FEATURE: Second Spin - Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

Jamiroquai - Travelling Without Moving

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THIS Second Spin…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay in the 1990s/PHOTO CREDIT: Simon King/Redferns

concerns an album by a band that remain underrated. Their eighth studio album, Automaton, was released in 2017. I think that Jamiroquai are a great group who have produced some sensational albums. One album that I remember buying fondly is Travelling Without Moving. The third studio album by the Funk/Acid Jazz band, it was released on 28th August, 1996 in Japan, 9th September, 1996 in the United Kingdom, 19th November, 1996 in Canada, and 14th, January 1997 in the United States. Travelling Without Moving sold over eight million copies worldwide and entered the Guinness World Records as the best-selling Funk album in history. One cannot argue against those credentials! This is a case of an album selling extremely well but one where the critics were a little mixed. Their previous album, 1994’s The Return of the Space Cowboy, received slightly better reviews. Maybe some were falling out of love with Jamiroquai by 1996. With their leader, Jay Kay, in top form on Travelling Without Moving, this is an album that deserves new inspection. Boasting huge singles like Cosmic Girl and Virtual Insanity, there is plenty to enjoy! I think that Travelling Without Moving is much more than a couple of big singles and not a lot else. The title track, Drifting Along and Spend a Lifetime are other great songs. Coming in at over an hour, perhaps one or two songs could have been taken off – it does seem like a bit of a long listen, even though it is a very strong album.

Alright and High Times were other successful singles. Maybe having the best songs in the first half of the album means there is a slightly imbalanced experience in terms of quality. Listening to Travelling Without Moving nearly twenty-five years after its release, and it still sound amazing and full of life. I really love the album, yet there are some mixed reviews for it. This is what Pitchfork noted in their review:

“Listening to Jamiroquai's Travelling Without Moving is like... well, it's exactly like listening to Stevie Wonder's Innervisions if it'd been recorded with today's digital technology. Oh, and this record leaves you feeling like you've just won the lottery, instead of feeling like you've just been permanently impoverished.

Travelling Without Moving is purely a funk record, circa 1977. The high- gloss studio production, the danceable rhythms, and the light- weight song topics ("You Are My Love," for example) are all primary elements of a classic disco album. The message: let's just dance and have some fun.

The album's got its moments of pure, unadulterated musical magic. Songs like the hit opener "Virtual Insanity," and the wave- your- hands- in- the- air getdown of "Alright" could be future retro club anthems. Even "Cosmic Girl" and its perfectly- executed disco smash production brings visuals of polyester, earth- tone- colored suits and the flashing squares of a 1979 dance floor.

Sadly, Travelling Without Moving has its duds, too. Songs like the bland "Use The Force" and the horrible reggae number "Drifting Along" will have you shaking your head in terror the second they emerge from the speakers. But hey, it's for this very reason your disc player is programmable.

Aside from a few of those tacky songs, Jamiroquai's third effort is an enjoyable one. As a "listening experience," you'd be better off with 1995's Return of the Space Cowboy. If you want to get people on the floor with some irresistible funkboard boogie, Travelling Without Moving will get your party started like you were the president of the '70s Preservation Society”.

There were some positive reviews for Travelling Without Moving. I wonder if critics who were a little down on the album years ago would think differently if they heard it now. I want to bring in an NME review that mixed some positives with criticism:

“IT WAS on the back of the sleeve of 'Speak Like A Child' by The Style Council that The Cappuccino Kid, wrote words to the effect (well, did anyone really dig a word he dug?) that all good records should contain at least one bass solo. No-one believed him, of course... apart from Jamiroquai.

And if the The Cappuccino Kid's diktat is indeed gospel, then 'Travelling Without Moving' is a work of genius. There are fantastic, elastic trousers made of rubber and plastic bass solos galore. There are rat-at-tat drum solos, too. There's some solo squelchy '70s synth squashing as well. There's even a crap didgeridoo solo that's dragged out for a couple of hours and turned into a song called - tuck your bib in, bubba - 'Didgerama' and that segues into 'Didgital Vibrations'! Ah, yes. And thereby hangs the tale of Jamiroquai's recorded long-playing woe. Jay Kay and his young funk guv'ners write a nifty pop song, y'see - the evidence of this can be found on the shiny singles that fleshed out their otherwise stodgy previous two albums. The single format doesn't allow them the time to get flash and simply showcases the song and Jay's fine voice. Give 'em a bit more space, however, and they insist on dragging everything out too long, proving just what consummate musos they are and wheeling that didgeridoo out.

'Travelling...' is an improvement on previous efforts because in amongst the funky wanking there are a handful of bittersweet gems. The fine single, 'Virtual Insanity', falls into this camp, as do the two matching swings through Jay's fairy-lit disco, 'Cosmic Girl' and 'Alright' ("We'll spend the night together/Wake up and live forever" is the epitome of Jay's romantic lyrical vision). Best of all is the whirlwind of percussion and bass that powers the wide-eyed 'Use The Force'. "I must believe", croons Jay breathlessly, "that I can do anything".

Unfortunately that includes reggae. Halfway through an album that's previously been surprisingly (and relatively) un-self-indulgent Jay slips into a cod West Indian accent - oh yes - and we're skanking. Bad move. The floodgates are now open and pretty soon the cute little songs have been dumped in favour of 50 flavours of arse. Didgeridoos, ballads, solos... anything goes, including any listener patience.

So it's back to 'Drifting Along' one more time just to check that accent out. Fantastic stuff! He's from Ealing, you know”.

It is amazing to think that an album can sell millions and be so successful, and yet it remains a little underwhelming in the minds of many critics! Travelling Without Moving has more than enough to enjoy. One does not need to be a fan of Jamiroquai to appreciate the album. It is very accessible and will get stuck in your head after a single spin. Despite there being one or two weak tracks, overall, Travelling Without Moving is a great listen. Go and check out the album, as I think that is was unfairly maligned by some corners. This incredible album offers the listener…

PLENTY of golden Funk and groove.

FEATURE: The Lockdown Playlist: Remembering TLC’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes

FEATURE:

 

 

The Lockdown Playlist

Remembering TLC’s Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes 

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FOR this Lockdown Playlist…

I am putting together some of the best tracks from TLC. I am also including some Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes tracks. On 25th April, it marked nineteen years since the world lost a hugely important artist. I will end by bringing in an article published on 2002 that remembered the great Lopes. Here is some background information concerning a wonderful and much-missed talent:

“Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. Lopes was a member of the R&B girl group TLC, alongside Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins and Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Besides rapping and singing backing vocals on TLC recordings, Lopes was one of the creative forces behind the group. She received more co-writing credits than the other members. She also designed the outfits and staging for the group and contributed to the group's image, album titles, artworks, and music videos. Through her work with TLC, Lopes won four Grammy Awards.

During her brief solo career, Lopes scored two US top 10 singles with "Not Tonight" and "U Know What's Up", as well as one UK number-one single with "Never Be the Same Again", the latter a collaboration with Melanie C of the British girl group Spice Girls. She also produced another girl group, Blaque, who scored a platinum album and two US top 10 hits. Lopes remains the only member of TLC to have released a solo album.

On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in a car crash while organizing charity work in Honduras. She swerved off the road to avoid hitting another vehicle, and was thrown from her car. She was working on a documentary at the time of her death, which was released as The Last Days of Left Eye and aired on VH1 in May 2007”.

In 2002, The New York Times ran an article that discussed the history and rise of TLC. To me, Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes was instrumental to their success:

“With a black stripe under her left eye and a reputation for volatility, Ms. Lopes was the catalyst and onstage focus for TLC. When the group titled its second album ''Crazysexycool'' in 1994, Ms. Lopes named herself ''crazy.'' That was the year she burned down the $1.3 million house belonging to her boyfriend, the football player Andre Rison. She pleaded guilty to first-degree arson and was sentenced to five years' probation and fined $10,000. She also entered an alcohol rehabilitation program.

''Drama comes in dozens and I know you love it,'' Ms. Lopes rapped in a song on her solo album, ''Supernova,'' which was released outside the United States in 2001.

In the 1990's, TLC reinvented the girl group for the hip-hop era, showing the way for groups like Destiny's Child. With sultry vocals and Ms. Lopes's sassy raps, TLC became one of the best-selling female groups of all time, selling more than 21 million albums in the United States. Its second and third albums, ''Crazysexycool'' and 1999's ''Fanmail,'' each won two Grammy Awards, for best R&B album and best R&B performance by a duo or group.

From the start, the three members of TLC presented themselves as independent women, promoting safe sex and self-reliance.

''Nobody can make me do what I don't want to,'' Ms. Lopes rapped on the group's 1992 debut album, ''Ooooooohhh . . . On the TLC Tip'' (LaFace). In early appearances, the women pinned condoms to baggy outfits, and Ms. Lopes wore one replacing a lens over her left eye.

Along with its songs about romance, TLC addressed crime and AIDS (in ''Waterfalls''), female self-esteem (''Unpretty'') and gang warfare and abusive relationships. Much of its material was by songwriters based in Atlanta, including Dallas Austin and Jermaine Dupri. Ms. Lopes wrote many of her own raps, often sharing songwriting credit.

Ms. Lopes was born in Philadelphia. She had described her father, who died when she was 17, as an alcoholic and disciplinarian. She is survived by her mother, Wanda D. Lopes, her siblings and a 10-year-old child she adopted last year.

She got her nickname when a boyfriend noted that her left eye was slightly larger than her right.

As a teenager, she moved to Atlanta to work with a rhythm-and-blues group. A talent scout, Ian Burke, auditioned her for a group he envisioned of streetwise, approachable girls. Mr. Burke, who now works for Ascap, recalled yesterday: ''All the girl groups that were out at the time were model-like individuals, like En Vogue. You would think, 'I don't know if I'll ever be able to land one of these girls”.

To remember Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes, this Lockdown Playlist combines the best tracks from her time in TLC, in addition to some of her solo work. TLC were very important to me when I was young. I was definitely drawn to Lopes as a performer. To remember her nineteen years after her death, here are songs with her upfront or in the mix with TLC. As you can hear, Lopes was…

QUITE a remarkable artist.

FEATURE: Heavy Weather: Musicians and Global Climate Change

FEATURE:

 

 

Heavy Weather

PHOTO CREDIT: @jontyson/Unsplash 

Musicians and Global Climate Change

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I was reading an article…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Markus Spiske/Unsplash

that appeared on the Pitchfork website that got me thinking. I think, at the moment, a lot of the music coming out is very personal and does not really look out at the wider world. That is perfectly fine. This is how music has been for decades. I feel a lot of artists are becoming more aware and conscious of politics and wider society. Last year saw #BlackLivesMatter sweep the globe following the murder of George Floyd. There are a few artists documenting climate change and its impact on the planet. I wonder, as it is the biggest threat to the planet that we have to tackle, whether more artists need to address a catastrophe that could wreak incredible damage – beyond the depletion and destruction that we have already witnessed. I want to splice in a few portions of the Pitchfork. It raises some interesting points and asks what musicians can do regarding climate change:

“Spend enough time with climate-inspired music, and you sense a larger philosophical struggle playing itself out, with artists taking as many divergent directions as there are coping mechanisms for bad feelings. Fancy a black joke? Maybe you should listen to Matmos’ 2019 album Plastic Anniversary, in which every sound is sourced from plastic materials. In the mood for a glamorous bit of end-of-days nihilism about it all? This is what Billie Eilish provides with her invocation of burning hills in California on “all the good girls go to hell,” and what Lana Del Rey offers, to an extent, when she sings, “The culture is lit/And if this is it/I had a ball” on 2019’s “The greatest.”

The artists doing that considering, and their vantage point, has a heavy bearing on their approach. On 2018’s “Our Street Is a Black River,” Laurie Anderson joined the Kronos Quartet to remember, in her cool, bemused tone—forever the sound of the woman next to you in the elevator who speaks to you out of nowhere—what it felt like to watch as the “sparkling black river crossed the park, and then the highway, and then came silently up our street” from her vantage point in downtown NYC when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012. Anderson observed the chaos with childlike wonder: “From above, Sandy was a huge swirl that looked like galaxies whose names I didn’t know,” she murmured, the danger and portent lost in the flash of the light.

Singer-songwriter Natalie Mering, who records as Weyes Blood, explored the idea of hope amid apocalypse on 2019’s Titanic Rising. Over dreamy evocations of Laurel Canyon folk, she sang of “a million people burnin’” in a placid register. The album closes with a brief instrumental track titled “Nearer to Thee,” a reference to the hymn that the string quartet purportedly played from the deck of the Titanic as it sank. For the cover, she built a replica of her childhood bedroom, submerged it in a pool, then dove in and swam around. The final image is oddly serene: Mering gazes at us questioningly, her hair drifting upward while everything else—the bed sheets, the pillows, the teddy bear and trophies—stays put, affixed in place by set designers in scuba gear. The image was half publicity stunt and half private reckoning, as if Mering were conducting a controlled experiment: How would it feel to watch life as we knew it slip beneath the waves?”.

A clutch of electronic artists and composers have turned to the sound the Earth itself is making, as if trying to catch the planet in the act of moaning. This is the naturalist’s approach, and you can hear it play out across a wide range of compositions. As Pitchfork’s Philip Sherburne has noted, experimental musicians from across the globe have found ways to reckon with environmental destruction: Joseph Raglani’s 2018 album Extinctions features buzzing sounds from our globally collapsing insect population, while AGF’s Commissioned Work, from 2019, samples the cries of endangered lemurs. As fracking and deforestation threaten the Amazon, field musicians are weaving frog calls and rainfall into bucolic electronic music some call eléctrica selvática, or “rainforest electro. “There’s a sense of urgency to connect with organic sounds and recognize that we are part of this natural world,” said the Argentinian composer Pedro Canale, who records as Chancha via Circuito.

The tougher question, as always, is what all of this music might help us do, if indeed music can help us do anything concrete at all. The link between music and action is as elusive as the one between actions and consequences, or between feeling and doing. Although every activist movement needs some sort of inciting anthem, some sort of glue to help bring common purpose, such pieces of music usually emerge naturally, chosen by people. Music designed for collective action rarely works that way.

Music designed for memorial or grief, however, almost always does. Like music, grief asks nothing of us other than to feel it. The music that taps into these stiller waters tends to plumb deeper, more mysterious emotions that might, in fact, lead us to act out of our own private sense of volition”.

Those last points are especially relevant. I don’t think, if musicians are trying to get us to do something in a sort of preachy way, people will react proactively. If we present this grief and destruction as fact, then I think that has a more profound impact. In terms of music, if there was a song calling for action and asking us to all make a change, how well would this work in terms of the population pledging more time to fighting climate change?! If a song, on the other hand, lays out the truth and a listener is not being prodded or blamed, then that might have a more powerful result! Hectoring is tempting when we are seeing such horrific climate change. It is clear that music can be a hugely influential tool regarding awareness and reaction. I don’t think there is enough music out there at the moment that documents climate change. Some might say it is neither the role of a musicians or particularly appealing for the listener. I feel, regardless of gender, class or genre, artists have a responsibility to talk about big themes. In terms of a listening experience, the songs needn’t be too heavy or morose. As Pitchfork explained, a range of artists have approached climate change in different ways – whether it is more of a sonic soundscape or vivid lyrics being embedded into tracks.

It is encouraging to see some artists highlighting climate change or lending their name to important causes. Declan McKenna contributed to the recent Climate Live event. NME explain more:

“Declan McKenna performed ‘British Bombs’ outside the Houses of Parliament last weekend as part of a ‘Climate Live’ event. You can see footage of the performance below.

The performance, which took place on Saturday (April 24), was part of an international event to raise awareness of climate change around the world.

Elsewhere across the globe, fans will be able to see performances from the likes of Milky Chance, rising German star LEEPA and Japanese singer songwriter Anly.

A statement explained: “Led by members of Friday for Future youth climate groups, who organise the school strikes started by Greta Thunberg and supported by Music Declares Emergency, Greenpeace and many more, ‘Climate Live’ is bringing artists, activists and young people from across the world together through music to unite in the fight for climate justice and the race to safeguard the future of the planet”.

Whilst there is an issue with a lack of songs tackling the crisis, it seems that there is a charge coming from musicians in terms of their carbon footprints. From the use of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) to virtual gigs, it seems that measures are in place so that we do not see a return to massive worldwide gigs pre-pandemic. The Guardian explained more in a feature from earlier in the week:

“But a series of announcements last week, coordinated by the Music Declares Emergency collective, have challenged the idea that the industry is not taking the climate emergency seriously. After a uniquely difficult year for those in live music, perhaps this is an inflection point: can the recovery from Covid-19 be green?

“The music industry has the opportunity to lead here,” says Lewis Jamieson, a spokesman for Music Declares Emergency. “It can become the exemplar of a green recovery, and help the public to understand and support what that idea means.”

British independent label Ninja Tune has just announced ambitious and detailed plans in response to the new sustainability drive from the European Independent Music Companies Association. The label’s funds and pensions are divested from fossil fuels, it is installing renewable energy systems in its London headquarters and it is encouraging the pressing plants that supply its vinyl to switch to green energy.

Beggars Group, which includes indie labels such as 4AD, XL and Rough Trade, also announced major new carbon reduction commitments this week. Across the manufacturing and distribution of vinyl and CDs, digital distribution, and business travel, the group aims to cut their emissions almost in half by 2030, at a rate they say is aligned with the Paris agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. Head of sustainability Will Hutton says that “the arts have an immensely powerful platform to help ignite social and legislative change. We need everyone involved – the live sector, record companies, streaming partners, and of course artists.”

Musician, composer, producer … Brian Eno

One new idea – also announced this week, and affiliated with Brian Eno – is Earth Percent, which is aiming to raise $100m (£72m) by 2030 from the industry itself to transition towards sustainability. The proposal is for artists, companies and individuals to commit a small percentage of their revenue to Earth Percent, which will redistribute the money to organisations working on the climate emergency, including those focused on the music industry, such as A Greener Festival, Music Declares Emergency and Julie’s Bicycle.

“This is the time to shake up how things are done across the industry,” says Sarah Ditty, head of programs at Earth Percent. “We need to be looking at how live shows, touring, recording, streaming, merchandise and engaging fans can function in a way that ensures artists and their teams can make a good living while minimising environmental impact”.

There are great charities one can support and look up when it comes to climate change. It would be unrealistic to have most artists writing about climate change and global warning. I feel, right now, there is relatively little exposure and documentation in music. Perhaps that will change in the months to come. Let’s hope so. After such a difficult past year or so, one can forgive artists for being in a different headspace or having new priorities regarding material. As we start to emerge from lockdown, I think there is going to be this desire to hear more from artists regarding the environment and escalating climate change. Not to say that this music will lead to huge and instant worldwide change, though I feel raising greater awareness and getting the listener to think more deeply is a great! Anything that can be done to provide awesome music and make people think at the same time is…

A good thing.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Pink Floyd - Animals

FEATURE:

 

 

Vinyl Corner

Pink Floyd - Animals

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I could have included this album…

 IN THIS PHOTO: David Gilmour on Fender guitar with Pink Floyd in concert in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in 1977/PHOTO CREDIT: Barry Schultz

in Second Spin, as it is not one of Pink Floyd’s most-acclaimed release. Animals was released on 21st January, 1977. It is the tenth album from the legendary band. Coming between two hugely celebrated albums – 1975’s Wish You Were Here and 1979’s The Wall -, there are some mixed reviews for an album that I think is really strong. To be fair, I think a lot of the mixed reviews have come since the album was released. At the time, Animals received positive reviews from critics and was commercially successful. It reached number-two in the U.K. and number-three in the U.S.A. Recorded at the band's Britannia Row Studios in London throughout 1976, Animals carries on the longform compositions that made up their previous works such as Wish You Were Here. In terms of subject matter,  Animals concentrates on the social-political conditions of mid-1970s Britain. It was a change from the style of their earlier work. Tension within the band during production culminated in keyboardist Richard Wright being fired two years later. That may all sound like a recipe for disaster and commercial disregard, but I think Animals is one of Pink Floyd’s most rewarding records. I would recommend people grab Animals on vinyl as, like so many Pink Floyd albums, there is so much to love and immerse yourself in. Whilst not as accessible as albums like Wish You Were Here, I think that Animals is a fascinating album. I will bring in a couple of reviews for it soon. Before then, Classic Album Sundays wrote about Animals on its fortieth anniversary in 2017:

“The album is much more direct as it features confrontational lyrics loosely based on George Orwell’s Animal Farm. The Orwellian novel explores the corruption of power and human nature’s predisposition to destroy even the best ideals. The novel criticised Stalinism and represented the people within the different levels of communist society as animals. Somehow this seems particularly apt in the current political climate.

The pigs are the smartest animals and originate the idea of a rebellion against the farm’s oppressive owner. The pigs then run the farm and abuse their power. They use the dogs as secret police and to keep the other animals in line by killing those they considered traitors. The sheep are the mindless masses who follow the pigs’ every whim no matter how ridiculous they may seem.

Instead of critiquing Stalin’s political system, Waters used the metaphor to apply to people in thrall with, or subject to capitalism.

Waters felt compelled to write about society’s woes as he said at the time: “I think the world is a very, very sad place. I find myself at the moment, backing away from it all. I think these are very mournful days. Things aren’t getting better, they’re getting worse and the seventies is a very baleful decade.”

There are three pigs, two of which represent real characters. The first is the corporate pig, the second is Margaret Thatcher, and the third is Mary Whitehouse, leader of the National Viewers and Listeners Association who spoke of moral pollution through an intense censorship campaign. As Waters said “Why does she make such a fuss about everything if she isn’t motivated by fear? She’s frightened that we’re all being perverted. I was incensed by Mary Whitehouse, as I am by all book-burners and Bible-bashers: people who foster that sexual guilt and shame, who try and deny people any opportunity to fulfill their sexual destiny.”

When Animals was released in January 1977, it didn’t receive overwhelmingly great reviews. It came out during the punk and disco heyday, a time when Johnny Rotten had taken to wearing a Pink Floyd shirt on which he scrawled “I hate”.

Here is a bit of the Rolling Stone review: “For Pink Floyd, space has always been the ultimate escape. It still is, but now definitions have shifted. The romance of outer space has been replaced by the horror of spacing out… Animals is Floyd’s attempt to deal with the realization that spacing out isn’t the answer either. There’s no exit; you get high, you come down again. That’s what Pink Floyd has done, with a thud.”

Once again critics were proved wrong as Animals is many Floyd fans’ favourite. It is also interesting to note that Johnny Rotten’s position was slightly rocked when Floyd drummer Nick Mason later went on to produce The Damned’s 1977 album “Music For Pleasure”.

And forty years later, it’s message continues to resonate”.

I really love Animals and, for Pink Floyd fans and non, it contains some of their most interesting concepts and moments. I like the fact that you get a short song, Pigs on the Wing (Part 1), opening the first side and the epic track that is Dogs closes that side. Conversely, the second side finishes with the short track, Pigs on the Wing (Part 2); the long Pigs (Three Different Ones) and Sheep open that side.

In their positive review of Animals, AllMusic had some very interesting observations about one of Pink Floyd’s best albums:

“Of all of the classic-era Pink Floyd albums, Animals is the strangest and darkest, a record that's hard to initially embrace yet winds up yielding as many rewards as its equally nihilistic successor, The Wall. It isn't that Roger Waters dismisses the human race as either pigs, dogs, or sheep, it's that he's constructed an album whose music is as bleak and bitter as that world view. Arriving after the warm-spirited (albeit melancholy) Wish You Were Here, the shift in tone comes as a bit of a surprise, and there are even less proper songs here than on either Wish or Dark Side. Animals is all extended pieces, yet it never drifts -- it slowly, ominously works its way toward its destination. For an album that so clearly is Waters', David Gilmour's guitar dominates thoroughly, with Richard Wright's keyboards rarely rising above a mood-setting background (such as on the intro to "Sheep"). This gives the music, on occasion, immediacy and actually heightens the dark mood by giving it muscle. It also makes Animals as accessible as it possibly could be, since it surges with bold blues-rock guitar lines and hypnotic space rock textures. Through it all, though, the utter blackness of Waters' spirit holds true, and since there are no vocal hooks or melodies, everything rests on the mood, the near-nihilistic lyrics, and Gilmour's guitar. These are the kinds of things that satisfy cultists, and it will reward their attention -- there's just no way in for casual listeners”.

I will round things off in a second. I was very interested by a review from Pitchfork. They gave Animals a perfect ten when they assessed a masterful work:

“It begins somewhere for everyone. There's the first song that grabs your attention and seizes the imagination, the first album that demonstrates such overall strength and originality that it becomes something more for most listeners, just as there is the first kiss that awakens the soul and forever changes the vision.

I admit without qualm that it began for me with Animals. My brother was in college, and one day I went through his records and listened to the ones with the coolest covers. Animals fascinated me then as it still fascinates me today. It is the acute anthropomorphic fantasy, possessing a timeless quality that has thrust it into the category of "classic," though it may remain forever in the shadow of its more commercially successful older brother, Dark Side Of The Moon. Consisting of three tracks each longer than ten minutes and two tracks under two minutes, Animals is not for the attention- span- deficient. However, within this impenetrable fortress of radio- unfriendly tracks, we hear Dave Gilmour's guitars at their absolute best, get a full-on dose of Roger Waters' powerful lyrical imagery, and are presented with the worst elements of our own humanity- packaged in the skins of "Sheep," "Dogs" and "Pigs (Three Different Ones)". For those weaned on The Wall and Dark Side, you'll find Animals to be a whole new bag of feed. Where Floyd's two most recognizable albums made their mark with operatic aggression and fear, Animals deals in dirt- under- the- fingernails reality, the common smallness that simultaneously binds and repels us all”.

Go and get the vinyl of Animals if you can - or go and stream it if not. I think that Animals has received some negativity from some. Others compare it unfavourably to Pink Floyd classics like The Dark Side of the Moon. I think that Animals is underrated, which is why I was keen to put it…

INTO Vinyl Corner.

 

FEATURE: Hope Seems So Distant… Kate Bush’s Under Ice

FEATURE:

 

 

Hope Seems So Distant…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for The Ninth Wave/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Kate Bush’s Under Ice

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I wonder whether…

many people break down the individual tracks from Kate Bush’s The Ninth Wave. This is the second side from her 1985 album, Hounds of Love. On Sunday, I marked thirty-five years since The Big Sky was released as a single. That single was released on 28th April. It was the final single from the album. I look at songs from The Ninth Wave and I am curious whether there was a temptation to put any out as single, or whether Bush felt she could not break up the individual tracks. I have written features regarding the songs from The Ninth Wave. I have not yet covered Under Ice. Coming after And Dream of Sheep, we get this rather sombre scene where the protagonist is adrift at sea and looking for salvation. Eventually, the heroine is saved after an ordeal alone at sea. I might rank the tracks from that second side in a future post. I think that Under Ice is one of the most evocative and stunning pieces of work that Kate Bush has ever recorded. Every track on The Ninth Wave has its own mood, texture and atmosphere. I love Paddy Bush’s harmony vocals on the song. I assume that it is the Fairlight CMI that she uses to get the stirring string sounds. We hear snippets of other voices as Bush sings about getting out of the cold water.

Before moving on to its lyrics, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia drops in an interview source where Bush talked about Under Ice:

“Well at this point, although they didn't want to go to sleep, of course they do. [Laughs] And this is the dream, and it's really meant to be quite nightmarish. And this was all kinda coming together by itself, I didn't have much to do with this, I just sat down and wrote this little tune on the Fairlight with the cello sound. And it sounded very operatic and I thought "well, great" because it, you know, it conjured up the image of ice and was really simple to record. I mean we did the whole thing in a day, I guess. (...) Again it's very lonely, it's terribly lonely, they're all alone on like this frozen lake. And at the end of it, it's the idea of seeing themselves under the ice in the river, so I mean we're talking real nightmare stuff here. And at this point, when they say, you know, "my god, it's me," you know, "it's me under the ice. Ahhhh" [laughs] (Richard Skinner, 'Classic Albums interview: Hounds Of Love. Radio 1 (UK), aired 26 January 1992)”.

At 2:21, Under Ice is the shortest track on Hounds of Love. It acts as a bridge between And Dream of Sheep – where the heroine wishes she could sleep safely and dream of sheep – and Waking the Witch – where voices appear, urging the woman to stay awake so that she does not drown. In a way, Under Ice is the moment when the castaway gets into real trouble and realises that she needs to get out of the water. As we move through The Ninth Wave, there is a sense of acceptance and relative calm before the heroine is saved and taken back to land. I love all the little stories and chapters of that remarkable suite! Under Ice has this stern and almost haunted sound, where Bush’s voice seems to move in time with the strings. There is this seriousness and sense of foreboding in her voice. It is like Bush represents this ghostly figure or voice that is in the head of the protagonist; maybe her mind is urging her to cling to life and find a way out. There are not many lyrics in such a short song. The ones we do hear are stunning and so image-rich. One can listen to Under Ice and place themselves in the song; alongside the heroine as she is on a life raft or on her back trying to stay afloat – not sure of what lingers beneath the moody ocean. There is a division and difference between the two verses.

The first is almost like the heroine embracing the whiteness and icy expanse. There is something almost child-like. That is the impression one can get from reading the lines. When one hears the song, there is something more urgent and darker: “It's wonderful/Everywhere, so white/The river has frozen over/Not a soul on the ice/Only me skating fast/I'm speeding past trees/Leaving little lines in the ice/Splitting, splitting sound/Silver heels spitting, spitting snow”. The second verse is trying terrifying! Bush has said in interviews how being stranded in the sea and not knowing what is underneath is one of her biggest fears. That is scary on its own. I think being trapped under ice and having that above your head is even more alarming: “There's something moving/Under, under the ice/Moving under ice/Through water/Trying to get out of the cold water/"It's me."/Something, someone--help them/"It's me". Having to battle hypothermia, the unpredictable nature of the sea and this ice tomb, Under Ice delivers one of Hounds of Love’s most thrilling, arresting and emotional songs. It is no surprise that, on Waking the Witch, the heroine is exhausted and struggling to stay awake. On an album filled with gems and genius songs, Under Ice is one that does not get talked about in the same way as the singles on the first side such as Cloudbusting, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), and Hounds of Love. I think that Under Ice should be played more as, in its lack of layering and naked simplicity, it conveys so much weather and wind. By that, I mean Bush relies on the almost taunting string sound and her ghostly vocal to immerse us in a scene filled with dread and uncertainty. If songs on Hounds of Love’s first side are warmer, musically, and are more commercial, I feel The Ninth Wave is more experimental and varied in terms of its sound and mood. One listens to Under Ice and fears that the heroine will not make it out. Thankfully, there is a satisfying resolution where…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a shot from the Hounds of Love covert shoot/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

SHE made it to safety!

FEATURE: A Revolution or a Brief Fad? The Rise of the NFT (Non-Fungible Token)

FEATURE:

 

 

A Revolution or a Brief Fad?

IN THIS PHOTO: On 12th March, Halsey (photographed above in 2015) announced she was turning her nightmares into art with the NFT series, People Disappear Here/PHOTO CREDIT: Jake Michaels for The New York Times

The Rise of the NFT (Non-Fungible Token)

___________

AS a music fan…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Doja Cat has launched her own NFT marketplace, Juicy Drops/PHOTO CREDIT: Jamal Peters

I use and rely on a mix of the physical and digital. When it comes to albums, I prefer vinyl and the tactile nature of it. I feel that the fact the vinyl rise continues means people will never completely succumb to digital music. So many artists are paid so little on streaming sites; music fans want to feel like they are buying albums and seeing some of that money going to the artists – even if the label gets quite a big slice. I think many prefer the fact vinyl does not disappear. It is something you keep and can feel like you own. I stream music a lot and feel it is very convenient. The problem comes, apart from streaming payments, with the ephemeral nature; how there is no real connection between listener and artist…or any sense of emotion and the physical. One of my worries is that too many digital routes and listening/buying options will take a way a lot of the soul, sociability and sweetness one gets from buying albums. The NFT (non-fungible token) is a fairly recent breakthrough that many artists and innovators have been keen to get behind. As Music Ally wrote last week, Doja Cat is taking full advantage:

“We’ve been covering the succession of stories about artists selling non-fungible tokens through the various NFT marketplaces that have sprung up in recent months. But Doja Cat is going a step further: she’s launching her own marketplace called Juicy Drops tomorrow (23 April), where she will also be selling her first collection of NFTs.

According to Uproxx, it’s a partnership with NFT startup Intellectable Holdings. “I’m helping to launch my NFT company so that I can actually own and control my art,” is how Doja Cat explained the launch. “I want to be able to make all decisions related to my creative vision and help other artists do the same.”

The first collection will include 3D visuals of “a spinning, metallic Doja image in a gilded frame, as well as an image of her cat Raymus”. Music, NFTs AND cats? Welcome to the internet in 2021…

If you’re following the NFTs space, we highly recommend a newly-published Music NFT Market Update from Water & Music’s Cherie Hu. It’s a 38-page report rounding up the flurry of launches; the money that’s being made; and trends around the marketplaces”.

Whilst a lot of people may be conscious of the fact that NFTs are making their way into music, they may not know what they are and how they work (it is quite a confusing idea). The Verge try to explain the phenomenon in their article:

“Non-fungible token.

That doesn’t make it any clearer.

Right, sorry. “Non-fungible” more or less means that it’s unique and can’t be replaced with something else. For example, a bitcoin is fungible — trade one for another bitcoin, and you’ll have exactly the same thing. A one-of-a-kind trading card, however, is non-fungible. If you traded it for a different card, you’d have something completely different. You gave up a Squirtle, and got a 1909 T206 Honus Wagner, which StadiumTalk calls “the Mona Lisa of baseball cards.” (I’ll take their word for it.)

How do NFTs work?

At a very high level, most NFTs are part of the Ethereum blockchain. Ethereum is a cryptocurrency, like bitcoin or dogecoin, but its blockchain also supports these NFTs, which store extra information that makes them work differently from, say, an ETH coin. It is worth noting that other blockchains can implement their own versions of NFTs. (Some already have.)

What’s worth picking up at the NFT supermarket?

NFTs can really be anything digital (such as drawings, music, your brain downloaded and turned into an AI), but a lot of the current excitement is around using the tech to sell digital art”.

I will come on to the advantages and drawbacks of NFTs but, for me, they are so new that I have not really got my head around whether they will last and whether they are the future of music. I can appreciate that, at a time when streaming companies are under the microscope and many cannot tour and earn money that way, NFTs are providing an interesting and profitable alternative. I want to source from an Uproxx article. They provide a timeline on which artists/people are utilising NFT. In March, a few big names put their name to them:

“Kings Of Leon had a similar approach to Lanez when it comes to NFTs. The veteran group minted their entire LP When You See Yourself, which they referred to as NFT Yourself, as an NFT and sold it alongside a collection of other art. Those who purchased the NFT were able to snag a digital download of the album, as well as limited edition physical vinyl.

While Halsey is known for her music, she’s also an incredibly talented interdisciplinary artist. That’s why she was relatively early to the NFT game. The singer auctioned off a handful of hand-painted characters she created in the collection People Disappear Here. “The characters are all inspired by figures that occurred in a series of sleep paralysis nightmares I had at home during the quarantine,” Halsey said in a statement. “After seven years of bed surfing hotel rooms around the world, adjusting to my own pitch black cave in California had a little bit of a learning curve. From toddler TV programming evil dentists, a child born with massive claws who scratched her way out of the womb, to a woman who stood at the foot of my bed and demanded I watch her masturbate. They were memorable to say the least.”

When Gorillaz announced they would be hopping onto the NFT game, it didn’t go quite as smoothly. While other musicians were welcomed into the world of NFTs, Gorillaz were chastised by their fanbase. The band announced that they would be celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut album by teaming up with the toy company Superplastic for a series of toys, collectibles, and, of course, NFTs. Fans weren’t to happy with the news though, and were quick to point out the devastating environmental impact that the sale of a single NFT has. A petition was even created to get the Gorillaz to stop producing NFTs, and it already has over 3,000 signatures”.

 IN THIS IMAGE: Gorillaz

I am all for inventions and concepts that are beneficial and inspiring for artists and fans. Whilst I do not feel that the digital revolution can ever replace things like physical music, I can agree that there are good arguments for support NFT. Bringing in a Music Ally article from earlier in the year, it does seem like NFTs are not a short-term or temporary revolution:

“Shara Senderoff, president of music/tech investment firm Raised In Space, thinks we’re going to be hearing a lot more about NFTs in the coming months, sparked by an even bigger trend. “We have a global mistrust in financial systems, and people are questioning motives, questioning agendas, questioning technology as it relates to the finances of individuals and the global economy,” she said.

“What you can see as a trend to come is the rise and the birth of new forms of transaction, and new forms of being able to put your money in places that maybe you can trust more. You’re simply willing to experiment because you have such distrust.” And Senderoff went on to add that this is why she thinks a trend “that is going to blow up” is NFTs and digital collectibles, including for music.

IN THIS PHOTO: Shara Senderoff 

“It’s the ability for a fan to purchase an asset that is scarce, that is limited, that is exclusive, and has potential offerings tied to that that make them as a loyal fan feel unique, feel rewarded,” she said. “I am focused heavily on where we’re headed with digital collectibles.”

Senderoff was talking on a panel session about investment and innovation around music/tech. Fellow panelist Suzy Ryoo, president of Q&A, talked about the opportunities for startups who are “replacing the pipes: replacing bad pipes with gold pipes and building new infrastructure for the creator economy”.

“If there are 50,000 songs being uploaded every single day [to streaming services] but there are 100 spots on playlists, what happens to the middle class of artists who are not represented on the master or publishing side by Universal, Warner or Sony?” said Ryoo.

“There is absolutely a huge opportunity to create real case studies around artists and labels and entrepreneurs having an independent mindset that is complementary to the major system, that is not in competition with it… that allows them to preserve their equity in copyright, as opposed to becoming part of a system that does not prioritise them”.

It is interesting reading about the ins and outs of NFTs and what they offer artists. I think a lot of people are asking whether they are sustainable and offer more benefits compared to disadvantages. It has been illuminating researching and discovering various perspectives!

I want to source from an article that spotlighted NFTs and provided some advantages and disadvantages. It seems, at this fairly early stage, there are slightly more advantages:  

“Benefits of NFTs

2020 turned the music industry upside down when it eliminated live concerts—a significant income stream for artists and their labels. As the world remains digital, artists are looking for ways to connect and create for their audiences, and NFTs provide a new outlet for them with several benefits.

Convenience

The first significant asset to NFTs is their convenience. Fans just need to create a digital wallet to have the chance to receive the content and then participate in an auction for a chance to win. This makes winning content as easy as online shopping.

No Middlemen

There are a lot of middlemen in the music industry.

When fans buy an album, stream a song, or purchase merchandise—some of that money makes it to the artist, but a lot of it goes to the record company or the streaming platform. The same middlemen are present even when we buy tickets for concerts. Record companies take a portion of ticket sales, and while artists make money there too–COVID-19 shut down the live concert market in 2020.

As a fundamental asset to crypto exchange, NFT transactions are direct transfers between the participants. The artist gets the money, the fan receives the content in their digital wallet.

Unique Content and Experiences

Artists have a lot of flexibility over the items they want to auction off. These tokens can be digital, but they can also be physical. Albums, digital art, sound bites, merchandise, and concert tickets are all forms of non-fungible tokens that artists are exchanging. Fans are happy to receive these rare experiences and are willing to pay for the chance to receive them.

Potential Drawbacks of NFTs

Not all change is good, and there are certainly those who will not benefit from the rise of NFTs. As it stands, it is a growing trend—and only time will tell if it is here to revolutionize the music industry further or die out.

Difficult for New Artists

The demand for a token comes from the market for art from a particular musician. Popular or established acts have no problem putting up tokens for auction and drawing in eager fans. For emerging artists, this demand doesn’t exist yet. Newer artists don’t have as much opportunity to benefit from the latest music trend.

Legal Obligations

Some artists have auctioned off the rights for fans to use sample packs in music. The fan purchases the ownership of the samples for complete creative control. This is one kind of token that can create legal trouble later on for the musician.
Established musicians often agree to a contract when they work with a record label. As the artist creates and releases tokens, they must be careful of violating any terms of these contracts.

Final Thoughts

NFTs are allowing artists to create new possibilities and experiences with their fans. Musicians are continuing to be creative with what they offer to their fan bases. As the situation with NFTs develops, it could completely revolutionize the music industry like how the internet did”.

 IMAGE CREDIT: Grimes

By ensuring that creatives have power and there is this form where equity can be established, then I think few can have major disagreements. I wonder whether there are any logistical hindrances or problems that have not been considered – that might be me being sceptical! Since streaming services and how they pays artists has been in the news for a while, many feel that non-major artists are getting the worse deal. There are a few more articles I want to drop in before wrapping up. Earlier this month, The Daily Utah Chronicle provided their perspective on a rising and interesting chapter for music:

“The internet is a wonderful resource for fans of music — platforms like Twitter and Patreon provide intimate and on-demand updates on everything from entertainment to personal details about the artistic process. But what if one-of-a-kind content was accessible for fans to own and consume in a way that benefitted the artists directly?

Most musicians received their revenue from touring, t-shirt and ticket sales prior to the pandemic. Now, NFT’s are being sought out as a means of bridging the divide of earnings that runs rampant in the music industry. Musicians in the top one percent of the industry are benefiting greatly from the growing popularity of streaming services, while others must raise their ticket and merchandise prices to compete.

Pop musician and visual artist Grimes sold a series of digital art pieces as NFT’s. The collection of ten pieces sold for a total of six million dollars — some one-of-a-kind and others produced on a larger scale. In a collaborative effort with digital artist Mac Boucher, several copies of a short video titled “Death of The Old” — set to an original song by Grimes — became the most popular piece from the sale.

The Future

NFT’s have the potential to completely transform the way that the music industry works, putting the power into the hands of the creatives who fuel the industry so tirelessly with their art. Allowing artists to directly put their work up for sale within the blockchain not only removes the need for marketing fees and management dues, but it opens a new avenue for communication between artists and their fans.

Artists have the ability to provide exclusive album art, music videos and behind-the-scenes information about their creative processes — artists can even release records exclusively as NFT albums.

As the music industry continues to rely on streaming services and alternative forms of revenue during a time of change, it seems natural that things should return to a place of equality and fair treatment for artists”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Mick Jagger

Despite some doubts and concerns, NFTs are allowing artists a chance to raise money for worthy corners and causes. Mick Jagger is an example of that. Cointelegraph reported on how Jagger used NFTs to raise money for independent venues:  

“The Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger is jumping into the nonfungible token craze to help independent music venues that have been adversely affected by the pandemic.

In an announcement from the music legend on Thursday, Jagger said he had started a 24-hour auction on Nifty Gateway featuring a nonfungible token, or NFT, based on a new song with Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl. The digital piece designed by artist Oliver Latta, also known as Extraweg, features a loop of a figure running through two human heads, with Grohl and Jagger’s “Eazy Sleazy” song playing in the background.

“The 30-second audio visual piece evokes a surreal essence of breaking through the barriers of the human mind and pushing forward on the brink of social collapse to provide a much needed moment of artistic relief as the world slowly transitions out of lockdown,” said the announcement.

There's a 24hr charity auction on @niftygateway at 6pm BST today for a piece of Eazy Sleazy digital art, created by 3D artist @extraweg - proceeds from this will be going to a few charities picked by myself and Dave Grohl @foofighters - find out more at https://t.co/fmNxlrVjcD pic.twitter.com/CoZEukn5cb

— Mick Jagger (@MickJagger) April 15, 2021

According to the NFT’s description on Nifty, the proceeds from the auction will help raise money for independent music venues in the United States and the United Kingdom through local charity groups Music Venue Trust and the National Independent Venue Association. A portion of the proceeds will also go to environmental causes. At the time of publication, the highest bid is for $8,988, with 12 people having made an offer for the NFT.

Many musical artists have become involved in NFTs in the past year. Last month, Crypto.com announced it would be launching an NFT platform featuring work from Snoop Dogg, Boy George, Lionel Richie and others. Major institutions have also been using NFTs to raise money for charity — New York Times columnist Kevin Roose auctioned off one of his articles for more than $550,000, which was donated to the publication’s The Neediest Cases Fund“.

Whilst a lot of good and interest has come from the rise of NFTs and how they are being used, the form is not without its flaws and issues. The final article I want to bring in is from The Guardian. In the same way songwriters, session musicians and producers do not really benefit from streaming and are overlooked, there is a similar issue regarding NFTs. There is uncertainty around how the rights and ownership of songwriters, producers and session musicians apply in sales:

“Despite the clear traceability, there remains enormous uncertainty about just how the rights and ownership of the original creators – from songwriters and producers to session musicians – apply in an NFT sale that includes music. One songwriter behind tracks with tens of millions of streams has found themselves in the middle of this debate.

Speaking anonymously because they are preparing for legal action against the sellers, they said a song they co-wrote was sold as part of an NFT package for reportedly in excess of $10m. Neither they nor their music publisher were informed until the vendor contacted them with the offer of a cash “gift” that worked out at 0.07% of the reported sale. Attached was a contract waiving any future claim on the NFT or share of any re-sales. “Even though I asked repeatedly for them to break down how they got to this calculation, they wouldn’t reveal how much money it had made,” they said.

IN THIS PHOTO: A man browses digital paintings by U.S. artist Beeple at a crypto art exhibition in Beijing titled Virtual Niche: Have You Ever Seen Memes in the Mirror?/PHOTO CREDIT: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP/Getty Images 

There is no real precedent. Music sold this way tends to be new pieces specifically for an NFT sale, not preexisting songs that have already been commercially released. Songwriters are increasingly calling for a fairer share of streaming revenues, as well as an end to strong-arm tactics whereby major pop stars take a cut of songwriting royalties they had no involvement in writing: any further grabs on their rights are likely to be seen as callous.

There are people, who are naïve or new to the industry, who would sign immediately

Cliff Fluet is a partner at legal firm Lewis Silkin and does not represent either party. He says the argument of the NFT sellers would probably be that they are not selling the music, but the wider experience. “The sellers may argue until they are blue in the face – and they are probably correct – that the vast majority of the value is not for the music; the vast majority of the value is for the experience, the scarcity of the token and multitude of components and rewards in an NFT.”

The songwriter is concerned that in accepting the “gift” they could be in breach of their publishing agreement whereby the publisher typically needs to be involved in – and get a share of – all commercial and licensing negotiations. They also regard it as tantamount to a buyout as opposed to a licensing agreement. “I would never outright sell a piece of music,” they said. “You can ask for a period of exclusivity but I don’t think any publisher or songwriter would say, ‘Yeah, absolutely, go and take that for ever.’”

They suggest that the timing of this move cannot be discounted given how many musicians are still struggling a year into the global pandemic. “My first reaction when I got the email was thinking how generous this was,” they said. “I haven’t had much work for the past year and this felt like the universe finally delivering something. There are people, who are naïve or new to the industry, who would sign immediately. The sellers are playing on that mentality – that they just need to sign this bit of paper to get paid”.

As more and more people/artists use NFTs and the idea becomes more widely known and trialled will determine whether there is longevity. I think, at a moment in history when a lot of artists and creatives are struggling for revenue and finding that their income is hugely cauterised, NFTs could provide to be advantageous. In an article this week, NME reported how Janet Jackson is the latest artist to capitalise on the NFT trend:

“Janet Jackson is set to drop a range of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as part of the celebrations surrounding the recent 35th anniversary of her solo album ‘Control’.

Released in February 1986, the record included the songs ‘Nasty’, ‘When I Think of You’ and ‘What Have You Done for Me Lately’.

Jackson is now partnering with the gaming and augmented reality company RTFKT to release a number of exclusive NFTs and “augmented experiences” to celebrate the ‘Control’ milestone.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of the ‘Control’ NFTs – details of which are set to be announced soon via her website – will go to the US child sponsorship and Christian humanitarian aid organisation, Compassion International.

“Once again technology through NFTs creates a new lane for artists to express their art in an innovative way throughout the world,” Randy Jackson, founder of The Association Entertainment Corporation, said in a statement. “RTFKT is the leader in this medium. Janet and I are grateful to be working with them.

It is definitely an interesting modern breakthrough that shows no sign of slowing! Despite the fact that NFTs are not perfect and some people will object, it does seem like they will be…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kings of Leon/PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Followill

A real revolution and game-changer.

FEATURE: A Buyer’s Guide: Part Fifty-Two: Pearl Jam

FEATURE:

 

 

A Buyer’s Guide

Part Fifty-Two: Pearl Jam

___________

I wanted to feature…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Gie Knaeps/Getty Images

the Seattle-formed band, Pearl Jam, as their astonishing debut album, Ten, turns thirty on 27th August. It is amazing to think that Ten launched Pearl Jam into the world all that time ago! They are still going strong today – let’s hope they have many more years left in them! In terms of biography, here is some more information:

“Pearl Jam is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. The band's line up consists of founding members Jeff Ament (bass guitar), Stone Gossard (rhythm guitar), Mike McCready (lead guitar), and Eddie Vedder (lead vocals, guitar), as well as Matt Cameron (drums), who joined in 1998. Keyboardist Boom Gaspar has also been a touring/session member with the band since 2002. Drummers Jack Irons, Dave Krusen, Matt Chamberlain, and Dave Abbruzzese are former members of the band. Pearl Jam outsold many of their contemporary alternative rock bands from the early 1990s, and are considered one of the most influential bands of the decade, being dubbed as "the most popular American rock & roll band of the '90s".

Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, Ten, in 1991. Ten stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock records ever, going 13x platinum in the United States. Released in 1993, Pearl Jam's second album, Vs., sold over 950,000 copies in its first week of release, setting the record for most copies of an album sold in its first week of release at the time. Their third album, Vitalogy (1994), became the second-fastest-selling CD in history at the time, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week.

One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam's members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or participating in interviews. The band also sued Ticketmaster, claiming it had monopolized the concert-ticket market. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."

Pearl Jam had sold more than 85 million albums worldwide by 2018, including nearly 32 million albums in the United States by 2012, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 in its first year of eligibility. They were ranked at No. 8 in a reader poll by Rolling Stone magazine in its "Top Ten Live Acts of All Time" issue. Throughout its career, the band has also promoted wider social and political issues, from pro-choice sentiments to opposition to George W. Bush's presidency. Vedder acts as the band's spokesman on these issues”.

To celebrate their debut album turning thirty this year and nod to their amazing work, this A Buyer’s Guide is all about…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch/Universal Music Group

THE incredible Pearl Jam.

______________

The Four Essential Albums

 

Ten

Release Date: 27th August, 1991

Label: Epic

Producers: Rick Parashar/Pearl Jam

Standout Tracks: Even Flow/Alive/Jeremy

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/pearl-jam/ten-9e1b679d-3727-4559-82cb-4824c9250af7

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5B4PYA7wNN4WdEXdIJu58a?si=H4Q_sMiIQNy5poCYuMhs0Q

Review:

“Pearl Jam’s anguish was offset by their sex appeal—the throaty, virile belting; the Townshend-inspired guitar heroism; the strutting grooves. When, on the 1992 MTV Unplugged performance included here, the brooding Vedder doffs his baseball cap and carpets the stage with his curls, the female roar is ecstatic. But while there’s something of the alpha male about Vedder, his heroes on Ten are a strictly beta crowd. The album is full of maladjusted wimps beset by corrupt adults, from the girl on “Why Go” whose nonconformist streak is stifled by psychiatrists to the neglected classroom suicide on “Jeremy” to the boy on “Alive” whose mother lies to him about his dad’s identity, then invites him to bed. “Alive” is semi-autobiographical: The incest is fiction, but Vedder’s stepdad did masquerade as his real father for years. This early deception put the singer on his lifelong mission of defending the little guy, Ten’s Catcher in the Rye vision of kid-saving giving way to Kosovar-refugee benefits and songs about abused wives and police brutality. The band’s refusal to become massive rock stars stemmed, it seems, from Vedder’s constitutional refusal to become the enemy.There are four versions of this reissue, two worth exploring. For a smaller price tag, you get the Unplugged DVD, six unreleased bonus tracks and a full-album remix by longtime PJ fave Brendan O’Brien. His new take scythes through the original, revealing growls and guitars long obscured—sometimes it’s distracting, but often it lends the songs a newfound jolt. There’s also a $140 edition that adds four vinyl LPs, a reproduction of Vedder’s old notebook and a facsimile of his original demo cassette. It’s a relic and a shrine, commemorating a bygone time when music was something you caressed, dusted off and (good riddance) rewound.Ultimately, Pearl Jam’s plan worked. By the end of the ’90s they’d purged their fan base of everyone but diehards who argue about which bootleg performance of “Corduroy” is superior (“6/19/00 in Ljubljana, dude!”). Still, despite their best efforts, they could never quite make Ten go away. The album birthed many multi-platinum imitators, and, from Live to Creed, many of them made some very bad music. But that only highlights the virtuoso balance of indignation, heart and bluster that Pearl Jam pulled off her” – Blender (Deluxe Edition)

Choice Cut: Black

Vs.

Release Date: 19th October, 1993

Label: Epic

Producers: Brendan O'Brien/Pearl Jam

Standout Tracks: Animal/Daughter/Rearviewmirror

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/pearl-jam/vs-0e1c37b2-2a43-4c89-b779-d2a84150d9de

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/3BSOiAas8BpJOii3kCPyjV?si=OWjYB18zTSatRETiPbpqAw

Review:

“Pearl Jam are explosive. Few American bands have arrived more clearly talented than this one did with "Ten;" and "Vs." tops even that debut. Terrific players with catholic tastes, they also serve up singer-lyricist Eddie Vedder. With his Brando brooding and complicated, tortured masculinity, he's something we haven't seen in a while ­ a heroic figure. Better still, he's a big force without bullshit; he bellows doubt.

Like Jim Morrison and Pete Townshend, Vedder makes a forte of his psychological-mythic explorations ­ he grapples with primal trauma, chaos, exultation. As guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready paint dense and slashing backdrops, he invites us into a drama of experiment and strife. "Animal," "Daughter" and "Blood," their terse titles urgently poetic, are songs of a kind of ritual passion, tapping into something truly wild.

And when Vedder roars, "Saw things . . . clearer . . . /Once you were in my rearviewmirror," it seems that it's not only some personal sorrow that he's willing himself to tear beyond but the entire weight of the past itself.

Voicing the dreams and furies of a generation, Nirvana rock brilliantly in the now. They suggest a visceral understanding of rehab rites of passage and gen der overlap, stardom fantasy and punk nihilism. Their themes parallel both David Cronenberg's "venereal horror" and David Lynch's atonal wit, and their inchoate striving after feeling combats the blithe vacuity of outdated Warhol-style hipness. Blank generation? Not really, just young people fighting for some kind of meaning” – Rolling Stone

Choice Cut: Go

Vitalogy

Release Date: 22nd November, 1994

Label: Epic

Producers: Brendan O'Brien/Pearl Jam

Standout Tracks: Not for You/Nothingman/Corduroy

Buy: https://store.hmv.com/store/music/vinyl/vitalogy

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5pd9B3KQWKshHw4lnsSLNy?si=L2qK5B1WQAuOhWUz-2l8qA

Review:

“It isn’t merely in its music that the album is wacked out. Everywhere Vedder turns, something or someone is suffocating him, confining him, and his don’t-fence-me-in twitchiness reaches new levels of paranoia on Vitalogy (named after a dubious quasi-medical textbook published earlier this century, portions of which are reprinted in the album’s overloaded booklet). In ”Not for You,” he sits down at a table for two and has to leave because it’s too cramped. In ”Bugs,” he sees ”bugs in my ears/there are eggs in my head/bugs in my pockets/bugs in my shoes” and slowly flips out. Even in what appears to be a love song, Vedder snaps, ”You’re finally here and I’m a mess…Can’t let you roam inside my head.”

Well, at least he’s being honest. Three albums on, Vedder doesn’t sound any happier or any more at peace with himself. His sentiments can be as vague as fortune cookies (”He who forgets will be destined to remember,” ”The smallest oceans still get big big waves”). More often, he’s so bottled up that his lyrics sputter out in half-finished, inarticulate gushes; the sulking, lashing ”Immortality” appears to be a Big Statement song about death, yet you’d never know that from its obtuse lyrics. Even childhood isn’t a respite anymore. Vedder proclaims ”all that’s sacred/comes from youth” in one song, but ”Foxymophandlemama” ends with an adult (a therapist?) asking one of the ”children” if he had considered suicide. The child responds, almost playfully, ”Yes, I believe I would.” And then the album ends.

From the beginning, Vedder’s return-to-the-womb scream has clearly connected with a lot of people, particularly those who might feel disenfranchised or discombobulated. That fact is sadly telling (and understandable), but it’s also disquieting. Kurt Cobain had a similar mind-set, but he was also self-deprecating and had a sense of humor. Vedder doesn’t allow himself those feelings; he seems incapable of expressing joy or happiness, or even figuring out why he can’t. For his torment, he’s become a hero and icon. We cheer his every mumbled, incoherent statement and live vicariously through his pain. So, despite its musical advances, Vitalogy leaves an odd, unsettling aftertaste. You walk away from it energized, but wondering what price Eddie Vedder, and Pearl Jam, will ultimately pay for it. B+” – Entertainment Weekly

Choice Cut: Spin the Black Circle

Pearl Jam

Release Date: 2nd May, 2006

Label: J

Producers: Adam Kasper/Pearl Jam

Standout Tracks: Life Wasted/Comatose/Gone

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/pearl-jam/pearl-jam

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5PY2mZGCOMezmWH7hiCwFH?si=Js2Y1AatQbSTsyefvhfuvg

Review:

“Nearly 15 years after Ten, Pearl Jam finally returned to the strengths of their debut with 2006's Pearl Jam, a sharply focused set of impassioned hard rock. Gone are the arty detours (some call them affectations) that alternately cluttered and enhanced their albums from 1993's sophomore effort, Vs., all the way to 2002's Riot Act, and what's left behind is nothing but the basics: muscular, mildly meandering rock & roll, enlivened by Eddie Vedder's bracing sincerity. Pearl Jam has never sounded as hard or direct as they do here -- even on Ten there was an elasticity to the music, due in large part to Jeff Ament's winding fretless bass, that kept the record from sounding like a direct hit to the gut, which Pearl Jam certainly does. Nowhere does it sound more forceful than it does in its first half, when the tightly controlled rockers "Life Wasted," "World Wide Suicide," "Comatose," "Severed Hand," and "Marker in the Sand" pile up on top of each other, giving the record a genuine feeling of urgency. That insistent quality and sense of purpose doesn't let up even as they slide into the quite beautiful, lightly psychedelic acoustic pop of "Parachutes," which is when the album begins to open up slightly. If the second half of the record does have a greater variety of tempos than the first, it's still heavy on rockers, ranging from the ironic easy swagger of "Unemployable" to the furious "Big Wave," which helps set the stage for the twin closers of "Come Back" and "Inside Job." The former is a slow-burning cousin to "Black" that finds Pearl Jam seamlessly incorporating soul into their sound, while the latter is a deliberately escalating epic that gracefully closes the album on a hopeful note -- and coming after an album filled with righteous anger and frustration, it is indeed welcome. But Pearl Jam's anger on this eponymous album is not only largely invigorating, it is the opposite of the tortured introspection of their first records. Here, Vedder turns his attention to the world at large, and while he certainly rages against the state of W's union in 2006, he's hardly myopic or strident; he's alternately evocative and specific, giving this album a resonance that has been lacking in most protest rock of the 2000s. But what makes Pearl Jam such an effective record is that it can be easily enjoyed as sheer music without ever digging into Vedder's lyrics. Song for song, this is their best set since Vitalogy, and the band has never sounded so purposeful on record as they do here, nor have they ever delivered a record as consistent as this. And the thing that makes the record work exceptionally well is that Pearl Jam has embraced everything they do well, whether it's their classicist hard rock or heart-on-sleeve humanitarianism. In doing so, they seem kind of old fashioned, reaffirming that they are now thoroughly outside of the mainstream -- spending well over a decade galloping away from any trace of popularity will inevitably make you an outsider -- but on their own terms, Pearl Jam hasn't sounded as alive or engaging as they do here since at least Vitalogy, if not longer” – AllMusic

Choice Cut: World Wide Suicide

The Underrated Gem

 

Riot Act

Release Date: 12th November, 2002

Label: Epic

Producers: Adam Kasper/Pearl Jam

Standout Tracks: Love Boat Captain/I Am Mine/You Are

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/pearl-jam/riot-act

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/7AOWw68DEPnDmTpquZw8bG?si=ZbgJxy4uTum4MVXx3WG4Uw

Review:

“The moment that you realise the new Foo Fighters single is as good as the Great Lost Nirvana Classic that Lady Courtney’s promised is the moment that you realise that what they called ‘grunge’ – as concept, sound, nostalgia trip – is spiritually dead and buried. Pearl Jam always seemed eager to slip the genre’s yoke. But their string of irrelevant mid-’90s albums defined The Grunge Retirement: a tediously rockist mentality characterised by Neil Young solos, pointless live records and hippy proselytising. Yet Pearl Jam did not go down with grunge’s ship. 2000’s brooding ‘Binaural’ was steeped in rock classicism in the best possible way. And this, the band’s seventh studio album, goes deeper still. Right now, The Music might dabble in the ancient arts Led Zeppelin once practised, but Pearl Jam sound like full-on high priests. Mike McCready’s guitar solos are accomplished but never overwrought, and the awesome rhythm section of Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron tether Stone Gossard’s primal amp roar down into songs of undeniable might.

Straight out of the trap, there’s two that rank with Pearl Jam‘s best. ‘Save You’ is a magic carpet ride of bucking riffery and thrashing bead-shakers. Meanwhile, the Mellotron-ridden ‘Love Boat Captain’ is a gorgeous example of Pearl Jam‘s gnostic expansiveness done right, Vedder singing “To the universe I don’t mean a thing/ And there’s just one word I still believe/ It’s love”. Complaining that Eddie Vedder is morose is like complaining that Johnny Cash has a mostly dark wardrobe. Get over it: it’s what he does. His range has expanded, though: with a touch of Michael Stipe’s cryptic wisdom, ‘You Are’ and ‘I Am Mine’ unfurl grandly, while ‘Bushleager’ fields a spoken-word attack against Dubya, Vedder growling like William Burroughs: “He’s not a leader, he’s a Texas leaguer/ Swinging for the fence, lucky he got a strike”.

Pearl Jam sound content, and usually that’s the kiss of death to a rock band. Those waiting for another record as challenging as ‘Vitalogy’ will be left disappointed. But ‘Riot Act’ is the sound of a band entering a powerful middle-age. They still deserve your attention” – NME

Choice Cut: Save You

The Latest Album

 

Gigaton

Release Date: 27th March, 2020

Labels: Monkeywrench/Republic

Producer: Josh Evans

Standout Tracks: Superblood Wolfmoon/Take the Long Way/Retrograde

Buy: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gigaton-VINYL-Pearl-Jam/dp/B083T63QXM

Stream: https://open.spotify.com/album/5bTixyz2GHx1YUqNUdzfut?si=hhL3TbDwSrK_CowJA0hm_Q

Review:

“Elsewhere, Gigaton sounds more vital and unexpected. In the six years since their last studio album, a lot has happened in US politics and it’s tempting to suggest that might have something to do with it. Always good at rabble-rousing and nothing if not politically committed, you get the feeling that a certain urgency about getting their message across might have given Pearl Jam’s music a renewed sense of vigour. The burst of widdly-woo guitar shredding on Superblood Wolfmoon is precisely the kind of thing that would have caused Kurt Cobain to roll his eyes, but the track comes at you with such force that it’s irresistible. The pump organ of closer River Cross recalls sometime Pearl Jam collaborator Neil Young’s use of the same instrument, but its wheezing, hymnal quality is a perfect backdrop for Eddie Vedder’s impassioned vocal: punctuated by bass guitar and thundering drums, it keeps threatening to surge into lighters-out territory, but never takes the leap, as if to underline that the song’s message of optimism is cautious at best. Quick Escape does a lot of Pearl Jammy stuff – big soaring chorus, more guitar histrionics – but sets them against an atmosphere that’s authentically spacey and strange, as again befits lyrics that have taken on an entirely unwitting kind of currency. If you’re going to release a song about the human race facing such catastrophe that escaping to another planet feels appealing, now is probably the moment to do it.

The same impulse seems to have fuelled a desire to make music that reaches beyond the diehards. Dance of the Clairvoyants pitches angular post-punk guitar against limber electro-pop. Moreover, it does it really well. Never Destination stirs a small but nevertheless noticeable dash of impassioned soul influence into its punky stew, and Buckle Up is appealingly warm, off-kilter psychedelia with another lyric about uncertain futures: “Do no harm,” it counsels, “and buckle up.”

As for the rabble-rousing message, it’s more potent and engaging than you might expect. You don’t have to be a Breitbart subscriber to feel a little deflated by the prospect of another album telling you Donald Trump is an arsehole: unless your tastes in American rock tend to Ted Nugent and Kid Rock, it’s a point you’ve heard umpteen times. It says something about Pearl Jam’s renewed dynamism that they’ve found original ways of putting it. The humans departing earth on Quick Escape wearily complain about “the lengths we had to go … to find someplace Trump hadn’t fucked up yet”. Seven O’Clock’s gag about Trump as an indigenous American leader, “Sitting Bullshit”, is pretty good: the way the lyric slips from poking fun to a haunting fantasy of him as a wounded, depleted force, “throwing punches with nothing to hit” even better. Almost 30 years into a career you would once have put money on ending within five, Gigaton suggests Pearl Jam might still be around long after Trump is a distant memory” – The Guardian

Choice Cut: Dance of the Clairvoyants

The Pearl Jam Book

 

Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense

Author: Ronen Givony

Publication Date: 29th October, 2020

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Synopsis:

“There has never been a band like Pearl Jam. The Seattle quintet has recorded eleven studio albums; sold some 85 million records; played over a thousand shows, in fifty countries; and had five different albums reach number one. But Pearl Jam's story is about much more than music. Through resilience, integrity, and sheer force of will, they transcended several eras, and shaped the way a whole generation thought about art, entertainment, and commerce. Not for You: Pearl Jam and the Present Tense is the first full-length biography of America's preeminent band, from Ten to Gigaton. A study of their role in history - from Operation Desert Storm to the Dixie Chicks; "Jeremy" to Columbine; Kurt Cobain to Chris Cornell; Ticketmaster to Trump - Not for You explores the band's origins and evolution over thirty years of American culture. It starts with their founding, and the eruption of grunge, in 1991; continues through their golden age (Vs., Vitalogy, No Code, and Yield); their middle period (Binaural, Riot Act); and the more divisive recent catalog. Along the way, it considers the band's activism, idealism, and impact, from "W.M.A." to the Battle of Seattle and Body of War. More than the first critical study, Not for You is a tribute to a famously obsessive fan base, in the spirit of Nick Hornby's Fever Pitch. It's an old-fashioned - if, at times, ambivalent - appreciation; a reflection on pleasure, fandom, and guilt; and an essay on the nature of adolescence, nostalgia, and adulthood. Partly social history, partly autobiography, and entirely outspoken, discursive, and droll, Not for You is the first full-length treatment of Pearl Jam's odyssey and importance in the culture, from the '90s to the present” – Waterstones

Buy: https://www.waterstones.com/book/not-for-you/ronen-givony/9781501360688

FEATURE: Spotlight: Bess Atwell

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Sequoia Ziff 

Bess Atwell

___________

I thought that I had already…

included Bess Atwell in my Spotlight feature. It appears not! This is another case of me highlighting an artist who has been around for a while but it is a case of some people not being aware of her music. I think this feature is timely, as Atwell recently released the single, Co-op. There is talk around a sophomore album/more material. Atwell released the E.P., Big Blue, in 2019. Back in 2016, she released her amazing debut album, Hold Your Mind. I want to bring in an interview from around that time – before moving more up-to-date. First, I would urge people to check out an amazing album:

“Bess Atwell's songs are written far from city lights, in the South Downs communities where she's lived for most of her 21 years. But in her debut album, Hold Your Mind, local folk and singer-songwriter traditions meet a pop sensibility. Produced by Michael Smith (12 Dirty Bullets), observations on identity, self-dismay and claustrophobic social media combine intimacy with rock hooks and gauzier, more expansive atmospheres. Timeless in essence, her songs are solid with modern detail, and a sure sense of place: strong foundations for a subtly fresh new songwriter. Atwell has honed her live craft around London and Sussex, regularly appearing at Soho's much missed musical hothouse the 12-Bar Club, and at annual appearances at Brighton's Alternative Great Escape. An intimate, direct performer with access to deep wells of suppression and doubt, her album's fuller sound is stripped to its essence in person. Atwell's songs find her version of the universal in concrete, domestic moments: a light in the kitchen, a key in the door, catching the train, and the delicate, sensual nostalgia of recalling the pale, close bodies of an affair. "Quiet, countryside places are where I see myself and my music," she says. "Not the city, where it's busy and things are happening right now. My songs need that moment of stepping away, and reflecting." Bess Atwell is a breath of fresh Downland air, confronting 21st century concerns with older wisdom. Already tipped by the Guardian, press is by 9PR and reviews are expected in all kep papers”.

I want to end by bringing in a recent interview where Atwell talks about Co-op and what she has planned for the rest of this year. I think Hold Your Mind is a really strong and interesting debut album. When she spoke with Impose, we discovered more about her younger life and what she wants people to get from her music:

“Your family moved around quite a bit when you were younger. Where are you originally from? And how do you think the constant moving shaped your music?

I was born in London, but grew up in a village in Cambridgeshire. I started writing songs by the time my family had pretty much settled down, in a small village outside of Brighton. However, the yearning for belonging was still with me, and I found comfort in the consistency of creating, whether that be art or music. I’m not sure it had a profound impact on my music, but the idea of home features heavily in the tracks on the album so who knows!

How would you describe your music? How do you want people to react or feel when they listen to it?

There’s a lot of domestic imagery in the songs because I wanted to ground universal, yet intangible, human emotion to the mundane, physical world. I try not to focus on how I’d like people to react to the music when writing, but when the songs are done it would be wonderful to feel everyone can relate in some way and that they could help connect us a little. Celebrating the human condition rather than shying from it.

Your debut album Hold Your Mind is out this month. What do you have to say about the process of writing and recording it?

There were a couple of years during my teens where I found myself almost incapable of writing anything coherent about the experiences I was having – specifically in regards to my family life. The oldest song on the album is one of the few I finished from this time; ‘Resolution’ which deals with that disjointed feeling.

It wasn’t until my first heartbreak at 19 that my emotions surfaced enough for me to start enjoying songwriting again, and finding comfort in it. During this time it felt as though the songs  were just coming to me, rather than me forcing them. So a lot of the songs on the album are from that experience, and came very easily. That experience broke my writer’s block and paved the way for me to write about different experiences too.

The recording of the album was a massive learning curve. It was weird for me to be, ultimately, in charge of a group of talented, trained musicians (the band I recorded with) and it took a while to embrace the responsibility for the sound of the album. We recorded most of the album in the studio in London, with the band, and those sessions were a lot of fun. My producer, Michael Smith, and I also had a few sessions out in the countryside where I live, when we simplified things and reconnected with the album sonically.

What are you most excited about with this release?

It sounds obvious, but people actually hearing the songs. I’m not really going into the release with any particular goal or expectation. I wrote these songs about my life, and the most I could ask for is that someone hears them and feels connected to my experiences too. I hope everyone can relate to the songs on some level”.

Although Bess Atwell is a unique artist and one cannot easily associate her with another artist, I was interested to know whether there were any other artists who inspired her. In 2019, Atwell spoke with Alt. Revue and was asked that very question:

“Could you walk us through your process of writing music?

Lots of artists say it, but it’s true; my best songs are written very quickly and just sort of pour out. The songs I labour over the most are almost always my least favourite.

Recently I’ve been writing with a drum machine which I find helps me to avoid slipping into repetitive rhythms. I tend to start with a chord sequence and then write melody and lyrics simultaneously. I’ll always neaten up the lyrics after because the first attempt isn’t particularly poetic.

What artists have inspired you in your career?

Johnny Flynn, Gillian Welch, The Beach Boys to name a few. As a teenager I listened to almost exclusively indie rock bands (Beach House, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, The National).

Currently I’m listening to a lot of solo artists - I used to avoid listening to other female, indie artists in fear that I’d end up sounding exactly like them and render myself useless but I realised I was missing out on so much incredible music. Julia Jacklin’s new record has blown me away, as well as albums from Soccer Mommy, Stella Donnelly, and Phoebe Bridgers.

Can you describe the vibe at your live shows? Also, what do you enjoy most about a venue when you do a show?

I’d say the vibe is.. moody? I try and come across as approachable on stage but the songs are a little dark so sometimes you just have to roll with it. I’m not super talkative when I’m up there but I don’t stress about it anymore. Sometimes all you can do is play your songs well and be appreciative.

I really enjoy the moment after sound checking when you can just wander around an empty venue with a cup of tea knowing that it’ll (hopefully) be full in a couple of hours. It’s the only moment you get to chill out if you’ve been travelling all day”.

This brings us up to 2021. I wonder whether there will be an album later in the year. Whilst there has been no official announcement, new songs like Co-op clearly point towards a larger project. I will end by bringing in an interview with Wonderland.  They focused on Atwell’s acclaimed new single and asked what comes next:

“With us getting a taster of spring the past weekend, singer-songwriter Bess Atwell is keeping the momentum going with her dreamy new single “Co-op”. Like the first blooms of spring, Atwell’s latest single unfolds with serene ripples of guitar strings surrounded by her lush calming vocals, leading us to a track that has us reminiscent of Lana Del Rey and Phoebe Bridgers. Similar to her previous offerings, the track maintains the same fresh and unique sound she has displayed throughout her career. Accompanied by a self-directed video, the singer puts the emotional context of the track at the forefront, directly referencing the lyrics with bold imagery and contrasting props.

Opening up on the single, the singer revealed, “It’s an illustration of mine and my partner’s life together. The relationship seemed to provide me with some sort of permission to recuperate from family trauma, as if realising for the first time that there was a life outside of that chaos lulled me into an emotional slumber. Through the song, I grapple with the desire for, and fear of, comfort. I used references to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs Dalloway to depict a vivid nostalgia and an affinity for trivialities that serve to calm when darker thoughts set it.”

Releasing the single under her new home at Lucy Rose’s Real Kind Records, the singer is ready to take her sound into a new era, and we caught up with her talking the signing, developing her music and what we can expect in the future from the singer.

Hi Bess – how have you been during this uncertain time? How has it impacted your music and creativity?

All in all, I’ve been okay. When I can’t change things I go to a relatively calm place, which is as much a surprise to me as it is to those who know me. It’s definitely forced me to confront some ugly parts of myself though, like my chronic impatience… which is particularly tricky when you’re trying to put a record out!

I write from my own experiences mostly, which is tough when most days look the same. When the first lockdown happened I was living with my parents to save on rent while I was meant to be on tour. I’m incredibly privileged that I got to save money when so many were struggling financially, but on a personal note it was a challenge that ended up fuelling my writing.

Congratulations on your new song “Co-op” which explores your life with your partner – what was it inspired by in particular?

Thanks! The song started off as a bit of a private joke. We lived together in a tiny boxy room within a shared house for a year. It was meant to be temporary while I found somewhere to live but we got quite comfortable. The house was above a pizza shop and directly opposite a Co-op. It was a time of refuge and routine. Not feeling particularly comforted and safe with my own family, and in the midst of dealing with an anxiety disorder, I attached a sense of security to that house and that relationship. The song is both a celebration and criticism of that time. We had a running joke that we couldn’t go to the shop without getting whatever song was playing stuck in our heads. One night, I walked through the door humming and he did the usual “did you even go to the Co-op if you don’t come back singing the pop song that was on?” and I told him I’d write that into a song one day.

How does it feel releasing new music when most of the world is in lockdown/everything feels so uncertain – what do you hope your music will bring?

Well, here in the UK we’ve just been given a date – 21st June for what people are calling our “pandemic independence”. There’s hopefulness in the air, so it feels like a nice time to release music. On a base level, I hope they just enjoy the music. Other than that, I’d love for people to relate to the lyrics and to find a universality in the specific. It’s all about connection and the easing of existential loneliness, for me.

What’s next for you? What are you looking forward to in 2021?

Imminently, I’m going to go and make some bread. That’s been my lockdown “thing” once I realised I probably shouldn’t eat a cake to myself every day. This year is going to be full of releases from me which is really exciting after sitting on this new music for so long. If the world allows, I’ll be touring in the autumn too. I also recently got a kitten so I’m looking forward to my first year with her”.

I am looking ahead to see what might come next for Bess Atwell. She is an artist I have been listening to for a while and, with everything she releases, one hears this quality and longevity! I hope that she does get to tour later in the year. I know that many people will…

FLOCK to see her.

_______________

Follow Bess Atwell

Official:

https://www.bessatwell.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/bessatwellmusic

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Pim5E5Lm03COsjHj2aEiK

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/bessatwell/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/bessatwell

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNUN18fwVbGq76oRdVKZDgw

FEATURE: Back to Live: Looking Ahead to the BRIT Awards and Indoor Gigs

FEATURE:

 

 

Back to Live

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa is due to perform at the BRIT Awards on 11th May at the O2, London (she is nominated in three categories, including Album of the Year for Future Nostalgia)

Looking Ahead to the BRIT Awards and Indoor Gigs

___________

ONE of the things music fans…

 IMAGE CREDIT: BRIT Awards

are really looking forward to is the return of live music. Many artists have already organised gigs and tours for later in the year. Whilst a degree of uncertainty exists regarding how likely it is large-scale gigs can return by the summer, there are some positive signs. Reading and Leeds is hoping to put on a full-scale event this year where punters do not need to wear masks or socially distance. There will need to be testing and safety measures put in place. I will come back to that. Next month, the BRIT Awards is welcoming a live audience as part of a COVID-19 trial. This article from Billboard explains more:

“All attendees must consent to participate in a research program sponsored by the U.K. government.

The 2021 Brit Awards, set for May 11 at The O2 arena in London, will be both a celebration and an experiment. The show is expected to have an audience of 4,000 -- roughly one-fifth of the venue’s capacity. Here’s the surprising part: Audience members will not be socially distanced or required to wear face coverings in the arena.

In a statement, the Brit Awards characterize the show as the “first major indoor music event to welcome back a live audience – a pivotal moment in the return of live music at scale.”

About 2,500 tickets will be gifted by the recorded music industry to “key workers” -- the British term for “essential workers” -- in the greater London area. (This is meant to discourage longer-distance travel.) The remaining 1,500 tickets will be allocated for purchase by the nominated and performing artists and their teams, supporting record labels, management and show partners and sponsors. A “ballot” (lottery) for free tickets for key workers will open on Brits.co.uk on Thursday (April 22) at noon local time. But those free tickets come with a catch: All attendees must consent to participate in a research program sponsored by the U.K. government.

A statement notes: “The indoor ceremony and live show will form part of the Government’s scientific Events Research Programme, using enhanced testing approaches to examine how events can take place without the need for social distancing.

“Working closely with the Government to adhere to safety guidelines, this means The Brits, as the first live music show at The O2 in over a year, will play an important role in paving the way for the return of live music at scale as the UK emerges from the past year’s restrictions.

“…Audience members will not be socially distanced or required to wear face coverings in the arena, but they will be required to follow existing Government guidance when travelling to the venue and adhere to rules set out by the event organisers.

"Attendees must have proof of a negative lateral flow test result to enter the venue. As part of the wider scientific research on the trial events, attendees will also be asked to take a test after the event to gather further evidence on the safety of indoor settings, reduced social distancing and the removal of non-pharmaceutical interventions like face coverings.

"They will also have to provide contact details for NHS Test and Trace to ensure everyone can be traced in the event of an audience member receiving a positive test after the event”.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive BPI & Brit Awards, said: “This year’s Brit Awards with Mastercard is one of the most significant in the show’s history. Not only will we be celebrating the brilliant music and artists that have helped us through the pandemic, but we hope it will provide a path for the return of live music that fans and artists have so sorely missed … We’re… working closely with Government, The O2 and all our partners to ensure all safety measures and guidelines are adhered to.”

Danielle Kennedy-Clark, deputy general manager of The O2, said “We’re proud that The O2 has been selected to host the largest indoor capacity pilot event with The Brits. This scientific trial is an important step on the path to recovery for the live entertainment industry, and our operational teams are making the final preparations to be able to welcome people into The O2 arena again for the first time in more than a year”.

Whilst the O2 is a large venue that can safely accommodate thousands and stay safe, I think there will still be challenges. The BRIT Awards will be the first big event in this country since the pandemic started where we will see an event with so many people. It will be very odd and wonderful to see! Many festivals are cancelling this year as they are not sure whether they can go ahead safely. Some are going ahead but, for others, there is a risk that they might have to be cancelled at short notice. As we do not know what the guidelines and lockdown restrictions will be like in months to come, festival organisers are asking for a COVID cancellation scheme to avoid possible bankruptcy:

“Millions of tickets have already been sold and headline acts from Keane to Stormzy are preparing to return to the stage, but the organisers of hundreds of live music festivals planned for this summer are warning that if the government does not follow other European countries and offer to underwrite Covid cancellation insurance, they may be forced to pull the plug.

The national reopening timetable, largely unchanged since it was announced in February, will allow mass gatherings from late June. But scheduling a post-pandemic event brings significant financial risk, as a local or national spike in coronavirus cases could lead to a last-minute cancellation by public health authorities, which would leave festival organisers with huge losses.

PHOTO CREDIT: Colin Lloyd/Unsplash 

Government-backed insurance is the “big missing piece of the jigsaw,” said Greg Parmley, the chief executive of the Live trade association. “There is no commercial insurance available for coronavirus. Other governments are stepping up and helping; we feel like we are banging our head against a wall. We are seeing a steady stream of cancellations and it will get bigger until the summer.”

The music industry, festival organisers and promoters have been calling for several months for a government-based indemnity scheme. This would operate like a form of insurance by providing financial support if events were affected by the coronavirus crisis, similar to the film and TV production restart scheme announced last July”.

I hope that festivals can go ahead safely and organisers have security and backing from the Government. Many venues around the country will want to welcome gig-goers and artists into their space. We will see how the BRIT Awards goes and whether they can bring thousands of people in and ensure that there are no big risks or concerns. It is going to be wonderful to see so many buzzing people in the O2 after so long! I think this will give heart to venues and festivals. I guess, if people can show a negative lateral flow test and adhere to social distance rules when travelling to and from venues, then they could be allowed to go mask-less and not adhere to social distancing when they are at the gig. It will be a major turning point and breakthrough after an intense and hard year-and-a-bit. So many venues have struggled to stay open for so long. With there being this massive desire for live music to return safely, it seems like we are closer to that happening! I hope that festivals get backing and are insured this year. If not, we could see many disappear for good. The same goes for venues that need funding. Many venues will not be able to reopen at full capacity for a long time, so they will struggle and not be at their best right away. I think the BRIT Awards trial is good news that many of us have been waiting for. Although it is an experiment and people will be nervous, the ceremony on 11th May will also be a huge celebration. It does not mark normality and things being over. It does, however, signal a huge step forward that will give hope and spirit to…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Moqadam/Unsplash

VENUES and fans alike.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

FEATURE:

 

Vinyl Corner

TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

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IN this Vinyl Corner…

I am including an album that turns fifteen quite soon. I am not overly-familiar with TV on the Radio, through I do really like their album, Return to Cookie Mountain. It is an album that I think people should pick up on vinyl, as it is brilliant. The New York band are still going and put out their fifth album, Seeds, in 2014. I think that Return to Cookie Mountain is their finest release. If you are not familiar with it, maybe stream the songs first. You will want to convert to vinyl, as the songs require repeated listens and full attention. I am going to bring in a couple of reviews for a terrific album. First, it is worth bringing in some background about Return to Cookie Mountain:

“Return to Cookie Mountain is the second studio album by American rock band TV on the Radio. It was released July 6, 2006, worldwide by 4AD, and issued in the U.S. and Canada on September 12, 2006, by Interscope Records and Touch and Go Recordings. The North American release features three bonus tracks, two of which are B-sides from the single "Wolf Like Me"; the other is a remix of "Hours" by El-P. Videos were made for the singles "Wolf Like Me" and "Province".

The album featured several notable guest vocalists: "Province" features backing vocals from David Bowie, who championed the band's full-length debut, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes; Katrina Ford of the band Celebration guests on "Wolf Like Me", "Let the Devil In" and "Blues from Down Here"; Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead sings on "Hours". This is their first album to feature the keyboardist Gerard Smith”.

It is interesting learning more about the run-up to the album and the political context in which it was released. In 2018, Vinyl Me Please examined the album and discussed the importance and strengths of Return to Cookie Mountain:

“Return to Cookie Mountain takes its name from the Super Mario World level, obviously, but not in any way that has ever been explained. It’s not like singer Tunde Adebimpe has ever come out as a staunch Nintendo fan who owned a Virtual Boy, or Sitek ever extolled the virtues of royal blue bib overalls. But wanting to return to a fantasy world, where the good guys are plumbers who ride long-tongued dinosaurs and the bad guys are mutated mushrooms and turtles throwing hammers, instead of living in the present of 2006 — with its endless war, its feeling like the end was nigh, and its democratically elected presidents leaving people in their own country to die in a flood — was understandable. Desirable, even.

2006 was a very bad year. Americans were halfway into the second Bush II term, and only months removed from his administration making a defacto public policy to ignore the dying black people in New Orleans during the fallout of Hurricane Katrina, the worst natural disaster to hit America since the colonists made landfall at Plymouth Rock. The war in Iraq, then into its third year, showed no signs of being near a resolution, despite Bush dressing up in pilot cosplay and announcing Mission Accomplished. Everyday brought a new existential worry, a new way the U.S. government had manipulated reporters into backing foreign wars, a new indignity placed upon different parts of the populace. Post-9/11, it felt like we were on the endless conveyor belt to World War III, a multi-front battle that would take our troops from North Korea to Iraq to wherever else the Axis of Evil was deemed to spin. It was a different kind of dread than the one we experience in 2018; it was still novel to believe the U.S. government was on the brink of collapse back then.

It was as explicit as TV on the Radio ever got about the man sitting in the White House, but the message was clear: TV on the Radio were writing about the present, and the present had them down. The specter of the world of worries of 2006 hangs over Retrun to Cookie Mountain like ashes.

These are desperation songs, the full spectrum of post-9/11 anguish and angst distilled into 11 tracks. The most beautiful, resonant song here — “Province” — is about how in uncertain times, the bravest thing you can do as a human is choosing to love someone completely. The song that ended up in Rock Band 2, “Wolf Like Me,” is about how desire — for sex, for power, for success — makes you into a literal animal. The middle of the record is buoyed by songs that sound like they’re being performed by a chain gang in the 7th circle of hell. It’s not light reading.

It’s also the culmination of the arc of New York rock in the ‘00s — though they got famous in Brooklyn, drummer Jaleel Bunton is a star of Meet Me in the Bathroom for the stories he picked up bartending for the Strokes and others at Max Fish on the Lower East Side, which places TV on the Radio in both lineages — and the start of everything that came after. New York rock in the ‘00s was initially marked by new bands in the Lower East Side “bringing rock back from the dead”; the decade would close with bands in Brooklyn stretching the fabric of rock into microgenres too vast and varied to describe in any complete way here. That change was largely spearheaded by TV on the Radio, a band who took ‘70s prog rock, soul, New York punk, noise rock, and instrumental wizardry and melded it into Return to Cookie Mountain, their masterpiece, an album of spiritual campfire reveries for a great cataclysm.

While “Wolf Like Me” and “Province” are the twin peaks of Cookie Mountain, the album’s strength is in how it toes the line between subtlety and big, in-your-face moments, not only song-to-song, but in songs themselves. “A Method” goes from a barbershop quartet singing in a bombed-out building to a percussive gunfight at the end. “Let The Devil In” crescendos from Malone singing quietly over a drumline, till it becomes a full-throated, everything-but-the-kitchen sink bang-and-wail. All the group shouts fall away for the album’s penultimate song, “Tonight,” still the most beautiful ballad in the surprisingly deep TV on the Radio ballad songbook — they’ll never get credit for how good their ballads are —a song that reassures you that despite all the dread, and the deals-with-the-devil that are made earlier on the album, you have one life to live, and trying to let things go and living it is all you really have. “Life deals a measly portion, light on good friends and fortune,” Adebimpe sings over a tambourine and droning guitars, before concluding “Your busted heart will be fine, in its tell tale time, so give it up, tonight.” “I think everyone in the band is a closet optimist,” Adebimpe would later tell Spin in a cover story.

And that might be the ultimate message of Return to Cookie Mountain. While the album was created with guitar pedals and ennui, it resolves that to stay alive and sane in the world, you need to believe in love, believe in your ability to overcome your base instincts, believe in the power of being together with other people, and believe in the power of your art to give you personal liberation. A return to the innocence and fantasy of before might not be possible, but this album has no choice but to try”.

I am going to finish off with a couple of reviews. It is interesting to see how various sites and reviewers approached Return to Cookie Mountain. In their review, this is what The A.V. Club had to say:

“The music feels as loose as ever, almost improvised at times. The opening track, "I Was A Lover," establishes the rules: The song lacks any kind of verse-chorus structure, and it's constructed mostly with a simple beat, washes of distortion that sound like white noise, and vocals by members Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe. It's a bold song whose warm experimentalism will either click with listeners or turn them off.

A straightforward song doesn't arrive until track five, "Wolf Like Me," with its propulsive, steady drumming and melodic chord progression. But TV On The Radio still layers the song with noisy, though not distracting, layers of sound. (The band later repeats the style on "Blues From Down Here.") Throughout, Cookie Mountain rolls like a ship on water, steering into experimental moments, then gently rolling into less outré tracks. Yet even the group's more adventurous passages—like the droney "Tonight"—shouldn't alienate listeners outright; the warm, harmony-laden vocal interplay (which adds David Bowie on one track) always provides something to grasp.

TV On The Radio's 2004 album, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, seemed to lose its way during its later tracks, as if the band was swimming somewhere, but stopped to tread water before arriving. To a certain extent, Cookie Mountain suffers from repetition by the end, even before the three bonus tracks arrive. The noisy guitars of the eight-minute "Wash The Day Away" too closely resemble "I Was A Lover" and "Playhouses," but the song nevertheless feels conclusive. TV On The Radio previously seemed content to roam the open horizon; here, it's intent on exploring the far side. The journey is, once again, enthralling”.

The final review I’ll bring in is from Entertainment Weekly. They went deep and explored the phenomenal Return to Cookie Mountain with real respect and affection:

“The first song on Return to Cookie Mountain, the third album from TV on the Radio, drops the listener into a besieged bunker in the middle of some unnamed war. ”Held up in a luxury suite behind a red barricaded door,” a voice moans. Guitars emit a disquieting end-of-the-world hum until they fog up the senses, then recede. A sad orchestra bleats out funereal chords, and a piano tolls, over and out. The war this Brooklyn quintet describes is more emotional and metaphorical than literal, and it serves as an ominous opener for the album, a dystopian soundtrack in the tradition of art-of-noise classics by David Bowie (Scary Monsters), Radiohead (OK Computer), and Tricky (Pre-Millennium Tension).

These visual artists-turned-sonic architects have always loved to combine dread and drone. Now they’ve got the songs to go with their mastery of things-falling-apart atmosphere. Sometimes they drift into melodrama, but even ripe lines such as ”Hold your heart courageously as we walk into this dark place” are redeemed by the harmonies of Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone. You won’t hear airier, more evocative singing on a rock record this year, from the Beach Boys-like dissonant harmonies on ”A Method” to the eerie counterpoint vocals of ”Hours.”

Studio chemist Andrew Sitek and the rest of the Radio gang turn the agitated introspection of ”Wash the Day Away” into unlikely grandeur, push ”Wolf Like Me” until it surges into a cold-sweat anthem, and construct a hypnotic reverie out of guitar, piano, and muted percussion on ”Province” (with a vocal assist from fan David Bowie).

The savvier arrangements, brimming with unsettling sound effects, put Cookie Mountain several steps ahead of its fine 2004 predecessor, Desperate Youth, Bloody Thirsty Babes. If the voices of Adebimpe and Malone are the album’s soul, the soundscapes-turned-songs are its unshakable foundation”.

If you cannot get the vinyl then listen to Return to Cookie Mountain online. Ahead of its fifteenth anniversary, I wanted to highlight one hell of an album! It still holds so much power and mesmeric quality so many years after its release. I would definitely recommend people investigate…

A stunner from 2006.

FEATURE: C’Mon and Blow It a Kiss Now: Kate Bush’s The Big Sky at Thirty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

C’Mon and Blow It a Kiss Now

Kate Bush’s The Big Sky at Thirty-Five

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I almost overlooked…

a terrific song from Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love. I didn’t forget that it existed; instead, I was unaware that The Big Sky is about to celebrate its thirty-fifth anniversary. Released as the fourth and final single from the album on 28th April, 1986, it reached number thirty-seven in the U.K. singles charts. With some phenomenal musicianship throughout - Kate Bush – vocals, Fairlight CMI, piano, Paddy Bush – didgeridoo, Alan Murphy – guitar, Martin Glover (Youth) – bass guitar, Charlie Morgan – drums, handclaps, Del Palmer – LinnDrum programming, handclaps, Morris Pert – percussion-, I think The Big Sky is the best song from Hounds of Love. The third track on the album, it is a moment of joy and ebullience after Hounds of Love and before Mother Stands for Comfort. The former song has a spirit and energy that definitely gets into the head, though the lyrics are quite heart-aching and emotional. Mother Stands for Comfort is chiller and more anxious. It is a song that ends the first side of the album with a sense of something a little eerie and disturbed. I feel The Big Sky is one of most uplifting and joyful songs in Bush’s catalogue. In terms of the background to the song, the Kate Bush Encyclopaedia gives us some more details:

“Someone sitting looking at the sky, watching the clouds change. I used to do this a lot as a child, just watching the clouds go into different shapes. I think we forget these pleasures as adults. We don't get as much time to enjoy those kinds of things, or think about them; we feel silly about what we used to do naturally. The song is also suggesting the coming of the next flood - how perhaps the "fools on the hills" will be the wise ones. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, Issue 18, 1985)

'The Big Sky' was a song that changed a lot between the first version of it on the demo and the end product on the master tapes. As I mentioned in the earlier magazine, the demos are the masters, in that we now work straight in the 24-track studio when I'm writing the songs; but the structure of this song changed quite a lot. I wanted to steam along, and with the help of musicians such as Alan Murphy on guitar and Youth on bass, we accomplished quite a rock-and-roll feel for the track. Although this song did undergo two different drafts and the aforementioned players changed their arrangements dramatically, this is unusual in the case of most of the songs. (Kate Bush Club newsletter, Issue 18, 1985)

'The Big Sky' gave me terrible trouble, really, just as a song. I mean, you definitely do have relationships with some songs, and we had a lot of trouble getting on together and it was just one of those songs that kept changing - at one point every week - and, um...It was just a matter of trying to pin it down. Because it's not often that I've written a song like that: when you come up with something that can literally take you to so many different tangents, so many different forms of the same song, that you just end up not knowing where you are with it. And, um...I just had to pin it down eventually, and that was a very strange beast. (Tony Myatt Interview, November 1985)”.

Not only is the composition propulsive and full of life; it was a difficult song that took a while to get together. Earlier versions are dramatically different to what we hear on Hounds of Love. The lyrics, in true Kate Bush style, have so many different elements and layers. I think there is fascination, whimsy, oddity and beauty through the song. Lines like ”That cloud, that cloud/Looks like Ireland/C'mon and blow it a kiss now…” evoke a sense of wide-eyed wonder and child-like glee. When she sings “You never understood me/You never really tried”, I wonder whether Bush is singing about the sky or someone in her life. “This cloud, this cloud/Says "Noah,/C'mon and build me an Ark/And if you're coming, jump” is another fantastic image that brings another smile. Bush, as a child and an adult, was clearly fascinated by the sky and its evocative and calming influences: “You want my reply?/What was the question?/I was looking at the Big Sky”. The chorus is mesmeric and has this momentum that builds and builds. I especially love the video. Directed by Bush, it features a cast of wonderful characters that seems like a fever-dream. Some fast and wonderfully insane editing means we get a range of striking images that never really coalesces into a flowing story. Instead, it is this collage that hooks you in and demands repeated viewing. Ahead of its thirty-fifth anniversary on Thursday, I wanted to nod to one of my favourite Kate Bush songs. Whilst it is played on the radio less than bigger Hounds of Love singles like the title track and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), it is a real gem that deserves to be played endlessly. Decades after I first heard the song, it still manages to make me tingle…

AND smile.

FEATURE: Modern Heroines: Part Forty-Four: Nicki Minaj

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern Heroines

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Demarchelier for The New York Times 

Part Forty-Four: Nicki Minaj

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THIS is a slight departure…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Dennis Leupold for Wonderland.

from my usual Modern Heroine features. I normally include female artists who might be quite new but are showing signs that they are icons and hugely inspirational figures of the future. Nicki Minja’s debut album, Pink Friday, came out in 2010; she started recording music quite a way before then. Her fourth studio album, Queen, was released in 2018. There are going to be a lot of people excited to se if Minaj offers up a new album soon (not that there has been an announcement). Despite the fact that she is established and has a legacy already, I think we will see a lot more from Minaj. At thirty-eight, one can argue there are other women at her heels when it comes to the title of ‘Queen of Rap’. That said, I still think she can hold that honour. Despite the fact that there have been some controversies through the years, Minaj’s philanthropy and extraordinary persona have turned into a modern-day heroine who inspires fans and artists alike. I am going to end this feature with a review of Queen – at the very end, I will drop in a career-spanning playlist. Before quoting from two fascinating interviews conducted around the release of Queen – one in 2017, the other in 2018 -, I want to  source from Wikipedia. They provide some useful background, in addition to (stating) why Minaj is such a phenomenon:

“Minaj's third and fourth studio albums, The Pinkprint (2014) and Queen (2018), marked a departure from the dance-pop stylings of her previous records and a return to her hip hop roots. The Pinkprint was critically acclaimed, spawning the single "Anaconda", which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100. Queen featured "Chun Li", which reached number 10 on the Hot 100. In 2019, Minaj released a collaboration with Karol G, "Tusa", which debuted at number one on the "Hot Latin Songs" chart and went on to become the longest-running number-one single on the Argentina Hot 100, having spent 6 months at number one on the chart.

Her feature on the remix of Doja Cat's "Say So" and her collaboration with 6ix9ine, "Trollz", both released in 2020, marked her first and second number-one singles on the Hot 100, respectively, with the latter making her the second female rapper to debut atop the chart after Lauryn Hill in 1998. Minaj is the first female artist of any genre to reach 100 entries on the Hot 100 chart, and is one of the only two female artists across all genres that have more than 100 Hot 100 entries, with the other artist being Taylor Swift.

Cited as one of the most influential and best selling rap artists of all time, and dubbed as the "Queen of Rap" by several media outlets, Minaj has received numerous accolades throughout her career, including six American Music Awards, twelve BET Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Billboard Music Awards, one ASCAP Latin Music Award, and two Billboard Women in Music Awards. She has also been nominated for 10 Grammy Awards. Minaj was the highest-ranked female rapper on Billboard's list of the top artists of the 2010s. In 2016, Minaj was included on the annual Time list of the 100 most influential people in the world”.

I have got into Minaj’s work more than last few years. Although there have been controversies and feuds through her career, one cannot argue against the fact that Minaj is a sensational artist that will go down in the music history books. I do think, as I said, we will see a lot more from a modern-day leader who, in years to come, will be remembered as an icon. I think that she has helped open doors for so many women in Rap.

I want to move onto Queen and some of the interviews that Minaj conducted around the time. I learned a lot whilst researching. In this Wonderland. interview, we learn about some of the influence behind the title, Queen – in addition to why Minaj is so successful and respected:

“Miss Minaj is still here, a good eight years since she made her major label debut with the now classic Pink Friday, and even longer since she first caught the hip hop world’s attention with her witty and wild words, rapping and pushing mixtapes on the block in her native Queens, New York. She has a new album out called, resolutely, Queen, which bears the weight of that title, a tense, intense collection of songs about life as the commander-in- chief. Throughout the album, she raps of triumph and war, most pointedly on first single, “Chun-Li”, in which she slams those who try to make her out to be a villain, and pounds her chest while calling herself King Kong.

Her target on the album mostly remains nameless, though amongst others, Cardi B is an unavoidable spectre, as she is the only woman since Nicki’s reign began to have come close to her level of success. The previously inferred rivalry came to a head when they crossed paths at a New York Fashion Week gala at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan this September. Grainy video appears to show the two women, both impeccable in full-length ball gowns, with the Bronx-born Cardi trying to fight through a crowd of security and bystanders to get to a calm Nicki, eventually throwing a red high-heeled shoe at her Queens counterpart. Though Nicki was unavailable for comment after the altercation, when we spoke about a week before the chaos, she was coy but cutting. “My truth is I don’t have an issue with any woman in rap. If they have an issue with me they can suck my dick,” Nicki says.

She is the most successful female rapper of all the time, a woman who has achieved things that no other woman (or man, really) in hip hop ever has, an MC who has been able to become as successful on the global stage as any more conventional pop singer. By making pop songs (and singing the hooks for them) as gooey sweet as “Super Bass” while maintaining her New York bona fides with gutter tracks like “Beez in the Trap,” she has changed what it can mean to be a female rapper in the industry. Go to karaoke anywhere from Bangkok to Vienna, and you will hear people rapping to Nicki Minaj like they sing along to Katy Perry. She is the woman with the most entries on Billboard’s Hot 100 charts – ever. “When I was first trying to rap, female rappers weren’t out here getting paid a million dollars a show,” she says.

But though “success” is the theme of Queen, fame has never been the most interesting thing about Nicki Minaj. She’s a writer, a real writer, and at a time in which celebrity itself is honoured as an art, Nicki has always made actual art, with a command of language and metre and metaphor that is thrilling at its best, and, even with all of her accolades, often taken for granted. Born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and Tobago in 1982, she grew up in hip hop’s home, New York, where her family settled in Southside Jamaica, Queens. She had a tumultuous childhood, with an alcoholic father who burned down their family home at one point, a trauma she detailed on the track “Autobiography” from her 2008 tape, Sucka Free. But she was ambitious, auditioning to be a student at LaGuardia High School in Manhattan, best known as the school that inspired Fame, and a storied dramatic arts centre that has produced stars like Al Pacino and Eartha Kitt. “I majored in drama and theatre. We had all the freedom in the world to do any and everything we wanted,” she says.

She has put everything in our conversation on shaky ground, which is perhaps, for her, like levelling the playing field, since that seems to just be the atmosphere in her world. And the strategy, if something this instinctive can be called a strategy, works, at least on me in this conversation: has Nicki just been misunderstood all this time, a Joan of Arc that we’ve thrown into the bonfire? “I’m not going to change myself. People have to loosen the fuck up,” she says. For good and for bad, Nicki has never been afraid of controversy, sometimes with joyful effect and sometimes not. The night before we speak, she had a wardrobe malfunction which exposed her breasts live on stage, and to me, she admirably shrugs it off by saying, “Everyone has already seen my nipples.” But she can also be truly frustrating, like with her recent duet with New York rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine, who pled guilty “to the use of a child in a sexual performance” in 2015 relating to a case involving a girl of 13 years-old. When discussing criticism of their collaboration on Queen Radio, she basically called the allegations fake news: “When I know somebody there’s nothing you can tell me about them.”

 PHOTO CREDIT: Dennis Leupold for Wonderland.  

Beneath the current chaos, it is wise to remember that there is real pathos in Nicki Minaj – she has proven again and again that she is a sensitive, creative, even vulnerable soul, no matter her current level of outrageousness. I ask her about a moment in 2015, when she read on stage at a benefit concert the famous poem “Still I Rise”, by Maya Angelou, about what it means to be a black woman in the face of all the shit the world dishes out. “Does my sassiness upset you?” Angelou asks in the poem at one point. “I didn’t realise even until I was up there reading it how much it resonated with me personally,” she says. “That poem reminded me that I will always come out on top. When your heart and your passion are in the right place, you come out on top. I know who I am.” She giggles sweetly and says she has a boyfriend now, though she won’t say much about him, just calls him “new boy” and says that pregnancy, something she has long publicly wished for herself, is on the horizon, too. “I’ve got to get married first then I’ll have a child. I might be closer than people think actually,” she trolls again but playfully so. “I love children. I’m not going to put that off for much longer”.

I look at some of the women in Rap and Hip-Hop today – like Cardi B and Bree Runway -, and they definitely owe a nod and debt to a trailblazer of the game. Before wrapping things up by bringing in a review of Queen, there is a 2017 interview from The New York Times that makes for illuminating and interesting reading:

“THROUGHOUT HER CAREER, Minaj has demonstrated a discipline and intelligence that is rare among other pop stars of her generation. She has what she describes to me as “the X-factor, which is just the thing you can’t put into words.” Onika Tanya Maraj was born in Saint James, Trinidad and Tobago, in 1982, and immigrated to Queens, N.Y., with her family at the age of 5. She began her music career singing with various rappers and working odd jobs. When she waitressed, she wrote lyrics constantly on the notepad she used to take orders. There is genuine pleasure in her voice as she reminisces about this. “I would take people’s order and then a rap might come to me just by what they’re wearing or what they said or did, and I would go in the kitchen and write it down, put it in the back of my little thing or my apron, and by the time I was done I would have all of these sheets of paper thrown around everywhere with raps.”

Since then, her career has been a checklist of milestones. In 2009, she was the first woman artist signed to Young Money, the label founded by Lil Wayne. Three mixtapes and three studio albums — “Pink Friday” in 2010, “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” in 2012 and “The Pink Print” in 2014 — followed, and in March 2017, Minaj surpassed Aretha Franklin for the most appearances (76) by a woman on the Billboard Hot 100, a record Franklin had held for almost 40 years. She is the rare hip-hop artist who has successfully and sustainably crossed over into pop music. Minaj, M.I.A. and Madonna performed their single, “Give Me All Your Luvin,” at the 2012 Super Bowl. Days later she performed solo at the Grammy Awards. Her dance song “Starships” went platinum six times over. She even collaborated with Ariana Grande on 2016’s song “Side to Side,” and while the pairing was unexpected given Grande’s previously wholesome image, the song went triple platinum. Minaj does not temper her swagger or sexuality. Sometimes, when I am daydreaming, I marvel at the phrases “dick bicycle” and “If you wanna ménage I got a tricycle” from “Side to Side,” which are so damn clever and funny and vulgar but also accurate as hell for a song Grande once described as being “about riding leading to soreness”.

MINAJ’S PUBLIC IMAGE and personas are carefully curated. The tabloids have assiduously tracked her professional and personal lives and I restrain myself from asking about her ex Safaree Samuels, who appears on “Love & Hip Hop,” a reality television series about the music industry, and if she would ever give Drake a shot. (I restrain myself greatly.) I don’t know that anyone but her inner circle knows who Nicki Minaj really is.

This elusiveness is compounded by her fascinating catalog of performative alter egos, including Harajuku Barbie (a fashionista obsessed with pink and Minaj’s longest-running persona), Nicki Teresa (known as “The Healer”) and the sexually explicit Nicki Lewinsky — there is even a male persona, Roman Zolanski, a slightly exaggerated version of Minaj herself. She has a vocal range that can go from a high-pitched twittering to a growl in a few bars. In both music and regular conversation, she enjoys playing with accents, offering up valley girl-speak or island patois. During our time together, she switched to a British accent a couple of times and then effortlessly returned to her normal voice, a slightly affectless cadence that recalls her Queens upbringing. In public, she often wears dramatic makeup, dramatic outfits and a rainbow of dramatic wigs, which is to say she performs both on- and offstage. There is no point during our conversation where Minaj demonstrates anything but absolute self-awareness. She pauses briefly before she answers my questions, as if calculating every possible outcome to everything she says. By the end of the interview, I am impressed by her fierce intelligence.

At this point in her career, Minaj is able to reconcile, somewhat, her struggles. “I kind of love that I’ve had to go through so many hurdles to get where I am because I feel like I deserve it.” She is frank about what she has been up against. “I had so much going against me in the beginning: being black, being a woman, being a female rapper. No matter how many times I get on a track with everyone’s favorite M.C. and hold my own, the culture never seems to want to give me my props as an M.C., as a lyricist, as a writer. I got to prove myself a hundred times, whereas the guys that came in around the same time as I did, they were given the titles so much quicker without anybody second-guessing”.

Just before closing, The Independent were full of praise when reviewing Queen. Despite the fact she collaborates with a few artists on the album, it is her voice and talent that shines the brightest:

“Queen starts off with “Ganja Burns” and the sweet contrast of her singing voice against her cutting bars, flexing lyrical muscles against a tropical beat. She raps: “They done went to witch doctors to bury the Barbie”, a reference to the supposed hate train that is attempting to stall her career. She is even more direct when she raps “Unlike a lot of these hoes whether wack or lit, At least I can say I wrote every rap I spit” - surely a swipe at Cardi B who has been criticised for her reported use of ghostwriters.

“Majesty”, featuring Eminem and Labrinth, fails to live up to the imposing title of the album; Eminem asserts on his super fast verse “Let me keep it one hundred, two things shouldn't be your themes of discussion. The queen and her husband, last thing you're gonna wanna be is our subjects.” On paper, “Majesty” should be a thrilling collaboration but in fact, it is one of the few misses of the album, running for too long and lacking a cohesiveness between its three artists.

Hard as she may be, she still shows fans her vulnerable side: “Bed”, the second single released from the album, sees her team up with pop princess Ariana Grande for a seductive, playful number while “Thought I Knew You” unites her with The Weeknd. The two play the part of warring lovers who trade beautifully harmed accusations against each other. “Run and Hide” possesses an eerie production that plays out as Minaj opens up about her trust issues”.

Even though it has been a few years since Nicki Minaj released Queen into the world, she is still busy in the world and, very soon, I am sure we will hear something in the way of plans and new music. Not only is she the modern Queen of Rap; I feel that, in years to come when we look back on the women who broke boundaries and paved the way in the field, Minaj’s name will come to mind. Even if you are not a massive fan of her work, one has to appreciate all that she has achieved and why so many look up to her. Taking that into consideration, it is hard to overlook such a…

HUGELY important artist.

FEATURE: Sacrilege? A Masterpiece? A Segue? A Much-Needed Revisit? Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut at Ten

FEATURE:

 

 

Sacrilege? A Masterpiece? A Segue? A Much-Needed Revisit?

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut at Ten

___________

I am doing a few features about…

Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut, as it turns ten on 16th May. Questions were asked when Bush announced the release of the album. As I have said in previous features, it was exciting that we got the news that she would be putting out an album in 2011 – as it turned out, we would have two that year! Bush had not reworked older songs in such an extensive way prior to 2011. Taking songs from The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993) and giving them a new lease of life was always going to draw discussion. I felt that her re-recorded vocal for Wuthering Heights – which was included on the 1986 greatest hits album, The Whole Story – was unnecessary, in the sense that the original is as good as it gets! Whilst The Red Shoes did not score a lot of acclaim in 1993, I think that a lot of people hold the album close to their heart. It is definitely an album that deserves some new attention. The Sensual World was celebrated in 1989 and it remains one of her best-loved albums. How would people react to the news that The Sensual World would be retitled Flower of the Mountain and include lines from James Joyce’s Ulysses? Bush originally asked for permission in the Eighties when she'd wrote the original. The Joyce estate refused to release the words.. She kept the backing track but came back to the lyrics for a track that would become The Sensual World.

On Director's Cut, Bush wanted to include the original version of the song. She contacted the Joyce Estate again. This time, they gave permission. I think that was a big reason for doing Director’s Cut in the first place. Some feel that the original is perfect so, even if you do get access to some classic literature, can it match the mood and beauty of the version on The Sensual World? How about updating the beloved Deeper Understanding and This Woman’s Work (both from The Sensual World)? If people did not like the new versions then the originals are always available! I think some critics felt that Director’s Cut was needless, in the sense the original albums and songs were great and should remain untouched. Others felt that some of the reworkings are inferior to the originals. I am going to bring in a couple of reviews for Director’s Cut in order to give you a sense of what critics were saying in 2011. I think that Director’s Cut was a way for Bush to look back at songs that, perhaps, were a little overdone and lacked necessary soul. All the lead vocals on Director's Cut and some of the backing vocals were  entirely re-recorded. Rather than keep the original compositions, the drum were reworked and re-recorded. A few of the tracks featured the legendary Steve Gadd. Danny Thompson appeared on bass; Mica Paris provides some great backing vocals.

Three songs on the album were completely re-recorded: This Woman's Work, Rubberband Girl and Moments of Pleasure. Two of those songs – This Woman’s Work and Moments of Pleasure – hold a very special place in fans’ hearts. I don’t think it was sacrilegious or wrong for Bush to return to some of her older tracks. They are hers to begin with, and I can appreciate that she had a chance to improve some songs that she was not completely happy with. As a new collection of songs, 50 Words for Snow, arrived in the winter of 2011, it was like Bush was clearing the way for new material – rectifying some wrongs and seeing to an important task before she could move on. I feel some of the new versions are stunning. I love how her voice sounds on Flower of the Mountain, Moments of Pleasure and This Woman’s Work. Even though Bush’s voice is different and deeper than it was in 1989 and 1993, I feel there is a new gravitas and weight that she gives to these songs. I like the fact that she took these tracks, stripped them back and then recomposed them. I think the vocals take centre stage and there is very little in the way of clutter and polish. You can hear that Bush holds affection for her previous work - she is not discarding the originals and casting them aside. Instead, she wanted to give them new respect and consideration.

 

I think the best way to approach Director’s Cut is as a completely new album – which, technically, it is! Though I have ranked my favourite five reversions, I am not someone who compares the old and new versions and critiques them heavily. My idea behind providing a ranking was to show that, actually, it was a great idea to come back to these songs! Bush really adds something new. In subtracting and taking away layers, she has given the songs room to breathe. In any case, just hearing Kate Bush sing is reason enough to love Director’s Cut! In her fifties (as she was then), she had not lost any of her power and beauty. Whilst she may not have the same vocal sound as she did years ago, her voice sounds amazing and has this smoky and deeper tone which is really pleasing. It was quite brave in a way to take on album like Director’s Cut, knowing that there would be objectionable corners and dissent from some fans and media outlets. Even though I would not place the album in my top-five of hers, I have been listening to it a lot in the run-up to its tenth anniversary and finding new things to love. It does not sound incongruous or strange placing tracks from two different albums together, as Bush has reworked them and it sounds like a complete body of work; a new album that is intended to flow and sound different. I also think that many people approached the original albums and discovered songs that they may have been unfamiliar with beforehand.

It would have been challenging following up the double album of Aerial (2005). That album came twelve years after The Red Shoes. After quite a gap, there would have been a desire and demand for another album quite soon after Aerial. I guess some people were wondering whether Bush would follow up Aerial. Happily, she was busy putting together two new, very different, albums. Rather than Director’s Cut being a passage or segue between Aerial and 50 Words for Snow, it was an important project where you can really hear and feel Bush working hard (and treating it as a completely fresh album). Whilst not every critics and fan was going to be entirely happy with the resultant Director’s Cut, it scored some very positive reviews. I will come to one of them very soon. Before that, I want to introduce sections from a Pitchfork review:

“What Bush has done on Director's Cut, put simply, is to strip the 80s from these songs. (That goes for the Red Shoes material, too, even though the album was released in the 90s.) The gigantic drums and digital polish, what both dated the music instantly and gave it that stark contrast between accessibility and the deeply personal, have been replaced with less showy rhythm tracks, and a warmer, more intimate atmosphere. On the original "The Sensual World", the elements drawn from Celtic folk felt like striking intrusions in an all-digital world. Renamed "Flower of the Mountain" here, those rustic elements no longer feel quite so out of place, whether you found the original an intriguing hybrid or an awkward merger of old and new.

The songs still don't have the feel of a band playing together, but they have a new unity, even the synthetic elements part of a lovingly handcrafted sound. "The Red Shoes", another Celtic-inflected standout, with one of Bush's wildest performances, gains a new intensity precisely because the instruments no longer feel so sterile. But not every element of this patchwork has been pieced together perfectly. The eerie keyboard textures on "And So Love Is", the kind of sour 80s kitsch beloved by Gang Gang Dance, seem surprisingly natural in this new environment. But Eric Clapton's bluesy wanking sounds even more out of place now, stadium pop bluster in a homemade world. It produces tension for sure, but the wrong sort.

It's the singing that just as often startles, though. Bush is less show-offy on Director's Cut than any of her pre-hiatus albums. For a woman known for her range, and her fearlessness at using that range, her performances are always tempered and often low-key here. As with so many songs on Director's Cut, "This Woman's Work" becomes almost shocking in its difference, not least because it's transformed from one of Bush's biggest showstoppers into something far more mournful, the singer restraining herself as if almost but not quite broken by love. The backing track is just as minimal, but deeper, the instrumental textures less brittle. A hushed, lonely Bush sounds as if she's drifting through a vast, lonely space. But instead of the original's childlike verses surging to grown-ass-woman longing on the choruses, Bush is more evenly paced here, communicating deep regret more through a bereft tone than diva theatrics. It's desolate and intimate, like much of Director's Cut, where the original's bravura made it feel both tender and defiant, like much of Bush's early work.

Even with an older and more reserved Bush occasionally putting the brakes on that melodrama, these reworked songs don't totally relinquish that unashamed grandiosity that makes Bush such a love-hate proposition. Director's Cut provides a unique opportunity to do an A/B comparison between a late-career artist and her younger self. But which you'll prefer likely depends on whether you favor a more assured artist working within her strengths, or a brash younger artist delighting in the defying of pop conventions”.

It is impressive how Bush managed to take a selection of songs from two previous albums and unite them into a cohesive and natural new whole. Other artists might have made the album sound inconsistent or poorly structured. Instead, Director’s Cut sounds like Bush has put The Sensual World and The Red Shoes out of her head and started from scratch. In this review from The Independent, Andy Gill discusses Bush’s new vocal elements and tones:

“Despite its being comprised of reworked versions of songs that originally appeared around two decades ago, Kate Bush regards her Director's Cut as a new album in and of itself.

And she's right to: There's a consistency and homogeneity about the 11 tracks (seven from The Red Shoes, four from The Sensual World) which echoes her work on Aerial, and which lends the project a character entirely its own.

This is largely due to her re-doing all the lead vocals, which has imposed a warmer, more reflective tone on proceedings. The most striking change is on the closing "Rubberband Girl", where she sounds oddly muffled: the original stratospheric yelps are gone, along with Jeff Beck's flashy guitar, replaced by an understated harmonica groove that aims for more hypnotic impact – as too does "The Red Shoes" itself, whose mesmeric mandola groove is nudged along by softly pulsing drums. Ironically, though less flamboyantly abandoned, Kate's vocals here better evoke the sense of possession in the dance.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional image for Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush 

All the new versions are longer than the originals, some considerably: completely re-recorded, "This Woman's Work" has almost doubled in size in this new, more restrained form. Originally written for the film She's Having a Baby, and frequently used in TV dramas ever since, this, ethereal re-imagining untethers the song from those associations, allowing it to float free again. A similarly effective renovation has been done to "The Sensual World", here retitled "Flower of the Mountain": denied the use of Molly Bloom's soliloquy from Ulysses in the original, Bush was this time granted permission by James Joyce's estate, and the effect is remarkable. With her voice up close and intimate, the undulating repetitions are hypnotically gripping, as Uillean pipes dance with abandon about the gently puttering groove, caressed with string-pad synths: yes, yes! It's the most genuinely sensual music you'll hear this year.

Elsewhere, the computer love song "Deeper Understanding" profits from a less brittle, more lovingly cossetting arrangement, while the balance between Eric Clapton's guitar and the fluting keyboards and backing vocals of "And So Is Love" seems much more subtly resolved in this new incarnation. That song's underlying message ("We let it in, we give it out/ And in the end, what's it all about?/ It must be love") could stand as the motif for the album as a whole, which constitutes the latest of Kate Bush's series of investigations of the nature of love, both sexual and spiritual.

It's her forte, and it's a theme which she has learned to express in music as much as in lyrics. Even when suddenly blurting out "Don't want your bullshit, just want your sexuality" in "The Song of Solomon", the attention to texture in the arrangement of harp, piano, murmuring synth and Bulgarian backing vocal creates a delicate web strong enough to carry her demand without snapping the song in two. That combination of gentle touch and toughness is a rare gift indeed”.

Ahead of the tenth anniversary of Director’s Cut, I wanted to do a series of features that approaches the album in different ways. Few of us would have known that, so soon after giving us a new album, Bush would be readying another for release in the form of 50 Words for Snow. It is testament to her hard work and organisation that she not only released two albums in 2011; she also managed to make them sound very different - and there was no sense of overlap between them. I am glad that Bush recorded Director’s Cut. It is a rare chance to see these familiar and older tracks approached and recorded…

IN a whole new light.

FEATURE: One for the Record Collection! Essential May Releases

FEATURE:

 

 

One for the Record Collection!

IN THIS ILLUSTRATION: St. Vincent releases her sixth solo studio album, Daddy’s Home, via Loma Vista on 14th May/ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: openchested 

Essential May Releases

___________

IT is that time of the month where I…

look forward and see which albums are arriving next month. May is a busy one for exciting albums. I am writing this on 14th April so, as I say, things can change between now and the time that this feature comes out (25th April). Let’s hope that there are no delays and rescheduled release dates, as the records due next month are ones you will want to get. I am chiselling down to the essential releases in May. 7th May is the first week for new releases. Squid’s Bright Green Field is one you will want to order. It is a much-anticipated debut album from one of Britain’s hottest young bands. This is what Rough Trade say about the album:

“At last the debut album from Squid and it's everything you wished for and more. Bright Green Field is produced by Dan Carey and released via Warp Records. It's an album of towering scope and ambition, it is deeply considered, paced and intricately constructed. With all band members playing such a vital and equal role, this album is very much the product of five heads operating as one. Some bands might be tempted to include previous singles on their debut - and the band already released two more in 2020 via ‘Sludge’ and ‘Broadcaster’ - but instead Bright Green Field is completely new.

This sense of limitlessness and perpetual forward motion is one of the key ingredients that makes Squid so loved by fans and critics alike, from BBC Radio 6 Music who have A-Listed previous singles, ‘Houseplants’, ‘The Cleaner’ and ‘Match Bet’ to publications such as, The Guardian, NME, The Face, The Quietus and countless others.

Bright Green Field features field recordings of ringing church bells, tooting bees, microphones swinging from the ceiling orbiting a room of guitar amps, a distorted choir of 30 voices as well as a horn and string ensemble featuring the likes of, Emma-Jean Thackray and Lewis Evans from Black Country, New Road. Whilst the album title conjures up imagery of pastoral England, in reality, it’s something of a decoy that captures the band’s fondness for paradox and juxtaposition. Within the geography of Bright Green Field lies monolithic concrete buildings and dystopian visions plucked from imagined cities. Squid’s music - be it agitated and discordant or groove-locked and flowing - has often been a reflection of the tumultuous world we live in and this continues that to some extent”.

I will try not to miss too many great albums out due next month. You can look at the full list of albums out next month, as it is a very packed time! The next album from 7th May that is worthy of investigation is Weezer’s Van Weezer. It is yet another album from the prolific U.S. legends. If you are a fan of Weezer, then you will want to pre-order a copy of Van Weezer. It promises to be one of their most interesting releases for years:

“Van Weezer is the 14th studio album from Weezer. The inspiration for this album derives from the deepest roots of Weezer - metal! What has metal got to do with Weezer, you ask? In his earliest years, Rivers was a huge Kiss fan; Brian was a big Black Sabbath fan; Pat worshipped at the altar of Van Halen and Rush; Scott loved Slayer and Metallica. The last time this vein of harder rock was mined by Weezer was on their much-loved 2002 album Maladroit; Van Weezer is primed to take that album's sonics many steps further courtesy of producer Suzy Shinn”.

Before moving onto the next album in May you need to order, I want to bring in a recent interview from The Forty-Five. The band’s lead, River Cuomo, talked to them about their current album, OK Human – they also looked ahead to Van Weezer:

“Their greed is matched only by Cuomo’s output. On January 29, Weezer released ‘OK Human’, an album of introspective lyrics soundtracked with a 38-piece orchestra. Drawing on classical inspirations, it’s an ambitious project with personal touches. Its lyrics, which deal precisely with being alone, are very 2020 – something Cuomo says is pure coincidence. “Most of the lyrics were written during 2018. Maybe 10% was written during the lockdown,” he tells me. Weezer started putting ‘OK Human’ together in 2018, recording the strings at Abbey Road. Just as they were finishing, however, they got booked onto Hella Mega. “We realised, we just made this classical-influenced album with strings and orchestra and piano. If we’re going to put that out and go on tour with Green Day, that just doesn’t make sense.”

They put ‘OK Human’ on hold and immediately started work on ‘Van Weezer’, wanting to “make a real stadium rock album with shredding guitars and blow those bands off the stage”. After putting the finishing touches on ‘Van Weezer’, however, everything was cancelled – making a big stadium record redundant. “We realised we just made the worst possible album for a lockdown. We couldn’t even play together as a band to promote that album!” he laughs. They went back into the studio to finish up ‘OK Human’, releasing it to comments that it was perfect for the moment. “It’s weird for me because everyone is telling us they think the album was written during the lockdown for the lockdown because they really relate to it, the way they have to live now, but that’s how I am all the time! That’s how I feel all the time.”

It’s clearly working for him: 14 albums down, and Weezer are far from done. In May, they will finally release ‘Van Weezer’, but despite releasing two full records and over 2600 demos in the span of a year, they have the next phase planned. “We’re working on a four-album set right now. I think they’re going to be eight songs a piece. They’re called Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter and together they’re called Weezer Seasons,” he says, telling me that the first one will drop on the first day of spring 2022. On top of that, he’s working on a movie musical called Buddha Superstar with the Broadway producer responsible for the Green Day musical. “It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long. I think I just needed somebody else to come along and really encourage me,” he says”.

14th May offers five albums that people need reserve some pennies for. Juliana Hatfield’s Blood is worth seeking out. Go and pre-order Blood, as it promises to be a fascinating album from a hugely prolific songwriter:

“Over the past four years, Juliana Hatfield has kept fans engaged and intrigued as she oscillates between impassioned original releases (Pussycat, Weird) and inspired covers collections (Juliana Hatfield Sings Olivia Newton-John, Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police). This year she returns with her latest album of originals, Blood, out May 14, 2021.

Her 19th solo studio album takes a deep dive into the dark side with a lens on modern human psychology and behaviour. “I think these songs are a reaction to how seriously and negatively a lot of people have been affected by the past four years,” says Juliana. “But it’s fun, musically. There’s a lot of playing around. I didn’t really have a plan when I started this project.”

With the pandemic limiting studio safety and availability, Juliana took the opportunity to learn to record at her Massachusetts home with recent collaborator Jed Davis assisting from Connecticut. “Usually I work in a studio,” explains Juliana. “I did more than half the work in my room—with Jed helping me to troubleshoot the technology, and helping with building and arranging some of the songs--and then I finished up with additional overdubs and mixing with engineer James Bridges at Q Division Studios in Somerville, MA.”

The first single, “Mouthful of Blood”, is gritty and abrasive yet groovy and melodic. That duality is represented throughout Blood. It is eminently hummable and thought-provoking. Sophisticated but catchy. Challenging but danceable.

“I always love coming up with melodies and then trying to fit words into them—it’s like doing a puzzle,” says Juliana. “And I always find places to use the Mellotron flutes and strings, on every album, because those sounds are so beautiful to me. They are a nice counterpoint to the damaged lyrical content”.

Moving on, and Paul Weller’s Fat Pop (Volume 1) is another treat. Out on 14th May, this is an album that you should go and pre-order. I am a big fan of Paul Weller, so I will be sure to check out his upcoming album from the master:

“We may be cursed to be in the midst a global pandemic, buffeted by all of its stresses and pain. But everyone knows that art provides succour, that music is the most reliable balm. And for many there is further significant comfort to be drawn from the knowledge that Paul Weller is in the midst of an unbelievably prolific purple patch. Paul Weller will not let us down when we need him most.

Paul Weller releases his 16th solo album since his self-titled debut in 1992, which comes in just under twelve months following June 2020’s magnificent, chart-topping On Sunset. It’s not hyperbole to state that this new album, titled Fat Pop (Volume 1), is among his most compelling collections. It’s an absolute scorcher.

During spring last year, after his tour dates were postponed, Paul Weller needed something else to focus on. With many ideas for new songs stored on his phone, Paul started to record them on his own with just vocals, piano and guitar which he’d send to his core band members (drummer Ben Gordelier, Steve Cradock on guitar and bassist Andy Crofts) to add their parts. Despite it being strange not being together, it kept the wheels rolling and sanity prevailing. The band reconvened at Weller’s Black Barn studio in Surrey when restrictions were lifted to finish the work with the shape of the album becoming clear to all.

Fat Pop (Volume 1) – Paul adding the “Volume 1” to keep options open for a second volume in the future - is a diverse selection of sounds. No one style dominates. There’s the synth-heavy, future-wave strut of Cosmic Fringes, the stately balladeering of Still Glides The Stream (co-written with Steve Cradock), the chunky percussive groove of Moving Canvas (a tribute to Iggy Pop no less), and the kind of dramatic immediate pop symphonies on Failed, True and Shades of Blue with which Paul Weller has hooked in generation after generation of devotee.

As ever, Fat Pop, sees a number of guests contributing including Lia Metcalfe, the young Liverpudlian singer with The Mysterines who combines her tremendous vocal as well as a song writing credit to True. Andy Fairweather Low adds his distinctive vocals to superfly strutting Testify and Paul’s daughter Leah co-wrote and features on the classic 3 minute pop kitchen sink drama Shades Of Blue which will be the first single taken from the album. Hannah Peel is back in the fray adding her classic string scores to Cobweb Connections and Still Glides The Stream”.

Another great album out that week is Sons of Kemet’s Black to the Future. They are such a thrilling and original act that are hard to categorise or ignore! They were nominated for a Mercury Prize in 2018 and are one of the most exceptional Jazz groups in the world. If you have avoided the genre before, go and get Black to the Future, as it is an album that you will love:

“Sons of Kemet returns in 2021 with their new album Black To The Future. The follow up to 2018’s Mercury Prize nominated breakout release Your Queen Is A Reptile. This release finds the UK-based quartet at their most dynamic – showcasing harmonically elegant arrangements and compositions, coupled with fierce, driving material that will be familiar to initiated fans.

Led by celebrated saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Shabaka Hutchings, Sons of Kemet are a political, U.K.-based modern jazz supergroup comprised of musicians from across the globe.

Their sound combines modal and free jazz, African rhythms and modes, and Caribbean dub and Middle Eastern timbres, as evidenced by 2018's internationally renowned Your Queen is a Reptile.

This is their 4th record, and 2nd on Impulse! Compared with Your Queen is a Reptile, this album has featured vocalists and more of an emphasis on fuller compositions and arrangements. Guest artists include Kojey Radical, Moor Mother, Angel Bat Dawid, Joshua Idehen, D Double E”.

Perhaps the biggest album out in May arrives from St. Vincent. St. Her Daddy's Home album is one that is a must-pre-order. Annie Clark is one of the most inventive and consistently brilliant artists in the world. In this recent interview with The Forty-Five, we learn more about the album:

“Daddy’s Home‘ began in New York at Electric Lady studios before COVID hit and was finished in her studio in LA. She worked on it with “my friend Jack” [Jack Antonoff, producer for Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Taylor Swift]. Antonoff and Clark worked on ‘Masseduction’ and found a winning formula, pushing Clark’s guitar-orientated electronic universe to its poppiest maximum, without compromising her idiosyncrasies. “We’re simpatico. He’s a dream,” she says. “He played the hell outta instruments on this record. He’s crushing it on drums, crushing it on Wurlitzer.” The pair let loose. They began with ‘The Holiday Party’, one of the warmest tracks Clark’s ever written. It’s as inviting as a winter fireplace, stoked by soulful horns, acoustic guitar and backing singers. “Every time they sang something I’d say, ‘Yeah but can you do it sleazier? Make your voice sound like you’ve been up for three days.” Clark speaks of an unspoken understanding with Antonoff as regards the vibe: “Familiar sounds. The opposite of my hands coming out of the speaker to choke you till you like it. This is not submission. Just inviting. I can tell a story in a different way.”

The entire record is familiar, giving the listener the satisfaction that they’ve heard the songs before but can’t quite place them. It’s a satisfying accompaniment to a pandemic that encouraged nostalgic listening. Clark was nostalgic too. She reverted to records she enjoyed with her father: Stevie Wonder’s catalogue from the 1970s (‘Songs In The Key Of Life’, ‘Innervisions’, ‘Talking Book’) and Steely Dan. “Not to be the dude at the record store but it’s specifically post-flower child idealism of the ’60s,” she explains. “It’s when it flipped into nihilism, which I much prefer. Pre disco, pre punk. That music is in me in a deep way. It’s in my ears”.

Check out the The Black Keys’ official website, as their Blues covers album, Delta Kream, sounds really interesting (you can also pre-order it here). This is what Brooklyn Vegan had to say:

“Delta Kream (due May 14), is said to call back to the band's roots, placing emphasis on the sounds, styles, and artists that have played a key role in helping mold their sound. As described via the fan club website, it "honors [the] music of Mississippi Hill Country Blues, R.L. Burnside & Junior Kimbrough, among others who have influenced The Black Keys." Some of the other artists featured include other icons of the American country blues genre, including Ranie Burnette, "Mississippi" Fred McDowell, and Joseph Lee Williams — you can view the full tracklist and cover art below.

To get a taste of what the record might sound like, you can listen to the first single, "Crawling Kingsnake," a cover of John Lee Hooker's 1941 blues track, "Crawlin' King Snake," over at the fan club website (it's free to register). Earlier this week, the band tweeted out a link to John Lee Hooker's version of the track, a discreet teaser hinting at this cover and the forthcoming album. The record will be available for pre-order beginning Thursday, April 15”.

I will move on to 21st May. Gary Numan’s Intruder is an album from that week I would advise people to pre-order. Here is a bit more information from one of Britain’s very finest:

“Intruder is the 21st solo album from the iconic and influential Gary Numan. Intruder sees Gary reunite with producer Ade Fenton, who previously produced four critically acclaimed albums for Numan: Jagged, Dead Son Rising, Splinter and Savage.

With a career that has spanned nearly four decades, his approach to electronic music remains an inspiration to artists across genres and eras, from stadium goliaths such as Depeche Mode, Prince and Nine Inch Nails to alternative heroes such as Beck, Damon Albarn and Marilyn Manson. Even Kanye West owes him a debt, and David Bowie once credited him with “writing two of the finest songs” in British music.

Gary has had 23 top 40 singles and 15 top 40 albums in the UK. The British electro pioneer was also awarded the Inspiration Award for songwriting and composition at the Ivor Novellos in 2017”.

One album that I very much looking forward to is VWETO II. I think that it is only available digitally - but you will definitely not want to overlook this gem from a truly remarkable artist that puts out such exceptional and rich musical waves:

“VWETO III is intended for movement. It’s to be played when you birth yourself back outside after a long introspective period to get the things you need. It intends for you to be your own superhero and wants to be your theme for power.” Georgia Anne Muldrow”.

Gruff Rhys’ Seeking New Gods is also out on 21st May. I love Rhys’ work so, if you want some musical goodness, you will want to pre-order his upcoming album. As with every Gruff Rhys album, it is going to be packed with phenomenal moments:

“Gruff Rhy releases his new album Seeking New Gods through Rough Trade Records. This is Gruff’s seventh solo album. Seeking New Gods was recorded following a US tour with his band and mixed in LA with superstar producer Mario C (Beastie Boys).

The album concept was originally driven to be the biography of a mountain, Mount Paektu (an East Asian active volcano). However, as Gruff’s writing began to reflect on the inhuman timescale of a peak’s existence and the intimate features that bring it to mythological life, both the songs and the mountain became more and more personal.

“The album is about people and the civilisations, and the spaces people inhabit over periods of time. How people come and go but the geology sticks around and changes more slowly. I think it’s about memory and time,” he suggests of Seeking New Gods’ meaning. “It’s still a biography of a mountain, but now it’s a Mount Paektu of the mind. You won’t learn much about the real mountain from listening to this record but you will feel something, hopefully.”- Gruff Rhys”.

Another cracking album due on 21st May is Billie Marten’s Flora Fauna. The third album from the Yorkshire-born songwriter, I am a huge fan of her work. Make sure that you pre-order her beautiful new album. It is promising to be one of this year’s best and most interesting releases:

“Flora Fauna is the third album from Billie Marten. Raised in the rolling hills of North Yorkshire on artists such as Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Joan Armatrading, and Kate Bush, Marten’s critically acclaimed debut album Writing of Blues and Yellows, was released in 2016 when she was still just 17, while its follow-up Feeding Seahorses By Hand was similarly lauded in 2019 (# 53 in UK album chart).

Flora Fauna, was recorded with Rich Cooper in London. Marten’s new material blends those signature hushed, resonant vocals with a rapid pulse and rich instrumentation, her inspirations now stretching from krautrockers Can, to Broadcast, Arthur Russell, and Fiona Apple.

Built on the minimalist acoustic folk foundations she made a name for herself with, Flora Fauna is a more mature, embodied album fostered around a strong backbone of bass and rhythm. Shedding the timidity of previous work in favour of a more urgent sound, the songs mark a period of personal independence for Marten as she learned to nurture herself and break free from toxic relationships - and a big part of that was returning to nature”.

Very recently, Pop sensation Olivia Rodrigo announced her debut album, Sour. After the runaway success of her single, drivers licence, many people will be keen to hear what she has to offer. Pre-order a copy from her website. Before the arrival of Sour was announced, Rodrigo spoke with Ben Barna from Interview Magazine. She was asked about the smash single and whether she feels, as such a young artist, there is room for growth and improvement:

“BARNA: It used to be that musicians weren’t able to see how many people were listening to their music in real time. What’s your relationship to the numbers?

RODRIGO: It’s a perk of the 21st century. I looked at them a lot, maybe the first week, just in total disbelief. I don’t really look at them anymore just because I cannot wrap my head around numbers like that. It’s really strange to put out music in quarantine, because I’ve actually never played a show with my own music. I’ve never met the people that are listening to the songs. So it’s just solely on social media and stuff, and sometimes that can be a weird world that feels disconnected from reality. But I hear stories. One of my friends said that yesterday she was on Melrose Avenue in L.A. and three cars pulled up next to each other and they were all blasting “Drivers License” at the same time and they just all turned it up and sang it at the same time. It’s stories like that where it’s real people listening to it that absolutely astonishes me.

BARNA: Do you fantasize about an alternate reality where “Drivers License” came out during a normal time?

RODRIGO: That’s a great question. I’ve never played a show with my own music in my life, so I’m really excited to do that one of these days. But if I could go back, I don’t think I’d change a thing. Honestly, quarantine probably contributed to its success. Lots of people are stuck in their houses, and, obviously, it’s been a hard, depressing, anxious time for all of us. I think this song is a sort of catharsis for a lot of people.

BARNA: You’re only 18 years old and you obviously have room to grow as an artist. Do you know which areas you need to improve in?

RODRIGO: I feel like I’m constantly growing. I’ll be a developing artist until I’m 85. I think the best songwriters are like that. I always listen to my songs and try to think of ways I can strengthen them. But yeah, I just turned 18. I truly don’t really know who I totally am yet. I don’t know the way I like to dress. I don’t know the way I like to act around certain people. I don’t know what my purpose is. I don’t know what people are my true friends. I’m just going to keep on making music and I’m probably going to be really confused along the way, and I think that’s the beauty of it. I’m trying not to pretend like I have everything figured out because I sure as hell don’t”.

There are three more albums I want to point people in the direction of. Coming to 28th May, there are some great albums that you will want to check out. The second album black midi,  Cavalcade is one such example. The hugely praised British band stunned on their debut album , Schlagenheim. They look set to continue this on Cavalcade. Pre-order a copy and discover what they have to offer:

“black midi’s new album Cavalcade is a dynamic, hellacious, and inventive follow-up to 2019’s widely-praised Schlagenheim, “a labyrinth with hairpin-turn episodes and lyrics full of dourly corrosive observations” (New York Times, Best Albums of 2019). It scales beautiful new heights, pulling widely from a plethora of genres and influences, reaching ever upwards from an already lofty base of early achievements”.

An album I am looking forward to is k.d. lang’s makeover. I really love lang. I think that she is both one of the greatest songwriters ever, yet she remains somehow underrated! I think that makeover sounds like a really interesting album. Rough Trade explain more:

“In celebration of Pride Month, Nonesuch Records releases KD Lang’s Makeover, a new collection of classic dance remixes of some of her best-loved songs. The album brings these remixes, made between 1992 and 2000, together for the first time, and includes ‘Sexuality’, ‘Miss Chatelaine’, ‘Theme from the Valley of the Dolls’, ‘Summerfling’, and the #1 dance chart hits ‘Lifted By Love’ and ‘If I Were You’. makeover’s cover art features a previously unseen 1995 portrait of lang by David LaChapelle”.

The final May-due album that you will want to go and pre-order is Kele’s The Waves Pt. 1. This is another album from one of the country’s finest artists. Go and pre-order it, because it looks set to be a treat. Kele spoke with DIY about making the album:

“Following the release of ‘The Heart Of The Wave’ earlier this month, Kele has now confirmed that his fifth solo album ‘The Waves Pt. 1’ will be released on 28th May via his own label, KOLA Records / !K7.

Sharing new track ‘Smalltown Boy’ alongside the news, Kele says of the record, “After the first lockdown I found myself in an odd position. We were due to start working on my second musical with the Lyric Theatre but when the lockdown came into effect those plans were thrown into disarray. I became a stay at home dad of a 3 year old and a 6 month old. Those initial days were hard but looking back they were also incredibly rewarding. In the rare moments of down time I would go up to my music room and play the guitar, looping myself, making this wall of sound. it became a type of therapy for me, something to calm me down as it seemed like the whole world was losing its head. I realised in those moments that I missed the act of performing, so I joined Instagram so I could upload performances of my old songs and songs that I love. It was a lifeline for me, to still feel connected to an audience, to still feel like a musician in this time of freefall.

“What also became clear was that I still had the desire to create. Usually when I make records it’s an ensemble affair, there are usually lots of other musicians and singers I work with, but as we were in lockdown I did not have that luxury of being able to work with other musicians. I knew I had to fill in the space of this record entirely by myself, which was daunting but also very liberating. This album is literally the sound of me.

“As I didn’t have so much time in the days to work on the ideas I had to be very focused with the little time that I did have. During the night I would go for long walks around the city on my own, listening in the moonlight to what I had recorded in the day, rearranging the songs in my head, trimming the fat. It became very clear to me that I had the start of a new record and it was going to feel very different to what I had done before.

“The initial plan was that the record was going to be solely instrumental, after 2042 I knew that I wanted a break from writing words. Although making that record had been rewarding it had also at times been quite traumatic for me, as I was forced to examine a lot of my own personal fears and anxieties about race relations in this country and the US.

PHOTO CREDIT: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer 

I made 2042 in 2019, so when those same discussions about race came into sharp focus after the death of George Floyd in 2020 I personally felt that I needed a break from the heaviness, I knew that whatever I did next musically would need to cleanse me.

“Slowly I started adding words and vocal melodies to the ideas and I could see songs starting to take shape but it was important to me that the music felt fluid, that it drifted in out like the bobbing of waves, that if you let yourself succumb to it maybe it could take you somewhere else, somewhere far away from here”.

Those are a selection of albums that are announced for next month. There is a great range of artists and sound and, if you can afford it, then check out the ones that sound like your sort of thing. I am particularly looking forward to the new St. Vincent album, in addition to k.d. lang’s album. As the weather starts to warm up and we are getting closer to summer, I think that these terrific albums will help to warm the spirit and body even more. If you need some guidance regarding albums in May that are worth ordering then I hope that my suggestions…

PROVE fruitful.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Nadia Rose

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Alex De Mora for Wonderland. 

Nadia Rose

___________

THIS is one of these Spotlight features…

where I am featuring an artist who has been around for a while. I want to spotlight Nadia Rose because I think she is hitting a new stage in her career and there are people who do not know about her work. I will drop in a couple of interviews from last year nearer the end. First, I want to head back to when a then-twenty-three-year-old Rose was placed fifth in the BBC Sound of… 2017 poll:

“Two years ago, Nadia Rose was studying for a degree while working 12-hour shifts in a betting shop to make ends meet.

In her spare time, she’d scribble down lyrics but all around her male contemporaries – Section Boyz, Bonkaz and her cousin, Stormzy - were starting to break through.

Realising that the job was holding her back, she packed it in and started making music with friend and producer The Black Obsidian.

From the start, her witty lyrics and sense of fun set her apart. Her breakthrough video, Station, was shot, without permission, at a local railway station, with Nadia dancing nonchalantly on the tracks as a train pulled in.

More recently, the colourful, funky single Skwod saw the rapper taking over the streets with a girl gang, body-popping Beyoncé choreography and all.

“It’s Nadia Rose,” she raps on DFWT. “Who's she? Who's that? Well, who really knows?”

With a record deal at Sony and an arsenal of killer rhymes, that could easily change in 2017”.

I discovered Nadia Rose’s music back in 2017. I think she has grown in stature and confidence since she came onto the scene. That being noted, she definitely caught people’s eyes and ears very earl on! It is interesting reading interviews from 2016 and 2017 and hearing about this phenomenal young talent. In 2016, The Guardian featured Rose. We got to learn more about one of Britain’s most interesting rising female artists:

‘Everything we’ve done has stemmed from the fun factor. I can’t do boring,” says Nadia Rose emphatically. The 22-year-old Croydon rapper’s first music video, last year’s Station, found her dancing on railway tracks, unperturbed by the train pulling into the platform behind her. “We didn’t have permission,” she admits. “We literally had one shot to do that clip otherwise they’d have called the operators, but the videographer knew when the train was coming and timed it perfectly.”

The fun factor is very much present in the handful of singles Rose has released to date. She speeds up, slows down, drops into patois; stacks rhymes on rhymes, doubles up meanings, bounces between pop culture references. It’s no surprise to learn she used to read the dictionary for fun (“My mum wanted the Bible by my pillow, but I had the dictionary there!”); now, that childhood nerdiness is put to good use rapping circles around her targets and turning up the energy for her crew.

Most impressively, Rose seems to have skipped the amateur experimentation stage to emerge as a fully formed artist with her own distinct voice. There are echoes of her influences: Missy Elliott’s verbal eccentricity, Eminem’s technical panache with a dollop of dancehall, and she shares the penchant for banter that marks out her British peers such as Lady Leshurr. But on singles such as D.F.W.T. (her first viral moment, scoring nearly half a million YouTube views since last October) and Mufasa, her confidence in taking on two well-known, disparate beats – Mila J’s DJ Mustard-produced My Main and Wiley’s classic grime riddim Eskimo – and making them her own is breathtaking. It’s no shock, then, that Rose’s rise has been meteoric. This year alone, she’s signed a deal with Sony, played her first festival main stages and been invited to perform at an Alicia Keys showcase.

But just two years ago, there was rather more boredom in Rose’s life. Juggling university with a job in one of the many betting shops that have proliferated on Croydon’s high street since she was a kid, Rose would scribble lyrics on betting slips and go home to record them but kept it a secret from all but her closest friends. “It was a barrier. I wanted to do it, but I couldn’t,” she says now. So she quit her job, with no safety net. “I didn’t have a timescale, I didn’t have a plan. But I had the best people around me, and I haven’t looked back.”

The most formative of those people included her dad, a DJ who passed on a love of the musical spectrum from jungle to the Spice Girls; Rose remembers the first time his music drew her downstairs: “It was Capleton’s Cuyah Cuyah, I came down and would just sit there and take everything in from the speakers.” The charisma and hint of arrogance that magnetised her then still inspires her now: “There’s no point doing this if you’re not confident.”

A wave of charismatic, rapid-witted British female MCs is coming through along with Rose, such as Lady Leshurr and Lady Lykez. Rose is wary of a box that can be a trap for female artists, though. “We’re cool, but I don’t like the fact that we’re separated from the guys. Sometimes I feel they like to force the ‘unity’ too much and therefore separate themselves even more. Like, we’re the girls, we stick together.

“But right now we’re trying to bridge the gap. It’s cool that unity’s there, but also understand that the guys are there and they’re still our competition as well. We need to be drilling all angles”.

Not to skip through E.P.s and years but, as I want to try and bring things as up-to-date as possible, I am going to bring in interviews from 2020. I feel Nadia Rose’s best years are still ahead. She is, as I said, growing stronger and she will be a worldwide sensation very soon.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Alex De Mora for Wonderland. 

There was a lot of attention around Nadia Rose last year as she released her First Class E.P. It is an extraordinary release that highlights the fact that we have a very special talent in our midst. Rose spoke with Wonderland. last year. We discover more about her pre-music life and how, in 2020, she was a force of nature, impossible to stop:

“At 16, she went through a period of anxiety. “Growing up, I tried to give off this confidence that I don’t know if I really believed in,” she explains. “I guess it got to a point where I realised that I’d have to start believing in it myself in order for anybody else to see me that way.” What she needed was within her, she just hadn’t unlocked it yet. “Maybe it was just making the decision to focus completely on music that changed things,” she considers. “It’s a vulnerable thing to share what you’ve taken out of your brain. I had to learn how to share myself and understand what would come with that.”

And now, Nadia Rose is “unstoppable”. Her confidence has been put to rights. Rose’s music will always be fun; again, that’s her “thing”. But she’s also aware that the secret to being a good artist rests, at least in part, on something that goes a little deeper than humour. “I like to think that I’ve grown into my music, that I’m able to express myself a bit more,” she says. “I realised that I needed to delve into myself and allow listeners to get to know me, which is something I had to do as a person as well. People have always found me a bit hard to read. I didn’t really see how that made sense. As in, how could I be so closed off when music is such a personal and vulnerable thing?”

Her conscientiousness is an echo of her mother, a nurse, who Rose cites as one of the hardest workers she knows. “My mum is super confident,” she says. “I’ve always tried to emulate that. She’s a hero to me.” And then there’s Lil’ Kim, who showed Rose that rap was by no means a man’s game. At a time when hip hop was dominated by the likes of Biggie and Tupac, Lil’ Kim, as Rose puts it, was “one of the only women repping.” “I loved how unapologetic she was,” she continues. “She said exactly what I’m trying to say now – that I’m equal, if not better.” Things are more level now; not perfect, but easier. Although, the issue in hand is just as important to Rose. “I just hate the inequality in the world,” she says. “I’m no different to the men in the game, and I want that to be something that every woman can see in what they do. It doesn’t have to be rap. It doesn’t have to be acting or dancing. It doesn’t even have to be creative. You’re a woman, and whatever field you’re in, you are an equal to the rest that are there. That’s what I try to push.”

Her video to “Big Woman” presents just this. It removes stereotypical beauty standards and showcases Rose’s appreciation for “real, clean-hearted people”: people dancing, people enjoying themselves without inhibition, people cheering other people on. At the centre of the video is Grace Victory, a body positivity advocate and blogger who takes to the dancefloor. “I wanted to show off people who, for whatever reason, society doesn’t want to show off,” Rose adds. This takes us back to where things are now. At present, Rose is suspended between two chapters. While the mess with Relentless is over, there’s still work to be done. From this point onwards, all of her music will be released via her own label. “I also want to put a spotlight on other acts,” she says. “I’ve already got a first signee in mind. I want to create an empire of superbeings.” And before that, Rose will appear in her debut acting role, which, at the time of our interview, is strictly under wraps. But the ball is rolling. It’s exciting to see firsthand. “I feel like they tried to slow down my train,” she says of her previous record label. “But now the engine is just revving 100%. It’s full steam ahead”.

I do think that we will see an album and some huge tour dates in the next year or two. First Class is an E.P. that more than lives up to its name! I want to source from this interview, as we discover why Nadia Rose continues to release music as an independent artist:

“First Class is your first big release as an independent artist. Why did you decide to continue without a big label?

It was around this time last year when I decided to cut ties with my label and start my own label. It was all becoming real and everything was coming out what has been around for a while.

How is it to be your own boss and make all the decisions yourself?

I finally feel in control of my destiny, which is something I guess everybody wants in their life in general. Just the freedom to express myself and do what I want to do is absolutely priceless. Honestly, I’m really enjoying this so much and finally have my power back.

Did that also boost your creativity because you don’t have to hold back?

I feel like I had a ton of chefs in the kitchen with me that all gave their unnecessary opinions. I’m finally free now and feel the way I felt before I entered the industry when I was writing music that felt right for me. There weren’t opinions and thoughts about stuff like sales, performing it live, and other things. I think I really got back to that youthful mindset that I had once before. Free as a bird when I’m creating now and nothing that infiltrates my dream anymore.

t’s been four years since you emerged on the big stage. What was your biggest accomplishment looking back?

Getting free from the shackles of Sony is definitely up there, but I’d probably say winning the MOBO Award for ‘Best Video’ with “Skwod”. Growing up, MOBO was the place where I saw all my favorite artists from over here and the US. As time was going, I saw people like my cousin Stormzy or Section Boyz all on my screen doing it. For me, being added to that great list was very special, and I was up against some real talent and some amazing visuals. I was so thrilled to know that my work has touched people and was rewarded for it.

Is there a big difference between the US and the UK scene in your opinion?

In terms of like production and all the things the Americans would do, which was really about going all out, I didn’t see that much over here. But it has always been fascinating for me that there’s a great scene over here as well that was flourishing. In terms of unity and collaborations, I definitely see a lot more happening of that in the US scene but as time has gone on, the UK is also doing a lot more dope collaborations. It’s great to see.

What’s for you, as the creator, the difference between your first project Highly Flammable and the new EP First Class?

I definitely say that the difference sound-wise, is that First Class is a little bit more polished. For Highly Flammable, I was just enjoying that I was making the EP because it was my first one, and I just wanted to put my favorite songs on it. First Class is my lead-in to my debut album because I think it’s a lot more directional and I, once again, got to work with some amazing producers. Further, I think there’s a lot of growth because I’m not holding back. Sometimes, the younger me being in these situations with all these different opinions, I might got too much in myself sometimes and didn’t say all the things that I wanted to say. Whereas now, I’m just saying what I think and feel”.

I am going to end up with a review of First Class. It is a wonderful E.P. and another remarkable chapter. I loved 2017’s Highly Flammable and, upon listening to the mini-album, I was pretty blown away! The same can be said of First Class. When London in Stereo reviewed First Class, this is what they had to say:

“It’s been three years since South London rapper Nadia Rose released her debut EP, Highly Flammable. During that period (2017), there was a lot of hype around her name and the project was a snack for fans to nibble on ’til she released her debut album. Unfortunately, she got caught up in a bad music deal and could only occasionally feed her fans singles and freestyles. Now, however, it’s a new era for the rapper and her supporters. To celebrate her artistic freedom, and prepare listeners for an era of consistency, she has released First Class.

On the opening track ‘Sugar Zaddy’, her witty lyrics and rhyme skills shine as she drops braggadocious lines. In the song she raps, “Big titties that resemble the racks // Cat, fat like the rest of the stack.” Meanwhile, on the Gemini anthem ‘Too Bad’ she adds another melodic hook to her collection while rapping about what it’s like to be in a relationship with Geminis.

First Class is like a Christmas present you can’t wait to open. In this case, 6th of August is Christmas Day, and ‘Werk It Out’ and ‘Higher’ are the rapper’s gifts to listeners. Beyond the fact that both are fresh (never been heard before) songs, Nadia Rose hits high notes like Adele over guitar riffs and smooth harmonies on ‘Higher’. While on ‘Werk It Out’ the touch of the bass guitar in the beat makes it a standout production-wise.

Nadia Rose is a confident rapper who will flaunt her endowments whenever she gets the chance to and, with the EP title, she asserts that she is in a class of her own. Also, on songs like ‘Sugar Zaddy’ and ‘Bad N Boujee’ her verses come with Swagger. On the latter, she says, “Already know I’m a cocky bitch.” Her hilarious descriptions lead to spit-take moments that make her a captivating rapper who holds your full attention. First Class might be a 5-track project, but it’s filled with anthems from start to finish, leaving listeners thrilled ’til the end”.

I wonder whether we will hear anything more from Nadia Rose in 2021. She featured on the Bad Habits single alongside TiZ EAST and Moelogo; she paired with Melanie C on the fantastic Fearless. Having joined forces with a Spice Girl and having huge fans like Rihanna, there is no doubt that Nadia Rose has a large and acclaimed fanbase. I feel she will continue to eschew the charms and attempts of a big label and direct her career in her own way. Succumbing to temptation – if there is any about signing with a big label – is quite hard. In the rising and always-brilliant Nadia Rose, we have an artist who is likely to be…

A superstar very soon.

_______________

Follow Nadia Rose

PHOTO CREDIT: Campbell Addy for FADER 

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nadiarosemusic/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/nadiarosemusic

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nadiarosemusic

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgTrzuH6dNDnSTqHSaqSTPg

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Nc09HuPN9ELmbTCLyNKnO

FEATURE: Queer as Folk: The New Normal: Changing Attitudes and Acceptance in 2021

FEATURE:

 

 

Queer as Folk

IN THIS PHOTO: girl in red (Norwegian singer-songwriter Marie Ulven) identifies as a queer artist

The New Normal: Changing Attitudes and Acceptance in 2021

___________

THAT title might…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Arlo Parks (left)

seem quite vague to many people. I want to bring in an interview where the amazing girl in red discussed her material and hope she can normalise queerness in music. I think the last few years has seen change and greater acceptance. In terms of race, we still have a way to go in terms of there being parity and true progression. I think there is greater visibility and inclusiveness compared to a few years back. The same goes for gender. Whilst we have problems with festival line-ups being male-heavy, I do think that there have been improvements in other areas. I think the pandemic has provided a chance for reflection and, hopefully, change. I think the sexual spectrum has opened and become more integrated into music. There are artists like Sam Smith who identify as non-binary. Ezra Furman recently came out as transgender. There are amazing bisexual, gay and queer artists. From Years & Years’ Olly Alexander, to Arlo Parks, to Shura, I feel that it is important that music is as broad and open as possible when it comes to sexual identity. There was a time when music, especially in the mainstream, was very heteronormative. I still think there is this ideal and majority that has meant a lot of artists – who identity as L.G.B.T.G.Q.I.A.+ - have been afraid to express themselves or be honest through their music.

I will get to that interview soon, as a very interesting point was raised. Baby Queen, FLETCHER and Liz Lawrence are amazing queer artists who are definitely inspiring others. I wonder whether, as my title implied, there is a bit of a genre limitation. I think that more Pop and Indie artists are identifying as queer and L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+. I am not suggesting that other genres and areas of music are less accepting, though I wonder whether there are concerns that they might not be as tolerant and encouraging when it comes to integrating that into the music. From ZAND, Vincint and Tia Carys, there are some awesome L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists to watch out for this year. Attitude have provided a guide; as have The Gay Times. I am heterosexual male, and it can be tiring and frustrating realising there are artists that struggle for acceptance or they have changed the way they write because they are fearful that people will not listen. I do think that things are changing when it comes to L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists and finding an audience. Huge artists like St. Vincent and King Princess have shown that. Whilst many of the songs documenting love might be gender-neutral or, perhaps, less explicit than you might hear from many heterosexual artists, I don’t think that is because of potential blowback or judgment. Japanese Breakfast is another wonderful artist who is flying the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ flag. So too is the superb Rostam and Romy (of The xx). Here is a useful article that highlights L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists teasing albums this year.

I really like the music of girl in red. I think she is going to be a huge star. The twenty-two-year-old is someone to watch. She is a queer icon, and someone who commands a huge following - on TikTok, she is followed by 1.7 million people. I think there is a stigma on some platforms and corners where people feel that, if you listen to the music of a queer/L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artist, then that means you are the same as them, sexually. It is worrying that this mindset and ignorance exists. I want to grab from an interview The Guardian conducted with girl in red recently. Whilst the music industry as a whole is moving in the right direction regarding queer visibility and acceptance, there are some countries that are still very much behind the time:

“Ulven cottoned on to the trend, putting posters with the slogan in countries such as Brazil, Poland and Russia, “places where gay rights are not moving in the right direction, and we made it a really cool moment,” she enthuses. “If my songs can in any way shape or form normalise queerness then that’s amazing.” She is optimistic on the subject, foreseeing a future where “coming out” – a duty only queer people are lumbered with – is no longer necessary. “I think in the next 40 years we’re going to see a big difference. I listened to this podcast that said a lot of people feel like there’s no threshold [any more], there’s nothing to come out of. I think we’re moving in the right direction for that, at least in some places in the world.”

Ulven is thankful that she grew up in a liberal country, but her home town of Horten, in eastern Norway, felt stifling in other ways. Excitement was hard to come by: she occupied herself by writing songs after being turned on to guitar music in her mid-teens by the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower (“I went from full-on basic bitch to full-on indie girl”), although she also attributes the lo-fi, C86 style of her early work to her limited production abilities. Now, however, Ulven’s music is free from restraints and her superb upcoming debut album If I Could Make It Go Quiet – which she wrote almost entirely herself, and also produced with help from Matias Tellez and Finneas – flits between synthpop, R&B, new wave, rap and piano balladry: “I don’t fuck with genres, but who does any more? I made it, that’s the uniting thing.”

Whether her theme is desire or depression, Ulven’s personal voice is characterised by stark, specific honesty. She belongs to a new wave of young artists determined to counter empty empowerment anthems with warts-and-all vulnerability – not that Ulven likes the term’s connotations of weakness or exposure. “I don’t feel like I’m being really vulnerable because these are things that we all go through. There’s nothing to expose about feeling heartbroken”.

I think artists like girl in red, and the vulnerable way she writes, will help normalise queerness and break down boundaries. It will also encourage other queer artists and show that they are able to write about their experiences and relationships in a way that is very natural. I think it will not be long until we do not need to talk about queerness as being different or visible – it will just become normal. The same goes for other L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ artists. It is encouraging to hear girl in red say that, for artists (and others in society), the usual queer experience of ‘coming out’ might not be needed; that there is no threshold to come out of. There are a lot of fantastic queer artists now. It would be great to see even more integration and awareness. Some genres have some bright and hopeful young artists talking about their experiences as a queer person. There are others where there are very few – I think it is more to do with other factors beyond there not being many queer artists in that genre(s). Thanks to the amazing and inspiring queer artists in music right now, it will become…

THE New Normal.

FEATURE: Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure: Paula Abdul - Straight Up

FEATURE:

 

 

Too Good to Be Forgotten: Songs That Are Much More Than a Guilty Pleasure

Paula Abdul - Straight Up

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THIS may be one of those cases…

where the artist rather than the song is seen as a guilty pleasure. As I always say, I cannot get behind the idea that any song is a guilty pleasure. I have seen Paula Abdul’s Straight Up viewed as a guilty pleasure; one of those songs that you can’t really admit to liking. Taken from her debut album, Forever Your Girl, I also love the 1989 single, Opposites Attract (with The Wild Pair). With the album and Straight Up single released in 1988, Abdul was a huge star! Although Straight Up was written, produced and arranged by Elliot Wolff, it is Abdul’s performance and confidence that really puts the song in your brain. I really like a lot of her material. One can definitely not have a bad word to say about a song like Straight Up. I am going to round off soon. Before that, I found a lot of good background regarding Forever Your Girl and the popularity of Straight Up from the official Paula Abdul website:

“Six months after the release of Paula’s second single “The Way That You Love Me”, her “Forever Your Girl” album was declared a flop and Virgin was ready to move on. In fact, label executives were in the process of reorganizing the label’s roster of artists and cutting their less successful acts.

Due to Forever Your Girl’s failure to launch, Abdul’s record contract was on the chopping block. As quoted in “Virgin: A History Of Virgin Records” by Terry Southern, Simon Draper, a Co-founder of Virgin Records says “[Paula] had quite a big success for Virgin America- but they were still losing money- and suddenly, and seemingly quite miraculously, she took off. I went out to America with Kenny for a big crisis meeting with Jordan and Jeff (top American execs) worried about the amount of money they were spending; we were to go through their artists’ roster with them.

“One of the artists they were getting ready to drop was Paula Abdul; they were spending all this money on her and it hadn’t really happened. It’s unbelievable, but at lunchtime we sat in on a marketing meeting where they were arguing about this remix of her single [The Way That You Love Me], and on that same day the things suddenly started to turn around, orders started to pile in, and the record took off like a rocket- the record played a major role in establishing Virgin America – but it was close! Another week and they might have got rid of her.”

It was during this meeting one of the Executives turned on the radio to hear Abdul’s “Straight Up” playing. Radio station KMEL in San Francisco had started playing "Straight Up" from the album and had begun charting immediately.

At that point Virgin decided to abandon "The Way That You Love Me" and refocus its attention on "Straight Up". The strategy paid off, as "Straight Up" was followed by three more number-one hits from the same album.

Paula’s mother Lorraine found "Straight Up." Abdul says that her mother knew someone whose boyfriend (Wolff) was an aspiring songwriter, and she was handed "Straight Up" as an 8-track demo.

Abdul said the demo version was “so bad” that Abdul’s mother was "crying laughing" at it, and threw it in the trash. But Abdul was intrigued and heard something she liked in it, and retrieved it saying, “There's something about it that's crazy good, and I have to hear it again."

Virgin Records didn't think the song was any good but Abdul offered to record two songs they wanted, which she didn't like, if they would let her do "Straight Up". The song was recorded at a cost of $3,000.

”Straight Up” was written and produced by Elliot Wolf. The song was co-produced by Keith “K.C.” Cohen. The single was officially released on Nov 22, 1988. The demo was recorded by Delissa Davis.

After debuting at # 79 on Billboard the week of December 3, 1988, the song became so popular that it ascended to the Hot 100 top 20 before a music video had even been filmed to promote the song.

The black and white video, directed by David Fincher and choreographed by Paula herself in mid-January 1989, won four 1989 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video, Best Editing, Best Choreography, and the first Best Dance Video.

The video features a special appearance by Paula's friend, comedian Arsenio Hall, whose popular talk show had premiered a few weeks prior to the video shoot. Djimon Hounsou (from the movie “Amistad”) also makes an appearance.

Released in February 1989, the video at the time went into very heavy rotation on MTV, and it also made Abdul known for her exceptionally creative and stylish dance videos.

In the US, "Straight Up" reached the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 by February 11, 1989, where it stayed for three consecutive weeks.

When Virgin Records called Paula to tell her that the song reached #1 on the charts she was in bed sick with a 103° temperature, worn out from her hectic schedule working on the album and various choreography commitments.

"Straight Up" was one of the most popular R&B and dance-pop singles of the entire year, remaining in the Top 10 for seven weeks, the Top 20 for nine weeks, and the Top 40 for sixteen weeks.

The success of "Straight Up" catapulted the "Forever Your Girl" album into the top 20 on the album chart. Two more number-one hits from the album boost it up further into the top 5 where it lingered before it finally reached #1 in October after a record-setting 64 weeks on the market.

In Australia, 'Straight Up (Ultimix Mix)' was released as a single in its own right in 1990 to promote the 'Shut Up and Dance' album, peaking at #55 on the ARIA Chart in July 1990”.

It is one of those cases where the label felt a song was going to be a flop, but it then goes on to do extremely well! One of the things about Forever You Girl is that at the time of the album's release it was the most successful debut album of all time - and it was the first time an artist scored four US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles from a debut album! For that reason alone, I think that the album and its immense single, Straight Up, warrants respect. Maybe the production is a little dated now, though I feel the song still sounds great and holds up. If you have not heard Straight Up for a while, I would definitely recommend…

THAT you give it a play.

FEATURE: An Inspirational Talent: Spotlighting the Amazing Vick Hope

FEATURE:

 

 

An Inspirational Talent

PHOTO CREDIT: Arron Dunworth

Spotlighting the Amazing Vick Hope

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THIS is not timed to an announcement or anniversary…

but I was thinking, when BBC Radio 1’s Annie Mac announced that she was leaving the station after seventeen years, how she is a hugely inspiring female broadcaster who has encouraged so many other women to get into radio/the media/music. She has won acclaim and respect from all corners of the literal and musical globe. She is being replaced on her Future Sounds show by the brilliant Clara Amfo. It seems like, compared to a couple of years ago, there has been a really positive change in redressing gender imbalance on the radio. Things are not as level as they should be, though I think there has been some steps forward. One person who I hope we hear more from in terms of radio hours is Vick Hope. This might not be the most eloquent feature she has ever read about herself, but I am compelled to discuss hope more. As (co)host of BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks, Hope is a part of a massive station. I listen to and really love her Songs to Live By podcast. The tag is “Songs To Live By celebrates Black culture through the music we love. Host Vick Hope is joined by two guests from different generations to share songs that have shaped them”. I would encourage people to check it out, as Hope is a brilliant host. The range of guests and the songs they discuss makes for compelling listening. I will bring in an interview from last year that really caught my eye. Before moving on, a bit of background regarding the amazing Vick Hope:

“Victoria Nwayawu Nwosu-Hope (born 25 September 1989) is a British multi-lingual TV and radio presenter, journalist and published author. She hosted the Capital Breakfast show on Capital FM radio station. She also presents Crufts on Channel 4, Carnage on Sky One, Trending Live on 4Music, Life Hacks on BBC Radio 1, FYI Daily on ITV2 and became the backstage presenter for ITV's The X Factor in 2019, after becoming the digital reporter for The Voice UK in 2018. In 2020, she became the red carpet host of 2020 BAFTA Film Awards. In October 2020, it was announced that Hope would host a new ITV Hub sister show entitled I'm a Celebrity...The Daily Drop.

As well as presenting, Hope works as a print and broadcast journalist for ITN and publications including The Argentina Independent and Marie Claire. In 2017 Hope won the Broadcasting Powerhouse Award at the Marie Claire Future Shapers Awards. She is a human rights activist and Amnesty International ambassador, having worked with the organisation since she was 16.

Hope is best known for her work presenting the Capital Breakfast show in London along with Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay since 2017. Before this she hosted weekend breakfast on sister station, Capital Xtra. On 24 February 2020, she announced that she would be leaving the show to focus on other ventures. On 20 March 2020, Sian Welby replaced Hope as co-host of Capital Breakfast.

In 2019, Hope joined Classic FM presenting Classic FM's Revision Hour alongside Ellie Goulding, Lewis Capaldi & Dan Smith.

In August 2020, Hope replaced Cel Spellman to co-host Life Hacks and “Official Chart: First Look” alongside Katie Thistleton on BBC Radio 1”.

Rather than this being an excuse to praise Hope and her work – not that there is anything wrong in that! -, I have been thinking about radio icons and how there is a wave of young broadcasters who I can see really shaping the future of radio. I wonder if there are any plans for Hope to present her own show. She loves music, and she is so knowledgeable and respected. Hugely intelligent and educated, Hope is a definite inspiration to a lot of people. I caught her recently speaking with Jane Garvey and Fi Glover on their Fortunately… podcast. Hope comes across as this incredibly affable and likable.

Although she is still very young, I do think that stations should be knocking her door down. The nominees for the ARIAS were announced last week. There is some serious talent up or awards. I can see Hope being among the nominees before too long. From her incredible knowledge of elephants, to her acclaimed and broad career so far, I think that Vick Hope can offer a lot in her own show. I am not sure what form that would take. I could see a mix of music and conversation – maybe with a political or sociological perspective. Before getting to an interview from The Times, this year saw Hope release a children’s book alongside her former radio colleague, Roman Kemp. You can buy Shout Out: Use Your Voice, Save the Day here. Last month, Hope spoke with HELLO! about the new book:

“Starting off 2021 with a bang, Vick released children's book Shout Out: Use Your Voice, Save the Day!, a children’s book she co-wrote with former colleague Roman Kemp – a sequel to their 2019 debut Listen Up.

"The world has changed so much this year. Currently kids are indoors, unable to see their friends or go to school – they need that escape. I feel that a children’s book is really needed now."

She added: "I find children amazing and so interesting, intelligent and insightful – their curiosity is something I can relate to. And I feel they deserve stories that can cultivate them, and if that happens at a young age, then the sky’s the limit."

Vick explains how she and Roman (son of Martin Kemp) became good friends while presenting the radio show together. "When you see someone every single day, at 5.30am in the morning, you have to break down all barriers, you become very close. It’s a brother-sister friendship.

"We came up with the ideas of characters from a world that we knew, our own childhoods, which were very different. And then, what do we know together now? It’s radio."

Vick claims her affinity with children is down to the fact she’s never really grown up. "Even at weddings, I’m quite often put on the children’s table, even though I’m very much a full adult," she laughs.

"I find children amazing and so interesting, intelligent and insightful – their curiosity is something I can relate to. And I feel they deserve stories that can cultivate them, and if that happens at a young age, then the sky’s the limit”.

There truly is no end to Vick Hope’s talents! You can follow her on Instagram and Twitter. Lockdown has not been a good situation for many people in terms of their careers and doing all they planned to in 2020/2021. I guess Vick Hope is in the same boat. I am not sure if she had projects and radio work shelved. I suspect that she is looking ahead to a post-pandemic world and making us for lost time! Alongside hugely inspiration women in radio like Annie Mac, Clara Amfo, Lauren Laverne, Zoe Ball, Dotty, Jamz Supernova and Vanessa Feltz (and many others), I think that Vick Hope is going to make a huge impact on the next generation. I do hope that radio bosses – whether at BBC Radio 1 or another station – give her the opportunity to helm a big show in a great timeslot.

I want to end up with an interview from The Times from last year. We got a glimpse into the life and brilliance of Vick Hope:

“The first thing I do when I wake up is dance around my flat to Lizzo, Robyn or Ariana Grande. Sometimes singing into the hairbrush. Doing that gives me joy.”

If you need a lesson in positivity, self-care or whatever else millennials do to survive a pandemic, try spending an hour with the infectiously upbeat Vick Hope. The broadcaster, presenter, writer and beauty ambassador is an increasingly influential role model for Britain’s adolescents in 2020. It’s a far cry from the 1990s, when I was growing up, and Sara Cox and Zoe Ball ruled the airwaves, famous for their cheeky radio chat and weekend benders. Hope is leading a new wave of female broadcasters — Clara Amfo, Maya Jama, AJ Odudu and Laura Whitmore — who are, yes, cool and glamorous, but also woke and multifaceted; women whose Instagram accounts are a stream of flawless selfies and cooking tutorials alongside yoga poses and Black Lives Matter placards.

I meet Hope, 30, for coffee in east London. Bright-eyed, smart and chatty, it’s clear why she has become an accidental agony aunt for Gen Z. Even when it comes to fashion and beauty, she uses her platform (she has 138,000 followers on social media) for good. Hope works with the beauty brand Shea Moisture UK as an advocate for curly hair — she stopped straightening her own naturally wavy afro hair in 2017, having treated it her entire adult life. “With afro hair it’s always about ‘taming curls’ or ‘controlling frizz’,” she says. “That language could do with changing. You’d be surprised how much that goes in and stays with you. I always thought I was ugly because of my hair or nose, when actually they are African features and they’re beautiful.”

Next month the Cambridge-educated presenter starts as a Radio 1 DJ, presenting the station’s much-loved Life Hacks show, where she’ll be giving advice to its young audience. Previously known as The Surgery, it’s been running since 1999 and Hope says it’s her dream job. “I grew up listening to that show and found solace in it. They talked about sex, relationships, mental health, all the stuff you’re trying to work out when you’re young and may be too embarrassed to talk about with your friends or parents.”

Hope left her gig at Capital Radio’s breakfast show in February after three years. She cohosted with her best friend Roman Kemp, and the two have written two children’s books, with the second coming out in January next year. She’s close to her fellow female presenters too: “Clara [Amfo] lives down the road from me. As soon as I left Capital she was like, ‘Babe, we’re going for breakfast”.

Hope, who is “almost fluent” in French and Spanish, took night lessons when she was still at school — “My secondary school didn’t offer Spanish and I campaigned all the way through for it. Eventually they did offer it but only after I’d left” — before studying modern languages at Cambridge university. “At first I felt like I didn’t belong. It’s not hugely diverse, not just being black but being from the north you are few and far between. Sometimes it did feel tokenistic. I was put on the front of the prospectus within two months of being there with a profile that felt a bit like: ‘If I can do it, anyone can.’ ” She laughs it off. “I’m happy to have been part of that access literature, it’s important that they’re working on it and I feel lucky to have gone there.”

Hope has been using lockdown to record voiceover work from her flat and prepare and deliver meals to refugee families. She is also an ambassador for Amnesty International UK and continues to be vocal about antiracism; she spoke about the issue on ITV’s Lorraine and has posted in support of Black Lives Matter on Instagram. By the time our chat draws to an end, I frankly feel lazy just listening to all her achievements — but I’m cheered by the fact she’s still a bit of a party girl. “Twenty-five of my mates came to Ibiza with me to celebrate my 30th birthday,” she grins. “At Capital quite often I was coming in [to do the show straight] from a night out”.

I think that, when lockdown measures are eased further and things start to get back to normal, we will see more of Vick Hope on the radio. Rather than this being me trying to direct her career, I get more and more bowled over the more I learn about her! Aside from everything she has achieved and does, she is one of the most compelling voices on radio. I shall wrap things up there. I love all of Vick Hope’s work. From listening to and reading interviews, she has this inspiring and wonderful quality that makes her someone to watch closely. I do hope that we hear a lot more from her on the airwaves. In Vick Hope, we have a multi-talented treasure with…

AN extremely bright future.

FEATURE: Second Spin: Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

Sleigh Bells - Reign of Terror

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ONE musical duo that do not…

get the credit they deserve is Sleigh Bells. They have released some terrific albums, but the Brooklyn duo, vocalist Alexis Krauss and guitarist Derek Edward Miller, have put out one or two that did not get the acclaim I feel they warrant. Their current album, 2016’s Jessica Rabbit, is one such example. I think that their second studio album, Reign of Terror, is another. It got some great reviews, though there were others who were less kind or found fault. I am going to bring in some contrasting reviews for the 2012 album. I love the album and, from its intriguing and brilliant cover to its solid songs, there is a lot to admire. Here is some more information regarding Reign of Terror:

“Following the critical success of their debut album Treats, Sleigh Bells started writing new material for their next album while on tour for their debut album, and recorded it over the course of five months in 2011. While Treats used a mixture of guitars and beats that eschewed pop song structures for their overall sound, Reign of Terror emphasized more guitar sounds that follow structures with emotionally heavy lyrics.

The album received a generally positive reception from critics. Reign of Terror debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 and spawned only one single: "Comeback Kid". To promote the album, Sleigh Bells toured across North America and Europe”.

I think Reign of Terror is an album deserves reinspection. It debuted at number-twelve in the Billboard 200. The album descended to number-seventy-eight in the second week with sales falling to around 8,000 copies - a 72% drop. I am not sure why the album did not fare better. Listening now and, whilst there are a couple of weaker tracks and the odd issue – I am not sold on the album sequencing and opening with True Shred Guitar -, it is better than a lot of critics gave it credit for. In a mixed review, this is what PASTE noted:

“But these songs don’t have hooks. “Born to Lose” is memorable for all the wrong reasons, with its distorto-chord blasts that don’t connect into a progression in an awkward, dragging rhythm akin to a child trying to sound out each letter of a word he’s trying to speak. They wanted it to sound “wrong” obviously, which I can respect, but it doesn’t go anywhere, which I can’t. “Crush” never escapes its marriage of cheerleader chant and Pulp’s “Common People.” The single “Comeback Kid” is one of the few songs here to move from place to place rather than sit still and build on top of one idea, but it still manages to land on a whiny bridge (“You’re gonna make it/ You’ll come back somedaaaaay”) after tantalizing verses. It’s almost saved by a twin-guitar break, though this album relies so heavily on those that it lacks surprise (Treats deployed the twin-guitar novelty just once, and perfectly, on its opening hammer “Tell ‘Em”).

If I sound like I’m rooting against the band’s decision to make a conventionally-produced album and grow out of compressed noise, I’m not. But they took elements away rather than replace that gap with new ones. Losing dynamic range should’ve warranted more surprises in the audio spectrum—I don’t expect them to replicate the land mine ending to “Infinity Guitars,” but what about the horns from “Kids”? Where’s the resourcefulness that their bigger budget’s supposed to reflect?

“The bigger culprit is the decision to cast off much of their hip-hop element, which kept the songs uptempo, and rely more on chugging metal, which gives even the better tracks like “Road to Hell” a dragging feel. While it’s fun to throw your inability to shred in metalheads’ faces by claiming their turf anyway (love the part in “Demons” when they “stand ‘em up six by six by six”), it’s better to back it up with memorable music. As it happens, the sweet shoegaze ballad “You Lost Me” is the best thing here, and it’s the song that has the least to do with anything you’ve read about Sleigh Bells. So maybe they didn’t go far enough in straying from the blueprint they tried hard not to repeat. Either way, Reign of Terror plays like a band with original ideas who got stuck in quicksand”.

There is a lot to enjoy through Reign of Terror. Those familiar with Sleigh Bells can appreciate the album, as can those coming to it fresh. Perhaps Reign of Terror is a classic case of an album growing stronger over time. I want to bring in a positive review from Consequence of Sound. They were much more approving of a brilliant album:

“But Reign of Terror goes bigger by way of width and depth rather than by volume, as it were. One of the most thoughtful tracks, “You Lost Me”, takes a hair-metal ballad and flips it on its head, with Krauss cooing about a sordid and doomed relationship and Miller turning in his best Def Leppard impression by palm-muting arpeggios up and down the guitar. Krauss’ tone adopts that poppy, teenage apathy well and she fills out most of the album with lyrics that are very simple and very important — not unlike high school. “Don’t run away from me baby/ just go away from me baby,” Krauss ekes out on “Road to Hell”, a mid-tempo chug-a-lug that continues to wed Miller’s re-born love for heavy metal with Krauss’ newborn beautiful and evocative voice. Other discarded schoolyard missives are all over this album, like “I’ve got a crush on you now” on “Crush”, but it’s all much more dangerous and detached than a mall-rock band, like Krauss is singing with a crooked, nasty smirk. She already knows everything that’s pretty and ugly about love.

Their greatest boon (or perhaps schtick?) is how well Sleigh Bells can capture this moment, the one that’s happening right now. Reign Of Terror already feels definitively 2012 by way of reappropriating the decadent pop of the ’80s with a louder snarl and a deeper cynicism. Miller’s guitars scream like a speeding ambulance, the drums beat on against the current of timidity, and Krauss makes beautiful all things that have no right to be. There was barely a precedent for Sleigh Bells two years ago, and there’s hardly a precedent for them now. That’s success. That’s having a song like “Comeback Kid”, the album’s flagship salvo, that solders all these elements together into one anthem that stands above the rest. It’s past, present, and future Sleigh Bells that sounds just as effortless as Krauss’ vocal gymnastics on the track. Miller even turns off the distortion on his guitar at the end! It couldn’t possibly drop on the scene the same way “Crown On The Ground” did two years ago, but it shouldn’t. “Comeback Kid” is about Sleigh Bells still having the power to grab the masses by the lapels and say,”This!” and have it actually mean something.

There’s a coda to the album, the final track “D.O.A”, which is a simple Krauss + Miller duet with almost no percussion save for some finger-snaps. It’s a haunting and abrupt way to end the album, but in it Krauss sings, “How come nobody knows how the chorus should go?” She’s not asking a question. She’s throwing down the gauntlet”.

If you have not listened to Sleigh Bells’ Reign of Terror, then go and check it out now. There was some positivity towards it back in 2012. However, I feel most reviews were quite mixed. Whilst not perfect, I think Sleigh Bells’ second studio album is a work that requires new ears and study so that it can begin…

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick O'Dell 

A new reign.

FEATURE: Groovelines: Queen Latifah (ft. Monie Love) – Ladies First

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

PHOTO CREDIT: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images 

Queen Latifah (ft. Monie Love) – Ladies First

___________

OVER the course of this feature…

I am spotlighting songs that are important or have made a big cultural impact. In the case of Queen Latifah’s Ladies First, both are true. The 1989 track featuring Monie Love is an all-time classic. The song is taken from debut album from Queen Latifah, All Hail the Queen. The album and the single are both enormously significant:

“All Hail the Queen is the debut studio album by hip-hop artist Queen Latifah. The album was released on November 28, 1989, through Tommy Boy Records. The feminist anthem, "Ladies First" featuring Monie Love remains one of Latifah's signature songs.

All Hail the Queen peaked at no. 6 and no. 124 on the Billboard Top Hip Hop/R&B Albums and Billboard 200 charts, respectively. "Wrath of My Madness" was the first single from All Hail the Queen, and was later sampled in Yo-Yo's "You Can't Play With My Yo-Yo". "Mama Gave Birth to the Soul Children" peaked at no. 14 in the UK. In 1998, the album was selected as one of The Source's 100 Best Rap Albums. It was also featured in Robert Dimery's 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

In 2008, the single "Ladies First" was ranked number 35 on VH1's 100 Greatest Songs Of Hip Hop”.

I am going to drop the song in soon. I love Queen Latifah and feel that it is one of her greatest tracks. I feel it is so strong because she and Monie Love combine so seamlessly. It is an anthem that resounds heavy and powerful today. I still feel women are having to fight to have their voices heard. It means that (sadly) Ladies First has not dated and is so relevant today.

It is a shame that Hip-Hop and Rap, even in 2021, are struggling against gender imbalance, sexism and misogyny. Maybe the problem is not as pronounced as it was in the late-1980s, though there is still a way to go until things are where they need to be. Ladies First was a bold and brilliant anthem from a Hip-Hop queen who definitely was not going to be pushed aside. As this article from 2014 explains, Ladies First was an important breakthrough:  

“Hip-hop was, at first, pretty much a guy thing. And it still is, in many ways. But many women, along the way, have made their presence felt, and one of the first was Queen Latifah.

“Ladies First,” a track from Latifah’s 1989 “All Hail the Queen” album that featured British rapper Monie Love, was a bold declaration, in the days when hip-hop was still defining itself, that women could hold their own:

The ladies will kick it, the rhyme that is wicked

Those that don’t know how to be pros get evicted

A woman can bear you, break you, take you

Now it’s time to rhyme, can you relate to

A sister dope enough to make you holler and scream?

It’s a serious point, but the tone of the song isn’t dry or humorless. The music has a wild, funk- and jazz-influenced edge: Latifah is making a joyful statement, not an angry one.

Latifah, who grew up in Newark, East Orange and Irvington, has stuck to the song’s philosophy throughout her career. Just as she wouldn’t take no for an answer as a rapper, seeking hip-hop glory at a time when few women did, she has not conceded to any limits in her career, distinguishing herself as a singer (not just a rapper), an actress, a talk show host, a writer (whose 1998 memoir was titled “Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman”) and, perhaps most significantly, as a businesswoman who has both taken firm control of her own career and helped bring others, including Naughty by Nature, to the attention of the world”.

Last year, the AMC series, Hip Hop: The Songs That Shook America, focused on six individual Rap songs that changed the genre. The season finale concerned Ladies First. This okplayer. article explains more:

“Songs That Shook America concluded its first season on AMC on Sunday (November 17th.) The series has delved into the hip-hop songs that defined a movement, a region of America, and times in history. For the season finale, Queen Latifah’s anthem of women empowerment, 1989’s “Ladies First,” gets the final dissection. As with every other song, “Ladies First” is exalted but ultimately used as a vessel for a deeper dive into the sexist history of hip-hop.

In the episode, Jessica Lynch, the president of Tommy Boy Records when “Ladies First” was released, recalls being mistaken for a prostitute at the Jack The Rapper’s Family Affair convention because she was a woman. Latifah gives first-hand accounts of the lack of money put towards female rappers for marketing and music videos compared to male counterparts. Her “Ladies First” collaborator Monie Love recalls labels only choosing to have one female MC at a time, adding credence to Lyte’s statement later in the episode of “women being pitted against each other.” This episode hammers the point of sexism being the industry standard in hip-hop during the 1980s, often leaving an indelible imprint in the viewer’s mind that reshapes their view of the episode and the series as a whole”.

I am a big fan of Ladies First. It is a confident and vital track that definitely helped pave the way for women in Hip-Hop. Over three decades since its release, the song is still being taken to heart by artists. If things have slightly improved in Rap and Hip-Hop since the time Queen Latifah and Monie Love dropped a classic, we are still experiencing problems. In 2021, I think that the tremendous Ladies First should be…

HEARD and respected.