FEATURE:
Corridors That Lead to the World…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at her home in Eltham, London on 13th September, 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Cummins/Getty Images
Why Incredible Artists Mentioning Kate Bush in Interviews and Absorbing Her Music Is Especially Important
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A couple of…
IN THIS PHOTO: PinkPantheress/PHOTO CREDIT: Charlie Engman
my recent Kate Bush features have discussed her influence and artists of last year that are definitely influenced by her. You could listen to the best songs and albums, especially from women, and many have cited Kate Bush as inspirational. I don’t think that I included all of the artists that helped define last year who you can draw a line to Kate Bush. In terms of the best songs, I did not mention PinkPantheress. Illegal has been voted as one of the best songs of last year by so many sites and publications. She (Bath-born Victoria Walker), to me, seems to incorporate the best aspects of Kate Bush. In terms of that sense of experimentation. Listen to Illegal and the beats and strings. Even the vocal from PinkPantheress sort of puts me in mind of Kate Bush. Perhaps a combination of 1982’s The Dreaming and 1985’s Hounds of Love. PinkPantheress has cited Kate Bush as an influence and she has compelled her fans to check her out. Check out the classics. I don’t think that it is the case of modern explosion and discussion informing and inspiring artists. Many discovered Kate Bush years ago. Even though you can feel Kate Bush has made an impression on PinkPantheress and she, consciously or not, has aspects of Bush in her music, I do also think there needs to be more mention of her in interviews. Artists are kind when they shout out someone like Kate Bush, as it means those who might not have discovered her then check her out. Rather than this being about selecting artists have mentioned Kate Bush as an influence and perhaps urged their fans to check her out, maybe I should focus on those who you feel are working in a similar way. They share aspects of Kate Bush in terms of their work ethic, production and spirit. Last year, PinkPantheress spoke with MixMag and there was a particular section that caught my eye:
“A lot of her self-restriction comes from being bound and categorised by others - something that she has felt throughout her whole career, especially since breaking into the mainstream. “I think a lot of people also categorise me as just pop, but I think I’m fairly experimental and could go even further,” she reflects.
“If people listen to just my bigger songs and less of my deep cuts they think I’m less experimental than I actually am. However, on the other side, I never go too experimental. I’m very structured and I tend to stick to what I know a lot of the time. You know, for example, people tell me to make longer songs and I’m not against the idea but for me it’s about making it make sense for me. I go in with an idea of what I want. I’m someone that has OCD, and when I go against something that I have set in my brain on sometimes it feels like the world is going to end. It’s something I have to figure out as I make more music, because I struggle to break out of a vision”.
I do get a sense of Kate Bush from those words. Whilst PinkPantheress does definitely carry some Kate Bush in her own sounds, that discipline of keeping her songs short and not being pressured into making longer songs and perhaps compromise makes her quite distinct among modern artists. The main point of this article was to shout out artists who have cited Kate Bush as an influence and/or asked their fans to investigate her. Another reason for writing this is related to a something Sean Ono Lennon recently said. He is the son of Yoko Ono and the late John Lennon, and he is worried that young listeners might not discover the band and there is this generation gap. I think the proliferation of Beatles projects and ongoing discourse means they will be discovered. One reason why they found a lot of fans in the 1990s and 2000s is because a lot of artists in the ‘90s especially were inspired by The Beatles and you could feel them very much in the mix. Even if the band themselves were not in fashion, they were being represented by artists of the time. I am not only thinking about women, but I think more female artists embody or remind me of Kate Bush than male artists (or gender-neutral acts). This is what American Songwriter said about Chappell Roan last year. They observed how Kate Bush helped shaped four iconic artists (also included was Adele): “Good Luck, Babe!” shares its art-pop DNA with Kate Bush’s synthy melodrama. Chappell Roan’s ethereal anthems sound like a destination reached. A shared experience in a world that often resembles a Shakespearean comedy (or tragedy, depending on the day). Part escape, part destination, but the “pop” in pop music is just mass human connection. Maybe Bush’s (and Roan’s) bold music is a way to help make joy not feel so alien. That is quite comforting, actually”.
In the same way Sean Ono Lennon worries about The Beatles passing by younger listeners, I do share concerns when it comes to Kate Bush. However, whereas you do not see a lot of modern artists mention The Beatles as an influence, and you cannot feel their influence as much in the modern Pop mainstream as you’d like, I do feel like Kate Bush is being mentioned more and has more of a market share. Chappell Roan is a big fan and you can feel how Kate Bush shaped her music. Her image, her confidence, her sound and songwriting. Influencing PinkPantheress in different ways. Two disparate artists, you feel and hear different aspects of Kate Bush in their aesthetic and attitudes. How they approach music and different ways in which Kate Bush has made an impression. The same can be said of, say, Addison Rae and Lady Gaga. A new artist and a modern icon, both produced phenomenal albums last year. I have recently written about Addison Rae and highlighted her amazing debut, Addison. Rae has included Kate Bush in a personal playlist, and it is clear that she is a fan. Some have noted how a haunted quality in Addison Rae’s voice is reminiscent of Kate Bush. However, I think the synthesiser and bigger sounds of Hounds of Love is a bigger influence. A vocal sound and this rush and charge that you get from songs like Fame Is a Gun and Aquamarine. If some feel that is more inspired by Taylor Swift or someone like Charli xcx, I think that Kate Bush is more present. If Addison Rae did not explicitly shout out Kate Bush, the fact that she included Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) in a playlist from 2024 can be heard through Addison. An album very much connected with Bush’s 1985 masterpiece.
It does make me return to the subject of influence and modern artists who very much have Kate Bush to thank (in part). Perhaps Bush would not collaborate with these artists, though you know that younger listeners and those who may not have caught Kate Bush ‘the first time around’ will discover her music because modern artists either mention her. Or there is critical connection. I know some have even compared artists such as Katy Perry to Kate Bush. It is subjective when you consider which artists are similar to Kate Bush, though the fact that ones who created some of the best music of last year – Addison Rae, Lorde, Florence + The Machine, Lily Allen, CMAT, Charli xcx, ROSALÍA – wads released by artists who are fans of Kate Bush means that her own music will reach their fans through association and comparison. It might be a stretch bringing into the mix artists like Wet Leg, Perfume Genius and those that maybe have not mentioned Kate Bush as an influence. Lorde hasn’t, though you know her music is in Lorde’s orbit. Though I think Perfume Genius has. His album, Glory, is one of the best of the year. Taylor Swift too. Not someone who talks about Kate Bush, there are ways in which you know Bush is an influence on Swift. Same with Sabrina Carpenter. So, even though Bush has not released an album since 2011 and there are few documentaries and books coming out about her, so many awesome artists of today have either listed Bush as an influence, compelled their fans to listen to her or bring Kate Bush into their music. FKA twigs is someone who is very much a modern embodiment of Kate Bush oin so many ways. Vocal similarities and genre=-defying and experimental music. Creating these incredible worlds that are bold and sensual. Keep It, Hold It from EUSEXUA, another standout from last year, has major Kate Bush vibes. I said I would mention Lady Gaga. Mayhem (from last year) is among her best albums.
Before getting to her, I forgot to mention Blood Orange (Dev Hynes) and Essex Honey. He has shouted out Kate Bush and named her as one of his most important artists. Last year, when speaking with The Quietus about a dozen albums that mean a lot to him, he did name Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love as one. He also showed love for 2011’s 50 Words for Snow. This observation means a lot of Blood Orange fans will check out Kate Bush: “Her use of piano on that record blew my mind, and it’s something I still carry into my own work. If I’m incorporating piano into a track, it’s essentially because of Kate Bush”. I do think that Lady Gaga is one of the biggest mainstream artists who has cited Kate Bush as a big influence and you can hear her right through the discography. Gaga’s latest album, Mayhem, very much seems like one Bush could or would have made in the past. One reviewer noted how a song or two had a “Kate Bush on the moors” quality to them”. Someone with that large a fanbase mentioning Kate Bush has a massive impact. Even reviews comparing Lady Gaga/Mayhem to Kate Bush will make its mark. If I fear the youngest generation might not latch onto Kate Bush or know her music because it is harder to discover than a prolific modern-day artist putting stuff out, there are so many modern artists – as I covered in a previous feature – who have an element or colour of Kate Bush. Whether it is citing her and talking about her music, reminding one of Bush’s production, experimental aspects or aesthetics, or something else, that will mean that people will be curious about Kate Bush and dig deeper. And we may get a new album from her this or next year. Huge British artists like RAYE and Olivia Dean are fans of Bush. That universe and tree with so many branches. Also, brilliant music from Halsey and MARINA have, I feel, got shades of Kate Bush in them. Same with Self Esteem, The Last Dinner Party, and and so many others! One of the most influential artists of the modern age, yet one not as discussed as she should be. Coming back to that tree analogy and thought. How far and wide it goes. In terms of genre, fanbase, demographic and age range, the modern artists talking about Kate Bush or carrying something of her in her music will result in a growth. In terms of those who dig her music. Going beyond Hounds of Love and the obvious. As each modern artist who loves Kate Bush admires a different album or side of her. Nearly thirty-eight years since Kate Bush’s debut single, Wuthering Heights, was released, it is so wonderful seeing how many amazing artists…
CITE her as an influence.