But at a time when young people feel entirely at sea – unable to find work or afford rents, forced back into their childhood homes – the song takes on a generational eeriness.

"I have a lot of friends now who are really lost," says Reid. "We got to go to university and have a good education, but we're finding ourselves in a position where it's impossible to get jobs, and we're terrified. So many people I know don't know what to do with their lives."

Though written mostly from experiences in Reid's personal life, If You Wait speaks to inauspicious beginnings of adulthood. It is often said that there are no angry young bands any more, but demoralisation rarely manifests itself in rage. In your 20s, anger gets taken out on your relationships and your self-esteem. This is a record that whispers with the pain of "a life that is cold" and being left "to the wayside, like you do". Perhaps it is the first quarter-life-crisis album.

For a group of middle-class kids such as these, finishing university and trying to make it as a pop band is a risky endeavour that almost always ends in failure and puts you years behind your peers. But the irony is, that London Grammar are neither the middle-of-the-road group they appear to be nor in the precarious state of youth they describe.

When most university graduates are staring into the unknown, being in this band might just have been the smartest move these three young people could have made. This is not just a record that speaks to mid-20s despondency, it offers a way out of it”.

I want to bring in a final review/feature about Wasting My Young Years. A song that still sounds utterly beautiful and affecting. Such an amazingly realised and confident song from a new group. Proof that Hannah Reid is among the most distinct voices – lyrical and vocal – of her generation. This is what CLASH said of Wasting My Young Years in May 2013:

“Youth is such a precious commodity.

Fragile, compact, limited to such a short time frame, youth has all the splendour, innocence and promise you care to mention.

Which is what makes London Grammar such an odd proposition. Formed at university, the band are still fresh out of their teens yet have become one of the most heavily dropped names in the music industry.

And their new single? 'Wasting My Young Years'. A beautifully executed piece of heartbroken pop music, this is languid, melancholic, anthemic in a way Lana Dey Rey can only dream of.

Yet for some reason, London Grammar still believe that they're wasting their young years… Strange”.

A song I was keen to explore for Groovelines, the atmospheric, epic and gorgeous Wasting My Young Years is, in my view, still the best thing London Grammar have recorded. Ahead of the release of the release of The Greatest Love – which one feels will include meditations on motherhood and fulfilment -, it is worth looking back at where it started. Hannah Reid pouring out her heart and veins in a moving song. There is still nothing out there…

QUITE like Wasting My Young Years.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Arooj Aftab

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Kate Sterlin

Arooj Aftab

_________

AN album released recently that I hope…

more people pick up and listen to, Night Reign by Arooj Aftab is gorgeous. The Pakistani-American composer, artist and producer is someone who should be on your radar. This GRAMMY-winning artist is someone who everyone needs to hear. On the seventy-fifth diamond jubilee anniversary of Pakistan, President Arif Alvi awarded Aftab the Pride of Performance Award. This is Pakistan's most prestigious award for excellence in the field of art and music. I am going to end with a review for Night Reign. Prior to that, so we can learn more about Arooj Aftab, I am going to combine some fairly recent interviews. There are quite a few interviews from this year from Arooj Aftab. That is great, as we get to discover multiple sides of her magnificent music and personality. I am going to quote from four of the interviews. Actually, thinking about it, I will include three interviews – as it will be quite a lot of information and words I am putting out. I would urge everyone to do more digging and reading to discover as much as you can concerning Arooj Aftab. Anyway, let’s start out with Rolling Stone and their recent interview with this amazing and multi-talented artist:

“ARE DOING stuff that is indicative of fun,” Arooj Aftab says, quite seriously, in the flat staccato cadence of a test proctor.

The Pakistani-born, Berklee-trained, Brooklyn-based musician is talking about the singing on her new album, Night Reign, out May 31: the doubled vocals, the fresh harmonies, and especially the Auto-Tune that envelops her voice on lead single “Raat Ki Rani” and lends it that spectral pop aura. Aftab remembers asking the mix engineer, “Can you please put, like, T-Pain amounts of Auto-Tune on this and let’s see how it sounds?”

Vulture Prince propelled Aftab from professional-artist-with-a-day-job to Grammy-winner — she was the first ever Pakistani artist to win one — with prominent placement on Barack Obama’s summer playlist. Her team grew with her stature; she signed to Verve, and spent the next few years touring the world in support of both Vulture Prince and her 2023 collaboration with Vijay Iyer and Shahzad Ismaily, Love in Exile. In the midst of all this came the inevitable rumblings from everyone around her: “Oh my god, the follow-up!”

PHOTO CREDIT: Quyn Duong

“I was really worried about this being the Vulture Prince follow-up, and it needing to be better, or at least the same… or at least it really needs to not suck,” Aftab says with a laugh. “You know, when you have a record that people really love, you’re kind of fucked, because the next one has to be equally good or better. And that’s really scary. My mind was preoccupied with how to take the sound further.”

She continues: “When you blow up, your cute art becomes a small business. You’re not just writing about your feelings anymore. It means a lot more, the stakes are higher. The artist employs pretty much everybody from the managers to the bookers — you’re responsible to then continue to create something good. I wanted to escape it, but then I just got real with it.”

Aftab originally planned to make an album centered around the poetry of Mah Laqa Bai Chanda, an 18th/19th-century courtesan, political advisor, and warrior, who was also the first female Urdu poet to publish a collection of her own work. No one had set her poems to music before, and Aftab was up for the challenge, until it began to feel more like a creative imposition than a stimulating prompt. So she ditched the larger concept, kept what made sense (Chanda’s poems form the basis of two songs, “Na Gul” and “Saaqi”), and opened herself up to everything.

Night Reign includes interpolations of the jazz standard “Autumn Leaves” and Shamim Jaipuri’s ghazal “Zameen,” made famous by the great Indian singer Begum Akhtar. (“She’s like my Billie Holiday, so I gotta have my girl in there,” Aftab says.) Opener “Aey Nehin” is based on an impromptu poem Aftab saw her friend, the Pakistani actress Yasra Rizvi, recite on Instagram. “There’s a looseness, a fun, and a non-seriousness about it that actually ends up being very beautiful — it’s not contrived at all,” Aftab says. “It’s one of my favorite songs on the record.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Quyn Duong

Aftab is maybe most animated when discussing the thrills and sonic possibilities that come from putting different musicians, with different skill sets and personalities, into a room together — something she came to embrace as a major part of overcoming the pressures of following up Vulture Prince. “People are not going to say ‘No’ if you pick up the phone and call,” she says. “You can expand your sound, you have the access.”

Embracing this kind of confidence in community makes total sense for an extrovert like Aftab. “I love hanging out, meeting new people, and that fuels my creativity,” she says. And there’s no time better for all of that than the night — especially if you’re a musician on tour. “The touring nightlife, even though it’s so chaotic, so hectic, so full of people, I feel there’s a stillness in all of that,” she adds. “I can be alone with my thoughts, I can write, I can be creative somehow. Less than when I’m just back in Brooklyn doing interviews and going to the dentist.”

Three years of intense touring behind Vulture Prince and Love in Exile has changed that a bit. After performing, Aftab now heads straight for the hotel, not because she’s ready to conk out — she’s likely still “so juiced” from the show — but because she knows herself so well: “No one get in my way with a beer, don’t even look at me, because then I’ll hang out and suddenly it’ll be four in the morning, and the next day is gonna suck”.

I am going to move on to a fantastic interview from The Quietus. They salute and spend time with the peerless New York musician. You do not need to know about Arooj Aftab to appreciate her album, Night Reign. It is one of the most immersive and nuanced albums of this year. You will come back and discover new layers and highlights:

“The thing she wanted it to do was bridge the gap between the traditional (influences of Pakistani classical, jazz and minimalism sung predominantly in Urdu verse) and the contemporary. When the record was released, Aftab told the Los Angeles Times that she hoped Vulture Prince would “transcend boundaries.” In doing so, her innovation also garnered her new fans and accolades. She became the first-ever Pakistani woman to win a Grammy Award for her song ‘Mohabbat’ (meaning ‘love’) in 2022, a yearning ballad inspired by a well-known ghazal (an ancient form of Arabic poetry) penned by Hafeez Hoshiarpuri. Barack Obama even selected the dew-dappled song as one of his summer playlist favourites in 2021.

All this was, it’s fair to say, “a huge surprise” for a musician who taught herself the guitar as a teenager in Lahore, Pakistan, listening to Billie Holiday and “the Queen of Ghazals” Begum Akhtar. No longer bound to a corporate nine-to-five, she could finally be the musician she wanted to be: a critically-acclaimed artist in New York – the city she’s called home for well over a decade. “When your project becomes successful, people start gravitating towards you in a particular way, and I was experiencing this in the evenings at parties,” she says. Which is how the darkness of night came to be her muse on this new record. Not simply a period of time, she emphasises, but a protagonist in its own right, personified through vignettes and melody. “Once I honed in on that, it just took off.”

When talking about boundaries with Aftab, it’s impossible not to acknowledge the geographical ones, too. “I was born in Saudi Arabia and it has felt strange for the longest time,” she says as we discuss movement and heritage. Aftab was born to Pakistani parents in what she describes as “a closed place, a desert, the pinnacle of reserved religion” and the strangeness she feels is partly to do with this expatriated disconnection. Growing up there, its barrenness didn’t match up with the fertility of home which was guided by parents she describes as “seventies liberals”. Bearing this in mind, her move to Lahore in Pakistan, when she was eleven years old, changed everything. It’s a tangible place, she tells me. “I’m really glad that my parents decided to leave and go to their home country. There was a lot of celebration of language and culture. It’s woven into the fabric there – art, music, poetry, dance – and I fell in love with all these things.”

Although often described as a genre-defying artist, many like to genre-define her on a micro level anyway. From “jazz fusion” and “Hindustani classical” to “neo-Sufism” – a term Aftab herself came up with in her younger years when asked what her first record was all about. Does she regret coining it, I wonder? She laughs. “I was just a baby, you know? I should’ve been like, it’s new! I’m making something that I want to hear that I’m not finding in the music scene.” When it came to an east-to-west crossover in 2014 nothing she was listening to quite hit the mark. “Yeah, someone can play tablas and put a saxophone over it but that’s not contemporary. You’re just putting blocks together. Where’s the next step?” One gets the sense that this is a question Aftab has asked herself from the very beginning. In 2014, the then-29-year-old released her soulful debut, Bird Under Water, blending trumpets, accordion, sitar and bansuri (an ancient side-blown bamboo flute originating from India and Nepal) with qawwali, a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, to mesmerising effect. Three years later, she fearlessly mutated with her follow-up Siren Islands, an aqueous underworld of synthesised sound, ghostly and chimerical, that took us to the three rocky islands where the sirens of Greek mythology lured sailors to their deaths.

And then came Vulture Prince in 2021, a record that metamorphosed of its own accord, reshaped and reformed by the eddy and flow of her grief. The record is dedicated to the memory of her younger brother, Maher, who died while she was making it. Lost voices, and lost moments. In the accompanying promotional material for Night Reign there is talk of “stepping away from, though never forgetting, the grief and loss that animated” the last record. I wonder how her grief has evolved as she embraces this new iteration of blossoming songs – something she calls an “unfurling”. There is a dynamism to Night Reign that feels like she’s treading new ground. And yet I get the sense that there is a continuation of remembrance, too. “It’s come together as grief does, right?” she replies. “I was really sad when I was writing Vulture Prince. In the last couple of years, that sadness has been embraced and has evolved. And I feel joy, I feel the sultriness, I feel the celebration of life. I don’t want to be associated with sad lament-y stuff just because the last record was that. Night Reign is almost fun. It’s an honest representation of where I’m at.”

With the American poet, musician, and activist Moor Mother, however, comes a different kind of sentiment – and one that also helps define Night Reign. “We’ve been waiting for this moment, and the right song,” Aftab tells me when I ask her about their pairing on ‘Bolo Na’: an elemental call with burning lyrics that seem to nudge us into darker waters. “I want to believe in a love, in a future, I want to believe,” Moor Mother repeats over a skulking bassline. It’s a line that feels pertinent to where we find ourselves in 2024. On the morning that I meet Aftab, Donald Trump’s trial is reconvening in Manhattan, and abortion rights advocates and opponents are clashing outside the US Supreme Court. A lot has happened globally since Aftab’s last record came out in the midst of the pandemic – and the anger isn’t lost in this follow-up. ‘Bolo Na’ began as a love song, she tells me, written when she was a teenager about a non-committal entanglement. “Like, do you love me or not?” Aftab summarises. Deemed “too corny” by the young singer, it was soon shelved – until the bassline returned to her recently and she realised it signalled to something far greater. “This is a resistance song now,” she says. “It’s no longer a love story.” When she sent the track to Moor Mother she said, “We can be mad, we can be upset about stuff.” And Moor Mother delivered. “This insanely hard shit,” she laughs.  “Moor Mother is crazy, she’s so good.” What began as a “lame” ballad full of questions transformed into a powerful awakening. “I don’t need to know if you love me or not,” she circles back to her teen-lyric. “I know you’re lying.” In this sense, the toxic relationship is no longer with a former love interest but with the current structures that claim to hold us. “The world is lying to us,” she says with an impassioned voice, “they don’t love us.” When she put down her vocals there was, she says, a righteous feeling – almost of happiness. “Because this mopey love song turned into my feeling of right now. This is how we feel right now. We feel like establishments that were put in place to protect us aren’t doing that. And we’re stuck.”

It’s a sentiment that is reflected in her cover of the old jazz standard ‘Autumn Leaves’ based on the French song ‘Les Feuilles Mortes’ (‘The Dead Leaves’). When it was written in 1945, its composer, the Hungarian Joseph Kosma, was under house arrest in occupied France. “The falling leaves drift by my window,” Aftab sings on a cavernous rendition that teeters on the edge of something. It is, she agrees, another kind of resistance song: “Jazz is a deeply resistant music and it’s been a part of my world forever.” As has her love of singing in Urdu, another lifeline that runs through her records. A question she always asks herself is how she can tell a story through music while also minimising the lyrics so that we can “just feel.” I wonder if there is a kind of freedom for non-Urdu-speaking listeners like myself with only her music as my guide. On a midsummer’s evening in 2022, I watched thousands of people coalesce in enthralled rapture as Aftab sang against the majestic silhouette of the Welsh Brecon Beacons. It’s a stillness that could have rivalled a great cathedral. And yet, for many, the lyrics were a mystery to them – absorbed, as if by osmosis”.

Prior to coming to a review for Neigh Reign, this SPIN interview is worth bringing in. They note how Arooj Aftab keeps charting new musical territory. In doing so, she is providing a compass to the listener. She could have copied Vulture Prince or done something similar. Instead, her latest album is a new direction and fresh piece of work. Something that pushes her work to the next level:

“SPIN: You’ve pushed back on being considered a “world music” artist and you won the Best Global Music Performance Grammy. How do you feel about that?

Arooj Aftab: There are a lot of (Grammy) categories, and they’re there to have your peers vote, and the people who know the particular genre the best decide which should win. There’s a legitimate strategy behind the way it’s laid out. Music is just not that simple in that way.

World music is considered something that is very rooted in tradition, and it is less contemporary, less modern, and more classical. And I’m not. Just because I’m brown and it’s in a different language doesn’t mean it’s qawwalis like Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.

Because of Vulture Prince’s success, did you feel extra pressure when you were working on Night Reign?

Vulture Prince was something that I was chasing. Not everybody listens to music in such compartmentalized ways. The world has become cross-cultural and not segregated in the way that it used to be. And so where is the music that shows that? There’s been a gap in the music conversation and in the actual music.

I had been thinking about that, conceptualizing it, and trying to execute it. But Vulture Prince was a big breakthrough. That was the goal of my life up until then. And it set me free. Now that I’ve had three years of talking to the press and training them in this new form of music, I’m free to expand on it. It’s just fun. And so the pressure of the follow-up album being good or not isn’t so relevant.

What inspires you about the nighttime?

We know already as a universal fact that musicians love the night. The night is our friend. For me, there is a night or two where things come together and creativity blossoms. The night provides this canopy where you don’t have to be so direct. You can gracefully move from one place to another, from person to person. It’s not so exposed. That’s so beautiful. Also, as a woman in any fucking place, at night we’re scared. The night is not just all fun or healing. It’s a scary place where things are not that visible. Once I landed on the album theme being not about me or someone else who I have feelings towards – like, Vulture Prince was about my brother and my friend who passed away. As soon as it became clear that it should be the night, it set me free. 

On “Raat Ki Rani,” you use AutoTune. I saw someone on Twitter dug up some old tweets where you were talking shit about AutoTune.

When AutoTune came out, it was introduced to the music industry as a corrective device. And so of course, as a 23-year-old vocalist, I was like, “Fuck AutoTune!” But since then it’s evolved so much with artists like James Blake and Imogen Heap and Cher and T-Pain and Snoop and Kanye and Kid Cudi. They have innovated how vocals can be presented while still remaining soulful and non-destructive of the actual essence of the voice.

There was a feeling on Night Reign about not being so formal or sad or precious, and I think “Raat Ki Rani” is really playful. It’s sultry and inviting. And when I put AutoTune on that, it fit the mood of the song and nudged audiences into feeling a little lighthearted.

Tessa Thompson directed the “Raat Ki Rani” video. You also worked with her dad [Chocolate Genius] on the album. How did you connect?

I’ve been a fan of her work for a really long time. And then we became friends over the course of the last few years. Tessa was in London, and I had a show, and she came to that, and we hung out after. We realized that we really like each other, and there’s a genuineness that is rare in our industries. I had thought of her while I was writing the album. I was like, “Hey, I think you should be in the music video because you’ve been a muse for some of this music,” and then it was her idea to direct it instead. That’s an honor.

I think because your music is “serious music,” people think of you as a very serious person. People think artists are exactly like what their music sounds like.

I’m still conditioning people to move away from their surface level prejudice of what they think this is and who they think the followers are and the collaborators are. So many responses were like, “Wow, what a crossover! Penn Badgley likes Arooj Aftab’s music?” Welcome to the new world. Where people are not boxing everybody in in this way, and these crossovers are very natural and very New York, and this is just what the music does to people.

From Penn to Tessa to Obama to Elvis Costello, people are gravitating towards this music. Even in the way that I choose who to invite to collaborate with me, these are subtle ways in which I’m teaching everybody to chill out and be cool and just let music take you where it needs to go and not worry about my ethnicity or your own ethnicity. And that’s something to celebrate.

Does it feel different singing in different languages? You use English more on an everyday basis, but the majority of your music is in Urdu.

I’m pretty purely bilingual. But I like Urdu because it is a minimalist language in the way that I use it, where it’s phrases and sentences that are more metaphoric. The name of the flower is not jasmine, it’s “queen of the night.” The Urdu language is not so wordy, because the words already have so much meaning.

One phrase that you’ve used to describe your music is “hopeful disdain.” What does that mean to you?

The state of the world is awful and upsetting, and there’s a lot of melancholy there, but it’s also beautiful. The emphasis is that there’s still hope. There are these glimmers of sunshine in all the music. The world-building never gets really dark. It’s always still hopeful while acknowledging how fucked up things are”.

It is almost time to get to one of the many positive reviews for Night Reign. Surely among the very best albums of this year, I do genuinely think that it will enrich everyone’s life. You need to hear it! On 9th July, Arooj Aftab plays OMEARA in London. I would urge people to get a ticket if they can. An artist who really needs to be seen in the flesh.

I will finish with a review from Pitchfork. It is brilliant seeing all the wonderful reviews for an essential and powerful work. Arooj Aftab is a truly exceptional artist and composer. She should be known by the world. I can see her releasing many more albums in the future. She seems to grow stronger with each release. That is why I want to highlight her here:

“It isn’t easy to say something new with “Autumn Leaves.” The 1945 torch song is surely one of the most performed standards in the jazz repertoire, not only by the likes of Miles Davis and Nat King Cole, but also by the beginners taking lessons in the back rooms of your local store music store: sitting down at a piano to play its wistful minor-key melody is a bit like the jazz version of picking up an electric guitar and going straight for “Smoke on the Water.” Putting your rendition on a new album in 2024 is either a conservative move or a bold one. For Arooj Aftab, the Brooklyn-via-Lahore singer and composer who moves freely between jazz, folk, and Hindustani and Western classical music, it is decidedly the latter.

Aftab’s “Autumn Leaves” comes early on Night Reign, her fourth solo album, and renders it as a ghostly incantation. Metallic percussion clatters in the background. Linda May Han Oh’s upright bass lines follow Aftab’s vocal like an elongated shadow follows the protagonist of a noir film. Without a chordal instrument to support it, the familiar tune becomes skeletal and spooky; Aftab’s chromatic embellishments make it spookier. Her take on “Autumn Leaves” is emblematic of the way she works: drawing from tradition while at the same time estranging it, stripping away clichés and stock devices to reveal the mysterious longing that gives the old poems and songs their lasting power.

Two of Night Reign’s songs take their words from Mah Laqa Bai Chanda, the 18th-century poet who was the first woman to publish a collection of work in Urdu. Other lyrics are Aftab originals, in both English and Urdu. Still another is based on an offhanded poem that the singer’s friend, the Pakistani actress Yasra Rizvi, posted to Instagram. Aftab unites her source material’s mix of the centuries-old and the ephemeral with her wondrous voice, sometimes soaring but just as potent in its husky lower register. And with her compositions, which patiently gather and dissolve, favoring long arcs of development over sudden dynamic shifts. Though Night Reign has plenty of distinct zones—grungy bass guitar takes the lead on “Bolo Na”; Auto-Tune drapes Aftab’s voice on “Raat Ki Kai”—as a whole it can have the feeling of a single sweeping piece of music.

Aftab, who produces her albums herself, deserves as much credit for her composing and arranging as she does for her singing. Night Reign’s palette is similar to Vulture Prince, her 2021 breakout album, and features many of the same players along with a few new ones: harpist Maeve Gilchrist, whose instrument is second only to Aftab’s singing as the signature sound of her music; Aftab’s Love in Exile bandmates, jazz piano star Vijay Iyer and multi-instrumentalist Shahzad Ismaily; guitarists Kaki King and Gyan Riley; flautist Cautious Clay; percussionist Jamey Haddad; an unlikely Wurlitzer cameo from Elvis Costello. Their instruments drift like a breeze of dandelion seeds, in the same general direction but with independent and unpredictable paths between one point and another. Even Moor Mother, whose stentorian spoken-word is one of the most distinctive sounds in left-of-center music, becomes just another element of the melange when she arrives to deliver a guest verse on “Bolo Na,” the percussive edges of her delivery swept up in the song’s half-time rhythmic churn.

Though actual percussion remains sparse, Night Reign grooves harder than its predecessor, which featured almost no drums. Even when the rhythm instruments sit back, there’s almost always a sense of an insistent pulse, an effect that’s especially pronounced on opener “Aey Nehin”: an acoustic guitar carries it, then a harp, then some hand percussion—all sharing the responsibility for keeping up momentum, tossing it back and forth, and dancing a little more freely when it’s someone else’s turn to hold it down. (Whether or not he’s a direct influence on Aftab, Gyan Riley’s father Terry, the master minimalist composer, sometimes comes to mind in moments like these.) On “Last Night Reprise,” a setting of an English translation of a poem by Rumi, Petros Klampanis’ bass is the lone pace-keeper, pressing on with a simple ostinato as the rest of the players wander into clamorous free improv during the instrumental middle section. They cohere again behind Aftab when she returns to the mic for the thrilling finale. “Last night my beloved was like the moon,” she sings, alternating between heroic long tones and frantic rushes of syllables. “So beautiful like the moon.”

Vulture Prince, which Aftab recorded in the aftermath of her younger brother’s death, is an album haunted by grief. Night Reign is less tethered to a single theme: Aftab originally conceived it as a collection of settings of Mah Laqa Bai Chanda’s work, then abandoned the idea when it began to feel constrictive. But if there’s one situation or emotion that persists across its songs—even “Autumn Leaves”—it is loving someone who isn’t there. It’s in the words, whether adapted from 18th-century poetry or an Instagram post, and in the mixture of tenderness and tough resolve that characterizes Aftab’s singing. It’s also in the music itself, in the vaporous way the instruments hover around some unspoken center, drawing as much attention to the negative space as the sound, and in the pulse that seems to keep going even when you can’t actually hear it. Almost anyone can relate to the feeling Night Reign renders in sound: the object of your affection may be gone, but the memories and desire that linger on are just as real”.

Such a sensational and sublime composer, producer and artist, the New York-based Pakistani genius is a fairly new discovery to me. Arooj Aftab’s Night Reign is an album that will stay with you long after you have heard it. I have passed through it a few times. If you are not familiar with Arooj Aftab than make sure that you acquaint yourself with her work. She is an artist that truly…

HAS to be heard.

_________

Follow Arooj Aftab

Official:

https://www.aroojaftab.com/  

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/aroojaftab/

Twitter:

https://x.com/arooj_aftab

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-Y8IfhCgjIUNwDySbhQiA

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/00JAfwtx5gNiiqyor88Dr5?si=XKPO_TX7Qc2WE4roc1BqIw

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/aroojaftabmusic/

FEATURE: From a Landline in England… Revisiting the Joy of Kate Bush’s Woman’s Hour Interview

FEATURE:

 

 

From a Landline in England…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images 

Revisiting the Joy of Kate Bush’s Woman’s Hour Interview

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I have been looking back…

IN THIS PHOTO: Woman’s Hour’s Emma Barnett

at Kate Bush interviews from through the years. I have been listening to a lot to interviews she gave to promote 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. There has not been a lot since then. The odd bit here and there. Whilst we have read updates from Kate Bush on her official website, we have not heard her voice a lot. In terms of interviews, there was a 2016 chat she had with Matt Everitt for BBC Radio 6 Music. That was when she discussed the live album of 2014’s Before the Dawn. We did not really know what would come after that. I am reminded now of a bombshell that happened on 22nd June, 2022. Just over two years ago, we were treated to hearing from Kate Bush once more. There was really no warning! I guess it is not a shock that she would have something to say about the success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God). Used on the Netflix series, Stranger Things, it went to number one in the U.K. Introducing Bush to a new generation of fans. Because of the new success, we heard Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) played widely across radio. It is her most-streamed song. Perhaps the song that people associate with her. That defining moment. Given how there was very little audio from Kate Bush after 2016, we sort of assumed that, if she had anything to add to her website updates, she would do that in writing. We might get a printed interview with her. That would have bene a gift. Instead, and without much warning, there was this spoken interview. We take music interviews for granted. Artists do this all of the time. You get YouTube and Spotify interviews. Plenty of radio interviews. More than enough chance to hear an artist discuss their music. When you think about Kate Bush, there has been this real absence of interviews for about a decade or so. Of course, her voice has not changed that much. She is still the same warm and down to Earth human. Even though we might never get another filmed interview, just hearing her voice was a tantalising thought.

As we have just past the two-year anniversary of this huge moment, I wanted to spend some time with it. The interview was conducted by Emma Barnett for Woman’s Hour. I will drop in the interview below. You can also listen here. There was so much to unpack and enjoy. For a start, it was that suddenness. No real tease or huge build-up. We saw an announcement shortly before broadcast that Kate Bush would be talking with Woman’s Hour. Despite the fact there was no new album or anything like that, it was a joy imagining Kate Bush speaking at all! Few fans thought we would hear unless there was a new album. June 2022 was also during the pandemic. Still quite a tough time for us all. There was something unifying and uplifting knowing we would hear from Kate Bush. The main reason for the interview was to talk about Stranger Things. Bush having this chance to thank fans. How Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) was this totemic moment in the episode. How it meant to much to Max. A song that saved a life. It resonated with fans. The genuine sense of pride and passion in Kate Bush’s voice as she thanked fans and the show’s creators! It was a smart choice speaking with Woman’s Hour. Rather than have a couple of minutes on another BBC station, this was a longer interview that was wonderful to hear. Genuine respect and love from Emma Barnett. I am not sure exactly where Kate Bush lives though, as it is her, there is that sense of the peaceful and English. A nice garden and home. Not that many mod cons I would imagine. Keeping things nice but fairly basic. One of the first things to note about the interview is that Kate Bush was speaking on a landline.

Almost obsolete, it is refreshing and typical that Kate Bush has a landline! She did explain how she had this old, brick-like mobile phone that she could make calls from. She did not want something modern because of the distracting nature. Checking emails on the go was not her style. Instead, she wanted to go outside and not have to feel at the mercy of a smartphone. Emma Barnett did not ask about a new album or material – a missed opportunity I feel -, though Kate Bush did say that she was spending a lot of time gardening. Many fans took this as a sign that she was retiring. As I pointed out when I discussed this interview in a previous feature, it is no shock that Bush enjoys gardening. It is not an activity solely for retired people. Bush grew up on East Wickham Farm and would have been gardening as a child and young woman. She gardened before making Hounds of Love. Something relaxing and an interest of her. Rather than it being a sign of slowing down, gardening is useful when it comes to creativity and rest. Caitlin Moran introduced the interview (there was this separate audio recording). She talked about Kate Bush. Bush talked about Stranger Things and how it was this great moment. Thinking that the whole world had gone mad because of the success of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), this whole new audience discovered her. I liked how Bush, when talking about the song, always felt that its title should be A Deal with God. She discussed how many of her songs had strange working titles. I would love to have known some of them! Bush said how she does not listen to her older music. Bush reiterated how her song was used in a very special place and was a powerful thing. Music has this way of touching people, as she said. Despite the fact Kate Bush was speaking on a landline, she said how today is a very exciting time because of the advances in technology. Emma Barnett praised how Bush was so far ahead of people she was in terms of studio technology. How Before the Dawn, her residency, was phone-free. Bush wanted there to be a strong connection between those in the audience and those on stage.

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A post shared by BBC Woman's Hour (@bbcwomanshour)

So much to enjoy and adore about the interview. Throughout, Kate Bush sounded engaged and warm. Bush said how she spent a lot of her day on the laptop. That need for peace when she goes out. Emma Barnett said how there is WitchTok, a subset of TikTok, inspired by Bush’s look in the video for Babooshka – to which Bush laughed and said it sounds ridiculous! Even if it was not a hugely long interview, it was a compassionate and very heartwarming moment that we were not expecting. Emma Barnett said at the end of the interview how Kate Bush can come back anytime. She did say that at the very end of the interview. It would be incredible if that were to happen! I guess there would need to be a new album or something big for us to hear her voice again. Even so, two years ago, we got this amazing moment we didn’t really think would happen. From somewhere in England, on a landline, the legendary Kate Bush spoke with Woman’s Hour. Social media was awash with people saying how happy they were hearing Kate Bush’s voice. As humble and relatable as she was back in the 1970s, it was refreshing knowing that not a lot had changed. It also means there is an appetite for something more. We all really want to hear from Kate Bush again. A reason for that to happen. Until that happens – if it does at all! – go and listen to that Woman’s Hour interview. Kate Bush sharing her thoughts on Stranger Things and how it helped bring Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) to the world. Getting this whole legion of new fans. I still think about the Woman’s Hour interview. Even though it was a fairly brief chat, it was this revelation and thing we never imagined. This treat for everyone. Hearing Kate Bush speak is almost therapeutic and calming. For that reason alone, we all hope that we can hear from Kate Bush…

VERY soon.

FEATURE: The Sony Walkman at Forty-Five: The Importance of the Original, and the Modern-Day Alternatives

FEATURE:

 

 

The Sony Walkman at Forty-Five

The Importance of the Original, and the Modern-Day Alternatives

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ON 1st July, 1979…

the world was introduced to a piece of music technology that would change the world. Released in Japan and eventually rolled out to the rest of the world, the Sony Walkman drastically altered how we would listen to music. In terms of portable devices, nothing before had come onto the market. It was a huge moment in the way in which we could listen to music on the move. One would think that, as it was released in 1979, the Sony Walkman would be hefty and heavy to carry around. That was not the case. Actually fairly lightweight and sleek, its design would be refined through the years. As it is forty-five today, I wanted to celebrate it, also looking at what is on the market today. It is an important anniversary. Forty-five years after the Sony Walkman came out, there is relevance discussing it. Cassettes are still around today. As I have said in previous features about the Sony Walkman: there are not really enough options to play them on. I am going to explore some buying options for those who want to play cassettes on the move. Can anything really compete with the simply iconic original Sony Walkman?! I think it is one of the most important moments in music history. Giving music fans that freedom and mobility. Even the transistor radio arrived well before the Sony Walkman and meant that people could listen to the radio portability, it did not really compare with the Sony Walkman. The privacy you get with a Sony Walkman. How you could listen to any album on it. Not something that was possible with the transistor radio. Before looking at the modern equivalents of the iconic Sony Walkman, here is some information about the fateful day, 1st July, 1979, when it went on sale:

“On July 1, 1979, the first personal stereo cassette player, called the Sony Walkman, debuts for sale. It would spark a revolution in portable electronics.

The transistor radio had been the first technological marvel to put music literally into consumers’ hands in the mid-1950s. It was cheap, it was reliable and it was portable, but it could never even approximate the sound quality of a record being played on a home stereo. It was, however, the only technology available to on-the-go music lovers until Walkman appeared.

The Sony Walkman didn’t represent a breakthrough in technology so much as it did a breakthrough in imagination. Every element of the Walkman was already in production or testing as part of some other device when Sony’s legendary chairman, Masaru Ibuka, made a special request in early 1979. Ibuka was a music lover who traveled frequently, and he was already in the habit of carrying one of his company’s “portable” stereo tape recorders with him on international flights. But the Sony TC-D5 was a heavy device that was in no way portable by modern standards, so Ibuka asked his then-deputy Norio Ohga if he could cobble together something better. Working with the company’s existing Pressman product—a portable, monaural tape recorder that was popular with journalists—Ohga had a playback-only stereo device rigged up in time for Ibuka’s next trans-Pacific flight.

Even though this proto-Walkman required large, earmuff-like headphones and custom-made batteries (which, of course, ran out on Ibuka midway through his flight), it impressed the Sony chairman tremendously with its sound quality and portability. Many objections were raised internally when Ibuka began his push to create a marketable version of the device, the biggest of which was conceptual: Would anyone actually buy a cassette device that was not for recording but only for playback? Ibuka’s simple response—”Don’t you think a stereo cassette player that you can listen to while walking around is a good idea?”—proved to be one of the great understatements in business history.

After a breakneck development phase of only four months, Sony engineers had a reliable product ready for market at 30,000 Yen (approximately US $150 in 1979 dollars) and available before the start of summer vacation for Japanese students—both critical targets established at the outset of development. The initial production run of 30,000 units looked to be too ambitious after one month of lackluster sales (only 3,000 were sold in July 1979). But after an innovative consumer-marketing campaign in which Sony representatives simply approached pedestrians on the streets of Tokyo and gave them a chance to listen to the Walkman, the product took off, selling out available stocks before the end of August and signaling the beginning of one of Sony’s greatest success stories”.

I have bemoaned the fact that we do not have the Sony Walkman today. It would be great if they were reissued now. With new demand for cassettes, I think there would be call to have a modern update of the Sony Walkman. If you want to buy a portable cassette player, there are options on Amazon. Even though there are some affordable options, most of them are quite expensive. I think that, if we are going to make it easier for people to listen to cassettes portably, then we need to ensure that devices are affordable. As you can see from this website, there are stylish options from £129. I think that this is quite a lot to pay. Half of that would be much more feasible. How many people are splashing out £129 on a portable cassette player?! There are options if you shop around. It does seem that cheaper options like this are burdened with poor sound quality and a cheap feel. You can get a decent portable cassette player for £100. There are cheaper options, though you are never sure of the quality. It is great that we have options and there is a range of price options. I do feel that the great Sony Walkman could make a return. Price itself at under £60, meaning it would be a good investment and affordable to many music fans. Have a range of colour options. Making it sleek and similar, in terms of buttons/fictions to the original. Making it sturdy, shockproof and ensuring that the sound quality is excellent would make it a success story. Rather than have to search around for a dependable, cool and sturdy portable cassette player, reintroducing the Sony Walkman would solve that quandary.

The Sony Walkman does exist in modern form. It is a device that plays digital music, so it is not about cassettes anymore. Maybe a feeling that people do not want to play cassettes. I like how the Sony Walkman evolved through the years. The original is relatively bulky and has a distinct look. That refinement occurred. The initial price was quite hefty. That eventually came down. I do feel that we have flexibility now. You can get something quite good looking that does not cost a fortune. If we are to have a modern equivalent of the Sony Walkman, there is a lot to consider. Making sure that it is environmentally friendly. A price that is as low as possible. Ensuring that it is tough and does have excellent sound quality. Many might say that, forty-five years after the introduction of the Sony Walkman, do we really need it now?! Something has gone out of music. That sharing culture. The mixtapes. I do feel there is a place for them today. Not something you hear much of now. Whilst there was a fear that the Sony Walkman would lead to more antisocial behaviour, it was also a bonding experience:

“Not everyone was on board with the Walkman though, public use of portable music devices was banned in Woodbridge, New Jersey in 1982 due to a rise in pedestrian accidents. Others had more ideological issues with the “isolating” and “detached” nature of the new private listening experience. However, Japanese professor Shuhei Hosokawa had a more positive outlook, describing the “Walkman effect” as giving listeners more control over their environment and more power in how they inhabit a space. Sony even preempted the potential for antisocial behaviour, giving earlier models a second headset jack, but demand for single-jack models turned out to be much higher.

Despite the moral panic around perceived antisocial behaviour, relationships were formed around the sharing of mixtapes, the forerunner to the modern-day Spotify playlist, marking a moment in consumer culture where listeners took control over what they heard and in what order. This individuality that the Walkman introduced paved the way for now ubiquitous tech like laptops and mobile phones, becoming the first piece of personal tech to be seen as cool to walk around with.

While the rise of the iPod, mobile phones and streaming services may have posed challenges for Walkman devices, Sony has sold over 400 million units across multiple platforms from cassette to CD, mini disc and MP3 since the first Walkman in 1979. The original Walkman cassette players with their clunky buttons and oversized headphones stand as one of the prevailing images of the 80s and 90s and one of the biggest music listening, tech and lifestyle shifts before or since. Monsutā will be back with another Japanese Icon in a couple of weeks. Until then, crack open a can of Monsutā, and don’t forget your headphones”.

On 1st July, 1979, the Sony Walkman went on sale. It changed everything. The start of portable music listening beyond the transistor radio. We would then get C.D. players, MP3 devices and the iPod. It can all be traced back to the Sony Walkman. On its forty-fifth anniversary, I wanted to look at its introduction, but also investigate what is available on the market now. The modern equivalents. There are choices for those who want to keep playing cassettes. I do hope that, one day, we get the Sony Walkman back. There would be demand. When you think about the Sony Walkman, there is no underestimating…

HOW important it was.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Courtney Love at Sixty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Juergen Teller

Courtney Love at Sixty

_________

ON 9th July…

the legendary Courtney Love turns sixty. The lead of Hole, here is someone who is a pioneer and hugely influential artist. There will be a lot written about Love ahead of her sixtieth birthday. A remarkable artist who has influenced so many others, Courtney Love was an artist I connected with as a teenager. In the 1990s, when male bands were the preference and women were as worthy but not getting the same attention, Hole made a big impact. Their second studio album, Live Through This, and the 1998 follow-up, Celebrity Skin, established Hole as one of the bands of their generation. Their latest album, Nobody’s Daughter, was released in 2010. Courtney Love also released the solo album, America’s Sweetheart, in 2004. She is someone who has made a distinct and enormous impression on music. I will come to a playlist in a minute of her solo and Hole work. Maybe I am repeating a previous feature. Though, as she is sixty soon, it is worth revisiting. Before getting to the playlist, this biography gives us some detail and key information about the peerless Courtney Love:

"Love her or loathe her, the opinionated, brutally straightforward, and seemingly always controversial Courtney Love is one of the most notable figures in alternative rock. Born on July 9, 1964 in San Francisco, CA, Love was raised in Oregon. As a teen, Love began listening to new wave and punk, musical styles that would influence her band Hole. After traveling to countries like Ireland, Japan, and England, Love moved to Los Angeles, CA. In 1986, Love appeared as Nancy Spungen's best friend in Sid and Nancy, director Alex Cox's film about Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious and his lover Spungen. Love was also cast in Cox's Straight to Hell. Neither picture brought Love the stardom that she craved. Love then relocated to Minneapolis, MN, and formed the all-female post-punk group Babes in Toyland with Kat Bjelland. Bjelland eventually tossed her out of the band. After working as a stripper in Alaska, Love returned to Los Angeles and started Hole in 1989 with Eric Erlandson (guitar), Jill Emery (bass), and Caroline Rue (drums). Hole released their debut album, Pretty on the Inside, in 1991.

A year later, Love married Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain. Rumors of drug use between the two began surfacing in the press, and a Vanity Press article revealed that Love was using heroin while she was pregnant with their daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. In April 1994, Kurt Cobain committed suicide; two months later, new Hole bassist Kristen M. Pfaff died from a heroin overdose. Although it was recorded before those personal tragedies, Hole's second album, the ironically titled Live Through This, captured the searing pain and violent anger of somebody undergoing a tragic loss. Rumors persisted that Cobain co-wrote a large portion of the album, a claim that Love vehemently denied despite claims to the contrary by many of Cobain's closest friends. No concrete evidence was ever released to back those claims, and she maintained a semi-professional relationship with his former bandmates by forming a partnership with them called Nirvana L.L.C. The organization would control all Nirvana-related releases and try to protect the interests of the three parties, but strife between Love and the rest of the band developed through nasty press comments made by both sides.

Meanwhile, Hole released Celebrity Skin in 1998, but the album came nowhere near the popularity of her previous effort. Despite the band's best promotional efforts (which Courtney dove headfirst into, as always), sales were discouraging enough for bandmembers to start dropping off, essentially dissolving the group while her acting career was taking off. In 1999, Love was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance in the movie The People vs. Larry Flynt. She would stay relatively quiet for a few years, making a few film appearances and bragging up various projects with Louise Post and Kat Bjelland that never surfaced. But when former Nirvana members Krist Novoselic and Dave Grohl announced a 45-song Nirvana retrospective that would include two never released tracks, Love immediately brought them to court in an attempt to wrestle away the rights to the material. Manager/boyfriend Paul Barber tried to become the peacekeeper in the situation, even showing up at the studio for the mixdown of one of the unreleased songs. But Love moved to dissolve Nirvana L.L.C. and managed to stop the release of the album until the matter could be brought to court. The box set was aborted and the three individuals began to hype the upcoming court hearings like a boxing match, inviting the press out and making sharp barbs at one another in interviews. She announced her intentions to spearhead a Nirvana "greatest-hits" album à la the Beatles' 1, and claimed that she had hundreds of home tapes to go through and a journal that she planned on publishing.

Love also began to speak out on musicians' rights, suing her record company and bringing to light unfair business practices on the part of the industry. She began making her interviews and speeches platforms for her newfound cause, and created quite a stir at the South by Southwest Music Conference in the spring of 2002 when she directly announced her intentions of starting a music industry revolution. All that was forthcoming, however (beside more eccentric publicity), was a solo album, 2004's America's Sweetheart, released on Virgin. The following year she began working on new songs, despite battling an alleged eating disorder and a stay in rehab after violating her probation by using drugs. Working with artists including producer Linda Perry, Billy Corgan, and guitarist Micko Larkin, formerly of Larrikin Love, the album Nobody's Daughter began to take shape over 2006 and 2007. In mid-2009, Love announced that Nobody's Daughter would in fact be a Hole album. She began promoting the album in earnest in early 2010, performing shows in Europe and the U.S. -- including gigs at SXSW and on The Late Show with David Letterman -- before its release”.

To salute Courtney Love ahead of her sixtieth birthday on 9th July, I felt it only right to showcase her incredible songwriting. She is one of the most magnetic leads in music history. I am a big fan of her. A truly iconic artist. If you are new to Courtney Love and Hole or have not heard their music for a while then reacquaint and familiarise yourself. You can hear and feel just how important she is. Here’s to the…

AMAZING Courtney Love.

FEATURE: Taking Pride: Has Culture and the Music Landscape Changed So L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Artists Can Fully Express Themselves?

FEATURE:

 

 

Taking Pride

IN THIS PHOTO: Chappell Roan/PHOTO CREDIT: Jade Greene for NYLON

Has Culture and the Music Landscape Changed So L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ Artists Can Fully Express Themselves?

_________

AS someone born in the 1980s…

PHOTO CREDIT: Barcelos_fotos/Pexels

who grew up with the music of the 1990s, a few things were very clear. One of those very visible and obvious aspects was that the music landscape was vastly heterosexual. There were artists who identified as gay or bisexual though, especially when it came to mainstream artists, there was far more secretive exclusion. Songs written from a heterosexual point of view. Maybe not explicit all of the time, the narrative through the decades has been that music is for heterosexual artists. That is what is seen as normal and fashionable. Artists like George Michael writing songs about being in relationships with women. How much stigma was there involved coming out? I realise that there is still some now, yet I feel there has been progress. You did have heterosexual artists toying with the notions of flirting with the opposite sex. Really, there were not that many out and proud artists. I don’t think that the culture and conversations happening at the time made it possible. This continued until relatively recent. Not only was it a case of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists not being able to be free and true to themselves. There were fewer in the mainstream than there should have been. Perhaps seeing that the industry was not going to support and accept them. As it is Pride Month – the final day of -, it is important to look at how things have shifted. I will end with a thought that some have asked. That relates to whether we have a modern-day L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ icon. If you think of the most popular artists at the moment, we can not see too many examples. Are there still restrictions about artists’ sexuality and the type of songs played. Even if radio stations play gay anthems and tracks from L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists, most of these acts are not as celebrated as others. I do think that things need to improve in that sense.

Even if there are many negatives about music and how we digest it, the fact we have access to so many tracks with no wait means we can discover so many great artists. There are playlists like this that feature an array of queer artists. There are articles highlighting L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists to watch out for. It is wonderful that there is this exposure and celebration. Still, at the highest level of music, we do not have a Pride icon and mainstream star that can inspire and give strength to the next generation. Big artists who are near the top who do this already – Billie Eilish is one example -, though I feel even the playing of L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ songs is not as widespread as it should be. Even so, there are fewer restrictions. Artists like Reneé Rapp coming through and showing one day she will be an icon held in the same esteem of some of the biggest artists around. Things are changing. As Billboard wrote, this year’s GRAMMYs saw some historic wins for L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists:

“But one such historic moment went quietly overlooked on Sunday night — three of the winners in the Big Four categories were queer women. Cyrus’s record of the year win with “Flowers,” Billie Eilish’s song of the year win for “What Was I Made For?” and Victoria Monét’s best new artist win mark the first time in recent memory that three different LGBTQ artists took home trophies in the evening’s main categories.

“It’s huge,” says Anthony Allen Ramos, vice president of communications and talent at LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD. “Seeing LGBTQ women dominate three of the biggest categories is something to be really excited about and proud of, especially today.”

Wins for queer artists weren’t confined to the evening’s big categories, either — LGBTQ artists earned wins across a multitude of genres. Boygenius, the supergroup made up of queer superstars Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus, took home three trophies for best rock performance, best rock song and best alternative music album; Bridgers, meanwhile, walked away as the most awarded artist of the night with her four wins. Monét nabbed a win for best R&B album with Jaguar II. Americana categories awarded trophies to LGBTQ stars like Allison Russell (best American roots performance for “Eve Was Black”), Brandy Clark and Brandi Carlile (both in best Americana performance for “Dear Insecurity”).

Ramos points out that even in oft-undiscussed categories, LGBTQ artists saw huge wins. “We had Carla Patullo winning for best new age, ambient or chant album,” he tells Billboard. “It felt like we finally had wonderful representation in all genres, and I think that’s really important, because it’s not just about [queer artists] being in pop or dance. I never even thought about having LGBTQ inclusion in the best new age category!”

Representation for LGBTQ talent at the Grammys has steadily risen over the last few years, with the Recording Academy even debuting their new Academy Proud initiative this year to help “support and amplify LGBTQIA+ voices and drive queer representation at the Recording Academy and the music industry at-large.”

These major successes for queer folks at the 2024 Grammys come at a time of upheaval for the LGBTQ+ community at large — nearly 400 bills targeting the community have already been proposed this year in state legislatures around the United States, with more no doubt still to come. While LGBTQ+ artists earning record-high honors at an awards show might seem trivial in the face of direct attacks against queer and trans people around the world, the facts actually show otherwise.

According to data collected by The Trevor Project, 79% of LGBTQ+ youth reported that seeing musicians come out as members of the LGBTQ+ community made them feel better about their own identity. Meanwhile, 71% of respondents said that seeing straight, cisgender celebrities advocate for the LGBTQ+ community improved their own feelings on gender and sexuality”.

Despite there still being a bit of a barrier or hesitation about giving L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists the same platform and spotlight as others, things have come a long way. We still need to do more work to ensure that the industry is a safe and accepting space. So that artists no longer feel the need to hide who they are through fear of discrimination, abuse and a lack of airplay and contract opportunities. Everyone from The Last Dinner Party and Chappell Roan are helping to open doors. There is a revolution occurring. Real change. Now is an especially prosperous and successful time for queer women:

“Perhaps there’s no better image of lesbian visibility than the cast of “The L Word” introducing pop star Reneé Rapp in front of two giant pairs of scissors last week on the Coachella stage.

Rapp, 24, has been on a steady rise after starring in “Mean Girls: The Musical” and hitting the Billboard charts with her Megan Thee Stallion collaboration, “It’s Not My Fault” (choice lyrics include “Kiss a blonde/kiss a friend/can a gay girl get an amen?”). For her Coachella debut on April 14, Rapp didn’t skimp on the Sapphism: She brought her guitarist girlfriend, Towa Bird, on stage for a duet and a kiss, and she had her self-proclaimed idol, bisexual sensation Kesha, join her for a feminist update of Kesha’s hit song “TikTok.”

In addition to Rapp, the music festival — which brings hundreds of thousands of fans to Southern California every year — featured queer artists Chappell Roan, Brazilian artist Ludmilla, Brittany Howard, Victoria Monét and Billie Eilish, the latter two fresh off Grammy wins.

Like Coachella, the Grammy Awards in February were another blockbuster music event where women — and queer women in particular — reigned supreme: Bisexual musician Phoebe Bridgers of boygenius was the night’s biggest winner;  pansexual Miley Cyrus earned both best pop solo performance and record of the year; and, of the performances, none was hailed more than singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman’s return to the stage for the first time in two decades.

Having lesbians and other openly queer women center stage at major music events, however, has certainly not been the historical norm. For more than half a century, the impact LGBTQ women have had on the modern music industry has gone largely unsung. That, however, is starting to change, with artists no longer having to be coy about their personal identities or keep them separate from their public persona to be offered opportunities in the industry.

“I think we’re only now becoming more aware of that, or being able to publicly discuss it,” said music historian and author Evelyn McDonnell. The closet, she said, has been a hindrance to the championing of and acknowledgment that queer women have been long deserving in shaping rock and popular music of all genres, from hip-hop to country”.

As we mark Pride Month, many will look at the music industry now and see how much things have changed through the years. How, until not that long ago, many L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists were not able to be their true self. As I said earlier, things are not perfect now. I do hope that we see an artist as big as Taylor Swift from the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community. A modern idol who will give so much strength to fans who might feel they struggle in life because of their sexual identity. There is still a lot of discrimination and ignorance around gender and sexuality today. This does not feed into music that much, though there are still issues and restrictions. An age-old attitude and preference that has not completely disappeared. Even so, the climate and tide is turning. The more L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists are spotlighted and embraced, the more it will become a normal part of music discourse. A narrative that takes us away from the heteronormative. Pride Month is a perfect opportunity to celebrate L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists new and established. Loud and proud, there are incredible queer artists slaying. Maybe not as much focus on and visibility of trans artists. With every reason to cheer, we still have to ask how long it will take before there is this stigma and judgment-free environment. Where we will have the full sexual spectrum fully represented and integrated. It can’t be too far away. Big steps have happened and progress is going on. The prejudice and fear L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists faced when I was young will no longer have to hide or write inauthentically. Let’s hope that this dream becomes a true reality…

IN years to come.

FEATURE: Mother’s Instinct: Looking at the Overlooked, Underdiscussed and More Problematic Kate Bush Songs

FEATURE:

 

 

Mother’s Instinct

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1980

Looking at the Overlooked, Underdiscussed and More Problematic Kate Bush Songs

_________

THIS sort of follows on…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

from a recent post I published about Kate Bush. When discussing how she is misunderstood and there is this problem across radio, in the sense that some of her songs are seen as too out-there or inaccessible. I think that Kate Bush is one of the finest and most original songwriters ever. You cannot deny that she creates her own worlds. With every studio album, you get a wealth of songs that are so distinct and memorable. I will admit that a few of her album tracks might seem a little inappropriate for radio. 50 Words for Snow has long songs. There are one or two others that might seem a little strange. I did argue, when writing about whether Kate Bush is seen as radio-friendly and whether that is actually a thing, that her music is needlessly underexplored. Nothing in her catalogue is so strange or off-putting that it should avoid radio schedules. I am thinking about songs that might not be played because they are perhaps either not known or are problematic. Not to dwell on too many negatives. Maybe it is a case of reframing certain songs and highlighting ones that maybe have not dated well. I am not going to focus on all of them, though there are some clear examples from Kate Bush’s back catalogue that have been misunderstood or do not rank alongside her best. The first example of Room for the Life on The Kick Inside. Her 1978’s debut album’s penultimate track, many have written it off as the weakest number. I don’t think I have heard anyone really discuss this song. It featured on the setlist for 1979’s The Tour of Life, yet it is never played or investigated. In terms of interpretation, Bush was coming from the perspective that women have a much stronger survival unit then men since as they bear children, and thus should use their advantage to help men rather than play games with them. It is a dialogue between two women. Something Kate Bush rarely did. The Kick Inside has a very positive attitude towards men. In fact, many of Bush’s songs do. That need for understanding. One of the reasons I never listened to the song the whole way through, despite the fact The Kick Inside is my favourite album ever, is because the thought that, inside a woman is room for life, was hammered to death. The song seemed too simple. Compared to other tracks on the album, Room for the Life seemed pale. An article worth reading, the gender politics and naivety of the lyrics might be a reason why we do not hear Room for the Life played and explored:

“In addition to its musical tastelessness, “Room for the Life” is out of touch. Bush has identified herself with male artists, admitting that a lack of interesting female songwriters was the reason (she cites Joni Mitchell, Billie Holliday, and Joan Armatrading as exceptions). When she writes about two female characters in “Room,” things fall apart (this isn’t always the case — my favorite Kate Bush song is a woman-centered dialogue, as we’ll see). The song is addressed from one woman to another, telling of the magical power of women, expressed as a singularity with the oddly agrammatical phrase “because we’re woman.” It’s an oddly naïve little song, and one with strange conclusions on how to be a woman. “Lost in your men and the games you play/trying to prove that you’re better woman,” Bush chides her friend. How dare she try to get ahead of men. The audacity of it”.

Even so, I have seen magazine polls rank Room for the Life high. In terms of Kate Bush’s best songs. Is it a case, over forty-five years since the song first came out, it should be re-examined? One could write it off as a bit of teenage naivety. I wonder whether the messages and intent of the song was ever really understood. Is it a case of Kate Bush reaching too far or maybe missing the mark?! I think every Kate Bush song is interesting and has validity. I feel Room for the Life is one that requires some discussion and reappraisal now. There are songs on 1980’s Never for Ever that are dismissed because they are seen as a bit weak. Violin and Egypt have often been spotlighted for this reason. Night Scented Stock is a short passage and segue; Blow Away (For Bill) maybe not an album highlight. Regardless, her third studio album is wonderful. An underrated work. One of the most ‘problematic’ or misunderstood songs on Bush’s 1980 gem is The Infant Kiss. So many people avoid it because of the title. Maybe radio stations do not want to play it. A case of many thinking the song is referring to a grown adult kissing a child. Kate Bush has explained the meaning behind the track:

“It was based on the film, The Innocents. I saw it years ago, when I was very young, and it scared me, and when films scare you as a kid, I think they really hang there. It’s a beautiful film, quite extraordinary. This governess is supposed to look after these children, a little boy and a girl, and they are actually possessed by the spirits of the people who were in the house before. And they keep appearing to the children. It’s really scary – as scary on some levels as the idea of The Exorcist, and that terrified me. The idea of this young girl, speaking and behaving like she did was very disturbing, very distorted. But I quite like that song.

RADIO PROGRAMME, PAUL GAMBACCINI, 30 DECEMBER 1980

The thing that worries me is the way people have started interpreting that song. They love the long word–paedophilia. It’s not about that at all. It’s not the woman actually fancying the young kid. It’s the woman being attracted by a man inside the child. It just worries me that there were some people catching on to the idea of there being paedophilia, rather than just a distortion of a situation where there’s a perfectly normal, innocent boy with the spirit of a man inside, who’s extremely experienced and lusty. The woman can’t cope with the distortion. She can see that there’s some energy in the child that is not normal, but she can’t place it. Yet she has a very pure maternal love for the child, and it’s onlyy little things like when she goes to give him a kiss at night, that she realizes there is a distortion, and it’s really freaking her out. She doesn’t fancy little boys, she’s got a normal, straight sexual life, yet this thing is happening to her. I really like the distortedness of the situation.

KRIS NEEDS, ‘FIRE IN THE BUSH’. ZIGZAG (UK), 1980”.

I am not sure whether an artist today could write a song like The Infant Kiss. People jumping to conclusion. Kate Bush, always inspired by films and literature, was taking from another source rather than her own imagination. Is this why The Infant Kiss could not get played today? Again, this is a song that many fans hold in high esteem. I am working to a song that has an anniversary coming but might be among Kate Bush’s more problematic tracks. This feature is about looking at the misunderstood or maligned songs. Maybe some where the lyrics and themes might not have dated or had best intentions. The Dreaming’s title track is a classic example. Perhaps one of the biggest problems is the involvement of Rolf Harris. Maybe the Australian twang from Kate Bush some see as cultural appropriation. Is her cause and point of view a bit naïve or problematic? It is a big question. I actually love the song, though many people feel that it was not the right move. In terms of what she wrote about. Again, Kate Bush discussed the song and where she was coming from:

“Well, years ago my brother bought ‘Sun Arise’ [by Rolf Harris] and I loved it, it was such a beautiful song. And ever since then I’ve wanted to create something which had that feel of Australia within it. I loved the sound of the traditional aboriginal instruments, and as I grew older, I became much more aware of the actual situation which existed in Australia between the white Australian and the aborigines, who were being wiped out by man’s greed for uranium. Digging up their sacred grounds, just to get plutonium, and eventually make weapons out of it. And I just feel that it’s so wrong: this beautiful culture being destroyed just so that we can build weapons which maybe one day will destroy everything, including us. We should be learning from the aborigines, they’re such a fascinating race. And Australia – there’s something very beautiful about that country.

‘THE DREAMING’. POPPIX (UK), SUMMER 1982

The Aboriginals are not alone in being pushed out of their land by modern man, by their diseases, or for ther own strange reasons. It is very sad to think they might all die. ‘The Dreaming’ is the time for Aboriginals when humans took the form of animals, when spirits were free to roam and in this song as the civilized begin to dominate, the ‘original ones’ dream of the dreamtime.

PRESS STATEMENT BY KATE BUSH, 1982”.

I do feel that The Dreaming has a point to make. The song seems relevant today. Maybe more relevant than back in 1982. A low chart position and not a lot of radio play meant The Dreaming wasn’t a success. It doesn’t really get played now. Kate Bush is often misunderstood as a writer. Maybe judged. I can appreciate that she wanted to write more political and socially conscious songs for her fourth studio album. Perhaps many saw it a step too far. A song that had good intentions but never really did justice to what it was trying to say. I think that a song that is perfectly fine but is never played is Mother Stands for Comfort. The only song from Hounds of Love’s first side not released as a single, it is one of the most under-discussed Kate Bush songs. Considering it is from her most successful and loved albums, it seems like an outsider. It is icier and more skeletal than other songs on that album. Its subject, about a mother covering for her murderous child, is a fascinating and original angle. You could get songs like that today from a Pop artist and they would be played more. Never performed live, this is a song that has practically languished in obscurity. This is what Kate Bush said about Mother Stands for Comfort:

“Well, the personality that sings this track is very unfeeling in a way. And the cold qualities of synths and machines were appropriate here. There are many different kinds of love and the track’s really talking about the love of a mother, and in this case she’s the mother of a murderer, in that she’s basically prepared to protect her son against anything. ‘Cause in a way it’s also suggesting that the son is using the mother, as much as the mother is protecting him. It’s a bit of a strange matter, isn’t it really? [laughs] (Richard Skinner, ‘Classic Albums Interview: Hounds Of Love’. BBC Radio 1 (UK), 26 January 1992)”.

It seems like every Kate Bush album has that one song that stands out for various complex reasons. Perhaps people not understanding her words or jumping to conclusions. In terms of 1989’s The Sensual World, Heads We're Dancing is that one. Its that idea of the charm of evil people. How many can be fooled by them. Maybe it did alienate some in 1989, though this subject seems very relevant today. I have not heard many people discuss Heads We’re Dancing. I like the song a lot. I feel, even if Kate Bush discusses a song and gives her reasons for writing it, many are still put off. Maybe there are these tracks that are cast aside and not really given a fair chance. In any case, here is what Kate Bush said about one of The Sensual World’s standouts:

“That’s a very dark song, not funny at all! (…) I wrote the song two years ago, and in lots of ways I wouldn’t write a song like it now. I’d really hate it if people were offended by this…But it was all started by a family friend, years ago, who’d been to dinner and sat next to this guy who was really fascinating, so charming. They sat all night chatting and joking. And next day he found out it was Oppenheimer. And this friend was horrified because he really despised what the guy stood for. I understood the reaction, but I felt a bit sorry for Oppenheimer. He tried to live with what he’d done, and actually, I think, committed suicide. But I was so intrigued by this idea of my friend being so taken by this person until they knew who they were, and then it completely changing their attitude. So I was thinking, what if you met the Devil? The Ultimate One: charming, elegant, well spoken. Then it turned into this whole idea of a girl being at a dance and this guy coming up, cocky and charming, and she dances with him. Then a couple of days later she sees in the paper that it was Hitler. Complete horror: she was that close, perhaps could’ve changed history. Hitler was very attractive to women because he was such a powerful figure, yet such an evil guy. I’d hate to feel I was glorifying the situation, but I do know that whereas in a piece of film it would be quite acceptable, in a song it’s a little bit sensitive.

LEN BROWN, ‘IN THE REALM OF THE SENSES’. NME (UK), 7 OCTOBER 1989”.

I am going to end with a few songs that, for different reasons, are either not discussed, are underrated or misunderstood. I am going to move to Aerial and 50 Words for Snow. One track from The Red Shoes that has been maligned and not played a lot is Why Should I Love You? It is not problematic or misunderstood. One reason why I highlight it is because it features Prince. Even if it is overloaded with layers and quite busy, I think it deserves more now. It is a randomly odd little cut. The fact Lenny Henry features. Not sure why! I think it is important because it features Prince. Not many opportunities where you get Kate Bush appearing on the same song as another music legend. She sang with Peter Gabriel a few times. Apart from that, there are not many examples of Kate Bush being on the same track as a genuinely huge artist. Bush did appear on a Prince album too. She sang on 1996’s Emancipation. Prince only appeared on one Kate Bush song. I am surprised Kate Bush did not reversion and strip back Why Should I Love You? for 2011’s Director’s Cut. An example of two very strong-willed and passionate producers – Kate Bush and Prince – having different visions of the song:

“Bush asked Prince to contribute background vocals to ‘Why Should I Love You’ in 1991. She sent him the track, which she had recorded at Abbey Road Studios (Studio Number One), London, England, and Prince added vocals, but also added many instrumental parts to the song, at his Paisley Park Studios. When Kate Bush and Del Palmer listened to Prince’s returned track, they weren’t sure what to do with it. They worked on it on and off for two years to try to “turn it back into a Kate Bush song”. The track also features background vocals by British comedian Lenny Henry, a good friend of Kate’s”.

In terms of songs that people never really talk about and you will not hear played. Bertie is one of them. It is on the first disc of Aerial. On A Sea of Honey, this is another track never performed live. It is deeply personal. It is very open and honest. For years, people bemoaned the fact Kate Bush’s songs were oblique or not personal. That she was hiding behind characters and personas. When she did record a song with her heart out there, I saw people mock it. Is it the case that Bertie is too personal?! When reviewing Aerial in 2005, The Daily Telegraph said that this song, alongside Mrs. Bartolozzi, was one people will snigger at. An artist always mocked and insulted, have people truly heard Bertie and appreciated its importance?! Aerial is infused with home and Bush’s love for her new-born son. Even when not explicitly singing about him, he has inspired her thoughts of family and contentment. Someone who was also pivotal in her returning to the stage for 2014’s Before the Dawn. Kate Bush explained what Bertie means to her:

“He’s such a big part of my life so, you know, he’s a very big part of my work. It’s such a great thing, being able to spend as much time with him as I can. And, you know, he won’t be young for very long. And already he’s starting to grow up and I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss out on that, that I spent as much time with his as I could.

So, the idea was that he would come first, and then the record would come next, which is also one reasons why it’s taken a long time (laughs). It always takes me a long time anyway, but trying to fit that in around the edges that were left over from the time that I wanted to spend with him.

It’s a wonderful thing, having such a lovely son. Really, you know with a song like that, you could never be special enough from my point of view, and I wanted to try and give it an arrangement that wasn’t terribly obvious, so I went for the sort of early music… (Ken Bruce show, BBC Radio 2, 3 November 2005)”.

The last song I want to spotlight comes from 50 Words for Snow. In terms of a song being misunderstood. Misty is a song that has been celebrated and given huge praise by critics. Those who get the track and understand it see it as hugely emotionally resonant. Even if critics have applauded it, there are others who have mocked it. Maybe compared it to The Snowman. Some have mocked it because it involves a snowman in a passionate tryst with a woman. Maybe judging it on its surface and a simple interpretation. Misty goes deeper and should be given more love and exploration. It won’t be played on radio because it is a long track. Regardless, Misty is a symbol of Kate Bush’s restless imagination, originality and undiminished genius. She talked about with BBC Radio 4’s John Wilson in 2011:

“It’s a silly idea. But I hope that what has happened is that there’s almost a sense of tenderness. I think it’s quite a dark song. And so I hope that I’ve made it work. But in a lot of ways it shouldn’t because… It’s ridiculous, isn’t it, the idea of the snowman visiting this woman and climbing into bed with her.

But I took him as a purely symbolic snowman, it was about…

No John, he’s REAL (laughs).

BBC4 RADIO, FRONT ROW, 2011”.

I want to write this feature to examine certain songs that have either been overlooked, misinterpreted or have not aged well. Some that were seen as inappropriate when they were released but seem relevant now. I am sure people can give me plenty of other examples. Not only underrated songs, these are ones that standout because they are either underplayed or have been misunderstood. It is fascinating dipping into her catalogue and thinking about songs that deserve more or perhaps, in rare occasions, were missteps. Some are examples of people misinterpretation Kate Bush’s intentions. People never really understanding her, they never…

REALLY tried.

FEATURE: The Dial, Retuned: Inside the Gender & Racial Disparity Data Report on UK Radio 2023-2024

FEATURE:

 

 

The Dial, Retuned

ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: depositphotos

Inside the Gender & Racial Disparity Data Report on UK Radio 2023-2024

_________

LAST year…

when reports came out about the gender and racial breakdown across U.K. radio, there was some troubling statistics and realisation. Women were vastly underrepresented when it came to airplay across U.K. stations. It was even more grim for artists of colour. There needed to be changes. U.K. stations could not just sit by and have this sexism and racism continue. A complete ignorance of incredible artists. This year, the findings are far more positive. As I will explore, though it is brilliant that BBC Radio has really retuned the dial and stroke gender equality across a few of its stations, there is little move from some. Bauer Media radio stations are especially lacking, though some have improved from last year. A huge thanks to Why Not Her? for their hard work and passion. They have provided the breakdown – gender and ethnicity – of the artists who appear on the Top 100 and Top 20 song playlists. A thanks too to Linda Coogan Byrne of Why Not Her? She is an equality campaigner who has poured so much of herself into it. I am going to bring in the press release that showcases some of the key findings. There are also comments from Linda Coogan Byrne and Winnie Ama. You can see the Gender & Racial Disparity Data Report on UK Radio 2023-2024 here. It is a year for cheer and optimism:

“Why Not Her? Annual Radio Data Report on UK Radio 2023/2024:

In a landmark year for gender equality in music, women have taken the lead in the Top 100 songs on UK Radio, making 2024 a historic year for female artists on the airwaves. This significant achievement is not only a triumph for the artists themselves but a testament to the cultural shift driven by the UK radio industry towards greater gender parity.

For the first time, female artists have outpaced their male counterparts, with women representing 41% of the Top 100 songs, compared to 39% for male artists and 20% for gender collaborations. This progress is a clear indicator that intentional efforts to promote gender equality in the music industry are yielding remarkable results.

The progress we celebrate today is a testament to the power of collective action and the unwavering commitment to gender equality. As we continue to support and uplift female artists, we move closer to a future where the music industry reflects the rich diversity and talent that exists within it.

Let us continue to champion inclusivity and celebrate the voices of all artists, ensuring that the airwaves remain a platform for diverse and equitable representation.

Gender Breakdown in Top 100 Airplay Chart (Jan-Jun 2024)

·        Female artists: 41%

·        Male artists: 39%

·        Collaborations: 20% 

Ethnicity Breakdown in Top 100 Airplay Chart (Jan-Jun 2024)

·        White artists: 71%

·        People of Colour (POC): 17%

·        Ethnicity collaborations: 12% 

Top UK Radio Stations' Gender Disparity (June 2023 - June 2024)

·        BBC Radio 2: Achieved 50% gender parity.

·        BBC Radio 6 Music: 50% female artists.

·        BBC Radio 1: Increased support for female artists, achieving higher female representation in their Top 20. 

Top Played Songs and Artists

- Most played song overall: "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims

- Most played UK artist song: "Lovers in a Past Life" by Calvin Harris x Rag 'n' Bone Man

- Most played artist: Dua Lipa, with 5% of songs in the Top 100

Top Repeated/Impacting Artists in the Top 100 Songs across UK radio (so far) in 2024

- Dua Lipa is the most repeated artist with five songs.

- Taylor Swift and Lewis Capaldi follow closely with four songs each.

- Ed Sheeran and Miley Cyrus each have three songs.

- Becky Hill also has three songs. 

These artists dominate the UK radio airwaves with multiple hits, reflecting their popularity and influence in the current music scene. 

Label Impact Analysis

Record Label Dominance: 

- WMG (Warner Music Group): 40%

- Atlantic, Warner Records, Parlophone, Curb Records, Champion Records 

- UMG (Universal Music Group): 32%

- Island, Virgin Records, EMI, Polydor, Universal Music, Republic Records, Mercury, Motown EMI, Def Jam, Positiva 

- SME (Sony Music Entertainment): 20%

- RCA, Columbia, Black Butter, Ministry Of Sound, Sony Music, Insanity Records, AWAL, Relentless 

- Independent: 8%

- gamma., Human Re Sources, Bmg Rights Management, XL Recordings, Champion Records

Songwriter/Producer Analysis

Songwriter definition, defined by PRS: Composer (includes composing producers); Author (including lyricists); Composer/Author; Arranger; Translator

Data source: PRS 

The Top 100 songs had 463 songwriters.
Average of 4.6 songwriters per song 

Gender Split

23% Female songwriters

76.8% Male songwriters

0.2% Non-Binary songwriters

Ethnicity Split

78% White songwriters

20% POC/Mixed songwriters

2% Latin songwriters

Insights

·        98% of songs by female artists had at least 1 female writer.

·        33% of songs by male artists had at least 1 female writer

·        95% of of songs by female artists had at least 1 male writer

·        100% of songs by male artists had at least 1 male writer

·        77% of songs by male artists were written only by men, with 0 female writers

·        Male artists are more likely to write alone/with their own gender 77% vs female artists who only wrote alone/with their own gender 5% of the time

·        19% of songs by gender collaborating artists had 0 female writers

·        100% of songs by POC artists had POC writers

·        47% of songs by POC artists had 0 female writers

·        33% of songs by White artists had 0 female writers

·        The song with the most songwriters is ‘Lighter’ by Galantis x David Guetta x 5 Seconds Of Summer. It has 13 songwriters.·       

Celebrating a Historic Year for Women in UK Radio

London, UK - June 2024

In a landmark year for gender equality in music, women have taken the lead in the Top 100 songs on UK Radio, making 2024 a historic year for female artists on the airwaves. This significant achievement is not only a triumph for the artists themselves but a testament to the cultural shift driven by the UK radio industry towards greater gender parity.

For the first time, female artists have outpaced their male counterparts, with women representing 41% of the Top 100 songs, compared to 39% for male artists and 20% for gender collaborations. This progress is a clear indicator that intentional efforts to promote gender equality in the music industry are yielding remarkable results.

Commendations are due to the UK radio stations, especially the trailblazers in gender equality who played more than 25% women in their top 20 radio annual playlists. Leading the charge are BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, Capital FM, KISS, Heat Radio, Channel 103 FM, and Island FM. Their dedication to inclusivity has paved the way for this momentous cultural change.

Equally noteworthy are the stations that have room for growth, including Absolute Radio, Smooth Radio, Magic Radio, Heart FM, 3FM, KISS Fresh, Lincs FM, Northsound 1, and Tay FM. We look forward to seeing these stations make strides towards greater gender balance in the coming years.

This year's BRIT Awards further highlight the strides made, with Raye making history by winning six awards, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Raye's journey from overcoming industry obstacles to reclaiming her power and inspiring countless others showcases the transformative power of perseverance and talent.

The most played artists of 2024 further emphasise this shift. Dua Lipa stands as the most played UK artist, while Taylor Swift leads as the most played international artist. The most played song overall is "Lose Control" by Teddy Swims, with "Lovers In A Past Life" by Calvin Harris x Rag'n'Bone Man being the most played UK song.

The progress we celebrate today is a testament to the power of collective action and the unwavering commitment to gender equality. As we continue to support and uplift female artists, we move closer to a future where the music industry reflects the rich diversity and talent that exists within it.

Let us continue to champion inclusivity and celebrate the voices of all artists, ensuring that the airwaves remain a platform for diverse and equitable representation.

Comment from Linda Coogan Byrne on the Outstanding Culture Change on UK Radio 

“In a historic year for gender equality in music, the UK radio industry has achieved remarkable progress by leading the charge towards greater representation of female artists. Women now represent 41% of the top 100 songs on UK Radio, outpacing their male counterparts and highlighting a significant cultural shift towards inclusivity and diversity. This achievement underscores the power of collective action and the unwavering commitment of UK radio stations to promote gender parity.

The efforts of trailblazing stations like BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 Music, Capital FM, KISS, Heat Radio, Channel 103 FM, and Island FM have paved the way for this momentous change. Their dedication to playing more than 25% women in their top 20 annual playlists demonstrates a commendable commitment to inclusivity.

However, it is with a heavy heart that we must contrast this progress with the situation in Ireland. Despite our campaigns and calls for action, meeting with political parties and the new media commision numerous times over the last 5 years - we continue to be met with empty promises, Irish radio stations and the media regulators have largely failed to shift towards gender parity. We asked, "Why not her?" and the UK radio stations responded with action and results. In Ireland, our pleas were met with silence and inaction.

It is essential that we continue to push for change and hold media outlets accountable for their role in shaping a fair and equitable industry. The success in the UK shows that with determination and commitment, meaningful change is possible. It is time for Irish radio and its broadcasting authorities in the Coimisiún na Meán, to take note and follow suit, ensuring that female artists receive the recognition and airtime they deserve.

Let us celebrate the progress made and continue to advocate for a future where gender equality is the norm across all airwaves”

Winnie Ama also comments: 

“It is amazing to see that the Top 100 UK chart includes lots of females, ethnic minorities, and local UK artists this year. For the first time in 35 years of chart data, music in the charts finally reflects the modern society that we live in. 

This year, the UK music industry should be held up as an example of how it is possible for organisations (radio stations) and individuals (radio presenters) to create inclusion consciously at each level, with real impact on culture as a whole. 

A lot of people discover new music through the radio, the impact of having a diverse range of artists on radio will inevitably have a ripple effect throughout culture and artist careers.

Long may this continue”.

There is a lot to be happy about! I did not think that BBC Radio 2 especially would affect gender equality in the Top 20 songs department. I listen to shows now and they are full of male artists. It goes to show that, across the board, they have made efforts to redress a serious problem. In terms of gender breakdown of all artists in the Top 100 UK Radio Airplay Chart, women were ahead. The ethnicity breakdown is a little less optimism. Still a way to go in terms of representation. BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 Music have struck a great balance. So too have BBC Radio 1. Even if 1Xtra is heading in the wrong direction, three huge BBC stations have committed themselves to gender equality. Bauer and Global radio stations have to learn from the BBC. There are some improvements that give encouragement, though Kerrang! Radio, Absolute Radio, Smooth Radio and Radio X need to learn lessons and improve for 2025. Capital FM has made strides.

In all, it means BBC stations have taken to heart findings from last year’s report. I do think that this should be the biggest takeaway in terms of gender. Bauer and Global still need to do a lot of work. Even so, there are some improvements here. Potential for bigger steps next year. The Gender & Racial Disparity Data Report on UK Radio shows how the radio stations have changed over the past five years. You can see how they have improved/fallen behind. There is a lot of brightness. Apart from some worrying findings – 100% of artists on the Top 20 playlist at Absolute Radio are white! -, there is cause for celebration. It is clear that Absolute Radio, Radio X, Kerrang! Radio and Kiss Fresh need to make steps. BBC stations very much leading the way. Let us not forget that this report is about the gender and ethnicity of artists in the Top 20 playlists, rather than right across the board. If you look at schedules for most stations (apart from BBC Radio 6 Music), things might look more skewed towards male artists. Despite this, what has been put together by Why Not Her? proves that, for many stations, it is important that female artists are very much included in the Top 20 playlists. This is very good indeed! Three very clear sections. The first section of the report is an analysis of the Top 100 Radio Airplay songs in 2024 from both UK and International artists, from Jan 2024 to June 2024 in all radio stations combined across the UK, looking at the gender and ethnicity across the Top 100 Airplay songs. The second section takes a look at the songwriters behind the Top 100 songs on UK Radio in 2024. The third section is an analysis of 27 individual radio stations, looking at the gender disparity present in the Top 20 most played songs by British artists, in Britain, over the period of JUNE 1st 2023 to JUNE 1st 2024. The collective data clearly and brilliantly shows how things have changed and (mostly) improved from last year. Let’s hope that this trend continues. A huge thanks and salute once more to Why Not Her? for their amazing research and dedication putting together the Gender & Racial Disparity Data Report on UK Radio. It is incredible that things have improved for female artists and artists of colour. Especially for women. Some important steps. Let’s hope that this evolution occurs…

YEAR after year.

FEATURE: Waking the Witch: Has the Media and Public Perception of Kate Bush Truly and Fully Changed?

FEATURE:

 

 

Waking the Witch

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: John Stoddart

Has the Media and Public Perception of Kate Bush Truly and Fully Changed?

_________

MAYBE the answer seems obvious…

though I don’t think it is unreasonable of me to say that, about a month until Kate Bush’s sixty-sixth birthday, there does seem to be this perception of her that has not entirely shifted since 1978. I can draw in what songs are played on radio and the relative lack of Kate Bush features. I still think that, for the most part, when we see articles written about Kate Bush, many of them are from news sites. Reactions to various bits of news. The same words keep coming up when discussing Bush. They either limit her to one song – usually Wuthering Heights or Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) -, or they use words like ‘recluse’, ‘private’ or even ‘weird’. That sense that, decades after her debut album, Kate Bush is still this witch-like figure. Maybe someone who shuts herself away and does not engage in public. This perception that an artist like Kate Bush needs to go to events and is out and about. There has been some change and more positivity towards her yet, again and again, you get the same sort of perception about her. I think that there really is a lack of Kate Bush features. Various sites do run some, yet there most features are tied to news or anniversaries. I do like how there is more attention her way now. How the U.S. has embraced her in a way they have never done. I still find it a little dismaying more is not written about Kate Bush. Why do we need to wait until some news breaks?! I write about Kate Bush all of the time. I can appreciate how magazines do features and articles. Look at news relating to Kate Bush and articles written about her. You will find there are weird and annoying clickbait and tabloid things – one recent one where Simon Cowell was amazed at how much Kate Bush was worth when he found a cheque for her; other ones talking about Kate Bush’s wealth -, plus people reaction to news items. Very little that goes deeper and looks at her music and various aspects of her personality. I am actually going to quote from a feature that was published quite recently. There is a website, Far Out Magazine, that publishes a Kate Bush feature every week or so. Most of it consists of short features that are not really original features but they are more to do with Kate Bush’s influence, the album that meant the most to her, her connection to David Bowie. Basic stuff that does not really go beyond a single fact or thought. I think that, the more we write about Kate Bush and the more we explore, the better understanding we have. That perception will change.

Having recently interviewed Graeme Thomson about the reissue of his book, Under the Ivy: The Life and Music of Kate Bush, I would urge people to read this. Journalists. Get a real feel for the real Kate Bush. Even though she is in her sixties, the same sort of words and attitudes are applied to her. A preconception that is based on nothing but misinformation and cliches. She is a complex and remarkable artist that deserves more words written about her. Features that go beyond talking about her wealth, things to do with Stranger Things. News items are great, as we are aware of what is happening in relation to Kate Bush and her world. Kate Bush has always faced this. In the 1970s onwards, the media often focused on sexuality. An over-sexualisation of her. Louder wrote about Kate Bush’s early years for a feature. They make some interesting points:

“The tour triumphed, though reviews ranged from “her unabashed obsession with sex” to “you’re distracted by Katy being wheeled around in a giant satin-lined chocolate box.” Others praised “a dazzling testimony to a remarkable talent” and “the best welding of rock and theatrical presentation that we’re ever likely to see.”

We need more people like her, especially as so much music amounts to little more than formulaic copying of genres

She baulked again at the over-emphasis on her sexuality, and began to loathe anything that fell under the banner of promotion. With her family, she took control of her business affairs, producing her next EP (Live On Stage) alone, and then the 1980 album Never For Ever. This, yielding the hit singles Babooshka and Army Dreamers, was to be her first Number One album, and the first by any British female artist.

A durable paradox emerged: the more she distanced herself from public life, the more the public were intrigued by this individual, idiosyncratic, influential talent. As David Gilmour has proclaimed: “We need more people like her, especially as so much music amounts to little more than formulaic copying of genres. Those who have followed in her shadow are but pale imitations”.

There are a combination of factors that mean we have not really transitioned from an old perception of Kate Bush. I will talk about it in another feature but, speaking to so many people in their twenties and thirties, it is shocking how few know about her. Maybe know her for one song. The words they use to describe her often relate to her being odd, reclusive or weird – none of which is true! It is frustrating that there is still a lot of people who do not really know about Kate Bush. Maybe one can say because she has not released an album in over a decade, that is fair enough. There are plenty of artists who have not released an album for longer – or have died – that are better known and understood. I think the media does not help when it comes to a certain ignorance and perception. Bush, in the 1970s and 1980s, had to face a lot of misconception, sexism and judgement. It did not really stop. Even up through the 2000s and 2010s, whenever she released an album, there would be articles discussing how eccentric she was. How this supposed reclusive artist was back. Discussing how she was mysterious or odd. Things have improved a bit. I still feel that there is such a narrow focus and idea of who Kate Bush is. When her songs are played on radio, a relatively small number are selected. Media coverage is quite sparse. You get some interesting deep dives, yet most articles are not really going beyond the surface. Even if she has not released an album since 2011, that does not mean we should stop digging and exploring. Artists like her are inspiring so many others. Because of that, we need to write more about Kate Bush. Even if more generations know her work and she is not being portrayed the same way as she was at the start of her career, there is still so little beyond the stereotypical and incorrect. Radio stations need to embrace her. Words need to be written. More love and understanding. Uncovering her full body of work. Get rid of those words and phrases always associated with Kate Bush. This hugely important and legendary artist is worthy of…

THAT at the very least!

FEATURE: Groovelines: Elvis Presley – That’s All Right (Mama)

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

Elvis Presley – That’s All Right (Mama)

_________

IT almost slipped me by…

IN THIS PHOTO: Elvis Presley in 1954/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

but, on 5th July, 1954, Elvis Presley recorded his debut single, That’s All Right (Mama). It is hard to say how the song should be written out, as I have seen it like that, That’s All Right, and That’s All Right, Mama. I am going to stick with the spelling and version in the header. In any case, this song is a cover version. That's All Right is a song written and originally performed by the American Blues singer Arthur Crudup. Elvis Presley’s version, That’s All Right (Mama), was recorded in 1954. The original was recorded in 1946 but not released until 1949. I think it is a seismic moment seeing the young Elvis Presley – he was just nineteen! – head into the studio. Perhaps a little nervous. Even though his debut single was recorded in 1954, his eponymous debut album did not arrive until 1956. That album changed Rock ‘n’ Roll. One of the most seismic album releases in history. I wanted to focus on his debut single and the story behind it. I am going to use a few features to help do that. I want to start with History and their study of That’s All Right (Mama). Recorded on 5th July, 1954, it is almost seventy years since a slice of history was laid down:

“History credits Sam Phillips, the owner and operator of Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, with the discovery of Elvis Presley, which is perfectly fair, though it fails to account for the roles of four others in making that discovery possible: The business partner who first spotted something special in Elvis, the two session men who vouched for his musical talent and the blues figure who wrote the song he was playing when Sam Phillips realized what he had on his hands. The song in question was “That’s All Right” by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup, and Elvis’ unrehearsed performance of it—recorded by Sam Phillips on July 5, 1954—is a moment some regard as the true beginning of the rock-and-roll revolution.

The sequence of events that led to this moment began when a young truck driver walked into the offices of Sun Records and the Memphis Recording Service on a Saturday night in the summer of 1953 and paid $3.98 plus tax to make an acetate record as a birthday present to his mother. Sam Phillips recorded Elvis singing “My Happiness” and “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin,” and he told his business partner Marion Keisker something that made her write down “Good ballad singer. Hold” in her notes. It was Kreisler who was impressed enough by the incredibly shy young singer that she repeatedly brought his name up to Phillips over the next year and mentioned that he seemed worth following up with. In early July 1954, Phillips finally sent two of his favorite session musicians, guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, to go meet with Elvis and report back to him with their assessment. After talking and jamming a bit with Presley, Moore and Black gave Phillips a report that was hardly enthusiastic. “He didn’t knock me out,” Moore told Phillips, “[but] the boy’s got a good voice.” Phillips decided to take a flyer and schedule a recording session with Presley for July 5.

Phillips knew that something was brewing in the music world of 1954, and he had a pretty good idea what it would take to make the pot boil: A white singer who could sing “black” rhythm and blues. However, the first several hours of the July 5 session did nothing to convince Sam Phillips that Elvis was the one he’d been looking for. Elvis’s renditions of “Harbor Lights” and “I Love You Because” were stiff and uninspired, and after numerous takes and re-takes, Phillips called for a break. Rather than shoot the breeze with his fellow musicians or step outside for a breath of fresh air, Elvis began to mess around on the guitar, playing and singing “That’s All Right,” but at least twice as fast as the original.

Through an open door in the control room, Sam Phillips heard this unfamiliar rendition of a familiar blues number and knew he’d found the sound he’d been looking for. “[Phillips] stuck his head out and said ‘What are you doing?'” Scotty Moore later recalled. “And we said, ‘We don’t know.’ ‘Well, back up,’ Sam said, ‘try to find a place to start, and do it again.'”

Phillips continued recording with Elvis over the next two evenings, but he never captured anything as thrilling as he did that first night. Released to Memphis radio station WHBQ just two days after it was recorded, and then as a single two weeks later, Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right (Mama)” became an instant regional hit and set him on his path toward stardom”.

I will move to this feature that offers even more details and revelations about an iconic single release. The start of something huge. It is wonderful that interest in the song was so intense that D.J. Dewey Phillips played the acetate fourteen times. The switchboards lit up. Elvis Presley went to the radio station, WHBQ, for an interview. Presley did not realise the microphones were live, so he revealed details about himself that made people aware of the fact he was a white artist. A song from a Black artist, maybe people felt Elvis Presley was Black. That’s All Right (Mama) sold about 20,000 copies. Even if it did not get a U.S. national chart position, it made the local Memphis chart:

“The first side might be seen as something of an accident. An inspired accident, to be sure, but one that was prompted more by desperation than by intent. It was the outgrowth of an audition session at Sun Records set up by Sun owner Sam Phillips nearly a year after Elvis had first come into Phillips’ studio to make a “personal” record at the singer’s own expense. Elvis was backed at the session by guitarist Scotty Moore and bass player Bill Black, who at Phillips’ direction had listened to Elvis run through his repertoire of ballads, country, and pop material at Scotty’s house the day before. Both were in a hillbilly group called the Starlite Wranglers that had recently recorded for Sun, and Phillips judged them to be well suited, both musically and temperamentally, to bring out the best in the insecure nineteen-year-old who seemed unable to settle on a style. It didn’t work quite the way that anyone planned. The audition session was no more focused than the pre-audition, or, for that matter, the informal tryout Phillips had given Elvis just ten days earlier on a song he thought might be good for the boy. Elvis was all over the place on the evening of July 5-6, nervously stopping and starting songs, mostly sentimental ballads, and it was only when he sensed the moment slipping away that he picked up his guitar during a break and started flailing away on a blues that nobody could even have guessed was within his scope.

It was at that precise moment that Sam Phillips knew they had arrived at the destination they had unknowingly been seeking all along. “That’s All Right” was in its way a faithful homage to the 1946 Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup blues from which it derived, an homage intended neither to imitate nor to displace the original. And yet it was in its own way utterly, strikingly different. Probably what made it most different was its youthful purity, its unchecked sense of joyous release and exuberant lack of restraint. What set it apart in a more formal way was its combination of rhythm and melody (Crudup’s original, while unquestionably driving, retained the amelodic modal feel of much Mississippi blues), its deliberate blurring of genres, and the use to which its simple instrumentation was put. Scotty’s lead guitar featured some of the lyrical elements of Nashville stylist Chet Atkins in combination with the power-driven blues of some of Phillips’ earlier discoveries while Bill Black’s slap bass added a different, more eccentric form of propulsiveness and Elvis’ acoustic rhythm anchored the whole in an unshakably soaring groove. “To be honest, we just stumbled on it,” Elvis said in response to a question about the derivation of his style from announcer Frank Page in his Louisiana Hayride debut. That was unquestionably true of “That’s All Right,” which Sam Phillips circulated as a single-sided acetate. When it immediately became a radio hit in Memphis, due almost entirely to the enthusiasm of local DJ Dewey Phillips, Elvis, Scotty, and Bill (the trio’s initial name) were faced with the challenge of coming up with a B-side. “We spent three or four nights,” said Scotty, “trying to get something that would be in the same kind of vein. Then Bill jumped up and started clowning and singing ‘Blue Moon Of Kentucky’ in a high falsetto voice, and Elvis started banging on the guitar, and I joined in, and it just gelled.” With the Bill Monroe bluegrass classic, in other words, they set out to recapitulate the formula they had stumbled upon that first night, but in the opposite direction – in this case taking a hillbilly waltz toward a 4/4 blues. The result was an instant city-wide hit, with six thousand orders in something like two weeks, and regional success slowly radiating out from there. Sam Phillips had to fight a great deal of resistance from both country and r&b DJs, with some of the r&b jocks telling him the record was so country it shouldn’t be played after sun-up and the country jocks telling him they would be run out of town if they aired it. Nonetheless, Phillips persisted, Elvis persisted, and the record persisted, eventually posting sales of more than 100,000 copies, almost entirely in the mid-South, Texas, and Louisiana, in the year-and-a-half before Elvis’ contract was sold to RCA”.

Even if it is clear that Black artists like Little Richard were Rock ‘n’ Roll pioneers before Elvis Presley, it is obvious that Presley introduced something new. It is perhaps problematic that Presley, as a white man, was seen as more appropriate to promote. Rather than salute the pioneers he took inspiration from, there was still a real sense of racism through the media and beyond. Even so, That’s All Right (Mama) was a pivotal and enormous moment in music history. The introduction of an artist who would soon become a world-wide sensation. Far Out Magazine revisited Elvis Presley’s first single for their feature:

“Presley wasn’t the first rock and roll singer, nor was he even the first white rock and roll singer. Just a few months prior, Bill Haley released his version of ‘Rock Around the Clock’, which still treated rock and roll as a dance fad much in the same way that Big Joe Turner’s ‘Shake, Rattle, and Roll’ did. Little Richard and Chuck Berry had already released records that blues into new, high-energy territory. But what Presley was doing was completely unique and at the forefront of a new cultural movement.

The story of where rock and roll actually starts begins before Elvis was even old enough to enter a bar. Pioneers like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Fats Domino, and Bo Diddley were all making souped-up blues music that sounded completely different from the pure blues of Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters. Presley was simply an avatar for these influences – the man with the sound, the looks, and the acceptable race to be embraced by the general public and propelled into the mainstream.

Phillips wasn’t shy about his intentions: he wanted a white singer who could play black music. Presley was that man. A few days after the impromptu recording of ‘That’s All Right’, Presley, Moore, and Black returned to Sun Studios to cut a transformed version of Bill Monroe’s bluegrass classic ‘Blue Moon of Kentucky’. With more of an emphasis on rhythm, Presley showed that he could cull from both blues and country in own music. Both songs would quickly be compiled onto a single and released only a week later.

‘That’s All Right’ began to gain traction around Memphis and soon migrated down south to the Louisiana Hayride, a country music radio programme that was open to playing blues and R&B. The house drummer at the Hayride was D.J. Fontana, who provided Presley with his first backup of percussion. The pieces of Presley’s initial rock and roll takeover were starting to land in place. Soon, Presley would move beyond Sun Studios and its signature sound, but ‘That’s All Right’ never strayed far from Presley’s life as he continued to refine and redefine rock music over the next 23 years”.

For this Groovelines, I wanted to spend time with a song that, in a way, changed music history. The start of Elvis Presley. He, in turn, inspired so many other artists who followed. One of the most famous and adored artists ever. Released on 19th July, 1954, That’s All Right (Mama) was recorded a fortnight earlier. The debut single from a then-teenage Elvis Presley truly is…

A landmark recording.

FEATURE: I think about it all the time: Are We Slowly Seeing a Return to the More Fun and Free Style of Pop Music?

FEATURE:

 

 

I think about it all the time

PHOTO CREDIT: Nadin Sh/Pexels

Are We Slowly Seeing a Return to the More Fun and Free Style of Pop Music?

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I have featured Charli XCX…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Charli XCX/PHOTO CREDIT: Harley Weir

a couple of times in recent features. It is relevant and apt. Recently, she released her critically acclaimed album, BRAT. It is one of the most popular albums of the year so far. Signalling a fun and fresh brand of Pop with vulnerability and sensitivity, it bursts with colour, energy and innovation. It seems like almost every year where we ask whether Pop music is dead. Whether it is as good as it used to be. I guess, subjectively, there were peaks in the 1980s, 1990s and even early-2000s where we had some of the best Pop music ever made. That consistency and choice. Now, in such a crowded landscape, how easy is it to identify and spotlight those really standout Pop moments?! It is a fantastically broad scene, yet it is clear that there is a lot of quite routine, tired or manufactured Pop. In the sense that it seems made for TikTok videos and something digestible and simple. Even a lot of the catchier Pop lacks any real depth or fun. I would disagree that Pop music completely lacks fun and real spark. There are plenty of more infused and colourful artists injecting personality into the mix. The thing is, how much of this Pop music seems genuinely free and abandoned?! I think that a lot of it I still quite polished and similar to everything around it. I am reminded of Charli XCX because, in a recent feature from The Guardian, they argued how Charli XCX was offering something refreshingly brash, direct, open and rebellious. At a time when many artists have lyrics that need to be decoded and there is this strictness and restraint to their music, that is not the case with BRAT. It is an album that, aside from being the most acclaimed of the year, is also being met with huge fan love. Artists around Charli XCX are inspired and adapting her sound for their own purpose. An artist who is leading a charge against the more stifled and commercial Pop that doesn’t feel as fun and direct as it could be:

“That coolness feels like a direct rejection of a sanitized, often tedious pop landscape of late; along with upstarts Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, Charli XCX is bringing playful personality back to pop music. While the big pop stars go on stadium tours and tightly guard their image, Charli is hosting highly sought-after raves, harkening back to the messy, scuzzy, paparazzi-flash days of the mid-aughts and indie sleaze. Her lyricism on Brat, by her own description, mimics the type of drunk, unguarded texts you’d send to friends. Where the other pop girls attempt to look perfect, or chafe against spotlight or bleed onto the page, Charli embodies simply having a good time. “You’re all about writing poems / But I’m about throwing parties,” she sings on Girl, so confusing – a kiss-off to a friendship in which rooting for one’s success and demise are indistinct.

Which is not to say that the album isn’t vulnerable; for every track expressing straight hedonism – “365, party girl, bumpin’ that / should we do a little key, should we have a little line?” she says on album highlight 365 – there’s a song teasing out something deeper, harder, over an undeniable beat. Sympathy is a Knife is a banger on cutting insecurity in the face of a bigger pop star; So I is a moving tribute to mentor and collaborator Sophie, who died at 34 in 2021, which laments allowing genius to stand in the way of human connection. For an artist who balks at the mandate for authenticity from celebrities, the juxtaposition hits something universal; few artists are going to follow up a song about pondering the possibility of motherhood with one about doing coke and loving it.

All of the tracks invite participation, but not overanalysis; the point is to get lost in it. I’ve tended to think of her music as the sonic equivalent of what cultural critic Max Read once called social media’s Freudian death drive: “our latent instinct toward inorganic oblivion, destruction, self-obliteration”. Total encompassing of song, obliteration by sound – the lyrics, always delivered in autotune, important but not critical, secondary to the power of beautiful cacophony. Pop at its most playful, cutting, and uncomplicatedly fun. As the music critic and pre-eminent Charli scholar Lindsay Zoladz put it: “I believe that most great pop music strikes a precise equilibrium between the smart and the stupid, and few artists working today understand that balance more intuitively than [Charli XCX].” With Brat, she’s everyone’s favorite reference, baby”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Helena Lopes/Pexels

The feature got me thinking more widely about Pop. It has been over twenty years since we had the last real burst of this kind of raw and exciting Pop. Not to say the years since have not produced some magnificent Pop. Whether it is artists blending in Disco and Dance or this giddy and 1980s-inspired brand, Pop is in no danger of dying or being irrelevant. It is true that, with more and more Pop on the market, there is more of the safer and less exciting Pop that drops any guards and protective layers and seems very genuine and unabashed. Not to say that Charli XCX is crude or vulgar. Instead, you tend to get more of the core of who she is. Not wanting to compete with her peers or create an album that is designed to slot into radio station’s playlists or get a chart position. This more genuine and loose Pop. It sort of takes you back to the past. A bit of the 1990s. Some Rave culture and underground sounds. It is almost hard to describe. I do think that BRAT and Charli XCX, given this huge respect and acclaim, will spark many more Pop music of that sort. It will not completely override and replace some of the more commercial and safe Pop. Four years ago, this article from The Atlantic noted how a more cartoonish and American teen-dream style of Pop had faded away. How it was replaced by something less fantastical and multicoloured. I would disagree that Pop completely lost its colour, juvenile edge and reckless. I would say that the genre has gone a little stiff. Maybe TikTok and other platforms have had an impact. If you get major mainstream artists putting out a particular sound, then it is inevitable that a score of upcoming artists will mine that sound for themselves. I do hope that the incredible success of artists like Charli XCX does integrate heavily into a new Pop wave. Not necessarily something nostalgic that takes us back to a different time. Just a new dynamic and preference. Pop with no real walls or mystery. Unguarded and brash, but also music that has real emotion and deeper moments. In a Pop landscape that has lost a bit of its verve and fun, I do think we will see soon it…

KICK back into life.

FEATURE: Soon It Will Be Gone Forever: The Importance of the Documentary, blur: To the End

FEATURE:

 

 

Soon It Will Be Gone Forever

PHOTO CREDIT: Reuben Bastienne-Lewis

The Importance of the Documentary, blur: To the End

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WE get music documentaries…

all of the time, yet most of them are on streaming services. It is not often the case that a documentary makes its way to the big screen. In the case of blur: To the End, you can order your ticket. It is released on 19th July. I am going to come to a few reviews for this documentary. There is something epic and romantic about this documentary. Considering the band released their first single, She’s So High, in October 1990, the fact they are still together and strong is testament to their bond and brotherhood. That has not always been so. In the period between the release of 13 in 1999 and Think Tank in 2003, there was this tension and breakdown. Graham Coxon dealing with substance issues. Maybe a sense that Damon Albarn was going solo or exerting too much control. Dave Rowntree and Alex James having to carry on. There was no telling whether, after Think Tank, Blur would find their way back to one another. I was very fearful that they would call it quits. Even though they did go on hiatus, they came back in 2015 with The Magic Whip. Last year, they released one of their very best albums. The Ballad of Darren could well be a farewell. I think Damon Albarn has said how there are no immediate plans to record anyway. You can never say never, yet I feel like there is something final about this album and recent gigs they have been involved in. Perhaps their 8th July show at Wembley Stadium will be the bowing out. A chance to say goodbye and thanks to fans. It means that this new documentary holds extra weight and emotion:

"A new feature-length documentary depicting the extraordinary and emotional return of blur, captured during the year in which they made a surprise return with their first record in 8 years, the critically acclaimed #1 album ‘The Ballad of Darren’.

blur: To The End follows the unique relationship of four friends - and band mates of three decades - Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree as they come together to record new songs ahead of their sold-out, first ever shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2023. Featuring performances of their most iconic, much-loved songs, footage of the band in the studio and life on the road, this film is an intimate moment in time with this most enduring of English bands, who have been at the heart of British cultural life and influence for over three decades”.

You can find more details and insight about the documentary. Not only will it celebrate the way Blur have riden through the highs and lows and still stayed together. It is also an emotional look at these friendships that broke down for a decade. How they were in the wilderness and there was very little chance of them being a band anymore. It is inspiring that, on their latest album, they are as together and strong as ever! This is a documentary for casual and diehard Blur fans alike:

“Tickets are on sale now with more cinemas being added through to release. Find your local cinema at blur.co.uk. Details of international cinema release coming soon.

Speaking in the film, Alex James said – “We’ve barely communicated for the last 10 years… I mean even when we really split up, it didn’t take this long to make a record, but what’s wonderful is as soon as the four of us get in a room together, it’s just exactly the same as it was when we were all 19….”

With Graham Coxon adding – “With each other… In the nineties, it was a very intense time. On the same sort of level as a relationship, or marriages and things like that. I think it’s okay to say that time apart was taken up with other friendships and just sort of recuperating or doing other things.”

Dave Rowntree said – “The fact that we haven’t always got on, that is one of the chemistry points that has led to us being able to make the music we do. I’m absolutely convinced of it.”

Damon Albarn said – “I don’t think any of us thought we’d make another record, especially not a record like this. I suppose that’s why I wanted to try and make it as good as possible.” Speaking later in the film, he added – “We all have hugely involving and complicated lives and we’re so lucky that we get to spend this time together, just the four of us. And that’s the beauty of it…”

blur: To The End is directed by Toby L and produced by Josh Connolly, via production house Up The Game.

Toby L said – “To The End is an intimate glimpse into relationships, motivation and mortality, the sights and sounds of longterm friendship unearthing a fresh new conquest to overcome together. On the subject of capturing a band that has been so well documented, we sat down at the start of the project and agreed that the film had to tell a new story, be shot entirely on location, and crucially, be honest. In To The End, that’s what I hope people can see, and most importantly, feel.

Working with blur on this documentary, over the past year has been the honour of a lifetime. They were the first band I ever saw – when I was 10 – at Wembley Arena. To consider that a little over 25 years later, I’d be making a film with the band that changed my entire world view on art, culture and music, remains utterly surreal. I hope that through watching it people feel a little closer to this incredible group of artists and friends, and have a richer insight for a life spent being in a band”.

I am going to come to some reviews for blur: To the End. That intense time during the 1990s. I can only imagine how tough it was to survive as a band. When they released their debut album, Leisure, in 1991, it did not get huge reviews. After a particularly disastrous U.S. tour, few felt Blur would continue. 1993’s Modern Life Is Rubbish was a step up but, again, they faced cynics and critics. 1994’s Parklife established them as a band here to say. By 1997’s Blur, they were very much survivors of that 1990s scene and the Britpop battle with Oasis – who, in 1997, were on the way down. With the excess, demands and burn-out many experienced in the decade, Blur (mostly) kept it together. I guess there was a natural sense of tension and reaching an end by the time of Think Tank. By that point, Blur has been together anamazing twenty-five years. I think it is that thing of the guys not getting on but being used to it. It is what happens in bands. They have survived their most testing days and come out the other end. Whether their Wembley gig is the final time they are on stage together, and whether or not another album comes, we can look forward to the documentary. Hearing the four members talk about their career and relationships. I want to get to some reviews for blur: To the End. This is what The Guardian wrote:

“The Blur fan does not want for documentaries. From the ramshackle Starshaped in 1993, which captured these Britpop Monkees pre-megastardom, to the slick New World Towers in 2015, this is a band that knows what the camera wants: deadpan daftness and onstage hijinks interspersed with melancholic reflections on age and Englishness. The 2010 doc No Distance Left to Run showed the quartet reuniting after a prolonged estrangement: “Let’s get the band back together one more time!” growled singer Damon Albarn. This latest look-back-in-languor can’t do much more than give the concept another run around the block, with added early archive footage. Now the band are back together again after a second prolonged estrangement, and they have a new dragon to slay: Wembley stadium. “The less we do, the bigger we get,” observes drummer and current Mid Sussex Labour candidate Dave Rowntree.

Armed with a new album (The Ballad of Darren), they play assorted warm-up shows – Wolverhampton! Eastbourne! – as well as a homecoming gig in Colchester, Essex. Here, Damon (looking like Albert Steptoe) and guitarist Graham Coxon (sounding like Dudley Moore) find that the music room at their former comprehensive has been named in their honour. Their suggestion that its ambience might benefit from some paisley wallpaper and a bowl of weed is met with muted horror by the head teacher.

Then it’s off to Wembley for two nights and a combined crowd of 180,000 fans. If that all sounds like a walk in the Parklife, the film is not without suspense. Will the gigs go ahead now that three of the four band members have dodgy knees? Will the prolific Damon find himself sufficiently stimulated? (“If you don’t keep him focused on the job in hand, he’ll literally write another opera,” marvels chain-smoking bassist and cheese-maker Alex James.) Will Alex’s punnet of farm-grown tomatoes meet with his bandmates’ approval?

In place of the long-gone messiness that made Starshaped so compelling is a geezerish sentimental sheen, a look-how-far-we’ve-come self-regarding awe, which chimes with the title song but wears thin over 105 minutes rather than three. The lack of any interesting structural or film-making choices doesn’t help, though the director Toby L wisely knows to hold the camera on Alex’s forlorn expression after he laments, of a recent night on the lash, that “there’s always a really good reason not to go to bed”. The decision to fillet or truncate every song, though, proves to be depressingly business-minded: complete numbers are being held back for a full-length concert movie later this year.

Throughout the film, the band remain affable company. Like Pet Shop Boys, they are relics of an age when pop stars were capable of droll copy, rather than just the controversial kind, even if there is a lot of waffle to wade through. “Ours is a brotherhood that has been sustained by a musical relationship … Music is a complete abandonment of the ego, and you’re just one of billions of atoms in that space.”

The one exemplary moment belongs to someone other than these four wealthy white blokes. Pauline Black, singer with 2 Tone stalwarts the Selecter, prepares for her support slot at Wembley by reflecting on why she’s still plugging away after all these years; she says that the racism, sexism and various other isms that seemed to have been vanquished are now back again, and as pernicious as ever. It’s a reminder that not everyone has had it as easy as the likely lads of Blur, and a salutary wake-up call amid the film’s popscene daydream”.

There are two other reviews I am keen to explore. Although there have been a fair few Blur documentaries, it seems that blur: To the End is among the most important and revealing. I had never considered it but, as Big Issue note in their review, the documentary explores the complexities of male friendships. I feel it might cast a light on male bands and those who have split. Those that remain together. How difficult it can be at times:

“If one moment sums up blur: To The End, a new film charting the return in 2023 of one of this country’s best bands of the last three decades, it is a quiet moment, during a break in recording, as the reunited band sit talking in the studio. Singer Damon Albarn slides into a tiny gap between guitarist Graham Coxon and bass player Alex James on a sofa. He leans into the warm, easy embrace from either side, as drummer Dave Rowntree looks on. It’s a rare moment of stillness and peace for Albarn.

This is a man constantly on the move, described in the film by James Ford – producer of Blur’s 2023 LP The Ballad of Darren, as “pathologically addicted to making new stuff all the time”. And it hints at the deeper story behind the band’s surprise, but hugely successful comeback.

Because when Damon Albarn hit a personal post-lockdown low, when he found himself living alone for the first time in decades, holed up in his secluded South Devon farmhouse, his finely tuned musical subconscious conjured the songs to bring his oldest friends to him. And they showed up for him.

The result was not only an album to rival any Blur have produced since forming in 1989 and the biggest UK shows of their career. Perhaps the even bigger result was a new, improved understanding between the four members.

Over the course of the film, we see Albarn, Coxon, James and Rowntree commune with their long and complex personal and musical histories and choose to cherish their commonality rather than dwell in their differences. And they ride this new wave of friendship and understanding all the way to Wembley Stadium.

So this is not the definitive Blur biography. Nor is it the inside track of the recording of The Ballad of Darren. And while we see the build-up to the two triumphant Wembley concerts in July 2023, rehearsals, back stage footage and highlights from the performances, a full-scale concert film is not arriving until September 2024. Instead, blur: To The End, expertly directed by Transgressive music group co-founder Toby L, strives for something more profound.

By showing four old friends coming together, blur: To The End is an all-too-rare depiction of long-term male friendship in all its complications and complexity, as well as an uplifting reminder of the power of music to transcend and heal.

The film opens with Albarn driving, precariously, along the narrow road to his home before welcoming his bandmates. He is nervous. A bit jumpy. “Blur are coming here,” he explains, as if he’s about to be visited by the ghosts of Christmas past. Guitarist Graham Coxon has never been before, he says. Bass player Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree have not been since Blur – temporarily a three-piece – recorded Think Tank in 2002.

We see the worries dissipate. The new arrivals wrap him in love. James joins his singer for a cold-water sea swim, they eat together, it is, says bass player James, like being back in halls of residence at Goldsmiths.

Later, as they listen back to completed tracks for the new record, we see Albarn nervously glancing at Coxon – seeking approval from his oldest and closest collaborator, there are echoes of Lennon and McCartmey always finding each other’s eye-line in Peter Jackson’s Get Back documentary.

He needn’t worry. “The singing is fucking ace,” Coxon tells him, as the band lean into the emotion in the new material.

Few singers can convey heartbreak or melancholy like Albarn at his best. “This is an album about loss,” he explains, a little reluctantly, to the camera. “The aftershock of loss. Whether that is a dramatic break up or pandemic. Now I live alone in the countryside – and this record very much feels like that.”

Along the way, we see the roots of their friendship and hear about their history. There is even, for the first time, a recording of Real Lives – Albarn and Coxon’s first ever school music project. Albarn and Coxon return to their old school in Colchester, which now has a music room named after them. The singer tells the nonplussed current headteacher why he used to hide in the music room lest he get beaten up: “’Cos everyone thought I was a cunt.” Despite everything, he’s still giving frontman vibes. Still putting on a show. And still playing up for the camera, all those years after he was centre stage in every school production.

Albarn also recounts youthful hijinks, including risking life and limb to change the time on the New Cross Town Hall clock while on acid during their Goldsmiths years. And the band discuss how early lyrics from Leisure, Modern Life Is Rubbish and Parklife resonate even more today, the pressures of the Britpop success years and the impact on each of them, and why they have all felt the need to spend most of the last 10 years apart.

From there, we see the band preparing for Wembley. Coxon, never fully at home with the show element of showbiz, calls the stage show rehearsals in giant soulless enormo-drome a “great way to feel awful about everything you’re doing”. And the band are more fractious than in the studio.

But it is all viewed through the eyes of four 50-something men with a shared musical and personal history and increasingly dodgy knees.

So we see the way they understand each other now. Their different needs and personalities. Albarn confident, showy, always performing; Coxon more sensitive and shy; James a study in louche ambivalence is happiest to relive the heady days of hardcore drinking as the band set out on a warm-up tour; while Rowntree is more detached, a thinker, the current Labour Party candidate for Mid Sussex happier talking about the state of the nation than rock stardom.

Albarn is clearly the driving force. And the band accept this. “If we don’t keep him focused on the job in hand, he will literally be doing another opera before the third single is out,” James grins.

Between recording the album and playing at Wembley, Albarn has toured with Gorillaz, Coxon has been on the road with his band The Waeve, and James has been making cheese, running his farm and partying with his kids. And with Wembley approaches, Rowntree suffers a potentially tour-ending tennis injury.

But the band understand the significance of playing Wembley. “Me and Damon watched Live Aid on television together,” recalls Coxon. And their biggest ever UK gig coming at this stage in their career is not lost on them.

Then it’s showtime. After Jockstrap, after Sleaford Mods, after Self Esteem. After The Selector, after Paul Weller, it’s time for Blur to play Wembley Stadium.

“There is something very healing about creating a beautiful noise,” says Albarn, as this beautifully made film nears its end. “And I never know if it will be the last time”.

I am going to end with a five-star review from NME. As someone who discovered Blur in the 1990s and was a big fan, I am excited to see this. I never thought that we would be talking about them in 2024! It is amazing that they have stayed strong and have that incredible friendship. As much as anything, we will get some raw insights and revelations that explain and explore the complexities of their friendship. This is what NME said in their review:

“Time is not infinite,” offers Blur’s Damon Albarn in the opening scene of new documentary film, To The End. Born of the Britpop age that promised so much, the band now in their 36th year and on their second comeback seem acutely aware that they aren’t, as their gobby rivals once promised a generation, going to “live forever”.

We begin with Albarn enjoying a pastoral existence on the rural Devon coast; getting cut up by Land Rovers on winding roads, celebrating the first egg from his beloved pet chicken and living in a very big house in the country. But all’s not well. Shattered by the split from his partner of 25 years, the self-confessed workaholic turns his heartache into song – and can only do it with his oldest friends around him. As guitarist Graham Coxon puts it, “a boulder is dislodged” within his pal – with two decades of pent up emotion pouring out.

That frank and honest storyline alone (we often see the frontman struggling and in tears) would have made for a must-see film, but the stakes are higher. As well as charting the indie legends’ recording of their immaculate comeback album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’, To The End also follows them on the road to a pair of shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.

Directed by Transgressive Records founder Toby L, To The End is a joyful and touching tale of a band crawling out of their Last Of The Summer Wine years to get all Spinal Tap once more. Each member has a challenge to beat: bassist turned cheesemonger Alex James savours the party lifestyle while remaining fearful of his old problems with alcohol, Coxon wrestles with the notion of being a stadium band when he only ever wanted to be a punk, and drummer turned politician Dave Rowntree goes and breaks his bloody leg weeks before curtain-up.

Still, the highs are higher; it’s wonderful to see the band retrace their friendship right back to school, the live footage from their intimate warm-up shows and the Wembley gig itself put you right in the beer-soaked mosh-pit, and Coxon gets a laugh by doing something pretty gross with a can of Diet Coke. No Spoilers.

They bicker, they hug, they call each other c**ts, they get the job done. While Blur’s last doc and accompanying live movie No Distance Left To Run was a portrait of a band celebrating their legacy and giving a nostalgia-hungry world exactly what they craved, this spiritual sequel shows a band simply supporting each other. Whether they return again or not remains to be seen. But even if they don’t, this was one hell of a final fling”.

Even if blur: To the End has a title that suggests a closing chapter and goodbye, that has not been confirmed. It is going to be a chance to celebrate this legendary band. Also, for those of us growing up with their music, an intimate portrait of these four amazing musicians. They play Wembley next month and, after that, who knows?! Make sure you go and see the documentary on 19th July. As they say in To the End (from Parklife): “And it looks like we might have made it…

YES, it looks like we made it to the end”.

FEATURE: Dreams: Why CATTY Supporting Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park Has This Wonderful Romance

FEATURE:

 

 

Dreams

IN THIS PHOTO: CATTY 

Why CATTY Supporting Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park Has This Wonderful Romance

_________

IT happens now and then…

IN THIS PHOTO: Stevie Nicks/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

and is more common and possible in the modern culture. What I am referring to is artists who are perhaps rising or not yet at the mainstream being given the opportunity to perform alongside legends and truly established artists. Artists like Taylor Swift selecting various artists to support depending on which country she is performing her Eras Tour. It must be a moment of real shock and ecstasy for an artist who gets that opportunity. Something they can talk about forever. In years and decades past, maybe the process was slightly different. If you got that sort of chance, it is possibly the case that the artist’s manager – the big and established artist – sees this upcoming act and recommends them. Maybe there is this word-of-mouth vibe. It probably occurred less than it does now. You would hear stories of those waiting or working behind bars getting these massive opportunities. Their dreams coming true. Being pulled from that somewhat modest setting and making it onto a giant stage alongside a hero of theirs. Almost this Hollywood vibe. This takes me to the recent case of CATTY. This is someone who has been on my radar and I hope to feature in my Spotlight feature soon. She is an amazing talent who I hope gets interviewed and profiled a lot soon enough. Take her music to new levels and people. As the BBC write, CATTY has been given the chance this summer to appear alongside Stevie Nicks at BST Hyde Park:

“A singer has secured a dream gig performing as a support act at a Stevie Nicks concert after using Instagram to "sell herself like a dog".

Catty, also known as Catrin Hopkins, will appear on stage at the Fleetwood Mac star's BST Hyde Park show.

It was all thanks to her sending a voice note to the booking agent on Instagram saying: "Hi, this is so embarrassing, but I just think it should be me."

The independent artist, from Caernarfon, Gwynedd, still works as a waitress to fund her career and will now join six other artists to make the all female line-up on 12 July.

"I called my manager and said ‘there’s no way this can go ahead without me’," she told Radio Wales Breakfast.

"We basically just emailed everybody that we could and we weren't getting any responses.

"So I found the booking agent and I just sent her a voice note on Instagram."

Catty started her career in the pop duo Dusky Grey in 2016 before moving to London to become a solo artist in 2021.

"I am pushing myself constantly, I'm also still a waitress and I have no shame about that," she said.

"Making music is so, so hard in terms of making money. That's how I'm funding everything - that's how I fund every show, that's how I fund every song that I put out.

"It’s really hard, but there's no way that I would ever do anything else.”

Stevie Nicks will headline BST in Hyde Park on 12 July

Catty is no stranger to supporting big artists after singing at a Lewis Capaldi concert as part of Dusky Grey, but said this opportunity was her "big dream".

"I’m quite calm about it now because we found out two weeks ago, but this means the world to me," she said.

"The reaction I had when it was announced, I just cried. That’s literally my hero!".

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by 🌜CATTY🌛 (@catty.mp3)

Even if the circumstance of CATTY supporting Stevie Nick is not quite the same as being discovered oldskool or getting her name spread about town, it is a modern equivalent. This young and very passionate artist putting her heart out there to share the stage with a hero. What I love is that this sort of thing can happen more in the modern day. With platforms like Instagram and TikTok, smaller artists can reach these major artists and, sometimes, their dreams can come true. That Stevie Nicks Fleetwood Mac song, Dreams. It seems very appropriate for CATTY. There is something wonderfully almost filmic about this coming together. A new artist whose has this music idol and hero. Never assuming the two would meet. That now will happen. Although CATTY Joins other women on stage, there is something about her story and situation that is particularly fantastic and rare. Not to suggest that all artists take to Instagram and work tirelessly to get their heroes to notice them. It may not always pay off or be possible. CATTY is also someone who has put in the hours and hard work. It is not like she is a talent show contestant who has been given a shot because of some T.V. exposure. The marrying of something new like Instagram and that bygone thing about dreams coming true in this strange and unexpected way. I think this is why the story stood out for me. I wanted to write about it. We might see other artists get that same opportunity as CATTY. They may be working in bars or shops between gigs and music commitments. Suddenly find themselves in the position where they get the gig of a lifetime! You can get tickets to see Stevie Nicks on 12th July. There is this great and varied BST Hyde Park line-up. It will be amazing. Especially true for CATTY. Going on stage to support an idol of hers. It shows that, in a hectic, competitive and packed music landscape, where artists have to struggle for recognition and survival, dreams really can…

COME true.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts: Leave It Open

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: The Deep Cuts

Leave It Open

_________

I have written about this…

track a few times before. Usually when marking the anniversary of The Dreaming. Kate Bush’s fourth studio album was released in 1982. Although it reached number three in the U.K., EMI felt it was slightly underwhelming. Many still feel that this album is too inaccessible and weird. Too much experimentation and not enough quality. Deeper and more layered than anything she released previously, this was Kate Bush producing solo. Utilising the studio and technology like the Fairlight CMI. With various sonic inspirations blending together, this was a bold and brilliant new direction. An artist clearly growing in ambition and scope. Kate Bush was only twenty-four when The Dreaming came out. It seems even more remarkable when you hear the brilliance of the songs on the album. A song that was not released as a single and one I don’t think I have heard on the radio, Leave It Open is certainly a deep cut. I may retread some information I put into previous features. There is no doubting the fact that Leave It Open is a deep cut. A song that many people are unaware of. I will go into the track in a bit. First, and thanks to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, we have examples of when Bush discussed one of her most intriguing, fascinating and compelling tracks. One whose range of sounds and contours is a real step above anything from her first three albums:

“Kate about ‘Leave It Open’

Like cups, we are filled up and emptied with feelings, emotions – vessels breathing in, breathing out. This song is about being open and shut to stimuli at the right times. Often we have closed minds and open mouths when perhaps we should have open minds and shut mouths.
This was the first demo to be recorded, and we used a Revox and the few effects such as a guitar chorus pedal and an analogue delay system. We tried to give the track an Eastern flavour and the finished demo certainly had a distinctive mood.
There are lots of different vocal parts, each portraying a separate character and therefore each demanding an individual sound. When a lot of vocals are being used in contrast rather than “as one”, more emphasis has to go on distinguishing between the different voices, especially if the vocals are coming from one person.
To help the separation we used the effects we had. When we mastered the track, a lot more electronic effects and different kinds of echoes were used, helping to place the vocals and give a greater sense of perspective. Every person who came into the studio was given the “end backing vocals test” to guess what is being sung at the end of the song.
“How many words is it?”
“Five.”
“Does it begin with a ‘W’?”
It is very difficult to guess, but it can be done, especially when you know what the song is about.
I would love to know your answers.

KATE BUSH CLUB NEWSLETTER, OCTOBER 1982

‘Leave It Open’ is the idea of human beings being like cups – like receptive vessels. We open and shut ourselves at different times. It’s very easy to let you ego go “nag nag nag” when you should shut it. Or when you’re very narrow-minded and you should be open. Finally you should be able to control your levels of receptivity to a productive end.

RICHARD COOK, ‘MY MUSIC SOPHISTICATED? I’D RATHER YOU SAID THAT THAN TURDLIKE!’. NME (UK), OCTOBER 1982

Talking about “guessing”, at last someone has discovered what’s being said at the end of “Leave It Open” – well done! But let me tell you about some of the fascinating encounters I’ve had. There is a Mr. John Reimers from the U.S.A. who has rung up once a week with his new version:
“Is it…?”
“Nope!”
“Well, is it…?”
“Nope!”
“Tell me! Tell me!”
John, you’re terrific!
But I’m afraid this is just a mild case. One night I woke up to a tapping on the window. It was someone hanging from a nearby tree by their feet. In their hands was a card, and written on it was: “Is it ‘We paint the penguins pink?'” I’m afraid I had to laugh, and shook my head. They burst into tears and ran off into the moonlight. But I think the cleverest was a phone call I had the other week.
“Hello, Kate?”
“Hello?”
“It’s Jay here, how are you doing?”
He sounded a little squeaky to me. Then he said: “You know, it’s ridiculous. I was sitting here listening to the end of ‘Leave It Open’ the other day, and I just couldn’t remember what you said – I know it’s crazy but -“
I interrupted.
“‘We paint the penguins pink.'”
“Oh, yeah! Of course, how could I forget? See you soon – bye!”
Hmmm… see what I mean?… C-lever!
But seriously, I have enjoyed your guesses tremendously, but I have terrible dreams about your reactions now that the answer has been revealed. Do I hear cries of “You’re kidding! But that’s stupid!” or “Cor, that’s pathetic – all our efforts overthat?”
Well, I hope not… And remember to let the weirdness in.

KATE BUSH CLUB NEWSLETTER, 1984”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Pierre Terrasson

There is a lot going on through Leave It Open. Even though journalists have not really spent too much time with the song – I have not seen a single feature dedicated to it (apart from ones I have written!) -, there has been some fan discussion and dissection. Thanks to this website for leading me to postings and theories by fans that go back to 1985. People spending time with Leave It Open and offering some interesting insights:

“On "The Dreaming" there is a two-way message that is sung at the end of "Leave It Open". When you play it forwards it sings "We let the weirdness in". And when you play it backwards it sings "And they said they would not let me in"!

I've tried this several times, and I can't hear the word "not". All I can hear is "They said they would let me in". As to how they did it, I'm not an expert in the field, but I have what I think is a pretty good guess. It's drowned out by the music in the part where the music is still going, but in the part at the very end, I can hear something in the background, and although the voice is intelligible, it still sounds weird. This makes me think that they've recorded the two messages separately in normal, forward voices, then reversed one of them, then combined the two signals together. I'm not familiar with the Fairlight, but I wouldn't be surprised if such things were not too difficult to do on it. They probably tried different relative speeds and offsets until they got something that produced the desired effect. When we play the record in one direction or the other, we're actually hearing both messages at the same time, one forward and the other backwards. Because we tend to notice intelligible speech more than unintelligible speech, we hear mostly the forward message. One of the scientists I work with has done some research in the field of speech intelligibility, so if I get a chance I'll talk to him about it and I'll forward his comments to this mailing list”.

That ending mantra of “We let the weirdness in” almost became a motto or mission statement for The Dreaming. It is a weirder and darker album than anything Kate Bush recorded before – or since really. Bush writes so beautifully and vividly through this song. There are so many standout lyrics and passages. I have some favourites. This is one of the best: “Narrow mind would persecute it/Die a little to get to it/(But now I've started learning how)/I leave it open”. I often wonder what compelled Kate Bush to write various songs. That thing about humans being like vessels and cups. Opening and shutting ourselves at various times. In a way, I think Leave It Open is a companion piece for the first single from The Dreaming, Leave It Open. That song is humanity's endless search for knowledge. I like how there are connected songs and clear themes. Maybe Leave It Open would not have succeeded as a single. It is a shame that it is under-exposed and explored. That lack of live performance and stage spotlight. I wonder what would have happened if Kate Bush had gone on tour after The Dreaming. Maybe exhaustion meant that this was not a consideration. Such is the atmospheric and powerful nature of those songs, to see them on stage would have been magnificent! In terms of the production and her vocals, I think that Leave It Open is one of her absolute best. I would urge people to check out the song. It is magnificent and should be played on radio. If many see it as not suitable for most stations, those with taste and appreciation of music that has surface and is not your ordinary Pop song should give this a shot. It is an important chapter and moment from one of Kate Bush’s albums. Many people close their minds and hearts to this song. I think that people should really…

LEAVE them open.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: A Swedish Pop Mix

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Zara Larsson

A Swedish Pop Mix

_________

WHEN you think of nations…

IN THIS PHOTO: ABBA/PHOTO CREDIT: Olle Lindeborg/AFP/Getty Images

that have provided the best Pop music, inevitably people’s minds go to the U.K. or U.S. In terms of quantity, I guess these are safe bets. In terms of Pop with a difference, maybe there are other options. It is renowned how strong Swedish Pop is. Rather than tie this playlist to a distinct date or anniversary, I felt a Swedish Pop mixtape would be a perfect energy boost for this week. Many might only feel there is ABBA and that is all there is to select from. If you take from more recent years, there are great Swedish Pop tracks that have come onto the scene. In a lot of cases, these are artists that were born in Sweden and now live elsewhere – though that would still constitute Swedish Pop. You will know almost all of these artists, yet there might be a few that are new to you. From the deliriously upbeat to something a little more tempered but still wonderful, this Swedish Pop Digital Mixtape shows what a strong and consistently brilliant nation they are. Maybe more eyes should be on nations like Sweden, Denmark and Iceland. Rich and diverse in terms of the music. For a pure hit of Swedish Pop, the playlist below…

IN THIS PHOTO: The Cardigans

IS all that you need.

FEATURE: Misread: Kings of Convenience's Riot on an Empty Street at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

Misread

Kings of Convenience's Riot on an Empty Street at Twenty

_________

UNLIKE some albums…

turning twenty this year, Kings of Convenience’s Riot on an Empty Street probably won’t get the same attention. It is a quiet storm. Something swelling, beautiful, dramatic and vivid. It is a gentle album, yet one with such rich and sumptious vocals and wonderfully immersive lyrics. Songs that bring you inside. Ones you are captivated by. The second studio album from the brilliant Norwegian duo, Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, two of the songs feature Feist – Know How and The Build Up. I wanted to shine a full light on a really brilliant album that turns twenty on 21st June. I remember buying the album and not knowing what to expect. Three years after their remarkable debut, Quiet Is the New Loud, Riot on an Empty Street offered more of the same thing. If anything, their second studio album sounded bigger and fuller than their debut. You could feel that life in confidence and scope. Produced by Kings of Convenience and Davide Bertolini, I think that some reviewers missed out on Riot on an Empty Street. Others did not give it the praise it truly deserved. I can understand some doubts or criticisms against Riot on an Empty Street. For an album that tries to bring in more Dance and Electronic influences, maybe the blend is not quite right. Perhaps an album that nods more to the past rather than comes into the twenty-first century. Also, Feist perhaps underused or not given the strongest parts. There is also this sense of politeness and few risks. If you know what to expect and are not thinking it is going to be a big evolution from their 2011 debut, then Riot on an Empty Street offers plenty. The production is bigger and fuller. The duo’s most recent album, 2021’s Peace or Love, was praised. It retained their core sound but brought in Bossa Nova influences. Being released during the pandemic, perhaps it did not the attention and full exposure it would otherwise have enjoyed.

I do really love Riot on an Empty Street. The fact that Feist introduces a new vocal element. The standout tracks like Misread, I’d Rather Dance with You, Surprise Ice and The Build Up. Each time you pass through the album, you will discover something new. It is a beautifully deep album that is a lot more than surface. I feel some critics did not pay as much attention to Riot on an Empty Street as they should. Denying themselves of something stunning. I want to bring in a review from AllMusic. This is what they observed when they assessed the 2004 album from Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek:

“Riot on an Empty Street ends a long period of inactivity for Kings of Convenience. During their three-year layoff Erlend Øye could be found making solo records and DJing while Eirik Glambek Boe was finishing his psychology degree. Luckily for fans of beautiful vocals and thoughtful indie pop, they decided to get back together. What this band is all about is the sound of Boe and Øye's voices blended together in harmony. Their first album (in both incarnations) erred on the side of consistency. Here the band seems to have learned the all-important lesson of pace and variety. The arrangements are fuller too with pianos, strings, the occasional electric guitar, and lovely guest vocals on two tracks from Broken Social Scene member Leslie Feist. Not to say that they have gone crazy with change. They still stick pretty closely to the acoustic guitars and vocals path, and the tone of the album is autumnal and restrained as before. They have just added more songs like the gently driving "Misread," the lilting waltz "Stay Out of Trouble," and the downright peppy "I'd Rather Dance With You." Øye's side trip into electronica only rears its head on the non-electronic but modern-sounding "Love Is No Big Truth." No matter what the song, though, when their tender, fragile voices harmonize it can be breathtaking. And heartbreaking. The moment in "Surprise Ice" when Eirik is joined by Erland will raise goose bumps. There are many others like that on Riot, and they are what sells the record. If you sort of liked the first record but wished it was more interesting, that it had more punch of both the sonic and emotional variety, then your wishes have come true”.

I do hope that there are plans to bring Riot on an Empty Street to vinyl. I am having a hard time finding too many options. As it is twenty on 21st June, it would be a good time to consider it. A really gorgeous album that you can lose yourself in, I would also hope people revisit it. Maybe opinions have changed. Though it received generally favourable reviews – The Independent gave it five stars; The Guardian four -, those who provided three-star takes or were a little mixed might do well to listen back now. I want to end with a review from No Depression. They make some interesting observations about the sumptuous Riot on an Empty Street:

“Over the last two decades, the idea that “dance music” could ever signify a static, all-encompassing genre has essentially passed. “Dance” has since melted down into a giant puddle of prefix-and-suffix-affixed subcultures, and Norwegian folk duo Kings Of Convenience are rallying for the inclusion of one more: post-club.

Part-time (and widely acclaimed) DJ Erlend Oye and his songwriting partner Erik Glambek Boe — adorably credited as “low voice” and “high voice” in the album’s liner notes — play tender folk songs remarkably well-suited to jerky cab rides at dawn, when your vision is foggy at best and home seems awfully far away. With their doleful acoustic guitars, breathy, microphone-eating vocals, and pristine production, Oye and Boe have mastered the art of the comedown.

Riot On An Empty Street, the duo’s third original full-length, nods to the soft intimacy of Nick Drake, and, perhaps surprisingly, fails to reference Oye’s extracurricular electro-jaunts. The Kings tend to avoid electronic flourishes, opting instead for pretty organics: piano, strings, guitar, and the soft muscle of two perfectly harmonized voices.

The opener “Homesick” is a joint love letter from Oye & Boe to Simon & Garfunkel (complete with self-referential longing for “two soft voices blended in perfection”), while “Know How”, featuring Broken Social Scene vocalist Leslie Feist, mixes a swinging, lounge-infused piano melody with sweet, toe-tapping vocals.

Folky, tender, and seeped in gray, pre-dawn light, Riot On An Empty Street is a tender homage to the art of descending”.

If you are unfamiliar with Kings of Convenience or their music, check out their official website. Hopefully we will hear more music from them. They always produce these tender and beautiful albums that have these sparks and bright colours at the edges. Different genre and instrumental influences. All pulling towards the stunning vocal chemistry and harmonies from their duo. As it is twenty this week, I wanted to show Riot on an Empty Street some love. It really is such…

A wonderful album.