FEATURE: Do It Again: Why We Need a New Steely Dan Documentary Out in the World

FEATURE:

 

Do It Again

IN THIS PHOTO: Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan 

Why We Need a New Steely Dan Documentary Out in the World

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WHILST a new Steely Dan album…

is not going to happen, I am perplexed by the lack of Steely Dan documentaries and podcasts out in the world. The fact that one of Steely Dan’s founders, Walter Becker, died in 2017 means the recording days of the group are over. Its other founder, Donald Fagen, is still touring the music, and he can always release another solo album. I am not sure whether there are any unearthed Steely Dan songs or demos that will come out but, considering what perfectionists Fagen and Becker were in the studio, it seems unlikely. Although the music of Steely Dan is in the past, I think there is a whole new generation that would be fascinated to know about the start of this duo – Steely Dan are Walter Becker and Donald but have been joined by a host of musicians through the years -, and how their incredible music came together. I know many people who are passionate about Steely Dan and we can all recite a couple of their hits. I do think they are very underplayed on radio, and when does hear a song of theirs, it is normally one of the better-known hits – Do It Again, Reelin’ in the Years and Dirty Work, for example. Like so many classic acts, there is a lot more to Steely Dan than the big hits. In fact, their albums are so well honed and performed, they demand serious passion and study. There are never any throwaway songs; instead, each number is beautiful and full. I have been searching online, and I cannot see anything in the way of a career-spanning documentary dedicated to Steely Dan.

The only thing I can find is the documentary where the guys discussed the classic album, Aja. That was back in 1999 so, twenty years later, do we need to revisit this musical force of nature? We still make documentaries about artists like David Bowie, despite the fact he died three years ago. Whilst Steely Dan are not played as much as artists like Bowie, their music is still wowing people and turning critical heads. Recently, Pitchfork reviewed five classic Steely Dan albums, and it was good to see these albums seen through new eyes; re-evaluated decades after their release. Their 1980 album, Gaucho, turns thirty next year, and it was the last album Steely Dan recorded before going on a hiatus; they would return to the scene with 2000’s Two Against Nature. Steely Dan’s music is complex and is full of feel, musicianship and craft. On the other hand, many of their songs are breezy and easily accessible. They are a Jazz Rock group/duo, but not one reserved to those who know the genre. Many people call Steely Dan Yacht Rock, because it incorporates elements of Smooth Jazz and Funk. I think there is this assumption that Steely Dan are these intellectuals who have written songs confined to those of a certain age of preference. On the contrary, Steely Dan’s music has resonated through the ages and can be understood by all.

I know people who listen to all kinds of music, but they can all agree that Steely Dan are seriously cool and great! The fact that they pretty much put out an album a year amazes me, considering the sheer amount of work that goes into their albums! Steely Dan put out their debut, Can’t Buy a Thrill, in 1972, and I don’t think any band like them has come sense. That blend of the cutting, witty and incredibly uplifting…try and name any act who has the same vibe and qualities as Steely Dan! Maybe, to celebrate that album’s fiftieth, there should be a documentary put out in 2022. I think that would be a great way to celebrate an incredible act. There are going to be many modern musicians who have taken inspiration from Steely Dan; musicians who worked with them who want to tell their story. Although Becker is departed, I think there is a chance Donald Fagen could be involved. It would not matter too much whether it was a T.V. or radio documentary, as Steely Dan rarely toured, and they didn’t release music videos. Steely Dan put out nine studio albums, and I think each is very different. One can hear a duo looking to form a group and find a sound on the debut; a step up on Countdown to Ecstasy (1973) and the perfection of 1974’s Pretzel Logic. 1975’s Katy Lied is a bit more of a struggle.

This is how Pitchfork surveyed it in their recent review:

“The irony of the note on the back of Katy Lied, and possibly the inspiration for its inclusion, is that the album’s sound was, according to the band, deeply flawed. While Walter Becker and Donald Fagen were recording it with producer Gary Katz and engineer Roger Nichols, they employed a then-new technology called dbx, which expanded the dynamic range beyond the conventional limit of analog tape. The system worked by compressing the incoming signal and then expanding it on playback, with some filtering in there to reduce noise. It was more complicated than Dolby, boosting and then lowering a wider array of frequencies, and also, potentially, more effective”.

Evan Steely Dan’s more ‘flawed’ works are full of incredible moments. Katy Lied has Black Friday and Any World (That I'm Welcome To) on it. 1976’s The Royal Scam is a little darker than previous releases and another shift of sound and themes. By 1977’s Aja, again, Becker and Fagen had changed their skin and created what is arguably, their finest album. Maybe 1980’s Gaucho is a little uneven, but there are still some career-best songs on there – including Hey Nineteen and Babylon Sisters. Even if Gaucho was Steely Dan nearing the end (for two decades, anyway), there is still a lot to recommend – as Pitchfork explain in their review: 

“Good times! Is it any wonder Gaucho—the seventh Steely Dan album, and the last one Donald Fagen and Walter Becker would make together until the year 2000—is the one even some hardcore Danimals find it tough to fully cozy up to? The almost pathologically overdetermined production is elegant, arid, a little forbidding, and every last tinkling chime sounds like it took 12 days to mix, because chances are it did. And underneath that compulsive craftsmanship, that marble-slick surface, there’s decay, disillusionment, a gnawing sadness. But that’s what’s great about Gaucho. It takes the animating artistic tension of Steely Dan—their need to make flawless-sounding records lionizing inveterately human fuckups—to its logical endpoint.

It’s their most obviously L.A. record, so of course they made it in New York, after spending years out West making music so steeped in New York iconography it practically sweated hot-dog-cart water. And it’s also the most end-of-the-’70s record ever made, 38 minutes of immaculately conceived malaise-age bachelor-pad music by which to greet the cold dawn of the Reagan era. The characters in these songs have taken an era of self-expression and self-indulgence as far as they can. They’re free to do and be whatever and whoever they want, but all that severance of obligation has done is isolate them from other people”.

I don’t think Steely Dan ever made a bad record. They set such a high standard early in their career which meant an album like Gaucho might have seemed a little lacking. People are seeing these wonderful albums years later and tackling them from a different angle. I think Walter Becker and Donald Fagen’s songwriting could act as a guide to others and give them impetus – there are artists who cite Steely Dan as influences, but I feel there are so many others who could benefit from their wisdom. Maybe Donald Fagen would be reticent to talk about Steely Dan without Walker Becker, but there is a lot of music and material that could go into a fantastic documentary. Certainly, there are fans from different generations who could contribute; broadcasters and fans who have their own favourite albums and different reasons for loving Steely Dan.

I do not think they are a niche act that has been overlooked because few people are into them. There are a few podcasts connected to Steely Dan, and there has been the odd special here and there. It is strange that there has not been anything in the way of a multi-part radio documentary or a T.V. feature that celebrates the work of Fagen, Becker and their wonderful musicians. There are YouTube videos that extol the virtues of Steely Dan, but nothing – that I have seen – that examines all their albums and really digs deep. It could be a hit on Netflix or a BBC radio documentary; maybe a new podcast that focuses on different aspects of Steely Dan. They are in the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame, and I think the power and importance of their music will reverberate for decades more. I want to end with exerts from an interview Walter Becker gave to Time Out New York in 2008 (it is quoted in a Time Out article from 2017). He was asked about the make-up of Steely Dan and the idea of Steely Dan being Yacht Rock:

 “Can you give a nutshell breakdown of the division of labor in Steely Dan? It’s hard for an outsider to know who’s responsible for what.

Yeah, I think that with most partnerships that run for a certain amount of time—and ours has run for a pretty long time—the division of labor is very ad hoc. So whatever needs to be done, sometimes I’ve got something to start with, sometimes Donald’s got something to start with. Sometimes we really work very closely, collaboratively on every little silly millimeter on the writing of the song and certainly of the records, and sometimes less so. And so over the course of the partnership, I think we’ve done all sorts of different things different ways, and probably that still is changing in a way, because if I can speculate on Donald’s behalf, I think there is a level of perfection, polish, sophistication, and abundance of detail and structural stuff that he wants to hear in his music that I sort of ran out of patience to do.

My attention span is not that good anymore, and I sort of believe—and maybe the lyrics somewhere say this—that the perfect is the enemy of the good. And one of the real dangers of doing the kind of thing that we do, where people let you do whatever you want and you have money, is burnout. You go too far; there’s no one there to stop you; you keep going; you keep working on things. So I have to learn, and even sort of create artificial boundaries so that doesn’t happen. And nowadays because of computers, because of a variety of things, there’s an unlimited palette of techniques that you can use. And if you don’t rule certain things in and certain things out—put it this way, it’s helpful for me. I tried to think back to what we did in the ’70s with what we had available, and why in some ways that was an optimum sort of setup. So there’s something, for example, about the fact that either you get a track that day with your band, or everybody goes home with their dick in the dirt, that helps you get tracks. It helps for musicians to know that it’s either going to happen there and they’re going to know about it and be on the record, or not. And not that they’re going to play some stuff and you’re going to take it home and fiddle with it and fool around with it. I like to get as much as I can in the tracking session. If I had the resources and the time and the fixed cast of characters and a bunch of other things, I would try to record everything live. If I could sing well enough, especially. But with other people too, I just think that ultimately that’s something I aspire to, because it’s the most joyous experience in music-making, when everybody’s playing together.

So I’m pretty positive you guys are familiar with this whole Yacht Rock thing…

Yeah! [Laughs]

I wanted to ask you about it because I think it’s kind of strange and interesting that you guys are involved with that. There’s this whole idea of smooth music, with the Doobie Brothers and Kenny Loggins and people like that. What is your feeling about being lumped in with that, and do you feel it’s accurate?

That’s just basically a gag, and I see why we would be lumped in with it. There are a lot of reasons why we would be lumped in with it, and yet there are a lot of—I mean, for example, to take someone who’s probably the furthest from where we are, like Christopher Cross, okay, who’s just doing these very simple songs; he was doing them I’m sure with some of the same musicians that we used, in some of the same studios with some of the same sonic goals in mind: a very smooth or shall we say polished product. And we ended up doing that—or maybe I should say we started out doing that, because it was our perception that if you were going to use jazz harmonies, it had to sound tight, professional; nothing sounds worse than sloppy—than kids playing jazz, you know what I mean? And so we sort of felt obliged to do that because of the kind of music we were doing. And so I think it’s great. I think it’s very amusing, the idea that all of these people knew each other, and I suppose, you know, we certainly knew Mike [McDonald], we worked with Mike, and we knew the Eagles, not as well, and the idea that we were sort of battling with each other in various types of feuds and situations, I think it’s pretty funny. I think it’s great”.

I think there are far fewer music documentaries out there than there should be. We have a lot of podcasts, but I feel music documentaries on T.V. and radio are harder to come by than they were years ago. Maybe it is the cost and effort involved that means podcasts are more economical and popular. Most of the greats of music have had a documentary dedicated to them or some form of celebration. When it comes to Steely Dan, there is a gap and that lingering question: When are we going to see them given their (overdue) moment in the spotlight? One can easily and happily investigate each of their albums, or they could look at Steely Dan in the context of music in the 1970s. Their music was featured in Katie Puckrik’s excellent documentary, I Can Go for That: The Smooth World of Yacht Rock. In 2019, I can hear elements of Steely Dan in other artists. Whether it is the rich musical palette or the lyrical style, they are definitely still with us. With so many podcasts and different ways of talking about music and great artists, I do feel like it is the moment we need to examine the stunning music of Steely Dan. I am not sure what it is exactly, but there is a rare feeling one experiences when they listen to Steely Dan’s music. It can make you laugh and smile; you are dropped to the knees by the audacity of the musicianship and the genius of the lyrics. Whether it is a radio series or a one off T.V. documentary, I, and so many other people, would love to…

SEE it come to fruition.

FEATURE: Modern Heroines Part Twelve: Cate Le Bon

FEATURE:

 

Modern Heroines

Part Twelve: Cate Le Bon

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ONE reason why I wanted to include Cate Le Bon…

in my Modern Heroines feature is because she has come an awful long way since her debut album, Me Oh My, in 2009. I am not going to cover her E.P.s – she has released a few -, and I am going to run through her albums and see how she has evolved; how critics have really warmed to what she is doing. Before I start with her debut album, it is worth providing some background to Cate Le Bon. Born in Carmarthenshire, Wales, Le Bon first captured public focus when she supported Gruff Rhys on his 2007 solo U.K. tour. Le Bon put out her debut in 2009 but she appeared on a couple of other artists’ songs prior to that – including a spot on Neon Neon’s I Lust U in 2008. It is no surprise she has turned heads, given that there were not many artists like her back then; there still aren’t if we are being honest about it! Also, in 2008, Le Bon released the E.P., Edrych yn Llygaid Ceffyl Benthyg. That is a Welsh-language E.P. and, again, there were few artists putting out music in Welsh. Now, there are acts like Gwenno and Adwaith, but it was quite rare in 2008. I think Le Bon interested people earlier on because, even though she has a Folk vibe, she did not follow others or employ obvious influences. She could throw in odd riffs and quirky vocals with the air of suspects.

All of her tics and qualities mixed might see off-putting, but Cate Le Bon makes one feel warm and comforted. Le Bon crafted her own style from the off, showing how you can be unique and still resonate. Her guitar playing, vocals and lyrics were very much her own; they have strengthened through the years, yet nobody could mistake Cate Le Bon for anyone else in 2009. This year, mind, has been a hugely successful one for Le Bon. She was nominated for the Mercury Prize and Welsh Music Prize for Reward – more on that later – and, whilst she won neither, she has won a huge wave of respect and interest from the fans and press. I think Reward is one of the best albums of this year and makes you wonder where she will head next. I think Le Bon, in years to come, will be seen as this innovator and hugely influential artist who helped break down barriers. Le Bon has certainly help bring Welsh music to the fore, and she has inspired so many other artists, not just musically, but how she approaches life and how she has owned her career. Although Le Bon is reaching a peak now, there were some who were not sure what to make of her in 2009. Me Oh My was brought out to some acclaim and, although her E.P. of 2008 featured Welsh lyrics, there was far less of it to be heard on her debut studio album.

Maybe she felt she might alienate critics or Me Oh My would be reserved to only a few listeners. I can understand why she didn’t want to gamble early on and, although there were some mixed reviews, many had a lot of positive things to say. Here is The Line of Best Fit’s assessment:

 “Le Bon’s haunting ethereal voice accompany crisp guitar strums, which build with reverb until the futuristic synths kick in compelling me for the second time in a week to make a comparison to The Velvet Underground and Nico. Following track Sad Sad Feet is beautifully elegant as stripped back acoustic instrumentals set the scene for Le Bon’s wistful, eerie, multi-layered vocals. Highlight Hollow Tress House Hounds is more rock than folk with a catchy electric hook that is set to loop as Le Bon’s eccentric lyrics soar high above the base line. And the best way I can think of describing strikingly mysterious and melancholic keyboard led Eyes So Bright is to just say that it belongs in a Wes Anderson film. In fact the same could be said for Burn Until The End as Le Bon’s half sung, half spoken lyrics sounds sinister over the upbeat, rolling acoustic guitar. Probably one of my favourite tracks on the record, it begins unmistakably as an abstract, art-folk number until the drums and electric guitar riff kicks in and we are reminded of this 60s garage rock vibe that Le Bon carries throughout the album. Largely understated instrumentally, Le Bon’s earthy vocals and that twinge of sadness keep Me Oh My a diverse and intriguing listen as do the sporadic burst of energetic electrics and drums”.

Between Me Oh My and her second album, Cyrk, Le Bon left a three-year gap. She would bring us her third album in 2013, but she would then leave another three years between her remaining two albums. Some might ask why there was quite a pause between albums, but there is this great pressure to release albums quickly. I think artists are viewed as irrelevant or absent if they do not follow up an album with another after a year. It is a problem that plagues Pop artists more than anyone else, but Le Bon must have felt some pressure to get a second album not long after her debut. Rather than rush a release, Cyrk is a record that strengthens her sound and brings new elements to the plate. Le Bon gathered a smattering of love for Me Oh My, but Cyrk found a lot more positive response and focus. 2012 was when I discovered Cate Le Bon and I was instantly struck by her music. I was into artists like Laura Marling and one would have forgiven Le Bon for following Marling in terms of sound and lyrical direction. Luckily, Le Bon kept her music true to who she was and, as such, instantly burrowed her way into my brain. In the world of art, Cyrk is contemporary Polish circus posters that emerged in 1962 as a genre of the Polish School of Posters. They are characterized by their display of aesthetic qualities such as painterly gestures, linear design; hand-lettering, metaphors, humour and vibrant colors. Usually based on a single theme and meant to be advertisements; they were created in an attempt to interest the passerby in the upcoming circus

The reviews for Cyrk were largely positive and encouraging. In their review of Cate Le Bon’s sophomore album, Drowned in Sound wrote the following:

“It’s surprising that these songs should work so well on an album that opens with the rattling rock ‘n’ roll of ‘Falcon Eyed’ (easily CYRK’s catchiest song) but Cate le Bon seems to celebrate contrast – a point proven by CYRK’s final two tracks. ‘Ploughing Out Part 1’ has a beautifully inflected country guitar and the gentlest of choruses, and its simplicity is entirely at odds with ‘Ploughing Out Part 2’, where you’ll find an eclectic array of instruments caught up in a semi-motorik psychedelic wig-out. These two halves of the same song set these two sides of le Bon’s sound in stark contrast to one other, at the end of an album that’s done well to combine them.

Admittedly, the shabby production on CYRK means its colourful psychedelic streak isn’t as vivid as it is on, say, Gruff Rhys’ Hotel Shampoo, but that’s perhaps an unfair comparison. What this album makes perfectly clear is that Cate le Bon isn’t attempting to emulate anyone – not even her most distinguished collaborator. She’s made an album that only she could have made, and frankly it’s refreshing to hear a female singer from a folk background whose most obvious and overwhelming reference point isn’t Joni Mitchell via Laura Marling. A songwriter this unique and talented shouldn’t be standing in anyone’s shadow”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kirsten Mcternan 

Because her music was getting more spotlight and love, Le Bon was speaking more with the media. It is interesting noticing the differences between Me Oh My and Cryk. I think Le Bon grew in confidence and you can really hear that in the songs. Although Reward is my favourite album of hers, Cryk is an important breakthrough and one that found her taken to heart by so many people. In this interview with The Quietus, Le Bon was asked about her upbringing and the differences between her two studio albums:

“And how did growing up in rural Wales impact on your music?

CLB: Wales played a big role in my musical education. Growing up in the 90s there were two key bands in Wales, Super Furry Animals and Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci; two very varied and innovative bands that really inspired me. I also think that growing up where I did, in the Welsh countryside, impacted on my lyrical content too. The sense of space and, at times, isolation; you can definitely see the influence of that in my music.

What was the inspiration for the new album?

CLB: I was really inspired when I was at the Away Game festival on the Isle of Eigg. It’s such a beautiful island and I felt very moved by the place. I write a lot about the sea, so it’s probably not a surprise that somewhere like that inspired me. Lyrically, I see the album as a time travel travelogue, filled with the stuff that I usually write about; the sea, matters of the heart and animals (and sometimes all three together).

Musically, how would you describe the album?

CLB: I think it’s a bit of a mish-mash, possibly with a harder edge than my first album. There are poppy bits, such as the first track on the album, 'Falcon Eyed', there’s folky bits, prog bits and a bit of psychedelia thrown in for good measure too.

How did the making of CYRK differ from the making of Me Oh My?

CLB: With my first album, a lot of the tracks had been knocking around in my brain for years. That wasn’t the case second time around. I had to sit down and write new stuff. I also found, following the experience of the first album, that I was much more aware of instrumentation when writing CYRK. I knew how recording the album would work in a studio, what instruments and sounds you could add. With Me Oh My, I was much less aware of that side of things and so wrote in a slightly different way.

Is it important to you to sing in both Welsh and English?

CLB: Unlike some people who are bilingual, I get the chance to use both languages equally in everyday life. So when it comes to singing it made sense for my songs to reflect this. But, I do find that it’s easier to write in English, largely because for me Welsh is a difficult language to write lyrics in. Gruff Rhys, Euros Childs and Meic Stevens are wonderful Welsh lyricists, people who seem to write with ease. I’d love to have that level of ease but I don’t. But it’s still great that I possess the ability to sing in another language, specifically one that I think is so beautiful.

Following Cyrk and how busy Le Bon was promoting and touring it, one could have forgiven her for taking a step back and recalibrating. Instead, Mug Museum sort of represents transition and tragedy. Le Bon recorded the album in Los Angeles in March 2013 and relocate to the U.S. from Wales. Recorded alongside Noah Georgeson (who has worked with Joanna Newsom and Devendra Banhart), Mug Museum is a sparser work than we were used to. It is stripped-back; though Le Bon does collaborate with other artists on various tracks (Perfume Genius pops up on I Think I Knew). Le Bon wrote the album as a reaction to her grandmother’s death. Rather than produce something grief-stricken and depressed, Le Bon realised that this important woman who was at the top of the family chain had gone; relationship dynamics were shifting and there was this obvious void.  I love the title of Mug Museum because, according to Le Bon, it is an imagery place where relationships are looked upon and viewed – sort of like people staring at mugs and their individual designs (although, originally, the term was coined by a former roommate of Le Bon’s, given the number of mugs strewn about the place). There were not many interviews from Cate Le Bon in 2013, but that didn’t matter. She was going through this challenging time and had moved to a new country, one where a lot of people did not know about her.

There are a lot of great reviews for Mug Museum. AllMusic had this to say when they reviewed the album:

“The front half of Mug Museum is sublime, a heady mix of clever, Tom Verlaine-inspired guitar lines, sneaky, circuitous melodies, and poetic yet evasive lyrics that culminate into a rich stew of psych-pop goodness. Songs like the propulsive opener "I Can’t Help You," with its snappy, Stereolab-primed backbeat and tonal uniformity, the loose and affable "Are You with Me Now?," and the lovely "I Think I Knew," the latter a lush and moving duet with Seattle-based singer/songwriter (and fellow pop outcast) Mike Hadreas (Perfume Genius), find Le Bon firmly in her comfort zone, even as she pokes and prods around its edges, but Mug Museum, with the exception of the gutsy, proto-punk boardwalk rocker "Sisters" loses a little steam near the end, relying too often on dissonant quirks and meandering VU-style free-jams. It’s not Cyrk III (Le Bon issued an EP of songs called Cyrk II shortly after the release of its precursor), but Mug Museum will delight anybody with ears who enjoyed her previous outing, and while it may lack some of the focus of its predecessor, it retains every bit of its oddball charm”.

Given the fact Cate Le Bon was acclimatising to a new home and adapting to America (Los Angeles), it was another few years before we saw Crab Day. Crab Day came out in 2016 and it saw Le Bon change her working methods. Now, short demos were recorded first; she used different instruments and lyrics arrived after the music was realised. 

Maybe there was a need to do something different and push her music forward; perhaps her new environment inspired that shift. Whatever compelled that evolution, one can definitely hear a step-up in Le Bon’s music. Le Bon mapped out the songs in her head and (in her head) were vocal melodies, not just the lyrics. When she had the song ready to go, she would rehearse with her band -  Stephen Black (bass), Huw Evans (guitar) and Stella Mozgawa (drums) – and then things were moved to the studio; recorded was done in five days and then Le Bon completed her vocals and overdubs. I can imagine it was a bit scary transitioning from the security and familiarity of Wales and moving to the bustle of L.A. It could have stunted Le Bon’s music but, instead, it seems like this fresh vein of inspiration arrived. Again, press reaction was positive and Le Bon was very much in people’s minds. I think the opportunities of America were obvious and really benefited her. I can imagine a lot of different factors contributed to her move, but I think it worked out for her. Certainty, Crab Day earned Le Bon the best reviews of her career to date. The Guardian were full of praise when they reviewed Crab Day:

“After third album Mug Museum, Welsh art-popper Cate Le Bon has turned the last of her pottery-wheel twee and, on Crab Day, creates a springy rubber-band-ball of angular guitar, squalling saxophone and elastic basslines. Single Wonderful, for example, sounds like it has popped out of a Warhol Campbell’s soup can. Mostly, though, the album has the eccentric air of an am-dram troupe who have raided the dressing up box, hopped in the camper van and escaped to the seaside to make their own fun (which is sort of what happened – it was recorded on the Pacific Coast, California, with musicians including Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa). It’s cacophonous but also whimsical, thanks to Le Bon’s detached narration. She sings abstractly about coathangers and yellow blinds as if sitting on her own luminous cloud. It’s best on tracks such as We Might Revolve, on which her thrilling, tightly wound post-punk guitar is glazed by her Nicoish impressionistic vocals, or What’s Not Mine, the incessant marching drums and customarily quirky xylophone offset by a sweetly sung airiness. Long may Le Bon continue to weird up the rulebook.

Although some critics were still sort of coming to terms with an artist as individual and original as Le Bon, Crab Day really struck a chord with so many people. I want to bring in an interview Le Bon conducted in 2016 but, ahead of that, another review for Crab Day – this time it is from Pitchfork:

“As much as Le Bon's expression on Crab Day feels abstract and alienating, it also speaks to a deep intimacy—perhaps one that's been lost and provoked all this discombobulation in the first place. Mug Museum made an emotional archive out of the dirty cups she collected in her room. Here, she ascribes impenetrable significance to inanimate objects—she feels like geometry, a dirty attic, and a humid satellite in the face of a lover—but struggles to rationalize the basics of human connection: She and the subject of her address routinely look through each other, the effect like a love story pieced together through split screen. "How would I know you really swim in me?" she asks on "How Do You Know?" "How would I know to stay?"

Crab Day is a voyage into doubt led by a queasy compass, and a ringleader who's prepared to stake out uncertain territory. Le Bon always keeps you guessing, making the old traditions of guitar-oriented rock feel arbitrary, too. Her nervy assessments of the world are filled with equal parts suspense and heart, and beautifully zany riffs, where the feeling of being frayed by uncertainty comes together into a strangely comforting patchwork”.

One can only envisage how the folk of Los Angeles took to Cate Le Bon at first. I know there are Welsh people living in L.A., but there cannot be that many! Americans have always been fascinated by the English accent, but what of someone who is Welsh? Also, Le Bon herself had to deal with a change in scenery, weather and feel. It must have been intimidating at first, though Le Bon managed to overcome any differences and struggles fairly easily. Crab Day definitely signalled a new direction for Le Bon, one that proved hugely popular and intriguing. Many press sources had been following Cate Le Bon since her debut came out, so they were keen to interview her in 2016 and ask about her move to America. The Independent caught up with Le Bon, who talked about her new album and how things have changed:

“Translation issues aside, Le Bon has bridged the cultural gap between “lovely, rainy, familiar and comfortable” Cardiff and Los Angeles with the same sense of adventure that defines her output. Le Bon has been in California since 2013, initially drawn by “the extreme beauty colliding with concrete mess. It’s a strange and compelling place.”

Musically, Crab Day is Le Bon’s most accomplished record yet, a difficult to define, curious cocktail of The Velvet Underground and Nico, early CBGB’s rock, post-punk guitars and the imagination of Kate Bush. Written in the mouth of Stinson Beach in San Francisco with her band (which included Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa as well as long-standing cohorts Stephen Black and Huw Evans), Crab Day’s freedom echoes its surroundings, recalling the anything-goes first day of summer. Having just made a scuzzy, lo-fi album with White Fence’s Tim Presley under the moniker Drinks, Le Bon tackled Crab Day with the same sense of abandonment.

“The Drinks record was just imbued with joy and excitement,” she says. “There was no audience and no expectation and I found it to be so fulfilling and nourishing that the only important thing was you were making it for yourself. I realised I’d lost a bit of that in my own music. So again working with close friends, in this beautiful place, in a bubble thinking about what’s happening and not what comes next – it was pure joyfulness. I’m not trying to be perverse of difficult. I’m making music that genuinely excites me”.

Before Reward arrived this year, Le Bon had once again made some changes and altered her environment. I will introduce a couple of interviews in a second but, from the time of Crab Day coming out in 2016 and Reward’s creative process beginning, Le Bon’s life had changed; she was no longer in L.A. and, as this interview from The Skinny shows, Le Bon had made another big move:

“Le Bon sequestered herself to Cumbria in the Lake District – sustained on a diet of David Bowie, Kate Bush and Pharoah Sanders – and joined a nearby furniture-making course. "I love how grounding it is, working with a tangible material. It’s the antidote to most ailments," she tells us. Yet somehow the urge to compose never went away. "I wasn’t really aware I was writing an album. I wrote as a cathartic outlet," she says, noting the need to let off steam after a hard day’s graft in the workshop”.

When she spoke with The Independent, Le Bon discussed her creative process and a sense of isolation; she also touched on issues away from Reward’s creation, namely sexism in the industry:

“In the run-up to making this record I was living this alienation. I kind of exiled myself by a series of decisions, which I didn’t fully comprehend the impact of. I would sing to myself. I’d go for a week without speaking to anybody, so when the time came to go the bakery or something I’d be surprised by the sound of my own voice. There’s no one to seek approval other than yourself, which is risky but it’s pretty exciting too, at times. You create a kind of vacuum where you annihilate your own existence in a way. It takes time to look back on things. The thing about living there and going to furniture school was to allow music to become something that wasn’t under surveillance, to readdress my relationship with it.

Sexism in music is tiresome as a conversation because it’s still prevalent. I guess there’s still a fear of speaking out, a valid fear that your career could be ruined. The biggest issue for me is when men who are reviewing decide what the intention of the artist was. How the f*** do you know? That, to me, is another red flag. But what can you do? I called someone out on it once, when they called me a “singer-songwriter” and the man an “artist”, and they said they didn’t want to use the same word twice. I asked them, would you have called him a “singer-songwriter”? Of course not. 

I loved being in furniture school. We’d start out with sharpening chisels. One girl ripped her hand open, which was a real lesson in being vigilant. She laughed when it happened, but I nearly passed out when I took her to the sink and the water hit the wound, and I realised how deep it was.

One would not imagine furniture-making to be the most calming pursuits, but it seems to have done wonders and really done Cate Le Bon a lot of good. I guess the previous few years were pretty hectic, so she needed some time to think and get some quiet. One might think Reward would be a very stripped and subtle album; one that sort of took Le Bon back to her earliest days. Instead, Reward, to me, is her busiest and most accomplished album. I will end with a couple of reviews for Reward but, before that, I want to source from an interview Cate Le Bon gave to Stereogum, where she was asked about Reward and themes addressed:

“STEREOGUM: When you’re working on music are you open to other influences? Or is it more like you’re just focused on your own project?

LE BON: I think it was Robert Fripp who said, “If you love music, you should become a plumber.” There was an element of when you start going to school every day and that becomes your identity. I started to consume music differently as well. I would wake up every morning and listen to Bowie and it just filled me up for the day. Then listen to the radio all day at school. Then come home and listen to Pharoah Sanders, Prince, or Kate Bush, really go for the heavy hitters. Music that is instantaneous and joyful. It’s always difficult to know what influences you on a record or anything you’re doing.

STEREOGUM: Something I noticed on the album was a maternal theme or motifs of the mother. Could you speak to that?

LE BON: It was unconscious. But looking back, it was a real time of solitude. Solitude … I love it, but at times it can turn on you. It was maybe subconsciously one of those comfort calls. But I’ve also been noticing how disgruntled a lot of female members of my family are and have become over the years and really noticed it in myself during that time. It’s more about women maybe.

Growing and getting stronger with each album, Reward is a very different album to that of Me Oh My. Reward has gained universal acclaim and, as I said earlier, it gained her nominations for the Mercury Prize and Welsh Music Prize. It is one of this year’s best releases; it is amazing to see how far Cate Le Bon has come over the past decade. I think Reward is just the start of a new phase and wave. I am excited imagining what comes next and when we might get more material from Le Bon. Praise was forthcoming for Reward. AllMusic had their say:

“Reward chases several impulses. Songs like "Home to You" and "Daylight Matters" are straightforward pop through the alien lens of Le Bon's psyche. Familiar sounds (dry '70s drums and airy, chorus-drenched guitar chords) are transmuted into strange melodies as organic and synthetic instruments blur together. Even as some of her most direct work, the catchy melodies and lovelorn lyrics are layered with mystery. When working in more abstract modes, Le Bon taps into the same level of persona, curiosity, and delighted weirdness that marked Bowie's Berlin trilogy or Prince's most internal work. The awkward funk of "Magnificent Gestures" is a prime example of this side of the album, with Le Bon exploring sounds and lyrics like a child picks up toys, quickly considering a universe of possibilities in each idea before moving on to the next. These elements of pop and experimentation intersect seamlessly throughout Reward, exemplified in the end half of "The Light," which unravels from soft pop into a frantic monologue. The album is spacious and remarkably constructed, with hidden compartments built for secret sounds that seem to unlock with repeated listenings. Easily Le Bon's most involved, risky, and satisfying material up until this point.

 ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: bijou karman

It is no wonder Le Bon was award-nominated this year, given the strength of the material on Reward. It is an album that hits you on the first listen but, like all great albums, you discover all kind of new things the more you listen. I don’t think one can compare Le Bon’s latest album to anything out there right now. Reward is this wonderful record that suits any mood and everyone can appreciate it. The songs are instantly memorable and there is so much depth and nuance in every moment. The Guardian had some interesting observations when they reviewed Reward:

 “The music has a kind of light, sunlit melodicism that is more a product of the environment in which it was recorded – Los Angeles, with a backing band that includes Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa and current Red Hot Chili Pepper Josh Klinghoffer – than of the north-west’s brooding fells. On the surface, these are exceptionally pretty songs. The winding tune of Home to You is particularly lovely. There’s a distinct hint of take-it-or-leave-it about Mother’s Mother’s Magazines. Whether its mannered vocals and Young Marble Giants-esque sparse bass line and guitar arrangement being interrupted by staccato sax honking is appealingly curious or just annoying is a moot point, but it feels like an idiosyncrasy, at odds with the rest of Reward. Far more characteristic is the gentle, beguiling drift of Here It Comes Again, or Daylight Matters’ slightly off-kilter take on soft rock.

But scratch beneath the surface and a different album emerges: something sombre and occasionally disconcerting. Le Bon’s lyrics are elliptical at the best of times – “factories fold under owner-spectator and the cross you never used becomes the news” (answers on a postcard please) – but it’s hard to miss the sense of loss that inhabits them, however sweet their melodies. “I love you but you’re not here, I love you but you’ve gone,” laments Daylight Matters. “Holding the door for my own tragedy, take blame for the hurt, but the hurt belongs to me,” she sings on The Light. Moreover, the pain seems compounded by isolation, as if attempting to get away from it all has only provided more time to brood: “All the changing of the light is torture, memories outdoing memories”, “man alive, this solitude is wrinkles in the dirt”.

You can check Cate Le Bon’s official website for all updates regarding music and touring; make sure you connect via her social media channels and see what she is up to. This year has been a successful and busy one for her. She will want to chill as we head into 2020, but I am sure she already has a plan of action drawn up. She has just recorded an album with Bradford Cox, Myths 004, that has gained good reviews. It is a bit of a change for Le Bon and is described thus:

“As sure as if it had been mapped in the stars, or written in a prophecy buried deep beneath the sands of the Marfa desert, a collaboration between Cate Le Bon and Bradford Cox was always something of an inevitability. After years of admiring each other’s work from afar, the two finally converged on Marfa, Texas in 2018, at Mexican Summer’s annual Marfa Myths festival. Gaps puttied by a band of frequent Cate Le Bon co-conspirators on drums, saxophone, percussion, keys and additional guitar (Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, Stephen Black of Sweet Baboo, Tim Presley of White Fence, and Samur Khouja); the EP–fourth in Mexican Summer’s Myths series–was written and recorded in just one week.

IMAGE CREDIT: Mexican Summer 

For both Le Bon and Cox, Myths 004 signals a change of tack: meticulousness thrown to the wind as spontaneous, jammy tales of firemen and 5p plastic bags, unbrushed hair and shoelessness and makeup-daubed landscapes—roll effortlessly off their cuffs. “We committed ourselves to embracing the chaos, surrendering to all moments and moods that travelled through,” says Le Bon. “It’s a crude holiday scrapbook shared by all involved, an amalgamation of the changes in mood and light that shaped the days.”

Maybe we will not get another album so quickly, though one can definitely not rule out the odd track here and there; there will be tour dates for sure. I think Cate Le Bon will influence artists for years to come and her music will continue to amaze and stun. If you are no familiar with Cate Le Bon then make sure you familiarise yourself with…

A simply wonderful artist.

FEATURE: Christmas Gift Ideas for the Vinyl Lover in Your Life

FEATURE:

PHOTO CREDIT: @julemergener_/Unsplash

Christmas Gift Ideas for the Vinyl Lover in Your Life

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MOST of us will have our Christmas hopping sorted…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @leecampbell/Unsplash

but there are going to be some who will be out of ideas or need an extra gift for the music lover in their life. Whilst many will be buying specific albums or Amazon vouchers, I think there are plenty of options out there where one can show a bit more innovation and variation. There is nothing wrong with something like an Amazon voucher, but there are a range of great gift ideas that would perfectly suit vinyl lovers. Whilst it may seem tempting to ask a recipient what they want and buying that, I think the element of surprise is also nice. Just adding an extra gift or pushing the boat out is wonderful. Vinyl sales continue to grow. Maybe it is because of a wave of new artists that are prompting people to buy more albums, a lot of great reissues and special re-releases or people not wanting to rely on streaming services and digital music – needed the tactility of a record and the sort of sound you can only get from vinyl. The market is in a very good place at the moment:

“Sales of vinyl records have enjoyed constant growth in recent years. At the same time, CD sales are in a nosedive. Last year, the Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) mid-year report suggested that CD sales were declining three times as fast as vinyl sales were growing. In February, the RIAA reported that vinyl sales accounted for more than a third of the revenue coming from physical releases.

PHOTO CREDIT: @annietheby/Unsplash 

This trend continues in RIAA’s 2019 mid-year report, which came out on Thursday. Vinyl records earned $224.1 million (on 8.6 million units) in the first half of 2019, closing in on the $247.9 million (on 18.6 million units) generated by CD sales. Vinyl revenue grew by 12.8% in the second half of 2018 and 12.9% in the first six months of 2019, while the revenue from CDs barely budged. If these trends hold, records will soon be generating more money than compact discs.

Despite vinyl’s growth, streaming still dominates the music industry — records accounted for just 4 percent of total revenues in the first half of 2019. In contrast, paid subscriptions to streaming services generated 62 percent of industry revenues.

What do you get a vinyl lover, then? It can always be a bit risky buying records for someone out of the blue; maybe taking a punt or trying to steer their tastes. This year has seen so many great vinyl reissues that are worth seeking out. Sites like Vinyl Factory and Pitchfork who give great guidance. The great thing about reissues is that you get some rarities and unheard songs that maybe didn’t come with the initial release. Not only have there been some great reissues this year; some iconic albums have celebrated anniversaries and have special editions out. The Clash’s London Calling is forty on 14th December, and there is a fortieth anniversary release that will thrill fans of The Clash and those new to their work.

The Beatles’ Abbey Road turned fifty earlier in the year, and there are some wonderful anniversary releases worth some spending! The Rolling Stones’ Let it Bleed is fifty, so there is a pretty hefty anniversary release one can buy. Whilst these options might seem expensive, I think reissues and anniversary releases are investments; they are records that will live for years and can be passed down through the generations. Not only is it the records themselves that make great gifts; there are accessories and hardware that are must-haves for those who love vinyl. Articles such as this one from Gear Hungry and this from Pitchfork highlight some great tech and gear that will make excellent Christmas presents. If you know someone whose turntables and record players could do with some upgrading or replacing, there are options for every budget. Sound quality is a very important consideration, so buying a record player that is affordable and ticks all the boxes can cause a headache. There are some helpful articles that can make the decision easier. Now that you have some good tips regarding tech, record players and some great reissues/re-releases, you might need a few more guides regarding the records themselves. You can see the best-selling vinyl this year and there are some classics in there that are well worth buying. If you are going full-out and buying someone a record player, speakers and vinyl as a package or just purchasing a record or two, you might want to consider vinyl subscriptions.

PHOTO CREDIT: @romankraft/Unsplash 

This is more personal than, say, an Amazon voucher and there are loads of options. There are articles like this that compile the best vinyl subscription services, but I would recommend The Retro and Wax & Stamp. Again, it can be a little pricey buying someone a subscription, but it takes the pressure off buying particular albums or guessing; it also means your vinyl-loving recipient will have their horizons opened and will be in very good hands when it comes to recommendations. No matter what genre they love, there is a subscription that will suit them. Even the most ardent vinyl fan might not buy as much as they should or be unable to keep abreast of the market. Subscriptions mean that they will have receive a new record on a semi-regular basis and keep that passion alight. Maybe, as we are near Christmas, you just need ideas for particular albums; perhaps you want more of a package or are interest in buying a good record player as opposed records. I think it can be difficult buying for music fans, but if you know someone who is really into vinyl, above are some suggestions to get you started. I hope my feature has helped in some way and, come Christmas Day, the record lover in your life finds…

PHOTO CREDIT: @akatyanin/Unsplash

AN extra treat under the tree.

FEATURE: The Last Dance: Will We Ever See Another Lyricist Like Leonard Cohen?

FEATURE:

 

The Last Dance

IN THIS PHOTO: Leonard Cohen at home in Los Angeles in September 2016/PHOTO CREDIT: Graeme Mitchell for The New Yorker 

Will We Ever See Another Lyricist Like Leonard Cohen?

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WE have plenty of great songwriters…

in the world right now, but I wonder whether we will see anybody like Leonard Cohen. The Canadian songwriter died in 2016 and is viewed by many as one of the greatest songwriters ever. What amazes me most is the poetry of his work. I think there is a generational shift when it comes to writing and tone. Maybe the most poetic and profound songwriters now are those working in Rap and Hip-Hop - rather than the Folk and Pop artists of old. I have always had huge respect for the best of the genres who could not only write in a very real and urgent way, but the language used transcends ordinary songwriting. Today, we have songwriters like Kate Tempest who is more a poet than a songwriter; someone who can weave together incredible lines and thoughts that are so much more stirring and arresting than what most of her peers are putting down. It is sad that we do not really have songwriters like Leonard Cohen anymore. Whilst he may not have been the most cheerful or energised artist, his lyrics and language always provoked reaction and deep admiration. His final album, You Want It Darker, was released just before his death and showed that the old master was in supreme form and had lost none of his genius. With his voice older and more withered, there was an extra degree of poignancy hearing him sing such emotive and stunning songs. Maybe the 1960s and 1970s bred a sort of songwriter that we do not really see now.

The likes of Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen took lyrics to new heights and created these incredible stories. I am not suggesting modern music places less emphasis on lyrics, but we do not really have anyone who reaches the same heights as the older guard. Maybe Kate Tempest and Laura Marling come close, but there is something about Leonard Cohen’s songs that reaches deeper into the soul. Maybe it is the gravity of his voice or the simplicity of the compositions; one listens to a Cohen classic and you are taken somewhere else; you are moved and stunned by his wordplay and poetic brilliance. Each of us has a different opinion as to what his greatest lyrics and songs are. I am a particular fan of Hallelujah from 1984’s Various Positions and how evocative the words are. My favourite lyrics from the song are: “Your faith was strong but you needed proof/You saw her bathing on the roof/Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya”. There is something about the imagery and how Cohen delivers the words that makes the spine tingle. Although the song was covered to perfection by Jeff Buckley in 1994, the power and majesty of the words clearly spoke to Buckley; something about the song captivated him. Leonard Cohen’s work can switch between the personal and harrowing to the romantic and tender. The way Cohen crafts lines, I think, will never be bettered.

Consider “So let me judge your love affair/In this room where I have sentenced mine to death” from Take This Longing or “Suzanne takes you down to her place near the river/You can hear the boats go by, you can spend the night forever/And you know that she's half-crazy but that's why you want to be there” from Suzanne. He can startle you with a single line or seduce the senses with such intimate and wonderful descriptions. I have admiration for a lot of songwriters today, but there are very few who can pen a lyrics as awe-inspiring and emotive as “You say you've gone away from me/But I can feel you when you breathe” (from Avalanche). When it comes to love and desire, Cohen spun together nature, tenderness and the explicit; he was never limited to one palette and had this incredibly varied songbook. Whether he was referring to mortality and ageing (“Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey/I ache in the places where I used to play” from 1988’s Tower of Song) or pure sensuality and love (“Dance me to your beauty with a burning violin/Dance me through the panic ’til I’m gathered safely in” from Dance Me to the End of Love), Cohen’s choice of words is sublime. Cohen lived with depression through most of his adult life, and many of his lyrics stepped into quite dark territory.

There are few songwriters who could write about love so eloquently and awe-struck and write lines like “Now if you can manage to get/Your trembling fingers to behave/Why don't you try unwrapping/A stainless steel razor blade?”. Those words were taken from Dress Rehearsal Rag; a song whose entire narrative is more like a film or play rather than a normal song. I love what Cohen recorded for You Want It Darker. His pen was still as sharp on his final album as it was earlier in his career. In fact, many people did not expect to hear any more Cohen material after 2016. Adam Cohen (Cohen’s song), together with some notable collaborators, helped put together Thanks for the Dance. Listen to the opening song, Happens to the Heart, and the weight in Cohen’s voice. His lyrics are, as you expect, exceptional. I love the imagery he projects and the potency of the words. My favourite verse is this: “There's a mist of summer kisses/Where I tried to double-park/The rivalry was vicious/The women were in charge/It was nothing, it was business/But it left an ugly mark/I've come here to revisit/What happens to the heart”. Although some critics wrote off Thanks for the Dance as incomplete and scrappy, I think some of Cohen’s best songs appear on the album. In this review, The Guardian point to the strengths of Thanks for the Dance:

“Opener Happens to the Heart reflects on his career with trademark humility: “I was always working steady, I never called it art. I got my shit together, meeting Christ and reading Marx.” Other songs consider human flaws, some of which were exposed in the recent documentary Marianne and Leonard. He considers his restlessness in relationships – “We played a stunning couple but I never liked the part” – and rues “what I’ve left undone”.

Puppets powerfully contends with the world he is leaving, comparing fascism (“German puppets burned the Jews”) and recent foreign policy (“Puppet presidents command puppet troops to burn the land”). Like those of Marvin Gaye and Prince, Cohen’s oeuvre sought to reconcile the spiritual and the sensual, which both feature heavily again. Any initial chuckles at the fading octogenarian deadpanning about nipples that “rose like bread” disappear as it becomes apparent that he is reliving a distant encounter with startling, undimmed passion: “I’ve forgotten half my life. I still remember this.”

As the pace slows to a transcendent crawl and backing vocals form a heavenly choir, The Hills mocks his ageing body (“The system is shot / I’m living on pills”) and the stunning The Goal finds him “almost alive” and “settling accounts of the soul”. The last poem he recorded, Listen to the Hummingbird, implores us to find beauty in God and butterflies: “Don’t listen to me.” And, finally, there is a vast, empty silence, and he is gone”.

From his 1967 debut, Songs of Leonard Cohen, to the posthumous Thanks for the Dance, few songwriters who have ever lived have written words as strong and beautiful as Cohen. We do have some modern poets, but I don’t think they reach the same league as Cohen when it comes to depth and timelessness. Even though he has left us, we have his amazing work in the world – that will never go away. I have included an essential Leonard Cohen playlist at the bottom of the feature that highlights and exposes the lyrical genius of…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Leonard Cohen in 1976

ONE of music’s all-time greats.

FEATURE: Sisters in Arms: An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XI)

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: Grace Carter

An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. XI)

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NOW that we are just over two weeks…

IN THIS PHOTO: Self Esteem/PHOTO CREDIT: CLASH

from Christmas, there is the odd Christmas song here and there; we are hearing a lot of interesting new ones come through. The weather is not too bad this weekend, but I think we all need a little push to get us into the spirit. Here is an assortment of fantastic cuts from some of the finest women in music at the moment; a wealth of talent showcasing a huge range of brilliant sounds. These female-led tracks show how strong the music industry is right now; many of these artists included will be familiar to all of us next year.  If you need a blast of warmth and something pretty fascinating, I have the tunes for you. Have a listen to this incredible selection that will definitely…  

IN THIS PHOTO: Hinds/PHOTO CREDIT: @keaneshaw

BRING a smile to the face.

ALL PHOTOS (unless credited otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

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La Roux - Gullible Fool

TORRES – Gracious Day

PHOTO CREDIT: @andrea_savall

Hinds – Riding Solo

Peggy Sue – Jingle Bells

Grace Carter - Amnesia

Kilo Kish – BITE ME

Halsey - Finally // beautiful stranger

Yola - Walk Through Fire

Carly Pearce – It Won’t Always Be Like This

Camila Cabello – Bad Kind of Butterflies

Mabes – Wait & See

Grace Ackerman – Down to the Wire

Matilda Mann (ft. Lucy Lu) - Nothing at All

Beach Bunny – Ms. California

Christinna O – SHINE

IMOGEN – I Wish I Were You

HEZEN – Terrible Animals

PHOTO CREDIT: James Kelly

Self Esteem – All I Want for Christmas Is a Work Email

Taylor Swift – Christmas Tree Farm

Jon Hopkins, Kelly Lee Owens – Luminous Spaces

Kali Uchis – Solita

POLIÇA – Forget Me Now 

PHOTO CREDIT: Holly Whitaker Photography

Rosie Alena – Mixed Messages

DRAMA – Nine One One

Låpsley – My Love Was Like the Rain

Squirrel Flower – Headlights

PHOTO CREDIT: Ashley Connor

Harkin – Decade

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Lovell-Smith

Nadia Reid – Best Thing

Porridge Radio – Lilac

FEATURE: The December Playlist: Vol. 1: Riding Solo in the Texas Sun

FEATURE:

 

The December Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Hinds/PHOTO CREDIT: @andrea_savall 

Vol. 1: Riding Solo in the Texas Sun

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MY prediction regarding great songs being…

IN THIS PHOTO: Leon Bridges/PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Wilson Photo 

in short supply in the final weeks of the year does not seemed to have panned out. If anything, things are really heating up as we head to Christmas! There are new tracks from Leon Bridges and Khruangbin; fresh cuts from Hinds, Ed O’Brien and POLIÇA. It is a really varied and big week for music that includes Tame Impala, Taylor Swift and La Roux. I am excited to see what next week brings and whether the pace will continue. If you need a bit of a kick to get the weekend started and the energy racing, have a listen to the playlist and I am sure you will find plenty to love. This is a rock-solid collection packed with simply…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift

AMAZING songs.  

ALL PHOTOS/IMAGES (unless credited otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

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 PHOTO CREDIT: @poonehghana

Khruangbin & Leon Bridges - Texas Sun

PHOTO CREDIT: @andrea_savall

Hinds - Riding Solo

Ed O’Brien - Brasil

Caribou – You and I

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex Lovell-Smith

Nadia Reid – Best Thing

Soccer Mommy – Feed

POLIÇA - Forget Me Now

PHOTO CREDIT: Ashley Connor

Harkin – Decade

Kali Uchis – Solita

Taylor Swift - Christmas Tree Farm

PHOTO CREDIT: Jonathan Vivaas Kise

SLØTFACE - New year, new me

La Roux - Gullible Fool

Jon Hopkins & Kelly Lee Owens - Luminous Spaces

PHOTO CREDIT: Neil Krug

Tame Impala – Posthumous Forgiveness

Billie Eilish – xanny

The Who – Detour

PHOTO CREDIT: Christian Högstedt‬

Algiers - Void

Bastille – Admit Defeat

Camila Cabello – Bad Kind of Butterflies

Alanis Morissette - Reasons I Drink

JAY-Z – Can I Live

The Weeknd – Heartless

Grace Carter - Amnesia

Twin Atlantic – Barcelona

Halsey – Finally // beautiful stranger

Chelsea Cutler – I Was in Heaven

Courteeners – Better Man

The Staves – Nothing’s Gonna Happen (Demo)

Yoshi Flower – More

IAMDDB – Famous

 

FEATURE: All the Love: A Kate Bush Podcast

FEATURE:

 

All the Love

PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari 

A Kate Bush Podcast

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WHILST this is the second article this week…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush attends a record signing at Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street, London in September 1982 for her album, The Dreaming/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

that serves my own desires and aspirations, there is a wider point to both. When talking about Desert Island Discs on Wednesday and which songs I would choose if I ever made it onto the show (the chance of that happening is practically zilch), I was interested in the music we remember and how songs can link us to particular moments in life. Why do we keep certain tracks close and what separates the very best from the rest? It is interesting to wonder, and I think all of us would jump at the chance to discuss the songs that mean the most to us on the radio This will definitely be my last Kate Bush-related feature of the year, because I am aware that I have published more than my fair share this year! I think the big goal for next year is going to be getting a podcast together. Maybe it will not be fully where I want it to be, but I would definitely like to be closer to having a finished product. I have toyed with the idea of a music podcast that dissects certain genres and years because, when you look at the music podcasts available on the market, there are few that do that. Maybe that is a bit general, but I do feel like there is a lack of genuine breadth and variation on most radio stations. That might be something I’ll put out in years to come.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @austindistel/Unsplash

Right now, there is that one dream: a Kate Bush project. I am working on an idea for a T.V. documentary but, as that requires a production company and a lot more planning, it does take quite a while to make that happen – there are few production companies who make music documentaries, so it is a very gradual process. I have written about great music podcasts that dissect albums and go into real details. I do not think there are enough podcasts that shine a light on an artist’s back catalogue or look at albums in a lot of depth. One artist whose albums warrant serious exploration and unpacking is Kate Bush. Radio stations, as I keep saying, are culpable of playing the same songs of hers over and over. One would be forgiven for thinking the tracks we hear is all she has recorded, or they are the only tracks worth listening to. I hope stations are more broad-minded regarding Bush’s music in the future as a lot of her songs do not get played. It is a real shame, as Kate Bush is one of the greatest songwriters who has ever lived; so varied, extraordinary and original. The purpose of this feature is two-fold: to wonder why there are so few Kate Bush podcasts available and look at the rise of podcasts in general. I can understand why so many people are starting their own podcasts. One is free to discuss what they want, and it means everyone has a voice.

The barriers I have regarding podcasts relate to cost and space. If you want to a great-sounding podcast with a professional feel, it can be a bit expensive. There are great how-to guides if you want to know how to put a podcast together. There are also guides out there that tell you what equipment you need for a podcast. Whilst it would be relatively easy to set up a podcast, I always worry about the cost; not just the initial layout, but the ongoing cost when it comes to guests and song clearance. Above all of that is the urge to give proper respect and focus to an artist who continues to amaze and captivate, over forty since her debut single. There are some great Kate Bush podcasts out there, but I don’t think there is anything that properly dives into her albums with guest contributions; looks inside the songs and discusses her life and evolution. When it comes to ambitions, I usually take an idea as far as I can and, if too much time passes, I put it aside. When it comes to Kate Bush, the flame has not died down. Countless musicians name her as an influence and there is still nobody in the industry like her. Her music is endlessly fascinating, and I think a few of her albums are very under-explored and underrated. Even though Kate Bush has not released an album since 2011, you know there will be another album coming; what she has already put out into the world is so spellbinding and interesting. I am hoping to get some interest from production companies and podcast specialists, as I am sort of starting from the ground up and do not have previous podcast experience – even though I have plenty of knowledge and passion when it comes to Kate Bush. I will make the rest of my posts this week less me-centric, but I am looking forward to 2020 and moving in a slightly new direction. One of my goals is to make a Kate Bush podcast (called All the Love, named after a song from her album, The Dreaming) something…      

 PHOTO CREDIT: @farber/Unsplash

Of a reality.

FEATURE: We’re Not the Messiahs? The Stones Roses’ Second Coming at Twenty-Five

FEATURE:

 

We’re Not the Messiahs?

The Stones Roses’ Second Coming at Twenty-Five

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ALTHOUGH we are almost through with this year…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

there are a few albums that are celebrating anniversaries. I have already written about big releases from The Rolling Stones and The Clash, but one cannot forget The Stone Roses’ Second Coming. It is twenty-five today (5th December), and came five years after their debut. That debut, The Stone Roses, is considered one of the best albums of the 1980s. As far as first albums go, few have soared as high as The Stone Roses! I think it is impossible to follow up an album as strong as The Stone Roses and, the fact they waited five years to do so, it kind of took some of the momentum out of their sails. Also, the title sort of suggests something religious and hugely important. Whilst Second Coming is a brilliant album that deserves a lot of respect as it turns twenty-five, it is not as amazing and memorable as their debut. There is always going to be that problem when you have an album as mighty as their debut. Back in 1989, they dropped this incredible record that caught the public attention and led the wave of brilliant Manchester bands. As we went from the late-1980s into the 1990s, there were all these wonderful sounds heading from the North; it would be a few years before Oasis arrived on the scene and Britpop kicked up. At thirteen tracks, the album is a little baggy and could have benefited from being trimmed to ten tracks.

I think, by 1994, the scene had changed to such a degree that The Stone Roses’ Second Coming seemed slightly out of step. At a time when bands like Oasis and Blur were ruling the land, maybe a certain amount of love had strayed away from The Stone Roses’ camp. That is a shame, because Second Coming has more than its fair share of big moments. If you listen to the standout moments from Second Coming, you get your breath taken away. Love Spreads was the first single released from the album and, to me, is the standout of the album. With its Led Zeppelin vibes and epic swagger, it is a stunning song that easily slotted into the mood of 1994. I have stated how Second Coming is not quite a Britpop album, but one cannot help but feel uplifted and entranced by the spirit and energy through the album. I know there were tensions and fights within the band during the recording of Second Coming, and that does show on one or two songs. For most of Second Coming, there is a focus and quality that is more evident now than it was, perhaps, back in 1994. Maybe the fact the band had not been performing live also took them away from the radar of the press. Listen to songs like Breaking Into Heaven, Driving South and Ten Storey Love Song and one can hear some of the best Stone Roses material ever!

Whilst The Stone Roses were under pressure with their second album, I do think a lot of critics in 1994 sort of gave it a review based on expectation and the gap from The Stone Roses – rather than reflecting what was actually on the record. This is what NME said back in 1994

“The spell they cast has changed. They're not as evangelical this time; less prone to proclaim their own genius, the rank stench of the outside world, and the slippery essence of their enlightened cool. 'Second Coming' is an introspective, understated beast, drawing on archetypes - the blues, the intimate love song - that lie far from the anthemic, arrogant pretensions they once carried in their pockets.

At its best, it occupies a darkened world of the kind in which they stages 'Fools Gold' and the long-forgotten 'Something's Burning' - only this time, Robert Johnson and Jimmy Page (replete with black magic fixation) occasionally come out to watch from the margins.

The notion of boy-gods quietly making an opus that'd redefine the zeitgeist, make their peers gasp for breath and leave the rest of us reeling hasn't been realised.

Their brilliance shines through, but The Stone Roses sound as mortal as anyone else. The chronicles will have to be amended: far from satisfying our more insane aspirations, they've become a Good Rock Band, shot through with a host of glaring faults.

Confine those sky-scraping memories to the part of your mind reserved for stories you'll tell your grandchildren. Be prepared to flick through the five-song trough, repeatedly throw yourself into the moments that propel this record towards the sun, and wonder why they couldn't make the magic last longer. And ask yourself this: Are you ready to be heartbroken?”

Maybe it is a bit fair to view Second Coming as a disappointment or lacklustre. Most bands would struggle to match an album as heady as The Stone Roses’ debut and, whilst these boys were not the messiahs, Second Coming does have some truly exceptional songs that deserve proper respect. If Second Coming splits followers of The Stone Roses and gathered mixed reaction in 1994, maybe its twenty-fifth birthday will bring fresh appreciation.

In 2015, Rudi Abdallah argued the case for Second Coming:

“Guitarist John Squire was the principle songwriter on an album which disturbed fans and iconic frontman Ian Brown with its blunt departure into moodier territory. In a perfect world, it would’ve been seen as a superior follow up to an impossibly sublime debut. The band explored new soundscapes by replacing the chimes of The Stone Roses with mountainous riffs, all the while maintaining Mani and Reni’s gravity-mocking calls to the dance floor. Squire’s fretwork, from the jungle-funk pyrotechnics of ‘Breaking into Heaven’ to the neo-Byrdsian barbs of ‘How Do You Sleep’, shows his versatility as a guitarist and his capacity as a songwriter to frame complex yet likeable instrumentation within accessible pop structures. The sky-scraping ecstasy of ‘Ten Storey Love Song’ comfortably segues into imperious blues leviathan ‘Daybreak’, different styles complimenting each other rather than clashing. The uplifting folk-pop of ‘Tightrope’ echoes Simon & Garfunkel and is elevated by heavenly harmonies that would humiliate the most reverent choir. Though songs flit from style to style in an ostensibly disjointed manner, the band’s inimitable identity was preserved in Brown’s vocal swagger, Squire’s multi-coloured riffs and Mani and Reni’s sumptuous grooves.

Brown and Squire’s song-writing relationship, which produced secular hymn after spiritual anthem on their debut, was eroded due to drugs and creative differences during recording, but still yielded their best song ‘Begging You’. Defined by warped guitars, apocalyptic drumming and cryptic visions, Brown and Squire used Public Enemy’s ‘Fear of a Black Planet’ as the template for the doom laden rave up that gave fans a tantalising glimpse of what direction the band could’ve taken next.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

Whereas The Stone Roses’s legacy benefitted from superficially optimistic political change and e-driven youth subculture around the time of its release, Second Coming was flattened by an inclement musical scene dominated by the impressive triumvirate of Pulp, Oasis and Blur. The Roses were quickly overshadowed and criminally underappreciated because Second Coming did not adhere to the retro guitar pop bands were legally obliged to produce. Despite the disintegration of the band as a cohesive unit during its composition, Second Coming is a wondrous testament to their musicianship, and is without a doubt the patron saint of second albums”.

I have a lot of affection for Second Coming because it still sounds amazing today. One can easily lose themselves in the album; have their mind blown by some of the songs and, funnily, scratch their heads the next! Second Coming’s twenty-fifth anniversary makes me wonder whether The Stone Roses will ever play again and record – it seems unlikely as John Squire announced the band had dissolved a couple of months back. Whilst Second Coming is not a rebirth or holy awakening, it definitely stands as…

AN important and historic testament.

FEATURE: Answering That Big Question: The Desert Island Discs Dream

FEATURE:

 

Answering That Big Question

PHOTO CREDIT: @florenciaviadana

The Desert Island Discs Dream

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I wrote about Desert Island Discs…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Lauren Laverne (pictured with Ruth Jones) is the current host of Desert Island Discs/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

a couple of years back, but I think my mind has changed since I selected the songs that I would take to a desert island. Desert Island Discs is one of the most popular radio shows ever and it runs on BBC Radio 4 Sunday mornings at 11:15. It is hoisted by Lauren Laverne – who took over from Kirsty Young last year -; Desert Island Discs has featured some of the most notable and impressive names from the worlds of science, entertainment and further afield. I like the show, because you get a real range of castaways. One week, you might hear a physician or inventor; the next there might be a sports personality or director. Running for more than fifty years, Desert Island Discs is a programme one can see enduring for decades more. I listen in on Sundays and I always wonder which discs the guests will choose. The rules for each castaway are simple: they can select eight discs and they are given two books – The Complete Works of Shakespeare and The Bible -; they are allowed to select a luxury and, crucially, they have to narrow their eight discs down to one – if the waves threatened to destroy all their selections, which one would they rush to save? I can understand the appeal of Desert Island Discs. Not only does one get to hear a well-known figure in a different setting, the combination of traditional interview interspersed by musical selections is brilliant.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @j_cobnasyr1/Unsplash

I think music tastes can say a lot about a person, so it is always fascinating discovering which discs various people will choose. Even if you are not obsessed by music or Desert Island Discs, I think we have all sort of fantasised about appearing; just to get the opportunity to think deeply about our favourite songs. Another reason I am revisiting this subject is because an article was published in The Guardian, where Hadley Freeman talked about her favourite tracks and how she’d love to appear. As a respected journalist, there is every chance she might be invited on the show in future shows. For people like me, the possibility of appearing on Desert Island Discs is remote. Freeman talked about the dream of being interviewed by high-profile people/shows and how we all sort of dream of being in the spotlight:

“Show me a child of the 80s who never fantasised about being interviewed by Wogan or Oprah, and I’ll show you a person without ambition. For some of us, that fantasy outlasts childhood. I still spend about, ooh, 65% of my free time imagining I’m being interviewed on the TV or radio, carefully practising my “Oh Graham Norton, you are going to love this upcoming anecdote” chuckle in the bathroom mirror. And honestly, that chuckle is so good by now that I’ll often think, “What a waste this is, just between me and the bathroom mirror. Where is my Graham Norton interview?”

PHOTO CREDIT: @j_cobnasyr1/Unsplash 

It’s easy to laugh at this level of entitlement and narcissism, and it’s entirely possible you are doing so right now. But interviews are validation and with the ubiquity of podcasts, it’s almost more unusual these days not to have been interviewed. (Where is my podcast interview?) I love Adam Buxton’s podcast, but there always comes a point when I stop listening and instead imagine that I’m that week’s guest, gently rambling on, pausing while Buxton laughs at my terrific witticisms.

But there is one particular interview that I fantasise about more than any other: where is my Desert Island Discs? I have spent whole transatlantic flights revising my disc choices. As everyone around me is mouth-breathing while watching a bad Adam Sandler movie, I’m pondering the eternal DiD question: do you choose the songs that reflect the big moments in your life, or the songs you’d actually listen to for ever? The former may be better for the interview, but I think it has to be the latter. Charles & Eddie’s Would I Lie To You? was No 1 the week I was hospitalised with anorexia and is therefore permanently associated in my mind with trying to hide food down my trousers. Similarly, The Verve’s The Drugs Don’t Work was playing when I started making out with the boy to whom I lost my virginity. Two quite formative moments, but neither are songs I want to hear for eternity”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @seantookthese/Unsplash

I have no interest in chat shows or anything like that; Desert Island Discs is rare, as one can be subjected to an in-depth interview, but there is that U.S.P. where one can select songs that mean the most to them. Would you choose songs that are your favourite, or those that you could listen to again and again? The assumption is one has a record player, so they can only listen to these eight discs and no other music – unless a castaway chooses a solar-powered radio as their luxury (that would be allowed; one is not allowed anything electricity-powered). It is both infuriating and luxurious, given the chance to reflect on the songs that matter most. Honing a list of hundreds to eight is incredibly difficult, but how often does one get the chance to sit down and think about music in such a manner?! I cannot recall which discs I selected in 2017, but it is funny how one’s mind can change; even when we are talking about songs that are most valuable to us. It is always that case of forgetting to include a track. You can only have eight discs, so there will be the odd few that cannot make the cut. There is an instant trio of artists who would be in my list because, frankly, they have shaped my life more than anyone else. The Beatles, Kate Bush and Steely Dan would be in the mix, no questions! It would be tough to just the one song from each act – The Beatles especially! -, but I would choose Deacon Blues by Steely Dan, as it is my favourite song and it reminds me of my late aunt and a particular period of my life!

 I think the most important songs are those that can take you back and are in your heart for reasons good and bad. Deacon Blues is a very important song to me, and I feel so much better every time I hear it. Things are harder with The Beatles, as I have no clear stand-out track. I love all of their work, but I would say Paperback Writer, because it is my favourite of theirs and I think it would keep me good company on a desert island. When we think of Kate Bush, again, I am spoiled for choice. Being a gigantic fan, there are so many songs I could plump for. If I had to select only the one, I would go for Wuthering Heights. It is one of the most-requested songs on Desert Island Discs, and you can seer why! I could have selected a more obscure cut, but this is the one song of hers I could not be without – it is from my favourite album, The Kick Inside. When thinking of Wuthering Heights, it takes me back to childhood. It was the first time the visual side of music really resonated and connected. Watching Bush in a white dress dancing to the song in a studio – there were two different videos; the other was her in a red dress dancing outside -, that really got to me and opened my eyes! Taking things to the end of my first four selections would, oddly, be Wakin’ on the Sun by Smash Mouth. This song was released in 1997 and came along during a fairly difficult period of my life. I was in high-school and it was a strange and challenging time.

A friend I knew since the first year of school unexpectedly died, and it was tough processing that. A lot of the music from 1997 sort of passed me by because I was dealing with a lot of confusion and distress. When you are faced with tragedy, music changes tone and purpose. When I look back on 1997 and the song that stands out most, it would be Walkin’ on the Sun. At the time, the song sort of held a dark aspect. It is a very upbeat song, but I wasn’t able to fully appreciate it at the time. It is only years later that I realise that track helped me through. On its own, Walkin’ on the Sun is a fantastic track and sounds very different to anything around now – it is very much a product of the 1990s and the prosperity in Pop. The remainder of these tracks, invariably, will be from my childhood and earlier years. There are a few tracks that have scored later memories, but all of my favourite songs ever sort of predate 2010. The fifth I would choose comes from another of my favourite artists, The White Stripes. I was pretty obsessed with them during their heyday, and the first gig I ever attended was a White Stripes gig at Alexandra Palace in 2005.

There is not a specific song that highlights my love for them but, as the duo themselves are so instrumental, I would include Black Math. It is from their 2003 album, Elephant, and was an album I discovered when I was at university. That album was very important and scored a time where I was under a lot of pressure – studying and earning my degree. I have a lot of fond memories from the time, and Elephant was in the foreground and background to many of them. Listening to Black Math and I am transported back to a time when I was in this new world and embarking on this big thing of getting a degree. If Black Math is one of the most-recent songs on my list, Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants to Rule the World is one of the earliest. I know I have mentioned this song numerous times on this blog, but it was my first memory of life and, therefore, it just has to be included. That song appears on the Songs from the Big Chair album of 1985, so I think I heard it about a year after – when I was about three-years-old. Not much more explanation is required because, as I say, I have talked about Everybody Wants to Rule the World quite extensively. The last two choices are tough because I am aware of how many songs I have to leave behind – many just as important as the ones I am including here.

One of the songs I feel needs to go on the show – if ever that were to happen – is T. Rex’s Hot Love. When I was a child, I was introduced to a lot of different artists. From The Beatles and Billy Joel through to T. Rex, it was a very rich and interesting upbringing. T. Rex stand out because they were one of the bands I listened to with friends very young. The carefree nature of riding around on a go-kart and playing songs like Hot Love stays with me still. Music is powerful in the sense it can preserve memories and it can keep alive a part of your life that might otherwise have been forgotten were it not for music. The last slot is a tough one. Whilst music was vital and transformative before I hit high school, I think the last disc would be taken from my high school years. When I think about that time, there are many happy memories. I think Red Alert by Basement Jaxx would be in the mix, as it was a single that I remember buying. Me and friends would take the bus into town and buy singles and albums all of the time. Red Alert is a track I remember buying in 1999 and, as it was the last year of high school, it was played at our prom. That night was a sort of goodbye to a school I had been at for five years; a farewell to people I had come to know very well.

Also, Red Alert is a great end to a fantastic decade for music! British Dance was in a sorry state before Basement Jazz released their debut album, Remedy, in 1999. I was more used to European and American Dance through the 1990s, so it was refreshing hearing Basement Jaxx release an album exploding with colour and energy. That prom night was bittersweet and special, and it was quite scary leaving high school and entering sixth form college. I transitioned okay and, looking back after all of these years, I do think music genuinely made all the difference. It is tough whittling down a lifetime of musical adoration into eight discs, but I feel these songs are all pivotal and remind me of important moments – and they are all songs I can listen to over and over again in their own right. I am not sure under what circumstances I would be invited onto Desert Island Discs – I would have to be in the music business a hell of a lot longer than I have been -, but it is fun imaging which records I would choose. With the songs themselves come the memories; the friends and times that come flooding back to mind. The eight discs I have selected above – and I may yet change my mind a couple of years from now – are taken from various points of my young life, and I cherish the songs very much. Artists I have omitted include Madonna and a Deee-Lite but, as I say, one has to draw the line somewhere. I have put this feature together because Hadley Freeman’s article caught my eye. I think most music lovers dream of being on Desert Island Discs as it gives a chance to explain why particular songs mean a lot to us. Whilst the chances of me ever appearing are extremely thing, one can…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sabrina Cohen-Hatton appeared on Desert Island Discs earlier this year/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

KEEP their hopes up!

FEATURE: The Seattle Giants Head to BST Hyde Park 2020: Pearl Jam’s Greatest Tracks

FEATURE:

 

The Seattle Giants Head to BST Hyde Park 2020

PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch 

Pearl Jam’s Greatest Tracks

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WHEN it comes to bands that have…

endured through the years and have laid down an almighty trail, Pearl Jam are definitely on that list. I remember their 1991 debut, Ten, coming out and being mesmerised by this wonderful group from Seattle. 1991 was also the year Nirvana brought out Nevermind and, whilst the Grunge kings were killing it, Pearl Jam offered something a little different. The band was more in the vein of a Hard Rock group; finely-crafted songs and this incredible chemistry, fronted by the huge-voiced and compelling Eddie Vedder. I have been meaning to see Pearl Jam play but have never got around to booking it. They are busy touring next year and, since their formation in 1990, Pearl Jam have brought their incredible songs to the adoring masses. Not only are Pearl Jam touring Europe next year but, on 10th July, they will be headlining Hyde Park’s British Summer Time Festival. NME gives more details:

“Pearl Jam have been confirmed as the latest headliners for Hyde Park’s British Summer Time Festival next summer.

The annual concert series, which boasted performances from the likes of Robbie Williams and Celine Dion in 2019, will see Pearl Jam performing on Friday July 10.

They’ll be supported by Pixies and White Reaper with more acts to follow. Tickets will go on sale from Saturday December 7 and you can buy them here.

It has been six years since Pearl Jam’s last studio album was released. ‘Lightning Bolt’ was released in October 2013 and was the band’s 10th record. They have released five live albums since that record.

In honour of Pearl Jam coming to the U.K. next year – if only for that one date -, I have been looking back at the band’s incredible back catalogue and have collated the ultimate Pearl Jam playlist. I am a big Pearl Jam fan and it will be wonderful seeing them play at Hyde Park – I hope I can get along! If you are new to Pearl Jam, have a listen to the playlist at the bottom of this feature and go and buy their albums. There are a lot of great festivals and gigs to look forward to next year, but Pearl Jam headlining BST Hyde Park is…

A gig you won’t want to miss.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Adwaith

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

Adwaith

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WHILST many of us are not aware…

of the Welsh Music Prize, I think we need to tune or minds in its direction. Whereas the Mercury Prize often suffers from a lack of diversity and a Londoncentric heartbeat, in Wales, there is this wonderful award ceremony that collects together the best music from a fine nation. This year’s winners are the incredible Adwaith. The Guardian explain who was nominated this year:

 “Welsh-language female post-punk trio Adwaith have won the 2019 Welsh Music prize for their album Melyn.

Announcing their win, BBC Radio 1’s Huw Stephens said the album was “a very exciting and deserved winner from an exceptional shortlist. Adwaith have made a real impact with their personal, beautiful music that captures what it’s like to be young, female, frustrated and bewildered at the world we live in.”

The Welsh Music prize, founded in 2011 and voted for by music industry figures, “celebrates the finest music made in Wales or by Welsh people around the world”. Previous winners are Boy Azooga (2018), the Gentle Good (2017), Meilyr Jones (2016), Gwenno (2015), Joanna Gruesome (2014), Georgia Ruth (2013), Future of the Left (2012) and Gruff Rhys (2011).

Receiving the Welsh Music Inspiration award were Phyllis Kinney and the late Meredydd Evans, who together charted the history of Welsh folk music and were Welsh language activists.

Adwaith released two new songs this month, including a relatively rare foray into English called Orange Sofa.

Welsh Music prize nominees 2019

Accü ­– Echo The Red

audiobooks – Now! (in a minute)

Carwyn Ellis – Joia!

Cate Le Bon – Reward

Deyah – Lover Loner

Estrons – You Say I’m Too Much I Say You’re Not Enough

HMS Morris – Inspirational Talks,

Lleuwen – Gwn Flan Beibl

Lucas J Rowe – Touchy Love

Mr – Oesoedd

Adwaith – Melyn

VRï – Tŷ ein Tadau”.

I am chuffed for Adwaith because it is great to see a group like this get recognised. They have been on the scene for a bit – I think I first heard their music early last year. I was struck by the fact they could sing in Welsh but appeal to those who do not speak the language. Like Gwenno, Adwaith can bring Welsh into the musical conversation and show that it is a beautiful language that we need to hear more of. For years, artists have been expected to sing in English, but now we are seeing a lot of popular artists perform in different languages and broaden the musical lexicon. I am fascinated by the band and would recommend you get involved with them if you are not familiar. I will end with their social media links, so you can follow them and check out their music. Before then, I want to bring in a couple of interviews – one from 2017 and one from 2018 -, that introduces Libertino Records’ Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony and Heledd Owen.

They spoke with For the Rabbits in 2017 and were asked about their influences and the importance of singing in Welsh and the Welsh music scene:

 “FTR: Your press release has probably the most eclectic list of influences we’ve ever seen. Who inspires you to make music?

Hollie: We have so many inspirations. Mainly we could collectively come up with – The Slits, Happy Mondays, Velvet Underground and Wolf Alice.

FTR: What about influences outside of music? Are you interested in other art forms?

Hollie: We’re definitely all interested in the arts. There’s so many ways you can express yourselves, but music has always been our number 1.

Gwenllian: I think day-to-day life inspires me! working in a bar, we get a massive array of people from different background and really inspires me to write songs about them.

FTR: You sing in both English and Welsh, is promoting/maintaining the Welsh language important to you?

Hollie: It’s definitely important to us as a band. The Welsh music scen

FTR: Why do you think so much great music come out of Wales?

Hollie: Probably because there’s nothing else to do. People have time to over think things and write good songs”.

Adwaith are a group I definitely want to catch live and, if they have plans for London next year, I will do my best to come along and see them. With a prestigious prize in their corner, here is a group that will keep that momentum rolling in 2020.

I want to mention their album, Melyn, in a bit, but I want to source from one more interview. They spoke with M Magazine last year and talked about inspiration, advice and their favourite local band:

“Post-punk trio Adwaith are making waves on the Welsh music scene and beyond for their beguiling but defiant sound.

Hailing from Carmarthen, South West Wales, they’ve been making all the right moves since emerging in 2016, picking up supports with the likes of Gruff Rhys, a remix courtesy of Manic Street Preachers’ James Dean Bradfield and were recently selected as a BBC Horizons artist for 2018.

Sonically, there’s layers of early Siouxsie and the Banshees to be found, while latest cut Y Diweddaraf is a rebellious number with the scratchy proto-punk hallmarks of The Velvet Underground.

Sung entirely in Welsh, its gutsy mood is a reaction, the band say, ‘to everyone saying leaving uni to do music was stupid! It’s about feeling empowered to do whatever you want, regardless.’

What is your worst musical habit?

Always writing in the key of E.

What’s the best piece of musical advice you’ve ever been given?

Don’t put yourself in a box – write whatever you want.

Where do you discover new music?

Gigs, word of mouth, Spotify discover weekly.

What’s your favourite venue?

The Parrot in Carmarthen.

Who is your current favourite band/artist?

Boy Azooga/ Gwenno are our favourites at the minute.

What inspirations outside of music impact your songwriting?

Day to day life, people you meet and situations that you find yourself in.

What track of yours best represents your sound?

We change our sound with every song but currently it’s our new single Gartref.

They have had a fairly busy year and I know that they will have some solid plans for 2020. I wonder whether we will see an album or E.P. at all. Given the popularity and praise that headed their way when they released Melyn last year, I suspect the band are gearing up for a fresh assault. The Libertino Records stable is a healthy and busy one so, if you are looking for a new fix and acts that will make a splash next year, go look at their website. Melyn is one of 2018’s best albums and, when reviewing it, Louder Than War observed the following:

 “Adwaith (Hollie Singer, Gwenllian Anthony, Heledd Owen) have seen their profile raise sharply. Through their music and hard work, they have had one of the most exciting first eighteen months any new band could wish for. We at LTW spotted this from the time we were sent their first single by the band’s label Libertino Records who are another independent label and who, most importantly, are not based in Cardiff where all attention seems to focus on. Adwaith are not Cardiff cool or fame-chasers. They are a trio who are doing things the exact way they want to. No chasing the in-crowd or crawling up to those who have placed themselves at the top of an imagined pile of importance. Those whose blessings you seem to need to get anywhere in Wales have come to them and that is even more exciting. Now with a tour supporting Gwenno, a single remixed by James Dean Bradfield, and a numerous amount of festival appearances under their belt Adwaith deliver their much-anticipated debut album. We’ve heard the singles and now it is time to see if the band can deliver a fully realised long-player.

Melyn isn’t another Welsh language album. It is Wales herself. It is its foreboding skylines and invisible drizzle (thanks Jay). It is its beautiful summer mornings and its life bringing rivers. It is fierce and proud. It is strong and vulnerable. It is its communities and high streets ravaged by uncaring politicians. It is her rural heart and her street-smart city dwellers. It is her multitude of different cultures and dialects. Melyn is welcoming, warm, sarcastic and funny. It is unashamed of who it is. Melyn is also the voice of the youth of Wales who were shafted by the older generation. It is the voice of those screaming out at us to look after our environment and to support the vulnerable. Melyn is one of the best debut albums by ANY band of recent memory and demands attention not only from those who reside here in Wales but those who live over the bridge. If there is any justice then Adwaith will be embraced and discovered by young adults from all over the UK looking for a band who mirror their own politics and beliefs and who are needing of a shared community. The future belongs to the young and with Melyn the future is Adwaith”.

There are so many great acts out there, so it can be hard deciding which ones to follow and watch. I think Adwaith are a tremendous band who have made some big steps since their formation and, as we look ahead to festivals next year, I expect them to be firmly in the mix. Adwaith will be on a high after they won the Welsh Music Prize for Melyn last week. I love what they are doing and know that they will be in the music industry for…

A long time to come.

__________

Follow Adwaith

PHOTO CREDIT: Aled Llywelyn 

Official:

https://www.libertinorecords.com/adwaith

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/adwaithband/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/adwaithband

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/adwaithband/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWPcfPQaCRwRy_O4XHodqhA

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/40gm6Qd1XrQrLlJNjujjdU

ALL UNCREDITED PHOTOS:

Adwaith

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain

FEATURE:

 

Vinyl Corner

Goldfrapp – Felt Mountain

___________

I am doing a run of anniversaries…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Alison Goldfrapp

for Vinyl Corner at the moment. I have covered The Clash’s London Calling and Pink Floyd’s The Wall – both are celebrating big anniversaries soon -; Goldfrapp’s debut album, Felt Mountain, turns twenty next year (not until September) and, as it arrived at the start of a decade, it seems appropriate to spotlight it now – seeing as we are just about to enter the 2020s. I would suggest people buy Felt Mountain on vinyl, as it sounds terrific and is a fantastic introduction to a brilliant duo. I recall the 1990s ending and people wondering how artists of the following decade would match the standard of what came before. There were some definite changes when it came to Pop but, with artists like Goldfrapp and The Avalanches dropping tremendous albums in 2000 – The Avalanches released Since I Left You -, there was plenty to get our teeth into. There were few better debuts released in 2000 and, actually, Felt Mountain has endured and aged a lot better than many albums released at the time. It sounds so fresh and alive still; the songs draw you in and you are powerless to resist their beauty. I shall come to the album in a bit but, to celebrate Felt Mountain’s twentieth anniversary, Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory are hitting the road:

 “Introducing ‘Felt Mountain: The 20th Year’ Tour. Next March and April, we will be playing a short series of intimate concerts with our band plus a string section around the UK.

“Looking back, ‘Felt Mountain’ represents a very special period in my life. It is the first album Will and I recorded as Goldfrapp, launching us in a new musical direction, and the moment for me, after 13 years or so in music, that I found a creative direction that I was truly excited about. Being nominated for a Mercury Prize was incredible and unexpected, and an affirmation that we were embarking on an important journey.

I listened to the entire album again recently - something I don’t really ever do - and it was a surprisingly emotional experience. The songs instantly take me back. The album is still relevant two decades on, and hopefully will be interesting for people to rediscover and maybe also hear for the first time.

In 2019, 1999 dystopian lyrics such as “I’m wired to the world, that’s how I know everything” from ‘Utopia’, and “no time to F***” from ‘Paper Bag’, have become more potent. I was intrigued then by the flawed concept of perfection which has become so much more intensified in our self-reflective social media era.

I’ll be touring the UK with my regular band plus a string section for this series of intimate concerts. We haven’t performed many of the ‘Felt Mountain’ tracks since the original release, so we’re really excited to play live again from this album and more for our significant Goldfrapp anniversary.”

Tickets will be available in a special pre-sale for our mailing list members this Wednesday Nov 13th at 10am through a unique link that you will receive by email that morning. The general onsale is Friday 15th Nov, 10am.

Wednesday 25th March - Manchester, Albert Hall

Thursday 26th March - Gateshead, Sage Gateshead

Friday 27th March - Edinburgh, Usher Hall

Sunday 29th March - London, Royal Festival Hall

Tuesday 31st March - Birmingham, Symphony Hall

Wednesday 1st April - Bexhill-On-Sea, De La Warr Pavilion

-Alison Goldfrapp”.

It is hard to succinctly describe Felt Mountain, as it is of its own world and cannot easily be compared to anything else. Picking up on the energy and spirit of the 1990s; putting that together with a variety of interesting sounds and textures, Felt Mountain is a sonic revelation. Rough Trade do a good job of drilling down to Felt Mountain’s core:

“Debut album from Goldfrapp. Dark, seductive, beguiling and deeply cinematic. Inspiration from classical music, movie soundtracks, 60s french pop and weimar republic cabaret. What you might not expect is quite the depth of Alison Goldfrapp's beguiling, distracting 21st-Century noir visions on 'Felt Mountain'. She and her fellow composer Will Gregory can mix in Brechtian cabaret, classical instrumentation, left-of-field electronics, decadent Gainsbourg-style French pop and the odd piece of whistling on just one track ('Felt Mountain'). 'Oompa Radar' almost reaches Tom Waits heights of infamy, the way familiar instruments come together in such a simultaneously comforting and alienating style. The baroque 'Paper Bag', meanwhile, uncannily recalls Joe Meek's toytown visions of 1960's grandeur. All this, and a seductive vocal to die for”.

Goldfrapp signed with London-based label Mute Records in 1999 and they began recording Felt Mountain over a six-month period in late-1999. According to reports and various articles, recording was tricky because singer Alison Goldfrapp was disrupted by mice and insects – Goldfrapp were recording in a rented Wiltshire bungalow. Will Gregory also found the recording difficult, as he was not used to working with others. With Goldfrapp and Gregory working on the music together (Goldfrapp wrote the lyrics whilst she and Gregory co-wrote the music), Felt Mountain could have been a disaster.

As it is, the debut from Goldfrapp shows very little of the tension and disturbance that was present during the recording. Lead single Lovely Head is about as strong a song as you can get. With its eerie-yet-catchy whistling and processed vocals, it was the eye-opening and seductive introduction to Goldfrapp. The remainder of the album is spellbinding and utterly engrossing. Felt Mountain is such a fascinating album that means it is hard to take in everything on the first listen. One needs to come back and back again to fully absorb the tracks. There were some mediocre reviews for Felt Mountain back in 2000, but more contemporary reviews have been largely positive. Here is AllMusic’s assessment:

“Though her collaborations with Tricky, Orbital, and Add N To X focused on the sheer beauty and power of her singing, on her debut album Felt Mountain Allison Goldfrapp also explores more straightforward styles. Together with composer/multi-instrumentalist Will Gregory, Goldfrapp wraps her unearthly voice around songs that borrow from '60s pop, cabaret, folk, and electronica without sounding derivative or unfocused. From the sci-fi/spy film hybrids "Human" and "Lovely Head" to the title track's icy purity, the duo strikes a wide variety of poses, giving Felt Mountain a stylized, theatrical feel that never veers into campiness. Though longtime fans of Goldfrapp's voice may wish for more the exuberant, intoxicating side of her sound, lovelorn ballads like "Pilots," "Deer Stop," and "Horse's Tears" prove that she is equally able at carrying -- and writing -- more traditional tunes. A strange and beautiful mix of the romantic, eerie, and world-weary, Felt Mountain is one of 2000's most impressive debuts”.

One of the most interesting and positive reviews of Felt Mountain came from Pitchfork back in 2000. Because Goldfrapp were this new and unusual duo, I can understand why some critics were a little hesitant or unsure when Felt Mountain came along. Pitchfork make some interesting observations when they got a hold of Goldfrapp’s debut album:

“Felt Mountain opens with "Lovely Head," a track that juxtaposes a shuffling drum beat and whistling that sounds like it could be 50 years old with futuristic analog beeps. Goldfrapp's voice, with all its warmth and expressiveness, sounds instantly familiar. And it retains this familiarity over the course of the album, excepting a throaty, Siouxsie-esque yelp or two in "Human," and a bizarre passage at the end of "Deer Stop," in which her voice is made to sound eerily childlike. Creepy, especially considering the sexual undertones present.

All this taken into account, Felt Mountain's greatest strength lies in its overall elegance as a record. While certainly not "poppy," it never has a truly weak moment. And while the songs aren't all that different from one another, the flow from track to track makes perfect sense.

To summarize, Felt Mountain is a really swell record, and I am madly in love with Alison Goldfrapp. I'd have her name tattooed on my arm, but... you know. There just isn't room in this world for a man with "Goldfrapp" inscribed in his flesh. Luckily, there's always room in the world for a damned fine record”.

There is a definite flow and overall sound to Felt Mountain. Whilst the songs are not vastly different, they each have their own personality and there is so much to unpack and admire. It is hard to believe Felt Mountain is almost twenty and, if you can see the tour next year, go along and see this wonderful album performed in all its glory. Go and grab Felt Mountain on vinyl and l am sure you will fall in love. It is an album that, after all of this time, still sounds…

SO beautiful and divine.

FEATURE: For the Early Christmas Shoppers: This Year’s Best Books for the Music Lover in Your Life

FEATURE:

 

For the Early Christmas Shoppers

PHOTO CREDIT: @sincerelymedia/Unsplash 

This Year’s Best Books for the Music Lover in Your Life

___________

THERE are lots of lists out right now…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @anniespratt/Unsplash

that are collating the cream of the crop in terms of songs and albums. They are a vital part of music, but I wonder about other areas of music that are somewhat overlooked. Some sources have been prudent when it comes to assessing the best music books of 2019, but I wanted to add my voice. It is Christmas very shortly, and many people will be wondering what to get that music lover in their life. If you need some guides, I have compiled a list of the books that should be in your shopping cart – do your best to support bookshops rather than get them online if you can (I have put a link to where you can get the books online if you cannot get out). Here, for your browsing pleasure, are the best music books of this year…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @heftiba/Unsplash

FOR those who love their music.

_____________

Year of the Monkey

Author: Patti Smith

Release Date: 24th September

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Overview:

“From the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids and M Train, a profound, beautifully realized memoir in which dreams and reality are vividly woven into a tapestry of one transformative year.

Following a run of New Year’s concerts at San Francisco’s legendary Fillmore, Patti Smith finds herself tramping the coast of Santa Cruz, about to embark on a year of solitary wandering. Unfettered by logic or time, she draws us into her private wonderland with no design, yet heeding signs–including a talking sign that looms above her, prodding and sparring like the Cheshire Cat. In February, a surreal lunar year begins, bringing with it unexpected turns, heightened mischief, and inescapable sorrow. In a stranger’s words, “Anything is possible: after all, it’s the Year of the Monkey.” For Smith–inveterately curious, always exploring, tracking thoughts, writing–the year evolves as one of reckoning with the changes in life’s gyre: with loss, aging, and a dramatic shift in the political landscape of America” - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/612671/year-of-the-monkey-by-patti-smith/

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/year-of-the-monkey/patti-smith/9781526614759

Review:

“Elegant, poetic, wildly entertaining, touching—a beautifully realized and unique memoir that chronicles a transformative year in the life of one of our most multi-talented creative voices. Part travel journal, part reflexive essay on our times, and part meditation on existence at the edge of a new decade of life . . . Effortlessly weaving together fiction and nonfiction, Smith takes readers on two unique journeys: one that can be traced on a map and one, infinitely richer and more complex, that takes place inside her head and heart. Smith’s musical career sometimes threatens to overshadow her accomplishments in other creative fields—but every page in this book is packed with enough outstanding prose to constantly remind readers that Smith is an accomplished novelist, essayist, and poet who won the National Book Award in 2010. In her capable hands, a simple look at New York City in winter becomes a flash of beautiful poetry. Smith’s approach to nonfiction is unique and brave: It counts as true if it happened, if she imagined it, and if she felt it. This is a book about Smith and the world all around. And that is just one more reason why everyone should read it” - Gabino Iglesias, NPR

Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn

Author: Brett Anderson

Release Date: 3rd October

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Overview:

“The second volume of memoirs from the engaging Suede frontman moves into the decadent whirlwind of the Britpop era, and finds Anderson battling addiction, narcissism and explosive creative tension within the band. Unflinchingly honest and elegantly written, Afternoons with the Blinds Drawn provides an intoxicating snapshot of a turbulent cultural era.

'A compelling personal account of the dramas of a singular British band' - Neil Tennant

The trajectory of Suede - hailed in infancy as both 'The Best New Band in Britain' and 'effete southern wankers' - is recalled with moving candour by its frontman Brett Anderson, whose vivid memoir swings seamlessly between the tender, witty, turbulent, euphoric and bittersweet.

Suede began by treading the familiar jobbing route of London's emerging new 1990s indie bands - gigs at ULU, the Powerhaus and the Old Trout in Windsor - and the dispiriting experience of playing a set to an audience of one. But in these halcyon days, their potential was undeniable. Anderson's creative partnership with guitarist Bernard Butler exposed a unique and brilliant hybrid of lyric and sound; together they were a luminescent team - burning brightly and creating some of the era's most revered songs and albums.

In Afternoons with the Blinds drawn, Anderson unflinchingly explores his relationship with addiction, heartfelt in the regret that early musical bonds were severed, and clear-eyed on his youthful persona. 'As a young man . . . I oscillated between morbid self-reflection and vainglorious narcissism' he writes. His honesty, sharply self-aware and articulate, makes this a compelling autobiography, and a brilliant insight into one of the most significant bands of the last quarter century” - https://www.waterstones.com/book/afternoons-with-the-blinds-drawn/brett-anderson/9781408711842

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/afternoons-with-the-blinds-drawn/brett-anderson/9781408711842

Review:

“Afternoons With the Blinds Drawn follows Anderson through the next decade of triumph and disintegration. It begins with the motley crew-members “blinking from the debris of our rented rooms” into the glare of celebrity. In 1992 Suede were hailed by Melody Maker as the best new band in Britain. They were yet to release their debut single. Some saw them as overhyped poseurs; others lauded their androgynous aesthetic, their David Bowie and Lloyd Cole-influenced blend of leftfield rock, wiry pop and punkish lullaby, their songs of love in the gutter, jealousy and dissipation, trash and glitz.

Anderson developed a distinctive (and easy to parody) lexicon of urban decay and addled ardour, and, following the band’s eponymous first album – assisted by guitarist and fellow songwriter Bernard Butler – branched out to produce the gutsily wide-ranging second album Dog Man Star (1995), filled with soaring choruses, virtuosic guitar solos and, at one point, a 40-piece orchestra. Rolling Stone derided it as “pretentious”; fans lapped it up. By this stage Butler had jumped ship. Yet the next album, Coming Up (1996), proved they could do it without him. Further fame, infamy and fractiousness were to come. Not to mention lots and lots of drugs” – Toby Lichtig, The Guardian

A Dream About Lightning Bugs

Author: Ben Folds

Release Date: 22nd July

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Overview:

“Ben Folds is a celebrated American singer-songwriter, beloved for songs such as “Brick,” “You Don’t Know Me,” “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” and “The Luckiest,” and is the former frontman of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. But Folds will be the first to tell you he’s an unconventional icon, more normcore than hardcore. Now, in his first book, Folds looks back at his life so far in a charming and wise chronicle of his artistic coming of age, infused with the wry observations of a natural storyteller.

In the title chapter, “A Dream About Lightning Bugs,” Folds recalls his earliest childhood dream—and realizes how much it influenced his understanding of what it means to be an artist. In “Measure Twice, Cut Once” he learns to resist the urge to skip steps during the creative process. In “Hall Pass” he recounts his 1970s North Carolina working-class childhood, and in “Cheap Lessons” he returns to the painful life lessons he learned the hard way—but that luckily didn’t kill him.

In his inimitable voice, both relatable and thought-provoking, Folds digs deep into the life experiences that shaped him, imparting hard-earned wisdom about both art and life. Collectively, these stories embody the message Folds has been singing about for years: Smile like you’ve got nothing to prove, because it hurts to grow up, and life flies by in seconds” - https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/594446/a-dream-about-lightning-bugs-by-ben-folds/

Buy: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/594446/a-dream-about-lightning-bugs-by-ben-folds/

Review:

“Still, Folds knew they were onto something. The ’80s hair band scare had given way to the post-Nirvana, underground-misfits-go-pop vibe of the mid-’90s. Frontmen no longer needed to be mythic, heroic figures. They were free to be vulnerable and uncool and awkward, few more so than Ben Folds Five, a trio with no guitars, centered on a piano — “middle-class living room furniture” — which Folds insisted on lugging on club tours.

The trio never reached Beyoncé levels of fame, but for Folds, their early success was still rough going. Making music was easy enough, but industry glad-handing proved difficult. “The social part, the immersion in quasi-fame, sent my soul running for the recesses of my skull, where it crouched in hiding for years.” It got worse: The band’s second album had a single that landed. “Brick” was a wrenching piano ballad detailing Folds’s girlfriend’s teenage abortion. One of the unlikeliest songs to ever become a hit, its success was semi-scandalous back in 1997, and unthinkable today.

In the whole of human existence, no one has ever enjoyed being a rock star, or at least no one who has written a book about it. For Folds, fame, as expected, was a bummer. He doesn’t remember much of Ben Folds Five’s post-“Brick” ride, he writes, “and what I remember mostly makes me sad.” The trio never followed up “Brick” with another big hit, and their relationship disintegrated along with their chart prospects. They eventually broke up by email, and their reunion a few years later is scarcely mentioned” – Allison Stewart, The Washington Post

Me

Author: Elton John

Release Date: 15th October

Publisher: Pan Macmillan

Overview:

“From his 70s glam rock pomp to a settled twenty-first-century family life, the former Reg Dwight has been a consistent, iconic presence in British popular culture for the last fifty years. Me is the refreshingly candid and hugely entertaining memoir of an artist who lived the rock n roll lifestyle to the full.

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the upcoming film Rocketman. The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time.

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star.  By the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour of America, facing an astonished audience in his tight silver hotpants, bare legs and a T-shirt with ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across it in sequins. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again.

His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.

In Me, Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend” – https://www.waterstones.com/book/me/sir-elton-john/9781509853311

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/me/sir-elton-john/9781509853311

Review:

“Me is its own original thing because Elton makes fun of no one more than himself. He is utterly, astonishingly, hilariously self-lacerating. A half-hearted suicide attempt at the height of his fame could have been played for drama; instead Elton merely asks: “Why was I behaving like such a twat?” He sums up the experience of writing songs for The Lion King, which ultimately won him an Oscar, as: “I was now writing a song about a warthog that farted a lot.” And yes, Elton was also mystified by the hysteria over the version of “Candle in the Wind” he wrote for Diana’s funeral.

One subject he has strikingly little interest in is his creation of a catalogue of music that is now a licence to print money. He is very sweet about his friendship with his longterm lyricist, Bernie Taupin, but the process of how they write their songs is dealt with in a single paragraph, which concludes: “I can’t explain it and I don’t want to explain it.” And yet there’s no doubt his talent is miraculous. Some of his songs took as long to write as they do to listen to; in one morning he knocked off “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”, “Amy” and “Rocket Man” before breakfast.

Elton has never come across as an especially warm celebrity: too sharp tongued, too ridiculous. Neither quality is played down in his memoir. And yet his clear-eyed honesty and his ear for the comic line make him a deeply appealing memoirist. By the end of the book I felt only regret that I am unlikely to get an invitation to join him on his yacht, where I could listen to him recall the time he asked Yoko Ono what happened to that herd of cattle she and John Lennon once bought: “Yoko shrugged and said, ‘Oh, I got rid of them. All that mooing” – Hadley Freeman, The Guardian

Glastonbury 50: The Official Story of Glastonbury Festival

Authors: Emily Eavis/Michael Eavis

Release Date: 31st October

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Overview:

“Glastonbury 50 is the authorised, behind-the-scenes, inside story of the music festival that has become a true global phenomenon.

The story begins in 1970. The day after Jimi Hendrix's death... dairy farmer Michael Eavis invites revellers to his field in Somerset to attend a 'Pop, Folk & Blues' festival. Tickets are GBP1 each, enticing more than a thousand customers with the promise of music, dance, poetry, theatre, lights and spontaneous entertainment - as well as free milk from his own Worthy Farm cows.

Fast forward through five tumultuous decades and the Eavis's vision now encompasses a gigantic 'city in the fields', with a total annual population nearing a quarter of a million. Tickets sell out within minutes, the show is beamed live to more than 40 countries around the globe, and over 3 million people are registered to attend. Meanwhile, the bill has expanded to include big name performers, artists and designers from every branch of the creative arts. Glastonbury Festival is now the largest outdoor green fields event in the world.

In their own words, Michael and Emily Eavis reveal the stories behind the headlines, and celebrate 50 years of history in the Vale of Avalon. They're joined by a host of big-name contributors from the world of music - among them Adele, JAY-Z, Dolly Parton, Chris Martin, Noel Gallagher, Lars Ulrich and Guy Garvey. They're joined by artists - Stanley Donwood, Kurt Jackson and many more. Writers - Caitlin Moran, Lauren Laverne, Billy Bragg - and by a host of photographers, from Seventies icon Brian Walker to rock and roll legends Jill Furmanovsky and Greg Williams.

Together they bring you the magic that makes Glastonbury, Glastonbury” – https://www.waterstones.com/book/glastonbury-50/emily-eavis/michael-eavis/9781409183938

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/glastonbury-50/emily-eavis/michael-eavis/9781409183938

Review:

“I’ve only been twice but this book brings back every part of that electric warm feeling that you can only get at Glastonbury. It is truly the happiest place I have ever been in my life. If I could explain what I think Euphoria feels like in one word it would be Glastonbury and that would be kind of cheating because it describes every good, kind, warm and epic word in the dictionary and beyond. You arrive and wake up each morning being absolutely blown away by a world that is just fundamentally happy and grateful to be at Glastonbury then the artists you loved before and then the artists that you didn’t even know you loved yet and then the artists you would have never even considered blow your mind again and again and again and then by some miracle you find your way back to your tent and then get to do it all over again! No words but happy 50th Glastonbury and may there be 50 more and then 50 more after that and then 50 more to infinity at least xx” – Lauren Anderson

Revenge of the She-Punks: A Feminist Music History from Poly Styrene to Pussy Riot

Author: Vivien Goldman

Release Date: 7th May

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Overview:

“As an industry insider and pioneering post-punk musician, Vivien Goldman's perspective on music journalism is unusually well-rounded. In Revenge of the She-Punks, she probes four themes--identity, money, love, and protest--to explore what makes punk such a liberating art form for women.

With her visceral style, Goldman blends interviews, history, and her personal experience as one of Britain's first female music writers in a book that reads like a vivid documentary of a genre defined by dismantling boundaries. A discussion of the Patti Smith song "Free Money," for example, opens with Goldman on a shopping spree with Smith. Tamar-Kali, whose name pays homage to a Hindu goddess, describes the influence of her Gullah ancestors on her music, while the late Poly Styrene's daughter reflects on why her Somali-Scots-Irish mother wrote the 1978 punk anthem "Identity," with the refrain "Identity is the crisis you can't see." Other strands feature artists from farther afield (including in Colombia and Indonesia) and genre-busting revolutionaries such as Grace Jones, who wasn't exclusively punk but clearly influenced the movement while absorbing its liberating audacity. From punk's Euro origins to its international reach, this is an exhilarating world tour” – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41864518-revenge-of-the-she-punks

Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Revenge-She-Punks-Feminist-History-Styrene/dp/147731654X

Review:

“Goldman moves far outside the usual American and British punk narratives. She meets artists like Jakarta’s Tika and the Dissidents, from the Indonesian scene that sprang up when Green Day played there in the Nineties. (And you thought they were just American idiots.) She includes stars like Blondie and Madonna, but also obscurities like the Spanish band Las Vulpes, who caused a national outrage when they played their song “Me Gusta Ser Una Zorra” (“I Like Being a Bitch” — an answer to Iggy’s “I Wanna Be Your Dog”) on TV.

One of the surprises is this story is how feminist punks created such long-lasting music out of such raw material. As daughters of the Bowie/Roxy glam tradition, they’d seize their ideas from anywhere. Like the Delta 5’s Bethan Peters says, “I don’t think we analyzed it too much; it was grab it and use it.” These bands prided themselves on keeping the music loose and impulsive; many had just barely begun to play. The Mo-Dettes’ Kate Korris tells a touching story about the Clash’s Joe Strummer, who handed her a guitar and showed her a couple of chords. He told her, “You can do anything with these two pieces of info; go for it.” As the artists in this book prove, Joe was right.

Compared to most of the (many) writers who have chronicled the London ’77 punk explosion, Goldman is refreshingly free of scenester score-settling. In her intro, she notes that when Chrissie Hynde heard the book title, she scoffed, “I don’t do revenge.” But as Goldman says, “In the case of punky females, revenge means getting the same access as your male peers, to make your own music, look and sound how you want, and be able to draw enough people to ensure the continuation of the process. Sounds simple enough, talent permitting, but as this book shows, it’s different for girls” – Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone

Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs

Author: Brian Hiatt

Release Date: 7th March

Publisher: Welbeck Publishing Group

Overview:

“Packed full of insightful stories from Springsteen's long career, Bruce Springsteen: The Stories Behind the Songs takes a detailed look at each and every one of Springsteen's album tracks, providing a unique look at this rock legend's method, and includes many anecdotes and insights into the great American singer/songwriter.

This is the first book to cover every officially released track, from hits to obscurities, from 1974's Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J. to 2014's High Hopes.

Hiatt provides an exhaustive, meaningful and unique look at the writing, recording and significance of Springsteen's singular catalogue of songs. He draws on previously unseen interview material with Bruce himself, as well as many important people involved in the recording process over the years, including Roy Bittan, Nils Lofgren, David Sancious, Mike Appel, Bob Clearmountain, Ron Aniello, Jimmy Iovine, Louis Lahav, Chuck Plotkin, Tom Morello and Larry Alexander” – https://www.waterstones.com/book/bruce-springsteen-the-stories-behind-the-songs/brian-hiatt/9781787391215

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/bruce-springsteen-the-stories-behind-the-songs/brian-hiatt/9781787391215

Review:

“The photographs, which are in color and in black and white, document Springsteen’s life and depict him in all his many guises. Indeed, he has looked like a teenage tough, a workingman, a hunk, a biker, a mobster, and an all-American guy.

He has even looked like Frank Sinatra, another New Jersey success story.

In the photos in this book, Springsteen’s guitar—which seems to an extension of his body—is a tool, a weapon, a sex symbol, emblematic of the creative expression of the human spirit.

Bruce Springsteen is a reminder that when the singer/songwriter first came along, seemingly out of nowhere, and attracted attention, rock ’n’ roll seemed to be moribund if not dead.

It’s no wonder that in 1974, Jon Landau wrote, after attending a performance at the Harvard Square Theater, "I saw rock and roll future, and its name is Bruce Springsteen. And on a night when I needed to feel young, he made me feel like I was hearing music for the very first time.”

Nearly a whole generation, coming of age with Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, Elvis, the Beatles and the Stones, shared Landau’s sentiments. And it’s not surprising, either, that Landau went on to become the Boss’s manager and producer.

With the help of Landau and a crew of extremely talented musicians, Springsteen brought rock back to life by going to its roots in folk and in rhythm and blues.

Hiatt tells that story in an understated way, without bravado and without clichés. He shines a bright light on Bruce, and on the members of his band, including Clarence Clemons, Roy Bitten, Danny Federici, Patti Scialfa, and Steve Van Zandt—the names themselves tell an American story—who have reminded audiences that they, too, are born to run” – Jonah Rakin, New York Journal of Books

Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice: The Official Journals, Objects, and Ephemera

Author: Mary Guibert/David Browne

Release Date: 15th October

Publisher: Octopus Publishing Group

Overview:

“Includes never before seen hand written journals and diaries.

In 1994, an artist named Jeff Buckley released 'Grace', his debut album. Hailed immediately by the likes of Bono, Jimmy Page, and Robert Plant, as a singer, guitarist, and writer of a generation.

Throughout his life, Buckley obsessively kept journals chronicling his goals, inspirations, aspirations, and creative struggles. His diaries amount to one of the most insightful life chronicles any musical artist has ever left behind. Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice will mark the first-ever publication of Buckley's account of his journey through his handwritten diaries and lyrics. Combined with reproductions of other memorabilia, including letters, notes, and unpublished lyrics - the book will take readers deep inside Buckley's creative mind and personal life.

For those who grew up listening to Jeff's music and for those who are just discovering it, Jeff Buckley: His Own Voice will be an intimate portrait of one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century in his own extremely vibrant words and never seen before lyrics” – https://www.waterstones.com/book/jeff-buckley-his-own-voice/mary-guibert/david-browne/9781788400077

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/jeff-buckley-his-own-voice/mary-guibert/david-browne/9781788400077

Review:

“What a lovely record of Jeff's far-reaching mind and heart, as he breaks away from his dreary hotel gig in California, moves to New York, and comes into his own as a performer and writer. Lyric drafts, memories, plans, meditations, lists — his handwriting speaks volumes. A beautiful document of a tender and deeply feeling soul. Thank you, Jeff” – Jascha

Morning Glory on the Vine - Early Songs and Drawings

Author: Joni Mitchell

Release Date: 22nd October

Publisher: Canongate

Overview:

“Originally handcrafted in 1971 as a gift for friends, this edition of Joni Mitchell’s best-loved poems, illustrations, watercolours and hand-lettered song lyrics is now publicly available for the first time. The perfect Christmas present for any Joni Mitchell fan” – https://canongate.co.uk/books/3098-morning-glory-on-the-vine-early-songs-and-drawings/

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/morning-glory-on-the-vine/joni-mitchell/9781786898586

Review:

“I was really looking forward to this book. It is a book for the true fan Covers a period that Joni was very prolific. Would make a great Christmas present 10/10 Thankyou Leamington Great service as always” – Vaughan Jones 

Another Day in the Life

Author: Ringo Starr (Author)/David Lynch (Foreword)/Henry Diltz (Foreword)

Release Date: 15th October

Publisher: Genesis Publications

Overview:

“Following the sell-out success of Postcards From The Boys (2003) and Photograph (2013), Genesis is excited to announce Another Day In The Life by Ringo Starr. The third in Ringo's series of books presents more than 500 observational photographs and rare images from the archives. In an original text of nearly 13,000-words, Ringo shares memories from throughout his life.

"I love taking photos of random things, and seeing how they all fit together. Whether it is at home or on the road, certain things catch my eye – and when I see something that interests me, that’s the emotion of it, and I want to capture it. I am a photographer as well as a musician. I love working with Genesis and had so much fun putting together this collection of images: photos taken by me and a few picked up along the way. I hope you enjoy it too." – Ringo Starr” - https://www.genesis-publications.com/book/9781905662586/another-day-in-the-life

Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Another-Day-Life-Ringo-Starr/dp/1905662580

Review:

“The latest photograph book by Ringo Starr A Day in the Life published by Genesis Publications brings together a bunch of photos and musings by the Beatle, capturing moments that you might not necessarily associate with Starr. Pulling together pictures from his drumming career plus oddities from around the world this is an interesting delve into the mind of one of the great showmen.

You might expect with a member of The Beatles that any associated release would entail anything and everything to do with the Fabs. It is however interesting and refreshing to see a book that isn’t all about the screaming fans and how many sessions were played in Abbey Road, rather we get to see an altogether different side to Starr.

There are pictures of delicate flowers spawning from the spring season, pictures of fruit, different peace signs from around the world, artistic pictures often depicting psychedelic images, various images of Starr hanging in and around his well-known friends including McCartney, Joe Walsh and many more. We also get to know that Starr likes apple pie, just shame the book doesn’t come with a free sample.

Yes the book is not your traditional book that you might be expecting but it is entertaining, enlightening and refreshingly delicate in parts with the colours being particular attractive to look at. As you flick through the pages this could hopefully give ideas to other budding photographers in the making who want to have their images depictive in the stars with diamonds” – Matt Mead, Gigslutz

Face It: A Memoir

Author: Debbie Harry

Release Date: 1st October 

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Overview:

“As a musician, an actor, a muse, an icon, the breadth of Debbie Harry’s impact on our culture has been matched by her almost Sphinx-like reticence about her inner life. Through it all – while being acclaimed as one of the most beautiful women in the world, prized by a galaxy of leading photographers and fashion designers, beloved by legions of fans for her relentless, high-octane performances, selling 50 million albums or being painted by Andy Warhol – Debbie Harry has infused her perennial Blondie persona with a heady mix of raw sexuality and sophisticated punk cool.

In Face It, Debbie Harry invites us into the complexity of who she is and how her life and career have played out over the last seven decades. Upending the standard music memoir, with a cutting-edge style keeping with the distinctive qualities of her multi-disciplined artistry, Face It.

includes a thoughtful introduction by Chris Stein, rare personal photos, original illustrations, fan artwork installations and more.

Peppered with colourful characters, Face It features everyone from bands Blondie came up with on the 1970s music scene – The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and David Bowie – to artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Marina Abramović and H.R. Giger of Alien fame. It explores her successful acting career (she has starred in over 30 film roles, including David Cronenberg’s Videodrome and John Waters’s Hairspray), her weekends with William S. Burroughs and her attempted abduction by serial killer Ted Bundy. Ranging from the hardscrabble grit and grime of the early New York City years to times of glorious commercial success, interrupted by a plunge into heroin addiction, the near-death of partner Chris Stein, a heart-wrenching bankruptcy and Blondie’s break-up as a band, an amazing solo career and then a stunning return with Blondie, this is a cinematic story of an artist who has always set her own path. Inspirational, entertaining, shocking, humorous and eye-opening, Face It is a memoir as dynamic as its subject” - https://www.waterstones.com/book/face-it/debbie-harry/9780008229429

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/face-it/debbie-harry/9780008229429

Review:

“There is no grand point to this exercise. “I thought a little bit of levity might be a good way to end my somewhat morose memoir, hence all this thumb business,” she explains, which just adds more bafflement to the pile. Harry’s memoir is not, in fact, a bummer. It’s true that she’s been stalked, raped, addicted to heroin, and hassled by Patti Smith, but Harry relates each incident, bad and good, with a “that’s life” literary deadpan. The rape, for example—by a knife-wielding home invader in ’70s New York City—did not inspire “a lot of fear” in her because “this happened before AIDS.” The worst thing about the attack, she writes, is that the rapist stole some of her guitars.

Despite all this history, late in the book Harry claims to have been surprised when her manager suggested she write about how she “broke ground as a female artist.” She just seems uninterested in being didactic on this subject: “I know there is misogyny and I know there is bias, but I’m more concerned with being good at what I do.” She’s also uninterested in getting very deep on certain personal mysteries, like the question of why she and Stein broke up in 1987 after more than a decade together. Her point of view as a songwriter gets only brief, sporadic treatment, though she does hit some highlights, such as her prescient brush with hip-hop on 1981’s “Rapture.”

On the final page, she admits, “I still have so much more to tell but being such a private person, I might not tell everything … It’s always best to leave the audience wanting more.” Holding back is an understandable maneuver for someone who’s been stared at so much, and it’s not quite right to call Face It evasive. She always comes off as tough and matter-of-fact and New York–y, very much the voice that complained about love as a “pain in the ass” in “Heart of Glass,” or that facetiously took down some “groupie supreme” in “Rip Her to Shreds.” Knowing that there are still those who expect her to be simply “a blonde in tight pants,” she tells her life story how she wants to tell it. And when she gets tired of sharing, Harry is kind enough not to extend a middle finger” – Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic

FEATURE: For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove: The Strangest Musical Ever?

FEATURE:

 

For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove

IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Jackson in New York City in 1984/PHOTO CREDIT: David McGough/DMI/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

The Strangest Musical Ever?

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THE status of Michael Jackson’s legacy…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Dave Hogan/Getty Images

seems to change each year. I shall not rake over the documentaries and accusations levied at him, but Jackson has been dogged by rumours and controversy through most of his career. A decade after his death, it seems like there is no getting away from the scandalous side of Jackson. Although one can see Jacko’s music performed in the West End, there seems to be a lot more bad associated with his name than good. One cannot overlook the allegations aimed at Jackson, but it does seem like there is this need to cash-in and exploit the controversy. Whilst we have seen documentaries and news reports over the years, there has been very little as odd and inexplicable as a new musical that will open in the U.S. next year. The Independent explains more:

 “Johnny Depp is producing a Michael Jackson musical told from the perspective of Jackson’s famous glove.

For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove has been written by playwright Julien Nitzberg and debuts in Los Angeles in January.

The musical is described as “a fresh, revisionist look at the strange forces that shaped Jackson and the scandals that bedeviled him”. Jackson’s glove is the musical’s hero, as well as being a musically-inclined alien eager to take over humanity.

Real actors will work alongside life-size puppets modelled after figures including Corey Feldman and Bubbles the Chimp.

IN THIS PHOTO: Johnny Depp/PHOTO CREDIT: Bruce Weber 

Depp and Nitzberg have been associates for many years, with Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil previously developing a Nitzberg-scripted biopic of the Sixties one-hit wonder singer Tiny Tim. That project would have starred Big Lebowski actor John Turturro.

“It ended up never getting made, but I developed a very good relationship with them,” Nitzberg told Page Six.

Of his Jackson play, Nitzberg said: “A major TV network wanted me to write a [Jackson] movie... but the question came up [about] how to deal with the child-abuse allegations.

For the Love of Glove runs will open 25 January, 2020 at LA’s Carl Sagan-Ann Druyan Theater”.

One should not be shocked to discover that something associated with Jackson is a little strange, but I wonder what the motivation is here. I am someone who casts a lot of doubt over allegations of abuse aimed at Jackson but, even if the claims were proven, I do question the motivation for bringing For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove to the stage. Not only does this have the potential to be the most bizarre musical ever. I am not sure what stance the producers are taking with the musical. On paper, it might be perceived as an attack on Jackson or a musical that casts him in the darkest light. Whether new evidence and the passing of time means something more evenly-balanced comes to the stage, I am not so sure.

Although it is quite a minor production, the fact Johnny Depp is attached means that people will come and see the musical because of him. One of the problems with Depp’s being involved is the allegations of domestic abuse filed against by his ex-wife, Amber Heard. Although Depp has not got the same chequered history as Michael Jackson, it is a professional risk, I think. Michael Jackson, in spite of a tarnished name, has legions of fans and is generating a lot of revenue so long after his death. Let’s see what the critical reaction is, but the fact remains that For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove is one of the most bizarre concepts I have heard. There is this clash between those who are representing Jackson through this mirror of tragedy, darkness and scandal, and those who are keeping him pure by focusing on the music rather than his personal life. I know the two are connected, yet one cannot help but feel that the more disturbing side of Jackson is erasing the good: decades of brilliant music that has reshaped Pop and inspired countless artists. I wonder whether there will be more Jackson-related projects in 2020 as those who feel his name has been unfairly blackened look to correct that. There are rumours a biopic is being planned that, whilst it does not intend to paint Jackson as a saint, will look at his entire career and give a balanced account. Although he died in 2009, there seems to be more Michael Jackson in the world in the years before his death. Over the past year, there has been a lot said about Jackson and accusations of sexual abuse. From documentaries and West End musicals through to news reports, Jackson has been cast in a variety of lights and guises. With For the Love of Glove: An Unauthorised Musical Fable About the Life of Michael Jackson, as Told by His Glove coming along early next year, when it comes to the strange and unexpected, this musical definitely…

 PHOTO CREDIT: (AP Photo/MJJ)/(MJJ via AP/AP)

TAKES the prize.

FEATURE: The Tracks of My Year 2019: A Phenomenal Year for Music

FEATURE:

 

The Tracks of My Year

IN THIS PHOTO: Sampa the Great’s single, Final Form, is one of the year’s best tracks (it is from her debut album, The Return)/PHOTO CREDIT: Ying Ang

2019: A Phenomenal Year for Music

___________

AS most of this year’s best tracks…

IN THIS IMAGE: Lana Del Rey/IMAGE CREDIT: Lana Del Rey

have been released, many people are collating their favourites together. It has been a varied and strong year so, when it comes to deciding the best tracks, it was a tough choice. To be fair, there are going to be tracks that I have overlooked or forgotten about, but I have gathered together those I remember and have stuck in the mind. As we think about 2020, I wonder what will be released in terms of albums and singles; whether there will be radical change or a similar tone to this year. It will be interesting to see. In any case, one must acknowledge the wave of terrific music that has arrived in 2019. With a few weeks of the year remaining, who knows what might come out way. Below is a playlist of, what I think are some of the best tracks of this year. I would encourage everyone to compile their own version but, as you can tell from my playlist below, 2019’s music has been…

IN THIS PHOTO: Field Music/PHOTO CREDIT: Field Music

VERY strong indeed.

FEATURE: Modern Heroines: Part Eleven: Nadine Shah

FEATURE:

 

Modern Heroines

PHOTO CREDIT: Lucy Johnston

Part Eleven: Nadine Shah

___________

EVEN though Nadine Shah has not put an album out…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Chalk & Blade

this year, her voice has been out in the world and inspiring people to vote. The deadline has now passed to register to vote in the upcoming General Electron and, if you see her Twitter account, you will hear and see Shah campaign to get the Tories out and make a smart call. Politics and improving Britain is very important to her. There is that sense of welfare and caring that is deep in her heart. Shah is a working-class artist from the North and, through her life, she has seen austerity and people overlooked because of their class and race – as a Muslim woman, Shah has faced discrimination and judgement around her. Shah is someone who wants Britain to remain in Europe and for our Nation Health Service to remain world-leading and funded. There are artists having their say and getting political but, in a world where artists can suffer by choosing a side and getting involved in the political debate, it is refreshing and empowering seeing Nadine Shah rally and shout out proud. She is angry at the current Government, but she knows change can come! Politics and the state of Britain is not just with her in her personal life; her music touches on themes of race and class. Shah is someone who writes about life and in a very honest and open way. Holiday Destination, released in 2017, should have won the Mercury Prize, as it was the year’s best album and, actually, it sounds more relevant now than it did a couple of years back! Not only has Shah been a bit of a leader and boss on social media, she has been capturing minds outside of politics.

I am reminded of her epic hosting duties at this year’s Q Awards. Shah was also the first woman to host the awards:

“Her third album Holiday Destination – a political record which contains songs about the refugee crisis – was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize the same year.

She said: “It’s a huge honour to be presenting the Q Awards this year, especially as their first ever female presenter. Have they even had a Geordie do it before?

“I attended the event last year and it’s like no other award show, everywhere you’d turn would be a musician you hold high regard for.

“There was a real feeling of solidarity, a mutual respect and celebration between all musicians present.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what the Q team have up their sleeve this year. They’ve already raised the bar by hiring me!”

Shah was a wonderful presenter, and one hopes she will be invited to be the regular host – she cuts plenty of people down and was on top form! I suppose we better take things back to the start. Shah was born in South Tyneside, but she has Norwegian and Pakistani heritage (her father is Pakistani). Whilst there is not a lot of biographical information online, her Facebook page lists her influences as “Arthur Russell, Scott Walker, Emir Kusterica, Nick Cave, Nina Simone, PJ Harvey, Dolly Parton, Dirty Projectors, Tori Amos, Patti Smith, Lord Auch, Frida Kahlo, AA Bondy, The Irrepressibles, The Beach Boys, Black Flag, Bonnie "Prince" Billy, Philip Larkin…”. I think Nadine Shah will be considered an icon of the future, because she is a terrific songwriter who is also a sensational musician.

Shah is someone who has a unique voice and a truly terrific voice. Politics play an important role in her music, but mental-health is also a key topic – one that has been part of her music since the start. Shah released two E.P.s prior to her debut album – Aching Bones (2012) and Dreary Town (2013) are fantastic works. Love Your Dum And Mad concerns the tragic death of two young men who were dear friends of Shah’s. The album is a raw and personal listen, but it is an album filled with heart, inspiration and important messages. Because Shah was reflecting on the premature deaths of close friends, you are gripped by every word and can hear the emotion in her voice. People are talking more about mental-health now, but it was not that commonly spoken about when Love Your Dum and Mad was released in 2013. People were aware of Shah, but her name was not that big in the fore; her best work was still ahead. Produced by Ben Hillier, Love Your Dum and Mad is a fantastic debut that announced the arrival of one of Britain’s best songwriters. The reviews for Nadine Shah’s debut were pretty impressive; critics could identify a songwriter with a long future ahead. There are many passionate reviews, but I wanted to quote from The Line of Best Fit, who had this to say:

“Produced by Ben Hillier (Depeche Mode, The Horrors), Shah’s long-awaited debut is finally upon us. ‘Dreary Town’, from the EP of the same name, makes an appearance. Cyclic, waltzing piano forges with desolate guitar plucks, the two nervously harmonising underneath Shah’s tempestuous torrent of emotion. It’s like the soundtrack to a deranged fairground, executed by a sombre organ-grinder and a sulking monkey. There’s a Zola Jesus-y twang, minus the electronics, in that it’s operatic, haunting and performed with gusto. Also appearing is ‘Aching Bones’, again from the EP of the same name. The cut’s a post-industrial paean, throbbing bass and clanking metal provide a vital rhythm that provides a spine for Shah’s possessed wail. She sings like a woman on the brink of giving up, allowing herself to succumb to agony – it’s a visceral glimpse into her brooding world.

The other efforts on the record are just as stellar as what we’ve already heard. ‘The Devil’ creaks with macabre guitar hooks, warped beyond rescue. It’s a shadowy tango, seemingly flecked with Iberian influences and the passionate, forceful rhythm. Her voice, trembling as if performing at a Baudelairian cabaret, is the tangible river through what is otherwise a largely electronic cut. ‘To Be A Young Man’ is washed with a post-punk brush, bringing those Nick Cave references to the forefront via Gothic, hopeless lyrics: “Now we’re stalking nine to fives in monotonous routine/ and any hope we had seems distant and obscene.” It’s vaguely grunge-y; distortion-laded guitars and nerve-wracked acoustic six-stringers writhe in harmonious terror, and Shah’s shellshocked croon feels weighed down by ash and dust in her throat.

Nadine Shah’s first foray into the world of LPs is an aural siege. Her unrelenting bouts of emotion don’t leave much space for breathing, and quite frequently you’ll be sucked into a vortex of spiralling despair; in a way, her sounds are claustrophobic. What originally appears to be quite simple, basic instrumentation (voice, piano, occasional guitar or synth), soon reveals itself to be something quite different. There are thick textures and engorged melodies that swell and bloat until they begin to choke you; but Shah doesn’t let up the assault. Her smoky, emotional noxious smog struggles to clear. She’ll hold you under the water with her voice until the last bubble bursts. And you won’t even try to stop her”.

I was a bit shocked Love Your Dum and Mad was not shortlisted for a Mercury, because it was definitely one of the best of 2013. Maybe it arrived (in July) at a time when the die was sort of cast, or maybe the judges overlooked a truly great album. In any case, I would urge people to investigate Shah’s debut, as it is a tremendous offering. Fast Food arrived in 2015, and it took her music up a step. In my view, Shah’s voice grew and her songwriting confidence also grew. Fast Food, again, is another album I expected to come with awards and nominations all over the shop! It is a shame that it was overlooked by many because, if you listen carefully, these incredible tracks unfold and reveal new beauty over time. Even in 2015, there was nobody in music who offered the same sounds and dynamics as Nadine Shah. I think she inspired a lot of songwriters after Fast Food’s release, as you could hear elements of Shah in so many new artists who came through in 2015/2016. Drowned in Sound praised Fast Food in their review:

“Much is made of the sheer power of Shah’s voice, but it’s also a hugely versatile tool which she employs here with a masterful restraint. There’s a lot to be said for the lightness of touch from producer Ben Hillier in facilitating this, freeing her to so effectively portray such a wide spectrum of emotions. Like Shah, he has a strong grasp of the power of simplicity and this makes for a number of Fast Food’s most powerful moments. ‘Divided’ for example, is one of the most affecting songs here, with the arrangement as naked as Shah’s delivery and lyrics: “My love, it was divided / Between his cheekbones and his knees… I let my hair loose for you / But I would scrape it back as soon as I would leave”.

Throughout Fast Food, there’s a strong sense of the songs having the space to breathe and develop at their own pace. ‘Big Hands’ and the hypnotically gorgeous ‘Nothing Else to Do’, for instance, both build from fragile origins to gently majestic finales. These moments are wonderful, but perhaps the greatest triumphs on this album are when Shah indulges her deceptively sharp pop nous. ‘Stealing Cars’, for example is full of hooks from the moment she opens her mouth. ‘Fool’, meanwhile is driven by irresistible shards of Interpol-esque guitar and casts Shah as the chief assailant in a deliciously spiteful (if tongue in cheek) taunting of a predictable, pretentious Cave and Kerouac obsessive. It’s a fantastic piece of work, and one of the strongest singles to have been released so far this year.

If Love Your Dum and Mad floated the idea that Nadine Shah was capable of greatness, then Fast Food confirms this as fact. The songs on this record have been delivered with the kind of aplomb that only someone with an unshakeable confidence in their work can muster, which suggests that Nadine Shah’s artistic future is mouthwatering. Perhaps that’s a discussion for another day though, and we should probably just savour what she’s doing right now. One thing’s sure, though, Nadine Shah is no longer ‘one to watch for the future’, but a bona fide creative force in the here and now.

The difference between the tragedy and emotion of Love Your Dum and Mad and the lighter tones of Fast Food are clear. Nadine Shah conducted some great interviews around the time of Fast Food, speaking with journalists about her progress and themes tackled. In 2015, Shah spoke with London in Stereo about her latest work:

 “Much has changed since we last heard from Nadine Shah in 2013. Love Your Dum and Mad was a brutally candid album rooted in personal tragedy. It was a record weighed heavy with earnest emotion that introduced us to a voice praised by critics, and a talent that garnered widespread acclaim for the Whitburn native. The impression of her first release cast a long shadow, but 2015 sees Nadine armed with a new noise and a new outlook.

Prepare for a colourful second act…

“I said to him ‘Try to imagine the Italian horror films from the 70s. I want really vibrant, vivid colour’ and he got it spot on.” Nadine Shah is explaining to me the brief she gave for the striking artwork accompanying Fast Food. As we speak she is travelling through London on her way to meet the artist, David Stith, for some beers and a chat at an exclusive event in Soho. The vision behind the artwork is strong, and with some talented help the pieces have come to life. Blood drips, layers splice, colours burst; a statement of intent before we even hear a note. Soon these images will grace the sleeve of Fast Food on its release later this month.

PHOTO CREDIT: Nadine Shah 

With new skills and a reinvigorated interest in her art in tow, next came the invaluable proving ground of the Pizza Express Jazz Club. Nadine quite rightly states “It doesn’t sound like a very cool place at all!” but it provided the ideal environment for a young jazz singer. Nadine became a regular at the club, learning from the other performers and taking her chances to hone her skills on the stage. She also had the chance to bend the ear of the greats.
“I remember Georgie Fame and Mose Allison coming in from time to time. They gave me some fantastic advice. It was the best experience a young musician could have. It was wonderful.”

So what should listeners expect from Fast Food? Before the release of her first album Nadine was an unknown quantity. Now there are expectations to surpass or subvert. “It’s a coming of age record of sorts, though I hate the phrase! At its core it’s really about a succession of short-lived, intense love affairs.” Nadine sounds slightly uncomfortable discussing the meaning behind her work which is to be expected. Her songs are often unflinching and introspective, and with the subject of past love there are bound to be some wounds still yet to fully heal.“I’m at an age now where I’m starting to care less about a lot of things. I’ve started to look at love differently the older I get and I’ve learned some important lessons. You come to realise that you’re never going to be someone’s first love ever again”.

I love reading interviews from Shah and listening to her speak. She is witty and warm, but there is this humour and directness that captures the heart and mind. So many artists have very little to say, yet Nadine Shah always fascinates and enriches in interviews. She is an amazing role model and someone I know is inspiring so many people, not just musically.

2017 was a big year for Shah as she put out Holiday Destination in August and was getting a lot of attention. As a live performer, Shah is one of the most exciting and connective around. She can bring an audience into her music and has that power to transform and drop the knees. If she is touring in London next year, I will be sure to catch her as she is very near the top of my list of dream gigs. I do love artists that can use the stage as a performance space where they express themselves; they can get into the crowd and are not just stuck behind a microphone all night. I want to bring in a gig review from The Independent, who reviewed Shah in 2017:

“Often, Shah’s songs built to a moment of disorientating deconstruction where we’re forced as listeners to experience unfamiliar alienation, crossing uncanny musical borders in the process as genres clash and jar. It’s deliberately unsettling surrealism, forcing us to empathise with those in similar situations around the world, “to play a tiny part in humanising the dehumanised,” as Shah put it last night, her theatrical voice all the while conveying the drama of characters experiencing this every day.

“There are millions of people all over the world displaced in situations we could never imagine because we’re so f****** lucky,” Shah said before final emotive song "Mother Fighter". Dedicated to “a political activist and mother,” Raga, a character who Shah discovered via the film A Syrian Love Story, the song sees Shah at her angriest: “these streets they are yours and they’re mine,” she scorns to those who think otherwise.

PHOTO CREDIT: Nadine Shah 

As well as the political, Shah still levels in the personal, reaching out to people through the more familiar themes of mental health and failed relationships, making intense, individual contact with her audience as always. Channelling "Let England Shake "era PJ Harvey and Siouxsie and the Banshees, Shah last night showed us how we find compassion and hope in the current wilderness; hers is a pervasive sonic and lyrical narrative”.

Holiday Destination, as I say, is a huge album that was much-loved by critics. It saw, again, Shah improving and releasing her best music to date. I do think it was unfair Shah was denied glory in 2018 at the Mercurys. It is an oversight Shah herself recognised. No matter. Holiday Destination is an album that took Nadine Shah to new audiences and got her a lot of respect. I have been following her career since the earliest days, and it is amazing to see how she has grown and evolved. I will bring this feature to a close but, when thinking about Holiday Destination, I am minded of the balance of the hard-hitting and light. Shah could mix political songs and heavier moments with playfulness and wit. It is an exceptional album that gathered a load of critical praise. AllMusic had their say in 2017: 

“Holiday Destination is Nadine Shah's third record, and it's the one that sees her emerge from the ubiquitous PJ Harvey and Nick Cave comparisons most fully. Certainly, as far as Harvey and Shah's music is compared, there are certain aesthetic and thematic crossovers, but the latter's political concerns feel acutely direct and personal compared to the more conceptual nature of Harvey's later work. With this latest record she tackles big and troubling issues apparent both in her native U.K. and around the world, yet those heavy themes are consistently met with a playful, limber, and imaginative musicality. Opener "A Place Like This" pairs funk rhythms with pro-refugee protest chants, and "2016" speaks of "Fascists in the Whitehouse" among nimble guitar riffs and a crisp, disjointed beat.

The bracing lead single "Out the Way" is a frank cautionary tale about the rise of nationalism and the treatment of second generation immigrants -- "Where would you have me go?/I'm second generation/Don't you know?" -- and its jittery, marching rhythm, vibrating guitar, and lunging sax feed into the urgency and importance of the narrative. The title track was inspired by news footage of holiday makers in Greece complaining of the refugee crisis' effect on their break, and still its danceability doesn't detract from the troubling lyrical content, which warns, "Fatalities in the water/traffic jam by your side/feed your son, feed your daughter/how you gonna sleep tonight?/the bad guys they are winning." Unlike her previous records, which were recorded live, Shah has described Holiday Destination as a studio album. However, there is little to fear in terms of this record being too polished, as it's lost none of the character of her previous efforts. "Yes Men" is an example of light production touches serving the songs beautifully as Shah's vocal is repositioned to the fore. The pace is slowed, but not at the expense of impact -- her voice admonishes sycophants who peddle lies in service to their own agenda with a rich sensory power. It's an album filled with wonderful moments from the delicious grooves of "Evil" to "Mother Fighter's" entrancing hooks, and they only ever serve to deepen Shah's message. To have made this collection as musically grim as the problems she addresses could have left a sense of hopelessness ringing in the air. But this lively and spirited musical landscape celebrates music's ability to unite as much as it eloquently protests division”.

I have talked about the lure of Nadine Shah as a person. Her music tells you a lot about her life and mindset, but there is a different side that reveals itself when you see interviews. I gravitate towards artists that are accessible and you can relate to. Shah is someone who is open about her personal life and family. I know artists and songwriters will take a lot of impetus from Shah and can see someone who speaks to them. In fact, as a non-musician, I can find a kindred spirit in her. Shah has been busy encouraging people to vote and she wants better things for this country. One might assume her work to be quite grim and angry, but there is a lot of passion, strength and optimism. The world is definitely more interesting having Nadine Shah in it and, as we await another studio album, take a listen to brilliant gems like Holiday Destination. I will finish up with a couple of interviews Shah provided last year. When speaking with The Guardian, she was asked her about her family and social/political side:

“Her third album, Holiday Destination, is her first Mercury nomination, and has taken her from noirish piano balladeer to noirish breakthrough rocker on heavy indie-radio rotation. Her themes on this record have particularly resonated. Inspired – or rather crushed by – the unrelenting doom cycle of 2016, she covers the Syrian refugee crisis, Trump’s election, the EU referendum, the rise of nationalism and a “decline in empathy”. A news item in which holidaymakers were bemoaning the arrival of refugees in Greece inspired its acerbic title; Stevie Wonder and Talking Heads inform its jerky, skeletal, metallic funk and bristling post-punk.

At first, Shah was scared to make an album that tackled weighty injustices such as the refugee crisis, for fear she’d be the target of similar accusations. She has, however, always been socially conscious. Her first album, 2013’s Love Your Dum and Mad, dealt with the deaths of two former boyfriends, and she has become an ambassador for mental health charities like Calm. By the time she started writing Holiday Destination, her brother had been making documentaries on the refugee frontline for years, while other source material included Sean McAllister’s 2015 film A Syrian Love Story. It inspired her track Mother Fighter, which looked at conflict from a mother’s point of view; she kept returning to the documentary when writing the lyrics to make sure she got the story right. “You have to make sure that you’re responsible and fact-checking what you’re saying,” she says.

Holiday Destination could have been the grim musical equivalent of a BBC News 24 report. But she draws on her own experiences, too, of racism and feeling culturally adrift. Her father is Pakistani and her mother English with Norwegian heritage. Shah says: “I’ve never been white enough to be white, or brown enough to be brown. At Asian weddings, I’d get called ‘gora’” – a Pakistani slur sometimes used to describe a white person – “and in school I’d be called Paki.” On the single Out the Way she sings: “Where would you have me go / I’m second-generation, don’t you know,” because, she says, swirling her G&T, “people were starting to say to me on social media: ‘Go back to where you come from’, and I was like: ‘What? Whitburn?’”

Being one of the most visible Muslim women with a guitar, she constantly gets asked how she feels about the lack of women of colour in indie music, but it’s a subject she’ll never tire of. “I refuse to stop talking about being Asian. Some people think that’s me being opportunistic, like I’m playing the Asian card, but I feel a responsibility to speak out. Islamophobia is totally on the rise, it’s terrifying. My cousins, who have brown skin and are full Pakistani, they’re still getting shouted at in the street”.

I am not sure what 2020 holds for Nadine Shah. She has a gig at The Roundhouse on 10th December, and she will be looking to have a quiet end to the year. There is that excitement of next year and what she can achieve. There are going to be more dates coming, I am sure, but Shah has plenty to reflect on when it comes to inspiration for a new album. The political situation in Britain is tense and, depending on which way the General Election goes, a forthcoming album could be quite tense, or it could be more hopeful. Many people will be watching nervously in a few weeks when we know which party has won the General Election. I am sure Nadine Shah is crossing her fingers for a Labour victory and will have plenty to say when the results come in. I think she will put out new work next year and, as we look forward to that, take a listen to the incredible music she has already released – there is a playlist at the bottom of this feature. I want to end with an interview she gave this year actually; she spoke with The Guardian (again) about Glastonbury, Barry White and upcoming material:

 “How well do you embody Barry White?

It’s hilarious. I’m going to be Pakistani geordie Barry White! Of the two songs I’ve got, both have a sexy talking bit at the beginning. So I said to Charles, I’m not going to do that bit, right? And he said: “Oh, but you must.” And I said: Charles, in my accent, talking sexy? Lines like: “And you know you want it” and “You know I’m gonna get it together and it’s gonna be great”? It’s going to be a really niche sexy thing, aye. You know when you’re making love to somebody and a really cheesy song comes on and you just laugh? Hearing me say “sexy” things in my accent, that’s going to debone anyone.

PHOTO CREDIT: Nadine Shah 

Have you ever had to run away from someone at Glasto?

Jarvis Cocker has run away from me! I’ve met him about four times and every time, he’s literally walked backwards away from me, or sideways. He was supposed to do the Barry White performance, too, but he pulled out. He probably heard I was playing.

What’s your most awkward festival encounter?

I once went to the loo and when I went to wash my hands I picked up this bit of yellow soap – but it turns out I was washing my hands in the men’s urinals and using one of those cakes they put in there to soak up the smells. This lad was filming it and saying: “Nadine Shah’s washing her hands in the men’s urinals.” I gave him £20 to delete the video. He did, thank God.

You’re in the middle of recording a new record – what can we expect?

I always want to have a coherent theme and it’s ended up being a collection of stories from the women I love most in the world, the most inspiring women, including my mum. I’m really lucky to be surrounded by them”.

In years to come, I think we will see a lot of artists out there channelling Nadine Shah – there are already I few who are taking guidance from her. Her music is both personal and for us all; there is immense power and stir that sits alongside humour and the conversational. It is that conversational nature that brings the music to life and makes it so memorable. She is a fantastic artist and, as we saw at the Q Awards recently, she is a perfect host too. I do think the next couple of years are going to be very busy and successful for Nadine Shah. Awards will come her way and she will get some big festival slots. I wonder whether she is in the mix for Glastonbury next year. One would hope so. I shall leave things here but, when it comes to incredible female artist in the world, Shah is up there with the best of them. As I see Shah’s tweets about the General Election and making people aware of the importance of voting, it makes me (and many others) wish she had a…

ROLE in parliament!

FEATURE: Off to a Strong Start! The Best Debut Albums of 2019

FEATURE:

 

Off to a Strong Start!

PHOTO CREDIT: @divandor/Unsplash

The Best Debut Albums of 2019

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AS we see out the final weeks of this year…

IN THIS PHOTO: King Princess/PHOTO CREDIT: King Princess

everyone is putting together lists of their favourite albums. It has been great assessing the very best from 2019 and those albums that stand above the rest. Whilst it is important to celebrate the absolute best albums of the year, there have been some stunning debuts that warrant attention. Putting out the first album is tricky and can be a nerve-wracking experience. When an artist gets it right or releases an album that is truly special, we all stand up and take notice; we wonder where that artist will go next and how they will follow an incredible debut. 2019 has been a fantastic one for debut releases so, because of that, I have collected together my favourite. Have a look at these sensational debut albums…     

IN THIS PHOTO: Brittany Howard/PHOTO CREDIT: Brittany Howard

FROM a seriously remarkable year.

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Billie Eilish – WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?

Release Date: 29th March

Producer: Finneas O’Connell

Labels: Darkroom/Interscope

Sample Review:

“From the opening line of hilarious opener "!!!!!!!," Eilish makes it clear that she is just like you, the listener, goofing off in the studio with her brother while she's supposed to be recording her major-label debut. As endearing as it is obnoxious, the track sets the tone and, from there, the album is a thrill. Bouncing from infectious dance-pop highs to tender, restrained lows, Eilish manages effortless cohesion, even within the span of a single song. "Bad Guy" throbs like the cavernous echo heard outside the club, sparking to life with a K-pop brightness before descending with a bellowing trap drop, while "All the Good Girls Go to Hell" rides a playful bass strum that manages to pull some G-funk effects into its orbit. The meme-worthy "My Strange Addiction" makes the inspired choice to interpolate dialogue from the "Threat Level Midnight" episode of The Office (which had already wrapped its entire televised run before Eilish even turned 12), all while managing to be one of the sleekest standouts on the album. Other highlights include the hypnotic minimalist single "Bury a Friend," an unnerving nightmare that is as disturbing as it is addictive; the twisted funhouse electro-pop "Ilomilo"; and "You Should See Me in a Crown," a spiritual descendant of Lorde's "Royals" that finds Eilish making a power grab to rule the one-horse "nothing town" instead of simply complaining about it. While empowering and vulnerable messages bleed through every song, the quieter moments allow her introspection to take the spotlight, especially on the restrained trio that closes the album. She contemplates ending her life on the swelling, piano-centric "Listen Before I Go" and offers an uncomfortably uncertain conclusion with "Goodbye," but it's the swelling storm of "I Love You," a heartbreaking acoustic beauty, that pegs Eilish as something more than a spooky, scare-the-parents gimmick. Indeed, with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, she demonstrates that she can do it all, hinting at a bright future that could truly go in any direction, as messy and hopeful as youth can get” – AllMusic

Standout Tracks: you should see me in a crown/all good girls go to hell/bury a friend

Key Cut: bad guy

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/WHEN-ALL-FALL-ASLEEP-WHERE/dp/B07N7YYLFF/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=billie+eilish&qid=1574773440&sr=8-1

Fontaines D.C. – Dogrel

Release Date: 12th April

Producer: Dan Carey

Label: Partisan

Sample Review:

“So it’s refreshing to hear a singer, Fontaines DC’s Grian Chatten, embrace of all the bleating music of a Dublin accent. For listeners not versed in the Irish punk scene, his extremely characterful voice is as bracing as Alex Turner’s was when Arctic Monkeys broke out, and he uses it to voice a boisterous cast of personae: bullish yuppie on opener Big; ranting preacher on Chequeless Reckless; fond documentarian on Liberty Belle: “You know I love that violence that you get around here / That kind of ready-steady violence.” That song and others here are fantastic ramalama surf-punk hits, but the five-piece have real range on this perfect debut. A stark Joy Division-style bass line props up The Lotts, with Chatten’s lines filling each bar to the brim, resulting in a deceptively simple, powerfully melancholy song. Roy’s Tune is equally sad and good, a steady Britpop ballad with a touch of the naivety of Ian Brown’s earliest performances. Television Screens has the kind of melody that would work in a traditional Irish folk ballad, but done as something Fugazi might play in their more tender moments. This is the kind of songwriting quality that bands can take years to reach, or never reach at all: brilliant, top to bottom” – The Guardian

Standout Tracks: Big/Roy’s Tune/Dublin City Sky

Key Cut: Boys in the Better Land

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dogrel-FONTAINES-D-C/dp/B07NFFGMB9/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Fontaines+D.C.+%E2%80%93+Dogrel&qid=1574776668&sr=8-1

Sam Fender – Hypersonic Missiles

Release Date: 13th September   

Producers: Bramwell Bronte/Rich Costey/Sam Fender

Label: Polydor

Sample Review:

“The Bruce Springsteen influence is further evidenced in current single ‘The Borders’ which is more upbeat. There are lyrics which you wouldn’t usually hear in a song (“[you] pinned me to the ground/eight years old with a replica gun pushing in my skull saying you’re going to kill me if I tell/Never did and I never will/that house was living hell”). Fender pulls no punches in how he is feeling. Surrounding these gritty lyrics is direct and anthemic music. However, the arena-sized sounds are just as impressive when listened to from the comfort of your living room.

‘Dead Boys’ was a significant track for Fender. It is a haunting account of the male suicide epidemic affecting young men. In this track, he addresses mental health and “toxic masculinity” head on. His powerful voice is more subdued in ‘Dead Boys’ but the message still hits home. ‘Play God’ and ‘That Sound’ are excellent tracks.

‘Saturday’ is highly relatable (“If Saturday don’t come soon, I’m gonna lose my mind”), whilst recent single ‘Will We Talk?’ tells the story of a one night stand. It is euphoric and again has an anthemic feel. ‘Call Me Lover’ is a slower, hypnotic song and subjugates the listener. It’s also one of the best tracks off the album, which is saying something as there is such stiff competition. ‘Use (Live From London)’ is a simple and stripped back song which continues to showcase Fender’s show-stopping, fiery vocals.

‘Hypersonic Missiles’ is packed with high octane hits, all of which translate into an impeccable record. Sam Fender’s debut is brave, confident and evocative” – CLASH

Standout Tracks: Hypersonic Missiles/The Borders/Will We Talk?

Key Cut: Dead Boys

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hypersonic-Missiles-Sam-Fender/dp/B07MG9JPDS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1HP2EJHBUVJHR&keywords=sam+fender+hypersonic+missiles+cd&qid=1574838912&sprefix=sam+fender+hyper%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-1

Brittany Howard – Jaime

Release Date: 20th September   

Producer: Brittany Howard

Label: ATO

Sample Review:

“The scraps are glued into place and luminously lit by Howard’s brilliant sense of melody, and her searing lyricism. The standout is Georgia, which begins with Howard repeating “I just want Georgia to notice me” in a girlish chant, as if picking petals off a daisy. Soon she is left with just a stalk, and the impossibility of her ardour hits her full-force: the song switches up with a stirring organ motif and becomes intensely moving, two scraps finessed into something whole. The excellent Goat Head lays out the racism her parents faced as a mixed-race couple in the American south, Howard’s lyric written with a child’s blend of clarity and confusion at the injustice.

But it’s emotionally as well as musically varied. He Loves Me sees Howard giving up church safe in the knowledge that God is still smiling on her when she’s drinking too much and smoking blunts; she finds herself in a different cloud on Stay High, of bliss that’s perhaps musical, perhaps post-coital, backed by twinkling waltz-time soul. Artists often take on solo projects to get things out of their system before regrouping, but those things are rarely as beautiful as they are here” – The Guardian

Standout Tracks: History Repeats/Stay High/13th Century Metal

Key Cut: Short and Sweet

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Jaime-Brittany-Howard/dp/B07TKF64HL/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=brittany+howard+jaime&qid=1574839095&sr=8-1

slowthai - Nothing Great About Britain

Release Date: 17th May    

Producers: Kwes Darko/Mura Masa/Anish Bhatt/JD. Reid/Slaves/Earbuds

Label: Method Records

Sample Review:

“For all his cartoonish videos and stage theatrics, slowthai’s role as a single character in this ensemble cast shows the integrity he brings to the task. Though he nods to the mannerisms of Dizzee Rascal and JME, Nothing Great About Britain avoids cross-generational pandering and bypasses territorial arguments over the borders of grime and UK rap. What binds the album is slowthai’s soul: his meticulously drawn characters, his affinity for left-behind outsiders like the glue sniffers sampled on “Doorman,” and his impatience with a profit-motivated world where, as he once put it, “You’re competing constantly without wanting to.” The Britain he envisions is fairer, more leisurely and attentive, and united in its resistance to authority. It’s who our society overlooks, he suggests, that determines what we need to overthrow” – Pitchfork

Standout Tracks: Dead Leaves/Peace of Mind/Missing

Key Cut: Doorman (ft. Mura Masa)

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nothing-Great-About-Britain-Explicit/dp/B07PXLFSMK/ref=sr_1_1?crid=312PUY40I202E&keywords=nothing+great+about+britain&qid=1574839321&sprefix=nothign+great+%2Caps%2C126&sr=8-1

Kim Gordon – No Home Record

Release Date: 11th October

Producers: Kim Gordon/Justin Raisen

Label: Matador Records

Sample Review:

“Under the thunderstorm of ‘Hungry Baby’’s super-galvanising Stooges groove and a wickedly playful bass, Gordon’s urgent raspy vocals overstretch to tell a story with a dark thematic undercurrent of sexual harassment. Conflictingly, this is intuitively juxtaposed with jarringly innocent imagery, as if finding sly poetic victory in infantilising the oppressor.

The tastefully chopped no-wave guitar of ‘Air BnB’, straight out of Arto Lindsay’s DNA days, breaks on the chorus into a classic SY anthem. Its theme is the American idea of purchasing utopia through trying out lifestyles, people escaping themselves, going on a mini retreat from their lives. Hashtag superhosted supermodernity.

On No Home Record, Gordon sketches the great supermodern landscape of LA, in stark strokes of infectious, visceral weirdness. Like David Lynch, she exposes the ominous, hilarious, faux-profound undercurrents of American life, capturing “the madness of the times and the strangeness and the sadness” (to quote her colleague, guitarist Steve Gunn). Gordon’s bet is that the people are ready for weirdness, that the world can embrace its complexities. And the only way is forward” – The Quietus

Standout Tracks: Sketch Artist/Murdered Out/Hungry Baby

Key Cut: Air BnB

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Home-Record-VINYL-Kim-Gordon/dp/B07WMM9CN1/ref=sr_1_1?crid=B2HBN102OBVX&keywords=kim+gordon+no+home+record&qid=1574839521&sprefix=no+home+record+kim%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-1

Sampa the Great – The Return

Release Date: 13th September

Label: Ninja Tune

Sample Review:

“While there are times Sampa The Great leans hard into hip-hop's history - ‘Time's Up’ and ‘Heaven’ In particular have a real 90’s skate shop vibe about them - on the whole this record is overwhelming about the future, not the past. The beats often break away from standard rap shtick, taking the listener beyond genre and into the unknown.

If there’s one potential criticism to be had with the record, it’s that there’s no huge moments. No runaway singles, no obvious “hits”. 'The Return' is an album full of album tracks. It’s an album that forces you to lean in and really listen. That’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable. Not at all. If anything, the lack of real standout tracks makes for a much better, more mature record. There’s certainly no filler, Sampa makes sure of that. Every track has a purpose. Everything is intentional, from the click of a drum to the syllables in a line.

‘Dare To Fly’ and ‘The Return’ highlight Sampa’s tendency to break down genre with her eclectic beats. The former leans heavily on acid jazz rhythms to create a hallucinogenic-fuelled jam so messed up that Thundercat would be proud of.

Title track ‘The Return’, meanwhile, also gives more than a nod to Portishead. The track is a trip-hop infused echo chamber. Its reverb-laden anti-beat adds a distinctly sinister edge to the albums climax.

With 'The Return', Sampa The Great expertly dismantles the notion of genre, proving that, when it comes to art, what really matters is content, not labels” – CLASH

Standout Tracks: Freedom/Grass Is Greener/OMG

Key Cut: Final Form

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Return-Explicit-Sampa-Great/dp/B07V6T136C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=28MB5YRX5J4EY&keywords=sampa+the+great+the+return&qid=1574839740&sprefix=sampa+the+great+%2Caps%2C123&sr=8-1

King Princess – Cheap Queen

Release Date: 25th October

Producers: King Princess/Mike Malchicoff/Tim Anderson/Teo Halm/Kid Harpoon

Labels: Zelig/Columbia

Sample Review:

“Sonically, this album has as much in common with the neo-soul and R&B of Erykah Badu and SZA as it does stadium ballads – with a little of the existential electronic pop of Christine & The Queens and Charli XCX thrown in, too. There are a few missteps – ‘Aint Together’ and ‘Trust Nobody’ – that come off as bland, predictable stabs stadium anthems. King Princess shines the brightest when the music around her is experimental and electronic, rather than piano-led. It’s no coincidence, then, that the latter part of the record, which totally fulfils this brief, sees her soar the highest.

The euphoric waves of electronica on ‘Hit The Back’ are exhilarating, and the song deserves to be aired enthusiastically not only in gay clubs, but across the pop charts too. She seductively talks about women in a way that’s rooted in the male gaze, with bars like, “Ain’t I the best you ever had?” sounding like they could have come from a cocky lothario. This feels intentional, with King Princess showing that it’s totally organic for young lesbians to embody the idea of the alpha male too. On this track, and the melancholic “If You Think It’s Love”, she genuinely sounds like she could be the heir to Robyn’s throne, with the songs sharing the ability to make you dance and cry in just the space of a few moments” – NME

Standout Tracks: Useless Phrases/Prophet/Hit the Back

Key Cut: Cheap Queen

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheap-Queen-King-Princess/dp/B07XV7Z79M/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=king+princess+cheap+queen+album&qid=1574839973&sr=8-1

Caroline Polachek – Pang

Release Date: 18th October 

Producers: Caroline Polachek (exec.)/Danny L Harle (exec.)/Daniel Nigro/Jim-E Stack/Dan Carey/A. G. Cook/Andrew Wyatt/Valley Girl

Labels: Sony/The Orchard/Perpetual Novice

Sample Review:

“These are broad, expansive examples of modern indie pop, entrancing in their potential to effectively convey mood and ideas. "Shut Up" for example is a cavernous piece, equal parts seductive and bewildering, whilst "So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings" has all the trappings and swaggering femininity of the best '80s pop pieces. In turn, "Parachutes" displays Polachek’s ‘Organic Autotune’ to euphoric effect come the album’s close.

This is to say that the excellence and consistency is so uniform across the album that any one song could feasibly have been released as a single and it still wouldn’t have betrayed the excellence of the project.

There are moments that feel surplus to requirement at times or run slightly too long but this is to be pedantic in the face of the album's successes. Particular congratulations should go to the effortless perfection of the single "Door" as well as title track, "Pang" both of which are consummate modern pop songs and testament to Polachek’s talents as a singer, songwriter and producer.

Pang is a remarkable debut album assured of its legitimacy and brilliance, one that should be celebrated for its shimmering beauty and the success of its authorial intent” – The Line of Best Fit

Standout Tracks: Pang/Ocean of Tears/Hit Me Where It Hurts

Key Cut: Door

Purchase: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pang-Explicit-Caroline-Polachek/dp/B07YQW5W1M/ref=sr_1_1?crid=33M7X994ORG0P&keywords=caroline+polachek+pang&qid=1574840257&sprefix=caroline+polachek+%2Caps%2C125&sr=8-1

FEATURE: Station to Station: Song Four: Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 2)

FEATURE:

 

Station to Station

IN THIS PHOTO: Mark Radcliffe standing behind his own commemorative bench in the grounds of Manchester University/PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Heyes/Cancer Research UK/PA 

Song Four: Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 2)

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IT has been a while since I last did…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Paul Heyes/Cancer Research UK/PA

one of my Station to Station features (in my first offering, I spotlighted Lauren Laverne of BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 4) and, to be fair, most of them have concerned a broadcaster who is associated with BBC Radio 6 Music – today, alas, is no different! I will concentrate on Annie Nightingale and Annie Mac in future editions, thus taking me to BBC Radio 1 and, with it, focusing on two iconic female broadcasters who are leading the way for a wave of new female broadcasters…and are fantastic role models. One reason why I wanted to discuss Mark Radcliffe is that there is a lot going on with him right now. I will mention his new book and musical project soon but, before that, it is worth chatting about his radio endeavours. I will move on to specifics but, to recap his past, here is a little bit of information. Born in 1958, Mark Radcliffe began his broadcasting career working in local radio in Manchester – Radcliffe was born in Bolton -, before moving to BBC Radio 5, whereupon he met Marc Riley (who also now works for BBC Radio 6 Music!). The pair struck up a friendship and, as Mark and Lard, the two enjoyed a successful partnership. Although Radcliffe worked at the station for eleven years, perhaps the Mark and Lard breakfast show was quite divisive. If the breakfast run was not as successful and lauded as he and Riley might have hoped, the afternoon slot seemed like a better fit – and with Sony Radio Academy Awards came (three of them, in fact!). Radcliffe joined BBC Radio 2 after he left BBC Radio 1 in 2004 and, in the new evening slot, there were similarities with the slot he had at BBC Radio 1.

In many ways, Mark Radcliffe’s career arc and rising success is an inspiration for all broadcasters out there. I have given an overview and skimmed some details – D.J.s he replaced and various stages of his career -, but here is someone who moved from BBC Radio 1 to 2 and, after a relatively brief stint in the late shift, he would meet his now-partner-in-crime, Stuart Maconie. Radcliffe had experience working with Riley and doing breakfast and evening shows; he worked for several radio networks before he met Maconie and, just to back it up, his 2005 interview with Kate Bush was not just any old interview! If I have raced through Radcliffe’s radio career pre-2005 rather speedily, he’ll forgive me. I think the first taste of his work was in 2005 when he spoke with Kate Bush when she was promoting Aerial. There is stiff competition when it comes to who is Bush’s biggest fan and, whilst I would rival anyone for that crown, Mark Radcliffe surely is close to the top – I am only thirty-six, so Radcliffe’s longer fandom and following nudges him above me. Regardless, one needs to understand how hard it is to get an interview with Kate Bush, especially in 2005! The Red Shoes came out in 1993 and, after twelve years away from the spotlight, Radcliffe was granted one of very few interviews she provided – a very extensive and warm one at that! Radcliffe’s tireless hard work and respect among his peers meant that he finally was able to meet someone he held huge and undying admiration for.

For years prior to his interview with Kate Bush, Radcliffe had run a ‘Bush-O-Meter’ on his show for BBC Radio 2. It is understandable Radcliffe, as a massive Bush fan, was curious where she was. Of course, Kate Bush was not idle between 1993 and 2005. She gave birth to her son, Bertie, with husband Danny Mcintosh in 1998 and was enjoying a less stressful and demanding role as a mother. The fact maternal duties were less full-on that her professional life tells you why she needed a break! Aerial is a double-album and one of the finest records of her career. The interview between Mark Radcliffe and Kate Bush is hugely enjoyable. There is mutual respect and, despite one or two awkward moments (Rolf Harris appears on Aerial and, although we did not know about his sexual abuse crimes at that point, it is uncomfortable hearing his name mentioned; not the fault of Bush or Radcliffe). A lot of interviews you hear with artists are usually quite routine and they pass you by. Mark Radcliffe holds such love for Kate Bush, he must have been more nervous than he’d ever been moments before they started recording. Radcliffe has interviewed Kate Bush a couple of times since 2005 (once for 50 Words for Snow in 2011 and, earlier that year, he talked with her about Director’s Cut). I am sure he like every Kate Bush fan hopes she bring an album our next year and, if she does, I just know Radcliffe will be asked to interview her again!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush captured in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton/National Portrait Gallery, London

As Radcliffe said in the introduction to his 2005 interview with Kate Bush, he has followed her on the airwaves for years and had photos on his studio wall of her; they chatted and enjoyed cheese flan and a cup of tea or two! By 2007, Mark Radcliffe had joined forces with Stuart Maconie and they presented on BBC Radio 2 in the evenings. They won a Sony in 2009 and the show was reduced to three nights a week (they previously did four days before) from 2010. Radcliffe and Maconie moved to BBC Radio 6 Music from 2011 and were in their hugely popular afternoon slot until the very end of last year. I shall come onto their move to weekend mornings and why that was such an odd move on behalf of the BBC. One can catch Mark Radcliffe’s Folk show on BBC Radio 2 on Wednesdays from 9 p.m. where he explores the wide range of traditional and contemporary Folk and Acoustic music from around the U.K. and the world, with regular interviews and live sessions. Having that balance of his Folk programme on BBC Radio 2 and his weekend show with Maconie means he (Radcliffe) still works for BBC Radio 2, but he gets to mix that up with his show on the more hip and cool BBC Radio 6 Music – even if Radcliffe and Maconie’s show is refreshingly middle-aged at times! Radcliffe and Maconie ruled the afternoon airwaves for over seven years and, when BBC Radio 6 Music had a reshuffle at the end of 2018, they were moved to weekend breakfasts – a spot previously occupied by Mary Anne Hobbs (who is now on the weekday shift between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.).

The reaction on social media to the move was one of anger and confusion. I do not understand why it was done, because RadMac’s listenership was huge and they were loved by so many people. I do hope the BBC brings them back to weekdays very soon because, as Radcliffe discussed in a recent interview, he was a bit miffed by the move:

 “The radio presenter’s programme with Stuart Maconie was moved to Saturday and Sunday mornings in order to give Shaun Keaveny the 1pm weekday slot, as part of a reshuffle in which Lauren Laverne became the station’s breakfast show host.

“We felt … surprised,” Radcliffe told the Radio Times. “And disappointed. Some of the things [BBC management] have done mystify me still, but actually, in terms of my health, it’s probably better not to have to do three hours a day, five days a week.”

Radcliffe, 61, agreed to stay with Maconie even as the show dropped from five to two days a week – a move he said was “like renewing our marriage vows”.

The Cheshire-based Radcliffe was diagnosed with head and neck cancer at the end of last year, requiring the removal of tumours from his neck and mouth. He is now in remission. The illness forced him to spend several months off air, during which time Maconie broadcast on his own”.

2018 was a very challenging time for Mark Radcliffe. Not only did he have to adapt to a future of early starts at the weekend – I bet he thought he had said goodbye to early starts and late finishes when he and Stuart Maconie started their afternoon show! -, but he received that devastating cancer diagnosis.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Mark Radcliffe spoke with Bruce Springsteen earlier in the year for BBC Radio 6 Music/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC/@themarkrad

Luckily, Radcliffe is better and his voice is in fine fettle. He could easily have lost his voice for good, and there must have been times during his cancer treatment where he wondered whether he’d have to find another career. I want to deviate (slightly) from talking about Radcliffe on the radio because, tying in with my talk of 2018, it was a year where he found himself at a crossroads. Published this September, Crossroads arrived after months of uncertainty, change and challenges:

 “Not long after being diagnosed with cancer of the mouth and throat last year, Mark Radcliffe found himself at a crossroads in life.

He had turned 60, his father had recently died, his adored dog too, and the mid-afternoon show he presented with Stuart Maconie was axed. He needed something new to occupy his time.

“I’m actually quite good at sitting about,” he says, “so I never felt the urge to cycle over the Pennines or anything, but I do like to have something turning around in my brain.”

He had recently gone on holiday with two friends, visiting America’s Deep South to see a less metaphorical crossroads, the one at which blues legend Robert Johnson was said to have sold his soul to the devil. Once home, and too ill to go out, or even to eat, this idea of crossroads wouldn’t go away. “I have ideas all the time, but this one snowballed, and ultimately congealed into a book.”

IMAGE CREDIT: Canon Gate 

The book, entitled – what else? – Crossroads, celebrates moments that changed music for ever. It is wildly discursive, touching as it does on key points in contemporary music history. He recalls when Nirvana went from being a cult act to the largest band in the world in the early 90s; the moment in the 70s when disco took hold and taught the world to dance. He looks at the Windrush generation, who brought reggae to our shores, and how Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath became one of the country’s first heavy rock acts of note.

When, in 1997, he and Mark Riley stepped into the Radio 1 Breakfast Show breach left by Chris Evans’ abrupt departure, they proved a gloriously left-field anomaly – too much so, it seemed, for Radio 1, which soon shunted them to a night-time slot. Radcliffe has thrived on the margins of Radios 2 and 6 ever since, playing the wonderful and arcane, and being professionally deadpan.

He has also found time to write the occasional book – five in total. Though he finds writing to be “like homework”, he is grateful to have it: the more he concentrated on writing Crossroads, the less he fretted about his diagnosis.

Undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, it was made clear to him that his vocal cords might be permanently damaged – “which would be no great loss to the airwaves, let’s face it, and it was better than the alternative”, he points out, meaning death. “I actually found it relatively easy to keep positive during my treatment, because what else would I do? Take to my bed and weep for months?”

 IMAGE CREDIT: Middle of Nowhere Recordings

Not only is Mark Radcliffe an incredible broadcaster and author; he is also a very talented musician. He is in the band, Galleon Blast, who is slightly less serious and fun; Radcliffe has another project, UNE. I was not aware Mark Radcliffe had this serious musician in him and, whilst that might sound insulting, it shows that he has this diverse personality and incredible range. You can buy the Lost album here, and I think the duo have some live dates next year. Keep your ears and eyes out for news because, rather than being a side-project, UNE are a great act that warrant your attention! Radcliffe and his musical cohort Paul Langley spoke with The Guardian in September about UNE and their musical aspirations:

“Mark Radcliffe and Paul Langley are sipping tea in central Manchester. The former is the much-loved radio star; the latter is something of a mystery. “Good, the less said the better,” Langley says from behind his spectacles and pot of Earl Grey. However, I do know he once made an EP in an outfit called Rack-It! “That was with Martyn Walsh from Inspiral Carpets,” he laughs. “He said, ‘You wanna do a track called Sex on Acid – that’ll annoy people.’ And it did.”

Radcliffe and Langley are, they tell me, “soon to be legendary”. This will be in the guise of UNE, the name they have given themselves. The pair have made Lost, an album of lovely, plaintive electronica over which Radcliffe sings. They met five years ago in the Builder’s Arms in Knutsford, Cheshire.

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul Langley and Mark Radcliffe are UNE/PHOTO CREDIT: UNE 

Radcliffe, new to the area, asked locals which pub was dog-friendly. This led to dog-walk encounters with Langley, and the pair were soon bantering over pints, about music and Manchester City.

One day Langley mentioned the fact he made electronic music, and Radcliffe groaned. “I didn’t think it would be any good,” he says, “because he’s such a clown. But his hidden shallows turned out to be hidden depths. When I heard it, I thought, ‘This is surprisingly good.’”

Radcliffe was reading Lost in Translation, Ella Frances Sanders’ illustrated compendium of untranslatable words from around the world. He wondered if it was possible to write a song called Boketto, which means “to gaze vacantly into the distance without thinking” in Japanese. “So I’d give Paul the idea and the picture from the book. He’d write music and I’d go away and write words.” The pair were surprised at how effectively this created what Radcliffe calls “electronic pop songs, but very warm and dreamlike”.

Radcliffe hopes UNE aren’t seen as “some radio bloke having a dabble”. He was, after all, in bands before becoming a DJ. “I’ve never really seen a divide between the two. Sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t because radio people think, ‘We can’t play that – it’s Mark.’ I just hope we get the same chance as everyone else”.

It has been a changeable last year or so for Mark Radcliffe but, as we look forward to Christmas, I know he must be in a better frame of mind than this time last year. He is free of cancer and has settled into the weekend breakfast show. It would be great if he and Stuart Maconie were still on afternoons, but they are still together and they have taken to their new time slot with aplomb…after a few bleary-eyed mornings and a gradual adaption to waking up earlier!

I love the RadMac show and, through the years, Mark Radcliffe and Stuart Maconie have been responsible for some of the finest moments in radio. I loved the interview they conducted with Prefab Sprout’s Paddy McAloon back in 2013 as he was promoting the Prefab Sprout album, Crimson/Red. They actually caught up this year and, on both occasions, the pair brought the best from the funny, warm and sweet McAloon. I love Radcliffe’s interview style and the fact you can hear this natural kindness and accessibility that makes guests relax and trust the environment they are in. As a broadcaster, Mark Radcliffe has few equals and, for sure, there is nobody with his same mixture of qualities! The sheer passion he has for music and broadcasting shows, and I know many people listen to him on BBC Radio 6 Music and BBC Radio 2 and dream of being in his place one day. I shall leave things here, but I was keen to write about Mark Radcliffe as he has gone through so much recently, and there was a point when many of us thought we’d lose him or he wouldn’t be back on the radio. The road to true recovery is long, but Mark Radcliffe is keeping happy and seems like he is in a very content space right now. He also presents coverage of Glastonbury for the BBC, so I hope he gets an invite next year to help bring Glastonbury’s fiftieth anniversary to us! I feel 2020 will be a very successful year for Mark Radcliffe, as a broadcaster and artist. Who knows…he might have the opportunity to interview…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Mark Radcliffe and Jo Whiley embracing at Glastonbury earlier this year/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC/@themarkrad

THE beguiling Kate Bush once more!

FEATURE: The Problem with K-Pop: The Death of Goo Hara and Some Big Concerns

FEATURE:

 

The Problem with K-Pop

IN THIS PHOTO: K-Pop artist Goo Hara was found dead on Sunday, 24th November, 2019 after taking her own life/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

The Death of Goo Hara and Some Big Concerns

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WHILST there are always going to be tragedies in…

 IN THIS PHOTO: K-Pop band Red Velvet/PHOTO CREDIT: SM Entertainment

the music industry, it seems like a pattern is emerging in K-Pop. I will talk more about the toxic aspects of an industry that is hugely popular at the moment. In fact, K-Pop is rising fast and making its presence known in the mainstream. Even if we are not intimately familiar with many bands and artists in K-Pop, we have heard about them or are familiar with the sound of the genre. What worries me is the recent suicide of K-Pop singer, Goo Hara. The Guardian explains more:

 “The K-pop singer Goo Hara has been found dead at her home in Seoul, according to police.

The body of the 28-year-old, a former member of the girl group Kara, was found early on Sunday evening, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported. Police said they were trying to establish the cause of death.

Goo’s death comes six months after her manager found her unconscious at her home, in what local media described as an apparent suicide attempt. The singer and actor later apologised to fans and recently relaunched her solo career with a tour of Japan and the release of a new single.

Last year, Goo took her former boyfriend to court after he threatened to release footage of them having sex that was filmed without her knowledge or consent.

Goo’s death comes weeks after the death of her close friend and fellow K-pop star Sulli turned the spotlight on the darkest corners of the K-pop industry and the online abuse directed at celebrities by “toxic” fans.

Sulli, a former member of the group f(x), had spoken publicly about her mental health problems and shock at her death sparked calls for greater support for performers”.

Whilst one cannot directly link bosses and labels in K-Pop to the suicide of Goo Hara, there is definitely a worrying trend emerging. It is not just Hara who has suffered because of pressure and something unhealthy shaping up in K-Pop. BTS, one of the biggest K-Pop bands ever, have been subject to the downside of the industry; members RM and Suga have lived with depression and anxiety. It might seem like the sound of K-Pop and western Pop is the same but, when it comes to how the industries are run and how artists are treated, there is a gulf. One can argue Pop artists in the U.S. and U.K. and subjected to abuse, management pressures and seediness. That is true, yet a couple of notable suicides within the space of a couple of weeks throws the spotlight on K-Pop and whether there is a toxic culture. Depression and phycological issues afflict many musicians, but one listens to K-Pop music and there is this cheeriness and sense of happiness. Are artists who are struggling given the freedom to discuss mental-health the same as artists over here are? Although some of the stigma is being lifted, there is a lingering sense of taboo in South Korean society:

“In an industry that often recruits its artists as teens to train and prep them for years before deciding if they're ready to make their musical debut, the K-pop scene requires long-standing dedication, perseverance, and hard work. Even for those who do not take the typical K-pop star route through one of the various idol-generating entertainment companies, South Korean society is notably tough with loads of pressure put on young people and students. The country consistently has one of the highest death by suicide rates in the world—the second-highest among developed nations— and experts continue to point out that there’s a lack of resources for those struggling with mental health”.

Artists in the West, more and more, are opening up about mental-health problems in a way they did not feel comfortable doing a few years ago. In fact, Pop is becoming more synonymous with that sort of openness and emotion than it is uplift and happiness. Whilst there are downsides to the lack of cheer, the fact artists can express themselves in a brave way means they do not have to hide their pains; they can connect with fans and, hopefully, that makes a big difference. In a nation where Pop artists are not given quite the same sense of expression and are worked relentlessly hard, is it enviable we will see more suicides and problems? Goo Hara suicide might have been the result of a number of events and personal problems, but I do feel there is so little support for artists like her. K-Pop is producing some brilliant artists and so many are making a huge impression in the charts and conquering the world. We see smiling images of artists on stage. Image is important in Pop, but I think it is extremely relevant in Korea. So many girl and boy groups are branded to look the same way; female artists are attacked if they read feminist novels or do anything that is seen as unconventional. Many women are judged and expected to conform with strict guidelines when it comes to how they look and how they behave in private. Relationships are hard and can a female K-Pop artist enjoy a sex life when there is always the threat of repercussions or, in the case of Goo Hara, their boyfriends might leak a sex tape?!

PHOTO CREDIT: @marustereo/Unsplash

I do worry that Goo Hara’s suicide will be mourned but we will not learn anything from it? Maybe small changes are emerging regarding how mental-health is perceived, but there is obviously so much pressure on artists to succeed and make a name for themselves. With bands like BTS and BLACKPINK have established a worldwide fanbase, the new wave of K-Pop artists are expected to reach the same peaks. How much time to unwind is there? Can artists breathe and feel safe when their every move is going to be watched and judged? After I read the news Goo Hara had taken her own life, I did some researched to see how K-Pop treats its artists and how the industry differs to that of Pop in the West. This article from last year reports some shocking observations: 

“It’s clear to me that no one talks enough about how these kids are treated. The abuse of aspiring young stars by older, more senior people – almost always men – in the K-pop industry is rife. “Trainees” and newly debuted idols are subjected to gruelling schedules, get hardly any personal time thanks to “slave contracts”, and are seldom let out of their managers’ sight. Stories of executives drugging, abusing and raping the teens who are theoretically in their care are widespread.

It’s not just the girls who are harmed. Last year’s suicide of Kim Jong-hyun, a.k.a. Jonghyun, of boy band SHINee, sent shock waves through the industry and legions of fans – and his was just one death among the dozens of youngsters who, finding themselves unable to cope with the pressure and the treatment meted out to them, have taken their own lives. These are cracks in a facade of make-believe. Every time, the cracks are hastily papered over by the authorities and by the hugely powerful music industry.

What makes some people get so obsessed that they turn into sasaeng – K-pop fans who pursue their idols to the point of not just offending them but making them feel threatened?

“People, especially teenagers, in Korea are lacking opportunities to enjoy cultural activities, which I believe is one of the crucial factors that gave birth to the sasaeng phenomenon,” says Kwak Keum-joo, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University”.

As K-Pop artists are portraying something spirited and colourful in their music, they will be taken to heart by Pop fans. The difference in tone between music from South Korea and nations like the U.S. are very different. It is no wonder K-Pop is proving popular but, with that, labels and those in the K-Pop industry will want to keep the pace up and hone their stars to be as popular and enduring as possible. It is clear that K-Pop artists are starved of a social life and, because of that, it impacts on their mental wellbeing:

“A psychiatry professor at a Gangnam Hospital said that: “As top stars gain popularity, they are very much deprived of private life.”

It is an industry where young Korean boys and girls are trained in often tough conditions to become stars. Not all of the trainees even make it and once they do, the idols are often forced to give up much of their ordinary life. Most of the idols are not allowed to date and if they do their relationships are often put under great scrutiny from the media and their fans. Their behaviours are closely monitored by their companies.

IN THIS PHOTO: BLACKPINK are one of K-Pop’s most-popular groups/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

A Korean cultural commentator Kim Seong-Soo said: “These “idols” virtually live in a fishbowl and are pressed to put on a smiley, happy face while behaving nicely 24/7,” adding the strain could “cripple them emotionally.”

K-pop draws inspiration from American pop, hip hop, and R&B. “K-pop uses a lot of musical achievements that hip hop has generated. Every boy band has a rapper that is married to a musical hook,” Kim said. “What they’ve done is they’ve made it into more of a bubblegum pop so that teenagers who listen to it would be freed from the constraints and realities of the hoodlum culture that has been the backbone of urban experience and is part of the American popular music landscape,” he said.

But while hip hop artists tell their rags-to-riches story of rising from the ghetto into fame and money, K-pop is completely different. K-pop idols are never allowed to draw from their own realities and life experiences. The content of the songs is sanitised, Kim said. Kim described the industry as “regulated, regimented, self-censored”. Idols are not allowed to have social media.

The fact K-Pop artists are not given the flexibility to discuss sadness and personal sorrow means that this cheery façade needs to remain. As many cannot release and find catharsis easily away from the limelight, this unbearable tension remains. I am not surprised there are suicides being reported as one can only imagine how difficult it is for many artists. Couple the rigidity of K-Pop and how artists are raised with the obsessive nature of fans and the sort of acidic spite one will see online and it means many artists are vulnerable and exposed. Where do they turn when they feel seriously low? Will their fans help them and provide kind words, or will the pleas be ignored? I know there are K-Pop artists who are happy and well-adjusted, but who knows just how many artists are struggling and whether we will see more suicides? It is hard to radically change the way K-Pop is run and how artists are treated. If there is a sense of understanding starting to come in, should it take the suicide of artists to finally open people’s eyes?! Cultural values and the music industry in general are very different in South Korea. North Korean artists are even being lured over the border because of the opportunities and prosperity they could enjoy. I concede the fact K-Pop music does present a sense of energy and positivity Pop needs, but when we are hearing about some of the dark elements of the genre, do we need to take action?!

It is tragic hearing about Goo Hara’s demise and how poorly she has been treated. There is this lack of respect and robot-like nature of K-Pop that means artists are more akin to products than people. With BTS scooping three gongs at the American Music Awards, it is clear K-Pop is a valuable currency. Whilst there is shock and sadness when a K-Pop artist suffers depression or loses their life, are lessons learned? I feel like there is this ignorance regarding how toxic K-Pop could be and how disposable artists are. I do hope there will be genuine changes in the industry and we do not have to read about another horrifying suicide. I can appreciate the quality of K-Pop and why it is so popular, but I cannot reconcile it against the weight on artists’ shoulders and how little personal space they are afforded. I suppose improvement will not happen that readily; I feel like those with power in K-Pop need to take a step back and get tougher regarding the pressure they put on artists. Social media needs to be address so that obsessive and harmful fans are blocked and not allowed a say. There needs to be better protection for artists and, regardless of how good the mental-health services are in South Korea, those suffering stress or depression need to be listened to and given the necessary support. Is it worth losing promising artists in such a senseless way? One feels that many are turning a blind eye to the toxicity of K-Pop. Given the news that came through recently, it is heart-breaking to imagine…     

 PHOTO CREDIT: Press

WHAT Goo Hara could have achieved!

FEATURE: Sisters in Arms: An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. X)

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: Koffee 

An All-Female, Autumn-Ready Playlist (Vol. X)

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ON this foggy and chilly day…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Lilla Vargen

I think we all need a good dose of music to get our energy levels raised and see the weekend off to a great start. There have been some great releases this week, and I have been scouting for the very best female-led sounds. From upbeat Pop to something a little cooler, here is another playlist that should raise the temperature where you are. This year has been an excellent one for music and, to me, women have been leading the pack. As we can hear from the newest sister-led collection of songs, that is definitely the case. Sit back, play the songs loud and enjoy the best new cuts…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Alice Boman

FROM some sensational women.

ALL PHOTOS (unless credited otherwise): Getty Images/Artists

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Love You Later – Said That You’d Be There

Coach Party – Oh Lola

Mathilda Homer – Baby Blue Eyes

Francine Belle – Diamond

PHOTO CREDIT: Jan Philipzen

Koffee (ft. Gunna) – W

BETSY – True Romance 

Lydia Ford – Lost My Mind

Norah Jones (with Tarriona Tank Bull) – Playing Along

Lilla Vargen – The Shore 

Rose Elinor Dougall – How Long

Emma McGrath – Fall with You

Tia Carys – English x Ghana 

PHOTO CREDIT: Märta Thisner

Alice Boman – Don’t Forget About Me

PHOTO CREDIT: Nick Suchak Anabasis Media

Milk Teeth – Destroyer

SOAK – Bloodbuzz Ohio

IN THIS PHOTO: Kacey Musgraves

Kacey Musgraves, Camila Cabello – Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree (From The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Special)

Sarah Close – Almost

PHOTO CREDIT: Shervin Lainez 

Regina Spektor – One Little Soldier (From Bombshell, the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Lily Moore – Better Than Me

PHOTO CREDIT: Tiffany Williams

Kota Banks – Feel Again

Arlo Parks – Sophie

PHOTO CREDIT: Half Crescent

KAHLLA – For You

Nova Hall – Collateral

Alexandra Savior – Howl