FEATURE: Spotlight: HoneyLuv

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

  

HoneyLuv

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I wanted to spend some time…

PHOTO CREDIT: Yas Avdji

spotlighting the remarkable HoneyLuv. Prior to coming to a recent interview with Metal Magazine, there are a couple from earlier in the year that I want to get to. This interview from Cold is one I am keen to start with. Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, she is now based in Berlin. Someone who has this soulful House blend, where she can mix “sensual energies with upbeat, jovial sound”. Sexy grooves and soulfulness. No wonder her work and sets are so memorable and popular:

“Before she became a DJ/producer, HoneyLuv, née Taylor Character, experimented with different career paths. As a kid, she imagined herself as a basketball player. Then, she joined the US Navy in 2016 on a four-year contract at a naval base in Oxnard, California. This was a strategic move in hopes of financing her college tuition. At the time, she was studying criminology at the University of La Verne in Cali. But while working on drones in the Navy, it quickly became apparent that she didn’t want to become another cog in the machine.

Music, and more specifically DJing, became a necessary creative outlet. The musical worlds she built in her own time became more than an escape. Today she occupies space on some of the world’s biggest stages, with a career trajectory that confirms you need not stick to one niche to excel. Instead, it seems the key to success is honing the skill it takes to pivot and reshaping your goals as you move through the world.

Before she became a DJ/producer, HoneyLuv, née Taylor Character, experimented with different career paths. As a kid, she imagined herself as a basketball player. Then, she joined the US Navy in 2016 on a four-year contract at a naval base in Oxnard, California. This was a strategic move in hopes of financing her college tuition. At the time, she was studying criminology at the University of La Verne in Cali. But while working on drones in the Navy, it quickly became apparent that she didn’t want to become another cog in the machine.

Music, and more specifically DJing, became a necessary creative outlet. The musical worlds she built in her own time became more than an escape. Today she occupies space on some of the world’s biggest stages, with a career trajectory that confirms you need not stick to one niche to excel. Instead, it seems the key to success is honing the skill it takes to pivot and reshaping your goals as you move through the world.

PHOTO CREDIT: Yas Avdji

Community is another central feature of HoneyLuv’s practice. This comes to life with projects like her Label, 4 Tha Luv. Established in 2024, 4 Tha Luv is a celebration of house music and its deep history, rooted in Black and LGBTQ+ sounds. The purpose of the project is to highlight the hard work of those who built the house music we know today while paving a way forward for new talent to enter the industry. HoneyLuv is now laser-focused on the releases of her upcoming singles. “I have my first song that I’m releasing for my label, called ‘Good Measure’. I’m really excited to get that out this summer.”

Not only does she pour into her own musical practice, but she’s also influenced by her surroundings and her environment. “Seeing other people express themselves differently is really inspiring. I don’t want to limit what I express in my music. To see them do the same with their clothes and art, it’s really inspirational.” In HoneyLuv’s eyes, it’s crucial to seek innovation, while holding true to your authentic voice. “We’re constantly evolving, so it’s important to evolve yourself as an artist, but also stay true to the core of it.”

Beyond music, HoneyLuv is a self-described “foodie,” obsessed with trying new flavours and eager to boast about the many chefs in her life. “I have a lot of chef friends that I would love to collaborate with,” she says. She spends much of her time visiting restaurants. When she used to live in London, there were quite a few places she would frequent, that came to know her by name.

Brat in Shoreditch – a Basque-Welsh fusion restaurant housed in a former pub – is one London favourite. And if you’re visiting Berlin, she recommends Ari’s, a Peruvian-inspired luncheonette with “the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my life”. Or November Brasserie, “this really delicious Japanese fusion spot.” Berlin, she estimates, is a “small New York”, a smorgasbord of cultures and people she can ceaselessly explore.

When asked about some of her biggest creative inspirations, Willy Chavarria – the Chicano designer who has won acclaim for his outfits inspired by his queer, Latin and working-class upbringing – came to mind. “I love what he’s doing. It’s just very street. It’s hip hop.” Part of HoneyLuv’s excitement toward this designer and his work comes from the way he seamlessly world-builds. Blending sartorial excellence into experiential runway shows, every detail is considered, down to the “music culture” he highlights.

Reading is another hobby – important for grounding herself against the music industry’s nonstop relent. Recently, she picked up a copy of The Alchemist, Paul Coelho’s seminal fable of a young shepherd boy who ventures to the Pyramids in pursuit of ancient treasure. “This industry can be a lot on mental health because there’s a lot of ups and downs”, she says”.

Before getting to the final interview, HoneyLuv was interviewed by Magnetic Mag and was asked about her Miami Music Week run, and how she is less confined to genres. Whereas House was her main genre and focus, HoneyLuv responds to the energy and flow in the room. It is an interesting evolution for this incredible D.J. and artist:

“Do you still think in genres when you build a set or has that structure started to dissolve for you?

That structure has definitely dissolved for me. I’m still rooted in house music, but I don’t think in strict genres anymore, it’s more about all the different sides of what house can be. I move through sounds based on feeling, not labels. It’s all about energy and how it connects in the room.

Have you noticed more DJs blending styles and moods in ways that didn’t feel possible ten years ago?

Yeah, I’ve definitely noticed that, especially with local DJs.

A lot of the DJs I’ve seen around Berlin are blending styles and moods in really fluid ways, and it’s been really inspiring to witness. At the same time, I think some touring DJs still stick pretty closely to one sound. Seeing that contrast has pushed me to be more open in my own sets, still rooted in house, but not limiting myself. It’s made me want to play more freely and follow what feels right.

How do you make sure your sets still feel cohesive when you’re moving across sounds and eras?

For me, cohesion comes from intention and how everything flows together.

I’m always incorporating new sounds and discovering new artists, so my sets are constantly evolving and never stuck in one era. But I’m intentional about how I blend those newer records with what’s come before, so it all feels connected. It’s about creating a path that moves forward while still fitting the moment.

What’s a genre you never thought you’d play but now it feels at home in your rotation?

I’d say Baile funk is one I never thought I’d play, along with touches of dubstep and garage.

They’re not genres I usually listen to, but being exposed to new sounds has shifted my perspective. If it feels good, has a groove, and I connect with it, I’m open to it. At that point, it’s not about genre anymore, it’s about the feeling”.

Metal Magazine spoke with HoneyLuv as she played at Amsterdam Dance Event 2026. Also, “she’s also looking beyond the dancefloor with the launch of her own label, 4 THA LUV, a project dedicated to creating opportunities for underrepresented voices and building a community where everyone can find their place”. They chatted to HoneyLuv her about her latest single, Good Measure (I Like It):

“Before becoming a DJ, you dreamed of playing basketball professionally and even served in the US Navy. Your journey has been anything but conventional. Looking back, did you ever imagine your life would take such a different direction?

Honestly, not at all! But if you’d told me years ago this is where I’d be, I definitely would’ve believed you because I’ve always believed anything is possible. I just never knew what the journey would look like getting here!

You started making music in your barracks after long shifts in the military. Do you remember the moment you realised this could become your future?

Honestly, I think when I first started DJing in my barracks, I was like, yeah, I wanna make this into a real thing. And from that moment I just became obsessed with the idea of making it happen.

“Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m literally living the life I once dreamed of.”

Congratulations on the Grammy consideration campaign for Don't Stop with Muni Long. Last week, you shared a beautiful message about being a girl from Cleveland with big dreams. What did that younger version of you imagine for her future?

It was always traveling the world and eating good food for sure! Those were always two things I dreamed of doing, so the fact that I get to do both while doing something I love is pretty amazing.

Your sound draws from the roots of house music while incorporating R&B and soul influences. How would you describe the direction your music is taking right now?

I feel like my sound is always evolving, especially now that I’m living in Berlin and discovering so many new sounds that I’m really drawn to. I’ve started incorporating those influences into my sets as well. A HoneyLuv set from a year ago sounds completely different from what it does today. You’ll always hear those house, R&B, and soulful influences, but we’re definitely getting a lot darker with it now, and I’m loving that direction.

You're also joining conversations at ADE about supporting women in the music industry. From your own experience, where do you think the scene still needs to improve?

I think we still have a long way to go when it comes to equal opportunities and representation, especially for women, and Black women in particular in dance music. There’s so much incredible talent out there, but not everyone is given the same opportunities to be seen or heard. I want to see more women headlining, in leadership positions, and behind the scenes making decisions. And not just because they’re women, but because they genuinely deserve to be there”.

The tremendous HoneyLuv is someone who I discovered recently and want to share with other people. She has fans and followers in the U.K., though perhaps she is better know in other parts of the world. I do wonder if there is going to be an E.P. or album next year. Stunning singles this year such as Don’t Stop and High in Ibiza are tremendous. Go and follow this amazing queen. The magnetic and majestic HoneyLuv is…

A true wonder.

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Follow HoneyLuv

FEATURE: Modern-Day Queens: Jazzy

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern-Day Queens

 

Jazzy

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I have featured…

Jazzy before, but I am revisiting now, as she recently released her debut album, Peace & Patience. I will end with a review of it. Even though I wrote about her a few months ago, as her debut album is out, I wanted to come back to Jazzy. I am starting with BBC and their recent feature about this sensational Irish artist. She is someone who I have been following for a while. She is currently touring the U.K., so if you can get to see her then do so:

“Releasing your first album is a big step for any artist, but for Jazzy it's one that's followed some huge strides.

The Irish singer and DJ has been streamed more than a billion times and worked with industry heavyweights including Calvin Harris.

If that's not enough, on Saturday she has her biggest gig yet when she'll be playing tracks like No Bad Vibes and Someday in front of a home crowd in Dublin.

For Jazzy, writing an album has always been in the back of her mind and now, finally, it's time to hit send.

She's previously released dozens of singles, building up a monthly listenership over 10 million strong, but Peace and Patience is her first full-length work.

"It's been quite a few years of creating some smaller projects," she tells BBC Newsbeat.

"That's given me enough experience now to feel like it was the right moment."

'I wasn't thinking about going viral'

The 30-year-old, real name Yasmine Byrne, has been putting out music for more than five years and collabed with the likes of Sonny Fodera, Rossi. and KILIMANJARO on some of her biggest tracks.

Dance music has boomed in recent years, with Spotify previously telling Newsbeat that since 2020 the amount under-25s listen to the genre has grown by more than 73% globally.

It also dominated festival line-ups over the summer - including Radio 1's Big Weekend which dedicated all its stages to dance music on the opening night.

But artists in the genre have often moved away from albums, opting instead to release EPs and singles.

Jazzy has noticed the change, saying it feels "a lot different now, with people kind of siding with virality rather than quality of music".

I want to come to Music Week - https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/jazzy-on-her-debut-lp-the-solutions-needed-for-ireland-s-nightclubs-and-the-laziness-of-ai/095309 - and their interview. As they write, “Here, joined by Polydor Label Group president Ben Mortimer, Chaos Records, Attention Management and collaborator Mark Ralph, Jazzy talks EDM culture, the merits of experimentation, the perils of AI and her enduring love of “a little rave cave”.

“The album’s been in the works for a while so I’m so curious to see what everyone else thinks,” she says with a big smile, also revealing that some of the material was written two years ago.

It checks out that Jazzy is keen to be at Ralph’s studio today. She’s ready to make fresh music, though today’s session is purely for “vibing”, with no specific project in mind. That adds up, too, because as Jazzy reminds us frequently, she lets her life and her music “happen organically”.

Such authenticity lines up with the moment Jazzy finds herself in now. She’s a dance star in her own right, kicking back against the featured artist tag she is sometimes narrowly labelled with.

Making music, she says, is a collaboration most of the time anyway. And when she does link up with other DJs and producers, she debunks any preconceived ideas that she’s purely a vocalist.

“I’m my own artist and I don’t want to be known as a ‘feature artist,’” she says. “So when I go into the studio, I make sure that it’s going to be a collaboration and not just, ‘Oh, you want me to come in and do a vocal for you?’ I very much want to be involved in what the song sounds like and how it’s built.”

Having autonomy and remaining true to herself and her roots is at Jazzy’s core. A Crumlin native, to this day she still lives in Dublin county, where she recently purchased her first home.

A racing green holdall placed at Jazzy’s feet on her new album’s cover provides a fitting metaphor for a life lived mostly on the road in recent years.

“I bring that iconic bag with me as I travel the world, and it represents all that stuff,” she explains. “The album is a big ‘thank you’ to the people who’ve built me, made me the way I am, kept my feet on the ground. I’m glad I’m not getting too big for my boots!”

She needn’t be so humble. Ben Mortimer, president of Polydor Label Group (PLG), praises Jazzy as “a brilliant example” leading the charge for Chaos.

“I’m incredibly proud of what Chaos has built in such a short space of time,” he tells Music Week.

Chaos launched in 2023 and achieved a chart breakthrough with its debut release, Giving Me, which was also Jazzy’s maiden single.

“Within its first few years, the team has established a label with real weight in dance and electronic music, rooted in great A&R instincts and a real understanding of the culture around artists,” Mortimer adds. “Jazzy is a brilliant example of that. The label has become an important part of PLG, and combines a great team with exciting, creative new artists.”

That appreciation of where Jazzy is from is part of Chaos’ approach in honouring her heavy involvement in Dublin’s club and hip-hop scene (she formerly fronted the rap collective Powerful Creative Minds: PCM).

It’s a strategy spun out of Jazzy’s ethos – which has been “Dublin to the world” from the start – shares Chaos GM and director of dance marketing, Silas Howison-Waughray.

Putting Dublin on the map has taken “a lot of graft and continues to do so,” he adds, but she is “well on her way to making it a reality”.

Howison-Waughray puts that down to the fact that Jazzy is a “unique” artist.

“Being an Irish singer-songwriter and touring DJ, with all original vocals on her own records and a strong creative vision, puts her in a totally different space to a lot of acts in dance music,” he explains. “She’s able to put herself both visually and sonically at the forefront of every aspect of the campaign, which removes the limits of success in our minds.”

Jack Duckworth, A&R director at Polydor and head of A&R at Chaos, signed Jazzy after a lunch in Dublin four years ago. He knew from the off that it was imperative to recognise her background as a singer, songwriter, DJ and raver.

“It’s always been about making sure she’s had one foot in the underground and the other in the crossover world,” explains Duckworth. “We wanted people to know Jazzy was coming from the culture. When we signed her to Chaos, she was well rooted in the D12 [postcode] Dublin house scene, which was popping off. She’d just come off the back of Make Me Feel Good. We knew we needed to be fluid and nimble.”

And, as is the case in electronic music, fans expect a steady stream of releases.

“We set out a regular flow,” explains Duckworth. “Some tracks would cater to Jazzy’s club audience and others to her crossover one.”

Those crossover tunes include No Bad Vibes, her 2024 collaboration with Zambian-British DJ Kilimanjaro, which takes its cues from the slow, protracted beats of amapiano as well as Afro house. It marked a shift from Jazzy’s punchier dance hits like Giving Me or Somedays. No Bad Vibes, Howison-Waughray adds, became one of Universal Music Group’s biggest-performing sounds on Snapchat.

Securing the “right” collaborations, including High On Me, a No.18 single released last year with Rossi, has been key to “really super-charging the project”, Duckworth adds.

“To quote Paddy McLean,” he says, nodding to the Chaos co-GM, “we wanted ‘to be everywhere, anywhere, all at once’.”

Howison-Waughray echoes those sentiments.

“The primary goal for both the label and Jazzy from the outset was long-term artist development,” he says. “This album is the biggest moment in her journey and we have high expectations in the UK, Ireland and globally, but it’s another milestone in a long career that will stand the test of time and continue to evolve.”

Belying their company’s name, Attention Management’s Jo Eales says that she and founder Iain Watt prefer to work “quietly” behind the scenes, but are “happy to be loud about our pride in Jazzy”.

“She’s one of one: a phenomenal DJ, a brilliant writer and most importantly, genuinely a fantastic human being,” Eales says.

Eales remarks that Jazzy’s success so far is down to her “genuine credibility” in the dance music space.

“In an age where anyone can be a DJ, being a curator is the true epitome of what it is to be a DJ,” she says. “Jazzy eats, sleeps and breathes dance music. We joke that she wakes up and goes straight to 140BPM, which is unbelievable for a person with such a chilled demeanour. Maybe it’s that dichotomy that keeps the wheels on when everything is as hectic as it is for her.”

The album is home to plenty of the kind of house bops you’d expect, topped with her husky, soulful tones, but there is some experimentation, too. On Genuine, she sings over a crisp, 2-step beat co-produced with UK garage legend MJ Cole.

“I’ve explored quite a few sub-genres of house in my music before, but I wanted there to be more variety,” says Jazzy. “MJ Cole is obviously iconic over here, and it was great to have him. We sent Genuine to him and he just really put that 2-step magic into it. It was something I hadn’t really tried before.”

Deeply melodic, bouncy basslines occupy much of the album’s latter tracks including Get Me Started and the Chris Lorenzo collaboration, Invisible. Elsewhere, amapiano, funky, ’90s rave and hip-house can be heard on tracks ranging from Fantasy to Funky Flow and Elevate (feat. Reggie).

If that’s a dizzying array of dance, that’s business as usual for Jazzy. Dance music is, as Eales reminds us, what consumes her. She has an “amazing talent”, says Eales, not only as a songwriter and a DJ, but also as a curator.

“I really do love it so much,” says Jazzy, chuckling. “From the minute I started listening to it, I felt like that, and I still feel like that now. This is what I’m supposed to be doing.”

I am going to finish with a review of Peace & Patience from HotPress. I am surprised that it has not received more reviews, as it is one of the most important debut albums of recent years. People getting to see Jazzy on the road at the moment. There is no denying her brilliance. Someone who is going to be releasing music for years to come:

“Has a recent debut album from an Irish artist ever been more highly anticipated than Jazzy’s Peace & Patience? Perhaps CMAT, Hozier or Fontaines D.C. But that is the Mount Rushmore type of territory we are talking about.

After scoring a massive hit in 2022 with ‘Make Me Feel Good’ (No. 1 in Ireland and No. 4 in Britain) with Belters Only, Jazzy’s debut single ‘Giving Me’ subsequently clocked up a quarter-of-a-billion Spotify streams. Her first solo collection, Constellations, followed in October 2023. Its six tracks established her sonic framework: house, touches of trance, and the dancefloor as a place to shake off your troubles.

Subsequent mammoth collaborations included ‘Somedays’ with Sonny Fodera and D.O.D.; ‘No Bad Vibes’ with Kilimanjaro; ‘High On Me’ with Rossi.; and ‘Satisfy’ with Calvin Harris – records that place Jazzy within the global dance scene. Hence the heavy hitting posse that collaborate on Peace & Patience, including Mark Ralph, Tre Jean-Marie, Theo Hutchcraft and Chris Lorenzo.

The latter features on ‘Invisible’, a heavy bass groover with a superb Jazzy vocal, which clubbers across the world will soon be losing themselves in.

But this is also an origin record. ‘Intro’, for example, features the voices of Crumlin natives declaring Jazzy as one of their own. Indeed, ‘My People’ is a tribute to the Dublin and the community that shaped her – magnificently threading her signature sound of polished nocturnal pop and personal reflection.

When the Choice Music Prize field is announced in January, expect Jazzy to be a bookies favourite.

9/10”.

I will wrap up here. The brilliant Jazzy is someone who I have a lot of respect for. Peace & Patience stands alongside the best albums of this year. If you have not followed her yet then make sure that you do so now, as she is a major talent. The sensational Jazzy is one of the greatest artists…

IN the world.

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Follow Jazzy

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Jeff Buckley at Sixty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Jeff Buckley shot in New York in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Merri Cyr

 

Jeff Buckley at Sixty

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THERE is a reason why…

I am thinking about Jeff Buckley. Born on 17th November, 1966, we mark what would have been his sixtieth birthday soon. We sadly lost Buckley in 1997 at the age of thirty. It was one of the greatest losses in music history. Even if he only released one studio album, 1994’s Grace, he left behind a lot of material. Incredible live performances and interviews. He has inspired so many artists and is recognised as one of the finest artists ever. Grace was not really a success in his native U.S. in 1994. It was far more embraced in Europe. The U.K. too. Since his death, it is seen as a classic and one fo the best debuts ever. It is sad he perhaps did not get the ackolwdgement he deserved in his lifetime. Though, he became weary of constant touring and pressures near the end of his life. He was in the process of constructing songs for his second studio album in 1997 when he died. Rather than wonder what could have been, we need to celebrate his legacy and brilliance. To mark his sixtieth birthday, I have compiled a mixtape of songs from throughout his career. Included are songs from the posthumous album, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk. Prior to getting to that, AllMusic’s biography of this legendary artist gives us a glimpse into his career and impact. Though he was only thirty when he died, the impact his music has made in the years since is massive:

“A mercurial singer and guitarist whose mystique was matched by his incredible an talent, Jeff Buckley wed the nuanced improvisations of jazz with the soulful expression and raw attack of blues and rock. As the son of cult songwriter Tim Buckley, he faced more expectations and preconceived notions than most singer/songwriters, so perhaps it wasn't surprising that his music was related to his father's by only the thinnest of margins. Buckley's voice was grand and sweeping, which fit with the mock-operatic grandeur of his Van Morrison-meets-Led Zeppelin music. His audacious debut, Grace, made him one of the most popular alternative artists of the '90s, accentuated by his early and tragic death in 1997, and his cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" virtually redefined the song for a modern audience. Although Buckley didn't amassed a large body of work during this lifetime, a succession of posthumous releases, most of them live, have been pulled from the vault, while various books have emphasized his lasting legacy. The documentary film, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, premiered in 2025, nearly three decades after his death.

Buckley began playing while in high school. Eventually, he moved to Los Angeles to study music; while he was there, he performed with several jazz and funk bands, as well as playing with Shinehead, a leader in the dancehall reggae movement. A few years later, he moved to New York, forming Gods & Monsters with the experimental guitarist Gary Lucas. The band became a hip name, yet its lifespan was short. Buckley began a solo career playing clubs and coffee houses, building up a considerable following. Soon, he signed a record deal with Columbia Records, releasing the Live at Sin-e EP in November of 1993. It received good reviews, yet they didn't compare to the raves Buckley's full-length debut, 1994's Grace, received. Unlike the EP, the album was recorded with a full band, which gave the record textures that surprised some of his longtime New York followers. Nevertheless, it made several year-end "Best of 1994" lists and earned him a belated alternative hit, "Last Goodbye," in the spring of 1995.

A long hiatus followed as Buckley worked on material for his follow-up effort, provisionally titled My Sweetheart the Drunk. Originally slated to be produced by Tom Verlaine, who later dropped out of the project, Buckley finally began work on the record in Memphis during the late spring of 1997. On the night of May 29, he and a friend traveled to the local Mud Island Harbor, where Buckley spontaneously decided to go swimming in the Mississippi River and waded into the water fully clothed. A few minutes later, he disappeared under the waves; authorities were quickly contacted, but to no avail -- on June 4, his body was finally found floating near the city's famed Beale Street area. Buckley was 30 years old.

A collection of unreleased recordings, Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk, appeared in 1998, and two live albums arrived during 2000-2001, Mystery White Boy and Live a l'Olympia. Over the next decade and a half, other posthumous records appeared -- the compilation So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley in 2007, the live album Grace Around the World in 2009 -- but the biggest excavation from the vaults was 2016's You and I, which presented cover versions the singer/songwriter had recorded early in his career. Among a trio of archival live sets released in 2019 was the full concert of Live at Wetlands, New York 8/16/94, some of which had previously been issued as B-sides. In 2025, director Amy Berg premiered an authorized documentary film, It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley, examining Buckley's life and career”.

On 17th November, we remember Jeff Buckley on his sixtieth birthday. Artists such as Thom Yorke, Matt Bellamy, Lana Del Rey, Adele, Chris Martin, Chris Cornell, and Anna Calvi have been inspired by this much missed artist. Grace remains this masterpiece that captured the sound of a young artist who should have had a long career with many more albums. Bittersweet to remember him on his sixtieth birthday. However, few artists have the same legacy as Jeff Buckley. That will continue to grow for decades more. One of these artist that was unique and truly special. The likes of which…

WE will never see again.

FEATURE: Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black at Twenty: Her Influences, and the Artists She Inspired

FEATURE:

 

 

Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black at Twenty

PHOTO CREDIT: Mischa Richter

  

Her Influences, and the Artists She Inspired

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FOR anyone who is a…

PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah J. Edwards

fan of Amy Winehouse and her album, Back to Black, to listen back to BBC Radio 6 Music’s programmes from yesterday. They celebrated the album and Winehouse. Interviews with those who knew and worked with her. Songs from Back to Black. Because the album turns twenty on 27th October, I am sharing a playlist at the end that contains songs from the 20th Anniversary Edition of Back to Black, in addition to songs from artists that are inspired by Amy Winehouse. Tracks from artists that influenced Winehouse. A blend that celebrates this once-in-a-generation talent. In a way, it is almost sad that the anniversary will pass, as we do not get to talk about Amy Winehouse and Back to Black. However, it is an album that will influence and resound forever. Artists today you can hear are directly impacted by this 2006 masterpiece. Twenty years after its release, the amazing and unforgettable Back to Black has…

FEW equals.

FEATURE: No Better Station: BBC Radio 6 Music, the Mercury Prize and Beyond

FEATURE:

 

 

No Better Station

 

BBC Radio 6 Music, the Mercury Prize and Beyond

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LAST night…

RAYE won the Mercury Prize for her album, THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE. I wrote a feature where I said the Mercury Prize will be won by either RAYE or Olivia Dean. Dean’s album, The Art of Loving, was a huge commercial success. I said Dean would win, but I am glad that RAYE won. It was an incredible award ceremony. Held at the Utilita Arena Newcastle, I was following along on BBC Radio 6 Music. Hosted by Deb Grant and Nathan Shepherd, they were broadcasting live from Newcastle. More than write about the Mercury Prize and RAYE’s deserved win, I have particular pride in BBC Radio 6 Music. Their coverage was exceptional. Lauren Laverne was hosting. Matt Everitt was interviewing artists nominated and was the first to speak with RAYE when she came off the stage following her win. Their passion for the ceremony and the way they covered it was brilliant. I am already looking forward to next year’s ceremony, as again they will be there and covering things. Even though the winner has been crowned, I would still advise people to check out the episodes Matt Everitt presented, where he looked at the dozen nominated albums. Many of the artists speaking about their albums. You got a real insight into each artist and the record. Everitt also predicted RAYE would win too! It is brilliant that a station can do something like this. It is not only the Mercury Prize that makes me proud of BBC Radio 6 Music. There is so much going on. As I write this, Lauren Laverne is presenting and her show is dedicated to Amy Winehouse. Her album, Back to Black, turns twenty. “Marking 20 years since the release of the late musician's iconic album ‘Back to Black’, 6 Music celebrates Amy Winehouse and her important contribution to music. We'll be playing music from Amy herself, her musical heroes, and those she continues to inspire. In the final hour of the show we'll be playing music from Amy's personal jukebox, and Lauren Laverne will be in conversation with Darcus Beese OBE who signed Amy”.

It is a brilliant time to follow the station. I know other radio stations have special episodes and go deep, but BBC Radio 6 Music do it all the time. It is a pity that I do not have more time to listen to the station. Working full-time, I try and catch it as much as I can. Looking ahead, there is a lot to look forward to. The station turns twenty-five in March, so I know there will be celebration around that. One of the biggest regrets is not being able to work for the stations and get involved that way, as it would be a dream. Though listening and getting all these audio treats is great. When they spotlight an album or do an artist feature. Marking twenty years of Back to Black. There is something about BBC Radio 6 Music that you do not get with other stations. This unique edge. I think that BBC Radio 6 Music is the best station in the world. Their endless passion for music. The fact that they do so much. Not a lot of people write about them. Very rare that you get any features about the station. Their listening figures are high, though you kind of wish there was more written about the station, as some people are missing out. I was listening along last night at the coverage of the Mercury Prize. It is hard to put my finger on it. Some stations merely nod to it. BBC Radio 6 Music go deeper. You can follow BBC Radio 6 Music on Instagram. Go and listen back to their Mercury Prize coverage, and also check out their celebration of Any Winehouse and Back to Black. Rather than just do a social media post, I did want to write a bit more. No real huge point or conversation. Just me fondly looking back last night and the exceptional Mercury Prize coverage. It is not an isolated thing. The station is always putting these incredible programmes on. In fact, rather than Lauren Laverne solely discussing Amy Winehouse, the station is dedicating the day’s schedule to her. I would compel everyone to listen back to all the shows. I started with RAYE and her Mercury Prize win. This ambitious and long concept album, RAYE said how much she valued albums. I think that is why BBC Radio 6 Music cover the event. They love the album and what it means. In an age of streaming and people handpicking tracks, we need to truly connect with the album and its value. The Mercury Prize is that recognition of the album. The best from the U.K. and Ireland. One of the criticisms this year was that the shortlist was made up of major artists and very little in the way of emerging talent. A deviation from its purpose and roots. Though I think this year is an anomaly in that sense and next year will see a shift towards newer and independent artists. In any case, I did want to shout out BBC Radio 6 Music and their coverage. And what the station do every day. That is to produce this world-class and incredibly interesting and passion broadcasting. If you are not aware of them and are not yet tuned in, I would encourage you to…

START listening now.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: Something Like a Song: Moving (The Kick Inside)

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: Something Like a Song

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

 

Moving (The Kick Inside)

_________

I am back to…

The Kick Inside. That is Kate Bush’s 1978 debut album. I have been thinking about her opening tracks and which album has the best one. I would put The Kick Inside right up there. Moving is this beautiful and sublime song that I think ranks alongside her best songs. I am following a series by Spectrum Culture, where they are ranking Kate Bush’s songs. They have placed Moving low. It is good that they have discussed the track, though I disagree with what they say in general. There are a few reasons why I am fascinated by this song. It is the first track from her debut album, so it is special because of that. I am always considering the characters in Kate Bush songs. Whether you class it as a character or not, Bush does sing about this “moving stranger”. I know Bush very much had Lindsay Kemp in mind when writing this. I will come to an article from Dreams of Orgonon that I have sourced before. It is fascinating reading their interpretation and analysis of this track. I am also fascinated by the live performances of Moving. It has this wonderful history. It is to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia for some invaluable background to The Kick Inside’s opening gem:

“The song is a tribute to Lindsay Kemp, who was her mime teacher in the mid-Seventies. She explained in an interview, “He needed a song written to him. He opened up my eyes to the meanings of movement. He makes you feel so good. If you’ve got two left feet it’s ‘you dance like an angel darling.’ He fills people up, you’re an empty glass and glug, glug, glug, he’s filled you with champagne.”

‘Moving’ opens with a whale song sampled from Songs of the Humpback Whale, an LP including recordings of whale vocalizations made by Dr. Roger S. Payne”.

Soon after the release of The Kick Inside, Bush performed ‘Moving’ alongside with ‘Them Heavy People’ on 25 February 1978 on the BBC TV show Saturday Night at the Mill.
On 12 May, she took part in a Dutch special TV show dedicated to the opening of the Haunted Castle, the new attraction of the amusement park Efteling. She performed six songs in six videos filmed near the castle and across the park.
In June 1978, Bush sang ‘Moving’ at Nippon Budokan during the Tokyo Music Festival. The performance was retransmitted on the Japanese television on 21 June and was followed by a 35 million audience. She won the silver prize alongside with the American R&B band The Emotions.
Kate also performed ‘Moving’ on the Japanese TV programme Sound in S.
In 1979, Bush included ‘Moving’ on her first tour, The Tour of Life. Her performance can be seen on the video Live at Hammersmith Odeon”.

I am dropping in a few Moving live performances. A wonderful track performed in multiple countries, I do wonder what people outside of the U.K. thought of it. Maybe the lyrics and background did not mean much to them. I do want to bring in that interview that the Kate Bush Encyclopedia referenced. In 1980, Kate Bush was interviewed by Phil Sutcliffe for Sounds:

“I asked Kate about Moving, the first song on 'The Kick Inside' and her most fitting blend of word and sound so far. It's a complete evocation of the movement of the dancer, speaking with his limbs, sense through sensuality, as sexy as his 'beauty's potency', the dancer and the watcher in harmony like lovers.

So I asked her what whale noises were doing in there. "Whales say everything about 'moving'. It's huge and beautiful, intelligent, soft inside a tough body. It weighs a ton and yet it's so light it floats. It's the whole thing about human communication -- 'moving liquid, yet you are just as water' -- what the Chinese say about being the cup the water moves in to. The whales are pure movement and pure sound, calling for something, so lonely and sad...

"On the ground they're ppff (splodging sound), but in the water they're 'wahooo!' Which is the way with a lot of dancers."

The song/dance dovetail is one of the ideals she's pursued in her stage show, TV special, and videos. She can trace her love of movement back to when she was a tot.

"My father told me I used to dance to the music on the telly. I remember it vaguely. It was completely un-selfconscious and I wasn't aware of people looking at me. One day some people came into the room, saw me and laughed and from that moment I stopped doing it. I think maybe I've been trying to get back there ever since."

'Moving' is dedicated to Lindsay Kemp who led her into rediscovering herself with an inspiring performance and a series of 50p lessons in the public classes he gave.

"He needed a song written to him. He opened up my eyes to the meanings of movement. He makes you feel so good. If you've got two left feet it's 'you dance like an angel darling.' He fills people up, you're an empty glass and glug, glug, glug, he's filled you with champagne."

With dance, mime, and elaborate costume, Kate's performances are hardly your standard rough and ready rock shows. They are rehearsed down to fine detail and she values exact execution far above 'spontaneity', which again scores black marks against her name in some books. So it was interesting to hear her reactions to the last night of the tour when nothing went according to plan.

"The roadies were all very creative people and suddenly as a sort of goodbye to us, they were all joining in the show. There were crowds of cowboys and indians, a crocodile. During Egypt a panto camel walked in. I went after it and it tried to run away, but I got it by the tail, pulled it back and there were these voices protesting from inside, 'Leggo!' "

That is, she loved it. Kate Bush wants to create an illusion, not a machine”.

I don’t think that people discuss or write about Moving much. In terms of ranking it alongside the all-time best Kate Bush song. I think it is wonderful. I want to move now to Dreams of Orgonon, as I always learn things. Think about Kate Bush’s music in a different way. The fact that the track opens with whale song makes me love it even more. How unusual that would have been for a Pop artist in 1978. The perfect way to open Kate Bush’s debut album:

“Bush has credited multiple instructors in the development of her dancing skills, including jazz-influenced instructor Robin Kovac and American mime Adam Darius. But her most influential teacher is one of the world’s most famous mimes, Lindsay Kemp. Kemp’s legacy is enormous, boasting experience teaching and working with David Bowie, maintaining a status as a gay icon, and his extravagant theatrical performances. One of these stage shows is particularly crucial for Kate Bush. In 1975, she saw Kemp for the first time in a performance in Bloomsbury. Flowers, an adaptation of Jean Genet’s proto-Beat debut novel Our Lady of the Flowers, is an astonishing vision of decadence, material brutality, and bodily liberation. Presenting everything from masturbating prison inmates to literal angels onstage, Flowers is Kemp’s magnum opus, an outrageous exhibition of maximalism and sex. Flowers has command of several aesthetics at once, from ragtime to classical music to Luigi Russoli-an proto-noise music. It’s totally outrageous and works precisely because it has the flourishing courage of its convictions.

Naturally, Kate Bush was utterly compelled by Flowers. Its lack of restraint in aesthetics and public displays of sexuality are visible influences on huge swaths of Bush’s work. She was subsequently instructed by Kemp in his dance classes, and he’s remained an influence on her work. Years later, Bush was still praising Kemp in interviews, and of course she paid her respects upon Kemp’s death last year. It’s easy to feel she never really got over that first performance of Flowers. This display of eroticism, veneration of physical beauty, and dedication to surrealism would remain useful to Bush, staying visible all the way from The Kick Inside to 50 Words for Snow.

“Moving” is explicitly Bush paying her debt to Kemp, applying his lessons to her work in the same way she’s channeled the songwriting of Bowie or Ferry into her music. Bush’s anti-gnosticism in particular is inherited from Kemp, viewing dance as an art form that can be radical, liberating, and innovative. “You give me life/please don’t let me go,” says the hedonistic Bush, “you crush the lily in my soul.”

Salient in “Moving” is a use of aqueous language. From its whale sample onwards, it fixates upon water as a metaphor for dance. “Moving liquid/yes, you are just as water,” Bush realizes about her partner, as if she’s realized he has the face of a genius. She invests greatly in malleability, letting motion transform her — Bush has explained the “moving liquid” lyric by explaining it as “what the Chinese say about being the cup the water turns into” (this also touches on George Gurdijeff’s Fourth Way, in which an essence is governed by the form is takes. We’ll get there soon). For “Moving,” form is as crucial as substance.

Bush gives “Moving” a tricky melody, as she typically does with her songs: the eccentricities are in the details. The track is in D minor, starting with an interesting progression of i-VII-VI-III (D-C-B flat-F), with a digression into chords like E major (a chord raised a 6th above D minor’s ii chord, E diminished) and D major (not found in D minor). The chorus drifts through i-v-iv-III (D-A-G-F), with an A7 and G major thrown in to satisfy Bush’s obligation to out-of-key chord selections, while the post-chorus hits upon the root chord of C sharp and drifts into the A of D harmonic and melodic minor. “Moving” chooses chords conservatively at times but will throw a pebble into the midst of the song at an instant, causing musical ripples.

Like “Wuthering Heights,” “Moving” is a thesis statement: it’s the inaugural track of Kate Bush’s debut album, the opening song of every concert on her only tour, and was released as a single exclusively in Japan, where it failed to chart. Clearly Bush considered the track a tone setter, the beginning of the duet of music, sex, camaraderie, and motion that shapes much of her work. Her subsequent music doesn’t always sound like “Moving,” but Bush clung to its sensibilities for a long time”.

I will end with Spectrum Culture and their recent feature, where they continued their ranking of Kate Bush’s tracks. It is disappointing that they placed Moving at 131. I think that it should be in the top fifty at least. I do feel like there is still this dismissiveness of Kate Bush’s earliest work. So many people not appreciating how special it is:

“Major events in artists’ careers often include things they didn’t do. Bush signed her first record deal at 17; The Kick Inside wasn’t released for another two years. It’s worth imagining a timeline in which her debut came out in 1976—what it might have sounded like, how it might have been received.

Accounts differ as to the reason for the delay, but it’s clear how she used the time: gigging in pubs, furthering her education, growing up. Her studies consisted of both routine teenage schoolwork and more esoteric preparations for a life in the arts, including classes with Lindsay Kemp, the uncategorizable dancer and actor to whom “Moving,” Kick’s opening track, pays tribute.

Famous for lush, stylized, overtly homoerotic productions drawing on ballet, mime, drag, kabuki and avant-garde theater, Kemp helped Bush develop the (ahem) distinctive approach to movement on display in her earliest videos. He also provided a permission-giving example of a capital-R-Romantic sensibility unafraid of seeming ridiculous or over-the-top. Bush credited Kemp with teaching her to “express things with my body”—not a fun or easy process, as the line “you crush the lily in my soul” indicates. Instead of protecting your delicate interiority, the song suggests, maybe mash it up a bit, see what it smells like.

“Moving” begins with the keening of a humpback whale—the interpretive dancer of the seas?—but then sputters. As in other low-ranked early songs, its conventional arrangement pairs poorly with Bush’s swooning take on her outré subject: it seeks to soften her purple lyrics and mannered vocals, making the excesses seem accidental, which they are extremely not.

Bush did better by Kemp by casting him in The Line, the Cross and the Curve, her loopy companion film to The Red Shoes—a great showcase for his idiosyncratic genius. – Martin Seay”.

I would urge people to buy Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory by Deborah M. Withers. It is a fantastic read, but what she writes about Moving is thought-provoking and you can appreciate new depths and layers. I am going to end here. I love Moving. It is the opening track from my favourite album ever. Whilst it never really makes it into features where her best songs are ranked – if it does, it is very low -, I think that we need to show more love for this amazing track. Kate Bush fans know she is a genius. That was evident right from the start when The Kick Inside was released in 1978. This unique and spellbinding talent. The utterly staggering Moving is song that will always be special and dear…

TO me.

FEATURE: All You Need Is… The Beatles' LOVE at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

All You Need Is…

 

The Beatles' Love at Twenty

_________

I remember when this album came out…

IN THIS PHOTO: Giles and George Martin in 2006/PHOTO CREDIT: Ethan Miller/Getty Images

and I was instantly curious. I was a Beatles fan way before 2006. My had albums by The Beatles in the house when I was growing up. So much of the music from the 1990s was inspired by The Beatles. I got given their 1 album as a Christmas present in 2000. Twenty years ago, there was Beatles retrospection, though I feel that has increased since then. There are four biopics planned for 2028. One for each member – Ringo Starr, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison -, that is drawing some mixed reaction from fans. Seeing how it will turn out. Many of their studio albums have been reissued by Giles Martin. He is the son of the late Beatles produce, Sir George Martin. He died in 2016. George Martin produced The Beatles’ LOVE with his son. It was released on 20th November, 2006, so I wanted to mark twenty years. One reason it was so well received is that it was not just repacking their hits. This was songs placed together and almost made into something new. The concept of using The Beatles’ music in a Cirque du Soleil production had originally come from George Harrison, who died in November 2001. It was a commercial success and gained some very positive reviews. Before getting to them, this feature discusses the creation of the magical LOVE:

“After being asked by the remaining Beatles, Ringo and Paul, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, to make experimental mixes from their master tapes for a collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, Sir George Martin, The Beatles legendary producer, and his son Giles Martin have been working with the entire archive of Beatles recordings to create LOVE. The result is an unprecedented approach to the music. Using the master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, Sir George and Giles have created a unique soundscape. The release of this album, which is also featured in the Cirque du Soleil/Beatles collaborative production of the same name at The Mirage in Las Vegas, has been much anticipated.

"This album puts the Beatles back together again, because suddenly there's John and George with me and Ringo," said Paul McCartney. "It's kind of magical."

"George and Giles did such a great job combining these tracks. It's really powerful for me and I even heard things I'd forgotten we'd recorded." commented Ringo Starr.

"The album has the feeling of love and that's why the title is Beatles LOVE," added Yoko Ono Lennon, "They have let everything that is beautiful and daring come out."

"The music is stunning. I think the most amazing thing about it is that you can pull it apart and all the elements carry with it the essence of the entire song," said Olivia Harrison.After being asked by the remaining Beatles, Ringo and Paul, along with Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, to make experimental mixes from their master tapes for a collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, Sir George Martin, The Beatles legendary producer, and his son Giles Martin have been working with the entire archive of Beatles recordings to create LOVE. The result is an unprecedented approach to the music. Using the master tapes at Abbey Road Studios, Sir George and Giles have created a unique soundscape. The release of this album, which is also featured in the Cirque du Soleil/Beatles collaborative production of the same name at The Mirage in Las Vegas, has been much anticipated.

"This album puts the Beatles back together again, because suddenly there's John and George with me and Ringo," said Paul McCartney. "It's kind of magical."

"George and Giles did such a great job combining these tracks. It's really powerful for me and I even heard things I'd forgotten we'd recorded." commented Ringo Starr.

"The album has the feeling of love and that's why the title is Beatles LOVE," added Yoko Ono Lennon, "They have let everything that is beautiful and daring come out”.

I will bring a couple in. I am not sure whether people will celebrate twenty years of Love, the same way they would a Beatles studio album. I do want to bring in part of this interview from Tape Op. They spoke with Giles Martin about his work in general, but there was a question about The Beatles’ LOVE. Announced in 2004, it was a GRAMMY-winning, multi-million-selling colossus. Critics would have sniffed at the idea and felt the concept of mixing a Las Vegas-style circus production and The Beatles’ music was doomed to fail. They were quickly and pleasingly silenced:

“Tell me a little bit about your background and how you ended up in your dad's profession.

I originally wanted to be a composer. That's what I was driven towards. I started writing music for commercials when I was in college, although I studied literature. When I was about 16 years old, my father started losing his hearing — he needed someone to be his ears, if you like. He didn't want me to go into the profession, in any shape or form. I was quite good academically at English. He wanted me to get a proper job, I suppose. He didn't want it to be exposed that he was losing his hearing, since he wanted to go on working, so I started working as an assistant, out of necessity on his part.

This was around the time of The Beatles' Anthology?

Yes, the Anthology era. [1995] I was hanging around in the studios with him during school time and he'd want me to come in and listen to things. At first it was sounds like cymbals, because that's where his hearing loss was. He'd have a quiet word with me and explain certain things. I remember he asked me who I thought should be engineering Anthology. I thought he should get Geoff Emerick [Tape Op #57] to do it, because it just made sense. Also, when Paul [McCartney] wrote asking for a producer [for what became Chaos and Creation in the Backyard], around 2005, my dad asked me [my opinion] and I suggested Nigel Godrich because I thought he'd be good. He's not as much a music producer as he is an engineering producer. That worked out well. Eventually I had some success writing and producing while working with different artists. I worked on Anthology 2 with my dad, because it came at a break between my studies. I was perfectly happy working away on my own thing; I had no aspirations to do Beatles work. When the Love project came up, I had a concept. My dad wasn't around because he wasn't well at the time, and Neil Aspinall [head of Apple Corps] asked me if I could experiment with something that hadn't worked in the past. I said that I reckoned I could create something by just chopping the tapes up. I'd heard the tapes, because I'd worked on Anthology, and tracks sounded live to me. Since it was live recordings, I figured we could create a live show out of the tapes. It became much more psychedelic as we got more into it, but that was the plan.

Was the Love project a mash-up idea from the beginning, or did you think of it in terms of complete songs at that point?

No, it was a mash-up from the beginning. I wanted to create a live feel. I know that's a ridiculous thing to say, a live feel by doing mash-ups, but I already knew that I could get the drum solo. I already had the concept of the show opening with the drum solo from "The End," which I knew I could combine with "Get Back." It sort of worked out from there. The piano chord from "A Day In The Life" going into it... it just worked backwards. I knew when I spoke to Neil that I could do it. I wasn't sure if other people would like it or not, but I knew that I could get it to work. I didn't really have much connection with The Beatles at all before that. It came from doing the Love show, which thankfully was critically acclaimed. Working with The Beatles continues to surprise me. I didn't really feel deserving of it. It's quite a big mantle to have. I remember after I did my demo of Love, with four or five tracks, everyone got enthusiastic. I remember saying to a friend of mine that I'd been asked to do this thing, but I wasn't sure if I should do it. I didn't know if it was because of my dad getting me the job, or because it was passed down. I'd avoided deliberately doing any kind of Beatles projects that felt passed down to me, probably to my detriment. I just didn't want to go down that route. This friend of mine, who's a producer and engineer, asked me if I had any idea how many people would love to be working on this. He said that if I turned it down I'd be completely crazy. I figured if I could put the teenage bitterness to one side and stop thinking about what other people would think, I could just enjoy myself and be honored that I had the chance to work in that situation. So that's what happened”.

There were so many glowing revies for LOVE when it was released in 2006. I will finish with a few of them. Starting out with Pitchfork and their opinions on an album that would have divided people ahead of its release. Some seeing LOVE as a risky concept or distilling The Beatles’ music. Tacky or a bit misguided. Giles and George Martin treated the music with great affection and created something extraordinary:

“Listening to Love I'm reminded first of a few artists that took from the Beatles without their permission, and how illicit beginnings gave their samples an extra hit of fun. There's the entire Danger Mouse/Jay-Z mashup The Grey Album, of course, but I'm thinking of smaller details. When Ringo Starr's solo from "The End" appears early here I go immediately to Jason Forrest's "Ten Amazing Years", not Abbey Road. The swirl of strings from "Good Night" stitched here to Ringo's "Octopus's Garden" brings to mind Ekkehard Ehlers' drawn-out loop of the same phrase that comprises the entirety of one side of "Ekkehard Ehlers Plays John Cassavetes". Having all the mixes band-sanctioned loses a little something. Paul McCartney is said to have heard Love and remarked that he wished it went a bit further out. And it's hard not to agree, especially for people used to hearing mash-ups and guerilla sonic deconstruction via laptop. How badly do you want Yamatsuka Eye to do a Rebore Vol. 0 on this material?

Really, the mashed-up bits here are just a seasoning, the occasional jarring effect to remind us that we're not just sitting around listening to Beatles records. Who knew that the backing track for "Drive My Car" fit perfectly over verses from "The Word" and "What You're Doing"? The a capella "Sun King" sounds great backward on "Gnik Nus" leading beautifully into "Something" and doesn't contain any hidden messages beyond the one conveyed by the opening "Because"-- that the Beatles were great singers. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite" seems a natural soundtrack for tumbling acrobats, and the coda to "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" sounds like it was made for this project.

As the album wears on, the songs get "bigger" and are also made to stand on their own, without the mix trickery. But they also suffer from truncation. It's great to hear a round of the "Hey Jude"'s epic chorus with just voice and drums, but the song means so much less at four minutes than it does at seven, with a full verse cut and the final fade happening earlier. I will say that hearing it pulled apart finally confirms that Beta Band's "Dry the Rain" steals from it almost completely, one instrument after another.

It seems impossible to follow the final chord of "A Day in the Life", but the Martins are just closing the door on the darker, artier aspect of the Beatles, letting the uplifting pop band carry the day during the album's final section. The trimmed "Hey Jude", the reprise of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" (let's face it-- not great, but included because of all the showbiz connotations) and then closing with "All You Need Is Love".

What seems to consume people most about this record is the sound of the thing, just how beautifully the original material was recorded and how great it comes over on a purely sonic level. The art of recording a rock band, it seems, reached its zenith in the late 1960s. In terms of capturing guitar, bass, drums, and voice, nothing since-- no matter how many tracks-- sounds as pure and lovely as what the Beatles did at Abbey Road studios. Love is turning everyone into an audiophile, then, which means it's making younger people a little older. And it's also a mashup remix, which means it's making older people a little younger. They were just a pop band, yes, but if anyone can bring all these music fans together under one tent, it's the Beatles. Which is what Love is ultimately all about”.

There are a couple of five-star reviews I want to finish off with. The Guardian broke down the album and made me and so many others realise how much work went into it. In terms of the amount of songs George and Giles Martin worked with and how they produced this incredible sound collage. I think it drew a new audience to The Beatles’ work. Love is a masterpiece without a doubt:

“Of all the possible posthumous incarnations for the Beatles, here's one of the most unlikely - as soundtrack to a Las Vegas circus. It isn't any old circus, admittedly, but Canada's arty, super-acrobatic Cirque du Soleil, whose current Las Vegas show, Love, is modelled on the story of the Beatles and characters from their songs: Eleanor Rigby, Sergeant Pepper et al.

More importantly, Love the show - the result of George Harrison's friendship with Cirque founder Guy Laliberte - involved producer George Martin disinterring the group's master tapes from the Abbey Road vault for he and his son Giles to remix and remodel. The results blast Love audiences from a state-of-the-art surround-sound system that includes speakers in individual seats.

And the first thing Love the album does, at least in its DVD surround-sound format, is to blow you away with sheer sonic wizardry. Set to a noisy dawn chorus, complete with fluttering wings, the three-part vocal harmonies of 'Because' arrive with the clarity of an ice blue sky. The chugging introduction to 'Get Back' hurtles out of the mix like a train. The pumping fairground organs of 'Mr Kite' reek of steam and sawdust. Hearing many of the familiar tracks is like viewing an old masterpiece after cleaning: the light is brighter, the shadows deeper. Here, the trebles tingle while the bass end booms.

Some of this is painstaking technical restoration. After the Beatles swapped touring for the studio, they and Martin became experts at squeezing a quart of sound into a pint pot, extending the limits of four- and eight-track recordings by 'bouncing down' tracks. Today's technology has let the Martins reverse the process, giving instruments and voices more autonomy. Ever notice the pizzicato violins on the middle 8 of 'Something'? You will now.

The ambitions of Love go beyond renovation, however. Its 26 tracks are set in an ambient flow of sound collages distilled from hours of Beatles tapes and containing fragments and echoes of 130 songs in all. Frequently the effect is ghostly, as the stalking strings of 'Glass Onion' and a snatch of 'Nowhere Man' drift like ectoplasm down a corridor. 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' - one of the few numbers from the moptop days - surfaces from a scratchy haze of screaming.

The most ambitious songs emerge most improved. There is not, after all, much to be done with the rock'n'roll retro of 'Lady Madonna', whereas 'Strawberry Fields' and 'I am the Walrus' sound more than ever like avant-garde masterpieces. Harrison's 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' (the slower version from Anthology 3) is given a sumptuous string setting by Sir George. Throughout, the McCartney/Starr rhythm section has never sounded so heavy, or the group's vocal harmonies so sharp and affecting.

Love vindicates the Beatles' status as master musicians and conceptualists. Not only for the spirit of optimism they embodied but artistically, they remain the act to beat. On this evidence, no one else comes close”.

I am going to finish with SLANT and their takeaways. How they note the sound quality is extraordinary. Fans had never heard these songs as crisp and polished. Rather than removing rawness and purity from the tracks, so many new aspects, layers and elements were uncovered. Twenty years later, we need to discuss LOVE more. I feel a lot of people have forgotten about it:

“The Beatles were primal, peerless artists, a group whose work has colored the ensuing decades’ culture and sound. As such, the Fab Four’s decade’s worth of records are often viewed as sacred texts that dare not be disturbed. However, it’s a foolish notion to think that anyone would hear the Beatles’s music and not feel moved to interpret it anew. From barbershop quartets to heavy metal headbangers, the Beatles have seen their timeless song craft bent to fit the feel of countless genres.

With Love, these Liverpool lads are, at last, quite literally being reinvented by one of their own. The idea of folding the Beatles’s catalog back upon itself is not new (DJ Danger Mouse’s Internet sensation The Grey Album got there first in 2004 and, perhaps inevitably, will be mentioned in nearly every review published about this disc), but Love, as much an experiment as it is a soundtrack to Cirque du Soleil’s Vegas extravaganza, detonates the Beatles catalog, conflating 10 years of iconic tunes into the space of 26 tracks. It’s a best-of compilation in the most palpable sense of that phrase.

Love doesn’t drastically reimagine the Beatles’s music, but rather pieces together fragments of songs that don’t seem an ideal match—“A Hard Day’s Night” and “Get Back,” for example—and topples the barriers of time, rendering the Beatles as a fluid musical entity, a group whose compositions float in and out of one another to often thrilling, phantasmagoric effect. The often dizzying swirl of sound—“Get Back” fairly bursts at the seams while “Eleanor Rigby” and “Julia” blend together in haunting fashion—will have dedicated Beatlemaniacs parsing each track, attempting to decipher what producers George and his son Giles Martin have meticulously assembled.

In addition to imploding the boundaries between albums and songs, the Martins have also polished these tracks for today’s ears; it’s a revelation to hear—particularly in the DVD-A version of the album being sold concurrently—the crispness of Paul McCartney’s vocals intertwined with John Lennon’s high, thin harmonies, and the bite of George Harrison’s guitar and the satisfying kick of Ringo Starr’s drums. It would’ve been easy for the Beatles’s records to be museum pieces, left alone to gather dust and appreciation; Love reaffirms these recordings’ enduring vitality and essential nature. By dusting them off and dismantling them, the Martins have fashioned a giddy mash-up that lays bare the very DNA of modern pop music. It’s a dazzling, expansive experience that ranks among the year’s best”.

I admit I had not listened to LOVE for a long while before writing this. Refreshing my memory and remembering just how brilliant it is! As it turns twenty on 20th November, I did want to spend some time with it. I hope some people share some words and it gets a little bit of new exposure and appreciation. It deserves it. LOVE was a massive commercial and critical success. In other people’s hands, LOVE could have been a disaster. Though this was George and Giles Martin, so they definitely knew what they were doing! Two decades on and LOVE remains this…

BEAUTIFUL thing.

FEATURE: Something Kinda Funny: Spice Girls’ Spice at Thirty

FEATURE:

 

 

Something Kinda Funny

 

Spice Girls’ Spice at Thirty

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I don’t normally rewrite…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Spice Girls in 1996

or repeat a feature so soon after the previous one. As Spice Girls’ debut, Spice, was released in Japan in September 1996, I did a thirtieth anniversary feature around that. Though its U.K. release date is 4th November, 1996, so many people would mark that as the actual thirtieth anniversary. This is an album that went to number one all around the world. It was this giant success that received mixed reviews. So many critics attacked the group and the album. Melanie Chisholm, Melanie Brown, Victoria Beckham, Geri Halliwell-Horner and Emma Bunton will obviously share words about the album to their Instagram on the day. In a recent column, Caitlin Moran asked for this Spice Girls reunion. I think that, after thirty years from their debut, there should be some sort of live performance. Would we even get a Glastonbury headline slot next year?! They would refute it and it seems a little unlikely, though it would be wonderful if there was this announcement that Spice Girls are headlining Glastonbury next year. That would also be in a year where we mark thirty years of their second studio album, Spiceworld. Many prefer that album, though I feel the legacy of their debut is bigger. In terms of that it was the arrival of this girl group that arguably shaped and transformed Pop in the 1990s. They inspired a generation of girls and young women. You can feel and hear the impact of their debut on modern Pop. There is an anniversary boxset coming out to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of Spice. Classic Pop provide some details:

“To celebrate the 30th anniversary of debut album Spice, The Spice Girls are releasing The Singles Collection – the first-ever complete collection of all the group’s singles, including B-sides and previously unreleased recordings.

This year marks 30 years since the release of the band’s debut album, Spice, which went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time. From Wannabe to Holler, Spice Up Your Life to Goodbye, The Singles Collection brings together the hits, original artwork, B-sides and previously unreleased recordings from The Spice Girls archive in a handbag-inspired box, finished in white holographic gloss and matt black foil.

With five brand new messages from each of The Spice Girls, The Singles Collection is available as two limited edition 14-disc box sets. The 7″ edition puts every single on coloured vinyl for the first time, paired with its original lead B-side.

This edition and a separate CD boxset feature previously unreleased recordings from The Spice Girls archive, including Do You Think About Me, one of the group’s earliest demos, available for the first time. The CD set goes even deeper, with an exclusive disc featuring four previously unreleased demos”.

Some might say that a reunion gig would copy Oasis. They reunited and toured the world. I don’t think we need a reunion tour. A one-off gig or festival appearance. I think the group are tight-lipped regarding any performances or marking thirty years. They genuinely might all be in different spaces. As I said recently, Melanie C is really the only member regularly recording and performing. She is ‘match fit’ in that sense, though it would take a lot of rehearsals and discussions before something came together. Something that would be worth the hype. And if that process had already begun, then we’d know about it. I remember November 1996 and Spice arriving. It was an instant sensation! Think about singles like Wannabe, 2 Become 1, Say You’ll Be There and Who Do You Think You Are. Mama too. They were absolute smashes! I have said a lot of this before, but an album that contains those timeless classics must rank alongside the best ever. Not that the non-singles are fillers and dwarfed. I always thought Last Time Lover or Something Kinda Funny could have been singles. They released four singles from that album – the last, a double A-side of Mama and Who Do You Think You Are -, so maybe it would have been overkill. There are going to be thirtieth anniversary features in the coming week or two. I hope people are kinder to Spice. It gets a slightly bad representation in some corners of the music press. Though saying it was a product or its time and the Spice Girls’ Girl Power slogan was fake and corporate. That they were one-hit wonders. Consider how much the songs from Spice are played thirty years later and how immensely enduring the album is, and you cannot overlook how important it is! One of the most important and best debut albums of its generation. Last year, uDiscover Music argued that Spice Girls’ debut planted the seeds for #MeToo. With its “infectious attitude, bags of drive, and no shortage of hits Spice Girls’ debut album took their message of empowerment around the world”:

“It’s fair to concede that Spice Girls were essentially an extremely proficient singles act. You’ll likely remember all of those great early hits. The saccharine “Mama” and disco-Europop fusion “Who Do You Think You Are” got parceled together as a double bill to – predictably – more chart-topping favor, in March 1997, but there are five other cuts that complete Spice.

Those songs, recorded with pop production team Absolute, ranged from the slinky shuffler “Something Kinda Funny” to the fragile ballad “Naked.” Perhaps only “If U Can’t Dance” – featuring a rap in English from Mel B, and Geri doing the honors in Spanish – and the pacey “Love Thing” truly captured the spirit of the singles. On a song like “Last Time Lover,” meanwhile, the R&B swingbeat – so dominant throughout the 90s – threatens to drown an interesting melody in a mid-Atlantic production treatment that somewhat dates this and the other album cuts. But perhaps those glorious singles – still on endless playlist rotation – so dominate our memories of Spice that everything else inevitably pales a little in comparison.

“Anyone can be a Spice Girl”

Absolute’s Andy Watkins and Paul Wilson were joined by Eliot Kennedy, Richard Stannard, Matt Rowe, and Cary Baylis on writing duties (with Stannard and Rowe featured on the most memorable “Wannabe” and “Two Become One”), but it’s important to note that the band shared credits on all of Spice’s tracks. This was no token business arrangement; Geri and Mel B were most consistently referenced as strongly shaping the compositions, but each member played their part. If Spice Girls wasn’t entirely a partnership of equals, everyone involved understood where they fit.

“Anyone can be a Spice Girl,” Emma Bunton announced in a TV ad to launch the record, and it was true that the five’s colorful image was almost as important in breaking the band as the music. The cartoon-like monikers adopted by each woman fast-tracked people’s interest. Emma’s “Baby”, Victoria’s “Posh”, Mel B’s “Scary”, Mel C’s “Sporty” and Geri’s “Ginger” were simply too succinct and successful to have been dreamed up in some marketing brainstorm. The throwaway captioning by a teen magazine just seemed to stick and was adopted by the band so successfully that the five soon rivaled the impact of the previous decade’s pop titans Michael Jackson and Madonna. No band since The Beatles had enjoyed such hysterical success on a worldwide scale.

But none of that focus on image detracts from the five fabulous pop singles and five largely successful album tracks that powered Spice to unprecedented success. Topping the UK charts for 15 non-consecutive weeks, becoming Europe and North America’s biggest album in 1997, and shifting a staggering 23 million copies worldwide to date, Spice is one of the most successful records of all time. It seemed so simple, but other acts’ subsequent attempts at the formula have largely fallen short.

Perhaps with a harder production edge and less charismatic players, Spice would have been a little-remembered light R&B project, but this dance/pop juggernaut – lasting a modest 40 minutes – can hardly do justice to the energy of that time. Coming just before the digital revolution (Spice Girls were one of the final acts to make their fortune largely from CD sales) the seeds of today’s #MeToo movement can be heard in the band’s simple call-to-action: “Girl Power.” How many of today’s marchers were schooled in that accessible, empowering message?

Revolutions aren’t always built on controversy. With infectious attitude, bags of drive, and a handful of classic singles, Spice Girls dominated pop culture in little over six months. Perhaps there’s a lesson for other game-changers: cut back the cynicism and unleash the charisma. This really was pop at its most politically potent”.

I guess quality is a subjective measure. People can turn their noses up at songs like Wannabe and call them empty or commercial (in a bad sense). But think about how they made people feel. There was so much division and elitism in the 1990s. Like music was this tribal thing. You could not like Oasis and Spice Girls. You were one or the other. I actually think that Spice is a more substantial and interesting album than Oasis’ debut, Definitely Maybe (1994). Even if this was Pop with a capital letter, that is not to say it lacked meaning, depth and nuance. Spice has aged really well, and I feel you can put the album on today and it would resonate. The production could well fit onto a modern Pop album. Spice is one of the most successful albums ever. Last year, Vice highlighted its record-setting prowess and legacy:

“Marketing and image aside, their debut album, Spice, dropped on November 4, 1996, in the U.K., and rapidly became a pop culture phenomenon. It first debuted on the U.K. Albums Chart the week of November 16, staying there for 15 non-consecutive weeks. Its first sales reached 114,000 copies. As of 2021, Spice had sold over 3 million units in the U.K. alone. Worldwide, it’s more like 23 million.

In February 1997, Spice was released in the U.S., debuting at No. 6 on the Billboard 200. It climbed to No. 1 and stayed for five weeks, selling 1.46 million copies within its first three months.

The fanaticism for The Spice Girls was compared to Beatlemania at the time. They had a similar rabid teen girl fanbase, but with the added bonus of 90s girl power sentiment. Putting The Spice Girls on the same pedestal as The Beatles might put some fans on edge, but they have more in common than diehard rock and roll fans may want to admit. Musically, not so much. Commercially? Absolutely.

Sure, one could argue that The Spice Girls didn’t do much to elevate musical artistry in itself. However, their entire image became a cultural touchstone for young people worldwide. These were stylish, popular, and effortlessly cool women who said, “If you wanna date me, you have to be cool with my friends, and if you’re not, boy bye.” An early bros before hoes, if you will, but not as annoyingly misogynistic. Boyfriends are fleeting, but friends are forever.

In 2021, The Spice Girls re-released Spice for its 25th anniversary. This put the album back on the U.K. charts, reaching No. 5. Spice25, which contained remixes and demos alongside the original tracks, sold only 7,798 copies at its release. Not quite the initial fervor The Spice Girls garnered in the 90s, but their legacy remains unchanged.

Spice has spent 95 weeks total in the Top 100 of the U.K. Albums Chart as of October 2022, with 44 of those weeks in the Top 10. As of that date, The Spice Girls also held the Guinness World Record for the best-selling debut album by a U.K. group”.

When I was at school and this album came out, my mates reduced Spice Girls to their looks and sex appeal. The question of who your favourite Spice Girl was often was about which one you fancied most. I feel that reductive attitude pervades. Whilst they were a sisterly and strong unit, I think the fact they were nicknamed – Sporty, Ginger etc – sort of made them seem like action figures or cartoon characters. In fact, all five members have their own personalities and talents. Perhaps not as recognised and discussed, the media did not often see the group as five distinct and fascinating individuals. In any case, I do think that Spice is a titanic and brilliant album with some of the best Pop of all time. Songs that defined a decade. I am wrapping up with Albumism and a recent feature. Like me, they marked Spice turning thirty in terms of the Japanese release. That was September 1996. Though, as a British group, we need to acknowledge the ‘true’ release date of 4th November, 1996. The thirtieth anniversary that is approaching:

“They depth-charge you out of the water with their debut album’s opening track “Wannabe” (which has a brilliant “one-shot” video—I put that in quotes because I’ve spotted two edits), slide into a great disco track (and I hate disco) on “Say You’ll Be There,” and then drift into a smooth R&B jam on track three with “2 Become 1.”

While there may be a few duds on the B-side of Spice, I can only blame the songwriting, not the singing, because these girls were on point. I’ve had to record three-part harmonies by myself and I found it nearly impossible as a singer; I can’t imagine doing a five-part harmony.

Admittedly, it’s a sexually overt (yet not blatantly explicit) album geared towards tweens, what with songs like “Love Thing,” “Last Time Lover,” “Naked,” and the aforementioned “Wannabe” refrain “If you wanna be my lover / you gotta get with my friends.” Obtuse—as an adult, I get it—but as an adult with a few threesomes under his sheets, I take it in a different light. And don’t get me started on the “2 Become 1” lyrics.

But they merged their sexuality with an array of female archetypes, all of which (hopefully) encouraged young girls to embrace “Girl Power.” The sassy redhead, the butch athlete, the strong girl of color, the prissy snob, and the girl who just wants to play. While fulfilling stereotypes rarely does anyone justice, I see them as a pop extension of the Riot Grrrl movement. Your parents might not take you to a Bikini Kill concert, but I’m sure they’ll take you to a Spice Girls concert. And the message is the same: girls can rock just as much as the boys if not more so.

Spice is an outstanding record that combines feminism with funk, hip-hop, and R&B. If you haven’t listened to it in the last 30 years, I highly recommend you do so. An hour was spent dancing in my living room before writing this article, after all, and I listened to it four more times. While I may have to listen to a few Slayer albums now to “cleanse” myself, it’s a killer fucking record and I was glad to listen to it yet again”.

I do sneakily feel Spice Girls will announce something about a reunion or some gig. I kind of hope that Glastonbury are keeping their powder dry and we will learn that they are headlining next year. Though that may be wishful thinking! There is this call from fans who were there in the 1990s and younger listeners who want the five to take to the stage. It is not really nostalgia and trying to reclaim a bygone age. One that is seen through rose-tinted glasses at times. Instead, it is getting these five friends who have gone through trials and bad days but will come together on the stage and perform these songs. Perhaps for the final time. We do not need another album or something bigger. Just take to a stage and perform these Spice classics. Who knows when or where, but fans all hope the extraordinary quintet will…

SAY they’ll be there.

FEATURE: Kate Bush’s Wordless Wonder: The Curious and Brilliant Night Scented Stock

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush’s Wordless Wonder

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush circa 1980

 

The Curious and Brilliant Night Scented Stock

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I have talked about this song before…

but, when you think about, there is not much you can say about the actual piece itself. It is a beautiful wordless segue that appears on Kate Bush’s third studio album, Never for Ever. The reason I want to spend more time with this song is it was a bit of a one-off. Many artists today do skits and have short tracks on albums. Whether they call it a mixtape of you get these short interludes that break up the tracks, how common was it in Pop in the 1980s? Kate Bush was never going to be an artist who was doing spoken interludes or skits between songs. There are incidences where there are shorter tracks. Think about 2005’s Aerial. That is a double album. On the second disc, A Sky of Honey, there is a song called Aerial Tal. That is basically a minute-long song where Bush mimics birdsong. Singing along delightfully, it comes between Sunset and Somewhere in Between. Those tracks are almost six minutes so, rather than have them side by side and it being quite heavy perhaps, she thought of inserting this little break of light. Though I think Aerial Tal naturally fits into this native of a summer’s day unfolding. Most artists would not include a short track like Aerial Tal. It allowed Bush to do something different. Giving that moment of brief brilliance in between two songs. A sort of bridge and maybe giving some room for breath. Sunset is this passionate and energetic track. It is quite epic and, as the title implies, the end of the day. Aerial Tal is this new dawn and awakening. Bush could have added birdsong to the start of Somewhere in Between or not done it at all. I also feel like it was a way of enriching tracks either side of it. I feel Aerial Tal adds something to Sunset and Somewhere in Between. Somehow makes those tracks weightier or gives them new light.

For Never for Ever, you could see why Night Scented Stock followed The Infant Kiss and came before Army Dreamers. Both those tracks are quarte heavy in their own way. The Infant Kiss has this darker and sinister edge. Some might say sworded or perverse. Speaking with Paul Gambaccini in December 1980, Bush said this: “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”. Army Dreamers is bouncier in tone, though it is a song about young men going to war. The futility of it. How they never grow up and lives are wasted. Each song packs a punch. Not only might it psychologically be a lot to hear those songs together, Breathing ends Never for Ever. The heaviest Kate Bush song to that point, it is this 5:30 track that is symphonic in a way. But that is dealing with nuclear fallout and is quite horrifying. Violin comes before The Infant Kiss. That is almost Punk-like. Bush’s voice raw and wild. So there did need to be something in the middle of all of this. Babooshka opens Never for Ever, and that song is quite charged and has an energy to it. But there are four songs after that – Delius (Song of Summer),  Blow Away (For Bill), All We Ever Look For, and Egypt – that are more mellow. The Wedding List comes next, so really, if it were not for Night Scented Stock, there would be five tracks that all are quite powerful and have this force to them. I am not sure how far into the recording she thought of Night Scented Stock.

You listen to this song, all fifty-two seconds of it, and want more at the end. I would love to have heard it expand and open more. Take it to ninety seconds or longer. What we do get is this change of tone. If Aerial Tal is the light of a new day or going from sunset to the call of birdsong, Night Scented Stock does not so much as represent a change of time or light level. I think it is more of a psychological thing. Bringing something beautiful to the mix between songs that are a bit tenser and have an emotional punch. I am keeping track of Spectrum Culture and their incredible Kate Bush song ranking. They are providing a detailed look at 146 songs. This includes covers and collaborations where she is a featured vocalist. Night Scented Stock was never going to rank too high. I would be interested to say what Spectrum Culture say of Aerial Tal. That song wont rank high either. But Night Scented Stock was the first occasions where Bush recorded a short track to provide a bridge or rest. I can’t think if she did it again. You would have thought The Dreaming could have benefited from a Night Scented Stock-like song. Maybe coming after All the Love and before the final two tracks, Houdini and Get Out of My House. Or even after Get Out of My House. Ending on something sweeter and calmer, as that final track s absolutely brutal! Perhaps it would take something away from The Dreaming; Night Scented Stock definitely adds to Never for Ever. This is what Spectrum Culture said of a song they ranked at 129:

“It’s probably unfair to judge “Night Scented Stock” by the standards of a song meant to stand on its own. A lyric-free vocal exercise consisting of Bush’s multi-tracked harmonies, “Night Scented Stock” doesn’t even last a minute. As an interlude, it’s just about perfect, its cloistral reverb and Benedictine-monk intonations summoning a cleansing, meditative atmosphere that nonetheless contains a flicker of tension. The overheated drama of the song that precedes it, “The Infant Kiss,” is washed away, and the stage is set for the nervy narrative waltz of the following track, “Army Dreamers.” With a melodic resemblance to “Blow Away (For Bill)” from earlier in the album, it carries a hint of the familiar, presented in a fresh, intriguing manner. Though brief and sparse—besides the drone of a violin that appears in the beginning, Bush’s octave-spanning vocal parts make up the entire palette—it makes a big impression. Most of that’s due to the surprisingly authentic way in which Bush and producer Jon Kelly capture the polyphonic serenity of choral plainsong mixed with the modern edge given to the form by composers like Benjamin Britten, to whom the faint, growing dissonance in the highest vocal part of the song’s middle section owes a clear debt. The biggest flaw of “Night Scented Stock” might just be that it leaves you wanting more of it. – Reed Jackson”.

Given how Night Scented Stock could have been forgotten and not seen as essential, people have written about it. Rather than this brief and forgettable thing, there is some real substance to Night Scented Stock. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 1980, this song has function. Adding words to the song could have taken something away. Night Scented Stock says so much without words. This is what Dreams of Orgonon wrote in 2020: “Drifting towards a global denouement, “Never for Ever” unites its two halves with “Night Scented Stock.” Atavistic echoes of “Blow Away (For Bill)” echo through its not-even-minute-long lifespan; ephemeral reminders of the past foreboding the impact of the past’s deceased artists on the music of the presents. There’s no longer a rockist tribute to Moonie: Billie and Buddy have become spectres of Bush’s past in pop music. They’re no longer symptoms of the death of American popular music; now they’re signs of what’s to come. An eternalist proposition stated without a word”. This is a song that will never be played on the radio. Not many will discuss it isolation. I think it works on its own, thought it is most affecting when you listen to it as part of Never for Ever. More context. You realise how important and substantial Night Scented Stock is. Out of the eleven tracks on that album, Night Scented Stock is the tenth-most-streamed song on Spotify (ahead of The Infant Kiss). It has over three-million streams. That leads me to believe it is being heard as people listen to the entire album, rather than specifically people picking this one track to listen on its own. It is this beautiful piece of work that deserves more words said about it. Great that Spectrum Culture had kind things to say about it – even if they ranked it low in Bush’s discography. The sublime Night Scented Stock is a thing…

OF breathless beauty.

FEATURE: Cutting the Cake: Kate Bush in November 1981

FEATURE:

 

 

Cutting the Cake

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush photographed in 1981/PHOTO CREDIT: Clive Arrowsmith

 

Kate Bush in November 1981

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IN various Kate Bush features…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush photographed for NME magazine on October 13, 1982 in London, England/PHOTO CREDIT: Anton Corbijn/Contour by Getty Images

I do look at particular time periods. For this one, I want to look back forty-five years to November 1981. There are a couple of reasons for focusing on this time period. It was when she was working on The Dreaming. Its first single, Sat in Your Lap, came out earlier in the year. It would take until September 1982 for the album to come out. I think EMI probably needed to put something out. Never for Ever came out in September 1980. Not wanting momentum to drop, it was this hard act to juggle. In the sense the two albums are very different. Never for Ever had more in the way of singles and more ‘radio-friendly’ songs, though there were also songs that definitely would not translate to radio. The Dreaming has very little in the way of the more radio-friendly sound. EMI worried it might be a failure. That a lack of natural singles would harm them somehow. Sat in Your Lap was successful and well-reviewed. Though the label would have expected the album to come sooner than it did. In 1981, Bush was immersed in recording and making this album. Producing solo for the first time, it was a case of her learning as she went along and ensuring everything was as good as it could be. She was using the Fairlight CMI a lot. Not an expert with it, there would have been a lot of experimentation and playing around. Though she had knowledge of it, so she was not a complete novice. Also, as a producer, Bush would have been more rigorous and exacting than Andrew Powell (who produced her first two albums). This was an album made in her own vision, so there was more time spent on the songs. The compositions and production more detailed and denser. As she headed towards the end of 1981, Bush would have needed a rest. It would be an intense period. There are a couple of events from November 1981 that caught my eye.

It is a fascinating period. In October 1981, as I have mentioned in other features, Bush took a short break from writing and recording to visit Loch Ness. I am not sure what attracted her to that location, but it is very beautiful and she might have wanted to see if she could spot the illusive (and fictional) monster. There was also a period in December when Bush was tightening melodies and lyrics. So a lot of 1981 was frantic and hectic. Though there was this little spell when she stepped aside or honed in on aspects of the creative process. In November 1981, Abbey Road Studios turns fifty. That was a big anniversary. Bush recorded out of there a fair bit and this space meant a lot to her. She got to cut the celebration cake with Helen Shapiro. The video that we have is pretty poor quality, though it would have been quite an honour for Bush to do that. Though she would not have had much time for calm. People there would have wanted to chat and she would not have been able to step back and unwind. However, it goes to show that Bush was doing stuff outside of recording. I think people assume she was constantly in the studio or there was little outside activity. From travelling to Scotland in October 1981 and a trip to Abbey Road Studios the following month, I wonder what she did for Christmas that year. Most of 1982 was very intense, so I think November 1981 was a relative moment of calm. In that she was refining and honing. It was expensive recording The Dreaming. She worked out of several studios, including Abbey Road. One of the most interesting events in Kate Bush’s career was on 20th November, 1981. Dr. Desmond Morris the zoologist invited Bush on Friday Night Saturday Morning to talk about her music and expressive dance. A lot of talk show appearances would have found Bush going through the motions. Quite formulaic and a drain at times. Though this seemed like something genuinely exciting. You can see how engaged she is speaking with Morris.

Forty-five years ago, Kate Bush had achieved so much but was recording solo for the first time. It would have been quite scary, as everything rested on her shoulders. A lot of responsibility. Days and nights in various studios, it was not an entirely happy experience. Doing shows like this where she got to talk about her music with someone you would not naturally expect to request her services, that must have bene a treat. I do also think that the final weeks of 1981 was a rare chance for pause. Bush was busy working still, but she was more immersed in The Dreaming from the start of 1982. 1983 a year when she sort of rebuilt and took time to be with family and friends. 1981 was a pretty busy year, though November did afford a couple of interesting diversions. I do feel for Kate Bush. There was a certain expectation for her to remain in the public eye as it were. Being at Abbey Road Studios for their fiftieth was an honour, though she was probably being asked about new music and what was going on. Not as a chilled a day as she would like. Appearing on a new T.V. show. An important booking, but also part of promotional obligations you suspect. Ensuring that she is still in the forefront and engaging. Bush would have liked to have spent more time writing and recording, though she was also quite tired too. Throwing herself into The Dreaming. Needing periods of detachment too. How much of that was she truly afforded? That is why 1983 was an important year. Bush very much recharging and rebuilding to an extent. I wanted to home in on November 1981. Not only because it was forty-five years ago. A couple of curious happenings in terms of what was taking up Bush’s time. As she headed out of 1981 and into a new year, things changed. Perhaps her most challenging year to date. Though what we got with The Dreaming is this enduring masterpiece. One of the greatest ever albums from…

A singular talent.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Angèle

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

 

Angèle

_________

THERE are a few…

PHOTO CREDIT: Kenza Le Bas

recent interviews with Angèle, though some are paywalled and it is quite hard to get a complete picture. However, I want to source from the ones that are easily available, as this is an amazing artist that more people should know about. I know that she has some European tour dates next year and will be stopping in the U.K. She plays London’s The Roundhouse on 1st May. Her new album, Instinct, is phenomenal. I would encourage everyone to listen to it. I only came across her music recently, so I was interested to read about her. A Belgian artist who has a big worldwide following, I can see the next few years being massive for her. In terms of the venues she plays and artists she collaborates with. Though she has collaborated with some major artists already, as Instinct reaches more and more people, I feel these new opportunities will come up. I want to start with Monocle and their interview from earlier in the year:

“Dressed in a black catsuit, Belgian pop star Angèle emerges from a smoky haze of red and blue to the sound of pounding beats. It’s the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics and the audience is cheering. She is on stage to perform French electro act Kavinsky’s “Nightcall”, along with indie band Phoenix. It’s a crowning moment in her career.

Though the ceremony marked Angèle’s entry into the international pop pantheon, the Brussels-based musician was already a superstar in the Francophone world. Her debut album, Brol, was a bestseller in France in 2019 and was accompanied by a sold-out tour. That year her single “Balance ton quoi”, which details the everyday sexism that women endure, became a defining song of the “BalanceTonPorc” (“Denounce your pig”) movement – the country’s equivalent of MeToo.

It has been almost five years since Angèle’s most recent album, Nonante-Cinq, but she has recently started releasing new music, most notably “What You Want” with French duo Justice. Here, she tells Monocle about her love for Belgium, writing political songs and where you’ll find her relaxing this summer.

One of your best-known songs, ‘Bruxelles je t’aime’, is a love letter to your home city. What does Belgium mean to you?

It’s a crazy little country that has so much to offer. Being Belgian involves knowing how to make fun of yourself because nothing is ever that serious. I love that.

You grew up in an artistic family and your parents are famous in Belgium [Angèle’s father is the singer Marka and her mother is comedian Laurence Bibot]. How has that influenced you?

My parents were so supportive. Seeing them in their dream jobs, I grew up with the audacity to think that it was the norm. I always knew that I wanted to be in control and not get stuck in situations that I wasn’t happy with. I have had some bad experiences with the industry but have always been very independent. I created my own label and my own publishing company.

Your songs feel very intimate. To what extent do you write from your own experience?

My song “Ta Reine” is about two girls falling in love – well, one girl falls in love and the other is a little unsure. My best friend was going through something similar and I felt connected to that story too. When I got outed by the press [a tabloid magazine published photos of Angèle and her then girlfriend in 2019], I faced homophobia and it was shocking. But it was interesting how it suddenly felt as though I had written ‘Ta Reine’ for myself”.

I cannot find too many reviews for Instinct. I know it was reviewed by The Guardian here (the U.K.), but not a tonne of other reviews of it. That is a shame, as it is a remarkable album. There has been a shift in terms of her sound. Angèle's music has undergone this change. As Le Monde write, now, this incredible artist brings in  “radical sounds that reflect a chaotic world”. She “distances herself from the buoyant moods of her early days, infusing her music with a new sense of urgency, even as she continues to craft catchy choruses”:

“Listening to Instinct, Angèle's third album, steeped in sounds and rhythms that flirt with the dance floor, it seems likely that the Belgian pop icon's electronic turn owes a great deal to the closing ceremony of the Paris Olympics. On August 11, 2024, at the Stade de France, which director Thomas Jolly had turned into a temple of French Touch, the Brussels-born singer performed "Nightcall" alongside the song's author Kavinsky and the band Phoenix. The glamorous performance went viral worldwide.

A few months after Kavinsky's death, Angèle, 30, recalls with emotion "Vinco," the figure of French electro, describing him as "funny, moving and authentic." She also speaks of the joy of performing that hit, an anthem of her teenage years and the soundtrack to her "first romantic relationship." She notes, however, that the global moment was not a turning point for her. "I had already started working on some new tracks, like 'What You Want' and 'Une seule vie,'" says the singer, speaking with Le Monde in mid-September in Paris. "The audience's response that day mostly validated the direction I was taking with this third album."

There is a more extensive interview I am keen to bring in. I will not source the entirety of The Guardian’s review of Instinct. They praised it, though said the album can be generic or frustrating at times. It may be the case that Angèle's best work is still ahead of her. However, I do think that Instinct is a superb album that deserves more. Fans have reacted to it positively. This section from The Guardian’s review did grab me: “Indeed, intermittently at least, Instinct makes a case that British audiences don’t know what they’re missing when it comes to Angèle, who has a penchant for suddenly grabbing the steering wheel and driving a song off road. On Verra starts out like a standard pop piano ballad – albeit with a hint of chanson about the melody – before it’s unexpectedly strafed with bursts of static and machine-gun-paced noise. You could initially imagine any number of pop stars essaying the sweet drift of Je Compte, but then it dramatically shifts gears, first into a four-to-the-floor rhythm topped with an assemblage of sampled gasps and warped vocals, then into a lo-fi piano ballad”. I shall end with Hypebae and their conversation with Angèle. If you get the chance to see her live at all then do so. I feel this is an artist who will continue to grow her fanbase. Plenty more albums ahead of her:

“Angèle might already be a household name across Europe, but if she’s not on your radar yet, consider this your introduction. The Belgian star has quietly built one of the most compelling careers in contemporary pop, performing at the Paris Olympics closing ceremony, taking the stage at Coachella, collaborating with Dua Lipa and becoming a Chanel ambassador along the way. At just 30, she’s already balancing chart success and cultural influence with a distinctly effortless cool.

The singer-songwriter first broke through in 2018 with her debut album Brol, which introduced her sharp lyricism and playful yet pointed take on modern life. Its standout single “Balance Ton Quoi” quickly went viral, evolving into a feminist anthem that resonated far beyond the charts and became closely associated with the French #MeToo movement. Two years later, Angèle’s reach expanded globally when she teamed up with Dua Lipa on the bilingual lockdown hit “Fever,” a cross-border smash that propelled her beyond the Francophone pop world.

But the spotlight hasn’t always been easy to navigate. French tabloids notoriously outed the singer before she had the chance to do so on her own terms, while the public often placed heavy expectations on her as a feminist figurehead. When controversy later surrounded her brother, the backlash was swift and, at times, unfairly directed at her. In 2021, Angèle addressed the pressures of sudden fame in her Netflix documentary, offering a candid look at the emotional toll of life in the public eye. Now, entering a new decade of life and career, she returns with a renewed sense of self and sonic freedom.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your music career so far?

I’m from Belgium, and I live between Brussels, Paris and New York. I’m super lucky, because I love to spend time in different places. I’ve been doing music for the last 10 years, almost, producing, writing and sometimes also working with other artists, and that’s actually why I’m here. I just did a new song with Justice, and I’m super happy because it’s been years since I’ve released anything, so here I am back again. It feels amazing.

You’ve been through a lot with the French tabloids. How do you cope with the media attention?

That’s also a work in progress. I mean, growing up literally helps, but also taking time for yourself. I’ve been away from the media and all of that attention for almost two years, and that was super important to me and really helped. I would say before that, I was still a little girl stuck in my body. It was difficult because any criticism, any negative comments or tabloid pieces were super painful and pretty cruel. Then I got to understand that was, unfortunately, part of being a celebrity and being vocal. Doing shows in front of people who love you comes with that very dark side, but I’ve learned to cope. I would say all of that happened with time, and I think now I’m in a much better position. I’m also very aware of how lucky I am. I used to know I was lucky, or my brain knew, but I didn’t feel it because I was so overwhelmed. Now that I’ve had a lot of time for myself, I feel really grateful. Whenever something negative happens now, I can take it and push it away.

So, not only does it feel like you’re entering a new era sonically, but also linguistically. After representing French music on a global stage, what made you decide to start singing in English? Why now?

I actually started singing in English at the very beginning. I studied in Antwerp, where we don’t speak French, we speak Flemish, and so the school was in English. I was only singing standards, because it was a jazz school, so when I really first started singing, it was in English for maybe two years. It’s fun because it’s kind of like going back to my roots, even though I’m not an English speaker. I’ve always loved the way English sounds, and I think it allows for tons of different intonations and pronunciations, with different types of stress in the words that don’t really exist in French. It’s a completely different way to approach singing.

Again, it all happened super naturally. The first album had a few English songs and for some reason, the second didn’t. I don’t really have an explanation for why. I think I was just more inspired by French at that time. Also, I wrote it during COVID when I didn’t travel at all. Over the last two years, I’ve had the chance to spend a lot of time in New York and abroad, so I think that’s when it came to my mind to bring English to my music.

You’ve collaborated with other major artists too, including Dua Lipa. Who would be your next dream collaboration?

That’s a great question. It’s hard to say, though, because I’m a little superstitious, so I don’t want to jinx it. But I’m super impressed and inspired by the female scene right now. In pop music, there are so many incredible artists, and I’m really excited to see more female producers. That used to be so rare. I don’t think that we’ve ever been told that we were allowed to do that. When I started producing, I really didn’t believe in myself. With time, a lot of guts and a little naivety, I just did it. I got super lucky and met incredible people and producers. Even working with Justice in terms of the technical aspect was amazing. I got to understand technically what they were doing, even though there’s a whole part that’s just too genius and I’ll never understand. Feeling legit as a producer was, honestly, a long path. But I’m seeing more artists, for example, PinkPantheress getting Producer of the Year at the BRITs, Rosalía got one a few years ago, that’s super important. I’ve met some amazing female producers that I’ve been able to connect with. We need to cheer each other on and feel like we don’t have to apologize for taking up a space that was typically taken by men. Men are also super ready for it, I think. It’s super exciting and I can’t wait to see the scene grow”.

I am going to wrap up here. The superb Angèle is someone I would recommend to anyone. She has this adoring following, though there are people who do not know about her. I do think Instinct is a fantastic album and it should have got more press coverage. No matter. As there are some tour dates next year, it means she will reach new people and there will be more eyes her way. I wonder if she will play some U.K. festivals next year or not. Do make sure that Angèle is…

ON your radar.

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Follow Angèle

FEATURE: Bloomsday: Songs from Albums Turning Five in 2027

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Bloomsday

  

Songs from Albums Turning Five in 2027

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THIS is the final part of a series…

where I am highlighting albums that have big anniversaries next year. I guess a fifth anniversary is not too big, and these albums won’t get reissues. Though a lot of artists mark fifth anniversaries, so I wanted to here. Also, 2022 was a strange and rough year when the COVID-19 pandemic was still with us. Still living with that. The albums from 2022 were a lifeline to so many  people. Also, so many of them are being listened to and discussed today. It was a fabulous year for music. I wanted to salute that fact at least. The mixtape at the end of this feature collates songs from albums that will turn five next year. The absolute prime of 2022. It was a great year that gifted us with…

SO many gems.

FEATURE: Broken Clocks: Songs from Albums Turning Ten in 2027

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Broken Clocks

 

Songs from Albums Turning Ten in 2027

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ONE more feature to go…

in this series that combines songs from albums that have big anniversaries next year. 2022 finishes things off. However, now I am looking at 2017. Albums that are ten next year. Included are ones from SZA, Lorde, St. Vincent, and Kendrick Lamar. It was a pretty decent year for music. I guess quite a few of these albums will get reissues, as a decade is a big anniversary. My favourites from 2017 are SZA’s Ctrl and Lorde’s Melodrama. Both are modern masterpieces. Below is a mixtape that blends songs from the best albums of 2017. There is not a lot to say, other than I hope that the mixtape brings back memories. Or, if you have dim memories of that year, that it gets you interested in these great albums. 2017 was a fantastic year…

AS you can hear below.

FEATURE: New Year: Songs from Albums Turning Fifteen in 2027

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Don’t You Remember

 

Songs from Albums Turning Fifteen in 2027

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I feel that…

2012 is a little underrated when it comes to music. It was a fantastic year. I guess a fifteenth anniversary is a little unwieldly. Not as satisfying as a twentieth. However, it is a milestone. I am concentrating on the best of 2012. These albums that are fifteen next year. Included in the mix are L.P.s from Adele, Frank Ocean, Kendrick Lamar (I am including mixtapes), Grimes, Fiona Apple, Jack White, Taylor Swift, and Alt-J. Two more parts of this series before I wrap up.. The next concerns albums from 2017. Those that are ten next year. In the meantime, enjoy a mixtape containing pearls…

FROM albums released in 2012.

FEATURE: If You Were There, Beware: Songs from Albums Turning Twenty in 2027

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If You Were There, Beware

 

Songs from Albums Turning Twenty in 2027

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I am almost done with…

my album anniversary features series. Before concluding with albums from 2012, 2017 and 2022, I am now looking at albums from 2007. A twentieth anniversary is quite important. Many of these albums might get reissues. There will be new features written about them. The mixtape at the end collects together songs from the best of 2007. I cannot quite recall what I was doing that year. It is a whole ago. I can remember the albums. There were some really strong ones. From Radiohead’s In Rainbows to Arctic Monkeys’ Favourite Worst Nightmare to Kings of Leon and Because of the Times, it was a pretty busy and great year for music. You can refresh your memory by having a listen. Excellent songs from albums that are twenty next year. 2007 providing us with absolute brilliance. It has been great compiling tracks from albums released almost twenty years again. No doubt that 2007 was…

A fabulous year.

FEATURE: Same Old Thing: Songs from Albums Turning Twenty-Five in 2027

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Same Old Thing

 

Songs from Albums Turning Twenty-Five in 2027

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A couple of years into…

this century, the standard of music had not really dropped. 2002 produced quite a few diamond albums. Those that are turning twenty-five next year, I am shining a light on gems from the likes of The Streets, Coldplay, Beck, Ms Dynamite, and The Libertines. I am ending with a mixtape containing songs from the best albums of that year. I was at university in 2002. Music very important during that time. Although there were stronger years in the ‘00s for music, there are still plenty of superb albums from 2002. If you are not familiar with some of them, I do hope that you are compelled to explore them. I have four more features in this run to go before closing it off. This one is all about the brilliant 2002. Whether you were there at the time or not, it is hard to ignore the quality of…

THESE enduing albums.

FEATURE: No Fillers: Which Artist Has Produced the Best Run of Golden Albums?

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No Fillers

IN THIS PHOTO: The Kinks in 1968/PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Rand

 

Which Artist Has Produced the Best Run of Golden Albums?

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IT may be a hard question to answer…

IN THIS PHOTO: Björk in 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Vidar Logi

but there are these artists who have brought out wonderful albums. A whole run without a break. People will have their own opinions. I think maybe David Bowie or Prince could be considered. They had runs where they were definitely in form and there was this huge quality and consistency. The Beatles maybe should be included. Joni Mitchell. In terms of a career were there have been very few flaws or faults in terms of the recording material, who could claim to have the best run? I think that my two choices would be between The Kinks and Björk. The former had this run that started with The Kinks Kontroversy in 1965 and ran until 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies. That was their regency and golden period. A total of eight albums. Not all of the albums perfect, though there was this consistency throughout. Ray Davies’s songwriting not breaking its stride. I am not sure how many other artists can claim to have that sort of run. The best album of The Kinks’ run might be 1968’s The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society. I want to come to a review of the album from AllMusic:

“Ray Davies' sentimental, nostalgic streak emerged on Something Else, but it developed into a manifesto on The Village Green Preservation Society, a concept album lamenting the passing of old-fashioned English traditions. As the opening title song says, the Kinks -- meaning Ray himself, in this case -- were for preserving "draught beer and virginity," and throughout the rest of the album, he creates a series of stories, sketches, and characters about a picturesque England that never really was. It's a lovely, gentle album, evoking a small British country town, and drawing the listener into its lazy rhythms and sensibilities. Although there is an undercurrent of regret running throughout the album, Davies' fondness for the past is warm, making the album feel like a sweet, hazy dream. And considering the subdued performances and the detailed instrumentations, it's not surprising that the record feels more like a Ray Davies solo project than a Kinks album. The bluesy shuffle of "Last of the Steam-Powered Trains" is the closest the album comes to rock & roll, and Dave Davies' cameo on the menacing "Wicked Annabella" comes as surprise, since the album is so calm. But calm doesn't mean tame or bland -- there are endless layers of musical and lyrical innovation on The Village Green Preservation Society, and its defiantly British sensibilities became the foundation of generations of British guitar pop”.

You can claim that The Kinks are hard to beat when it comes to this run. They had periods after 1971’s Muswell Hillbillies where there was this quality and strength. It was patchier. You could argue that the golden runs happen because of momentum or the times the artists were recording in. Do we measure a run by the total number of albums or the quality of the albums in that run? Some might say that if an artist has four or five albums where they are exceptional, then that is more impressive than one who has seven or weight albums but not all are near perfect. I feel that The Kinks could claim to be in the former camp. These albums all different too. You cannot claim that 1970’s Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part One is similar to 1967’s Something Else by the Kinks. In terms of breadth and variety, The Kinks were always innovative and fresh. The albums have endured to this day. Which other artists would you say could match them? Arguably there are other artist that could challenge them. Though I have been thinking about the alternatives. I think The Kinks’ 1960s and 1970s albums were released in a time when there were other bands releasing superb albums. That sense of inspiration around them. Though maybe it is Ray Davies and his genius shining bright. At a time when he was in particularly inspired mood. I have seen some say that David Bowie could top The Kinks. Twelve albums released between 1971 and 1980. However, there are a couple of weaker ones that break the run. 1973’s Pin Ups. Led Zeppelin between 1969 and 1975 were brilliant, though that was six albums. Six seems to be the number for a lot of groups. The Beatles’ run from Rubber Soul in 1965 to Abbey Road in 1969. The Kinks had eight albums in their chain, but I feel there are very few that can match that. Anyone in the modern era who has that same run as The Kinks?!

The only other artist that comes to mind that could equal the consistency and sheer wonder of The Kinks is Björk. You could say that her entire career has been wonderful. No album has been weak. She has released ten studio albums. Every one of them has won critical praise. Has she received quite the same adulation as The Kinks? The best of the London band surpasses the Icelandic innovator, though Björk has released ten albums that are all excellent. You could say that 2007’s Volta did not get quite the same reaction as her other albums. That is fair. So she has nine albums that have been incredibly well received, but one not so much. It may be subjective. I am judging my opinions on what critics say. People could say Stevie Wonder or Joni Mitchell or Madonna could be up there. Even the mighty Kate Bush. If we look at things from a critical and commercial standpoint, Björk is a fine challenger. Like The Kinks, all of her albums are very different but they are genius. I know she is recording an album at the moment. Her most recent album is 2022’s Fossora. This is what The Guardian wrote in their review:

“Biophilia may have been the title of her 2011 seventh album, but the Icelandic composer’s penchant for irrepressible life forms has had an ongoing life of its own in her work. Fossora, she says, is a feminisation of the Latin word for “burrower” (badgers are “fossorial” mammals). The life of the soil, nesting and burial are just three themes that grow directly out of this fertile loam. Terroir is another. Conceived during lockdown, when anyone in their right mind would have hastened back to their native island home, Fossora found Björk on Icelandic turf for an extended period, hosting micro-raves in her house. All she wanted to play was gabber – the pounding 90s Dutch variant on techno.

So Fossora has proper beats on it, a kind of holy grail for longtime Björk fans who remember her clubbier past. And you can, just about, dance to some of these songs – although it would probably look more like headbanging. The title track offers up a particularly extreme cocktail of punishing percussion and swirling vocals. The beats throughout come in association with Indonesian gabber merchants Gabber Modus Operandi.

Björk’s intention was to react against the airy themes of her previous album, Utopia (2017). Many wind instruments remain, but these tend to be bass clarinets – often six of them – alongside trombone, oboe and cor anglais, hooting and groaning.

Where Björk occasionally breaks with this lower tone palette on tracks such as Allow, it’s to let an army of flutes unleash a ravey melody to lub-dub beats. Part of this album is devoted to new romantic relationships, fantasias in which love can take root again after 2015’s anguished Vulnicura, which dealt with the breakdown in Björk’s relationship with her daughter’s father. The slight downside is that, like some Walt Disney cartoon bluebirds, these trilling flutes and whimsical clarinets break the mood of majestic ache that makes Fossora one of Björk’s hardest-hitting albums.

Björk’s mother died in 2018 after a long illness; a number of these songs are tributes to Hildur Rúna Hauksdóttir. Ancestress is explicitly billed as an epitaph. Forgoing the more rigid Icelandic tradition in which a priest lists facts about the deceased, Björk celebrates her mother’s idiosyncrasies – her dyslexia, her homeopath’s cantankerous disregard for doctors. Details such as the smell of her passing are set to brittle strings and dissonant beats, with Björk’s son, Sindri, on backing vocals. An epic video follows a funeral procession that re-enacts Hildur’s death in fantastical form, a “matrimort” with the earth.

When Björk describes her mother, she is often also describing herself (“She had an idiosyncratic sense of rhythm… she invents words and adds syllables!”). There’s more mother-daughter slippage, too, on the elegiac Her Mother’s House, the closing track. Björk describes her mother’s voice, and likens her house to the chambers of her heart. The guest here is Björk’s own daughter, Ísadóra Bjarkadóttir Barney, whose move away from home at 19 is reflected upon here, another crank along the gearwheel of life.

If it’s possible, Sorrowful Soil is even more emotional. In this eulogy for Hildur, set to a distant bassline, massed choirs follow Björk’s lead as she sings about the quantity of eggs produced by a woman’s body, her “emotional textile”. The way she sings “emotional” recalls the “emotional landscapes” of 1997’s Jóga.

“You did your best, you did well,” insist the voices, digitally persistent: “did, did, did!” It’s pretty much the best thing a child can say to their mother – or vice versa – particularly when the two women didn’t always have an easy relationship.

Less obviously, the exquisite Atopos finds Björk emphasising the importance of persevering with relationships; it also partially addresses her mother. The track captures the wonders of Fossora in miniature – hammering beats, a thicket of tense clarinets, and Björk’s unmistakable vocal in didactic mode, upfront and emphatic”.

I am thinking if there are artists I have left out. Bruce Springsteen had a run of albums between 1973’s The Wild, the Innocent & the E Street Shuffle and 1987’s Tunnel of Love. Though one or two albums were not that brilliant. Not that it is especially important or meaningful if an artist has this phenomenal run of albums. It is just a subject that popped into my mind. I think I have written about it before, but I can’t recall which artists I mentioned. I have been listening to a lot of legacy artists. So many of them embarked on this run of albums that saw them grow bigger and bigger. All commercial and critical successes. When critics decide on the best music run, they usually cap things are six albums. That is fair enough. Six is a lot of albums. Though I feel we can take it beyond that. The Kinks’ eight albums between 1965 and 1971 is supreme. All of them were acclaimed. You could say that 1971’s Percy broke the run. That is fair enough. That would be seven out of eight albums in that run were magnificent. It then begs the question as to whether any artist ever has released more than six albums consecutively that are of the highest quality. I would go back to Björk, as Volta received better reviews than The Kinks’ Percy. However, others might say that some of the artists that produced six consecutive brilliant albums released ones either side that are pretty decent. The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin and Prince. Also, we need to consider the impact and legacy of the albums. You can have four, five or six albums in a row that have all been adored and inspired legions of artists, compared to an artist who has had a longer run but the albums are not as brilliant. Also, we need to consider the reputation of the artists. I would name Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds. They have released eighteen albums. Not too many that have received anything less than glowing reviews. I do think that Nick Cave’s opinions about the genocide in Gaza does sort of muddy the waters for me. I can admit the band have this brilliant run of albums, though I don’t think they are quite up there with The Kinks or Björk. It is an interesting discussion, and I wonder if anyone else has any other thoughts. It would be good to hear. Which artist has the longest run of…

TRULY brilliant albums?

FEATURE: 5 Years: Songs from Albums Turning Thirty in 2027

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5 Years

 

Songs from Albums Turning Thirty in 2027

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ONE of the very best years…

for music there has ever been, I am now up to 1997 for this album anniversary series. There are so many albums to choose from when it comes to the mixtape below. I have tried to include as many as possible. Classics from Björk, The Verve, Radiohead, The Prodigy, Missy Elliott, Daft Punk, and Spiritualized. I turned fourteen in 1997. I was in high school and it was a time when music was really affecting and inspiring me. It was so important, so albums from 1997 stay with me today. There are few years that can stand alongside 1997 when it comes to quality. The next feature takes us to 2002. A great year for sure, though not quite in the same league as this! The best of 1997 stands alongside…

THE greatest music ever.

FEATURE: Reminisce: Songs from Albums Turning Thirty-Five in 2027

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Reminisce

  

Songs from Albums Turning Thirty-Five in 2027

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WE are now in the 1990s…

when it comes to this series. Taking a look at albums that have significant anniversaries next year. It is to 1992 and the very best from that phenomenal year. The sheer number of staggering albums from 1992. Included in the mixtape are albums from Mary J. Blige, PJ Harvey, Rage Against the Machine, k.d. lang, and Aphex Twin. I have tried my best to include songs from all the best albums released in 1992 – though there is likely the odd omission. I was a child in 1992, and I do remember a lot of these albums. Thirty-five years after they were released, these albums still sound good to me. I am not sure if I have a favourite from the year. Perhaps R.E.M.’s Automatic for the People. Hard to choose from such a bounteous year. The absolute greatest albums of 1992 represented below in…

A golden mixtape.

FEATURE: Sign "☮" the Times: Songs from Albums Turning Forty in 2027

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Sign "☮" the Times

 

Songs from Albums Turning Forty in 2027

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I am getting close…

to the 1990s. That is the decade where I was a child and teen and really bonded with music. So when I feature albums from 1992 and 1997, there will be a lot of personal memories tied to the albums. However, I was alive in 1987 and can appreciate a lot of the albums from that year. I was three/four, so memories are dim. I bonded with a lot of these when I was older. Marking forty years of some truly enduring albums. Included are Prince, U2, Whitney Houston, Guns N’ Roses, Eric B. & Rakim, and many more. Some people reading this would have grown up with these albums. Forty years later, do they sound as essential and memorable as they did back then?! Perhaps so. This mixtape below is overflowing with 1987-released gold. Tremendous songs from a great year. For those who were around in 1987 and heard these albums when they were released, I hope that some warm and wonderful memories come…

FLOODING back.