FEATURE: Spotlight: Ellen Benediktson

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Jolina Elish

 

Ellen Benediktson

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THERE is a lot of emphasis…

on Pop coming out of the U.K. and U.S. In terms of nations who have always produced the finest and most addictive Pop, Sweden is right up there. Whilst Ellen Benediktson might not consider herself a traditional or mainstream Pop act, she hails from a nation whose music is so rich and enduring. There are elements of Rave, Rock and Dance on her E.P., WID4L. Such energy and passion throughout. I am going to come to a fairly recent interview with this incredible artist. This feature from Metal Magazine was released a month before (April 2026) the arrival of a huge E.P. “From the release of her new single Jealousy today to stepping on stage tonight at Tallinn Music Week 2026 for her second gig in Europe, the Swedish artist moves through a series of defining moments without much pause in between”:

“Some emotions are easier left unspoken, softened at the edges or pushed aside before they fully take shape. On Jealousy, Benediktson leans straight into that discomfort, turning one of the least flattering feelings into the centre of the track and letting it stay there. “This is an ugly and personal song about my overthinking, anxious brain, and I hope you love it,” she says, setting the tone from the outset.

Following her debut EP Good Girl, the single marks a shift, though not in an obvious or dramatic way. Jealousy sits in a more exposed place, letting contradiction surface without trying to organise it. The focus moves closer to the feeling itself, catching it as it happens, even when it is uncomfortable to hold onto.

“I really want to genuinely celebrate other people’s success as much as I want them to celebrate mine,” she says. “I get so embarrassed when I’m nagged by jealousy. It’s ugly.” The way she puts it feels disarmingly honest, almost like catching a thought you were not supposed to say out loud. That discomfort is exactly what the track holds onto. It does not try to soften the feeling or push it into the background. The song keeps it in full view, letting it unfold in all its awkwardness, allowing that tension to exist without forcing it into something cleaner or easier to accept.

That same impulse runs through the wider world of WID4L, her upcoming EP arriving in just over a month. The project circles emotional states that rarely sit still, staying close to instinct and reaction rather than stepping back to analyse them”.

Better Music spoke with Ellen Benediktson in April around the release of the single, Jealousy. They write how, “After an early breakthrough that left her overwhelmed and disconnected, she’s now reclaiming her voice with clarity, confidence, and zero filters”. I cannot find any other chats from this year, but this is an important interview to highlight:

“Hi Ellen, how are you? What's your story?

I’m great, summer’s coming, and 2026 has already been really exciting. Short story: I’m a girl from Sweden who always wanted to be in music. I got “discovered” at 18 and was chosen to compete in the Swedish Eurovision Song Contest, which gave me my big break. It was extremely overwhelming, so I completely shut down, didn’t make music for a long time, and was generally really lost. Then in 2022, I started making my EP Good Girl, and suddenly I was back. Now I’ve just come home from my first show in Europe and I’m preparing for my second EP release, feeling extremely grateful and excited that I get to do this. There’s a lot more to say, but let’s cap it here haha…

How would you describe where you are right now, both personally and artistically?

I’m in a really good place. I feel more like myself than I have in a long time. It took me a while to find my place as an artist, and I got really confused along the way. But now I feel like I’ve found my way back, like I kept searching for something new when really I should’ve been looking back instead. I had it all along, it just got a little twisted. It feels really freeing.

You describe jealousy as something “ugly” and even embarrassing — was it difficult to be that honest and exposed in your writing?

I write with my friends, so in the moment it just kinda felt nice, like therapy with a friend, you know? And then when the song is done and polished up, it kinda becomes something different, like it’s more than just you, which makes it easier to share with the world. But yeah, I was feeling a little self-conscious that people might think I’m really pathetic haha…

There’s a strong theme of emotional impulsivity in your work. Do you see your music as a way to process those impulses, or to embrace them?

I definitely spent a lot of my early 20s embracing my impulses, not always in a healthy way… Over time I realized that I gravitate to being reactive rather than responsive and writing about it became a way to process it, which was way healthier.

Artists like Lady Gaga, Hayley Williams and Miley Cyrus have influenced you — what have you taken from them in terms of identity and artistic freedom?

Pushing boundaries, being fearless in music and identity, and creating a safe space with inclusivity and love.

What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?

We need more people who dare to take a chance on new artists. So many people in the industry want already-made artists and aren’t willing to put in the work to develop someone from the start. Artists are working so hard, we’re everything from singers and songwriters to social media managers and PR agents today. And in many ways that’s cool, because we have a lot of control and understand how things work. But at the same time, it’s kind of unreal that big labels want to step in and take a piece of the cake when we’ve done all the heavy lifting. That feels unfair. And it also feels boring, like I thought A&R’s were like passionate about finding new talents?

What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?

Things won’t turn out the way you expect, so just go with the flow.

What's next for you?

My EP WID4L is out May 15th, and I’m having a release show to celebrate it in Stockholm. I’m also writing for my album and planning more upcoming shows in Europe”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jolina Elish

I did want to end with a couple of positive reviews for WID4L. This is one that may have passed some people by or slipped off their radar. It is big and bold Pop, with different sounds and genres thrown into the mix. Mystic Sons published their review and gave their thoughts on a huge work from an artist who has been on the scene for a while, but perhaps is still seen as coming through or not yet at her peak:

“Swedish artist Ellen Benediktson leans fully into emotional chaos on WID4L, a five-track EP that turns obsession, jealousy, self-sabotage, and destructive love into something both glamorous and unsettling. Blending indie-pop and electro-pop with darker, more volatile production, the project feels like a natural but riskier evolution from Good Girl.

The EP’s strongest moment is “Only Lovers,” a bittersweet focus track that captures the record’s central idea: romanticizing pain as proof that love was real. Its tense verses and euphoric chorus perfectly mirror the emotional highs and lows Benediktson explores throughout the project. Elsewhere, “Jealousy” stands out for its brutally honest writing, while “i’m that girl” pushes back against expectations of femininity with confidence and humor.

Visually and lyrically, WID4L is obsessed with the idea of emotions becoming physical — red-stained, messy, impossible to wash away. That gothic, high-fashion aesthetic gives the EP a strong identity without overshadowing the songwriting itself. Tracks like “WID4L” and “i tell my friends” lean further into impulsivity and self-destruction, balancing sensuality with self-awareness.

At times, the EP circles similar emotional themes a little too closely, but Benediktson’s honesty and clear artistic vision keep it compelling. WID4L doesn’t try to offer healing or resolution — it lives entirely in the space between knowing better and doing it anyway. Bold, cohesive, and emotionally messy in the best way, it’s her most confident release yet”.

I am finishing off with Pop Passion Blog and their takeaways from an E.P. that is quite a lot to digest upon first listen. It has that real impact. You then need to go back and listen to it again. An E.P. that I feel is among the best of this year, it should lead many people to the music of the wonderful Ellen Benediktson:

“The world’s intense and Ellen Benediktson matches that intensity with her rhythmic pulsing synths in "WID4L." From political events to celebrity drama to job applications, life seems overwhelming. In her latest single, "WID4L," Benediktson thrives in self-awareness, digging into her limits of love. Her yearning is totally rock ‘n’ roll bonded with the flashing lights on the club dancefloor. Her passion is raw and loud, and there’s no signs of keeping her quiet in "WID4L."

"WID4L" combines the grooves of popular 2000s dance hits with the quality of modern mastering. The hypnotic melody, tangled in electro-pop synths, zip and zap right to the heart. Each beat claps like a lightning bolt, and the technicality flows like the timing of thunder. Benediktson harnesses what it means to feel with her whole self. In an uncontrollable environment, she doesn’t give up, but she finds power in letting go. Letting the emotions run. Love takes over in "WID4L."

The Swedish singer-songwriter is known for her smashing beats powered by electro-pop melodies. Benediktson gained attention in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013. The next year, she placed seventh in the Melodifestivalen. Her intelligence and sympathy for current events extends beyond "WID4L to her start." She released “When The Sun Comes Up” in association to the Swedish Feminist Initiative”.

I have not featured as many Swedish artists as I should, and that is an omission on my part. Too much focus on the U.K. and U.S. and me not going beyond that. Maybe Ellen Benediktson is perhaps not going to convert those who maybe are not fans of big and bold Pop, but she has the talent and drive to recruit so many new followers. We are seeing that, I hope she comes to the U.K. soon, as I would love to see her brilliant music…

BROUGHT to the stage.

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Follow Ellen Benediktson

FEATURE: Spotlight: ORKID

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

 

ORKID

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AS she put out…

the stunning E.P., In All of My Tomorrows, in April, I am shining a spotlight on ORKID. This is an artist I only discovered this year, but I do feel that everyone should know about her music. I am going to come to interviews with her. Originally from northern Sweden, I do know that, among other artist, she is a fan of Kate Bush, so that was a big draw for me! As someone who writes about her a lot, you can sort of detect the influence of Bush in ORKID. Though this is someone who is an original. She has a few dates coming in her native Sweden, but I wonder if she will be in the U.K. at any point this year or has plans to play here. I am going to come to a couple of interviews. I do want to source CLASH and their article about her latest E.P., as there is a lot of loss and grief in the E.P. However, I also feel there is a lot of strength and beauty. Resilience, wisdom and passion:

“Swedish pop hopeful ORKID has shared her new EP ‘In All Of My Tomorrows’ in full.

The songwriter lost her mother recently, and this profound experience of grief fuelled her extraordinary, revelatory debut EP. Assured in her performances, ORKID blended lyrics that spoke to warmth, loss, and the incredible bond that exists between mother and daughter, alongside an enchanting ear for melody.

Working with alacrity, second EP ‘In All My Tomorrows’ is out now, and it finds ORKID growing, and finding grief more manageable. The songs speak eloquently about recovery and renewal, while respecting the active role the past plays in our lives.

Part of a perfectly weighted emotional arc, ‘In All My Tomorrows’ is the moment ORKID lets the light in. She comments…

“My first EP was rooted in grief — a body of work that helped me begin to process something very personal. But grief doesn’t disappear; it changes shape. ‘In All Of My Tomorrows’ is about carrying that feeling forward while finding space for hope again”.

I am going to come on to Ones to Watch and their interview from earlier in the year. We get a bit more insight into ORKID’s new E.P. and who she is as an artist. I would love to see her perform live, as I can imagine In All of My Tomrorows translates well to the stage:

“What is In All of My Tomorrows about?

This song is for the person who became my anchor. Even when the shadows feel heavy, I will carry my grief with me into every new day. Yet within that grief lives hope, because they are with me now and in all of my tomorrows. And now I know I never have to face them alone. My first EP, Where Flowers Grow, was rooted in grief - a body of work that helped me begin to heal deep trauma. But grief never truly leaves us, it lingers, it evolves. This EP, In All Of My Tomorrows, is the continuation, the echo of that sorrow, shaped by the space between mourning and mending. It’s a tribute to everything that’s carried me through.

How’d you settle on your sound?

I didn’t really “settle” as much as I spiraled until I found it. I stopped comparing, stopped chasing reference points, and focused only on what felt true. When I found that feeling, I held onto it. Now I have a kind of anchor, so I’m not just floating around guessing. Though sometimes I still search… but I always know where home is.

Any collaborators? Who produced the EP?

Yeees all of my amazing friends and creatives. I wrote this EP with Husky X pug, Niklas Carson, Maria Hazell, Rhys, Rory James, Klaudy, Sebastian Furrer, on diff songs

Producers: Svidden, Sebastian Furrer, Niklas Carson, Albin Clern.

What's inspiring you right now outside of music?

The people in my life, getting to know this somewhat new version of myself. Being on ADHD medication has given me a new lens, so I’m kind of recalibrating what even inspires me right now. It’s a bit all over the place, like Jack Sparrow’s compass when it’s broken, but in a way that feels exciting. Lately it’s been a lot of gratitude for the people in my life but also that I’m getting to do what I’ve always dreamed of, which still feels kind of unreal. I’m also such a Pinterest girly, constantly making mood boards, playing new games, and I’m deep into fiction, anything with vampires, honestly. If I could walk through life with a Twilight filter on, I would”.

I want to move to this incredible interview that offers up some interesting exchanges. Being new to ORKID, finding out as much as possible has been beneficial. With such an incredible voice and this music that gets under the skin and you are really affected by, I would heartedly recommend her to everyone. A sublime artist:

“Sandra Myhrberg: Being described as one of the most exciting new voices on the Nordic music scene is a huge thing to hear so early in your career. How do you personally relate to that kind of attention and expectation?

ORKID: I’m very grateful for it. At the same time, I’ve always had extremely high expectations of myself, I’m very goal-oriented and deeply invested in what I do. I’ve been making music for over ten years now, so to finally see the hard work resonate with people feels so rewarding!

SM: Your music feels deeply personal, yet listeners often see their own lives reflected in it. When you’re writing, how do private emotions become something more universal?

O: I’ve always been drawn to songs that feel like mirrors rather than explanations. I love writing in “double meanings,” letting emotions exist between the lines instead of placing them directly in front of the listener. Sometimes it’s more about capturing a feeling for me than writing something on the nose.

SM: Growing up in northern Sweden and later moving to Stockholm must have shaped you in very different ways. How have those places influenced your storytelling, your sound and the person behind ORKID?

O: ORKID the name in itself stems from my hometowns flower “brunkulla” which originates from Orchids. It holds so much of who I am, so many beautiful memories as well as painful and I think that duality exists in my music too. Stockholm expanded my world creatively, but the north will always be the landscape my inner world is painted from.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sandra Myhrberg

SM: Across your new songs, there is a contrast between haunting, introspective moments and bigger, more anthemic sounds. Was that contrast something you were consciously searching for?

O: I actually wrote words on a chalkboard for a camp “unexpected,” “unharmonic,” “healing,” “metaphors,” “double meanings.” Healing itself is never linear, and I wanted the music to reflect that emotional push and pull.
Sometimes it’s fragile and quiet, sometimes overwhelming and explosive. Those contrasts were incredibly important to the sound of the project.

SM: In All Of My Tomorrows feels like the beginning of a new emotional chapter. What was the first feeling, idea or moment that started shaping this EP?

O: In All Of My Tomorrows was always meant to be the emotional continuation of my previous EP. I always write from wherever I am in life emotionally, so naturally the music evolves alongside me. The project grew out of the realization that healing doesn’t mean forgetting it just means learning how to carry things differently. Every song became a reflection of the environment and emotions I was living through at the time.

SM: The title In All Of My Tomorrows feels both intimate and cinematic. Where did that title come from, and what does it mean to you now after finishing the project?

O: For me it means “I’ll carry this with me in all of my tomorrows, but at least now I don’t have to face them alone” it’s a tribute to my partner who became my anchor”.

I do really feel that ORKID is going to be a global name very soon. Though she is beloved in Sweden, she has a fanbase around the world. Sources in the U.K. and U.S. recognising her brilliance. I would love to see her play in London and I am looking forwarding to hearing what comes next. Anyone who has not yet fallen under her spell, then go and listen to ORKID, as she is so wonderful. She is one of the most fascinating and talented artists in the world. She is making music that you will…

NOT forget.

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Follow ORKID

FEATURE: An Embarrassment of Riches… Albums That Could Be Shortlisted for the Mercury Prize

FEATURE:

 

 

An Embarrassment of Riches…

IN THIS PHOTO: Olivia Dean

 

Albums That Could Be Shortlisted for the Mercury Prize

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ON 30th July…

IN THIS PHOTO: Lily Allen

the twelve albums on the Mercury Prize shortlist will be announced. The ceremony will take place on 22nd October at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle. There has been such an embarrassment of riches when it comes to albums eligible. Tremendous work from British and Irish acts. To be eligible for the 2026 Mercury Prize, albums must be by British or Irish artists and officially released between 30th August, 2025, and 17th July, 2026. It means Charli xcx’s new album, Music, Fashion, Film, misses out, as it was released on 24th July. I don’t think it will matter, as she is twice-nominated and will probably be nominated next year for this album. I am including below the albums I feel will be announced on Thursday. I am usually good when it comes to predicting the winner, but as the award is so broad and hard to predict, some of those I am mentioning below will miss out, whereas albums I have not considered will be included. My prediction for the winner is Lily Allen with West End Girl. She was nominated in 2018 for No Shame. I do feel like she will win, though there is part of me who feels that may be too obvious. Maybe the judging panel feeling another artist deserves it more. Leading off with my winner prediction, below are twelve albums that could be shortlisted on 30th July. It will be interesting to know…

WHO makes the cut.

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Lily Allen – West End Girl

Release Date: 24th October, 2025 (digital release; 30th January, 2026 (physical release date)

Producers: Lily Allen/Alessandro Buccellati/Seb Chew/Leroy Clampitt/Chrome Sparks/Jason Evigan/Micah Jasper/Kito/Blue May/Oscar Scheller/Leon Vynehall

Label: BMG

Standout Song: Pussy Palace

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/lily-allen/west-end-girl?algolia_query_id=c5b847764ca7e64d85103940d3cbb0ee&algolia_object_id=53712882303307&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=2#53712882303307

Review:

“Her signature contemporary pop twinned with stark and witty lyrics has cultivated an entire sub-genre since the mid-00s. The current ‘Y2K’ revival on social media, spearheaded by people barely born during that time, is dominated by spoken word pop once dominated by Allen. There are countless pop girls wanting to replicate what she can do so effortlessly. As eloquently and simply put by singer and admirer PinkPantheress, “Lily Allen made sounding like yourself feel cool.”

The allure of Allen is that she has always been candidly truthful, and fittingly, there is absolutely no holding back on Allen’s first album in seven years. West End Girl seems to detail the breakdown of her marriage to Stranger Things actor David Harbour, gory details and all.

Opening with the title track, “West End Girl” is where the story begins. A 14 song tale, it walks through every grievance, revelation and epiphany possible, piecing together the unfurling heartbreak, it's a rarity in the streaming age – an album intending (nay, screaming) to be listened to in tracklist order.

Swirling into “Ruminating”, it tells of the spiralling around the unanswered questions brought on by Instagram doom-scrolling, overthinking, and doubts. “Sleepwalking” shows the beginning of the unravelling with the softly spoken lyric, “You won’t love me / You won’t leave me” laying out the internal confusion. “Tennis” is the moment Allen reads the texts from a mysterious “Madeline”, before rolling into the track introducing her and Allen’s imagined interaction over the infidelity.

There is a drip of defiance in the form of “Pussy Palace” with the bold lyric, “I didn’t know this was a Pussy Palace” referring to Allen’s marital home. On “Dallas Major”, Allen’s dating bio comes to life. “I’m here for validation and I probably should explain / That my marriage has been open since my husband went astray.” That, as well as the track “Nonmonogamummy”, excellently showcase the all-too-universal feeling of despair and disappointment with modern dating apps.

Written over an intense 10 days in Los Angeles, West End Girl is a quite literal outpouring of emotion, in every intricate detail – an outlet for the grieving of the relationship. The album details not just a break-up, but a shift in how relationships and human connection work in modern times. West End Girl is not only an example of pop brilliance, but also incredibly vulnerable, raw and honest, true to Allen’s form. Simply, the pop pioneer has created the break-up album for the modern generation” – The Line of Best Fit

KNEECAP –  FENIAN

Release Date: 1st May, 2026

Producer: Dan Carey

Label: Heavenly

Standout Song: Palestine (ft. Fawzi)

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/kneecap/fenian?algolia_query_id=63929b2b10d0154e02d3f000109d92bc&algolia_object_id=57586130747723&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=1#57586130747723

Review:

“Kneecap are often compared to the Sex Pistols for their ability to provoke a moral panic and have British MPs sputtering with rage at Westminster. But if the punk iconoclasts’ rapid rise serves as an inspiration, their rapid demise is a warning that nothing gets older faster than a rock band that has politicians foaming at the chops.

The daunting challenge the Belfast-Derry Irish-language rap trio therefore face with their second album, Fenian, is to prove that their talents go beyond annoying the worst people on social media. But they prove that they’re more than flash-in-the-pan outrage merchants with this brilliantly catchy and playful record, which you can enjoy regardless of your feelings about their politics, and which captures the glee and giddiness that have long been at the heart of their live shows.

Kneecap wrote and recorded the songs against the backdrop of the prosecution brought by the British state after one of the group allegedly waved a flag belonging to the proscribed terrorist organisation Hizbullah on stage.

Where less imaginative musicians might have played the victim or taken the easy route of woe-is-me lyrics, Kneecap are in an upbeat frame of mind throughout this extraordinary LP, where they throw up sparks with the Fontaines DC producer Dan Carey and collaborate with artists such as the London poet Kae Tempest and the Ramallah rapper Fawzi.

The vibe throughout is old-school gangsta rap mixed with the monster-truck onslaught of peak Prodigy. They also lean further into their use of the Irish language, starting with ethereal opener, Éire go Deo (“Ireland Forever”), where they sound like a trip-hop Enya.

Wispy grooves give way to ominous industrial beats on Smugglers & Scholars, where they cast a gimlet eye back on the Troubles and rhyme about “smugglers and scholars getting guns with American dollars”.

The circus around the prosecution in Britain is the subject of Carnival, in which a laid-back, Massive Attack-style rhythm is a counterpoint to their excoriation of the UK justice system. “This started in Coachella… a man tries to tell you: free Gaza… these lads are just nasty.”

The situation in Gaza itself is addressed on Palestine, where they trade rhymes with Fawzi on a superb song that dials into the diaphanous textures of SoundCloud rap – while name-dropping the “Paddy Losty” internet meme of a Dublin barfly who has sacrificed everything to a life of pints.

The best bands are often loved and loathed equally, and nothing on Fenian will assuage those who wonder why Kneecap talk at length about Gaza yet never mention Ukraine. But then the first mistake is to look to musicians for moral guidance. Twenty years ago, Irish artists were continually banging on about the Burmese politician Aung San Suu Kyi; before that, it was Free Tibet.

It’s great that they care, and they often do have an important message to impart, but in the end we should all really educate ourselves and make up our own minds.

The album outdoes itself with Cocaine Hill, a lamentation about the dark side of soaring success that is steeped in Pink Floyd-style prog guitars. The final fade to grey arrives with the gorgeous, piano-fuelled Kae Tempest duet Irish Goodbye – a melancholic farewell at the end of a knockout album” – The Irish Times

RAYE – THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.

Release Date: 27th March, 2026

Producers: Pete Clements/Chris Hill/Punctual/RAYE/Tom Richards/Jordan Riley/Alex Robinson/Mike Sabath/Toneworld/Hans Zimmer

Label: Human Re Sources

Standout Song: WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/raye/this-music-may-contain-hope?algolia_query_id=2d95b865275a19eeb7735663eb6f6038&algolia_object_id=56362073882955&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=1#56362073882955

Review:

“Brevity has very evidently fallen out of RAYE’s immediate consciousness. Just look at the 17-long tracklist of the hour-plus ‘THIS MUSIC MAY CONTAIN HOPE.’ - her second album proper - or the characteristic exaggerated scale of her big-band styled live performances, complete with ever-flowing personal candour and energetic anecdotes that both frame songs and offer an immediately amiable tangent.

It’s all a stunning showcase of her ever-growing confidence, the resulting expanse of which bleeds into her recorded music - now a self-proclaimed attempt to separate the album from the studio, encapsulating the live feeling that has driven her sound since her major label split, and which has spearheaded her immeasurably successful step to go it alone. And ‘THIS MUSIC…’ does all that and more.

The swaggering soul of ‘WHERE IS MY HUSBAND!’ forms just a tiny part of this immense picture; one that balances the grandeur of this lead single with RAYE’s overt vulnerability. Her lyricism is beautifully clunky, a perfect paradox of near-symbolic poetry and spoken intros which, peppered throughout the record, brim with personality. “This is a sad song, though it feels happy,” she offers at the start of the Al Green-featuring ‘Goodbye Henry’, noting that “it is not happy at all, in fact, it makes me so sad, before admitting that to protect identities, the song isn’t even about a Henry. Few, if any, artists would ever think of an intro like this one, never mind be able make it work with so much sparkling charm.

It’s an allure that hasn’t just attracted the likes of soul legend Al, either. Record-breaking composer Hans Zimmer lends his ear to the soaring ‘Click Clack Symphony’, a track that transcends from darkness to a fitting cinematic coda. It joins a cluster that carries a post-euphoria darkness reminiscent of new-wave breakthrough ‘Escapism.’, including the claustrophobic, dark pop-jazz crossover ‘The WhatsApp Shakespeare’ and the heartbreak of ‘Winter Woman’.

But perhaps the biggest curveball on a record filled with them arrives courtesy of ‘Life Boat’, a Fred Again..-adjacent emotionally heavy rave banger accompanied by hopeful lyrical affirmations. Yet, in keeping with the ambition of the album, it breaks immediately into ‘I Hate The Way I Look Today’, a jangly homage to ‘40s bebop camp.

“We’ve made it to the end, the seventeenth song,” she declares, referring to her own verbosity on the Disney movie musical climax, which is completed by a dramatic flourish and a wide-reaching list of credits. Its spoken reference to hope pulls the absurdity of ‘THIS MUSIC…’ further together, ultimately suggesting that life is beautiful chaos.

In over an hour, RAYE traverses love, heartbreak, life, death, resilience, despondency, euphoria and the comedown, infidelity, and the powerful value of family - ‘Fields’ is a stunning collaboration with Grandad Michael, while the embellished ‘Joy’ features both RAYE’s sisters. Could it have been edited or cut down? Who cares. It’s huge, expansive, bonkers and brilliant. It’s RAYE at her very core, and it’s fantastic” – DIY

Dry Cleaning – Secret Love

Release Date: 9th January, 2026

Producer: Cate Le Bon

Label: 4AD

Standout Song: Cruise Ship Designer

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/dry-cleaning/secret-love?algolia_query_id=341a3abb19b113c4532273afedd5e328&algolia_object_id=53474586329419&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=4#53474586329419

Review:

“It’s impossible not to see a direct meaning in the lyrics of ‘Blood’, as they oppose the social acceptance of globalatrocities as just another form of online content, including discourse around Gaza and Ukraine. “Blood on my skin / And hands and nails / And in my eyes as well”, calmly confides Shaw, adding, “Schools and hospitals and homes… / People are worse than you think”. These words are not just a maze of thoughts and ironic observations – they’re a declaration of personal stance, firmly sing-spoken over a The Flaming Lips-evoking tune. Timely and direct.

“I make sure there are hidden messages in my work”, Shaw states the obvious in ‘Cruise Ship Designer’. Sometimes it even seems as if she is mocking someone specific, as on this track. “Cruises are big business / I don’t personally like them / But I need to serve a useful purpose”, she utters with apparent similarity in pronunciation and wording to that of some billionaire. In the hypnagogic ‘I Need You’, built on chainsaw-like bass clarinet blasts, a rumination on longing for someone’s attention is compared to The Apprentice TV show. “And the finger coming down: you”, proclaims Shaw, hinting at the prominent phrase “You’re fired!”

‘Secret Love’ is politically charged and also full of personal fears and disappointments. Behind vivid imagery and deadpan puns, hundreds of hours of pondering are hidden. It’s evident that Shaw is pushing hard to find certainties about the world’s current state and the people in it by looking both outward and inward. We have all been occupied with the same exercise over the last few years or so. This mood is further emphasized by the gloomy and enigmatic rocker ‘Evil Evil Idiot’, with the chorus “I cannot feel it / The veil of black”, right out of the PJ Harvey or Sonic Youth playbook –one of Dry Cleaning’s darkest and bleakest songs.

At the same time, this is the most personal Shaw record to date. Along with her political stance, we also find out that she doesn’t want “to be lectured” and that she hates cleaning. “I like to sort, move my things around, colour coding / Everything has a home in my house / But I don’t like to clean, I find cleaning demeaning”, she reports in ‘My Soul / Half Pint’. Oh wait, here the personal is also intertwined with the social. In ‘Rocks’, a loud and rage-fuelled anthem, built around a ‘Lose Yourself’-evoking rhythm, she even mixes a reference to a “blob” from American political lore with her own dream symbols.

“Keep up with it all, be nice / Try to maintain high energy”, advised Shaw on the closing track ‘Every Day Carry’ from their debut album. A year later she repeated the trick on ‘Icebergs’ from the sophomore record, recommending: “Stay interested in the world around you / Keep the curiosity of a child if you can”. They just can’t leave listeners without a bit of positivity at the end, after taking us through a series of unpleasant images over the course of the record, and the closing track on ‘Secret Love’ is no exception. “It’s a horrorland / Destruction / Don’t give up on being sweet”, intones Shaw on ‘Joy’.

On surprisingly melodic tracks like ‘The Cute Things’, built around Iggy Popian punch-drunk guitar, Savages’ rawness, a tender chorus, and country-disguised synths, it’s easy to forget that you’re listening to a band that was singing about “a woman in aviators firing a bazooka” just five years ago. ‘Secret Love’ is Dry Cleaning’s most commercial record, likely to appeal to a much wider audience, yet it’s also their most experimental work.

This record is less rough and harsh, with angular guitars and rhythmic drums giving way to more upbeat-yet-moody and off-kilter tunes. With Le Bon’s help, the band has managed to smooth out the rough edges without losing their sonic identity. But what’s more important – this more mainstream-friendly, luscious-yet-intimate sound is a huge gamble for Dry Cleaning, and they came through this stress test shining, delivering their best work so far. Using their own found words, they definitely managed to squeeze some “blood from a stone” with their music.

9/10” – CLASH

Dove Ellis – Blizzard

Release Date: 5th December, 2025

Producer: Dove Ellis

Labels: AMF Records/Black Butter Records

Standout Song: Love Is

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/dove-ellis/blizzard?algolia_query_id=8cf7659b47ca380e3ff74311160da8b8&algolia_object_id=56566453535051&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=2#56566453535051

Review:

“His debut album arrives with no biography and barely any information at all apart from the track listing and a few minor details. He doesn’t appear to have ever given an interview and in one song here scolds: “Keep their cameras off my face.” His publicist, whose job thus far seems solely to be sending out music, describes Ellis as a “an introverted character”.

One can piece together this: he’s 22 and from Galway but relocated to Manchester. The songs he posted on Bandcamp led to a bidding war, but he rejected the attentions of major labels to go with an independent. He recently opened for Geese on their US tour dates but otherwise seems to have been playing pubs and small venues in London (including the buzzy Windmill) and Manchester for a couple of years now. As recently as October he was opening the student night at Sheffield’s Sidney & Matilda, where he apparently went down the usual storm. His next London show (at the ICA on 9 December) sold out within an hour, but if his self-produced debut arrives to burgeoning expectations it’s entirely because of the quality of the music.

The few reviewers who have seen Ellis so far mostly compare him to Jeff Buckley or his father, Tim Buckley – fair comparisons given how Ellis’s remarkable vocals can settle into a dreamy falsetto so fragile he could be dancing on a pin, and then suddenly perform a handbrake turn into intensity, even anger. The way the arrangements (including saxophone and drums) dart around his voice in ornate little counter-melodies recalls fellow Irishman Van Morrison, and recent single To the Sandals noticeably nods to Joan Armatrading’s Love and Affection. Thom Yorke and Rufus Wainwright have also been mentioned, but none of these comparisons quite pin Ellis down, not least because he shifts shape so frequently.

Beautiful opener Little Left Hope begins as fragile as Nick Drake, but erupts into something much more rousing, the words capturing the rocky road to making music: “Maybe we’ll start a band / With the stranger you have to like / Cos he knows how to play the drums.” Ellis’s lyrics frequently seem to flutter between hope and despair, before building to a purifying conclusion. In the magically warm Pale Song, the past is a trouble which, perhaps, can be shaken off: “The past is like a sign / A sign it never talks / A sign you think you’ve lived / But it’s just stone with a little chalk.” In the singalong-friendly Love Is, he roars, “Love is not the antidote to all your problems,” but concludes, “Love is your last chance.” In Jaundice he uses the unlikely vehicle of rumbustious rock’n’roll infused with an Irish jig to seemingly rail against unfairness: “Sometimes a child is born without any face / At the breast of their own mother right out of place.”

Ellis has described To the Sandals – a Bandcamp release now mixed/spruced up by Big Thief producer Andrew Sarlo – as concerning “reflections on a failing shotgun marriage in Cancún”. Not that the unlikely subject of an ill-fated union hastened by pregnancy in Mexico is particularly obvious in lines such as: “From your grace / The sadist fails / Their red blade / A-rallying, tallying.”

Trying to unravel the songs’ meanings can become a parlour game, but it’s enough to savour his dazzling use of language or the sheer emotion in heart-swelling songs such as When You Tie Your Hair Up. The 10 tunes are so strong they seem as familiar as old friends, and if Ellis isn’t reinventing the wheel, he’s certainly giving the old thing a caring coat of varnish. His songs sound meticulously crafted but the recordings themselves have a beautifully intimate, unadorned, down-home feel. At times, the picked and strummed guitars, rolling 70s rock piano, wind instruments and clattering percussion are interspersed with random noises and distortion, but somehow everything seems to have fallen perfectly into place on a glorious debut” – The Guardian

Dave – The Boy Who Played the Harp

Release Date: 24th October, 2025

Producers: Dave/Dom Maker/Fraser T. Smith/James Blake/Jim Legxacy/Jo Caleb/Jonny Leslie/Kyle Evans/Nathan

Label: Neighbourhood

Standout Song: My 27th Birthday

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/dave/the-boy-who-played-the-harp?algolia_query_id=7577ffe622507047c1c72ee3b7ffbbcf&algolia_object_id=53518310310219&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=2#53518310310219

Review:

“The former Mercury Prize winner executes this perfectly on songs like ‘Selfish’, ‘Fairchild’ and ‘Chapter 16’ – launching listeners into cinematic vignettes, painting the most vivid scenes with the rawest words. On ‘Selfish’, assisted by James Blake’s ghostly production, Dave continues his quiet rebellion against masculine repression – turning therapy into theatre, and confession into courage. It’s a revolutionary act in itself: a man daring to name the emotions he was never taught to hold.

‘Chapter 16’ is a crowning moment, too. In the biblical story referenced throughout the album, King David is chosen by God through the prophet Samuel, and on this record, Kano takes on a role similar to the latter. Over a debonair instrumental, the two generations of UK rap sit across a dinner table trading fears like old friends – one wrestling with legacy, the other with longevity. Kano even anoints Dave as “the rap messiah” while sharing his observations of UK rap’s evolution, making the track a spiritual handover where the old guard blesses the new generation.

‘Fairchild’ is particularly striking as Dave and newcomer Nicole Blakk go back and forth, bringing hip-hop back to its spoken-word foundations. The latter’s chilling appearance gives a voice to women silenced by rape culture and femicide, sharing the bleak reality of those left unheard. Dave provides a nuanced male perspective: disgusted by red-pilled counterparts yet questioning his own complicity: “All know a victim, don’t know a perpetrator / Am I one of them? The men of the past.”

And yet, you can’t shake the sense that you’ve seen this film before. The major themes remain: trauma, therapy, confession, redemption, and social responsibility. The palette is more refined, but the movements feel familiar. Where his previous albums (2019’s ‘Psychodrama’ and 2021’s ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’) arrived in the moment and dominated the game, ‘The Boy Who Played The Harp’ realises Dave’s genius again rather than redefining it.

There are no album smashes like ‘Location’ or ‘Crash’ were for ‘Psychodrama’ and ‘We’re All Alone In This Together’, respectively. Even his groovier collaborations – the Isaiah 54:17-chanting ‘No Weapons’ with Legxacy, and the Tems-featuring Afro-house-inspired ‘Raindance’ – are slick and upbeat, but only offer a small moment of levity through a restrained groove rather than any seminal erupting moments. Dave’s delivery throughout is blunted by solemnness, as if he hoped to make an unrelenting thinkpiece over something anthemic. If that’s his purpose, he’s perfected it.

Dave’s music will always be regarded as high art, and ‘The Boy Who Played The Harp’ continues his stream of providing true slice-of-life depictions of a Black British man in London. However, some elements of his cathartic raps are starting to err on the predictable side. Although the record is vivid, striking and thought-provoking – with nearly every song on this album a deep, pensive sonic sulk – the south Londoner’s voice is beginning to slip further away from a generation he intended to represent: one that’s done overthinking and just wanting to feel” – NME

Olivia Dean – The Art of Loving

Release Date: 26th September, 2025

Producers: Julian Bunetta/Olivia Dean/Matt Hales/Bastian Langebæk/Leon Michels/Zach Nahome/John Ryan/Max Wolfgang/Matt Zara

Labels: Capitol/Island

Standout Song: Man I Need

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/olivia-dean/the-art-of-loving?algolia_query_id=c0920dfc840170f05a8f213114647516&algolia_object_id=56489143927115&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=2#56489143927115

Review:

“It’s rare for music to be both deep and breezy, isn’t it? Minnie Riperton does it on “Lovin’ You” (1974) – all those casual la-la-la-las sinking into something profound. Corinne Bailey Rae did it too, with “Put Your Records On” (2006), flagging the nourishment of some much-needed downtime. Olivia Dean’s second album, The Art of Loving, manages the same feat. Her rich, intelligent voice casually blows through a range of plush soul-pop settings that shift the mood from the slow pour of the VIP lounge (all golden brass and richly upholstered string sections) to the barefoot chill of acoustic guitars at the beach bar.

In an interview with Elle over the summer, the 26-year-old Londoner – whose debut album Messy was shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize – said the record was inspired by an exhibition she visited in LA by the artist Mickalene Thomas, titled All About Love. It was an homage to the late American author/activist bell hooks’ book of the same name: “That book is like the Bible,” Dean said. ‘Love is something that can feel quite mystical. It’s this thing we all crave but aren’t properly taught how to do. Why don’t we have a module at school? So the album was just me zooming into that and looking at the last two years of my life and everything I’ve learnt until now.”

The simple yet wise thesis is that love shouldn’t be so hard if we’re honest and take the pressure off of ourselves. Dean’s appealing message about dropping the games and relaxing into kindness runs through every song on this record, from beginning to end. Over the top-down strum of the opener, single “Nice to Each Other”, she sings of stepping outside of expectations and labels (“I don’t want a boyfriend”) and simply enjoying one another’s company. The peaceful closer "I've Seen It" finds an electric guitar tracing the familiar chord progression of Pachelbel’s Canon, while Dean muses over the places she’s noticed love. She’s found it in the films and books her parents shared with her; around the table with friends; “sat right across me on the tube, seen it miss a stop or two, seen it trying not to fall apart”. Towards the chorus, she borrows the melody from “Just The Two of Us” (1980) by Bill Withers, another master of the breezy-but-deep.

Sandwiched in between, you’ll find the slinky, sax-draped “Close Up” (“I feel stupid for wearing that dress/ I guess I saw something you didn’t”) with its nod to the prowling beats of Amy Winehouse. Also, the sweet-strummed “So Easy (To Fall In Love)”, on which she promises to be the perfect blend of “Saturday night and the rest of your life”. Backing vocals are layered like chiffon as cocktail piano notes shimmy around a Bacharach and David-indebted trumpet. Dean lays down her deal for a prospective lover: “There’s no need to hide if you’re into me/ Cos I’m into you quite intimately.”

She slips out of this conversational Jill Scott mode to dial up her inner Prince on the dramatic, lighters-aloft ballad “Let Alone the One You Love”. The centrepiece is the gorgeous single “Man I Need”, with its splashy-fun keyboard riff and upward inflected chorus. At a time when the pop charts are a little saturated with women (quite understandably) calling out toxic masculinity, there’s a lovely optimism in Dean’s sunny olive branch of a track. I loved the way this record de-complicates and de-escalates romance, particularly at a time when the climate feels so combative. Dean doesn’t downplay the challenges or the risks of heartbreak. But she offers sussed-up hope with a playful generosity of spirit. Deep’n’breezy does it” – The Independent

Suede – Antidepressants

Release Date: 5th September, 2025

Producers: BMG

Label: Ed Butler

Standout Song: Dancing with the Europeans

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/suede/antidepressants?algolia_query_id=8ce74c39993a11d3fc0999418cef1563&algolia_object_id=51843680469323&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=4#51843680469323

Review:

“They could've even chosen to sideline the 2022 triumphant ‘comeback’ success of Autofiction’s punk energy and decided to settle. But instead they arrive with Antidepressants, a tenth studio album that feels less like a late-career coda and far more like a daring new beginning.

The band, for all their beautiful intimacy and orchestration, have always thrived on rawer sounding, more fractured songs that crack with a live electricity. Brett Anderson, when angry and anxious, seems to embrace the chaos in a way that feels assured and perversely safe. Antidepressants is deliberately darker, adopting a reverberating post-punk approach making “broken music for broken people,” but it’s exactly those people who will save the world.

From the thunderous opener “Disintegrate”, Suede fling themselves into the melee, with a visceral anthem that reframes fear and mortality. It’s a stark opening statement, glitching with little polish and pulsing with intent. It’s a heartbeat and the urgency isn’t accidental, they’ve honed their sound over time to communicate with fans directly through its umbilical tether. There is a real sense this time though that the cord could be cut at any moment, but not intentionally. Anderson's lyrics are laced with dread, paranoia, neurosis, and the dissonance of our disconnected age. This is a Suede album that doesn’t console us, it's deliberately confrontational – even dishing out a frustrated ‘tough love’. Kind of like saying wake up and do something, or fail. That may sound bleaker than it comes across in reality but with titles like, “Antidepressants,” “Broken Music for Broken People”, “Trance State”, “Life Is Endless, Life Is a Moment” it’s not entirely wrong. The band aren’t averse to surrender either, “come and disintegrate with me,” Anderson sings in a moment of solidarity and concession.

There’s a stark emotional gravity to the angular, icy guitar production of the title track as it interpolates Magazine’s “Shot By Both Sides”, and the sneer of The Teardrop Explodes literate pop. It’s a time machine directly into the turmoil of that post-punk era, but reflected through our contemporary mirror. Anderson’s voice is weathered, precise, and weary, perfect for this material. He has an ability to sound utterly shattered by age and experience, and then exude refined elegance on “Somewhere Between An Atom And A Star” and “Life Is Endless, Life Is a Moment”. The latter two are softer bookends to the harsher pressures in between. “Tance State” is suitably hypnotic, in that communal singalong sense. We must obey.

Throughout their career, Suede have evolved in phases, from deviant provocateurs of a Britpop-era they despised, to emotive anthem-makers, introspective dramatists, and visceral social commentators, album after album. There’s always been a defiance at play, too. Brett has said that even when they stretch out into experimental territory, it always snaps back to raw rock and that restlessness has been Suede’s secret engine.

There is something electrifying about watching a band exist so authentically in their present, not trapped in nostalgia or chasing youthful audacity. Suede’s life exists between glamour and grit, between intimacy and spectacle; now, they embrace that tension fully. Antidepressants is not about memory, it’s real life now, trembling in its own imperfection. Not necessarily healing, it’s just honest. And sometimes, that’s what we need most. As the languid chords of the final track drift away only the cold sounds of the outer atmosphere surround us. Time to contemplate. We’re adrift, weightless. After all, we're all just floating on a rock in space and we have to make the most of our time here” – The Line of Best Fit

Nia Archives - Emotional Junglist

Release Date: 17th July, 2026

Label: Island Records

Standout Song: Get Me Down (ft. Jorja Smith)

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/nia-archives/emotional-junglist?algolia_query_id=2701edc99136172ec175adfe245aa49c&algolia_object_id=57155215294795&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=1#57155215294795

Review:

“There was always a sense that Nia Archives was destined to take jungle somewhere new. Since bursting onto the scene, she's become the genre's most exciting modern ambassador, introducing breakbeats to audiences far beyond the underground without sacrificing the culture that shaped her. Emotional Junglist feels like the moment that ambition fully crystallises, pairing the frenetic energy of rave music with some of the most emotionally exposed songwriting of her career. If Silence Is Loud hinted at untapped potential, its successor delivers on every promise. Rather than leaning further into nostalgia, Archives broadens her sonic palette, weaving together jungle, indie rock, R&B, Britpop and electronic pop into a record that's remarkably cohesive despite its fearless experimentation. Collaborations with James Ford, Ethan P. Flynn, Sampha and Julia Michaels help expand her world without ever overshadowing the unmistakable identity at its centre. Conceptually, Emotional Junglist traces the full emotional arc of a relationship, from the intoxicating rush of new love to the devastation of heartbreak. Early highlights such as Danger and This Could Be... radiate excitement, wrapping fluttering guitars and restless breakbeats around lyrics filled with hope and anticipation. Archives has rarely sounded this carefree, allowing melody to breathe without losing the rhythmic urgency that's become her trademark. The album's emotional weight grows steadily heavier as it unfolds. Lovers Grief is quietly devastating, balancing gloomy indie textures against skittering drums while Archives delivers some of her most direct and affecting lyrics to date. Meanwhile, Tender, featuring Sampha, strips everything back to reveal a fragile honesty that's impossible to fake. By the time Boys In Blue arrives, its pounding percussion and snarling guitars transform personal trauma into an anthem of resilience rather than revenge. Even the guest appearances feel carefully chosen. Jorja Smith glides effortlessly through Get Me Down, their voices intertwining over shimmering basslines to create one of the album's warmest moments, while the live instrumentation throughout gives the record a scale that elevates it beyond club music without diluting its rave DNA. What makes Emotional Junglist so compelling is its refusal to choose between emotional vulnerability and dancefloor euphoria. Archives proves that jungle can carry intimate storytelling just as naturally as breakneck rhythms, expanding the genre's possibilities without abandoning its roots. Few artists manage to redefine their own sound on only a second album. Emotional Junglist does exactly that, establishing Nia Archives not simply as the future of jungle, but as one of Britain's most inventive and emotionally fearless artists” – gigshack

JADE – THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!

Release Date: 12th September, 2025

Label: RCA

Standout Song: Plastic Box

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/jade/that-s-showbiz-baby-the-encore?algolia_query_id=57338c29a72169dcb9d25906f2905167&algolia_object_id=55990664528203&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=3#55990664528203

Review:

“If it feels like this, the debut solo album from JADE - aka former Little Mixer, Gallagher mocker and national hun Jade Thirlwall - has been a long time coming, it’s because, well, it has. Announcing her as the single most exciting name in topline pop (bar, perhaps, Chappell Roan and Charli), lead single ‘Angel Of My Dreams’ first descended over a year ago, its madcap exploration of fame’s double-edged sword a show-stopping demonstration of her artistic ambition. And that was just the start: since then, the South Shields singer has kept everyone - fans and critics alike - well and truly on their toes, dropping appetite-whetting tracks that ran the gamut from pulsing, hot and heavy club numbers (‘IT girl’; ‘Midnight Cowboy’) to Lady Gaga-esque melodrama (‘FUFN’) and funk-flecked grooves (‘Fantasy’). Lyrically, too, she always seemed one step ahead: between the sex-positive, feel-good bangers were vulnerable admissions of insecurity amidst the fickle fame machine and eviscerating asides about exploitative industry types (well, one high-trousered, Dayglo-toothed exec in particular). Hers was a run of singles of such consistent quality that you couldn’t help but think - has JADE already played all the best cards in her hand?

In a word: no. The latter half of ‘THAT’S SHOWBIZ BABY!’ is a dizzying journey through genre, era, and Jekyll and Hyde dynamic shifts that more than lives up to the vitality of its previews. ‘Headache’, for example, has all the attitude of a heat-warped Pharrell 7”; ‘Natural At Disaster’, meanwhile, offsets earnest crooning with choral BVs and glitchy, video game-like effects, a Frankensteined collage of the shredded pop ballad blueprint. The album’s only slight stalls come with ‘Self Saboteur’ and ‘Lip Service’ - a pair of shimmering synth-led cuts which, while not bad by any stretch (both recall Caroline Polachek at best, The 1975 at worst) feel frustratingly safe next to the balls-to-the-wall experimentation of the rest of the record. Because, clearly, JADE thrives most when she’s throwing curveballs: namely, the gloriously ‘80s guitar pop of ‘Unconditional’ - which could sit shoulder to shoulder with Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode - and The Supremes-sampling ‘Before You Break My Heart’: an impossibly catchy instant-classic that casts her as the natural successor to Diana Ross’ girl-group-to-solo-superstar trajectory. After a career’s worth of constricting, prescriptive pop formula, she’s now finally concocted a recipe for success on her own terms - and it’s anything but vanilla” – DIY

Elmiene - sounds for someone

Release Date: 27th March, 2026

Label: Polydor Records

Standout Song: Reclusive

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/elmiene/sounds-for-someone?algolia_query_id=3f620da1759d40e187b0f3cd31ae53df&algolia_object_id=56312068211019&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=1#56312068211019

Review:

“Much has happened since Elmiene first shot to fame in 2021 as a university student covering the late great D’Angelo’s ‘Untitled (How Does It Feel)’ in his garden. Now, on his debut LP sounds for someone, influences like him, whom Elmiene wears on his sleeve, are weaved into a stunningly diverse record.

Take ‘Light By the Window’, which sounds like an extension of Lauryn Hill and D’Angelo’s ‘Nothing Even Matters’, such is Elmiene’s understanding of R&B sensibilities. Elsewhere, there are gospel influences on ‘Saviour’ and something markedly Sade-esque about the gorgeous vocals and orchestral elements of ‘Lonely People’.

The record is a showcase of both his dynamism as a vocalist – his range and control are astounding – and his adeptness at delving into various sounds. Each song is its own distinct musical journey, the final package never disjointed, each fabric and texture is stitched together by an expert curator.

There’s lyrical substance, too: Elmiene drifts from sugary love songs to themes of grief, longing and heartache. A highlight comes on ‘Cry Against the Wind’, as Elmiene wrestles with his guilt around the death of his father Jameel: “I think it’s really real that I hate you my Jameel, but I’d watch the whole world drown to see you cry again,” is a gut punch wrapped in velvet tones.

This is an extraordinarily talented young artist who proves that he can operate in any sonic lane he likes. That his next step is to find one which is his own is incredibly exciting” – Rolling Stone UK

The Coral – 388

Release Date: 21st May, 2026

Producers: Chris Taylor/The Coral

Label: Run on Records

Standout Song: Leave It in the Past

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/product/the-coral/388?algolia_query_id=0f18368442bc4c22b2dbe7694a9d4fea&algolia_object_id=57231693021515&algolia_index=shopify_prod_products&algolia_position=2#57231693021515

Review:

“In these days of indie nostalgia it’s easy to look back on the 00s as some kind of halcyon era. Truth be told, a lot of groups peddled the same stuff – military jacket clad three chord gruel, which didn’t really have a lot of substance beyond the guestlist for the Bull & Gate. Citing dub, gypsy jazz, Captain Beefheart, and lot 60s psych records as influences, The Coral stood out a mile. Not a lot of groups did that back; not a lot of groups do that now.

New album – their thirteenth – ‘388’ finds The Coral spinning the creative dials once more. Since their five-year hiatus in the 2010s the band have been on a rich run of form, with 2021 concept record ‘Coral Island’ reaching No. 2 on the charts – Simon Cowell didn’t stand a chance.

‘388’ is proof of the band’s enduring creativity and their determination to buck the norms. Informed by Jamaican rocksteady and Ethiopian jazz – in addition to their beloved psych and beat records – it shifts their palette while dialling down on their songwriting prowess.

A concise 11 tracks, opener ‘Let The Music Play’ is a joyous introduction, its ska-tinged offbeat matched to a super James Skelly vocal. ‘Ride That Train’ is wonderfully infectious, while the nimble upright bass and piano combo on ‘Leave It In The Past’ is superbly organic.

The analogue production is refreshing without seeming retro, giving the songs a natural gloss. Each part of left to breathe a little, the band operating with marked maturity. ‘You And Me (And The Beautiful Sea)’ is a whimsical festival singalong that pulls at the heartstrings, while the dancefloor-oriented ‘Shame’ offers up some old-school R&B with its snapping guitar strings.

The Liverpool band have also have a wistful, melancholic edge, something that comes to the fore on the Autumnal baroque pop number ‘Yellow Moon’ or the sultry doo wop of ‘Sad Girl’. There’s little, too – the neat ‘High Tide’ or the pirate skank that underpins ‘Spirit Catcher’.

Closing with ‘Crossing The Sands’, you’re left to marvel at both the changes and consistencies in The Coral’s musicality. The syncopated beat and reverb effect could sit on their debut, but everything is moved forward, dialled up a notch. It’s a lucky number thirteen for fans – The Coral remain a band to cherish.

8/10” – CLASH

FEATURE: Spotlight: Trim

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

  

Trim

__________

EVEN though there…

is another Rap artist called Trim, there is no one else like this queen! She has been compared to Nicki Minaj, which seems lazy. There is a slight physical resemblance, which might account for it. However, Trim is worlds apart. For a start, she is not a Donald Trump supporter, so she instantly is elevated above the once-reputable rapper! You need to see Trim as her own artist. Her story and music is very much her own and owes a debt to nobody. Having released and collaborated on some amazing singles this year, I guess there is this hankering for an E.P. or mixtape. Something fulsome from this wonderful artist. I am going to highlight some interviews with her, just so we can learn a bit more. Before getting to some interview, addressing that elephant in the room is important. Those lazy comparisons to Nicki Minaj. Trim has come out and slammed that comparison:

“Fast-rising rapper Trim is sharing her thoughts on fans calling her the new “Princess of Rap,” and she slams critics comparing her to Nicki Minaj. The 19-year-old Charleston, South Carolina rapper recently spoke with NME about her skyrocketing career.

From her breakout single “Boat,” to the remixes featuring YK Niece and BunnaB, and Pooh Shiesty, to her song “Nobody” featuring Monaleo to her viral track “Coconut Water,” Trim, born Ahlaisha Kornickey, continues to quickly climb the charts and stairs to stardom.

However, her catchy lyrics, unique look, theatrical and fast flow, and variable tone — stemming from her Gullah Geechee accent — have some people quickly comparing her to Nicki Minaj, who is known for her charismatic rap personality.

According to Trim, she has a hard time finding the similarities outside of both being female rappers. Trim told NME, “Honestly… I don’t really get it. ‘Coconut Water’ don’t sound nothing like nobody. Not even Beyoncé.”

During the interview, Trim also spoke about fans dubbing her the new “Princess of Rap.” She shrugged and said, “The fans are calling me it. When you’re around legendary people, they don’t even have to call you the ‘princess of rap’. That already stands.”

Despite her larger-than-life personality, Trim recalled being that “shy kid who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina.” Recalling her younger years, she said, “I was very to myself.” She said she was very envious of others around her who were more outgoing. She said, “Everybody around me had explosive personalities. I had to learn how to gain that.”

Despite being shy back then, she’s become grateful for the time she had to build her confidence. Before venturing into rap, Trim said she wasn’t chasing fame. She only wanted to “find her purpose” — which she ended up discovering through music”.

At only nineteen, Trim is a prodigious young rapper. Still so fresh and new, she already sounds so assured and complete. You can imagine, in a decade or so – when she will still be in her twenties -, she will be a modern legend. Someone inspiring women coming through. Let’s get to the first of two 2026 chats with this phenomenon Rap talent. Coconut Water is a single that received co-signs from, among others, Doechii. It would be amazing if they collaborated. South Carolina’s Trim spoke with Billboard, as they named her their up-and-coming Hip-Hop artist of this May. Someone already making an impact:

“From Grammy-nominated MCs like Jeezy to late ‘00s/early ‘10s icons like Lil Ru (“The Nasty Song”) and newer cats such as Dro Kenji, South Carolina has been an underrated hip-hop state for several decades now. Armed with an innately melodic Gulla Geechee accent, zany beat selection and a knack for endlessly quotable hooks, Trim is looking to be the latest South Carolina rapper to wave her state’s flag in the hip-hop mainstream.

Born Ahlaisha Kornickey, 19, Trim started rapping last year. She didn’t grow up scribbling bars in an old notebook, nor did she come up trying to memorize her favorite verses in the back seat, but she knew she needed to find her purpose. So, she started freestyling in her backyard, uploading clips to TikTok and quickly accruing a fanbase that rallied around early singles like “Maybach” and “Rocket.” Through developing her rapid-fire flow and bending her malleable accent to achieve different intonation effects, Trim found her voice — and quickly found an audience willing to listen to her.

“[I started rapping] so people could listen to me and so I could express my feelings for real,” she tells Billboard. “When you don’t have a lot of people that listen to you in real life, you might try to find your purpose by being around somebody who will listen to you.”

Last April, Trim teamed up with fellow ascendant South Carolina rapper Ashswervo for “Timbs,” the song that truly blew her up locally and helped her land a distribution deal with BuVision, the label founded by record executive Abou “Bu” Thiam and now operating in partnership with Atlantic Music Group. After closing out 2025 with a steady stream of standalone singles — including breakthrough single “Boat,” a guest appearance on Sunshine Benzi’s “Trump the Bill” and a remix of Monaleo’s “Putting Ya Dine” — Trim’s star skyrocketed at the top of the new year.

Just before Christmas, Trim tapped YKNiece and BunnaB, two Atlanta female rappers who broke out in 2025, for a remix to “Boat” that helped the song go from buzzy social media track to streaming hit. Also aided by a later Pooh Shiesty remix (one of the Memphis rapper’s few post-prison collaborations before getting back in trouble with the law), “Boat” has garnered over 33.5 million official on-demand U.S. streams in 2026, according to Luminate, good for a No. 48 debut on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

At the top of 2026, Trim scored another viral hit with the score-settling, Arctic Monkeys-nodding “Floor.” She maintained that momentum with “Guapo,” and a pair of eye-catching collaborations: “Chröme” (with Slayr) and “No Trick” (with Luh Tyler). Each of those tracks was a necessary step to “Coconut Water,” a dark horse contender for this year’s breakout summer hip-hop smash. Built around a hook that immediately lodges itself in your brain, the summery song got its live debut during Trim’s Rolling Loud set earlier this month (May 10).

Though that performance exposed some of the difficulties of balancing an explosive rise with the time and care necessary to craft a consistent stage show, Trim’s Rolling Loud debut made one thing clear: she’s hungry and coming for it all. And comparisons to more established MCs — or mean-spirited social media takedowns — aren’t getting in her way.

Below, Trim chats with Billboard about her fast-approaching Pass the Tiara EP, Zara Larsson being her biggest current performance inspiration, and why she’s claiming the Princess of Rap title with her chest.

You call yourself the “Princess of Rap.” Why do you think you deserve that title?

Well, when you’re putting in work every day, and you actually have a passion for rapping instead of letting people give you handouts and write for you — that’s why I deserve it. I don’t ask for handouts.

How would you describe your creative process? What does a typical writing or studio session look like for you?

I think of what I want to do in the moment and how I feel, and I put that in my songs. I freestyle and write. When I’m selecting beats, I listen for claps and a tropical vibe. Something with substance; something people can relate to.

Everyone from Doja Cat to Doechii to Odeal is co-signing “Coconut Water.” Did that song feel special when you recorded it?

No, it just felt like me. When you make your own songs, you know it’s you. People get songs written for them, so they know it’s automatically a hit. But when you expect [the] unexpected, that’s when you have a better outcome. All these celebrities like my songs because they come from me, and they can feel me. That’s why celebrities are not supporting people [who] don’t write their own music; they can’t relate to it, and they can’t feel it.

How did “Coconut Water” come together?

I freestyled [the first pass] because I knew what the topic was going to be, but when I wanted to make a catchier verse — since I already had my hook — I went back and wrote one part.

You’ve worked with Pooh Shiesty, Sunshine Benzi and Luh Tyler. Who are some other collaborators on your wish list?

I don’t have a wish list anymore, but I would say Michael Jackson if he [were] here. [I had one at first], but artists tend to lose their worth and value. I really don’t care to work with anybody unless they want to work with me.

Who are your hip-hop heroes?

I don’t have none. My only hero is my mom. That’s it.

She understood what I was rapping about, and she pushed me to keep rapping about things that I normally don’t do in real life. Growing up and becoming a woman, it’s things that you’re going to participate in, so she allowed me to rap about that so I can become bigger instead of judging me [based on] what I rap about. She pushed me because she knows it will be beneficial.

I didn’t want my family to be a part of my team, because the music industry is stressful, and I don’t want their life to be stressful. I’d rather just go through it myself, and they get the gold from it. I’ve done research on the music industry since I was 17, before I started rapping. I studied what goes on, and things have been exposed. Why would I want to put my family through that? And you shouldn’t mix family with business, first of all. I’d rather do it with somebody [who] already has experience and [whom] I feel comfortable with.

You played a few local shows before your Rolling Loud debut. What was that experience like?

I book my own venues, and I allow my supporters to come because you gotta gain power. If you let people book your venues, they take a percentage of what’s yours. Why not build my own show, so when I get in arenas I can rent out a damn arena; Imma be making way more money instead of people taking cuts from me. That’s why I started doing my mini shows.

You’re very business-minded. Where do you think that comes from?

From doing research and seeing what people don’t do. When you see mistakes other people make, you know not to make them yourself. And when you see things that people aren’t doing, I do it myself. Because why aren’t you doing it?

Do you have that same approach when it comes to people trying to compare you to more established artists, particularly those in the female rap arena?

Back in the day, those artists were [developed] way older. They were like 25-30 and had the experience of being a woman and being a man to have a good vocabulary. I like to have bars and a good vocabulary, but I really don’t care about those things right now because I am younger and I made it way younger than most of them. Some people are using ChatGPT, and they’re not actually writing; people be cheating and looking on the Internet for bars.

I didn’t go to college, but I did graduate high school. I didn’t graduate high school the proper way, so I don’t have these big words, but I know I can get them in the future. When people compare me to artists older than me, it don’t even make sense. I was 19 when I made it. My brain isn’t even as developed as theirs just yet. But I take it as a compliment because that means I’m on their mind.

How do you define success? What are your long-term goals?

My long-term goal is to make my own Super Bowl performance and not depend on anybody else. I want to do it myself. Some people may see it as impossible, but you have to think impossible to make it possible.

Who are some South Carolina rappers that we should know?

My crew, YTN [Young Turnt Nation], with 01Wavey and TrapStaxrC. TrapStaxrC was on my song “Bad Ho’s,” and me and Wavey are gonna have a song. That’s the only people you should look out for. That’s the male version of me, honestly.

[Before I blew up], the rap scene in South Carolina was about living the fast life and being outside. The energy reminds me of people from outside of the country, like Mexicans and Africans, because it’s so free-willed with the dancing, not caring what other people think. That’s how the people are in Charleston; it’s not like in Miami or L.A., where people care about how the world perceives them. We have more freedom, and we’re not scared to do what we want.

What excites you most about this era of hip-hop?

I honestly feel like the people [who] are so-called the big dogs should look into starting a business so they won’t get washed up. If you keep releasing music and it [comes and goes] because your heart isn’t in it, why not start your own label and invest in other artists and give them the opportunity to be under your wing? They should let other people take over now because that’s what I would do. And I wouldn’t even wait so long to do it. If I was LeBron, I wouldn’t play till I was 40, because it’s getting washed up. I would be after my prime. But sports is a different conversation.

Would you ever sign to a major label?

Not right now, no, because I want to have my own freedom, and money isn’t the biggest thing for me”.

I can’t source any of this chat from FADER – as they stupidly and unwisely do not allow copy-and-pasting -, but you can read it here. She is, in their words, someone who is “leading the charge into a collaborative new era for female rap”. I will come to an interview I can source. This is from NME. This teen is someone with a very bright future. In a genre I still feel is misogynistic and favours male artist, Trim has this amazing confidence and strength that is inspiring. NME heralded “Charleston's shyest kids to rap's fastest-rising star, the 19-year-old is building a career on fearlessness, instinct and unwavering self-belief”:

“It’s a title that would seem wildly premature for an artist yet to release a debut album. Trim, however, doesn’t seem remotely fazed by it. “The fans are calling me it,” she shrugs. “When you’re around legendary people, they don’t even have to call you the ‘princess of rap’. That already stands.”

It makes for an interesting contrast to the person behind the persona. Before millions of streams, viral one-liners and being christened as rap royalty, Trim was known as Ahlaisha Kornickey, a self-described shy kid growing up in Charleston, South Carolina. Home life, she says, followed a familiar routine of waking up, doing what needed to be done at school and heading straight back home”.

Rather than chase quick hits, she wants to make records that stay with people long after the first listen, and that resonate with her listeners. The message she wants them to take from the upcoming record? “Don’t think that just because you’re not doing what you’re supposed to do right now, that you’re a nobody. You should always feel comfortable within yourself, but always want more.”

That mindset naturally seeped into the way she began making music a year and a half ago. Trim doesn’t agonise over every lyric, preferring to freestyle and chase instinct before refining songs later. It’s an approach shaped, in part, by Young Thug, whose willingness to treat his voice as another instrument fundamentally changed how she thought about rap. Listening to him “drag” and “sing” over feverish trap beats, she naturally adopted that sound, but, rather than imitate him, Trim took permission to experiment. Across songs like ‘Nobody’ and ‘Coconut Water’, she darts between melodies, elastic flows and different vocal inflexions without ever sounding tied to one style. “I’m not afraid to try nothing new,” she says simply.

PHOTO CREDIT: nastyjpeg

Spend even a few minutes talking to Trim, and one thing becomes immediately obvious: she doesn’t think small. Ask where she sees herself in five years, and the answer arrives without hesitation. “A superstar.” There’s no laugh and no attempt to soften the statement. Yet her definition of superstardom has little to do with celebrity. “Being a superstar is showing up,” she says. “A superstar shows up for their fans with no excuses. Having no fears. Going all in.” Whether she’s releasing music, stepping onto a stage beside her influences or quietly preparing her debut album, doubt simply doesn’t seem to exist in her vocabulary.

Ask what she wants five years from now and, for the first time during our conversation, Trim stops talking about the future of her career and starts talking about herself. “I want to be the best version that Ahlaisha never got to be,” she says. “Ahlaisha was scared. Ahlaisha was shy. Ahlaisha wasn’t explosive. Ahlaisha always had the confidence to try. She just didn’t try early enough.” She laughs, before adding: “My goals are self-goals. I’m not trying to be bigger than nobody. If it happens organically… I’m sorry”.

There may be some who have not discovered Trim. She is someone very much pushing her talent and ability. Not hiding. That self-belief is amazing. Though others need to spread the word. I do wonder if Trim will perform in the U.K., as I can’t see any dates in her diary. I do hope that she comes and performs here. Amazing that this nineteen-year-old modern-day genius of Rap is sounding so remarkably assured this early. I feel she will soon be ranked alongside the best Rap artists in the world. A genre still struggling with gender equality and how women are seen, queens like Trim, Doechii and their peers are charging forward and helping to change the climate. A big reason why we all need to…

SHOW Trim love and support.

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FEATURE: Spotlight: Maya J'an

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

 

Maya J'an

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BACK in May…

Maya J’an released the E.P., blindfaith county. This Los Angeles artist is truly amazing and awe-inspiring. I am going to come to some interviews from this year. However, I do want to start with Warner Records and their press about someone that you really do need to know about. I am not sure whether she will visit the U.K. here. I hope that she does, as she is someone who would get a lot of love here:

“It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. When Maya J’an first emerged, she was quickly positioned as a frontrunner for the next R&B-pop princess. Two nationwide tours followed, along with placements on highly anticipated films and collaborations with hip-hop heavyweights. On paper, it was all perfect — the dream arc for a young singer from East L.A., seemingly destined for a career in music. And yet, none of it felt right. “It’s like, everyone loves a love song, but do they like a love song where you are sleeping on top of a pocket knife?” she jokes, describing the back-and-forth surrounding her early artist identity. “I think we don’t give people enough credit — they’re capable of listening to music that’s not just, ‘I love you.’” If tragedy leads to transformation, Maya’s evolution was forged in successive reckonings. The first arrived with the pandemic, when she severed ties with her debut label and its prescribed vision. She responded by retreating inward, working quietly behind the scenes as a songwriter for other artists. Five years later, the Los Angeles fires brought another rupture. Grappling with heartbreak, the 26-year-old wrote “cul-de-sac,” a haunting love letter to her ravaged hometown of Pasadena. The song is an emotionally precise, ethereal example of bedroom pop, premiered with an intimate TikTok performance, seated in over-the-knee socks in front of a chain-link fence. Immediately upon posting the clip began to circulate, and Maya J’an’s return to center stage became inevitable. “It’s so important for me to get out everything inside my brain,” she explains. “Music has become that for me again. I genuinely feel like a kid when I go back into the studio, which I didn’t know was ever possible to find again.” Writing came naturally to Maya from a young age. She began journaling at eight, a practice she maintains religiously to this day, and one that became the foundation of her lyricism. Her musical education was equally layered: nearly a decade behind a drum kit, fronting a family band, all while honing her molten vocals in competitive choirs. By 13, she had turned to songwriting, stitching together pop songs at the piano. “I would go home after working at this pizza place and write songs — starting with lines, words, or melodies from songs that I liked because I didn’t know how to write,” Maya laughs. “I remember walking to my job, just looking at the mountains in Santa Clarita, and thinking, I have to make [music] work.

I need to figure it out.” To her family of essential workers — her father a Los Angeles County SWAT sergeant — music felt not only nonessential, but impractical. To meet her father’s expectations for her education, Maya enrolled in a local community college — though she spent more time in the library than in class, obsessively listening to new music and tracking down its creators to share her own demos. After failing her first semester “miserably,” Maya asked her father for a year: if nothing miraculous came of her music, she would walk away. By 19, she had signed a major label deal, spending the next three years collaborating with the likes of Pharrell and touring alongside Summer Walker. “A lot of beautiful things happened [with that deal], but because I was so young when I signed, I always felt like I was kind of playing a character. I was supposed to do what I thought people wanted me to do.” One of Maya’s earliest writing sessions paired her with Aqyila, resulting in “Bloom” — a song that would go on to win multiple Juno Awards and affirm Maya’s instincts as a lyricist. That success led her here, to Maya J’an, alt-pop’s ascending sprite, who defies genre and tradition. “That session reminded me why I started this, why I even picked up my journal when I was eight, why I even sat down at the piano in my dad’s garage. It’s because we have feelings and thoughts we need to release.” Alongside the release of “cul-de-sac,” Maya J’an wants to spotlight and direct support towards Altadena Girls, the teen-led organization founded in the wake of the fires to support the neighborhood and surrounding communities. She felt the song’s release would feel incomplete without engaging the young leaders driving that work — especially as public attention shifts. It’s a collaboration, like the song itself, that signals Maya’s return to her roots: as a singer, a lyricist, and the child who learned to process trauma through the written word. Now, it finally feels like the right moment for the world to meet Maya J’an — and this time, she knows it’s ready. “We’re all human,” she emphasizes. “We’ve all experienced the same things. Now, I’m trying to infuse my identity into my work”.

The first of two interviews I am bringing in is from Good Call Music. They spoke with her around the release of the single, cul-de-sac, and how the song “traces back to Maya’s upbringing in Pasadena and the strange mix of nostalgia, grief, and tenderness that comes with seeing familiar places changed or gone”:

“Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. What’s your hometown, and where are you currently based?

I grew up between Pasadena and Santa Clarita, California. Two places that look really calm and golden from the outside, but hold a lot of complicated feelings for me growing up. I’m based in Los Angeles now, but emotionally I’m still very tethered to those suburbs. They’re kind of the heartbeat of everything I make.

Does the city you live in shape your songwriting, consciously or subconsciously?

Completely. I think LA gives me the language of dreams and ambition, but the suburbs gave me the emotional texture. The quiet, the loneliness, the waiting, the way nothing and everything happens at once. A lot of my writing lives in that in-between space.

Who first introduced you to music in a way that really stuck with you?

My family. Music was always playing in the house — gospel, R&B, reggaeton, movie soundtracks. It wasn’t treated like something background or elite. It was something you felt with your whole body and screamed with your whole chest. My mom put me in drum lessons when I was 7 or 8. I did for a few years. I started writing my own songs around that time too. They weren’t very good.

Looking ahead, when can we expect a full-length album, and how involved are you in the production side?

Sooner than people think. I’m deeply involved, not just in the songwriting, but in the sonics, emotional and visual world around it. The album feels like a place you walk into, not just a collection of songs. A lot of my favorite artists are world builders, and I can’t imagine doing this any other way.

Are there any non-music creatives you’d love to collaborate with?

I love filmmakers and visual artists who create worlds. People like Petra Collins or anyone who treats images like poetry — Paul Thomas Anderson. I’m really interested in blending music with storytelling and film, those are the first two that come to mind, but there’s so many incredible filmmakers and visual artists I’ve put on my reference board this year!

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing artists right now as we move into 2026?

Keeping humanity. Being human in a system that wants constant output. It’s hard to make meaningful work when everything moves so fast. That’s kind of the reason why I stepped away from music, because I realized that I’m making my life’s work and I didn’t feel proud of it. Being an artist or any creative is such a task. You really have to not know what else to do with your life. The greatest gift I think we can give ourselves is being imperfectly human as we tell our stories. Hopefully along the way comes great art”.

Let’s move to The Independent Creative and their interview with Maya J’an. Again, centred around cul-de-sac, “the pandemic severed ties with her debut label, prompting a pivot to songwriting. Five years and a Juno-winning co-write later, the Los Angeles fires inspired “cul-de-sac,” a haunting love letter to her ravaged hometown. Premiering on TikTok, the song’s enthusiastic reception confirmed her instincts, and made Maya’s return to center stage inevitable”:

“You describe your song “cul-de-sac” as a love letter to your hometown. What does the song mean to you personally?

That song is really emotional for me. I poured a lot of memories into it, and it was actually hard to write. I’m really excited to share my music, especially my writing style. I can get very detailed, and I usually write songs like they’re pages from a diary. “cul-de-sac” feels like my most vague song, and I think that’s because it was such a hard thing to put into words. At the beginning of last year, a family member’s house burned down in the fires. Three houses were damaged, and one was completely gone. It was a multi-generational home, so we had so many childhood memories there. It was a really strange and heavy time for my family. I’m very sentimental and nostalgic, so it paralyzed me for a while. About a month later, after I had been sitting with everything, I went into a session with my producer, Jonas Jurström. I told him what I had been going through and said I wanted to create something that felt like being inside a memory. That’s where “cul-de-sac” came from.

There’s a real vulnerability in your voice. It made me wonder, as a singer-songwriter, how does it feel to expose yourself like that?

My only goal is to show up as authentically as I can. It’s funny, when I dropped my last single, “pocket knife,” I literally lay in the fetal position on my bed because I felt so exposed. As a writer, I’m not hiding behind anything. I’m choosing to be honest and not add any frills to make it more digestible. It really is just my diary. I also try to write for myself first. There are times when I play songs for friends, family, or the label, and I catch myself digging my fingers into my legs like, oh god. But that’s how I know those songs are meant to come out. It’s because they mean so much to me. I want to look back and know I gave real pieces of myself. The artists I connect with most are the ones who feel pure and transparent in their writing. The Mitskis, the Lanas. Angel Olsen, Father John Misty. That kind of honesty.

I’d love to talk a little more about “pocket knife.” I can share what I took from it, and you can tell me if I’m completely off? When I listened to it, I felt this sense of playing with fire. It felt like a story about loving someone who embodies risk. The line about “sleeping on a pocket knife, dreaming about your life” gave me this feeling of being with someone who feels a little unsafe, but who’s also very intoxicating. You choose to fall in love.

I love hearing how you interpret it. It’s really close to how I intended it. “pocket knife” is a story about trust. Can we have love without trust, and can you have trust without love? Are they interconnected? Is it a package deal? I’ve always had trust issues. “pocket knife” is just me saying, “I love you. I see things with you, but I’m already preparing myself for you to stab me in the back. If you do that, I’m going to be prepared and stab you back.” Emotionally, of course, not physically. “pocket knife” is just a story of love and trust. You can have either one without the other. Whenever I trust someone, that’s how I know I love them. Whereas love can be a little harder to define. I could love someone and not trust them… Love is such a complex thing, but trust is explainable. It comes with its own set of rules.

Where do you see yourself in five years? You don’t need to be humble about it. It’s not that kind of interview.

I definitely see myself with a handful of Grammys. I see myself writing for myself and other friends, constantly in the studio and inspired, traveling with Ms. Yoko, my dog. And happy”.

I am going finish up with a review of blindfaith county from Ladygunn and their words on an incredible E.P. I am definitely going to follow Maya J’an closely and see where her career takes her. An artist who stays in the head and heart the minute you hear her music:

“Maya J’an finally opens the doors to her personal universe with the release of her long-awaited debut EP, “blindfaith county,” under the Soulpower Records/Warner Records label. This work is an immersive mini-opus where warm analog instrumentation and rich sonic textures complement lyrics that feel intimate and as vast as a cinematic dream.

The heart of this six-track project is the standout single “depends,” a folk-infused rock piece that showcases Maya’s most vulnerable side to date. The artist strips away external stimuli to focus on the internal psyche, exploring the uncertainty of starting each day without knowing if she will feel overwhelmed or inspired by the outside world. It is a journey through the complexity of our inner selves where, as she explains, “blindfaith county” is the place where you believe in something without knowing why, romanticizing every tick of the clock while waiting for a sign.

Although Maya has already proven her worth in the major leagues of songwriting, the arrival of this EP marks her artistic consolidation, as it is not something that emerged from nowhere. Before taking the lead, Maya collaborated with figures of the caliber of Pharrell, SAINT JHN, and Justine Skye, in addition to writing “Bloom” by Aqyila, winner of Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year at the 2025 JUNO Awards. It was precisely the fervent support of her followers after sharing a sketch of her hit “cul-de-sac” that pushed her to carve out a space of her own as a performer.

The path toward this debut has been paved by a series of critically acclaimed singles. From the nostalgia of “cul-de-sac,” an ode to her hometown, Pasadena, to the hauntingly idyllic “pocket knife,” which led outlets like Sweety High to name her a must-watch artist, and the reflective “new june,” Maya has built a solid foundation that already surpasses millions of streams.

With “blindfaith county,” Maya J’an delivers a musical project that invites us to inhabit her world. It is an aesthetic and emotional statement that balances softness and tension, stillness and release. In this way, we discover a formidable songwriter finally stepping into her own spotlight, proving that the most powerful alternative pop comes from a place of deep honesty”.

I shall wrap here. I am intrigued and amazed by Maya J’an. Having heard her E.P., I do wonder if she will release an album down the line. We would love to see her perform in the U.K., as I feel she would find a great deal of support here. It is clear that the future is very bright for…

A supreme talent.

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Follow Maya J'an

FEATURE: Spotlight: Brennan Wedl

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

 

Brennan Wedl

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IF you are new…

to the tremendous Breannan Wedl, then you really need to check out her music. This is an incredible U.S. artist who fuses Grunge and Country. A tremendous combination. Her eponymous album is released on 26th August. I am going to start with an interview from UCL Radio. A fantastic artist that I am new to, I am looking forward to her album coming out:

“Brennan Wedl is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter known for her distinct “grungetry” (that is, grunge and country) sound. They recently announced their upcoming album, Brennan Wedl, set to release August 21. Despite only recently signing to ANTI- Records for her self-titled record, Wedl is far from a music industry newbie.

Back in 2016, she co-founded the punk rock, queercore band Dazey and the Scouts, whose singular, angst-ridden album, Maggot, amassed online virality during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the group disbanding in 2018. Lesser known than The Scouts is Brennan Wedl’s solo project, where they’ve been releasing tracks under their own name since 2019.

Wedl’s solo discography strikes a markedly different chord, distinguished by country influences and their raw, twangy vocals. Still, Wedl’s punk past endures in their personal ethos as well as their music, often incorporating noisy guitar riffs, distortion, and defiant lyricism — hence the “grungetry” label. Featuring production by alternative Americana act Waxahatchee (Katie Crutchfield) alongside indie rocker Snail Mail (Lindsey Jordan) on guitar, Brennan Wedl masterfully interweaves these seemingly opposing influences.

Wedl’s unique persona embodies her multifaceted sound. Her style, sporting a bleach-blonde pixie cut and tattooed sleeves, lends to an intimidatingly cool aura, but her charismatic charm and down-to-earth approachability betray this façade. Both parts cool and authentically kind, Brennan Wedl is well-equipped to become the alt folk scene’s next indie darling.

Dylan: I think that’s also something really interesting: this rising grungetry, alt folk wave with Wednesday, Jake, Katie, Geese– a lot of artists like you, but also with so many other distinct sounds. I think it’s interesting how it’s like– I don’t want to say “co-opting,” because I feel like there’s always been a lot of anti-establishment roots in folk and country artists — it’s not just the patriotic, MAGA stereotype that a lot of people think of when they think of country music — but I do think it’s interesting that there is such a strong movement now to more alternative folk scenes, with people that are so outspoken about Palestine and being queer and all these things that seem to be “incompatible” with Southern culture or American culture. I think that’s just a really interesting sentiment, hearing you say that as well, like wanting to have that tie-in of social justice in your art.

Brennan: Totally. You said it so well, that folk music is about sending your message. Storytelling. Punk music is storytelling– It’s all storytelling, and the stories we tell are really important. I’m realizing that more and more, and I think it’s our duty as artists to really be in touch with our hearts and our communities and work together to be the ones that change things. Because we can. The government isn’t gonna save us; we save us.

Dylan: Very true. And music has always been the tool for bringing people together, as long as humans have existed, and that’s what folk music is about. It’s about tradition and community, and I think that’s really cool to like almost [go] against that stereotype of what mainstream country music has become, especially to have more alternative people — AKA not straight white cis male people — telling those stories as well, because it kind of shows like the idea of America shouldn’t be incompatible with queerness and alternative cultures and stuff. This is such a random reference that just came to mind, but I love the movie Brokeback Mountain, because it really subverts the idea of the strong masculine cowboy [with] homosexual men being associated with femininity and the opposite of masculinity– The way that that film kind of subverts those two different identities and shows that these are the same people, we’re all Americans, we’re all cowboys, you know?

Brennan: I love that.

Dylan: It also makes sense, [the] tidbits of noise rock and grunge that like bleed through your songs, even as you’ve taken this more like Americana direction. [Punk and Americana] seem so different, but [they’re] really not.

Brennan: They like merge so well. Seeing a live show with both of those components [is] so cool: full band rocking, and then solo acoustic. It’s chef’s kiss.

Dylan: And I love that both of those things can exist in the same album, much less the same person. Listening to your record, it definitely explores both of those worlds, and I think you guys did a really good job of having that through line and incorporating all those elements in a way that sounds very consistent [and] thematic.

Brennan: Thank you. We set out to find the marriage between punk and Americana, and I’m just so, so happy we found somethin’.

Dylan: I know some of the songs on this upcoming self-titled album have already been released as singles in the past, but it sounds like all of them have been re-recorded for the album. How did the overall recording process go? Did you find that any of your older songs changed significantly? And over what span of time did you write these songs?

Brennan: I think the oldest song is probably “Scorpio.” I started writing it like eight years ago, and that’s the song that I have the most versions of. There’s like four to five different studio recordings of “Scorpio.” I think [in] bringing back some of the singles, our intent was I didn’t want them to live in singles world forever; I wanted them to live in a body of work. So they aren’t super different at all, but they live in the same world as the self-titled album. I love both versions so much. And just the creative freedom to say, “F*ck it, let’s do a new version of this old song,” was something I didn’t realize I could do. Katie was like, “Have you ever thought about bringing some of these old ones back?” And I was like, “No, but I like this idea.” So their titles are now like “Scorpio (Album Version),” “Fake Cowboy (Album version).” The old ones will still live online, because I love them, and they’re absolutely a part of my artist journey. I can’t imagine taking those away, because they’ve been out for so long, but it’s just like a creative exercise to see how we can reframe these old songs to put them in this new album. It was really fun.

Dylan: That makes perfect sense, and especially for this being your self-titled album, too. I don’t think it’s at all thematically off-base to bring back old songs and be like, “This is me, over a span of years,” and seeing those changes in your solo artistry throughout the album itself.

Brennan: Totally. I think there’s a few years difference in between the recordings of “I Wanna Be Your TV” and “2 Dollar Pistol,” et cetera. So hearing the time pass through the different versions is time travel, personally”.

I am going to move to Paste and their conversation with the unique and utterly brilliant Brennan Wedl. They urged one to inquire within if you like “Sheryl Crow singing punk songs, growing up Catholic in the Midwest, transcontinental DIY heroes, and queer Geminis”:

“Nashville is Wedl’s home now, but Boston still rents a big room in her heart. “When we work together, great things are possible,” she says of her scene there. “I was shown, time and time again, that we can really influence each other and help each other when we cheer for each other and we want our friends to win.” It’s not the full picture of the Boston music community, but Wedl’s experience was always collaborative, before the Great Scott was turned into a Taco Bell Cantina. “There were a lot of band members in multiple bands. People were going to shows. People were going out. Everybody was eager to see music. It was a beautiful time for that.”

They call Nashville a ten-year town, though TikTok has probably made it more like a five-year town. “It’s been quite Saturnian down here,” Wedl laughs. “There’s a sense of collaboration here, too, where, if you want to go for it, you go to Dino’s, you get a hamburger, you sit down, and you talk about it.” A lot of people there are doing some version of what Wedl is doing, and there’s a camaraderie in that. Your coworkers at your day-jobs are musicians. “I’ve played shows with coworkers, bosses, people I’ve met at the YMCA,” she adds. “It can be very cute, very kind. It’s been good to me so far.” She was curious about everything at the beginning, trying on a bunch of hats. Wedl tried commercial country co-songwriting, which she says required her to leave her insecurities at the door and be okay with hearing “no.” Now, she finds more joy in writing songs with friends in their home studios, and a few of those songs wound up on Brennan Wedl. “I think it works best for me when I approach it through friendship rather than through a mindset of ‘we’re going to the top with this one.’”

The rollout for Brennan Wedl began in 2024, when Wedl started sharing singles like “2 Dollar Pistol,” “Fake Cowboy,” and the aforementioned “Scorpio”—none of which sound alike. That was intentional. “I try not to write the same song twice,” she says. “Maybe in the future I’ll have an album where I do the exact reverse of it, but I’m a Gemini. I love the hats. I’m not trying to jump around genres. I’m trying to have a throughline, and that is the emotion.” Those singles were a good litmus test for connecting with people and playing live. It was empowering for Wedl, even if she never stays anywhere for too long. “Kudzu” didn’t make the record, because Wedl felt like it “wasn’t part of the world I’m working in now,” but it’s always going to show up in her live sets.

Snail Mail’s Lindsey Jordan is a presence is felt on Brennan Wedl. She brings unmistakable guitar chops to “Pretty Little Fantasy” and “Tasmanian Devil.” The tone is fairly incredible on the latter. Wedl says there was very little brainstorming or direction. “She came over one afternoon, when we had maybe four more days of tracking left out of ten,” Wedl remembers. “The feeling of the album was really there. We played her a few songs, and Brad was like, ‘Do you want to play some?’ And she said, ‘I mean, yeah.’ We started with ‘Tasmanian Devil,’ and she did that lead line. It completely reframes the song in a way that speaks to the improvisational nature of her playing. She came in and did some magic.”

Jordan also helped get Wedl’s music in front of Waxahatchee’s Katie Crutchfield, texting her the song “I Wanna Be Your TV.” After “2 Dollar Pistol” dropped, Crutchfield shouted Wedl out on a Nashville radio show. A few DMs and emails later and they were hanging out at Homestate in Los Angeles. “Katie is such a timeless creative force,” Wedl beams. “To be in that orbit is endlessly inspiring.” Crutchfield was in the crowd during Wedl’s Paste set a year ago, singing and swaying along.

Wedl co-produced her new album with Crutchfield and indie super-producer Brad Cook. They brought an X-factor to the album, Wedl says: cohesion. “They were able to see my blind spots and identify things that were in the garden but weren’t getting the water they needed. They were in the garden with me, putting their gloves on and going through the dirt and helping me make a bouquet.” Wedl needed people like that, people who encouraged her to plunge deeper into her songwriting psyche. “They really saw me.” Wedl has coined her work as “grunge-try,” harnessing all her sides: punk, Americana, blues, and country. Crutchfield and Cook listened to her earlier works and wanted to marry those together. “It’s important to be very clear about what you want out of a recording,” Wedl says. “We spent a lot of time before tracking making sure we were all on the same page. We weren’t making a country album. We weren’t making a rock album. We were making something that could be all those things. I love to rock. I really do. But, sometimes, I don’t give enough credit to the quieter parts of my musicality.”

It’s one thing to say, “I want to make this album for you,” but Crutchfield and Cook also said, “We want you to play these songs on the road with us,” inviting Wedl to open for them on their recent national tour with MJ Lenderman. For a month, she workshopped her boldest work to new audiences, telling stories about the Midwest and Boston and Nashville in-between expertly sequenced confessionals. “I became fascinated by the difference between someone’s speaking voice and their singing voice,” she says. “I’ve always loved hearing artists talk. I’ve also fallen in love with Neil Young’s live albums because he’s constantly going off on tangents and making people laugh. I think storytelling adds another layer to the live show. I have a lot I want to share. You can personalize the experience. Make it one-of-one.” I ask her how monumental that gesture from Crutchfield and Cook was, and she doesn’t hesitate to call it priceless. “It’s instilled so many life lessons. One of the biggest ones is that I have this confidence in my thoughts and feelings more so than ever. It showed me that life itself can be a creative act.”

Almost seven years have passed since Wedl released Holy Water Branch. “How did you find the patience to let this record come when it was truly ready?” I ask her, thinking about our current music culture, which puts so much value in instant gratification. “That’s been the affirmation on the sticky note on my bathroom mirror for the last seven years: trust the timing,” she says, before clarifying: “I have not been patient. I think it’s been factors beyond my control, and maybe divine factors too, saying, ‘We’re going to kick this down the road a bit, or you’re going to have a mental breakdown.’ Life was happening, and I was growing and learning—gathering the intel to be prepared for this.” Wedl reveals to me that, if these opportunities had happened to her in her early twenties, she’s not sure she would have had the tools to be mentally okay with them. She’s spent this decade of her life working on self-preservation, preserving that spirit of her fifth-grade self learning to play guitar. COVID was definitely a factor, but she quickly figured out that listening to her body, her mind, and her spirit mattered more than what the industry might have expected from her.

Spirituality has always been a big part of Wedl’s life and her music. One of the first things she revealed about herself in our interview was that she was brought up Catholic, which was a major theme on Holy Water Branch especially. Now, it’s become an unbridled, unapologetic trust in her shadow—in the things that used to be sins when she was little. “I think becoming friends with the God of my own design—influenced by paganism and Catholicism—has really helped me take charge of my life. It’s helped me dream and helped me learn that the fruits are most delicious when everybody gets to eat them.” The community part of organized religion—the gathering—is now the central guiding force in her creative soul. “We’re gathering at concerts. We’re gathering in studios. We’re gathering to rehearse. Life is a big question mark, and I think together we get a lot more clarity when we talk about the harder, necessary things… when we’re able to use our talents for good, to bring the light in”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Topete

Brennan Wedl has a following here in the U.K. I think, when her new album arrives later this month, there will be more demand and fans heading her way. At the moment, she has tour dates in the U.S. heading into late-autumn. It would be great if she played here at some point. I am going to end with The Guardian and their interview. Laura Snapes asking the questions. The singer-songwriter explored “how sobriety and self-analysis powered her classic new Waxahatchee-produced album”:

“Music also helped Wedl see herself more clearly. Her album’s rockiest moment, Pretty Little Fantasy, attacks perceptions of her as “somebody’s daughter … prim and proper”. Growing up as the eldest and only girl, she says, “I wanted to be so helpful, and I think girls are taught that a lot. But then I was introduced to riot grrrl and Marina Abramović and disgraced women throughout history, and it took most of my 20s to come to the conclusion that I was still carrying the self-imposed life’s work of being delightful, and that doesn’t help anyone – actually, it really hurts me. I think ‘delightful’ is the mask I wore out of not dealing with my own shit – and so if I was a delight, no one would have to investigate further.”

On stage, Wedl cultivated being “dead serious about having fun – the ambition to live the life I want”. It filtered into the rehearsal space, then her everyday confidence. Recently, she was reminiscing on an earlier version of her solo project. “There was an upright bass player and an electric bass player because I didn’t want to hurt someone’s feelings by saying they couldn’t play,” she says, laughing. “I’m sure that sounded horrible!” That was 10 years ago now. “Being the leader of a band is a constant crash course in people-pleasing, self-assuredness and respect, and I’m so grateful that I get to learn these huge life lessons through music.”

She also credits “various 12-step programmes” with breaking these moulds. “Twenty-one has found me sober,” she sang on her last album, 2019’s Holy Water Branch. “A lot of my life boils down to: how do my daily habits make up who I am?” she says. “When I was drinking, I was really focused on the next time I was gonna do that, who was gonna be there – this mental obsession with the wrong things.” Quitting drinking didn’t erase her problems, but it made them clearer. She realised she had become someone who wasn’t writing, neglecting “this shortcut for when I couldn’t really explain what’s on my heart to others; I could explain it to my guitar and to my journal.”

Go and follow Brennan Wahl. Her eponymous album comes out on 21st August. I am new to her, though I have a feeling this is an artist who will grow and grow and play some enormous dates and major festivals. In the new U.K., perhaps she is less well-known, but her fan numbers are increasing here. Do go and follow…

THIS amazing artist.

____________

Follow Brennan Wedl

FEATURE: Spotlight: Hyd

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

 

Hyd

__________

I will end…

with a review of the extraordinary new album from Hyd. Hold onto Me Infinity is one of the most extraordinary albums of the year for a stunning talent everyone should know about. Many already know about Hyd, though I don’t think there is the same awareness in the U.K. (they have a date here in October) as there is in their native U.S. They are Hayden Frances Dunham, an American performance artist, designer, singer, songwriter and D.J.. They  grew up in Austin, Texas. There are interviews with Hyd from this year I want to come to. They were in conversation with Tourmaline for 032c. I am not including the entire thing, though there are aspects and part of the conversation that I am compelled to include:

“On the eve of the release of Hold Onto Me Infinity, Hyd was joined in conversation by activist, artist, filmmaker, and writer Tourmaline, who recently published Martha (2025), the first expansive biography on Marsha P. Johnson. Coming seven years after Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2018), the artist’s short film made in collaboration with Sasha Wortzel, the book is a continuation of Tourmaline’s two-decade research commitment to the life of the activist, performer, and cornerstone of the historic 1969 Stonewall Uprising and the subsequent founding of organizations such as the Gay Activists Alliance (GAA), the Gay Liberation Front (GLF), and the Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR). Equally an extension of the visual work she’s shown at the Whitney and Venice Biennales, and in solo and group presentations at Kunsthalle Brandhorst, MASP Sao Paulo, MUDAM Luxembourg, MASS MoCA, the Tate Modern, and Chapter New York over the years, Marsha reflects the expansive, care-based practice of its author, as it does her conversation partner, Dunham.

Tourmaline: Are there particular tracks where you feel that in this album? Or, do you think a root system extends throughout the entire album?

Hyd: Making this body of work has been this incredible scaffolding for me to move through this time. Clearing operated in the same way. I made Clearing in a calm time in my life, but whenever it touched the air, it felt like a past version of me made it for a future version of me.

Hold Onto Me Infinity holds that for me too. [It’s] the thing that has been supportive of me connecting with and celebrating what it is to have a body. And as you know Tourmaline, I have not always been like this. I feel like I have been more in an airspace, an in-between space, or not fully embodied.

PHOTO CREDIT: Bobbi Salvör Menuez

Tourmaline: Do you feel like you can pinpoint any “aha” moments—I remember the end of 2019 was a moment where I was like, oh, everything is vibrational, and it was so overwhelming—for this place that you’re in now?

Hyd: 2016 is when I first started working on this song “Makeover.” The song came through really fast. Some of the lyrics are about becoming new again, like “1-800, this ain’t working at all.” There was a moment where I needed to be reminded that anything can change at any moment, towards expansion and and towards feeling really.

Then, strangely, almost 10 years later, I found the files for this song, opened them and found these additional lyrics that I had written in 2016 with SOPHIE. They were about moving between timelines. Like, after we leave Earth, do we get to come back again? Is life in that way we knew before complete, or do we get to change forms again? And I realized that this song wasn’t about a physical makeover. It was about, on a soul level, being able to come back again. This was a real lightning moment for me where I realized that, again, we’re not held into one specific timeline. We get to be more expansive than our singular one form.

That’s when I realized that this body of work had actually already come through. I had already received it. It was done. I just had to let it go, have soft hands, and trust and surrender to the process. Those surrender moments where you don’t know but you just choose to trust—that’s when really strange, freaky things can happen. And I think all this work is a teacher where I get to be a student listening and trying to be more sensitive. It’s not like a fantasy or something like that. It’s a real thing that is happening, Earth-side and beyond.

I have a question for you now. Something that I have witnessed you do over and over again throughout our friendship is having a wild vision and bringing it into the physical. Is there a practice that you have [for this]?

Tourmaline: What I found is, if I can conjure the emotion, everything else fills in around it. And that sounds so vague, but if I can have feeling, the whole thing speeds up. That’s really my process. How about for you?

Hyd: I’m having that experience right now with the album. I have never been naturally gifted, or there are a lot of things that I had never been before that I then became by just doing them. Sometimes the fear of not doing something right or well can keep you from doing it, but the practice of being willing to see yourself in a way that you haven’t before—and the way that you know is true, that is resonant on a deep level but can’t be seen—just becomes. That is true of this body of work, where sometimes you just have to keep moving through with faith, with holding the vision when it’s not clear to other people. It’s interesting to try to consolidate it into language because it’s this thing outside of language.

Tourmaline: It’s like a gardener having faith that the seed is going to turn into a fully-formed, beautiful flower. It’s a leap of faith, the belief that just because it hasn’t happened before or we weren’t living it before doesn’t mean that we can’t usher it in right now. I was having the same thought when I got out of the shower this morning, about the difference between where I was and where I am right now. So much of that [difference] is in just doing the thing even when it’s bad, or getting that first draft done, or showing up on set.

Hyd: 100%. At some point that seed will be able to push through the ground and touch the sun. You’re bringing the water to the seed, but also rain happens—there’s a part of it that you don’t have to do, that you just trust”.

Prior to coming to a review of the extraordinary experience that is Hold onto Me Infinity, METAL spent some time with a multi-hyphenated talent who is absolutely wonderful. I hope they grow a larger fanbase here, as so many should see Hyd perform. I am not sure if they are performing in the U.K. later this year:

“Across twelve carefully balanced songs, the sound becomes a kind of sensory physics: something designed not only to be heard, but to be felt at a cellular level - as in Light Span, an emotional limbo - where vibration replaces distance and listening becomes a bodily event. It’s a record shaped by questions that hover between metaphysics and embodiment: where do people go after they leave, and what does that absence feel like: buoyant, weightless, or somehow still present in another form? These are not abstract speculations so much as felt inquiries - as in Make Me Believe - approached from inside the body and mind, where listening becomes a way of sensing what cannot be seen. It is almost like developing a conceptual system for relating to what is no longer here.

Dunham’s sense of connection - as heard in Freak - and collaboration runs through the album, where relationships persist beyond physical proximity or even presence. Watch You Cry explores the act of witnessing emotion in others. Moments shared with SOPHIE remain active within the work, sometimes difficult to return to, yet still carrying a charge, like a voice suspended in time that continues to speak. Makeover becomes a kind of contemporary archival artifact of internet and pop culture history. Hyd describes the album as a multisensory dialogue, where the boundaries between seeing, hearing, and feeling begin to dissolve.

The record unfolds as an environment in motion, alive with echoes of collaboration and shared worlds built alongside artists including Benny Long, Saint Patrick, Finn Keane, Tjörvi, Marcus Andersson, Michael Bailey-Gates, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, and many others, each contributing to an ecosystem that is as relational as it is sonic. In conversation, Dunham returns again and again to the act of listening: as attention, as contact, as a way of staying close to what cannot be held. We are then transported into a space of discovery, a psychological surface where things can be felt differently.

Their concurrent exhibition Never Is Over, on view at Company Gallery in New York until the 13th of June, stages this directly: voices held in fragile vessels, light-sensitive materials that only reveal themselves through rupture, and sonic frequencies that seem to exist at the edge of perception. Together, these works suggest a continuous loop between presence and absence, as if each form is always becoming another.

What follows is an interview, taking place just before their North American tour, that traces these connections and references from Sally Ride to The Neverending Story, from their incredible method of verifying that you are indeed a freak to the significance of chocolate chip cookie buttons; between the intimate act of listening and the possibility that nothing, once felt, ever fully leaves.

Your new album is about to be released into the world. I’ve had the chance to listen to it and was completely blown away. The first thing that stood out to me was the production: it feels like a very particular kind of sound architecture, which is quite difficult to achieve nowadays within experimental or alternative pop soundscapes. How happy are you with the final result?

It’s kind of a miracle that it’s here to me. I was really close to putting it into a vessel and burying it in the ground, but somehow we’re here now.

There’s a huge sense of depth throughout the album: not just in its layers, but in something almost ethereal. There are so many details: the delicate percussion in both Freak and Make Me Believe, the synths in Take Care of Me, the textures in Light Span. What was the process of curating the album’s sonic world like?

It started with adding a matchstick to volcanic gas, leading to an air-forward bubbling up from underlayers of the earth. The bouncing kept getting bigger until it was more bodied and brash, even. But the truth about these big drums is that inside is a pretty soft and even tender voice. I wanted the sonic palette to be big but really, on a cellular level, make people vibrate. Or want to vibrate. I guess the sound could be described as alive.

“I love thinking about where people go after they leave here. If it is actually buoyant and bright, or does it feel weightless? Expansive or something else?”

In Freak, there’s a really compelling narrative about connecting with someone, whether as friendship or something deeper. It has so many layers of meaning, and I can clearly see a queer interpretation of it, especially in the way language and labels are reclaimed or transformed. What can you tell us about this song?

Yes. First off, I love freaks. Anyone who feels like they aren’t from around here, or haven’t found a way to connect into whatever is going on earthside. This song is about that moment where you think you find someone else who is like you, but in order to be sure you might have to look to a series of clues and receive help from a past or future version of yourself.

In my case, this song takes place in Texas, in high school, with my first crush, and realising that the only way I could be close to her was through proxies like becoming the boy she was kissing in her car. Or becoming the cake she delivered to my room at 4 am with a Flannery O’Connor story baked inside. The video, made with my dear friend Kelly McCormick, features a version of me as a quantum time-travelling villain helping out a past version of me to locate secret intel. Making this video felt like a rehearsal for the rest of my life in pure joy.

The video is fantastic. Watching it and reading about your work made me think about your solo art show at Company Gallery in New York. I was wondering how parallel the development of the exhibition and the album were, and if they influenced one another creatively.

It’s pretty wild: Hold Onto Me Infinity and Never Is Over happening at the same time. I love multisensory dialogues, when you get a taste in your mouth of something you’re looking at. When sound you hear becomes a texture you can see. Both bodies of work are extensions of this research.

In Never Is Over, your solo exhibition, unassuming vessels placed throughout the gallery contain recorded voices of the departed who have some connection to you. The accompanying text explains: “These sounds can only be heard if the objects themselves are broken open, the light-sensitive contents inside are unlocked by the sun, and the voices set free.” What has the response to this piece been like so far?

I love it when people spontaneously start crying. I mean, in all circumstances, I just love it. At the opening, I hid in the dark and watched people experiencing the piece, and this kind of stuff is something I love about exhibitions. You really get to use all senses to make something new. I worked with Saint Patrick on the score and the sound of black holes, and also people's voices who I love who are no longer here.

Then, the song with the same title on the album contains this verse: “Left me in a cloud of doubt / Even though you're not here / I still see you laughing at the piano / Saying 'it's okay to cry' / In the way that it's over / Never is really over.” When I looked up the lyrics more closely, it suddenly clicked, and I realised the song is about SOPHIE. It’s incredibly beautiful. In that sense, Makeover is not just a standout moment on the album, it feels like a piece of internet and pop culture history. If I'm correct, you worked on this song with SOPHIE, and it was first heard in Washington, D.C. around 2016. Listening to it now feels like a treat for many reasons, one of them being how incredible the two of you sound together. It's not the first time we've heard your collaborations, but this one feels especially fitting within Hold Onto Me Infinity. What was it like working with her on this song?

We started Makeover at home in LA one morning. Usually she would go out for a coffee and bring me back a chocolate chip cookie button. This morning I had been in sass level ten mode (aka almost lethal levels of sass) and said to her, ‘1-800, this ain’t working, at all,’ about her days-long open suitcase on the floor, and she started laughing, and that was the catalyst for the song. This kind of stuff was a big part of how we communicated.

The lyric “Are those your clothes sprawled out across the floor?” was also the landscape of our bedroom at the time. We had been in LA for maybe a year, and there was this idea about becoming new. Like that we get to choose to be a new version of ourselves at any time. And maybe that can happen through new choices or new practices or new things aka “New car, new body, new activewear, new everything…" but really Makeover held this other note. That at any moment you could make yourself new again.

Later, the lyrics became more broad strokes: do we get to return here again to earth, or do we only get one life here, or “do we get more,” as in can we come back again to earth after we leave. This was a special fixation for me for reasons I didn’t understand at the time, but then now I understand why.

Sometime last year, I was driving to meet her brother Benny Long, who is also a brilliant producer, and the Notes app on my phone from that original session appeared. I had just locked my car and thought, oh wow. And as I scrolled down, I saw the second verse. Sometimes I have a hard time going back into these spaces SOPHIE and I made together because it holds so much for me, but getting to hear her voice in that session really carries me. Sometimes in sessions when I open them, I can hear her laughing too just after a recording or things like that. It feels like a present hidden in time for this moment right now. That, or I choose to see it that way.

You're about to tour North America and present the album live. How are rehearsals going? Given your wider artistic practice, how have you approached conceiving the live show?

The live show might be my favourite part of making music. I love being in a room together singing. Rehearsals have involved vaporised metal, flashlights and clean white socks. I hope I can pull it off. There’s this element of going so far beyond what is physically possible that I almost can't do it that really gets exciting to me.

Looking back at your debut EP in 2021, how do you feel about the work you've developed over the last few years?

It feels like a conversation I have been having for years now that is held in a sonic format. Some of it was with SOPHIE, some of it was with myself, but a lot of it is with the universe at large. For a while it was just for me, but I feel really honored to get to share it with other people. I love my collaborators so much: SOPHIE, Benny Long, Hudson Mohawk, Finn Keane, Saint Patrick, Tjörvi, Chris Lyons, Marcus Andersson, Michael Bailey-Gates, Tourmaline, Bobbi Salvör Menuez, Aaron Chan, Hedia Maron, Jeff and Cascine, Aimee Goguen, Kelly McCormick, Azsa West. Just getting to make new worlds with my friends that then we get to live in. And I get to activate, it's very profound to me. And something that with PC Music, we have done together for such a long time. It's really special to get to witness people in their practice for all of these years”.

I am finishing up with a review of Hold onto Me Infinity. Brooklyn Vegan provided their take on a phenomenal album that I would urge anyone reading this to go and listen to. I feel we will be hearing a lot more from Hyd. So many years where they will evolve as an artist and do so much good in the music world:

“Hayden Dunham and SOPHIE were close collaborators and partners, and the presence of the iconic producer, who we lost in 2021, haunts Hold Onto Me Infinity, Dunham’s second album as Hyd. SOPHIE first premiered the audacious “Makeover” at a Washington DC set in 2016, and she’s also credited as a producer on the upbeat “Make Me Believe,” along with Hudson Mohawke, who worked on much of the album. Then there’s “Never Is Over,” with its lines, “I still see you laughing at the piano / Saying, ‘it’s okay to cry,'” which seem to directly reference SOPHIE’s 2017 single and Oil of Every Pearl’s Un-Insides opening track. In addition to the loss of SOPHIE, Dunham’s brother was killed in a 2024 hit-and-run, and while these major losses leave traces all over Hold Onto Me Infinity, particularly in its lyrics, my main takeaway is how full of bangers it is. It starts with two of the most irresistible slices of art-pop I’ve heard all year and never lets up. “Angel” is all bright, ebullient synths and infectious melodies, while “Freak” revolves around its extremely quotable chorus, “that girl is a freak, yeah she’s just like me.” It’s my early choice for song of the summer; arriving on the eve of Memorial Day Weekend, this album is here just in time”.

There will be some people seeing this who have not heard of Hyd. They are such a singular talent, you do really need to follow Hyd on social media. I am quite new to their work, but I was immediately engrossed. The magnificent Hyd will stun and amaze…

FOR a very long time.

____________

Follow Hyd

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Freddie Mercury at Eighty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: A. Sawa/Mercury Songs Ltd.

 

Freddie Mercury at Eighty

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ONE of the greatest voices…

in music history left the world in 1991. The legendary Freddie Mercury died so young, yet his legacy lives on. One of the most powerful voices the world will ever hear, artists such as Alabama Shakes and Lady Gaga are inspired by him. Freddie Mercury’s eightieth birthday is on 5th September. Before getting to a mixtape of his best vocal performances with Queen, together with some solo cuts, I want to bring in some biography. His official website gives us a real insight into the life and legacy of Freddie Mercury:

“The life of Frederick Bulsara began on the East African island of Zanzibar on September 5, 1946. 25 years later in London under the name of Freddie Mercury he was fronting the now legendary rock group named Queen.

The son of Bomi and Jer Bulsara, Freddie spent the bulk of his childhood in India where he attended St. Peter’s boarding school. He began taking piano lessons at the age of seven. No one could foresee where a love of music would take him.

The Bulsara family moved to Middlesex in 1964 and from there Freddie joined up with a blues band called Wreckage while studying graphic design courses at Ealing College of Art. While singing for Wreckage, a fellow student introduced Freddie to Roger Taylor and Brian May, founder members of a band called Smile. Smile metamorphosed into Queen when Freddie joined Roger and Brian as the lead vocalist. The final member of the band, which was to stay together for the next 20 years, was bassist John Deacon, who joined the band on 1st of March 1971.

The immortal operatically styled single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was released in 1975 and proceeded to the top of the UK charts for 9 weeks. A song that was nearly never released due to its length and unusual style but which Freddie insisted would be played became the instantly recognisable hit. By this time Freddie’s unique talents were becoming clear, a voice with a remarkable range and a stage presence that gave Queen its colourful, unpredictable and flamboyant personality

Very soon Queen’s popularity extended beyond the shores of the UK as they charted and triumphed around Europe, Japan and the USA where in 1979 they topped the charts with Freddie’s song ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’.

Queen was always indisputably run as a democratic organisation. All four members are each responsible for having penned number one singles for the band. This massive writing strength combined with spectacular lights, the faultless sound, a sprinkling of theatricality and Freddie’s balletic movements made up Queen on stage and on film.

Through Freddie’s ability to project himself and the band’s music and image to the four corners of 70,000 seater venues they became known as the prime developers of stadium rock, a reputation perpetuated by their pioneering tactics in South America where in 1981 they performed to 231,000 fans in Sao Paulo, a world record at the time. They also became known as the key innovators of pop videos as their catalogue of 3-minute clips became more and more adventurous in style, size and content.

Their phenomenal success continued around the globe throughout the 80’s highlighted in 1985 by their show-stealing and unforgettable performance on stage at Live Aid.

In the mid 80’s, Freddie started concentrating on his solo career, which was to run in tandem with Queen (“the mothership”) for several albums commencing with the 1985 release of ‘Mr. Bad Guy’. Freddie’s much loved sense of self-parody reached a zenith with his cover version of The Platter’s song ‘The Great Pretender’ in 1987, the video of which recorded him descending a sweeping staircase among acres of identical cardboard cutouts of himself.

His first major collaboration outside Queen was with Dave Clark for the recording of London’s West End musical Time, in 1986. This was followed in 1987 with the realisation of one of Freddie’s long-term dreams; to record with the world revered opera diva Montserrat Caballé. The LP’s title song, ‘Barcelona’ went on to become an anthem for Señora Caballé’s home city and the theme for the Olympics in 1992.

While most publicly recognised as the front man to one of the most progressive rock bands of the 70’s, Freddie defied the stereotype. A taste for venturing into new territories – a trait that was to have a marked influence on the direction Queen would take – took Freddie to explore his interests in a wide spectrum of the arts, particularly in the areas of ballet, opera and theatre, even taking a participating role: in October1977 the sell-out audience of a charity gala at the London Coliseum organised by Royal Ballet Principal dance Wayne Eagling received the surprise of an unannounced appearance by a silver-sequinned leotard-clad Freddie performing an intricate routine choreographed for him by Eagling. In 1987 he made a one-night appearance in Dave Clarke’s Time at the Dominion Theatre, although legend has it Freddie occasionally turned up at the theatre to support friend Clarke’s musical, one night selling ice-creams in the stalls! Freddie would have loved the fact that The Dominion now plays host to the band’s phenomenally successful musical We Will Rock You which has now held the Dominion stage nearly seven years longer than Time’s two year run.

The legend is born

On November 24th, 1991, Freddie’s struggle against AIDS ended when he passed away just over 24 hours after he had publicly announced he had the disease. Musicians and fans from all over the world paid their highest respects as the passing of rock’s most innovative, flamboyant ambassador signified the end of an era at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert at Wembley Stadium on April 20, 1992 which gave birth to the Mercury Phoenix Trust, the AIDS charity set up in Freddie’s memory by the remaining members of Queen and Freddie’s Executor, Jim Beach.

Freddie Mercury, who majored in stardom while giving new meaning to the word showmanship, left a legacy of songs, which will never lose their stature as classics to live on forever. Some of the most poignant of these were immortalised on the Queen album ‘Made In Heaven’ released in November 1995. The sleeve of the album shows a view from Freddie’s Montreux home.

Despite twenty years having passed since Freddie lost his life to HIV complications, he remains in the minds of millions throughout the world as one of the greatest artists we will ever see. In September 2010 (coincidentally, around Freddie's 64th birthday) a poll carried out among rock fans saw him named the Greatest Rock Legend Of All Time, beating Elvis Presley to claim the title, and ahead of David Bowie, Jon Bon Jovi, Jimi Hendrix and Ozzy Osbourne.

September 5, 2010 saw The Mercury Phoenix Trust launch ‘Freddie For A Day’, a major annual initiative designed to celebrate Freddie’s life each year on his birthday and to support the on-going work of the Trust. The project encourages fans to dress as Freddie for a day and in doing so raise funds for MPT through sponsorship. No one could have imagined the extraordinary response which resulted, with fans from 24 countries around the world, from Argentina to Ukraine, seizing on the idea to pay their own special tribute to Freddie.

Some sent pictures strutting their stuff at home, singing into a microphone in their bedroom. Others took the plunge and spent the whole day as Freddie, including one US enthusiast who dressed herself as ‘Slightly Mad’ Freddie and then spent her day at the local mall and then at Columbus Zoo in Ohio with a penguin and a gorilla. Another took a TGV trip from France to Switzerland dressed in a harlequin leotard. The stories of extraordinary and fun days spent come in their hundreds, and as a result, Freddie For A Day is now an annual event”.

We mark Freddie Mercury’s eightieth birthday on 5th September. I hope there is celebration and commemoration. I hope too that his Queen bandmates pay tribute to him. It is amazing to think what would happen if he had lived and what he would have done in his career. I reckon he would still be performing live to this day. Even though he died almost thirty-five years ago, his brilliance lives on. There has never been anyone like…

THE God-like Freddie Mercury.

FEATURE: Stay Where You Are: A Love Letter to Lauren Laverne… Why I Have Been Affected Personally By the Broadcaster’s Recent News

FEATURE:

 

 

Stay Where You Are: A Love Letter to Lauren Laverne…

PHOTO CREDIT: Jonty Davies for Good Housekeeping

 

Why I Have Been Affected Personally By the Broadcaster’s Recent News

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THIS is going to start out…

PHOTO CREDIT: Sarah Jeynes/BBC

somewhat downbeat and negatively. It is going to turn into a salute and love letter to one of the world’s greatest broadcasters and human beings. Whilst she may not have time or opportunity to read this, I did want to write about someone who shared some recent health news that led to an outpouring of support and love. Lauren Laverne broadcasts on BBC Radio 6 Music weekday mornings, and she captains BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs. I shall come to an article that writes about something that she recently posted to her Instagram. Even though our lives and paths are vastly different, I can identify with Charli xcx. She posted earlier in the year that she was in the worst mental state of her life. Even more recently, in response to a question as to how she is feeling right now, Charli xcx said she was tired. On Friday (24th July), she has the release party for her new album, Music, Fashion, Film. The album is released in five days and it will gather a load of acclaim. Though, I can identify with her. ‘Tired’ being an understatement! Also, though I am living in the city I want to (London) and have the freedom to run my own site, I too am in the worst psychological state of my life. She is a megastar, and one of the most prolific artists in the world. I can only imagine the pressure on her and how rigorous her life is. I do worry about her and whether she will burn out or there is too much expectation! Arguably the greatest artist of our times, I do hope that she gets a chance to decompress and rest for a couple of months – though this may be naïve optimism! I am different. I have said in a previous blog piece how I have this dread of going to work…

I get the same sort of reaction that I had on a Sunday evening before going to school in the morning. The horrifying chirpiness of the Antiques Roadshow theme could well have been a Bernard Herrmann score in terms of its psychological impact! Now, I get that anxiety and huge depression. Although I can quit a job in the same way I could not quit school, being an adult – especially one living in an expensive city – has a different set of economics and challenges. If a major artist like Charli xcx is drained because of the demands of modern music and a sense of churn, my situation is a little removed from that – though not completely. I guess anyone in a job they hate has to weight up so much and cannot just quit without a parachute. For me, I recently expressed the stress of being an independent music journalist. I struggle to get traction with a lot of my features. Though I have a dedicated (yet small) audience who reads my Kate Bush features (1,420 at this stage), most of what I publish on my site is not about Kate Bush. Even though I do not have the skill and popularity of Alexis Petridis and Laura Snapes  (both of whom write for The Guardian and are considered among the most preeminent and prolific music journalists in the world), I am consistent. I am not sure how many journalists – I am guessing none? – have published at least one feature every day for over a decade. I do it, in part because of passion, but also that need to be seen and shared. And yet few artists I write about do. Aside from the odd artist who are very sweet and write me a thank you message (as Eaves Wilder did when I featured her), most of it does not get shared or liked. It is disheartening! You cannot force people to share stuff, though there is common sense and a politeness at least acknowledging someone for writing something very nice about your music. Yet, I can’t complain too much. Even if the six -or-so-thousand features have not received a tonne of interaction, I can afford to run my website solo and publish regularly. Though the fact I can never monetise it and it will never be a professional option saddens me.

Right now, as I write (on a Sunday afternoon), I am fearing getting up in the morning and going to work. It has been a bad day and I suspect the next week will be very tough. Though I have been given a shot of perspective lately. Back to the subject of this feature: the wonderful Lauren Laverne. Recent news she shared did lead to a wave of love and support on social media. The Guardian explains more:

“Lauren Laverne has announced she has been diagnosed with a blood and bone marrow disorder, less than two years after recovering from cancer.

The radio and TV presenter revealed she has smouldering myeloma, a condition characterised by an abnormal level of blood plasma cells in bone marrow, and said she made her diagnosis public out of a desire to help others. In August 2024, she announced she had been diagnosed with cancer, and received the all-clear three months later.

Laverne, 48, wrote on Instagram on Friday: “I’m quite a private person by nature, but am sharing this as one of the many things I’ve learned after going through health challenges in recent years is that talking about this stuff helps people.

“I’ve been diagnosed with something called smouldering myeloma (yes that is a weird name and no I’d never heard of it either). It’s an asymptomatic blood and bone marrow disorder that in some people can develop into blood cancer.

“Thankfully the risk of this happening in my case is pretty low.”

Laverne said she did not currently need treatment, adding the condition had “nothing to do” with her previous illness. She said: “Most people my age who have it have no idea – it tends to be cancer survivors like me who are diagnosed early, as we’re so carefully monitored.

“It is a chronic condition – no cure yet – and it does mean my immune system is a bit compromised, so I will need to take good care of myself and I will be carefully monitored with blood tests, MRIs and bone marrow biopsies (which I have recently discovered are even less fun than they sound).”

The broadcaster said she would take a “couple weeks holiday” before returning to work. Laverne, who was the lead singer of the alternative rock band Kenickie in the 90s, has been a BBC Radio 6 Music presenter since 2008 and has hosted Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs since 2018. She has also co-presented The One Show since 2023.

She wrote: “It’s been a lot, especially coming less than two years after my last diagnosis, but I know that seeing others in the public eye cope with comparable situations has helped me, so I thought I’d be upfront about it.

“I’ve had some difficult experiences in the last eight years, but I have learned more from them than some people do in a lifetime and that is helping me right now.

“I am so grateful for that.”

Laverne thanked her family, friends and colleagues along with her “wonderful” GP for detecting the condition early due to her low iron levels.

The charity Blood Cancer UK said in a statement: “There are more than 53,000 people across the UK on active monitoring for different blood cancers, including smouldering myeloma, so nobody should feel they are facing this alone.

“If Lauren’s story has prompted questions or concerns about smouldering myeloma or any type of blood cancer, we’re here for you. Our specialist nurses provide free, confidential support and information, helping people understand their diagnosis, make sense of active monitoring and find answers to any questions they may have”.

I am going to come to some interviews with Lauren Laverne, as this feature is a cross between a love letter to her importance and brilliance. But also my (somewhat long-winded) support. You can read her post of sharing the news here. Looking more relaxed and trying to respond to as many people’s message as possible, it has been a pretty shit last few weeks. After getting the cancer all-clear and now dealing with this, it has been challenging and distinctly unfair. I don’t believe that the universe throws things at people and has any impact over what happens in life – as it is too problematic and flawed if we scrutinise that idea -, but Laverne has received more than her fair share of bad vibes and crap the past few years or so. You do feel like she needs and deserves nothing but happiness going forward. I will write as to why I think that will be the case. Again, our situations are different, though my depression and dissatisfaction with the realities of being an independent music journalist is not as severe as other people’s live and issues. I have just listened to her Desert Island Discs interview with Shania Twain. Listening to Twain was another case of personal perspective. Her experiences of losing her parents in a crash and going through a divorce and health issues was sobering and remarkable. How she is this amazingly successful artist, yet she has had such a hard life. Her fortutiude, strength and resilience is inspiring! Other people have come to mind. One of her disc selections was Carpenters’ We’ve Only Just Begun. I recall when Shaun Keaveny played that song on his final BBC Radio 6 Music show on 10th September, 2021. Giving a teary send-off, I wondered what the future held and whether he would bounce back. Now, he is a staple on BBC Radio 2 (on Sounds of the 70s and The Rock Show), and he has broadcast across multiple stations. He also broadcasts on Community Garden Radio. Alongside Lauren Laverne, he is my favourite broadcaster (the two of them seriously need to co-host a radio show or do a podcast episode!). I guess things will work out in the end, even if they take time.

I did want to write about Lauren Laverne. I might write about her again in a couple of years but, given the news she has shared and what she has faced, I wanted to move to the positives and not make it a me-fest or something downbeat. I will find a way out of my struggles and depression, but I have naturally worried about Lauren Laverne. She has a loving family, close group of friends and the love of the 6 Music family behind her. I did want to cover off a couple of interviews, for anyone who may not know about her work. Or if you only know her in her past life as an artist (she was the lead of the ‘90s band, Kenickie). I want to drop in a Music Week interview from January last year:

“When Music Week encounters BBC Radio 6 Music star Lauren Laverne at the station’s HQ on a Friday morning in late May, she has just come off air, having delivered the last breakfast show of a busy week.

The night before we speak, she was in central London hosting the Ivors, taking a rare breather from the intense Glastonbury preparations that dominate her schedule at this time of year. Shortly before that, it was her own name in lights, as she triumphed in the Radio Show category at the Music Week Awards, reclaiming a trophy she won in 2019, when her breakfast show gig began.

It was a momentous victory and Laverne smiles as we start by reflecting on what it means to have won.

Congratulations on your latest Music Week Awards win! What do you think made your peers in the industry vote for you?

“Well, I still can’t quite believe it. The whole team works really, really hard to make sure that every day we are excited and we’re bringing a number of different elements together in a way that just feels easy, fun and accessible. It’s not a typical breakfast show, it’s not a conventional listen. But maybe that’s why people like it. I certainly hope so. I decided a long time ago that I just want to make programmes that feel like they’re doing something constructive in the world. That doesn’t always mean everything’s shiny and happy-clappy, it’s about hope, not optimism. It’s something positive in people’s day.”

How has the culture at 6 Music changed in your time there?

“As a station, it has always had a very positive outlook. If you think of the music that we play, that alternative space is very forward-looking and accepting. It’s a nice place to work with lovely people, and it always has been. In terms of direct cultural change, it’s always evolving, there’s always new voices coming in. There was a long, long time when I was one of the few women there and the only one on weekdays and I am glad that has evolved over time. There are wonderful people, Mary Anne Hobbs and Jamz Supernova doing such brilliant work. That’s nice because that’s your little group and you become friends and support each other. Sherelle [DJ and producer] was on my show, she was in covering for Mary Anne, she’s wonderful. There’s so much brilliant talent coming through. That’s great to see, culture-wise, but it has always been a great place to work. Then, in May, the boss [head of station Sam Moy] and a few others came up with Change The Tune [an initiative to raise awareness around the impact online abuse has on artists].”

What keeps you at 6 Music specifically?

“Well, I also love Radio 4 and The One Show. I only work with great teams and as you get older, that’s so important. I feel incredibly lucky for all of the places that I work, but 6 is my heart. It represents the kind of music fan I am. The life-long adventure of continuing to discover music and the frustration of knowing you will never get to the end of it. I mean, the ephemeral nature is what makes it special, and that is what 6 runs on, it’s all about that.”

Has doing Desert Island Discs changed your life? Or people’s perceptions of you?

“I don’t know. You don’t try and work out people’s perceptions of you, that’s their business. But I think it has, hopefully, changed me. There’s always opportunity to improve, but I think having those kinds of conversations week in, week out has made me more compassionate. It has made me a better listener and it has made me braver, I think, because it’s maybe the most high-profile thing I’ve done. I’m not a natural attention seeker, I always say radio is the place where people who like to show off in private go. So to be looking after something that is such a jewel in the crown is a big thing. But to know that we’re doing a good job, and continue to take care of something I loved so much as a listener, to take it up from Kirsty [Young, former host] who is my hero... It’s a real challenge, but it’s a joy to get there.”

Let’s move on to Glastonbury. The lack of veteran acts among the headliners has been criticised by some this year, but the ratio of women to men has improved markedly. Where do you stand on those arguments?

“It’s always going to generate conversation and that’s fine. That’s like any music event, you can’t really avoid it. With Glastonbury, you’re talking about how many acts? About 2,000? If you can’t find something that you like, among that, I think it might be you. But I think when you’ve got the biggest music and arts festival on the planet, if you’re just determined to moan about it and find fault, and you can’t find anything that you like, I think it might not be Glastonbury that is the problem. It’s all of the clichés, everybody has a different Glastonbury experience. You can go and never see a band and have an amazing Glastonbury. You can go and see music all weekend, none of which you have ever heard before in your life, and have an incredible time. It is so much more than the main headliners”.

There is a lot to take from that interview. How loved and amazing she is! I still bemoan the lack of established and legacy women booked as Glasto headliners. They have a massive gender issue and lack of credibility overlooking female headliners (was Kylie Minogue approached last year to headline?!), and only one woman over the age of forty has ever headlined Glastonbury (that was Shakespears Sister’s Marcella Detroit, who was a few days over forty when they headlined in 1992). I shall not rant again. What strikes me is how at home she is at BBC Radio 6 Music, and that she sound at her happiest and freest at the station!

Next March, BBC Radio 6 Music turns twenty-five. Lauren Laverne will be there, and I hope the station goes all-out to mark the quarter-century. I genuinely feel she will be at the station for decades more (horrifying to think the station was at threat of being cut at one point!). Whilst now might seem like an especially tough or bleak time because she cannot be on the air for a little while, you do know that she will be on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 4 for a very long time. In a couple of years, she celebrates a big birthday. I am just looking ahead then because I feel it will be a time of personal reflection and a chance for all those who listen to her to show love and wish her the best. Though that is not until 2028. The rest of this year is going to see her return to the airwaves and, I hope, things being smooth and clear! Professional commitments such as hosting the Mercury Prize (I am posting my updated predictions ahead of the shortlist being announced on 30th July. The ceremony takes place Utilita Arena in Newcastle on Thursday, 22nd October. Before I bring in the second and final interview (again, from last year), I did want to give my personal support to Lauren Laverne. How she has helped put some things in my life in perspective, but also just wishing her the best. Just to finish off with her interview with Country & Town House. I like their quick-fire interview with a national treasure:

“What’s bringing you joy at the moment?

Music, which has always been a huge part of my life. Last year I had a period of illness and for a while couldn’t listen to it – it was just too much emotionally. When I found the joy in it again I knew I was getting better. Now I’m back on 6 Music every weekday 10am–1pm and discovering new music all the time. I love it more than ever.

What’s annoying you most right now?

That the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.

Advice you’d give to your 15-year-old self?

Keep going, you’re doing great. You’re capable of more than you know. Learn to sit with your feelings.

What keeps you awake at night?

Waiting for my 17-year-old son to get home.

Best life hack you can share with us?

If you’ve got something good to say, say it. Speak up for what you love, praise people when they deserve it, give compliments. It makes other people happy and it makes your own life better.

A moment that changed everything?

Meeting my husband. We worked together on a TV show. That day it was his job to throw a bread roll at my face (don’t ask) but for budgetary reasons the roll was stale. It cut my nose and we had to film the rest of the day in profile, but it did mean I noticed him.

Where do you go to escape?

Alexandra Park. Seven acres with the most beautiful views overlooking London. Having grown up with easy access to the beach I always loved the perspective sea views give you. This is my city equivalent.

What’s the best way to put a smile on your face?

Stick on some frightful oompty-boompty.

You wouldn’t know it but…

My private joy is HGTV. Give me Jasmine Roth remediating someone’s DIY plumbing disaster and I’m a happy woman.

What does sustainability mean to you?

In my own life it’s about keeping things simple, enjoying what I already have and understanding what ‘enough’ looks like. 

PHOTO CREDIT: BBC/Ray Burmiston

How can we save the world?

By choosing to. When I interviewed the climate scientist Corinne Le Quéré for her episode of Desert Island Discs she told me that we already have the scientific innovations and means, what we lack is the will to implement them.

Your greatest failure?

I didn’t go to university. I was supposed to take up a place at Durham University to read Medieval Studies but signed a record deal instead. I still daydream about going back sometimes.

Your greatest triumph?

My children. They bring me more joy than I could ever have dared to imagine.

What does a life in balance mean to you?

Embracing imperfection, enjoying what I can, being where my feet are.

Lauren Laverne’s Quick Fire Favourites

Scent… Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady

Box Set… Mad Men

Chocolate… Green & Black’s 70%

Song… Fela Kuti, ‘Let’s Start’

Dish… My husband’s Sunday roast

Gadget… Lakeland heated airer

Restaurant… J Sheekey.

Holiday… Puglia with my best friend’s family”.

Apologies to write for so long – which may, incidentally, explain why my blog might be a little hard-going or like an assignment at times! -, but I was stunned and a little shaken by Lauren Laverne’s recent post about a health setback. Though, in a way, she has helped me and it has made me think more deeply about my own situation and plans going forward. I am excited to see her back on the air when she is well enough and, fingers crossed, having a relatively setback-free time going forward. Lots to look forward to. That BBC Radio 6 Music twenty-five next year. More awards and perhaps some exciting new professional opportunities. There is no doubt how much love there is out there, as Lauren Laverne is one of our best broadcasters. A queen that we all…

ADMIRE so much.

FEATURE: Kate Bush: Them Heavy People: The Extraordinary Characters in Her Songs: Houdini/Rosabel (Houdini)/Gurdjieff/Jesu (Them Heavy People)

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: Them Heavy People: The Extraordinary Characters in Her Songs

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Anton Corbijn

 

Houdini/Rosabel (Houdini)/Gurdjieff/Jesu (Them Heavy People)

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I am quite sad…

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

that this is the final edition of this feature. I feel I have exhausted all characters in Kate Bush songs. Though I am finishing strong! I am ending with the song that inspired the title of this series. Them Heavy People is from Kate Bush’s debut album, The Kick Inside (1978). In it, she mentions teachers and philosophers who opened her mind. Those who were rolling the ball to her. I will write more succinctly and fully about this track soon. Before that, I am featuring characters from my favourite Kate Bush song. Houdini is the penultimate track from 1982’s The Dreaming. In terms of its concept and inspiration, I do feel that Houdini and Rosabel represent sides of Kate Bush. In terms of an escape. Her casting herself perhaps as someone trapped or locked in who was taking risks and was trying to pull off this spectacle. Maybe that is me overreaching, though the final song on The Dreaming, Get Out of My House, seems autobiographical. Even though it was influenced by Stephen king’s The Shining, that idea of Bush wailing and screaming out. What you hear on the song. The paranoia and anger. I do look at Houidini and feel it is a personal revelation. Though this is a track influenced by real people. There is a bit of a chart, as the unnamed character in the song is Houdini’s wife, Bess. Rosabel (often spelled Rosabelle) was not a person; it was the name of a popular 1800s song and the secret code-word used by the famous escape artist Harry Houdini and his wife, Bess Houdini. Rosabelle, Sweet Rosabelle was a romantic ballad Bess used to sing in her vaudeville act when the couple first fell in love at Coney Island in the late 1890s. However, I am going to mention Bess when writing about this track. I will discuss Kate Bush and how she transformed and prepared for this track.

In reading the inspiration behind it, it brings to mind subjects that I want to explore first of all. The Kate Bush Encycloppedia provide us with interview archive. I wanted to drop in these words from Kate Bush, as it is very eye-opening and interesting what she says. Why she chose to write Houdini:

“The side most people know of Houdini is that of the escapologist, but he spent many years of his life exposing mediums and seances as frauds. His mother had died, and in trying to make contact through such spiritual people, he realized how much pain was being inflicted on people already in sorrow, people who would part with money just for the chance of a few words from a past loved one. I feel he must have believed in the possibility of contact after death, and perhaps in his own way, by weeding out the frauds, he hoped to find just one that could not be proven to be a fake. He and his wife made a decision that if one of them should die and try to make contact, the other would know it was truly them through a code that only the two of them knew.

His wife would often help him with his escapes. Before he was bound up and sealed away inside a tank or some dark box, she would give him a parting kiss, and as their lips met, she would pass him the key which he would later use to unlock the padlocks that chained him. After he died, Mrs. Houdini did visit many mediums, and tried to make contact for years, with no luck – until one day a medium called Mr. Ford informed her that Houdini had come through. She visited him and he told her that he had a message for her from Houdini, and he spoke the only words that meant for her the proof of her husband’s presence. She was so convinced that she released an official statement to the fact that he had made contact with her through the medium, Ford.

It is such a beautiful and strange story that I thought I had very little to do, other than tell it like it was. But in fact it proved to be the most difficult lyric of all the songs and the most emotionally demanding. I was so aware of trying to do justice to the beauty of the subject, and trying to understand what it must have been like to have been in love with such an extraordinary man, and to have been loved by him. I worked for two or three nights just to find one line that was right. There were so many alternatives, but only a few were right for the song. Gradually it grew and began to piece together, and I found myself wrapped up in the feelings of the song – almost pining for Houdini. Singing the lead vocal was a matter of conjuring up that feeling again and as the clock whirrs and the song flashes back in time to when she watched him through the glass, he’s on the other side under water, and she hangs on to his every breath. We both wait.

Kate Bush Club newsletter, October 1982”.

It goes to show that Kate Bush thinks like no other songwriter, and yet she has inspired so many. I look at songs like Houdini and I can see the impact today. I have compared Charli xcx to Kate Bush. I know that she is a big fan of Kate Bush. Songs like Houdini seem like something Charli xcx would have written in 1982. You can hear some of her more modern stuff and trace it to tracks like this. Kate Bush is someone who has a very open mind. She has said before how she believes in ghosts and I feel like she is open to the idea of reincarnation and Heaven. Not devout, she has said how her going into music was a mission from God. She believes in unknown creatures or figures like a Yeti. You feel she believes in ghost and believes in astrology. Though I cannot share many of those beliefs – especially astrology -, I do like how this open-mindedness works creatively. It opens her palette and makes her sphere much wider. Going beyond the normal and human. Discussing a medium or person who was a fraudster. I don’t think it is controversial to say mediums are fraudsters. They have and cannot communicate with the dead. They pick up cues and make vague guesses and assumptions. Though people believe them and there is this belief from some. I do wonder how Bush feels about mediums and those who feel they can communicate with spirits. The idea of seances and mediums. Being twisted and adapted and going into this song. We cannot forget Bess. Though I have not mentioned her by name, she is really the one Kate Bush is casting herself as. Passing Houdini a key with a kiss. Houdini, I imagine, played by the late Del Palmer. They were dating at the time and he is on the cover of The Dreaming. The idea of Bush passing Palmer a key with a kiss. In the song, Del Palmer can be heard saying “Rosabel Believe”. Bess or Beatrice to give her her full name, is a fascinating human. This article gives us more information:

“Beatrice or Bess Houdini was born Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner on January 23, 1876, in Brooklyn, New York. Like her famous husband, Bess came from a large German speaking immigrant family and was bitten by the showbiz bug in her teens.

Bess was working at Coney Island in a song and dance act called The Floral Sisters when she was first courted by Houdini's younger brother, Dash (aka Theo Hardeen). But it was the older Houdini brother, Harry, that she fell in love with and married on June 22, 1894.

Bess and Harry worked as The Houdinis for several years before Houdini hit it big as The Handcuff King. But he and Bess continued to occasionally perform the Metamorphosis. Bess also looked after their menagerie of pets, collected dolls, and made the costumes for Houdini's full evening show. She also said it was her duty to make sure her absent-minded husband was dressed well and had clean ears.

By all accounts, Bessie was strong-willed and very spirited. While her husband was a teetotaler, Bess enjoyed drinking and she also smoked. Following Houdini's death in 1926, Bess struggled with money, alcohol, and was the target of unethical spiritualists and journalists out to exploit her. She twice attempted suicide.

In 1930 Bess met Edward Saint who became her companion and manager (and some say secret husband). Together they moved to Hollywood where they held a Final Houdini Seance atop the roof of the Hollywood Knickerbocker Hotel. Bess also helped form the MagiGals, a group of female magicians and enthusiasts which included Gerri Larsen, the mother of Magic Castle co-founders Bill and Milt Larsen. In 1938 she appeared as herself in the film Religious Racketeers .

Bess remained a much loved and respected fixture at magic conventions until her death on February 11, 1943 aboard a train in Needles, California. She is buried in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in  Hawthorne, NY”.

I lead on to discussing Harry Houdini. Why he is someone who would have resonated with Kate Bush. Again, I see him in her. Bush feeling she needed to escape or was almost in a position where she was trying to fool the public. Though we have to talk about Bush preparing for this track and the sonic leaps from Never for Ever (1980). The final two songs on The Dreaming are the biggest examples of an artist evolving and changing. Again, I come back to someone like Charli xcx. Listen to songs on Never for Ever and Bush’s vocals. Breathing is indication of a rawness she would display on The Dreaming, though I fee The Dreaming is a more masculine and raw album. Get Out of My House is Bush at her most primal to that point. Though you can hear something almost demonic in her voice on Houdini. Going from soft and sweet to this guttural growl, she achieved this by drinking milk and easting chocolate. That gives songs this mucus. It is not wise for singer to do this. However, as a sole producer on The Dreaming, Bush was not having to listen to others. She could take her music and voice deeper. No boundaries or barriers. Less commercial than anything she has ever recorded, Houdini is truer to her vision of her being an artist rather than a Pop singer. I do feel Houdini is among her best songs. It is my favourite because of the subject matter and how phenomenal Bush sounds. Those beautiful strings written and arranged by Dave Lawson and Andrew Powell (who produced The Kick Inside and Lionheart). By the end of The Dreaming, it was clear this artist was vastly different to the one who debuted in 1978! Hounds of Love would arrive three years after The Dreaming. Though not as dark and heavy as The Dreaming, Bush’s voice and composition had this more masculine or deep quality. That would shift again for 1989’s The Sensual World. However, Houdini is this staggering example of Bush writing about something other artists would not even consider. Also, her performance on the song is among the most spectacular in music history. I read some of the lyrics as this being about Kate Bush and EMI. That relationship at the time: “He’s using code that only you and I know/This is no trick of his/This is your magic”, about the unusualness of her music and this idea of ‘fitting in’. “I’d catch the cues/Watching you/Hoping you’d do something wrong” perhaps about this idea people wanted her to fail or she was trying to perform this trick for the public. “Everybody thinks you’ll never make it/But every time/You escape: ‘Rosabel believe/Not even eternity/Can hold Houdini!’. I do sort of read between lines.

 

IN THIS PHOTO: Harry Houdini in chains, circa 1900/PHOTO CREDIT: Look and Learn/Bridgeman Images

Let’s end with the man in question. Harry Houdini was born Erik Weisz in Budapest, Hungary. When he was four years old, his family emigrated to the United States and settled in Appleton, Wisconsin. Learning about his extraordinary life and mysterious death makes him this perfect Kate Bush character. National Geographic looked at Harry Houdini’s wild life and his mysterious death in a compelling feature:

“Houdini’s talent for escape was matched only by his knack for self-promotion. The era loved a daredevil, and Houdini was the ultimate American success story. He was an early adopter of corporate sponsorships—for example, inviting beer companies to manufacture the barrels he’d escape from for cross-promotional opportunities—and used the press to plant stories, good and bad, about his act. Often, Houdini’s performances drew public derision from those who wanted to challenge him, although today it’s thought that he himself planted many of those challengers to drum up attention.

As Houdini’s fame grew, so did his bold public stunts. In 1908, he offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who could build a device that could successfully restrain him. (It appears no one ever claimed the prize.) A decade later, Houdini made an elephant disappear as he slowly turned the massive cabinet it stood in onstage at New York’s Hippodrome Theater. With the dawn of cinema, Houdini also dabbled in movies, appearing in several stunt-filled films. But he never became a screen star.

Houdini’s fame amplified his crusade against the spiritualist mediums popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. His efforts would inspire generations of magicians to speak out against frauds and con artists, including religious figures claiming to channel spirits or possess mind-reading powers.

His stunts were not without real risk, and Houdini was often injured during his routines, once even rupturing his kidney when a longshoreman tied him up too tightly. But seemingly nothing could pierce his image of impermeability. Though Houdini was never considered as masterful in the art of technical magic as some of his contemporaries, his commitment to bold, daring stunts makes many remember him as the world’s greatest magician.

Houdini’s death on Halloween of 1926 was just as mysterious as his lifetime of tricks. His death is attributed to complications from appendicitis, which likely traced to a lecture at McGill University weeks earlier, where a student had challenged Houdini’s claim that he could withstand punches and hit him forcibly in the stomach. But no autopsy was performed, and rumors of his cause of death have continued to swirl. Some even speculate that enemies in the Spiritualism movement planned his assassination.

Although he never believed the spiritualists’ claims, Houdini did promise his wife, Bess, that he’d communicate a secret code to her from the beyond if he could. For a decade, Bess attended séances hoping for a signal from him, but his voice had been silenced by the grave”.

Let’s end this series by going back to the start of Kate Bush’s career. Them Heavy People is the song that influenced this series and its title. She mentions Gurdjieff (who you can read about here) and Jesu. I will come to words from Kate Bush about the song but, in writing about Them Heavy People, it takes me to her brief time in Japan. I also want to look back to 1978 and how unique she was. How the press perceived her. Also, why we should listen more to Bush’s earlier albums. Let’s start out with some background and explanation from Bush about this track. That takes me again to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia:

“The idea for ‘Heavy People’ came when I was just sitting one day in my parents’ house. I heard the phrase “Rolling the ball” in my head, and I thought that it would be a good way to start a song, so I ran in to the piano and played it and got the chords down. I then worked on it from there. It has lots of different people and ideas and things like that in it, and they came to me amazingly easily – it was a bit like ‘Oh England’, because in a way so much of it was what was happening at home at the time. My brother and my father were very much involved in talking about Gurdjieff and whirling Dervishes, and I was really getting into it, too. It was just like plucking out a bit of that and putting it into something that rhymed. And it happened so easily – in a way, too easily. I say that because normally it’s difficult to get it all to happen at once, but sometimes it does, and that can seem sort of wrong. Usually you have to work hard for things to happen, but it seems that the better you get at them the more likely you are to do something that is good without any effort. And because of that it’s always a surprise when something comes easily. I thought it was important not to be narrow-minded just because we talked about Gurdjieff. I knew that I didn’t mean his system was the only way, and that was why it was important to include whirling Dervishes and Jesus, because they are strong, too. Anyway, in the long run, although somebody might be into all of them, it’s really you that does it – they’re just the vehicle to get you there.
I always felt that ‘Heavy People’ should be a single, but I just had a feeling that it shouldn’t be a second single, although a lot of people wanted that. Maybe that’s why I had the feeling – because it was to happen a little later, and in fact I never really liked the album version much because it should be quite loose, you know: it’s a very human song. And I think, in fact, every time I do it, it gets even looser. I’ve danced and sung that song so many times now, but it’s still like a hymn to me when I sing it. I do sometimes get bored with the actual words I’m singing, but the meaning I put into them is still a comfort. It’s like a prayer, and it reminds me of direction. And it can’t help but help me when I’m singing those words. Subconsciously they must go in.

Kate Bush Club newsletter number 3, November 1979”.

It is a shame that Kate Bush did not like the studio version. I love it. Though the live performances during The Tour of Life – her one and only tour, it took place in 1979 and saw her perform in the U.K. and Europe – bring new life and layers out. A looser and perhaps livelier and interesting version. Songs like this were parodied. People think Kate Bush was this airy-headed singer waffling on about philosophy and niche things. Being arty and weird for the sake of it. Though this bravery to be true and uninhibited can be heard through her career. The Kick Inside was recorded and released when she was so young (she was nineteen when it came out on 17th February, 1978). Rather than write about love in a very commercial and ordinary way, this was an artist writing about so0 many interesting things. I do love Them Heavy People. Her fascination with Gurdjieff, Jesu and other teachers. Her brother John was a reader and poet and no doubt would have exposed his sister to these people. The end of this feature looks to Kate Bush now and me writing why we need to value more her earliest work. Even if Kate Bush herself perhaps feels it is not her best. I do want to include the invaluable Dreams of Orgonon – who have been so useful and present in these features and I offer huge thanks! -, and what they say about Them Heavy People:

“There is a cosmic law which says that every satisfaction must be paid for with a dissatisfaction.”
— G. I. Gurdjieff.

The philosopher-mystic G. I. Gurdjieff’s spiritual path The Fourth Way presents a response to three ways of enlightenment: disciplining the body, emotions, or mind (these are the paths of the fakir, the monk, and yogi, but this isn’t a theology blog). Rather than focusing on becoming one’s true self through just one of these channels, Gurdjieff taught a Fourth Way which prioritized all of them at once. This was a way for people to learn their true selves by engaging with this path in daily working life without undertaking John the Baptistian asceticism. Gurdjieff’s doctrine caught on with such figures as P. L. Travers, Robert Anton Wilson, Peter Brook, and became influential in its disparate, scattered way.

The reference to Gurdjieff in “Them Heavy People” is notable for how it tips an already offbeat song into esoterica. Like much of The Kick Inside, the song is Bush paying her debts to influences and teachers. A number of musicians of the time had spiritual gurus: Pete Townshend never stopped writing songs about Meher Baba, Dave Davies followed yoga teachings, and the Beatles famously lavished Maharishi Mahesh Yogi with attention for a period. Bush touches on this fad not by leaning exclusively on Gurdjieff but by discussing the wonders of influence and being taught.

Bush begins the song with a single phrase, “rolling the ball,” which she calls back and forth across the song’s intro like (fittingly) a ball. She proceeds to speak of having existed in a state of social and mental inertia (“I was hiding in a room in my mind,” “I’d shut the people out of my life”) until some instructive magi hoisted her out of her ennui. Bush is vague on the extent of her isolation, focusing more on how cool it is to be influenced by wise people (the “heavy people” of her title), “wonderful teachers ready to teach me.” The people helping her bring her out of her plight matter more than the spot she found herself in.

So what exactly did the heavy people do to Bush? Their treatments range from the scriptural (“they read me Gurdjieff and Jesu”) to the ascetic (“they build up my body/break me emotionally/it’s nearly killing me/but what a lovely feeling”) to ritual (“I love the whirling of the dervishes”). Bush conjures up a series of esoteric images, ideas keeping her alive mentally and physically as well as spiritually. She’s stepping forward from where she began the song, her eyes tracking a pendulum-like ball, or perhaps getting something started. Gurdjieff’s teachings are compatible with Bush’s aesthetic here: they unify the body with the mind, keeping both alive and in a constant dialogue with each other”.

Them Heavy People was released as a single in Japan and retitled Roiling the Ball. It was featured in a Seiko watch advert Bush appeared in. Dreams of Orgonon have also written about that trip of June 1978. It was a weird thing. Rolling the Ball peaked at number three on the Japanese Oricon Singles Chart. She was successful there for a brief period, though it was not a long-term relationship. Something about her music that resonated with people there. A philosophical or spiritual quality that connected with a more peaceful and curious nation compared to, say, America. Bush seen as too odd or uncommercial in the U.S. Even in this country, she was subjected to misogyny and ridicule. People feeling a track like Them Heavy People was ridiculous. The song expresses an insistent desire to learn as much as possible, while she is still young. That is a plaudit-worthy thing. Though, in 1978, New Wave and Punk were more popular, and artists were writing about politics and an anger and unrest. Pop artist discussing love and traditional subjects. Kate Bush offering something deeper and more interesting. When artists do this, they are open to scrutiny and criticism. Though I feel Kate Bush’s intelligence and bravery should be rewarded. What could have been a one-dimensional song about curiosity and discovering the teachings of people like Gurdjieff and Jesu has this depth and nuance. Again, people are connecting with Bush’s earlier work. So much attention given to Hounds of Love (1985) and that period. Though listen to songs like Them Heavy People. Pop artists of today I feel are taking elements, if not of that song directly, The Kick Inside as a whole. Kate Bush was not keen on her first few albums. Maybe writing them off at a point and feeling they were not her vision and instead something she was part of but not in control of, we need to reappraise. In terms of their power and influence. It is unfair to call them good or promising but not as worthy as later albums. Songs like Them Heavy People are as important and potent as anything she has released.

I want to end with an interview that highlights a few things. First, that she was subjected to creepy journalists who were more invested in her beauty than anything. Also, just how compelling and charming she is. The below interview was published in February 1978, the month The Kick Inside was released. Even though you hear about her sexiness and beauty – the lure and sleaze of ale journalists started very early! -, Bush’s answers and sheer joy is a reason why we need to spend more time with her early work. Dig out these interviews and learn more about this teenage artist who soon would conquer the world. I will wrap up with Kate Bush now. Though, this Evening News interview ("Sexy Kate Sings Like An Angel") is illuminating:

“Kate Bush was a wistful, wide-eyed 14 year-old schoolgirl when she first realised she was destined to become a star.

By the time she was 16, EMI Records had released it too and they advanced her L3,000 to live on while she developed her prodigious song-writing and singing talents.

Now, at 19, her first record - a plaintive, tormented song, "Wuthering Heights" - has just been released.

The record has jumped into the top twenty and I'll be astonished if it doesn't make No. 1 by the middle of next month.

Yet the song is merely the tip of a whole iceberg of talent.

And, having listened to Kate's album, The Kick Inside, and been charmed by her company I'm convinced she is the most important girl singer to have emerged in Britain for at least ten years.

SEXUAL

She's beautiful too and very sexy - al huge brown eyes and long, tangled auburn hair.

"But I'm not going to fall into the trap of doing the whole female thing, being a sex object," she says.

"I think a lot of woman are conditioned to want to look like that when they are young.

"But it's so dangerous to come on all sexual because straightaway you are label as a woman instead of an artist."

"I'm very interested, though, in people's emotions and their relationships. I'm intrigued by the way women use their power over men.

"They can use their bodies and they can use the obviously sexual way to get through but I just think that's wrong.

"That's relying on something that is fading and something that is purely material anyway - it's not really anything."

Kate's fascination with relationships prompted her to write "Wuthering Heights".

It is a strange, almost mystical song which is based around the part of the novel by Emily Bronte where Cathy wants to take Heathcliffe's soul so they can be together in the spiritual world.

"I developed a kind of fascination with Cathy after I saw the last 10 minutes of the television series where she was at the window and cutting herself with the glass. It always stuck in my brain.

"It was probably a lot to do with the fact that her name was Cathy - and I was always called that as a child.

"My feeling about it was so strong that it kept coming back to me again and again.

"Then I read the book and discovered that Emily Bronte had her birthday on the same day as me, July 30, and I really, really wanted to write a song about it all."

She is the daughter of a general practitioner and was brought up in a middle-class home at Plumbstead, in Kent.

"I have two older brothers and they were both very keen on musical instruments so I just grew up with music all around me," she says.

"When I was about 11 I just started poking around at the piano and started making up little songs.

"It was just an easy way to release all the energy I felt inside me. I never played Beatle songs or anything like. I was always just exploring the instrument.

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

"Then, when I was 14, I started taking it seriously and i began to treat the words to the songs as poetry. I'd always been keen on poetry at school and it was lovely to put the poems together with the music."

Her brothers were astute enough to realise that here's was a quite exceptional talent - but no record companies were interested when they were offered tapes of little Kate singing and playing the piano.

Eventually, via a friend of a friend, Dave Gilmour, Pink Floyd's millionaire guitarist, came to hear about this strange little girl who sang like an angel.

"I was really nervous about meeting Dave but he was so nice and kind," she says.

"He told me to go into a studio to make a finished demo tape and then to select the three best songs and to offer them to a record company.

"Dave took me into AIR London studios and put up the money for everything. It must have cost a fortune but he didn't want to get anything out of it.

"He's done the same sort of things with a couple of bands. He just discovers them and tries to help them. Since then he's always kept in touch and made sure everything is going OK."

EMI jumped at the chance of signing Kate up when they heard the tape.

"But," she says, "I was only just 16 and then and - though everyone had been telling me for a couple of years I was going to be a star I wasn't really capable of handling it. I needed time."

GIGGLES

So, spared from the drudgery of having to work by EMI's generous advance, Kate first studied mime under Lindsay Kemp - David Bowie's old tutor, then moved on to work at the Dance Centre, in Covent Garden.

"I couldn't believe how hopeless I was," she giggles.

"I went on thinking: 'Oh well I'll have this off in a week.' But after a year I realised that I didn't know anything - ten years and I might just be starting to get good. It really is so very difficult."

During this period she moved from her parents' home to a flat in a house owned by her father in Lewisham.

"It was good for me to be independent," she says.

"I didn't leave home because we were having home troubles. I did it because I wanted to maybe grow up a bit, to find out about the world - to be myself and not have the influence of my parents all the time.

"In fact my father owning the flat is a great situation because both my brothers have flats below me and they are always there when I need them."

She composes now on a honky-tonk piano she bought from a second-hand show in Woolwich.

"I feel as though I've built up a real relationship with the piano," she says. "It's almost like a person. Like, it's really comforting just to sit down and play it.

"And the piano almost dictates what my songs will be about.

"If I haven't got a particular idea I just sit down and play chords and then the chords almost dictate what the song should be about because they have their own moods”.

I am finishing off here, as I feel I have said everything I need to. I wonder what Kate Bush things of her earliest work and songs like Them Heavy People. I feel they are being discovered by a new generation. I have heard artists like Billie Eilish herald her earlier, ‘weirder’ music. It is as powerful and important now more than ever. I feel her songwriting is a big reason why. The characters she puts in her music was a reason I started this series. Ending with ‘them heavy people’ who hit her “in the soft spot”. This incredible young artist exploring beyond the ordinary and personal. Songs like Them Heavy People show she was a genius from the start. Why this work needs more exposure and discussion. Even though she has fans today and so many artists cite her as an influence, it is clear that there is...

NOBODY quite like her.

FEATURE: A New Dawn Beckoning: The Dream and Fantasy of a New Kate Bush Album

FEATURE:

 

 

A New Dawn Beckoning

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton

 

The Dream and Fantasy of a New Kate Bush Album

__________

THIS is the longest period…

since Kate Bush has released an album. I do not think that we will get an announcement this year, as I could imagine she would announce a new album in the spring or the start of summer for an autumn release. That said, you can never predict Kate Bush! I am writing this on 19th July, though it will not be shared until August, so I am aware that things could change between now and then! I do have this recurring fantasy that I know can be a reality, as Kate Bush does not know who I am and any news of a new album would come directly from her. Bush is different to other artists. Most major musicians would put out some teaser clips or they would do these various stages. With Kate Bush, there will be an announcement on her website with a release date and the first single news. That would be it. She is not going to change her dynamic and plan because of what other artists Are doing. That is a major reason to love Kate Bush. Even contemporaries who have been around as long or longer sort of conform or at least slot in to what is going on around them. Madonna and Paul McCartney spring to mind. Their release schedule and plan is very similar to younger artists. In terms of how they post videos and there is this whole cycle. It is understandable, though both could afford to be a bit more like Kate Bush. Not giving any notice and being quite old-school. I grew up pre-social media when artists would announce an album and you’d discover it through music news or the music press. There would not be this drip-feed approach. It would massive that Kate Bush released Director’s Cut six years after Aerial. That was a big period between releases, but not the longest she has left. Aerial comes to mind when thinking about Kate Bush now.

In 1993, Bush released The Red Shoes. After that came out, it is clear that she needed a period of change and stability. Her mother died in 1992 and, although she found a new love in the form of Dan McIntosh (who she is married to and has a son with, Bertie), she had experienced heartache and loss. Her work was perhaps not up to her gold standard. A sense of personal disappointment coming in. Many people felt Kate Bush was past her best and this was it. In the 1990s, so many female artists influenced by her were getting attention. The likes of Fiona Apple and Tori Amos. Seemingly fresher and more appealing, this iconic artist lost some favour and momentum. I don’t know if I was too aware of Kate Bush’s imbalance and life in the 1990s as other music was in my mind. It was a time of Britpop – or just before – and other scenes coming in. It was a big surprise when Aerial arrived in 2005. A double album, it is considered one of her masterpieces. The fact that there has been a twelve-year wait made the arrival of this album extra special and unexpected. I do think that it was a crucial moment. Now, in 2005, Bush had a young son (Bertie was born in 1998) and she was married to Dan McIntosh. Not in London, life was more stable and happier. You can see that in Aerial. One could forgive Kate Bush for waiting as long to follow up such a big album. However, 2011 is a year when she released two studio albums. Director’s Cut combined songs from The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993). Songs reworked and re-recorded. Kate Bush maybe not completely happy with the production on these albums. Even if it was not what fans were expecting, this retrospection was new. The first big example of Bush looking back and reworking and reassessing her music. She has reissued albums and been retrospective since, through it was quite new in 2011. 1986’s The Whole Story, her greatest hits album, the first case of retrospection.

It is interesting listening to promotional interviews around Director’s Cut. What compelled her to make the album and why she wanted to revisit those two particular albums. In November 2011, Kate Bush released 50 Words for Snow. It was such a departure from Director’s Cut. Bush wanted to revisit and correct on Director’s Cut to make space for this new album. She released two albums in 1978 – her debut, The Kick Inside, and Lionheart -, but this was a unique set of circumstances. This was in her power and in her control. A massive task to undertake, fans got this double treat in 2011. By the end of that year, Bush had technically released four albums in six years. That is not a bad average! Kate Bush has not been idle since then. In fact, I feel she has been engaging with fans and the media quite a bit. Her 2014 Before the Dawn residency was another big undertaking. She has reissued her studio albums and there has been the whole Stranger Things explosion. That was in 2022 when Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) came out. Bush directed the video for Little Shrew (Snowflake). That single was designed to raise money for War Child UK. Snowflake appeared on 50 Words for Snow. The Little Shrew character provided this representation of someone caught up ion conflict. Maybe in Ukraine. It was a wonderful project that is still raising funding for War Child UK. There has been a lot happening since 2011. However, 21st November marks fifteen years since the release of 50 Words for Snow. Going back to what I was saying about that dream announcement, I do feel it is so unlikely anyone bar Kate Bush would deliver new album news. Though I love the idea of going on a station like BBC Radio 6 Music and getting to announcement the album and the first single. Whatever happens in regards a new album, it is going to be the biggest wave of joy and excitement we will see for years. That may seem like an overstatement, but think about the gap between albums and how many new fans Kate Bush has. Upcoming artists and major acts who have talked about her work. Including Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo. Her music has spread to new generations and there is going to be a very big wave of affection and delight. Even though 2005’s Aerial was met with this anticipation, I do feel that there is even more anticipation now.

I think back to 2005 and learning news of a new Kate Bush album. It sort of came out of nowhere, but when you hear interviews and she talked about her son and new family life, you can appreciate why there was this twelve-year gap. Now, with there not being that responsibility, I am not sure why there has been such a wait. Though we need to give Kate Bush time and she will put an album out when she feels fit. I would say it is likely to happen next year, yet it could be this year or 2028. As I say, you can never predict Kate Bush! No fan like me is going to get that chance to announce her new album. Only Kate Bush will do that. Not knowing exactly when is a mixed blessing. I love how she is not conforming to social media and modern promotion. Things other artists have to get momentum and traction. The sheer fact it has been nearly fifteen years since she released an album in itself will do most of the work. The sheer earthquake and the ripples it will cause. People sharing the news which will get people buying in droves. We do not know what form an album will take and whether it will be similar to Aerial or 50 Words for Snow or nod back to earlier albums. Given that I have heard some younger artists like Billie Eilish say they like earlier ‘weirder’ Kate Bush does make me wonder if she will change course and there will be this revelation. Bush turned sixty-eight on 30th July, so she is not completely going to go back to those earlier days. We are in a moment when Kate Bush’s influence is everywhere. So many artists can be traced to her. I have written about it extensively. Even if modern icons like Charli xcx are major Kate Bush fans, I doubt Bush will deliver her version of BRAT or follow Madonna back onto the dancefloor. What you will get is something uniquely Kate Bush! It will be magnificent and phenomenal. I could be wrong with my prediction, though I feel a 2027 release is not out of the question. Fifty years since she recorded her debut album, The Kick Inside, a new Kate Bush album would be timely and wonderful. Who knows what the next few months hold in that respect. That unpredictability is one of many reasons why we love Kate Bush. Her Christmas message will be out in December. If there is no new music before then, will she hint at a possible release next year?! When it comes to this music queen, who really knows…

WHAT we will get?!

FEATURE: Back on the Tracks… Why a New Campaign from National Rail Should Encourage More People to Listen to Albums

FEATURE:

 

 

Back on the Tracks…

PHOTO CREDIT: Fatih Güney/Pexels

 

Why a New Campaign from National Rail Should Encourage More People to Listen to Albums

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THERE have been so many…

PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Norris/Pexels

fantastic albums released this year. Which has been the best so far? I would say Olivia Rodrigo’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. Perhaps it is not indicative of the wider world, though a new National Rail campaign reacts to some shocking statics regarding how many people have listened to a full album this year. I think that streaming dominates and people are hand-picking tracks rather than listening to albums in full. This NME article highlights a shocking reality regarding the percentage of adults who have actually listened to an album in the pas year:

“National Rail’s Track Reset campaign, which aims to encourage listeners to seek music outside of their comfort zones, shared the results of a survey of 2,000 UK adults which painted a stark picture of the popularity of the album format in an era where streaming dominates.

41 per cent of those surveyed had not listened to a full album (from beginning to end) in the last year, with eight per cent admitting they had never done so. Repetition was also a common factor, with those surveyed listening to their favourite track an average of 343 times a year. Reasons given for going back to the same songs include nostalgia (50 per cent), comfort (50 per cent), and simply “I like what I like” (65 per cent).

To encourage exploration in listeners, National Rail partnered with DJ Adriano Desire and music psychologist Dr Ruth Herbert to create Track Reset, a three minute track designed to “clear the palette” and make the listener more receptive to musical discovery.

National Album Day was launched in 2018 to celebrate “the album as an art form”, with artists chosen as Album Champions each year. The 2026 event will be held on October 17, and in May announced PinkPantheress among the latest Album Champions.

“Music is experienced in ways that are unique to every listener,” the artist said in a statement. “I love revisiting albums that I discovered at different times in my life, while always keeping an ear out for new sounds. This year, I encourage everyone to do the same for National Album Day”.

That is quite a lot to take in. Maybe there is still a generational divide. People who grew up listening to physical albums still do, whilst younger listeners perhaps not listening to albums the whole way through. Neary ten per cent of adults have not listened to an album in full ever! That is quite hard to take in. I would suspect that it is younger adults who have never listened to an album. A sad side-effect of a streaming age. How we have access to so much music, though many just want to hear particular tracks. I have listened to full albums, yet I don’t feel I have listened to as many as I should have. Though it is part of what I do, so I know this is not the case with most people. That idea of provided a three-minute track to reset the listener. I do think that we get caught in a loop and pattern. What we like is what we go for, and the idea of hearing an entire album may seem too much. Kerrang! published a feature as to why listening to albums in full is good for our health:

“Could you imagine a world where catch-ups with friends lasted no longer than 10 minutes? Or what it’d be like to go to the cinema and have the film constantly fast-forwarded to the biggest moments of action? Alarmingly, our relationship with music is becoming like this.

We’re skipping tracks and speeding up songs, trialling them by their first chorus only and then moving on. Even those of us who live and breathe music are impacted by the competitive nature of social media and the culture of quickness that is diminishing our ability to savour art like a rich slab of chocolate or a good shag.

But it’s not you or your mind that is at fault – it’s the society we live in. We were once simple creatures who hunted, gathered and purely survived. Now we pay taxes, work 40-hour weeks and are attached to phones filled with people we haven’t spoken to since sprouting our first leg hair, who are now turning themselves into AI caricatures.

Dr. Julia Jones, a neuroscientist known as Dr. Rock, has dedicated 35 years to championing the benefits of having more music in our lives. She also plays lead guitar in a band called Pretty Crap, and was shown just how powerful music can be in the early ’90s, when she studied the U.S. Navy SEALs as they used music to increase physical endurance, reduce anxiety and boost motivation.

“From an evolutionary point of view, it was normal and beneficial to have a brain that was distracted by things, because that’s how we stayed alive,” she explains while proudly sporting a Pretty Crap band tee. “You needed to be able to see if something was moving [nearby], because it could have been something coming to harm you.

“Fast-forward to the modern era, we introduced an education system that punishes you for having that kind of response. We have to narrow our focus in quite an unnatural way… With the amount of digital usage that we’ve got, the amount of distractions, it’s not surprising we find it difficult to relax.”

Among lots of brilliant work about the benefits of music, Dr. Rock was involved in a 2019 study about the positive impact of albums. Within the report, she shared how listening to albums at night can be one of the most beneficial ways to not only absorb the music, but allow it to slow us down.

“When you’re in a safe environment, [like] your bedroom, your brain associates it with safety and sleep,” she says. “It’s dark so you haven’t got the input channel of the eyes distracting you. It’s only your thoughts that are remaining at that point, so there’s less competition for the music.”

If you struggle to focus on music alone, then listening while doing a simple task can make for a great starting point. Dr. Rock suggests listening while driving a familiar route as an example. Some may refer to this as being in a flow state or on ‘autopilot’.

“That is the genius aspect of the brain called neuroplasticity; it changes and evolves and there’s a process called long-term potentiation, which is how we form habits,” she says. “As you repeat a thing over and over, the prefrontal cortex has to be less involved because all of the brain cells that were involved in that action have been connected together to such an extent that it then can just run on its own.”

Another expert who believes in the healing power of albums is Professor Abigail Gardner of the University of Gloucestershire. Some have already dismissed the idea of ‘going analogue’ and disconnecting from the online world as a passing trend, but we need to make a shift, and Professor Gardner thinks physical media could be the key.

Not everyone can afford to buy CDs or vinyl, but if possible, they can not only help our connection to music grow much deeper, but the format can combat the unbearable onslaught of distractions we face when listening digitally.

“If you’ve got a hard copy album, you are witness to the band’s broader life: the visuals, the lyrics, who’s been involved,” she begins. “You can see the life of the album a bit more. If you’re playing vinyl, the technology dictates how you listen to it, because you can switch the needle through, but it’s not particularly easy.”

You might be under the impression it’s purely younger people who’ve grown up with TikTok who struggle to take in longer forms of music, but actually, we are all affected by the platforms we use to consume it.

“It’s what we call technological determinism or platform determinism,” Professor Gardner explains. “The platform dictates how you consume. I know that if I’m on Spotify or [Apple Music], I won’t [always] listen to the whole single. The clickability is built into that. I know of academics who did a study of the Top 100 Billboard songs over the last decades, and they noticed that the hook was coming in earlier into a song.”

Not only are there huge benefits to listening to albums, but it’s also a much stronger way to support your favourite artists and the work that goes into their craft. Hot Milk’s Jim Shaw was referred to by bandmate Han Mee as the most stressed-out man in Salford back in our 2025 Kerrang! Cover Story, and he certainly knows of the sheer dedication that goes into recording music.

He was heavily involved with the production work on Hot Milk’s latest record, Corporation P.O.P, and says there is a lot of thought that goes into the minutiae of every sound. There are elements that are easy to miss when we listen to songs out of order.

“Two songs together might share relative keys, a bpm change, or some sort of mesh between the two,” Jim begins. “Stuff like that I’ve always found really cool. It’s that journey, and if you’re listening to one amongst other songs, you lose all that.

“Interlude tracks are kind of missed on people. If you listen to it in isolation, it doesn’t make any sense, but if you listen to it in the whole album it could be a breath from four absolute stonker tracks just smashing the shit out of you, and you have this reset moving into the next phase.”

Despite the obvious downsides to streaming, there are some benefits. One of the most significant is how much music discovery has grown. We can find our new favourite bands through suggested playlists and simple online searches. Social media virality also has a part to play in this aspect, but a new study found that for the artists themselves, going viral rarely has a long-term effect financially.

“You can find your next favourite band so quickly, but it also means that you can just skip through things, not really thinking about what you’re listening to. It’s that throwaway culture,” says Jim. “I wonder about bands like Tool: how would they [start out] in a world like today with these huge 10-minute songs?”.

I do hope that things change. On 17th October, it is National Album Day. This year’s theme is celebrating music icons contemporary and historic. It is a shame that people are still gravitating more to tracks or picking this and that rather than spending time immersed in an album. It is a bad habit I am guilty of, though I know how vital the album is. We have the ability to listen to albums through streaming, so the cost aspect should not hold people back. An artist wants the audience to listen to the album in full, rather than select a few tracks. The large percentage of us who have not heard a full album this past year is being tackled and addressed by National Rail and their Track Reset campaign. Their reset track is a good start, but it is incumbent on all of us to do more and ensure that we appreciate albums! There are those health benefits. How many of us are stressed and overworked. Albums are beneficial and can help when it comes to our anxieties and stresses. I do feel that letting an album run and listening from start to finish is restorative. Jumping between tracks can be a bit distracting and you can never really focus. I can understand and appreciate why people want nostalgia and go for their favourite tracks. But we cannot forget the album and why it is so important. There is so much to experience and enjoy. You get this complete story and so many different ideas and themes! I find it sad that fewer people are enjoying albums and instead go for something faster and more familiar. The beautiful and historical album is a…

WONDERFUL listening experience.

FEATURE: Of Wolf and Man: Metallica at Thirty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Of Wolf and Man

 

Metallica at Thirty-Five

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THIS is one of…

IN THIS PHOTO: Metallica (L-R) Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich (back to camera) James Hetfield and Jason Newsted on the Nowhere Else to Roam tour in 1993/PHOTO CREDIT: Ross Halfin

the most-streamed albums of the 1990s. Metallica is the incredible eponymous album from the American band (James Hetfield – guitars, vocals; Lars Ulrich – drums, percussion on The God That Failed and My Friend of Misery; Kirk Hammett – lead guitar; Jason Newsted – bass). Also known as The Black Album, it was released on 12th August, 1991. I want to mark thirty-five years of a Metal classic. Reaching number one in the U.S. (and other nations), Metallica was a change in the band's style. From the Thrash Metal sound of their previous four albums to a slower, heavier, and more refined feel. Three years after ...And Justice for All, they provided something that was a bit of a change for fans. However, the popularity of this monster album meant that it was accepted and embraced. I do want to start out with Billboard  and their feature from 2016. Marking twenty-five years of Metallica, it is an album that transformed Metal and brought it to the masses. In the process, it “cemented Metallica as one of the biggest and most-legendary bands in history”:

“Metallica changed the face of heavy metal when they released their self-titled fifth album, also known as The Black Album, on Aug. 12, 1991. The monumental effort saw the band step in a more melodic direction than their previous thrash metal sound and helped garner a mainstream following. It is by far their biggest album, shifting over 16 million copies in the U.S., making it the best-selling album of the Nielsen SoundScan era (1991 to present).

It spawned the singles “Enter Sandman,” “The Unforgiven,” “Wherever I May Roam” and the first Metalliballad, “Nothing Else Matters.” It also features some incredible deep cuts like “The God That Failed” and “My Friend of Misery.” The album won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 1992, beating the likes of Anthrax, Megadeth, Motorhead and Soundgarden.

In the documentary A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, Bassist Jason Newsted explained, “On this album we really went after a rhythm section, an actual rhythm section like it’s supposed to be… like everyone else has known about for a long time and we are just now realizing it or something.”

Bob Rock, who was in high demand after helming Motley Crue’s chart topping Dr. Feelgood, produced the album and gave Metallica a slick, polished rock sound. Rock focused heavily on James Hetfield’s vocals and wanted to capture a true rhythm section, which was notably absent on Metallica’s previous album 1988’s …And Justice For All. Many of the songs were based on vocal lines, a first for the band. Hetfield explained, “We wanted to concentrate more on the vocals. We never really took the time to do that with any of the vocal stuff.” He added, “The vocals really had to take over in a lot of songs.”

The Black Album is a landmark effort that brought heavy metal to the masses and cemented Metallica as one of the biggest and most-legendary bands in history. In 1991 the group went from a cult band to global superstars. While some of their hardcore and longtime fans believe the band “sold out” on the effort, drummer Lars Ulrich brashly refuted the claim saying, “Yeah, we sold out arenas.”

In the end, Rock pushed the band out of their comfort zone and helped create the historic and inspired performances captured on the album.

“Enter Sandman”: The album kicks off with what turned out to be its huge crossover hit. The video was played frequently on MTV and the song received a ton of radio airplay — a big moment for a band that rarely, if ever, hit the airwaves. The platinum-selling single brought an entirely new mainstream audience and suddenly wearing Metallica gear didn’t come with a negative stereotype. The track introduced fans to the band’s new sound spotlighted the rhythm section featuring Ulrich’s famous backbeat drums, Newsted’s distinctly audible bass frequencies, Hetfield’s improved and powerful vocals, as well as Kirk Hammett’s notable wah-infused guitar solo.

“The Unforgiven”: The album’s second single reversed the tide of such previous spotlight songs such as “Fade to Black” and “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” by swapping the distorted verse with a clean and melodic sound, while interchanging the heavy chorus for a bright and dulcet one. Hammett struggled in the studio to lay down the guitar solo on the song, but in the end laid down powerful and memorable work. He later said, “It’s pretty much the type of guitar solo I’ve been trying to do for the past five or six years. I’m really proud of that.”

“Nothing Else Matters”: The first true Metalliballad shows off Hetfield’s songwriting and improved vocals. Rock brought in a keyboardist and a string section to layer textures onto the track. The music video features the band recording in the studio and is highlighted by Hetfield’s melodic guitar solo, which surprised many fans who were more accustomed to Hammett always taking the lead”.

In 2015, Ultimate Classic Rock wrote how Metallica turned them into superstars. They call it The Black Album but, like The Beatles/The White Album, the eponymous is correct, so I am going to refer to it as such. Metallica still sounds phenomenal thirty-five years later:

“We wanted to create a different record and offer something new to our audience. I hate it when bands stop taking chances," added Hammett. "A lot of bands put out the same record three or four times, and we didn't want to fall into that rut."

"They had broken through to one level, but they still weren’t on mainstream radio," Rock told Music Radar. "When they came to me, they were ready to make that leap to the big, big leagues. A lot of people think that I changed the band. I didn’t. In their heads, they were already changed when I met them."

Those changes caught up with fans on Aug. 12, 1991, when the new self-titled effort — informally referred to as the Black Album due to its nearly featureless black cover — arrived in stores. Even though the lead-off single, "Enter Sandman," proved Metallica had lost none of their trademark snarling swagger, the band's sound had definitely changed in some very noticeable ways. There was no arguing with the muscle and polished heft Rock brought to the group's historically rather muddy sonics, and the songs boasted plenty of the live feel that he and the band members had painstakingly assembled over a grueling period of months. But they were also shorter, leaner and more varied — and not everyone appreciated the evolution.

"I've run into fans who think the album's crap," grumbled Hammett in a 1991 interview with Rolling Stone. "Friends of mine who are really hardcore fans have said, 'Well, the album's not as heavy. You guys aren't as heavy as you used to be.' I go, 'Man, you're trying to tell me 'Sad But True' isn't heavy? 'Holier Than Thou' isn't heavy? How do you define heavy?'"

"Kids come up and say, 'How come you don't do Kill 'Em All again?'" added Hetfield. "And I go, 'Yeah, I like that album too. But there's more to our music than that.' We can still do it live, and when we play it, we mean it, man. But we have those songs in the set already. And they'll be there for the life of the band. But sitting there and worrying about whether people are going to like the album, therefore we have to write a certain kind of song – you just end up writing for someone else. Everyone's different. If everyone was the same, it would be boring as shit."

If the new songs didn't thrash as hard as their predecessors, the new album was heavier in at least one respect: Rock's production took a much more dynamic approach to the music, allowing the instruments more room to breathe — particularly Jason Newsted's bass, which had been all but squeezed out of the mix during their previous effort, 1988's ...And Justice for All.

The fatter bottom end fans heard on the Black Album was coupled with a change in the way drummer Lars Ulrich approached his own contributions to the tracks.

"I noticed that Lars played to James’s guitar, much like the way that Keith Moon played to Pete Townshend. That’s fine for some bands, but not every one," Rock explained. "Lars wanted Metallica to groove more. AC/DC’s Back in Black was a big reference point as a rock record that grooved. I told him that in order to get that feel, he had to be the focal point musically. So on certain songs, the band played to Lars. They followed him. It made a real difference."

Newsted's bass wasn't the only new sound that filtered into the mix — Rock also encouraged the group to add an assortment of other sonic touches, including sitar and cello, and allowed them free rein to experiment with more melodic material like the eventual hit "Nothing Else Matters," which found Hetfield tapping into a whole new side of his singing skills.

"It's absolutely crazy, that was the song that I thought was least Metallica, least likely to ever played by us, the last song anyone would really want to hear. It was a song for myself in my room on tour when I was bumming out about being away from home," Hetfield later told the Village Voice. "I'm grateful that the guys forced me to take it out of my tape player and make it Metallica”.

 

Prior to getting to a review of Metallica, The Independent marked thirty years of a classic. This titanic eponymous album turned “Metallica from niche concern to mainstream titans in the early Nineties”. I still think that it is inspiring artists to this day. One of the greatest albums ever released:

“Metallica punctured the charts because they also understood song construction. “They are great songwriters, the songs have great melodies and progressions,” agrees Luciano. “When you take those kinds of good bones and add a different mood to it, you still can’t escape the best part – the songwriting.”

The other reason The Black Album went interstellar was because Metallica’s record label, knowing they had a hit on their hands, put all their resources behind it.

“They were marketed extremely well,” says Stenning. “The promotion for the album – free, large-scale listening sessions, for instance – was unprecedented. And then their tour with Guns N’ Roses [across the US in summer 1992] really took them to a new audience and made it apparent that the two worlds – hard rock and metal – were now somehow acceptable to be merged together, whereas before that had never happened and was totally unacceptable… They became the ‘universal’ metal band.”

There was something ironic about Guns ’N Roses and Metallica touring together. While Nirvana’s Nevermind, released on 24 September 1991, is credited with killing off the Eighties “hair-metal” scene that spawned Axl Rose and Slash’s LA rockers, the truth is Metallica had just as big a hand in bringing about its extinction. They may even have helped clear the path for grunge.

“The music journalist narrative has long been that Nirvana finished off hair metal,” says Albert Mudrian, editor of American hard rock magazine Decibel. “And while they may have fired the kill shot, it was Metallica’s Black Album that had already mortally wounded that genre dinosaur. The truth is The Black Album had sold a couple million copies before Nevermind really took off, so an entire generation had a mainstream blueprint for heavier songs with pop sensibilities.

If catchier and better marketed than its predecessors, The Black Album also saw Metallica lower their guards emotionally. This was a first for a group that had traditionally concealed their vulnerable side within squalls of braggadocio.

A case in point is that blistering elegy and central megahit, “Nothing Else Matters”. Written by Hetfield in the middle of a long tour, when he was missing home, it’s raw, earnest and packs a softer punch. Metallica had always hidden behind a theatrical bombast. Now Hetfield was baring his soul on lyrics such as “Never opened myself this way/Life is ours, we live it our way”. He was addressing then-girlfriend, Kristen Martinez, from whom he would separate in 1992.

“‘Nothing Else Matters’ … was a huge turning point,” Hetfield told Playboy. “It was sensitive.”

“James always wants to be perceived as this guy who is very confident and strong,” Hammett had added. “And for him to write lyrics like that – showing a sensitive side – took a lot of balls.”

“Nothing Else Matters” has weathered the years because it comes from a place of simplicity and humility, Dermot Kennedy believes. “[It has] lyrics and chord progressions that can be completely stripped back and still resonate with people, no matter how heavy it is. A song starts with just a single idea, whether that’s musical or lyrical. The fact that it was so easy to strip this song back is testament to the strength of Metallica’s lyrics and musical foundations.”

Metallica’s story didn’t end with The Black Album. Through subsequent years there would be highs and lows – to say nothing of the unintentional comedy of their 2004 rockumentary Some Kind Of Monster, a behind-the-scenes fever dream which challenged This Is Spinal Tap for absurdity. And yet the 1991 LP was their commercial peak – the project that changed everything for them.

The fact that 30 years later artists such as Dermot Kennedy and Miley Cyrus (who inevitably covers “Nothing Else Matters”) are lining up to pay homage speaks to its enduring power and to the fact this was a headbanger opus that smashed through the “metal ceiling” and carried the group shoulder high to the heart of the pop charts. With a rumble and a roar, The Black Album ushered Metallica into the technicolour world of mainstream fame. As Gessle says simply: “It sounds great – and the timing was perfect”.

I am finishing off with a review from Pitchfork. Metallica changed the band’s course and raised them to new heights. In their 2017 review, Pitchfork highlight how (the album’s) “muscular sound would permanently alter the course of heavy music”:

“Metallica’s twelve tracks may be sorted into three categories: angsty arena anthems, furrowed-brow ballads, and tamer, hybridized takes on Metallica’s famous pit-starters. Aside from “Holier Than Thou” and “Through the Never,” which offer red meat for the black-leathered fans of old, the album skews simplistic, melodically and lyrically. Whereas Ride the Lightning and ...And Justice for All prioritized instrumental stunts over melody, Metallica bets it all on Hetfield, a paradigm shift made all the more noticeable by his bandmates’ restraint. Instead of firing off fills, Ulrich keeps it simple, locked in 4/4 throughout (“It’s a little bit like building a house,” he crows in A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica, chest puffed, shit-eating grin on his face, “If you have a good foundation, then…”) Newsted mostly swears by the root notes, but gives millions of would-be bassists their first homework assignment with “My Friend of Misery”’s percolating refrain. While he’s given plenty of room to show off his solos (”Don’t Tread on Me” and “Of Wolf and Man” are particularly fiendish), Hammett’s riffs skew tamer, more deliberate, and subservient to the Hetfield’s pained yowls.

Hetfield pivots between devastating croons and razor-throated yells like a seasoned “American Idol” contestant. “I’m your dream/I’m your eyes/I’m your pain” he sneers on “Sad But True,” a song Rock labelled the heavy metal “Kashmir.” This technique inevitably draws the listener’s focus to Hetfield’s lyrics, which, while perfectly suited for stadium sing-a-longs, aren’t exactly Pulitzer material. You can see the low-hanging rhymes coming from a mile away—“real” and “feel,” “be” and “see,” “you” and “do.” More damningly, it saps his revealing personal narratives of their latent emotional heft.

“The God That Failed” is a bittersweet ode to Hetfield’s mother, a Christian Scientist who succumbed to cancer because she refused to treat it through any means other than faith. And yet, for every devastating couplet (”The healing hand held back the deepened nail/Follow the God that failed”), there’s two chunks of clunky poetry not far behind (”Find your peace/Find your say/Find the smooth road on your way”; “Pride you took/Pride you feel/Pride that you felt when you’d kneel.”)

The simplicity proves far more successful on “Nothing Else Matters,” an acoustic ballad which, however ham-fisted, stands as one of the album’s most revolutionary moments. Here, smack dab in the center of metal’s hyper-masculine universe, we have one of the genre’s most fearsome luminaries singing the praises not of Satan, sex, or the good sweet leaf, but rather a woman. Given the overarching cultural context, Hetfield’s insistence that he’s “Never cared for what they say/Never cared for games they play/Never cared for what they do/Never cared for what they know” scans as a middle finger to all the meatheads who think intimacy and metal are mutually exclusive. His solo acts as the band’s closing argument, undeniable proof that vulnerability could both rock and sell.

August 12, 1991: At midnight, the coup officially begins. The metalheads don their old concert tees and rush, rapt and stoned, to their nearest record store, where they await Metallica’s fifth album coming in droves. The makers of A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica are on hand to chronicle one such release party, and ask the faithful for their thoughts on this monumental album, and what they think it all means. “Reality, man…some shit you just can’t change.” responds one particularly impassioned mullet-man, shouting over his equally-stoked friend. “Listening to the words, it talks about people who, I don’t know, either can’t forgive, or the people that die unforgiven by others,” a soft-spoken young woman posits, reverent, as if contemplating a Rothko.

Just like Metallica’s lyrics, the band’s fans’ insights scan as invariably vague, slightly naive, and unflinchingly, impossibly earnest. It’s only appropriate that these remarks comprise A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica’s opening scene: They’re candids of the Black Album’s power as a tabula rasa for a young, embittered generation, saddled with their parents’ wars and religious scorn. When the hesher in the “Metal Up Your Ass” t-shirt proclaims, “My parents don’t think anything about Metallica, they just ignore it,” he’s really gesturing to a generational victory: Mom and Dad with their heads in the sand, while the kids raise hell and make history.

Heavy metal had officially set up shop on the main stage. As if to prove their point, they hit the road in 1992 with Guns N’ Roses (the only band who rivaled their power at the time; their contemporaneously released albums Use Your Illusion I and II moved 14 million units altogether) for a massive, effects-heavy arena outing. During the band’s run-through of “Fade to Black” at the August 8 stop in Montreal, Hetfield lost track of the band’s complicated pyrotechnics setup and found himself standing atop an erupting grate, leaving the frontman with second- and third-degree burns and forcing his band to the sidelines for several days.

The real burn, though, was still five years off. In May 1996, MTV screened Samuel Bayer’s surreal, melodramatic visual for “Until It Sleeps”—the moody, ur-Godsmack lead single from the Black Album’s successor Load, which removed thrash from the musical equation even further. Five seconds in, we spot Ulrich, dressed like one of the cock-rockers he loved to loathe: thick black eyeliner, shorn head, silver earrings. He drags his hands down his face, his lips curling in a cartoonish gesture of exasperation as if struggling to understand how he ended up in the get-up to begin with. Elsewhere on Load, Hetfield sings in a voice that would usher in the sound of post-grunge and butt rock for the next decade: “Careful what you wish you may regret it/Careful what you wish you just might get it.”

The words drip with meaning now, knowing Metallica’s long road through the turn of the 21st century would be filled with charges of “hair cuts!” and “sell outs!” as well as their own much-derided suit against Napster. There was Newsted’s famous quip from their episode of VH1’s “Behind The Music:” “Yes, we sell out: every seat in the house, every time we play, anywhere we play,” spoken just a few years before he departed the band in early 2001; his acknowledgements of Metallica’s rise in the public sphere and identity crises embedded therein, however lighthearted, nonetheless presaged the physical and existential temper tantrums captured on 2004’s tell-all documentary Some Kind of Monster. Metallica, however, remains the final bastion of focus: a hubristic request for grace masquerading as a show of force, the prophetic turning point for the world’s biggest ever metal band”.

Turning thirty-five on 12th August, I did want to spend some time with the phenomenal Metallica. Whether you see it as The Black Album instead, nobody can deny its importance and legacy. There are other features like this that are interesting to read. In terms of its accolades, Wikipedia detail its success: “In 2000, it was voted number 88 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums. In 2012, Rolling Stone ranked Metallica number 255 on "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time", and then number 235 in a 2020 revised edition of the list. It was also ranked 25th on the magazine's "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time" (2017). Spin ranked it number 52 on the "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s" (1999), with its entry reading: "this record's diamond-tipped tuneage stripped the band's melancholy guitar excess down to melodic, radio-ready bullets and ballads”. On 12th August, we salute and celebrate…

A Metal classic.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Miss Monique

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Kate Martin

 

Miss Monique

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THIS incredible D.J. and artist…

played in the U.K. on 26th July at Junction 2 Festival 2026. Miss Monique is someone I have recently connected with. There are some new interviews I want to source. However, I am going back to last year for the first one. DJ Mag chatted with this remarkable Ukrainian D.J. One of the most respected in the world, do make sure that you follow her. As they note in their header, this “Ukrainian DJ, producer and label boss Miss Monique has carved out a global following through her progressive sets that brim with emotional sounds. Now, with a landmark residency at Hï Ibiza and high-profile shows alongside David Guetta and Carl Cox, she opens up about her ever evolving creative journey, falling for the island, and finding freedom in music”. I have so much respect for the mighty Miss Monique:

“Monique is in a reflective mood as she tells us about her personal journey. The road to Hï Ibiza hasn’t been straightforward. Like many Ukrainian artists, her life was disrupted by the Russian invasion of her homeland in February 2022. “When Russia attacked my country and started the war, I had to move to Lisbon to continue working and help Ukraine. It became a place where I could find some peace and process everything that was happening. It gave me time to reflect, to stay grounded, and to continue creating — even in the middle of such emotional, physical chaos.”

Now, she’s found a new base on the White Isle and it’s already beginning to leave its mark, both personally and creatively. “Ibiza is like a beautiful explosion of everything — the energy, the contrasts, the openness. I feel free here, and that freedom naturally flows into my music and sets,” she says. Though she’s still exploring, it’s the island’s sense of musical freedom and the warmth of its people that have stood out most. “Each place built a different layer of who I am, and together they shaped my artistic identity.”

For Miss Monique, Ibiza feels like a place where everyone meets you with open arms — and it’s a place she’s quickly fallen in love with.

“When people experience my music — whether it’s in a club, on a livestream, or somewhere quiet with headphones — I hope they can let go of whatever’s heavy in their mind. Even if just for a moment.”

Her 13-week residency at Hï Ibiza has been more than a career milestone — it’s been the realisation of a quiet hope. “My dream was never about seeing my face on a billboard. The real dream was to one day become part of the Hï club family. Every time I arrived on the island and saw those billboards with the names and faces of artists who had residencies at the club, it gave me motivation and hope. I used to look at them and think, ‘Maybe one day, that could be me’.”

What fuelled her drive has become a reality, the realisation of years of hard work and determination that, no doubt, carries a deep personal meaning for Olesia. “Hï has always been a place I looked up to — where so many artists I admire have played. The level of care, the attention to detail, and the incredible team behind it all make it something truly special,” she tells us. “Being invited to be part of this feels like confirmation that the path I’ve been following — with all its effort, growth and learning — is leading somewhere meaningful.”

Her ability to blend the genre’s roots with her own melodic, hypnotic style has culminated in a signature sound that reverberates widely across the dancefloor — from the underground to main stages and back again. “Sometimes the hypnotic energy comes from simplicity, sometimes from layering or contrast — I don’t follow strict rules, I just follow what feels true. That way, I can evolve without losing the essence.” She adds: “When people experience my music — whether it’s in a club, on a livestream, or somewhere quiet with headphones — I hope they can let go of whatever’s heavy in their mind. Even if just for a moment, I want them to feel calm, connected, and fully present. Like a small pause from reality, just to breathe and enjoy.”

Outside of DJing and the world of streaming, Miss Monique has been busy on the production front. Her remix of David Guetta and Sia’s ‘Beautiful People’ landed just in time for this Ibiza summer season. “When I was invited to remix this track, I felt both excited and a little nervous — it’s such an iconic duo, and when David and Sia work together it’s always something insane. What drew me to the track was the beautiful harmony, Sia’s magical voice and I felt an amazing summer mood here.” She smiles. “I knew that I would like to make this remix ‘for listening’ and to reshape it into something that feels like my own musical language. To release this now, during my first Ibiza season, feels symbolic — like two different worlds connecting through music”.

For Student Pocket Guide, Miss Monique was asked about A.I. music, the summer ahead of her (one that has been very busy), and an Ibiza residency. I would love to hear another album from her soon, as her recent single., Ghosts (Nicolas Taboada and FRANCO BA collaborated), is fantastic:

“Where do you draw the line with AI in music?

The beauty of human-made music is that it’s never perfect, and that’s exactly what makes it powerful. It always evokes emotion, whether good or bad, but it makes you feel something.

When I receive demos for my label, it’s actually quite easy to recognise tracks that are heavily AI-generated. They sound almost too perfect, like they’ve analysed all the data on what works and what doesn’t and built something technically flawless. But for me, they often lack real emotion. They’re good, but they feel standard.

I think AI can be a great tool and assistant in the process, but I would never give it full creative control.

How important is visual identity in DJ culture today?

For me, fashion and music are deeply connected; they’re both forms of self-expression. Before people even hear the music, they already feel something through your visual identity, your presence and your energy.

I see it as one complete world where sound and visuals speak the same language. What I wear and how I present myself reflect the mood and story behind my music.

At the same time, it has to be authentic. If it feels forced or just follows trends, people notice immediately. For me, it’s always about staying true to who I am.

Has DJ technology changed the way artists perform?

Technology is an amazing tool, and it definitely opens up new creative possibilities. It allows you to experiment more during your sets and approach things differently.

At the same time, the essence of DJing stays the same. It’s all about music selection, taste and the connection with the crowd.

Technology should support the artist, not replace the artistry. It depends on how you use it”.

I will end with DJ Mag and their recent chat. I do want to go back to Pioneer DJ and their in-depth interview, as there are some interesting questioned asked. In terms of how Miss Monique prepares for her sets and how her st-up has evolved and changed. This is a D.J. who is arguably on among the greatest D.J.s of her generation.

“What were the main challenges you faced in the first few years of your DJ career, and how did you overcome them?

It’s funny but in the beginning I honestly thought, ‘Once I learn how to mix, the world will be mine.’ I know, that sounds so naive and full of unicorn dreams.

But with time I realized that the hardest part—and something I’m still learning—is to truly feel the crowd at every event. People are so different, some come for the artist, some just want to be part of the party, and others might arrive in a bad mood. As many people as there are, that’s how many moods you’ll find. A DJ has to sense all of them to make the night special for everyone on the dance floor, and that’s not always easy.

Another challenge I faced in the early years was being taken seriously. Back then, there weren’t many women behind the decks, and earning respect sometimes required twice the effort.

And of course, confidence was a big one too—learning to trust my own taste and not overthink what people might expect from me. Over the years, I’ve learned that the more authentic I am, the stronger the connection with the crowd becomes. Every set, every mistake, and every small success helped me grow and find my own direction.

What’s your current setup on stage, and how has it evolved over time?

I honestly love that you’ve brought me back into my memories of this. Let’s go through my whole setup journey!

I started with CDJ-1000MK2 and always played with different mixers, depending on what the club had. Back then, I didn’t even know what an artist’s technical rider was. Pretty soon, I decided to try using a laptop and Traktor X1 controller. For me, it felt more comfortable because I didn’t have to burn 12 tracks onto a single CD, it definitely made my life easier on that side. Plus, it was really interesting to work with the effects and loops on the X1.

The first time I saw the CDJ-850 in a club—finally with USB support—I was excited, but honestly, I didn’t fall in love with them right away. It was only later, when I started playing regularly at one club in Kyiv that had CDJ-2000NXS that I completely switched. I stopped using the laptop and fell absolutely in love with that gear.

As for my current setup, it’s CDJ-3000’s and the V10 mixer. I love this setup so much that I can’t even imagine working with anything else… well, maybe with the new Alphatheta Euphonia, which I already tested last summer, my second love.

How important is improvisation in your sets, and how do you leave space for it when planning or preparing music?

You know, there was a time when I mixed more cautiously—I was scared to improvise, always worrying I might make a mistake. But now I’ve changed my view on that. I’d rather try something and make a mistake than stick to something boring and routine. For me, it’s much more interesting to play when I can improvise, play with people’s emotions, and capture their attention. Of course, there are some loops or ideas I might plan in advance, but I always leave space for improvisation.

What’s your process for prepping music before a show?

I always want to know my tracks perfectly, so I listen to them many times. I also prepare some loops, acapellas, and tracks that I can blend live, depending on how the crowd feels. But I never plan a full set in advance, I prefer to leave space for spontaneity and let the moment guide me.

A lot of DJs are trying to build their own series or channels now. What advice would you give them, especially about standing out in a crowded space?

Right now, YouTube is full of very similar content. I feel that on some level it’s not as exciting as it was a year ago. But if someone still wants to start, even with so much competition, they should try to create something truly unique, something that hasn’t been done before. People always notice originality, and that’s what can really make you stand out”.

DJ Mag spoke with Miss Monique for her second year of an Ibiza residency. Having first visited Ibiza in 2017, this does feel like home to her. There are sections of this interview I feel are important to drop in. DJ Mag start by noting how “joy and responsibility of helming such a high-profile residency, getting props from some of the biggest figures in the scene, and the mutual devotion she shares with her fans all over the world”. A breath-taking talent and one of the most passionate and driven D.J.s and producers, go and follow her on social media. It is clear that initial visit to Ibiza (almost a decade ago) made a huge impression on Miss Monique:

“Nevertheless, that first visit opened her eyes to some of the possibilities that were open to her within electronic music. She’d made her name in her home country, and up until that point had only played a couple of times abroad — in India and Egypt. She remembers going to Amnesia that first time and standing in the middle of the dancefloor, taking in the vibe during a Cosmic Gate set. Fuelled by coffee, her posse then jumped to a few more other parties. “I had fun and didn’t analyse it too much,” she says.

Fast forward to 2022 and Miss Monique — born Olesia Arkusha — started coming to Ibiza regularly, especially after being invited by David Guetta to play his Future Rave night after a chance meeting in Miami. “The next year David and MORTEN invited me many more times. And then it was decided to sometimes stay some extra days, so I had the possibility to visit some parties.” Her love of the island continued to flourish.

“The music that I like is changing so fast, it’s hard to name myself in one genre. So I’m playing melodic techno, I can add some tech-house, sometimes in my residency night I’m going into house at some point — a bit of everything.”

The following autumn she received a life-changing phone call from her manager. “He said, ‘Listen, there is something happening. You might feel stressed at first but you will like it’," she recalls. "He then told me that the Night League team were thinking about offering me a residency at Hï Ibiza, and I remember my hands started shaking. I was emotional, it was probably one of the key moments of my life. That call changed a lot.”

She remembers feeling apprehensive of the huge, nerve-racking responsibility of such a high-profile residency. She was stressed about whether people would come to see her sets in the Club Room. But, of course, they did, and in their droves. “I had so much appreciation every night when they came and then stayed until 6AM,” she says, “because usually I was closing the night. Sometimes people leave because it’s late and they want to sleep, or they drank too much alcohol or whatever, but most of the people every week they stayed. I had so much appreciation for this — they pushed me to believe in myself.”

She shouts out the Night League team, including owner Yann Pissenem, for believing in her, and when she saw the poster with the full line-up of guest DJs she had invited to join her at Hï Ibiza throughout the season, she thought, “Oh my god, it’s really happening. I could only dream about something like this before.”

Miss Monique says that the whole of the 2025 season was a highlight for her. “One of the brightest moments was when David Guetta showed up in the booth. I never thought that David would come — artists are usually travelling, they’re busy. I remember I was playing my set and someone touched my back just at the moment where I was mixing a track, and I was like, ‘Just wait, just wait please’ [she remonstrates behind her], and I continued. Someone touched me again and I was like, ‘Just wait please’. I was mixing and I thought it was one of my team members or something, and then when I turned around and I saw David... I think someone caught this moment on video, and even now it makes me feel emotional. That was one of the highlights. That was huge support from his side for me. He always shows up in my life unexpectedly.”

“Nowadays I’m playing music that I like!” she continues. “Ten years ago it was progressive house. Now the music that I like is changing so fast, it’s hard to name myself in one genre. So I’m playing melodic techno, I can add some tech-house, sometimes in my residency night I’m going into house at some point — a bit of everything. I can’t say that I’m just part of one genre.” She talks about how she’s constantly looking for new tunes to keep her sets fresh, and how she takes the odd weekend off to make new music herself, as well as to listen to other new tunes in her zone.

Sport has also become increasingly important for her — she asks that as far as possible, the hotel she stays in for international gigs has a gym, so that she can do some simple exercises. She also plays tennis whenever she can, and her most recent discovery is cycling — hence her joining DJ Mag in the the charity Bridges For Music cycle ride earlier in the week during IMS. “I had so much fun, I did my personal record — 110 kilometres,” she beams. “It was a huge challenge.”

She talks about how positive messages from supporters have inspired her over the years, and that her Lisbon apartment walls are covered in presents given to her by well-wishers. “I never put them in the trash or leave them somewhere, I always take these huge packages with me. Bracelets, incredibly unique dolls, and besides all this they’ve done lots of tattoos, which for me is a crazy thing... When I see that they did this, I’m completely shocked — in a good way.”

Some make home-made MiMo flags, too. “I’m very appreciative, I know how much time goes into these things.” Miss Monique clearly has a deep connection with her audience, many of whom have also styled their hair in the same trademark green hue she's been dying it for 13 years. She mostly gets it refreshed professionally, she says, although “if I’m on a one-month tour then of course I can do it myself, if it needs to be”.

If you are not aware of Miss Monique or are new to her, I would urge you to follow her. I have not been able to see one of her sets, though I hope that changes soon enough. She is going to have a very busy next year or so, given the way she united crowds. So incredibly skilled, I am in awe of her! Go and spend some time with the sensational Miss Monique. She is a D.J. who is…

CONQUERING the global.

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Follow Miss Monique

FEATURE: Modern-Day Queens: Natalie Imbruglia

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern-Day Queens

PHOTO CREDIT: Rankin

 

Natalie Imbruglia

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I am going to come to…

some new interviews with the amazing and awe-inspiring Natalie Imbruglia. I have a very special relationship with her music. I have been a fan since the 1990s. One of my favourite albums from the decade is her debut, Left of the Middle (1997). She has a new album coming out soon. Algorithm will be released on 4th September. That is one I will definitely be getting. You can pre-order it here. She has U.K. dates this and next month before flying to her native Australia. I would love to see her live, as I have been a fan for decades and love everything she puts out. I am going to come to a 2022 interview before bringing things right up to date. Imbruglia released her album, Firebird, in 2021. It was seen as a sort of a return, even though she had gone nowhere and was active. It came six years after Male. Algorithm comes five years after her current album. This is an artist who puts everything into her music. Arguably, she is at her strongest and most confident now. I do want to head back to 2022 and the twenty-fifth anniversary of her best-known song, Torn. The Forty-Five spoke with Natalie Imbruglia for this fantastic interview:

“It’s been 25 years since ‘Left of The Middle’. Can you remember what your hopes for the album were before you released it?

There’s only a first time once. What was beautiful, was that the world was my oyster. I felt so privileged to have a record deal. Everything was ahead of me. And although yes, I’d been on Neighbours and there was the fear of being another person doing music from a soap. But there was this incredible confidence and joy. People talk about manifesting, it was easier to do it because you had no experience of living up to a previous album. I thought: I can be anything, I could do anything. And I was a sponge, everyone I wrote with was teaching me something I had the opportunity to work with Mark Goldenberg – I loved his work with Eels. And, you know, there was Gwen Stefani and Alanis Morissette and I was like, ‘Oh my God, these chicks are so cool!’ And so it was actually really wonderful. You can’t get that back because you know too much. And so, yeah, fond memories.

I was at the recent Olivia Rodrigo show where you popped up to perform ‘Torn’ with her. It must be cool to be influencing this new gen of artists?

It was very flattering to be asked. Olivia’s a good person. It makes me happy that young girls have people like that to look up to. You could see the respect that we both had for each other. We were literally singing to each other and didn’t want to look at the audience because I was giving props to her, and she was giving props to me. It was so lovely.

Was there anyone you looked up to, that offered you support when you were coming up?

Not on the daily, but the person that springs to mind is Tori Amos. I remember meeting her in the bathroom at her show and giving her a rose quartz crystal and having beautiful conversations with her. She was someone I looked up to immensely, who also seemed to have a quirky spiritual energy – she was into crystals and stuff like me.

I would also say Kylie. I grew up watching her on on Neighbours, and wanting to do what she did and obviously followed in her footsteps. She’s always been incredibly supportive, and gracious, and kind. And even now, when my album came out, she sent me a little message. So definitely, Kylie.

I was watching an old interview with you on TFI Friday where Chris Evans keeps referencing the fact that you wouldn’t date him. Was this sort of thing just par for the course or did it make you anxious doing interviews back then?

I want to give props to Chris. He got me on the show because what had happened was he’d started the whole ‘Natalie didn’t write ‘Torn” thing on the radio. And it was interesting timing because I had just shut him down for a dinner date. Anyway, me being the feisty Aussie that I am, I saw him in a pub and I went up to him and got in his face and was like, ‘You owe me an apology’. He looked terrified and I was like, ‘Do you realise what you did?’ So he gave the most genuine, look-me-in-the-eye apology, and then got me on the show and tried to correct that. So knowing what I’ve just told you, it’s actually a very sweet thing that he did, because he kind of owned it and was trying to repair that damage. But 100% you’re right. Recently, I had to look back through some old press articles – and we can’t put all of this on Chris, this is an industry that certain things were a given – but it’s quite shocking now to look back at some of those old articles. I was made of pretty tough stuff, I just took it on the chin but I think what you see in that ‘Torn’ video is someone taking ownership after being exploited in numerous situations and going ‘I don’t need to show my body. I’m gonna draw a line in the sand’. There were numerous occasions I was called difficult because of that, because I wouldn’t wear a dress. I wanted to cover up and it didn’t go down well.

People like Billie Eilish have taken a similar stance – covering up because they don’t want their body to be a talking point

She’s able to do it – I got called difficult – but evolution is a great thing. They’ve also got to do deal with social media and things that I didn’t have to so it’s all relative. For the things that we’ve corrected, there’s a whole new wave of other shit that teenagers have to deal with for mental health. I was the right person for it to happen to because I’m very strong. And I was able to say no, and I didn’t really care if people called me difficult.

And now young artists like Beabadoobee are citing you as a style icon.

Listen, if you stick around long enough, you come back in flavour. I’m just like, yes! The 90s are trending right when I need them to be! This is amazing! The truth of it is just that I just wanted to be comfortable. And I wanted to wear my own clothes. I think I was also going through curiosity about my sexuality, which is more evident to me now when I look at myself back then. That exploration was a period of time that I had to go through very privately – another thing that people can go through a lot more openly now. Yeah, there’s lots of things going on there. But for people to say I’m this style icon, it’s just so amazing and cute to me. I was wearing the daggiest army pants, they weren’t event a cool brand. I think that T-shirt’s a cheap Portobello Market print shirt. The cool part was probably from a stylist, which was the Maharishi jacket because they were all the rage. And eventually I ordered Maharishi trousers”.

Let’s move things to this year. Algorithm is going to be a wonderful album from this music queen. Someone who has been releasing brilliant material for almost thirty years now. And yet the quality does not dip! It is great that Natalie Imbruglia clearly had a load of fun making this album. As we learn from this Rolling Stone Australia article, this is her at her most relaxed and free I feel:

“The record, titled, Algorithm, will arrive on September 4th.

“On this record I chose to work with collaborators who also co-produce, so from start to finish we were all so invested in every song,” Imbruglia says. “I really hope that people get as much joy from listening to this record as we did making it. And that they dance their arses off.

“This was by far the most fun I’ve ever had making a record. It also happened to coincide with the most challenging time I’ve had with my mental health. This is the beauty of music and artistic expression. You can take something dark and turn it into light”.

I will end with a recent interview with The Times, as there are some interesting things from that chat to discuss. However, The Guardian fired some reader questions at Natalie Imbruglia for their feature. It is a more light and quick-fire thing, but there are some cool answers that reveal different sides and facets to Imbruglia:

“Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Alanis Morissette because, in my earlier career, she was a big influence on me and had a feistiness that you didn’t see much of in women in the industry. Also, she has been very vocal about mental health issues.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?
Not having the ability to say sorry when they’re wrong.

What was your most embarrassing moment?
Forgetting the words to my own songs on stage. I’m a very good mumbler of my own songs. You’d be surprised how few people notice – if you smile and do it confidently, they’re none the wiser.

What keeps you awake at night?
I worry a lot about how to juggle being a single parent and working – scheduling keeps me up at night!

What would your superpower be?
I’d clone myself so I could work and be with my son at the same time.

What makes you unhappy?
Living in England when there are too many grey days in a row.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
A hairdresser through the week and a star on the weekends.

What was the last lie that you told?
It was to do with Santa Claus around Christmastime.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?
Junk food – Haribos, Wotsits”.

I do want to end with this interview from The Times. There is discussion around her debut single, Torn, and misogyny that was around in the 1990s. How it must have been a challenge for a young woman coming through in that decade. Now, Imbruglia lives this quieter and more peaceful life and is making some of the best music of her career, without all that toxicity that came when she started out. Though there is still a lot of ageism in music, especially when it comes to festival bookings and women over forty and what stations their music appears on:

“It’s such a blessing,” Imbruglia says of the mega-hit single that reached a billion streams on Spotify last year. “I don’t even know how to put into words the gifts of that song landing. I still feel so connected to it. It changed my life.”

Torn was released in 1997 to worldwide success, topping the US Billboard chart for 11 weeks in 1998. As a teenager in that decade, if you hadn’t been “all out of faith” and “lying naked on the floor”, were you even a teenager at all?

She made the album during a challenging period for her mental health, and while the melodies are upbeat, the lyrics are darker. The lead single, Upside Down, which was released in April, is about finding herself unable to “power through” any more. “What you resist persists,” she says. “I’ve done a lot of spiritual work in my life, a lot of meditation study, and I have learnt that anything you have resistance to, it’s like a tsunami coming at you.”

As was perimenopause, which she hit five years ago and her experience of which has powered the lyrics of several tracks. “Let’s just say it was a grieving process. I was really angry. I fell off a cliff. It felt like someone had taken some of my personality. I’d talk about it and people would try to hush me. Now I’m very outspoken. Thank God for Davina McCall — I bumped into her in a restaurant at the time. I was like, ‘Tell me everything!’ It’s really important that we speak up and stop going, ‘Oh, I just breezed through it.’ How is that helping anyone? Beware, women, if you start saying, ‘I just don’t feel like myself.’ I said that for a year before I addressed anything.”

Her main symptoms were anxiety and anger. “I probably hurt a lot of people that I wish I hadn’t, but until you have the tools and the HRT cream… HRT worked, absolutely. But how wonderful that this is not a shameful topic or a taboo subject. Imagine how it was for our mothers.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Amar Daved

Rather than worrying about revealing too much on the album, she found the experience of making it cathartic. Her debut album, Left of the Middle (1997), sold more than seven million copies worldwide and the pressure to equal it was immense. Eventually that led to a harrowing period of writer’s block. “The best thing that has happened for my songwriting is having writer’s block for five years,” she says. “I got dropped by a label, had a nervous breakdown and was convinced the universe was telling me I shouldn’t be doing this. Not pretty. So I tried to go to LA and be an actress [she starred in Johnny English with Rowan Atkinson in 2003], and that was worse. Epic fail.”

Scarred by her experiences, she was adamant that Algorithm be self-funded and so set up her own label, Landgirl Records, to release it. “I was asking my son what he learnt at school that day and he taught me all about land girls,” she says, explaining the name.

History having revealed the extent to which many female stars were treated badly in the Nineties, I ask how the decade was for her. Was it horrifically sexist? “It was definitely sexist, but I certainly don’t want the tone of this to come across as me being a victim.” She recalls being careful in interviews, knowing that, as a woman, a funny or ironic comment might be twisted. “I was quite feisty and funny but I had to suppress that. So I was very vanilla. Maybe that got me a reputation for being a bit of a diva because I wasn’t revealing of myself. So then a story gets made up about you and how you are.”

It’s sad to learn that she was censoring herself, but unsurprising that she refuses to play the victim. Even at 22, Imbruglia seemed like a woman who knew her own mind. Indeed, if the lyrics of Torn are burnt into the memory, so too is the video, produced during an era when lads’ mags were at their peak and female celebrities were highly sexualised, and featuring Imbruglia dressed like she was off to the small Tesco to pick up a pint of milk, wearing combat trousers, a washed-out T-shirt and a hoodie. With her short hair and face devoid of make-up, she looked like the tomboy next door.

Today she lives quietly in Oxfordshire. “On a farm. In the middle of nowhere,” she says with a grin. “I’m not in the London scene any more. It’s great!” As is being 51. “It’s easier for me, being an older woman. Maybe that’s the opposite to how a lot of women feel, but when you’re given a hard time about the way you look — bitchiness, jealousy — it can be used against you. I used to get asked by journalists if I thought I got here because of the way I look, and I wasn’t allowed to be angry. I had to cleverly answer the question. They don’t give you as hard a time when you get older. I’m actually more comfortable in my skin at this age and haven’t had much problem with getting a wrinkle here and there. It doesn’t bother me. I like this age. I like the wisdom that comes with it”.

I have so much love and respect for Natalie Imbruglia. This amazing and powerful woman who has had this varied and successful career, I am really looking forward to seeing what Algorithm offers! The singles released from it so far are up there with the best stuff she has ever done. Aside from some festival appearances, it would be great if there were any gigs later in the year. Maybe a London date would be awesome, as this is someone I would really love to see live. There is no doubt that Natalie Imbruglia is one of the all-time best artists and has maintained this awesome career. Arguably hitting a new peak right now, I wanted to spend some time showing my appreciation…

OF this musical titan.

_____________

Follow Natalie Imbruglia

FEATURE: Kate Bush: Them Heavy People: The Extraordinary Characters in Her Songs: The Diva (The Red Shoes)/Cathy/Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush: Them Heavy People: The Extraordinary Characters in Her Songs

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush and Lindsay Kemp on the set of her 1993 short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve (which was loosely inspired by the 1948 film, The Red Shoes, which share the title of Bush’s 1993 album)/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

 

The Diva (The Red Shoes)/Cathy/Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)

__________

THIS is the penultimate…

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

edition of a series that looks at the amazing characters in Kate Bush’s song. I am featuring one track from The Kick Inside for this edition and another in the final one. This inclusion is the most famous and popular song from her debut album. It is Wuthering Heights and Cathy and Heathcliff. These doomed lovers. The ghost of Cathy at Wuthering Heights and trying to grab Heathcliff’s soul, it is one of Kate Bush’s most extraordinary songs. A lot to talk about around this track. I am starting out with The Diva from The Red Shoes’ title track. These are the opening lines from The Red Shoes: “Oh she move like the Diva do/I said “I’d love to dance like you.”/She said “just take off my red shoes/Put them on and your dream’ll come true”. In terms of who this character is, The Diva in the 1948 classic film The Red Shoes is the aspiring ballerina Victoria ‘Vicky’ Page. She was played by the late great Moira Shearer, a renowned Scottish ballet dancer and actress. I will come to a 1993 interview with Kate Bush. I do want to start out with a look at the 1948 film that influenced Kate Bush. It is not unusual for artists to write songs or albums based around a film. Many people will not know about The Red Shoes and its origins. The BFI published an article in 2023 around their Exhibition, The Red Shoes: Behind the Mirror. Among the artefacts included are the ballet shoes worn by Moira Shearer:

“Alexander Korda’s original vision for The Red Shoes

Our story starts in 1937. Leading producer Alexander Korda is searching for his next box office success. It will star his future wife, Merle Oberon. Industry rumours start to swirl of a film “derived from an old legend of a girl who wore red shoes which made her dance unceasingly”.

Korda recruits a series of writers to bring his vision to life. Unhappy with each new version of the script, Korda finally abandons the project in 1939, and in the mid-1940s he sells the concept to Powell and Pressburger. They transform the story. Travelling to Andersen’s home in Odense, the writer-directors imagine a film much closer to the passion and violence of its Danish source.

London-based artist Michelle Williams Gamaker has created a new piece for the exhibition, exploring this early genesis of The Red Shoes story. Oberon (2023) responds to a photographic series in the BFI’s collection, taken at around the time that Korda was developing the script for The Red Shoes.

Oberon had a complex relationship with her visual identity in these years. Make-up and lighting were used to mask the physical trauma of a car accident in 1937. These techniques also lightened her skin on camera. Williams Gamaker interprets the script as a love letter from Korda to Oberon, with Korda speaking the lines of Konstantin – an early version of ballet impresario Boris Lermontov – during a fictional make-up test. The artist reflects on the spaces of casting and screen testing beyond the archival photographs, and the relationships that extend behind the camera to the individuals (mostly men) who held Oberon’s career and her image in their power.

A life-changing role for Moira Shearer

Moira Shearer in costume for the 1942 Sadler’s Wells production of The QuestPhotographed by Anthony. Moira Shearer’s ArchiveMoira Shearer’s pink pointe shoes, and note cards from her time at Sadler’s WellsMoira Shearer’s Archive. Photo: Tim Whitby

By 1946, Powell and Pressburger had a clear vision of the story that they wanted to tell, and were ready to start planning The Red Shoes in detail. It would centre on the story of a young woman, Victoria Page, falling in love: with her art form and with a fellow artist. Powell and Pressburger were aware that its success would depend on the creativity of an established performer to occupy this central role.

In Powell’s eyes, Scottish-born dancer Moira Shearer was the very embodiment of Page. On the brink of international success as a dancer, she was initially hesitant to step into the world of film and declined the offer a number of times. Powell was insistent – the role belonged to Shearer. It took nearly a year, but the announcement of her acceptance came in 1947.

The role would be both career and life changing for Shearer. She was catapulted almost overnight to global stardom, with a tour of the USA following the film’s box office success. Shearer’s image was used to represent the film internationally, and her burnished auburn hair was associated with the unfettered creativity of the scarlet slippers.

The Red Shoes explores the world of a fictional ballet company – the Ballet Lermontov. During a residency in Monte Carlo, the company’s defining production is ‘The Ballet of the Red Shoes’: a reworking of the Andersen fairytale. Cast in the lead role of ‘The Girl’, Vicky Page finds that art mirrors real life. Her desire for artistic fulfilment is challenged when she finds herself falling in love with composer Julian Craster (Marius Goring) and is asked to make a choice between the part she plays and the life she loves.

The Ballet of the Red Shoes

Within the exhibition we invite you to step over the threshold between a real and imagined world, and into the shoes of Vicky Page. Music, art, light and dance magically combine to transport us, in Powell’s words, “inside the heads of two people who were falling in love”.

The famous ‘Ballet of the Red Shoes’ is presented as a series of ‘scenes’, drawing on the work of designer Hein Heckroth and sketch artist Ivor Beddoes, who, with the help of art director Arthur Lawson, helped to bring Powell and Pressburger’s vision to life. Just as the film is shot out of sequence, carefully pieced together in the editing suite, so too this room of the exhibition is structured thematically, allowing you to fully immerse yourself in the filmmaking process.

The legacy of The Red Shoes

Powell and Pressburger’s totemic red slippers, imbued with a magic that inhabits their wearer, never truly stopped dancing. In interview, Shearer was honest about the mental and physical toll that the production took on her. But just as Vicky returned in the final scenes of The Red Shoes to perform for her company director, so too Shearer seemed unable to resist the possibility of another performance with Powell and Pressburger. She returned in both The Tales of Hoffmann (1951) and in Powell’s Peeping Tom (1960). In Shearer, not only the red shoes, but the Girl, danced on.

When Shearer finally hung up her pointes, the magic of The Red Shoes went on to inspire generations of creative practitioners. In 1993, musician Kate Bush created her studio album The Red Shoes, followed by an extended music video, The Line, the Cross and the Curve. More recently, Matthew Bourne’s production of The Red Shoes (2016) brought together Powell and Pressburger’s story with the music of Bernard Herrmann. Victoria Page was danced by Ashley Shaw. With the support of Bourne’s choreography and Lez Brotherston’s designs, Shaw took on the demanding role to bring the blood-red pointes to life for new audiences”.

The Red Shoes was released as a single and reached twenty-one in the U.K. It is the lead track of the short film, The Line, the Cross and the Curve. Although it premiered at the London Film Festival in November 1993 (around the time of the release of The Red Shoes), it got a wider cinematic release in May 1994. I have said before how The Line, the Cross and the Curve is arguably the first visual album by a female artist. Bush inspired by this classic 1948 film and producing her own version. Bush re-recorded The Red Shoes for 2011’s Director’s Cut. I think I prefer the 1993 original, as there is more energy to it. Beautiful instrumentation. Gaumont d’Oliveira, Paddy Bush and Justin Vali among the musicians who bring alive this fantastic track. Thinking of The Red Shoes, I don’t think that many people know about the 1948 film. Kate Bush was a fan of it and Michael Powell. The two were going to work together on a project shortly before his death (in 1990). He is immortalised in Moments of Pleasure from The Red Shoes. Thinking of The Diva and that mention in The Red Shoes’ title track, I did want to look at the Powell- Pressburger film and its legacy. Another article from the BFI, it is clear that The Red Shoes has a big modern legacy:

“It’s a spectacular rejection of realism

The Red Shoes (1948) followed a tremendous run of films by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Between 1943 and 1947, they made The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Canterbury Tale, “I Know Where I’m Going!”, A Matter of Life and Death and Black Narcissus. For their next trick, they took a decisive step away from the tendency towards realism in postwar cinema, pushing the emotional expressiveness of Technicolor photography yet further, in collaboration with genius cinematographer Jack Cardiff.

Pressburger had originally worked on the idea for the film before the war. Producer Alexander Korda had hired him to write a script that combined the story of the dancer Nijinsky, and his time at Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes, with the Hans Christian Anderson fairytale about enchanted shoes that force the wearer to dance on and on until death. He’d also instructed Pressburger to write a role for Merle Oberon, but as that passion cooled, so did the producer’s interest in the film.

IN THIS PHOTO: Moira Stewart (who played Victoria Page) in The Red Shoes/PHOTO CREDIT: Hulton Deutsch

It’s about the agony of artistic expression

Lermontov chides Vicky: “Don’t forget, a great impression of simplicity can only be achieved by great agony of body and spirit.” Few films reveal, either as cruelly or as eloquently as this one, the sacrifices that artists make. We see more bruising rehearsals than standing ovations, and yet, the Ballet Lermontov dances on.

Page’s final, anguished choice between love and art only makes tangible the decision that Lermontov clearly made long ago. Walbrook, who plays him so brilliantly, was gay, as was Diaghilev. Lermontov knows nothing of Page’s “charms” and cares less, he says; his “family” is his company, and he asserts that: “The dancer who relies on the comforts of human love will never be a great dancer. Never!”

As certain critics have noted, there is a striking gay subtext to The Red Shoes, but it is a tragic one – Lermontov is a lonely figure whose obsessive nature demonstrates the danger of living for art rather than love.

From Scorsese to La La Land, its influence lives on

The Red Shoes is one of the most widely influential movies of all time. Regularly hailed as a favourite in critics’ polls and by directors including Martin Scorsese (“It’s one of the true miracles of film history”), Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg and Brian De Palma, it has also been reworked by artists outside the cinema. Kate Bush’s 1993 album The Red Shoes was inspired by the film, for example. Coming full circle, Matthew Bourne choreographed the film as a ballet at Sadler’s Wells in 2017.

The film also has an afterlife in the classic Hollywood musical. Gene Kelly screened the film multiple times for the producers of An American in Paris (1951), as he persuaded them to let him include a ballet sequence in the film. He did, and in the following year’s Singin’ in the Rain too. The popularity of the ballet sequence as a genre trope was underlined when Damien Chazelle included one in his pastiche La La Land (2016).

There are several, pointed, references to the film in a very different musical, the 1985 Broadway adaptation A Chorus Line. That’s not a direct cinematic influence but rather a testament to the film’s impact on generations of girls. The book for that musical was based on interviews with New York dancers, several of whom confided that The Red Shoes inspired their choice of career.

In a 1970 interview with the New York Times, Shearer expressed a little self-deprecating regret on this score: “I’m a bit embarrassed whenever I hear how many girls were influenced by it. The dancing in it wasn’t terribly good”.

Prior to moving to the second part of this feature, I do want to source a 1993 interview with Kate Bush. The Red Shoes arrived at a difficult time. When there was this balancing of personal loss and change. Her mother died in 1992. Her long-term relationship with Del Palmer ended, and she faced her first real creative and commercial slump. The Red Shoes’ production quite plasticky and compacted. Bush wanted to reapproach some of the songs from the 1993 album in 2011. Give the songs more space. 1993 was a pivotal year. She id pack quite a lot in, though her next album would not arrive until 2005. That is when Aerial was released. Nick Coleman interviewed Kate Bush for Time Out in November 1993. I did want to highlight the section where we get mention of The Red Shoes film:

“She pours tea and places herself on the edge of her chair. She is small, not minute, and erect. One booted leg crosses the other and bumps gently up and down. She cocks her head and waits. She is courteous, cool and suspicious.

My friend Catherine has never opened any post addressed to Kate Bush. There was, however, a letter that came addressed merely to 'Catherine '. So Catherine opened it. Inside was a lot of stream-of-consciousness stuff about dreams, and about how the writer was watching Catherine. So Catherine snorted, noted the postmark and forgot about it. Then another letter arrived, identically addressed, from the same postal region; then another, and another, each of them increasingly weird and disturbing. Sometimes three would arrive in a day. And it so happened that on the day that Catherine decided to go to the police, a letter arrived that included a reference to Catherine's poetry and music, neither of which are big with Catherine. Also, the letter included the appellation Kate.'

'It's so nice to talk about my work for once,' she says. By this she means she's glad we've started by talking about the great film director Michael Powell and his influence on her, which is signally manifest in the title track of her new album 'The Red Shoes'.

'The Red Shoes' is a ballet film made by Powell and Emeric Pressburger in 1948, telling the story of a dancer who is torn between the demands of a great impresario, who can help her to become an artist of destiny, and those of her composer/husband, who can bring her happiness. The story elides an old fairy tale and a take on the power struggle that raged between the dancer Nijinsky and Diaghilev, first director of the Ballet Russe. Bush says the song evolved out of a feeling she had one day at the piano of music running away with itself. The image in her mind 'was like horses galloping and running away, with the horses turned into running feet, and then shoes galloping away with themselves'. Which corresponded, conveniently enough, with the key fairy-tale element in the Powell film: the red pumps worn by the tragic ballerina, which are imbued with a magic that carries their wearer off in a terrible outpouring of expressiveness.

Bush contacted Powell shortly before he died, 'to see whether he'd be interested in working with me. He was the most charming man, so charming. He wanted to hear my music, so I sent him some cassettes and we exchanged letters occasionally, and I got a chance to meet him not so long before he died. He left a really strong impression on me, as much as a person as for his work. He was just one of those very special spirits, almost magical in a way. Left me with a big influence.'

Which makes some kind of sense. Powell's super-rich three-strip Technicolor, his English-ness, his 'expressiveness', his interest in the shadows cast by daylight; even, you could argue, his thematic preoccupation with islands, solitary souls and the unconfined spirit; these are some of Bush's favourite things.

'His work is just so... so beautiful,' says Kate, in her tiniest voice.

Meaning what, exactly?

'Well, there's such heart in his films. The way he portrayed women... that was particularly good and very interesting. His women are strong and they're treated as people...'

That's one kind of beauty.

'The heart, I think, is the main beauty. This human quality he has. Although there's clever shots in his films, they're not really used for effect, to be clever. They're used for an emotional effect. I'd call that a human quality. Like vulnerability. Also, I like the emotional qualities of the characters. I suppose in one way they're very English ...'

To combine her interest in Powell with her lust for new directions, and perhaps to solve one or two promotional problems, Bush has directed a 40-minute film interpreting six songs from the excellent 'Red Shoes' album. It will be premiered at the London Film Festival.

'I'll be very interested to see what people make of it. To see whether they regard it as a long promo video or as a short film,' she says.

Where do your stories come from?

'Oh, all kinds of sources but generally they come down to people. People's ideas or works. Films, books, they all lead back to someone else's ideas, which in turn lead back to someone's else's ideas...'

I've always assumed you must be a bit of an Angela Carter fan.

'Um, no. I don't think I know her stuff.'

She wrote 'Company Of Wolves' and was big, I believe, on pomegranates, the predatory nature of nature, the heat of female sexuality; that sort of thing.

'Oh, yes.' Bush smiles, and her dimple disappears.

Other post addressed to Kate Bush arrived which went unopened. Then one day a letter came for the attention of Catherine Earnshaw. This being ambiguous, Catherine opened it just to make sure. Inside was a note from a Harley Street doctor indicating that Catherine was fit as a fiddle. This was good news. Unfortunately, Catherine had not been to see a Harley Street doctor. She hastily sent the letter on to Bush's record company, blushing at her daftness in not remembering immediately that Catherine Earnshaw is the name of the storm-tossed tragic heroine of 'Wuthering Heights '.

You're 35 and you've been doing this since you were a teenager. How have you changed?

'I think I've changed quite a lot. Essentially I'm still the same person but I suppose I've grown up a lot, and learned a lot.'

What's made you grow up the most?

'You get lots of disappointments. I'm not sure that they make you grow up but they make you question intentions.' She pauses. 'But life is what makes you grow up’”.

From a song on an album influenced by a 1948 film, we now move to a stunning single influenced by a 1847 novel. This is another case of Kate Bush being inspired by the screen. I feel her love of The Red Shoes was centred around the 1948 film. Bush did reads Emily Brontë’s only novel. There is quite a bit to unpack when it comes to this song. There has been a lot of recent interest around Wuthering Heights as Emerald Fennell’s film, “Wuthering Heights”, was released earlier in the year. Starring Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw and Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff, it did divide critics. It is not exactly true to the novel in terms of its casting and feel. It is a retelling or reimagining. In the same way Bush was inspired by the last few minutes of a 1967 BBC adaptation of the novel when it came to writing the song, I have reengaged myself with Emily Brontë’s novel because of the 2026 film. One of the most pleasing aspects of the film is how there has been interest in Kate Bush’s number one single. I did want to start out with an article from The New Yorker. They write about the “timeless provocation” of this incredible text. Although there has been some controversy around Emerald Fennell’s film “Emily Brontë’s ruthless text will always have the last word”:

“If Victorian fiction ordinarily treats the orphan as an engine of social mobility, whose path involves finding his place in the world, “Wuthering Heights” asserts that any such progress is temporary. At the end, Heathcliff stands alone and “unredeemed,” as Charlotte Brontë wrote of him in 1850. He destroys all his relationships, such that he can’t think of how to write his will and bequeath all the property he’s spent his life vengefully acquiring. Emily Brontë, instead, writes him out of it altogether. He has nothing to show for all of his actions. His sole biological heir predeceases him, and, once he has gone, the two homes in question, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, will pass to Hareton and young Catherine, who continue the Earnshaw family lineage. By the standards of the Victorian novel, Heathcliff, who leaves neither descendants nor legacy behind him, is a dead end.

In this way, Brontë demonstrates that not all trauma has a resolution, that belonging is a gift that not even the most powerful of novelists can readily bestow. She does not tame, contain, or tidy Heathcliff’s wild energy. It shapes his outlook even in death. When Nelly, the Earnshaw family’s longtime servant, finds his body, his eyes are wide open, with a stare both “keen and fierce.” She says, “I tried to close his eyes: to extinguish, if possible, that frightful, life-like gaze of exultation, before any one else beheld it. They would not shut.” His tombstone reminds us one last time of how little we know him. “As he had no surname, and we could not tell his age,” Nelly says, “we were obliged to content ourselves with the single word, ‘Heathcliff.’ ”

Whenever a fuss arises over the adaptation of a literary text to screen, I think of what James M. Cain told an interviewer for The Paris Review who asked him what he thought of the film that Billy Wilder and Raymond Chandler made of his novel “ Double Indemnity.” Their version made significant changes to the plot. Cain replied that he didn’t like movies. “I don’t go,” he said. “People tell me, don’t you care what they’ve done to your book? I tell them, they haven’t done anything to my book. It’s right there on the shelf.”

“Double Indemnity” ’s plot was reworked, in part, to sanitize the story for screen audiences. The Hays Code, a precursor to the motion-picture rating system that gave Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” an R for its depictions of violence, sex, and death, required that Hollywood movies eschew profanity, obscenity, and other indicators of low morals, and also stipulated that “the sympathy of the audience shall never be thrown to the side of crime, wrongdoing, evil, or sin.” Among other potential issues, in Cain’s ending, the lovers who commit the insurance fraud at the center of the story escape the country, with plans for a double suicide. The film closes, instead, with a confession scene.

It’s hard these days to imagine a situation in which, through a self-imposed agreement among all the major studios, movies and television series would need to be tamer than their source material specifically so as not to corrupt the audience. If anything, in our visual culture, we tend to expect—indeed, anticipate—the opposite. But the impulse behind the Hays Code aligns with a truism of nineteenth-century fiction that its successful writers well knew: that characters who transgress within the pages of a novel could not be allowed to prosper without punishment. It doesn’t take a literary scholar to notice, for example, that adulterous women in nineteenth-century novels—English, French, Russian—meet tragic ends, no matter how sympathetically or charismatically their creators portray them. Even the men must square their accounts. In “Jane Eyre,” Mr. Rochester, Jane’s employer at Thornfield Hall, where she goes to work as a governess, fails in his initial attempt to marry her when the existence of his first wife, Bertha, locked up in the attic, is revealed. He gets Jane in the end, but only after being maimed and partially blinded in a fire set by Bertha, in which she perishes. It’s not exactly an eye for an eye, but it reflects the belief that actions have moral consequences.

“Wuthering Heights” abides by that convention. Heathcliff and Cathy both must suffer and die, lest readers make the mistake of believing it’s acceptable to profess undying love for your childhood companion while you’re seven months pregnant and married to another man (as Cathy does) or to try to kill your wife’s dog (as Heathcliff does), to name but two of their many offenses. The placid romance of Hareton and young Catherine leaves us, superficially, in a peaceful, even hopeful place.

But it is Heathcliff’s passionate declarations and shocking acts that stay in the mind and color our lasting impression of “Wuthering Heights” as strange and uncontainable. They will outlive the blood-red, entertaining raunch of Fennell’s movie, too, in spite of the recency bias that kicks in when we’re confronted with contemporary interpretations of classics. It’s humbling to admit that an isolated nineteenth-century Yorkshirewoman, of whom her sister wrote that “she had scarcely more practical knowledge of the peasantry amongst whom she lived, than a nun has of the country people who sometimes pass her convent gates,” could possibly harbor thoughts as wild or knowing or kinky as we do now. But Brontë’s novel easily checks the first and third of those R-rated boxes. (As for the second, we can make our own assumptions.)”.

I do love how Margot Robbie recreated the dance of Wuthering Heights when she was on the set of the film. This song has enjoyed an interesting life. Noel Fielding performed a version of the song for Let's Dance for Comic Relief in 2009. Prior to ending with a BBC feature about Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights. I did want to come to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia and their information about Wuthering Heights. We also get some interview archive where Bush discussed writing this timeless debut single:

“The release date for the single was initially scheduled to be 4 November 1977. However, Bush was unhappy with the picture being used for the single’s cover and insisted it be replaced. Some copies of the single had already been sent out to radio stations, but EMI relented and put back the single’s launch until the New Year. Ultimately, this proved to be a wise choice, as the earlier release would have had to compete with Wings’ latest release, ‘Mull of Kintyre’, which became the biggest-selling single in UK history up to this point in December 1977.

‘Wuthering Heights’ was finally released on 20 January 1978, was immediately playlisted by Capital Radio and entered their chart at no. 39 on 27 January. It crept into the national Top 50 in week ending 11 February at No.42. The following week it rose to No.27 and Bush made her first appearance on Top of the Pops (“It was like watching myself die”, recalls Bush), The song was finally added to Radio One’s playlist the following week and became one of the most played records on radio. When the song reached number 1, it was the first UK number 1 written and performed by a female artist

“I wrote in my flat, sitting at the upright piano one night in March at about midnight. There was a full moon and the curtains were open, and every time I looked up for ideas, I looked at the moon. Actually, it came quite easily. I couldn’t seem to get out of the chorus – it had a really circular feel to it, which is why it repeats. I had originally written something more complicated, but I couldn’t link it up, so I kept the first bit and repeated it. I was really pleased, because it was the first song I had written for a while, as I’d been busy rehearsing with the KT Band.

I felt a particular want to write it, and had wanted to write it for quite a while. I remember my brother John talking about the story, but I couldn’t relate to it enough. So I borrowed the book and read a few pages, picking out a few lines. So I actually wrote the song before I had read the book right through. The name Cathy helped, and made it easier to project my own feelings of want for someone so much that you hate them. I could understand how Cathy felt.

It’s funny, but I heard a radio programme about a woman who was writing a book in Old English, and she found she was using words she didn’t know, but when she looked them up she found they were correct. A similar thing happened with ‘Wuthering Heights’: I put lines in the song that I found in the book when I read it later.

I’ve never been to Wuthering Heights, the place, though I would like to, and someone sent me a photo of where it’s supposed to be.

One thing that really pleases me is the amount of positive feedback I’ve had from the song, though I’ve heard that the Bronte Society think it’s a disgrace. A lot of people have read the book because of the song and liked it, which I think is the best thing about it for me. I didn’t know the book would be on the GCE syllabus in the year I had the hit, but lots of people have written to say how the song helped them. I’m really happy about that.

There are a couple of synchronicities involved with the song. When Emily Bronte wrote the book she was in the terminal stages of consumption, and I had a bad cold when I wrote the song. Also, when I was in Canada I found out that Lindsay Kemp, my dance teacher, was in town, only ten minutes away by car, so I went to see him. When I came back I had this urge to switch on the TV – it was about one in the morning – because I knew the film of Wuthering Heights would be on. I tuned in to a thirties gangster film, then flicked through the channels, playing channel roulette, until I found it. I came in at the moment Cathy was dying, so that’s all I saw of the film. It was an amazing coincidence.

Kate Bush Club Newsletter, January 1979”.

Kate Bush did say in another 1978 interview how “This young girl in an era when the female role was so inferior and she was coming out with this passionate, heavy stuff. Great subject matter for a song”. I do think that there is a lot more to be said about Wuthering Heights (the novel) and its legacy in the present day. Following a new adaptation of the novel and Kate Bush’s 1978 single, I do think that more should be written. I am ending with the BBC and their article from last year. They tell the story behind this extraordinary and powerful debut single from Kate Bush:

“Well, I hadn't read the book, that wasn't what inspired it. It was a television series they had years ago," she told Michael Aspel in a BBC interview in 1978. As a teenager she had come across the end of an episode of a 1967 BBC adaptation of Brontë's tale of doomed love. Its startling imagery had captivated her. "I just managed to catch the very last few minutes where there was a hand coming through the window and blood everywhere and glass. And I just didn't know what was going on and someone explained the story."

Bush was just 19 years old when the single was released. Although she may have seemed precocious to the public, she had been writing songs for years. Born in July 1958, the youngest of three children, she grew up in an artistic household in Kent, England. Her father, a doctor, and her mother, a nurse, surrounded their children with music, and encouraged them to learn instruments from an early age. Both of her older brothers were heavily involved in music and poetry, and she would join them performing Irish and English folk songs at home. "My brothers are very musical, yes. They were really responsible for turning me onto it in the first place. They were always playing music when I was a kid," she told Aspel.

Bush began to compose her own songs in her early teens, recording them on homemade demo tapes. One of these tapes found its way via a family friend into the hands of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, who recognised the promise in her songwriting and was particularly taken with the otherworldly quality of her voice. "I was intrigued by this strange voice," he told BBC podcast Profile in 2022. "I went to her house, met her parents down in Kent, and she played me, God, it must have been 40 or 50 songs."

Gilmour re-recorded three of Bush's songs with her in his studio for a new demo, and then encouraged Pink Floyd's record label, EMI, to sign her at the age of 16. As Bush was still at school, she spent the first two years of her contract continuing with her studies, while using the record company's advance to enrol in interpretive dance classes with mime artist and choreographer Lindsay Kemp, who had previously taught a young David Bowie.

In History

"I've definitely been influenced by Lindsay Kemp because he's one of my heroes and he was my teacher for a while," she told Aspel. "Marcel Marceau, I admire his stuff, but it is a little too staid for me. It's the art of illusion. It's not really the actual showing of emotion, which is what Lindsay teaches, and for me that's perfect because that's what music in any form of art is about. It's emotion, it's from inside."

At the same time, she was also honing her musical craft. She formed a group called the KT Bush Band and began playing in London pubs while working on songs for her debut album, The Kick Inside. The singer told the BBC that she tended to compose these songs late in the evening. "It seems to be the time of day that things gather, you know. I wake up about 11pm, I'm sort of sleepy all day, then at 11pm I really wake up." One night when she was 18, she sat down at the piano to write a song from the perspective of Brontë's passionate, conflicted heroine, Catherine Earnshaw, who haunts her lover Heathcliff, both during her life and after she dies. The imagery from the Wuthering Heights TV adaptation "was just hanging around for years", she said, "so I read the book in order to get the research right".

New influences and new technologies

The song's lyrics evoke Catherine's obsessive longing for Heathcliff, her mercurial nature, and the couple's charged, destructive relationship. Bush also wanted to convey Catherine's ghostly presence, so she adopted high-pitched, keening vocals to give the song an eerie, haunting air. "It was really specifically for that song, it was that high because of the subject matter," she said. "I'm playing Cathy and she was a spirit, and it needed some kind of ethereal effect, and it seemed to be the best way to do it, to get a high register."

Wuthering Heights, with its lush, sweeping orchestration, its literary sensibilities, and Bush's soaring theatrical delivery, did not strike her record company as an obvious radio hit. EMI instead wanted the rockier sounding James and the Cold Gun, a favourite from her KT Bush Band's pub set, to be the first single from the album. But Bush was adamant that Wuthering Heights should be her debut – and EMI eventually relented.

To accompany its release, two music videos were filmed. One was studio-based and the other was shot outside, with Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, standing in for the novel's windswept Yorkshire moors. For the shoots, Bush used the interpretive dance instruction she had received to mesmerising effect. Both videos feature her gazing intensely at the camera, clad in floaty dresses while performing dramatic and emotive dance movements to express the spectral essence of Cathy. Her dance routine was so distinctive that it became something of a cultural touchstone, inspiring both comedic homages and an annual event called The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever, at which Bush devotees recreate her performance from the videos.

The single would prove to be her breakthrough. Within three weeks of being released, it had reached number one, getting a boost from Bush's arresting mime-style performance on the BBC's music chart show, Top of the Pops. It knocked Abba's Take a Chance on Me off the UK singles chart's top spot, and stayed there for a month. It also topped the charts in Ireland, Italy, New Zealand and Australia. Her album, The Kick Inside, when it was released the following month, sold more than one million copies. She would go on to collect an Ivor Novello award in 1979 for The Man with The Child in His Eyes, released as her second single from the album.

Wuthering Heights marked the start of Bush's innovative, critically acclaimed and shape-shifting musical career. She has now released a total of 10 studio albums, melding diverse influences, complex musical storytelling and new technologies, such as sampling, to spawn hit singles like Hounds of Love and Babooshka. She has also collaborated with artists including Prince and Elton John. Her duet with Peter Gabriel, Don't Give Up, would pick up another Ivor Novello award in 1987”.

In 2028, we mark fifty years of Wuthering Heights. Still perhaps the most singular and extraordinary debut single ever. There are songs where Bush brought in literary characters. I feel that Wuthering Heights is one of her moist powerful examples. How it was an adaptation of the novel that led her to write this song. How she would then read the text after writing the track. Bush had to perform the song multiple times. On Top of the Pops several times. Around Europe. During The Tour of Life. It must have been quite exhausting, though there was such a demand for this song. Testament to the good sense of the record-buying public in 1978 that they sent it to number one. I think the song resonates because of how Bush represents Cathy. Casting her as this possessed and somewhat horrible spirit. The two videos that were shot for the single. I will always favour the white dress version. In the final part of this series, I am going to unique The Dreaming’s Houdini and The Kick Inside’s Them Heavy People. From The Diva who we can draw to the 1948 film, The Red Shoes, which influenced Kate Bush’s seventh studio album of the same name, she then created a version of that film for her own short film. We then move to a 1967 adaption of an 1847 novel that influenced a 1978 song. So many different years and time periods that connect together. How Kate Bush was drawing guidance from films and T.V. Fascinating and fantastic characters to investigate for this part. I am sort of sad to be ending this run very soon. However, it has been great looking inside Kate Bush’s songs and the vast array of characters. It goes to show what an imaginative writer she is.  No doubt that Kate Bush is…

A songwriting genius.

FEATURE: Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love at Forty-One: Revisiting the Cinematic Potential of The Ninth Wave

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love at Forty-One

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush shot for The Ninth Wave in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

 

Revisiting the Cinematic Potential of The Ninth Wave

__________

I have written before…

about the cinematic possibilities of Kate Bush’s The Ninth Wave. That is the conceptual second side of her fifth studio album, Hounds of Love, which turns forty-one on 16th September. She wrote The Ninth Wave with the idea of turning it into a short film. She managed to bring it to the stage during 2014’s Before the Dawn, unfulfilled that ambition – to an extent. I have said before how there is a limit of what you can create on a stage. Even if it is the Eventim Apollo, there is not the same expanse and space you would have on a set or in a huge water tank. Also, only those who saw Before the Dawn will know what it was like. It was a theatrical representation of The Ninth Wave. To date, there has not been a short film or full-length of The Ninth Wave. I do feel it is important to once more revisit this idea because of Hounds of Love’s anniversary. It is a sweeping and masterful album from a genius producer. The Ninth Wave is this story of a woman who falls into the sea, presumingly having gone overboard and she is now in the water and trying to stat awake. We chart this amazing night of survival as she is under the water and trying to stay afloat. In the end, a helicopter comes alongside and rescues her. In the stages version, there is debate as to whether Kate Bush, who played the heroine, survived or not. She always intended the woman to be rescued. It is a shame that Bush’s original vision was never brought to the cinema. I do think that there is plenty of scope and potential. In terms of who would play the heroine, there are choices. You could see Margaret Qualley playing her. In terms of appearance, there are similarities between her and Kate Bush in 1985. Though actors like Sidney Sweeny or Grace McKenna could play the role. I feel Qualley is a perfect choice.

IN THIS PHOTO: Margaret Qualley/PHOTO CREDIT: Sameer Al-Doumy

What you would have is this story of how the woman got into the water. You would follow this tale of a newly-married couple in New York. I have written a synopsis of the two of them embarking on a honeymoon cruise. The woman falls into the water and there is this struggle. We follow the action and the songs play. Margaret Qualley – or whomever you see in that role – would not sing the songs. It would be Bush’s original recordings. Instead, we would get visualisations of each of the tracks. I do feel there is a lot more you can do with cinema compared to the stage. Having these epic songs given their own feel. Sweeping and dramatic, the film would be split into three acts. The first is the lead-up to the woman going overboard. The Ninth Wave would form the second act, and the third would be the aftermath. As to whether she survived and what happens afterwards. People could argue that Kate Bush has been approached to do this and turned people down. There is no evidence that this has ever happened. People guessing. Personally, I don’t think that there have been pitches to take The Ninth Wave onto the screen, which is a real shame. Above all else, we would get to see something that Bush imagined in 1985. A modern-day version. In terms of budget, it would not be a huge thing. The most challenging aspect is the water scenes. An actor would need to be in a water tank for a number of hours, and the waster would need to be warm enough so they do not get hypothermia. When Kate Bush filmed the video for And Dream of Sheep, she was in a water tank at Pinewood Studios. She caught mild hypothermic and got a small telling off from her doctor. I am not sure how practical it could be to heat a water tank so that it was warm and not that cold.

There is so much love and curiosity around Hounds of Love. The Ninth Wave is this celebrated second side. It is such a fascinating story. You can only visualise so much through the music. Kate Bush’s music has been used in films though, as yet, there has not been any films based around her music. The Ninth Wave is too powerful and interesting to only be staged during Before the Dawn. I feel a good film could be created, where these incredible songs are at the centre. A film that would not have a massive budget, I do feel like it could be a success. In terms of its box office, there would be a huge pull. Films have explored people surviving at sea and facing the dangers of what lurks beneath. However, there is something unique about The Ninth Wave. This incredible suite that could only come from Kate Bush, visualising it and bringing it to the big screen would be wonderful. Kate Bush surely has thought of that in the years since 1985. I don’t think she has been approached to do it, so I feel there is a real opportunity. Sure, she could turn them down and say it was done for the stage so it does not need to be done on film. There is space for both, as most of us did not get to Before the Dawn. I always feel like the heroine should survive and make it from the water. Though having a sense of mystery would add something to the film. I did want to revisit yet filmic scope of The Ninth Wave. A great director who could bring this to the screen. Greta Gerwig or Olivia Wilde. A fantastic writer(s) who could blend comedy and drama. Though I feel Margaret Qualley would be perfect, there are so many potential options. Maybe Anne Hathaway. In any case, there is something to be said of a big screen transfer of this stunning suite from a genius album. Forty-one years after it was first heard, The Ninth Wave still send shivers. It is such an accomplished piece of work from an incredible artist and producer. Though it has not been made into a film yet, I do hold out hope that the Ninth Wave could be adapted for the screen…

ONE day soon.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lee Ann Roberts

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

 

Lee Ann Roberts

__________

THERE are…

a few interviews with Lee Ann Roberts that I want to get to. This incredible D.J. and artist has just released her album, TAKE CONTROL. There is a lot of interest around it. I want to start out with Metal Magazine, who “caught up with the South African artist to talk about the project that’s set to redefine not only her sound but the way she sees herself as an artist”:

“IN THE SHADOWS and TAKE CONTROL have already given people a glimpse into this new era. What has surprised you most about the reaction so far?

I think what surprised me most is how many people connected with the message behind the music. Of course, it's always great when people enjoy the tracks, but seeing people resonate with the themes of growth, self-belief and taking ownership of your life has been really special. What I've loved most is the messages I've been receiving from people. I've had so many supporters reach out saying that this feels like the most authentic version of me they've heard in a long time and that they can really hear me in the music. Some of the messages have been incredibly thoughtful and detailed, and that's been amazing to see. As an artist, there’s nothing more rewarding than knowing people are connecting not just with the sound but with the story behind it as well.

You've described this project as a new era rather than simply a new release. Beyond the visible changes, how has this transformation felt from your side?

For me, it's felt like coming home to myself. A lot of the changes people see externally are just reflections of what has been happening internally. I've spent a lot of time reconnecting with who I am, what I stand for and what I want to represent as an artist. That process has been incredibly freeing.

You took a step back from social media and allowed yourself time to reset. Was it difficult to slow down in an industry that seems permanently obsessed with momentum?

At first, yes. There's always that fear that if you're not constantly visible, you'll be forgotten. But I realised that constantly moving doesn't necessarily mean you're moving in the right direction. Taking a step back gave me clarity, and honestly, it was one of the best things I've done for both my creativity and my mental health.

The title TAKE CONTROL feels like a statement. What exactly were you taking control back from?

From external expectations, noise, opinions and the pressure to be something other than myself. At some point I realised I was spending too much time looking outward and not enough time trusting my own instincts. But it also goes much deeper than music. TAKE CONTROL is about taking ownership of your life in general. I've been through a lot of different experiences and challenges over the years, and for me it was about no longer allowing those things to define me. Instead, it was about taking everything I've learned, everything I've been through and using it as fuel to move forward. TAKE CONTROL is about getting back in the driver's seat and deciding for myself who I wanted to be, where I wanted to go and how I wanted to live my life.

For years, people placed you inside the hard techno box. Did that label ever begin to feel restrictive?

I think labels can be useful to a point because they help people understand where you fit within a scene, but they can definitely become restrictive. Especially when you're someone with a wide range of influences and a genuine love for different styles of music. I've never wanted to be defined by a single genre because my influences have always been much broader than that. As an artist, I think it's important to give yourself the freedom to evolve, experiment and bring different elements into your music. At the end of the day, music is far more fluid than any label we try to put on it.

Your career has taken you across the world, but what does a perfect day look like when nobody needs anything from you, and there’s nowhere you have to be?

A slow morning with my affirmations and meditation, a coffee, some time in nature, spending time with my cats, training and/or going for a surf and seeing my friends. Nothing extravagant, just simple things that make me feel present.

When life starts moving too fast, and you feel disconnected from yourself, what helps you find your way back?

Nature, affirmations, meditation and taking a step back from the noise. Whenever I feel overwhelmed, I try to reconnect with the things that ground me. Usually the answers become a lot clearer when you create a bit of space”.

I do want to move to Pioneer DJ and their interview with Lee Ann Roberts. She explains how careful preparation and sobriety shapes her explosive D.J. performance and high-energy sets. This is one of the most talented D.J.s in the world:

“Sobriety has also sharpened Lee Ann’s craft. As we learn below, she feels that having a clear head in the DJ booth has upped her game in basically every respect. “It’s funny because a lot of people think they play better under the influence but I think that’s often because they’ve never really experienced DJing sober, so they assume they’re better,” she says.

As you’ll sense from the interview below—which covers mixing at speed, reading crowds, and switching musical lanes—Lee Ann is someone who thinks deeply about her DJing and is always looking to improve.

Did you learn anything from radio DJing that you carried into club DJing?

Absolutely. Radio taught me the importance of flow, pacing, and taking people on a journey. Even though you’re not physically in front of a crowd, you’re still responsible for holding someone’s attention and creating a mood. It also taught me how to think about track selection more deeply and how to build energy over time rather than just chasing big moments. Those lessons have stayed with me and definitely influence the way I approach DJ sets today.

Do you remember the first setup you learned to DJ on? What was difficult at the beginning?

The first setup I learned on was a pair of Pioneer CDJ-800 MK2s and a Numark DM950 mixer. CDJ-800’s still had CD inserts and it definitely felt like the real deal. I think learning on that kind of setup teaches you the true art of DJing. You had to understand phrasing, timing, track selection, and beatmatching on a much deeper level because there was far less technology doing the work for you.

You established yourself as a DJ and producer playing deeper, minimal sounds. What led to your decision to make a pivot to another style? How difficult did you find this transition?

I never really saw it as a conscious decision to pivot as much as a natural evolution of who I am as an artist. The deeper, more minimal sounds were a huge part of my journey and helped me develop my identity but over time I found myself wanting to express a wider range of emotions and energy through my music. My roots actually come from South Africa’s psytrance scene, so in many ways the harder, more driving sound I make today feels like a return to something that was always part of me. As I grew as both a producer and performer, I became more interested in creating music that combined power, emotion, and storytelling while still maintaining the hypnotic qualities that first drew me to electronic music.

The transition wasn’t without its challenges. Any time you evolve, there’s a risk that some people won’t come with you. But I think authenticity is the most important thing. I’ve always tried to follow what genuinely excites and inspires me creatively rather than chasing trends or expectations. Looking back, it was absolutely the right decision because the music I’m making today feels like the most honest representation of who I am.

Do you have any advice for DJs who are thinking of making a similar lane change?

My biggest piece of advice would be to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Don’t change direction because it’s fashionable or because you think it’s what people want to hear. Do it because it’s a genuine reflection of where you are creatively.

It’s also important to accept that not everyone will come with you on the journey and that’s OK. Every artist evolves. If you’re growing and challenging yourself creatively, some people will connect with the new direction and others may prefer what came before.

Most importantly, trust your instincts. The artists who inspire me most are the ones who weren’t afraid to take risks and follow their own path even when it wasn’t the obvious or popular choice. If the new sound genuinely excites you and feels authentic, lean into it fully and commit to it. People can feel when something is real and that’s ultimately what creates a lasting connection.

What are you reading from the crowd when you decide where to go next?

I’m constantly watching the crowd and looking for small shifts in energy. It’s not just about whether people are dancing, it’s about how they’re dancing, how they’re reacting to certain sounds, whether they’re fully locked in and whether the energy feels like it’s building or starting to level out. Sometimes a crowd wants more intensity but other times they need a moment to breathe before you can take them higher again.

I pay a lot of attention to the emotional response as well. A lot of it is instinct at this point. After years of playing clubs and festivals around the world you develop a feel for when to push, when to hold back, and when to surprise people. Every crowd is different, which is what makes DJing so exciting. You’re having a conversation with thousands of people without saying a word and they’re constantly telling you where to go next through their energy.

Do you always know what track you’ll play first before you step up to the booth?

Sometimes I know exactly what I’m going to play first but most of the time I don’t decide until I’m standing in the booth. A lot depends on the event, the time slot, and the energy in the room. Even if I’ve got a few ideas in mind beforehand, I like to take a moment to suss out the vibe, see how the previous DJ has left the dancefloor, and get a feel for what the crowd is responding to. I’ve always preferred to leave room for spontaneity. The first track sets the tone for everything that follows, so I want it to feel right for that particular moment rather than forcing something I’d decided on hours earlier.

How has your music discovery process changed since you became a professional DJ?

It’s changed quite a lot. When I first started, discovering music was really just about finding tracks that I personally loved. These days, I’m still looking for music that excites me but I’m also listening through the lens of a DJ and thinking about how a track will work on a dancefloor, where it might fit in a set and what kind of emotion or energy it creates. I also receive a lot more music now than I did in the beginning, whether it’s promos, demos, or unreleased tracks from friends and producers, so there’s a lot more filtering involved. You have to become quite selective. That said, I still genuinely love digging for music. There’s nothing quite like finding that track that gives you goosebumps or discovering an artist you’ve never heard before. Even after all these years, that feeling hasn’t changed”.

A couple more interviews to cover before wrapping things up. Let’s get to 1883 Magazine and their eighteen-question interview with Lee Ann Roberts. I have chosen a few of the questions to highlight. They spoke with this prodigious artist and D.J. “about losing her mother, rebuilding her life in Lisbon, and why she stopped chasing trends to trust her own instincts instead”:

“Where do you feel most at peace when life and touring become overwhelming?

Nature… without a doubt. Growing up in South Africa gave me a deep connection to the bush, and whenever life gets overwhelming, that’s where I feel most grounded. Whether it’s the ocean, a forest, or just somewhere quiet, it helps me reconnect with myself. Since moving to Lisbon, I’ve also put a lot of effort into creating a calm, peaceful home environment. When you’re constantly travelling, having a space that feels safe and grounding becomes really important, and Lisbon has been such a healing and calming place for me.

What’s something people often assume about you that couldn’t be further from the truth?

Assumptions are the mother of all fuck-ups. People think they know who you are from social media or from afar, but that’s only a tiny part of the picture. At the end of the day, you should never judge a book by its cover… people are always far more complex than they seem. So I don’t really spend too much time worrying about what people assume. But if I had to pick one thing, it’s probably that people assume I’m naturally outgoing all the time. The truth is I’m actually pretty shy. I can be very extroverted at times, but I think that’s often something I’ve learned to do to compensate. Once I’m comfortable, I’m great, but naturally I’m much more reserved than people expect.

PHOTO CREDIT: Nik Mueller

If you weren’t making music today, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

That’s a difficult one because music has become such a huge part of who I am. But I think I’d probably still be doing something creative or entrepreneurial. I’ve always been driven to build things and create opportunities for myself. Having said that, if I wasn’t in music, I could definitely have seen myself becoming a lawyer or going into criminology. I’ve always been someone who likes to ask questions, challenge things and fight for what I believe is right.

You’ve spoken before about growing up in South Africa and feeling like creative expression wasn’t something that was encouraged. Looking back now, how much of your drive comes from proving to yourself that you could build a different life?

A huge amount of it. Looking back, I think a lot of my drive came from wanting to see what I was capable of and how far I could push myself. Growing up in South Africa, a career in music didn’t necessarily feel like the obvious path, so building a life around it has been incredibly rewarding. It was never really about proving anyone wrong; it was about proving to myself that with enough hard work and belief, I could create a life that felt true to who I am and achieve anything I set my mind on, no matter what the circumstances.

There was a point where modelling was opening doors for you internationally. Was there a specific moment when you realised music wasn’t just a passion anymore but the thing you wanted to dedicate your life to?

Yes, there was. When I moved to Los Angeles for modelling, I reconnected with a friend I’d met in South Africa who is a producer from Houston. I originally went there to spend some time on his turntables, but we ended up spending two weeks in the studio together and made two tracks, “Sensational Lies” and “The Subliminal.” That was the moment everything clicked for me. Up until then, music had always been a passion, working in radio and so forth, but after those two weeks I remember thinking, “Oh my God, this is what I want to do with my life.” From that point on, I never really looked back.

In several interviews you’ve described techno as something that helped you process difficult experiences. Do you think music saved you in some ways?

Yes, I do. Music gave me an outlet when I didn’t always have the words to explain or express what I was feeling. It gave me purpose, direction and a way to channel emotions that otherwise could have stayed buried. I don’t know where I’d be without it”.

I am going to end with Numéro Netherlands and their great interview. Lee Ann Roberts is a fascinating D.J. and artist. She spoke about “changes behind this new era, finding the way back to herself, and why now felt like the right time to take control”:

“A lot of people know you for hard techno, but this project brings you back to your psytrance roots. Why did you want to explore that side of your sound again?

Psytrance is where my journey began. It’s who I am. It’s in my blood, my DNA. Before I was a DJ, I was spending every weekend stomping for days at psytrance festivals in the vineyards and mountains of South Africa, completely losing myself in the music. Those experiences shaped me long before I ever stepped behind the decks.

As my career evolved, I explored different sounds and genres, but over the last few years I’ve found myself reconnecting with the music that first made me fall in love with electronic music. There’s something about psytrance that feels like home. The energy, the freedom, the sense of community—it’s always been a part of me. This chapter isn’t about going backwards. It’s about embracing the foundation that shaped me and bringing it together with everything I’ve learned along the way.

This EP feels more emotional and cinematic than some of your previous work. Did making these songs help you express a different side of yourself?

Definitely.  Music has always been how I process things that I struggle to put into words. A lot of these tracks were written during a period of huge personal growth and reflection. There are emotions, memories, and experiences woven into the  music that people might not immediately hear, but they’re there. This project allowed me to be more vulnerable and tell a deeper story.

The visuals for this new era are very striking and fashion-focused. How important was it to create a new visual identity alongside the music?

Very important. I’ve always believed that music is more than just sound. It’s a feeling, a world, and an experience. The visuals help tell the story behind the music.  Fashion has always been part of my life, so it felt natural to bring that influence into this chapter. I wanted the visuals to feel powerful, mysterious, and cinematic while reflecting the confidence and evolution behind the music.

The tracks on the EP move between dark and uplifting moments. Was there a story or feeling you wanted listeners to experience?

The EP reflects a journey. There are moments that represent struggle, uncertainty, and confronting parts of yourself, but there are also moments of freedom, strength, and hope. Life isn’t one emotion. It’s all of those things at once. I wanted listeners to feel like they were moving through different chapters and ultimately arriving somewhere stronger than where they started.

PHOTO CREDIT: Nik Mueller

As a female producer, have you ever felt pressure to fit into a certain box, and how have you learned to stay true to yourself?

Of course. There are always expectations about how you should look, sound, or behave. Early on, I probably felt those pressures more strongly, but over time I’ve realised that authenticity is your biggest strength. The moments where I’ve grown the most have been the moments where I’ve stopped trying to fit into someone else’s idea of who I should be and simply focused on being myself.

After years of touring and building your career, what have you learned about yourself during this new chapter?

I’ve learned that success means very little if you’re disconnected from yourself. For a long time, I was focused on the next show, the next milestone, and the next goal. This chapter has taught me the importance of balance, self-worth, and creating a life that feels meaningful outside of music as well. I’ve also learned that some of my greatest strengths come from the challenges I’ve overcome.

This feels like the start of something new for you. What do you hope people take away from TAKE CONTROL and this new era of Lee Ann Roberts?

I hope people see that it’s never too late to evolve. We all go through difficult periods, setbacks, and moments where we lose our way. TAKE CONTROL is a reminder that you can always choose to begin again. If this music inspires even one person to trust themselves, embrace change, or step into their own power, then I’ve achieved what I set out to do”.

I shall wrap things up. I am a new convert of Lee Ann Roberts. Her new E.P., TAKE CONTROL, is sensational. If you are in a position to see one of her D.J. sets then make sure that you do, as she is a phenomenal and unique talent. You can see where she is playing here. If you have not done it already, make sure that you follow…

THIS D.J. queen.

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Follow Lee Ann Roberts

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Shirley Manson at Sixty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: Nate Ryan 

 

Shirley Manson at Sixty

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ONE of our…

PHOTO CREDIT: Andy Willsher

best artists celebrates her sixtieth birthday on 26th August. Shirley Manson is the lead of Garbage. I have been a fan of hers for many years. I am going to end with a Garbage playlist. Before I get to that mixtape at the end, I am going to get to some biography from AllMusic. They give us an insight into this brilliant artist:

“Scottish singer/songwriter Shirley Manson is best known as the iconic lead singer for the alternative pop/rock band Garbage. Prior to Garbage, she was a member of Scottish bands Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie and Angelfish. It was in a music video for the latter group that she was discovered by her future bandmates Butch Vig and Duke Erikson.

Manson was born in 1966 and raised in Edinburgh, Scotland, influenced by her mother, Muriel, a onetime jazz singer. Growing up, school was a particular problem, with Manson teased by classmates about everything from her hair to her eyes. Manson's focus soon shifted toward a life of drugs, sex, and depression. However, one thing proved to be a light in her life: her love for music. She began playing keyboards and singing backup for local rock bands, then went on to be a lead singer. Although she thought Angelfish would be her big break, the group didn't score any hits. However, it did get her noticed, and in 1994 landed her the lead singer spot in Garbage.

Garbage's multi-platinum self-titled debut was released in 1995 and would go on to become a seminal record of the era, with singles like "Only Happy When It Rains" and "Stupid Girl." The band's popularity grew, fueled by the charismatic frontwoman. Their sophomore set, Version 2.0, another platinum hit, arrived in 1998. After a slight slip in the charts with their third release, 2001's Beautiful Garbage, Manson and company debuted at number four in 2005 with their comeback LP, Bleed Like Me. A greatest-hits compilation followed in 2007 before the release of their fifth album, Not Your Kind of People, in 2012. Their first in seven years, People peaked in the Top Five of the Billboard independent, alternative, and rock charts. Strange Little Birds arrived in 2016.

In addition to fronting Garbage, Manson also acts. Her earliest role was on the television series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, in which she starred from 2008 to 2009. Manson also recorded vocals for the theme song for the 2017 series American Gods. Her contributions to the big screen also extended to the James Bond franchise with Garbage's 1999 theme "The World Is Not Enough." She has also recorded with Queens of the Stone Age, Gavin Rossdale, the Bird and the Bee, Serj Tankian, and Brody Dalle”.

A very happy birthday to Shirley Manson. When she turns sixty on 26th August, I hope there is a lot of celebration. Still going strong with Garbage, she is one fo the greatest band leads of all time. We all need to show love to…

THIS music icon.

FEATURE: Modern-Day Queens: Nia Archives

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern-Day Queens

PHOTO CREDIT: Lewis Vorn

 

Nia Archives

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THE brilliant…

Nia Archives has released one of the best albumns of the year with Emotional Junglism. I am starting out with an interview from Rolling Stone UK. They spoke with an artist whose mission was to champion Jungle. Now, this “girl for the genre’s renaissance is spreading her musical wings and being unapologetically herself”. I have been following her for years. Seeing her growth and evolution has been amazing:

“Over the past five years, Nia Archives has become one of British music’s most magnetic success stories. The self-funded producer who once paid for her debut single ‘Sober Feels’ with her student loan is now a history-maker in her own right: the first jungle artist to receive three BRIT Award nominations, the first in more than two decades to be shortlisted for the Mercury Prize, and a support act for Beyoncé at a London stadium show. Between festival takeovers, magazine covers and industry accolades, she’s established herself as the unmistakable face of jungle’s new generation. If Britain’s electronic scene has spent the past half decade searching for a poster girl, it found one in Nia Archives.

The producer doesn’t reject that title. If anything, she thinks she helped build it. “I think I did that to myself a bit too, [but] I had to back it,” she admits. And when jungle needed a louder champion, she rarely shied away from being one. In 2022, she lobbied for the return of the MOBOs’ Best Dance Act category with a public letter. Across the table, Nia reveals that she convinced herself that the institution would “hate me forever”. Instead, the category returned and she became its inaugural winner – a full-circle moment for someone who had attended the ceremony as a teenager. “I think it’s a great Black institution in British music,” she says of the organisation. “What [late MOBOs founder] Kanya [King] did is amazing and her legacy will go on forever. I feel honoured to be a small part of that legacy.” But, despite all this history-making with the genre, she’s equally keen to remind people that Nia Archives has always been bigger than jungle alone.

That philosophy sits at the heart of her upcoming record. Despite the title, she is quick to point out that this isn’t really a jungle record. “It’s called Emotional Junglist, but it’s not a jungle album,” she says. “It’s an alternative record.” She starts reeling off the music that shaped it almost instinctively: Madonna’s Ray of Light, Blur, Pulp, Saint Etienne, Massive Attack. Jungle still dictates the pulse – the breakbeats, the basslines, the skeletal framework of the songs – but almost everything else has been given permission to wander. “With jungle, I’m inspired by the drums and the bass production and the structure,” she explains, “but I’m not necessarily inspired by the synths. I take way more inspiration from alternative music, guitar music and trip-hop.”

As a music listener and fan, Nia Archives has long admired artists who refuse to sit still. “Madonna did that so well across all her eras – always pioneering, always asking, ‘What’s next?’” she says. “I’m really inspired by people like Madonna and Björk, who keep innovating. [FKA] twigs too, she’s always kept it moving.” Now, Nia is ready “to fuse genres, find the next combination of the things I like – that’s what excites me at the moment.”

The music itself isn’t what worries her. Putting it out into the world is. “I’m really worried,” she admits with a laugh. “People are expecting 15 straight-up jungle tracks. I’ve done that already. I hope people allow me the grace to just try some shit.” For an artist who spent years loudly staking her name on jungle, there is an irony in now having to convince people to follow her somewhere else. The question is no longer whether she can make jungle bend to her imagination, but whether her audience will trust her without knowing exactly where she’s taking them.

That freedom extends beyond the production. She has always written candidly about her life, but admits she once used the frenzy of her music to obscure just how much she was saying. “I used singing more as a musical tool than a vocal showcase,” she says. Even on her debut album Silence Is Loud, widely praised for its emotional openness, she was wary of revealing too much. When its raw title track quickly became a favourite among her team, who wanted to make it a focus of the campaign, Nia pushed back. “I was so scared,” she remembers. “I was like, ‘It can be on the album, but I don’t want it to be the focus.’” This time, there is nowhere near as much distance between the woman living through these experiences and the artist singing about them”.

Polyester spent time with Nia Archives. In addition to discussing her new album, she discussed being shy. If you have not discovered this incredible artist then do go and follow her work. Emotional Junglist is such a stunning album:

“Making a second album is stressful. The pressure, the lack of innocence…I made Silence is Loud in two weeks. This album took me a year. It’s a really different process. What I really like about both is I was going for a particular sound and with Emotional Junglist, I doubled down on it.”

Her fear of the sophomore slump is a valid one; the second albums of so many artists have been cast away as failures by the culture, punished for veering too far off their more famous older sibling. It is a limitation that breeds risk averse musicians, genre used to offset experimentation or too much individuality like a cane.

“I hope people allow me the grace to be an artist and experiment and not be bound by the restraints of what dance music should be because I’ve never wanted to be bound by that,” she says. “I’ve always wanted to try stuff and make stuff for fun. As I get further into my career, I feel like everyone just expects the same thing but I don’t want to do that. It’s boring!”

“I feel a lot of pressure to make “Baianá” over and over again. Or even“Forbidden Feelingz”. I just feel like I made those tunes for fun. I don’t want to make the same song again. I think my music prior to this album and this era has been a little confusing to people.”

Silence is Loud’s charm comes exactly from the fizzy youthfulness and naivety of the artist who made it. It would not work now, precisely because Nia is not the same person she was when she started out.

She does the intelligent thing here, building on the cheeky Britpop writing and unrepentant jungle beats of work past while giving space to the assured melancholy and introversion our mid-twenties force upon us all; it is a sonic maturation in the clearest sense. “Boys in Blue,” a punk anthem jeering at the alarming decision by an ex to intimidate her by calling police to her door, is just a sample of the kind of assuredness she exhibits on the project.

“It’s definitely a more female gaze kind of album, so I want to see a lot more girls at the gigs this year.”

“I’m really happy with that song because it’s a middle finger, a bit of a victory lap. It’s so empowering. Sometimes I feel like I’m moaning?..It’s nice to have a song that’s not like ‘woe is me’. It’s nice to have a song that’s like, ‘I’m that girl. I can’t believe you even dared to do something like that.’”

Many would have licked their wounds in private, but being an emotional junglist requires a  candidness that would have been impossible at 22 simply. The point is to cry in the club with your girlfriends and count your battle scars.

“I’ve always written really personal songs but because the production has been so intensely instrumental, I’ve kind of hidden behind the production in previous music. There’s moments of sparseness (on Emotional Junglist), stripped back vibes so I think you can hear what I’m saying a bit more.” She laughs self-deprecatingly. “Weirdly, even though I’ve always been front facing, I feel even more front facing in this era.”

I ask, on a whim, if she’s an introvert.

“I’m naturally a really, really shy person! As I child I was very shy, really quiet,” she says. “In this job though I feel like I have to force myself to be more extroverted than I naturally am.” Her aversion to chaos and attention has cropped up a few times (at one point she tells me that her preferred pre-show ritual is silence: “I like avoiding people before the shows. It sounds really bad but I really don’t like talking”) but you wouldn’t expect it of someone with such formidable energy on stage.

Now, she is once more preparing to face crowds and fans again, this time with an older, wiser version of Nia Archives.

“I’m putting myself out there again. I’ve been doing my own thing away from everyone’s criticism for the past year so I’m preparing to deal with that again.”

She’s being diplomatic about the backlash present in the discourse around both her experimentation across forms as well as the perceived ‘commerciality’ of her work now that her star has risen to BRIT-nominated heights. “Online is just negative vibes. I try to detach from it because people always have so much to say. Even today, I was scrolling TikTok just to wake up and the first thing I see is someone being negative about me.”

Punishment for visibility and mainstream success is not a new phenomenon. Pedestal tearing has become as integral a part of online fandom spaces as thirst edits and shipping culture. Die a hidden gem, undervalued and underpaid or be successful and pay for it with the cultural currency amassed earlier in your career. No artist seems to have squared this incongruous circle, of holding both democratic fame and underground genius.

“That’s why everyone is moving to America, not just in music but in everything. It’s just very British. In Australia they call it tall poppy syndrome. When someone gets to a certain level…people start to resent that and they try to humble you. It’s a cultural thing. In many ways I think it’s good to be grounded but it’s kind of a shame when the community you give so much to can be negative when you do all the things they supported you doing. Skepta had that…I just think it’s part of the journey.”

“I care but I don’t because all the people talking don’t even make music. They’re always talking about junglist this, junglist that but I know all the original junglistst”.

I am going to end up with a review of Emotional Junglist from CLASH. I do think that it is one of the best albums of this year. Such a remarkable work from Nia Archives. That is why I wanted to feature her here, as she is one of our greatest artists:

“Spearheading the new wave of 21st century junglism, Nia Archives swept the competition aside with her excellent 2024 debut album ‘Silence Is Loud’. Since then, the Bradford-raised producer has expanded her sound, fully unpacking her influences in the process. Along the way, her heart has taken a few bruises, and it’s this mixture of personal and technical which makes expansive second album ‘Emotional Junglist’ so compelling.

If one of the standard criticisms of Nia’s work was that she was too in thrall with jungle’s heritage, well, this album demolishes that entirely. Citing everyone from the Streets and Happy Mondays through to LTJ Bukem as a point of inspiration, it’s a weighty 15-tracker that embodies her quicksilver creativity.

The highs come thick and fast. ‘Feelingz Go Numb’ is a superb opener, a neat point of connection between her crisp debut and the frenetic creativity of the follow-up. ‘Around Tha Bend’ utilises a guitar line worthy of The Cure, while ‘Danger’ merges dancehall impulses with industrial tones worthy of Nine Inch Nails. A heady thrill, it somehow remains firmly under the jungle imbrella.

It’s this push-and-pull between her sonic ambitions and her fixed roots which gives the record such a dichotomous energy. If William Orbit’s late 90s work haunts ‘Vertical’ then something like ‘Train Of Thought’ is a more down-the-line liquid DNB offering (albeit with the vocals of an angel).

Indeed, if Nia Archives’ debut album was defined, then her follow-up is fusion oriented. ‘Almost Always’ has a sombre, post-punk guitar line; ‘Dance With Me 2Nite’ is unafraid to embrace pop, and ‘The Darkest Hour’ has an orchestral sweep.

The guests, too, are expertly chosen. Ethan P Flynn helps to engage the creative process, Julia Michaels pops up during a writing trip to Los Angeles, and as a whole the record fully embraces a live-in-the-studio full band feel. Sampha is typically radiant on ‘Tender’ – an open song of longing – while old friend Jorja Smith appears on ‘Get Me Down’, perhaps the apex of ‘Emotional Junglist’ both as a project and as a concept.

In refusing to be hemmed in Nia Archives has built a space to call her own, building outwards on her firm breakbeat foundations. ‘Emotional Junglist’ is a dense mosiac of sounds, but the feelings are pure and distinct – a step forwards from her debut, it’s a fascinating second chapter.

8/10”.

I will wrap up here. Nia Archives is such a tremendous talent. I am wondering where she goes from here and what her next album sounds like. Emotional Junglist is the sound of an artist in full flight. I think that it could be in with a shout of a Mercury Prize nomination. If so, it would be the least that she deserves. We should all salute…

THIS wonderful artist.

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Follow Nia Archives