FEATURE: Some Moving and Emotional Words… Victoria Canal’s Recent Instagram Post Describes the Ups and Downs of Modern Touring

FEATURE:

 

 

Some Moving and Emotional Words…

IN THIS PHOTO: Victoria Canal 

Victoria Canal’s Recent Instagram Post Describes the Ups and Downs of Modern Touring

_________

I was caught by and struck…

by a recent Instagram post from Victoria Canal. It was a touring confessional that Canal was going to delete. Although she ends on a high and looks ahead to a big your and some great dates, she also mentioned how there are definite lows and realities that artists have to face. A truly brilliant and inspiring artist that everyone should check out, I do think that her success and the demand that has come for her music has led to this live schedule being packed and expansive. Canal was presented Rising Star award at the 2023 edition of the prestigious Ivor Novellos. The award win, as she said, was important:

"For the first time, I'm trying to talk about it in a way that makes me feel like I have ownership over it."

Victoria Canal has just received the Rising Star gong at the Ivor Novello awards, becoming the fourth consecutive female songwriter to do so.

The 24-year-old was born with one arm, and she tells Newsbeat music helps her "process" her disability.

"I think I've been navigating the whole 'having a limb difference as someone on stage thing'."

German-born Spanish-American Victoria recently shared a vulnerable song about having a disability.

She describes "old wounds and trauma" having an impact on her "for a very long time", but says she's writing about it "in a way that is helping me let it go".

"I don't think there will be a day where I get over it," she says.

"But at least saying it out loud helps me understand that not I'm not the only one feeling that way.

"And it feels very empowering."

The Ivors, as they're known, are the awards the most musicians want to win, because they recognise achievement in songwriting, rather than pure commercial sales.

And Victoria says being recognised at the Ivors - which also saw Raye and Harry Styles win awards - is a special feeling.

"It recognises craft in a way that I think other award shows don't do, specifically for songwriting”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Fordyce for The New Yorker

One thing I loved about Victoria Canal’s Instagram post was that she was very honest about touring and its downsides. She loves her fans, yet there are travel and economic issues that make it very hard. The cramped travel conditions and the stress and energy that is expanded and impactful when you perform all around the world. Canal talked about crammed sleeping spaces and that inevitable toll on the body and mind. It is not a new thing. Artists are discussing mental health and the fact that touring is difficult. Artists rarely making a profit and able to sustain long tours because of the impact it has on them. I will come back to Victoria Canal. She said on Instagram how she is in a better headspace now, but it was important to share her post. Looking ahead to touring, it is important that artists share the realities of what touring is like. An article from last year focused on Lorde and how she is feeling the economic issues with touring:

“Lorde has discussed the current economic realities of touring in a newsletter sent to fans.

The singer – who has been on the road for most of the tour touring in support of her third studio album, ‘Solar Power’ – is currently in the midst of a string of South American shows, having completed North American and European runs.

“Basically, for artists, promoters and crews, things are at an almost unprecedented level of difficulty,” Lorde wrote in her letter, citing factors like “three years’ worth of shows” occurring simultaneously, global economic downturn, and concertgoers’ “totally understandable wariness” around health risks.

She went on to acknowledge logistical factors such as widespread crew shortages, linking to an article from New Zealand news outlet Stuff about the issue. “Extremely overbooked trucks and tour buses and venues, inflated flight and accommodation costs, ongoing general COVID costs, and truly mindboggling freight costs” were also listed as factors.

“To freight a stage set across the world can cost up to three times the pre-pandemic price right now. I don’t know shit about money, but I know enough to understand that no industry has a profit margin that high,” Lorde continued.

“Ticket prices would have to increase to start accommodating even a little of this, but absolutely no one wants to charge their harried and extremely-compassionate-and-flexible audience any more fucking money.

“Nearly every tour has been besieged with cancellations and postponements and promises and letdowns, and audiences have shown such understanding and such faith, that between that and the post-COVID wariness about getting out there at all, scaring people away by charging the true cost ain’t an option. All we want to do is play for you.”

Lorde went on to say that she’s lucky because profits being down across the board doesn’t pose an issue for an artist of her stature, but touring has become a “demented struggle to break even or face debt” for artists selling less tickets than her – which in some cases, can make touring prohibitive altogether. Such was the case for Animal Collective, who cited economic difficulties for cancelling a recent UK and European tour”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Rahul Pandit/Pexels

It is harder now than ever for artists to make a living from touring. Even huge artists like Taylor Swift struggle and have issues, though they are in a very privileged position regarding finances and their experiences. For the vast majority of artists, there is that mix of pleasure and pain. The discomfort and financial struggles are set against the euphoria and connection you get from that live space. The relationship with the audiences. The chance for your music to be shared and get an instant reaction. I can see why artists are so compelled to perform live and do it in spite of the hurdles and drawbacks. There does seem to be a lot of barriers and heartache. Not making enough money and spending a load getting to see people. Travelling in buses and cars and not sleeping well or comfortably. The loneliness and exhaustion that you feel. Again, all things that have existed for decades, though I feel there is more pressure on artists now when it comes to touring endlessly to make money. This 2015 article revealed the darkness of touring. Here is another feature that reveals the lows and problems with touring today. With Brexit, the cost of living, and people maybe having less disposable income, tied to the fact artists want to be environmentally conscious and still get to see fans, there is so much to think about. It was very brave and important for Victoria Canal to share her thoughts.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Shukhrat Umarov/Pexels

She is in a better place now, yet fans and everyone might think it is all glamour and fun. The reality is, for all artists, there are some real lows and gut punches. Even if ticket prices can be pretty steep, consider what some artists have to go through and how much of themselves – and their own money – they are using to get onto the stage in the first place! It is a real gruelling and hard thing to do (touring as an artist). That said, there are clear highs and positives. You get to be in the same space as the people who support your music. The thrill and phenomenal rush and high you get from performing and being in front of a crowd cannot be matched. Lots of love and best of luck to Victoria Canal – who has some big dates coming up. Support to all artists out there. Again, I would refer back to this invaluable book, Touring and Mental Health: The Music Industry Manual by Tamsin Embleton. It is an invaluable guide for artists when it comes to their mental health. That is something impacting so many artists. That desire to please their fans and get their music out there comes with that risk. The psychological impacts together with economic ones can be really devastating. I could not let Victoria Canal’s post go. It did make an impact on me. Her words will definitely resonate with other artists around the world. I am glad that things are better for her now. We do need to shine more of a light on touring and the effect it has on artists that are…

SO very valuable to us.

FEATURE: The Ex-X: Are Artists Today as Bold and Provocative When It Comes to Themes of Sex and Passion in Music?

FEATURE:

 

The Ex-X

PHOTO CREDIT: Ali Pazani/Pexcls

Are Artists Today as Bold and Provocative When It Comes to Themes of Sex and Passion in Music?

_________

EVEN though music has not…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Christina Aguilera/PHOTO CREDIT: Zoe Rain

become completely free of sexual content in music, it is clear that there is not the same degree of boldness and revelation that there was in the 1990s or the 2000s. Think about that first decade of this century. There were some really confident and revealing artists who were very open about their sexuality and desires. Some would say that there was a degree of exploitation back then. Think of artists emerging from that time like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. How much of those images and videos were controlled by the artist?! I feel there was over-sexualisation. That is problematic and is not as common now. Women are still exploited and sexualised by the industry though, when it comes to the nature of sex and sexuality, I also feel they are producing the type of songs that raise the temperature and put everything out there. These really emboldened songs. When it comes to a certain intensity and passion, female artists are leading the way. More and more, they are carving their own narrative and controlling their voices – though a lot of major artists still have labels behind them pushing sex and a particularly provocative image. I guess that opens other questions when it comes to the line. Is the artist having a say regards their images and whether they want to be sexualised?! What is the right balance for our time?!

Things have changed in the past couple of decades. We have mainstream artists like Charli XCX and Dua Lipa who are given strength and confidence to women when it comes to discussing sex and being unashamed and unapologetic. Some terrific Rap and R&B artists who write songs that are sensual and sweat-inducing. Of course, being too explicit and lurid can cause offense and be seen as a way of creating controversy. It is a balance that seems to still be tipping towards the safe and less expressive/sexual. I think there has been a slight decline in terms of the nature of music and lyrics the past five or ten years. Not to say there is more of a focus on passion and love as opposed something more physical and transient. The sexual spectrum is more open now than years ago. The L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community sharing their voices and are being given spotlight in a way that was not visible or permitted by the industry before. It is a much more accepting as broad landscape to the one I grew up listening to. That is a really positive and progressive thing – though the mainstream is not as diverse as it could be when it comes to spotlighting and supporting that community. I am glad that we do not have the same sense of exploitation and lurid interest in artists as there was back then. It applied to women and how the industry represented them. Problematic and often very degrading, I am not sure how many of those major artists could create their own visions and images. That idea that ‘sex sells’.

I am not sure what channels people are turning into, though a recent study showed that teens want less sex in their T.V. and films. I would say one of the issues with film is that sex is not present enough. Not in a real way. Often quite tame and unrealistic, perhaps there are certain films and shows that are too explicit. In general, I do wonder if those people asked are seeking out shows and films that are more provocative and sexual. Look at modern film and, sure, there are those that deal with sex in a bold and realistic manner. I don’t think we live in an overly-exploitative and sexualised age when it comes to film and T.V. Maybe there is so much more music now that, inevitably, things are varied and there is still a lot of artists discussing sex. I think that Pop still has that to a degree, yet there is more of a focus on the complexities of relationships. Artists more revealing about their thoughts and depths rather than something more shallow. Rap and R&B still push things though, similarly, maybe it is less common to see artists of all genders put sex at the front. This is not a prurient desire or itch. I actually feel that film and T.V. has become safe and a little too restrictive when it comes to sex right across the spectrum. This new article argued whether we have seen the death of sex on T.V. Contrary to a recent survey, maybe sex not being portrayed and visualised in a realistic way that often. It is clear many disagree. I think one big change from decades ago is that Pop is less hypersexualised. We have (thankfully) got rid of lads’ magazines and that reliance on smut and ‘pin-up’ artists. It was something that was more aimed at female artists. That need to show them with as little clothing as possible in order to sell and image and, importantly, records.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kylie Minogue/PHOTO CREDIT: Shore Fire Media

It is good things have progressed. If there might not be as much challenging and boundary-pushing songs, artists and videos about sex and the physical, maybe the nature of sex and relationships means that artists are creating something deeper and more fulfilling and positive – as opposed songs that could be seen as quite cheap and dangerous at times. Many modern artists might react to criticism of the past. This 2015 article argued modern music might be more about sex and less about love. Some see modern Pop as too sexualised. Not to focus on women too much. I feel that they were given a raw deal back when. Too exposed and sexualised. Now, we are seeing a crop of young and legendary artists – from Cardi B to Kylie Minogue – who are very much in control of what they are putting down. Maybe I have seen this wrong. Rather than there being a comparative lack of sex and something thrilling in music, artists are going for staying power and pride. Many artists seen as sensual rather than sexual. This debate is more complex and deeper than I imagined. I want to finish with a couple of fairly recent feature that react to the changing face of popular music. How the nature of sex and body confidence has shifted. In a BBC article, Arwa Haider asked whether explicit expressions of female sexuality in Pop really be empowering. It did seem, after a few years of raunchiness being less common from the queens of modern music, there was this new breed of empowering artists bringing it back on their own terms:

“A lot of songs about love are really about lust and desire,” says Davies. “Now, what I like about WAP is that it really doesn’t stop; I totally understand the feeling that ‘men in this field have been so overt in talking about my body, it’s time for me to say something’ – and it’s not just a little bit of ‘hey, I’m going to play you at your game’ titillation. Cardi B has all these different ways of trying to really shove the message home. I still haven’t got my head around the bit with the macaroni…”

While WAP smashes mainstream boundaries, I still find myself questioning who gets the biggest kicks from its boldness, in an industry that remains largely patriarchal

While WAP smashes mainstream boundaries, I still find myself questioning who gets the biggest kicks from its boldness, in an industry (songwriters, directors, CEOs) that remains largely patriarchal; as with Madonna’s Sex and Lil’ Kim’s Hard Core album (1996), the visuals fetishise female flesh (particularly non-white bodies), rather than male objects of desire.

“When Madonna did the Sex book, some people thought: ‘this is so brave, the biggest star in the world baring all’. I just thought, ‘what else have you got to show us now?’” admits Davies. “It reminded me of a time when women would get the dirty joke in before men did. Obviously, women are entitled to talk about their bodies and what they want as much as men, but often, men will choose to react to that in a way that gives them the power.”

At the same time, 21st-Century pop seems to embrace a positively broad spectrum of female sexuality, including creative trailblazers like Janelle Monáe (modelling ‘vagina pants’ in the gorgeous video for 2018’s PYNK) and headstrong young stars such as Sweden’s multi-platinum-selling Zara Larsson – who, at 22, seems wowed that I’m old enough to recall the original release of Like A Virgin. “Pop music is beautiful because it’s a form of empowerment: be who you want to be,” Larsson tells me. “I’ve always looked up to women who embrace their sexuality, and I’ve always idolised strong women with big voices – Christina Aguilera, Céline Dion, Beyoncé. They represented what I wanted to be. Or when Rihanna is singing Sex with Me (2016), I love that she’s addressing the guy, unapologetically.”

Larsson argues that, regardless of the songwriter, just hearing women sing about sex is empowering – although she adds that there have been very contrasting traditions: “Usually, when women sing about sex, it’s like: ‘I wanna feel this’; guys are more likely to express: ‘I’m gonna do this to you’; sex is something being done to you, rather than something you’re part of. When I write songs, my favourite thing to explore is that initial attraction, when you see someone on the dancefloor, and it’s raw lust. That feeling is so fun to write about, and it’s so relatable.”

For another contemporary talent, British singer-songwriter/musician Shingai Shoniwa, fronting a band (Noisettes) and drawing from her African Bantu heritage proved an empowering experience, in advance of her exhilarating solo album, Too Bold (2020). “I’d been making music for a living since I was 16,” says Shoniwa. “Being in a group, playing bass and guitar, I didn’t feel pressure to perform for the male gaze. I was this black girl with natural hair who made my own clothes, and I was confident in the communication of the music – jazz, rock’n’roll, blues, funky house.”

Shoniwa notes that there is still “a whiff of post-colonialism” in the commercial industry: “Every corporate machine is going to encourage black and brown bodies to be hyper-sexualised in pop music, often for a short-lived moment of success, and not to the financial benefit of these women. It means you have this conveyor belt of forgotten female talent.”

“It doesn’t help when we’re not allowed to be positioned if there’s more than one of us,” says Shoniwa, bringing to mind the current much-publicised ‘spat’ between Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. “When a lot of female talents know they might only get a year or two in this business, they might think: ‘How am I going to maximise on that?’ We’re talking about ownership of image, of beauty, of curves, of brands. And when I see how a lot of major label artists are signed now, you’re better off being self-funded. Besides Madonna, there are so many women artists that prove you can be sexually empowered without feeling like you have to sexually entertain everyone else.”

In modern pop culture, there should be space for multiple queens – and female solidarity and staying power turn out to be the most provocative moves”.

There have been cultural moments and complications in the past that have forever changed how artists explore sex and sensuality. I want to go back six years to an article from The Guardian. Laura Snapes wrote how songs and artists (male mostly) blurred lines. Talking more about coercion, rape and taking away consent. Together with an industry still overly-sexualising women, it was obvious things had to change. In a modern time when we are hearing so many cases of sexual abuse and assault, is there a fear from artists that they need to hold back when it comes to sex? Can they use their platform to fight against those who take away their rights and consent? In 2023, we still need to be quite careful when it comes to sex in music. The 2018 article from The Guardian discusses a particularly damaging and problematic watershed moment in modern music:

“When Robin Thicke and Pharrell released Blurred Lines on 26 March 2013, they had no idea (or claimed not to) that it would kickstart a debate about rape culture and misogyny in pop . The outraged response to its suggestive lyrics – particularly the refrain “I know you want it” – permanently changed the standards to which pop is held, and the way in which pop itself deals with sex.

That is not to say that sex has vanished from pop since the controversy. Jason Derulo and Bruno Mars are no strangers to objectification; ex-boybanders such as the former One Direction members are still breaking with their clean-cut pasts by letting you know in song exactly how much sex they’re having; while Brit awards nominee J Hus cackles in the face of good taste. In 2016, Ariana Grande released a classic of the form in the admirably brazen Side to Side, about the inability to walk straight after a long night at the coal face.

But pop’s portrayals of sexuality have been complicated – and muted – by an unusually eventful half-decade. Intimacy has been corrupted by technology and anxiety. Female artists are redefining sexuality. Would-be seducers must acknowledge conversations about consent and gender politics. Provocateurs who aren’t progressive are soon rumbled. R&B is grappling with what pleasure looks like when black bodies are under siege from police brutality and cultural fetishisation. And LGBTQ listeners are demanding more than rote heterosexual hook-ups. This immediacy is nothing new – pop has always either shaped or reflected the social and sexual mores of its era – but the outcomes are.

Last year, US critic Ann Powers published Good Booty: Love and Sex, Black and White, Body and Soul in American Music, an inspired history of sex in pop. She writes of how rock’n’roll validated teenage desire and liberated girls; posits Robert Plant’s moan and Donna Summer’s gasps as music’s answer to the mainstreaming of pornography in the 70s; and Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson “playing freely within the dreamscape of eroticised fantasy” as a safe outlet for sexuality during the Aids crisis. Female rap and R&B acts in the early 90s – Salt-N-Pepa, TLC – stoked a playful consciousness where safety didn’t come at the expense of pleasure. This segued, however, into the turn of the millennium and the scantily clad, raunch culture of Paris Hilton, MTV’s Spring Break and Christina Aguilera’s Dirrty. Music channels were full of pornified dance-pop videos: the likes of Eric Prydz’ Call on Me or Alex Guadino’s Destination Unknown.

Rina Sawayama is a Japanese-born, London-raised DIY pop star tipped to break out this year. Her slick sound is influenced by mainstream music from the turn of the millennium, “when labels and A&Rs were actively promoting young sexuality through acts like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera”, she says. But that is where the similarities end. “People are more sensitive to manufactured sexuality, especially from female artists.” she says. “If singers are going to talk about sex, then it has to come from the artist; authenticity is important.” She praises the “comfy erotica” of SZA and her track Drew Barrymore: “She talks about the TV show Narcos in the first verse; it’s a perfect Netflix-and-chill song. I think it echoes how millennials – and especially people of colour – want to spend our time, in a safe space with the people we love.”

The gold standard of empowered female pop sexuality is another holdover from 2013. On Beyoncé’s self-titled surprise album, she sang with explicit command about rediscovering her sexuality after the birth of her first child. “Beyoncé boldly proposes the idea that a woman’s prime – personal, professional, and especially sexual – can occur within a stable romantic partnership,” wrote Pitchfork’s Carrie Battan.

But Beyoncé’s next album represented another paradigm shift in how artists – and specifically black artists – address sexuality. Built around images of matriarchy and female solidarity, 2016’s Lemonade was assumed to confront longstanding rumours of husband Jay-Z’s affairs. “But the trauma of infidelity is about much more than matters of adulterous fucking in Lemonade,” wrote MTV News critic Doreen St Félix. “Black women in America are cheated out of spiritual and material things.” Lemonade confirmed the inseparable nature of structural injustice and interpersonal love, St Félix asserted.

In the age of Black Lives Matter and an evidently racist White House, more black artists are confronting these themes. “It’s difficult to express intimacies, or make room for pleasure, when thinking about the body demands facing the many ways it can be diminished, even extinguished, instead of serving as a vessel of joy,” Powers writes. R&B star Miguel was singing straightforwardly pornographic lyrics on his 2015 album Wildheart, but last year’s War and Leisure saw sex newly intertwined with apocalypse; Beyoncé’s sister Solange’s 2016 album A Seat at the Table proposes sex as alleviation from the exhaustion of racial aggression. “I slept it away, I sexed it away,” she sings on Cranes in the Sky. “Artists like SZA, Kelela and Jhené Aiko definitely explore eroticism while also insisting on being introspective and self-reflexive in other ways,” Powers tells me. “They question the mandate for women – especially women of colour – to be sex symbols while insisting on claiming erotic agency”.

There is a lot to consider and balance. With many feeling sex is too evident and there is not enough music about relationships and passion, there is also visibly less sexy and provocative songs in certain genres. I still think it is women that are more prolific and confident when it comes to desire and sex. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps it is that liberation and taking control. Is there a fine line between liberation and objectification? It is a tough debate and sticky subject. I would disagree that there is too much sex in Pop or other genres. The reason I am writing this is because you do not quite see the same sort of striking and memorable songs that really do put it out there. Perhaps radio stations have to censor and limit that. Music videos not as explicit as they were (which can be a good thing). Mainstream artists like Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift and Harry Styles talking more about love than sex. Other artists in the mainstream sprinkling other subjects and lyrical angles among songs about sex and desire. In a moment when young people do feel that film and T.V. is too obsessed with sex and there is too much being revealed, is music suffering the same thing?! Is the opposite true?! Artists definitely need to talk about sex and communicate that with their audience. It can be very empowering and powerful if artists do have that frank connection. There is a fear that, in a social media age where there is too much sexualisation and a lack of filters when it comes to young people and sexual content, that music needs to be more responsible. It is a debate and thought that I wanted to open up. Personally, I feel that music is a lot less ‘icky’ and coercive than it was. Women more in control of their voice and image, even if there is still some way to go. Perhaps fewer songs that take risks and do linger in the mind when it comes to the physicality and intensity. Though, all things considered, maybe that is…

THE way things have to be.

FEATURE: Magic Again? Kate Bush’s December 1978 and January 1979

FEATURE:

 

 

Magic Again?

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz 

Kate Bush’s December 1978 and January 1979

_________

THERE are quite a few…

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

features about Kate Bush coming in December. I am thinking about 1978. That was her first full year in the industry in terms of releases. Forty-five years ago, Bush would have been looking ahead of Christmas and a break. Spending time with her family and being as normal a twenty-year-old as possible. What was the reality then? What about the January too? After such a busy 1978, there would have been demand and desire for her to capitalise and keep going. How much of a rest did she get? I love looking at 1978, as it was her busiest year. In terms of expectation from EMI and what Bush might have wanted, I feel the hectic schedule of 1978 influenced her decision to tour in 1979 and, with it, assume more say and control. At the end of a frantic 1978, things did let off slightly. There was a little break for Christmas and that period, though she was back into the swing of things in January. I will come to this amazing website that lays out what Bush was doing in December 1978 and January 1979.

Even though singles like Wuthering Heights and The Man with the Child in His Eyes were not really embraced or played in the U.S., there was still intrigue and demand:

“December, 1978

Kate is off to promote in the U.S.A. for the release there of The Man With the Child in His Eyes.December 9, 1978

Most importantly, she performs two songs on the U.S. NBC-TV programme, Saturday Night Live. [This is the only live entertainment programme on U.S. television, and is the most influential programme for the pop music market, as well the most important American showcase for "alternative" music. Kate performs The Man With the Child in His Eyes, seated on a piano, to the accompaniment of veteran rock keyboardist Paul Shaffer; and Them Heavy People, in a raincoat and Fedora hat. Nothing remotely like it has ever been seen on American television before.]

She is invited by Eric Idle, who is host of that edition; and she is visited by Mick Jagger. Paul Simon drops in to watch her performance.

Kate does press and radio promotion and moves on to Canada for more of the same. She is known to have made no other North American television appearances during this trip, however.

Back in England the Kate Bush Club, the official fan club, is formed.

It was quite an important month in many ways. Forty-five years ago this December, Bush was established more of a footing in the U.S. Here, the fan club was set up. Confirmation that she was an artist with a lot of fans behind her! That brief stint in North America is interesting. That Monty Python (Bush was a fan of them and a friend, particularly with Terry Gilliam) connection and Eric Idle asking Kate Bush to perform. Aged twenty, she had already travelled so much and was getting used to the promotional trail. She had ticked off so much before Christmas. Coming back from the U.S., she would have been glad to get some rest in Kent with her family!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979 during The Tour of Life/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Only a few days into 1979, there was a definite move away from promoting her first two albums, The Kick Inside and Lionheart, and starting something else. I like the fact the seeds for The Tour of Life were being planted – even if it was quite modest and conceptual. With a little break at the end of December, there was not much pause before Kate Bush was back in action:

January 6, 1979

Kate is voted Best New Artist of 1978 in the Record Mirror annual poll.

Kate is guest of honour at the San Remo Song Festival in Italy. This is screened in most of Europe, but not in the U.K.

Preparations for the live tour begin in earnest. Kate's own concept is to combine poetry, music, songs and dance in an entirely new way. Her dance ideas and training will be supervised by Antony Van Laast, of the London Contemporary Dance Company (who had appeared with Kate in the video for Hammer Horror). Kate will be backed by a seven-piece band, the core of which will be Paddy Bush (mandolin, backing vocals), Del Palmer (bass), and Brian Bath (rhythm guitar) of the KT Bush Band, supplemented by Alan Murphy (lead guitar), Kevin McAlea (keyboards, saxophone), Ben Barson (keyboards), and Preston Heyman (drums).

January 20, 1979

Kate appears on The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop on BBC TV, and is interviewed by Noel Edmonds and via a phone-in by the viewers”.

It was clear that December 1978 and January 1979 was about rounding and wrapping things up and clearing a path for new things. After going to the U.S. to do her only live T.V. appearance there, Bush was being celebrated in the U.K. with a new fanclub. A satisfying end to 1978 – even if the U.S. audience was not as large and important as elsewhere in the world -, there was some success and new plans in January 1979. Conceiving her tour and plotting ideas, one of my favourite event s in early Kate Bush timeline was her appearance on The Multi-Coloured Swap Shop. Bush had clearly established herself as an artist and was very much in demand. Some of her T.V. appearances were with stuffy interviewers, though most were quite fun and casual. She did appear on children’s shows and in that environment a few times. You might think she would be more teen-focused or an older audience, yet there was also this very important much younger demographic that was being included.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

One could write an entire book on Kate Bush’s 1978. It was so busy and varied, few other artists have had that sort of start! Even in December 1978, there was stuff going on and there was this push (brief as it was) in North America. It took a while for the U.S. particularly to really get behind Kate Bush. That said, I do love her appearance on Saturday Night Live. Starting 1979 with sketches of The Tour of Life and some further promotion, you get this crossover one can imagine would have been tiring for Bush. Soon enough, The Tour of Life would take shape and she could focus on that – even if there was still album promotion and singles did come out in 1979 (Wow came out in March). Forty-five years ago, this amazing artist was ending her first full professional year in music. Rather than have a period off or kick back, the always-prolific and creative Kate Bush was in an ambitious mindset early…

IN 1979.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Kenya Grace

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Hannah Diamond

 Kenya Grace

_________

WITHOUT doubt…

one of the most impressive and important feats of this year was when Kenya Grace’s major label debut single, Strangers, got to number one. It was written and produced by her. That made her the second female artists - the other being Kate Bush - to ever achieve that. That alone deserves respect! The South African-born, London-based artist is someone who rightly has a lot of interested eyes on her. I am going to come to a few interviews that were published around Strangers and its release. Even if that was her major label debut single, Kenya Grace has been performing for a few years now. An artist that come to attention during the pandemic in 2020, I think that 2023 has been her most successful year. Before coming to recent interviews, I want to go to a Wordplay Magazine interview:

“Kenya Grace is a self-taught singer/songwriter/producer hailing from London. She has grown up on an eclectic mix of music which permeates through to her current sound and has been likened to Banks and Flume. She’s managed to stay creative and productive throughout lockdown; dropping the syrupyTalk earlier this month on Trash Like You Records. We caught up with Kenya to discuss her musical journey, her current musical output and her plans for the future…

What influenced you in pursuing music as a career and have there ever been times when you doubted yourself in your pursuit?

I remember the first time I wrote a song and the feeling I got; I literally couldn't compare it to anything else so I think I then just decided this is what I'm going to do for the rest of my life! From then I diverged into production and my mind was literally blown with how much you can create from a laptop - we live in such an exciting time! I think every artist has doubts (we’re such a sensitive bunch) but I know for certain I would not be happy at all if I quit music and did something else.

You graduated from the Academy of Contemporary Music in August 2019 - what were the main things you took away from that and how has that impacted you as a musician?

Before ACM I couldn't even sing in front of people. I was so shy with my music and barely believed in myself at all, So I think ACM impacted me as a musician in a huge way - I was finally surrounded by people just like me, we worked on so many different projects and really supported each other. I really have met the best people during my time at ACM and I learnt so much about myself and really worked hard on building up my confidence and my sound.

For someone that has never heard a Kenya Grace song, how would you describe your soundscape in seven words?

Sultry, smooth, delicate, dreamy, electronic, empowering.

You’ve described your latest song Talk as "an acknowledgement of a toxic relationship and a decision not to take someone's shit anymore" - how do you hope tracks like these will help others who may be going through similar situations?

I wrote Talk after getting out of a toxic relationship and the journey of finally letting go and moving on which gave me back my power. I really hope people can relate to the lyrics and perhaps see similar situations in their own life and get out of there!! It may seem hard at first to let someone go especially if they are close to you but it's also so incredibly empowering to finally do what is best just for yourself.

The track was created in your bedroom during isolation - how did you find lockdown had an impact on your creative process and did it change your process when putting together a track?

I love creating sounds and writing on my own. I think it's when I'm my most authentic and creative, so lockdown wasn’t really too much of a change for me! However after I create a demo or the basis of a song I now usually involve more people and get them to add some different elements to the song. However for this one I just made it all myself and then @bandicootstudios did an amazing job of mixing and mastering my little bedroom creation. In a sense, I am more proud of this one because it's all mine, made from my room during lockdown and about something that really impacted my life so it feels very genuine to me.

With 2020 returning to some semblance of normality - what do you hope to achieve over the next few months and what are your short term goals with regards to releasing music and developing as an artist?

One of my short term goals in music is to get back in the studio - I’ve missed it so much!! I have been writing so much during lockdown and can't wait to bring these creations to life in the studio. Although we have been doing lots of zoom writing sessions, it's just not the same as that feeling of when you’re vibing in the studio! I really can't wait to release the projects we have been working on over the past few months and hopefully in the near future I’ll be able to perform them in front of a live audience”.

I am going to come up to date now. 2024 is going to be a massive year for Kenya Grace. After a number one single that showcases her skills as a songwriter and producer, many will be looking at an E.P. or album. She is someone who is being talked about as a serious artist to watch closely. The Independent reacted to the news of the wonderful Strangers going to the top of the charts in the U.K. It is an amazing accomplishment for Kenya Grace:

“Chart newcomer Kenya Grace has made history as her debut single “Strangers” reached the No 1 spot.

Born in South Africa but raised in Southampton, Grace began releasing music independently in 2019. She put out tracks such as “Tell Me Why”, “Talk” and “Oranges”, which failed to make an impact on the charts.

But it was “Strangers”, Grace’s self-produced drum and bass single which put the singer on the musical map. The track became big on TikTok and rose up the charts, hitting the top spot on Friday (13 October).

In doing so, Grace became one of only two British female artists to reach the No 1 spot on the Official Charts with a track performed, written and produced entirely solo.

The only other act to hold this record is Kate Bush. However, it wasn’t “Wuthering Heights” that earnt Bush this accolade, but her 1985 track “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)” when it re-entered the charts in 2022 following a feature on Stranger Things.

Paloma Faith on her heartbreak and being a single mum: ‘Our relationship ended because we had those children – it was worth it’

Paloma Faith on her heartbreak and being a single mum: ‘Our relationship ended because we had those children – it was worth it’

On her No 1 song, Grace said: “This is absolutely mental. Thank you so much for everyone who has streamed and supported and made videos with this song. This has literally changed my life, 100 per cent. Thank you so much!”

“Strangers” rose up the charts over a six week period, knocking Doja Cat off the top spot she had occupied with “Paint The Town Red” for five weeks”.

The fact is that Kenya Grace is in very exclusive company regarding her number one single feat being on par with Kate Bush. Both artists releasing this debut that was written, produced and performed by them. I don’t think it will be a one-off for her either. Vogue interviewed Kenya Grace after Strangers’ success to get her reaction – and also learn more about a tremendous young artist:

“With that feat, the 25-year-old has also made history: she is the second female solo artist to claim that spot with a song she wrote, produced, and performed entirely by herself. The only other woman to do so? Kate Bush. “It has been a very crazy few weeks. At the start, it was a lot and I was struggling. But,” she says, her smile growing, “it’s just been amazing.”

While she only started to release music last year, “I’ve made music since I was a kid. I feel like I’m meditating when I do it… I can truly express myself.” A Boomtown regular, the music she makes now is shaped by a youth spent partying. From the age of 16, “we would go to a bunch of, like, questionable drum ’n’ bass raves.” A sound resonating with a new generation of Brits, along with peers like PinkPantheress, Nia Archives, and Piri & Tommy, she brings the genre to a global audience with their Gen-Z twist. “It’s more like songwriter-y vibes now, I love it.”

Although she has an invested online audience, over 600,000 of whom like and comment under all her music snippets, hungrily demanding each release, she has just one performance under her belt so far. Grace is about to jump from practicing for family and friends to touring Europe, headlining venues like Berghain, and America, in her first time on the continent. “It’s come around really fast,” she grins. “I don’t have some crazy dream. Hopefully I can just keep connecting with people.” Below, Grace discusses musical theatre, tattoos, and Tinder.

What was the inspiration behind “Strangers”?

Sonically, I wanted to make something that was more ethereal sounding, so I layered synths, high-backing vocals and lots of reverb to try and create this euphoric sound. Lyrically, it’s just something that I’ve been noticing a lot recently through my own past relationships and other people’s too: how you can speak to someone for so long and then randomly one night, you just never speak to them ever again. That complete polar opposite change is so common now – I think it’s through Hinge and Tinder and dating apps. I feel like it’s so easy just to dispose of people. Sad but true!

It’s interesting you wanted to give that subject a euphoric sound. Why the contrast?

I always love that juxtaposition. It’s one of my favourite things when you have a really fat reese base, fast drums and low frequencies, and then the opposite of that would be light airy vocals, and soft, delicate, pretty-sounding harmonies. I’ve loved that ever since I first heard it with Banks: really deep bass and then her vocals were really soft.

What were your formative music experiences?

My mum always used to play Norah Jones and Katie Melua. That’s such a big memory actually, this song called “Sunrise” by Norah Jones. And a really important part of my musical journey: I got into musical theatre in primary school really, really young, and then I was like, “I love singing!” When I went to secondary school I got into it even more and that’s helped me to sing properly and perform. It’s really crazy thinking back, musical theatre to now – mad difference but yeah!

@kenyagracebaby Writing sad songs is my therapy 🥲✨ #songwriter #femaleproducer #dancemusic #drumandbass #dnb #liquid ♬ Strangers - Kenya Grace

How did raving shape your sound?

That time in your life, you’re like a sponge. You take in so much when you’re a teenager. It made me really fall in love with the party scene – the good and the bad. It’s almost the imagery of going into the club is imprinted in my brain: getting there; going out to the smoking area; all of it is such good imagery. That is imprinted in my soul.

How did you find your own personal style?

I’ve always loved it ever since I was in school, and I used to get piercings – or pierce myself. Two years ago, I worked at a piercing shop in London and that has definitely influenced me. I love the alternative space: piercings and tattoos. I want to be completely covered in tattoos soon. I love vintage clothes. My favourite place to get vintage jackets is a secondhand leather shop in Camden… and I love New Rock shoes.

Your comments are begging you to release the other songs you’ve teased; when do you plan to?

I don’t know, to be honest… I love posting those videos so much and I’m really happy I did, but that’s all that exists of those songs. Some of them are such works in progress. Some artists tease songs and there’s a full song but it’s not like that for me. I don’t know what I’ll do with them. Eventually, maybe I’ll just do an album of mini songs.

“Strangers” resonated with a car ride-loving community; what is your favourite music to play in the car?

If I need hyping up then maybe like some really heavy drum ’n’ bass. Or, I really love neo-soul and pop music. But probably Flumes’s album: I always go back to Flume. Or Disclosures’s new album, that is really good”.

There are some more interviews that I want to come to. Official Charts spoke with Kenya Grace recently. The songwriter was asked about her path to success and who has influenced her as a producer. It is always fascinating to hear from this wonderful artist. She is definitely someone who is going to have a long future in music:

“I'm a big proponent of moving home to focus on your dreams

Honestly, it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. I was really scared at first, because it does feel once you've moved out and then come back, you're moving backwards a little bit? I really thought that at the start, but it's actually been life-changing.

You went to ACM Guildford - please tell me it was like Glee, I'm seeing people dancing on tables

Honestly, I met people I still work with now there. It was basically a massive networking event. I did a songwriting course at uni, and that's what made me realise that I wanted to get into production. So, while I was studying songwriting, I was back at home teaching myself how to produce my own music. I needed to do it. I kind of wish I had a done a production course...

Honestly, I think all the best producers are self-taught

The best thing I learned [trying to do it all myself] was when I was going into sessions with people I'd never met before. They were so much better than me, so I just ended up watching them, and thinking how I could do that myself. It was like, OK, that's how you do that.

Production-wise, who are your artistic touchstones?

When I was at college I was massively influenced by Disclosure and Flume. They kind of changed my life. I knew that was the kind of music I had to make.

What was the initial idea that sparked the genesis of Strangers?

I don't really sit down and mean to write things, if that makes sense? It really fascinated me how you can have a relationship with someone, romantic or platonic, where you go from literally seeing them every day for months and months and then you just never speak again. It's quite sad! And I don't know about most people, but I could never handle being friends with my ex. But I didn't even mean to start writing about this! It just happened. I just felt so strongly about how sad it is.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kenya Grace (@kenyagrace)

My favourite thing about the song is that the production is completely banging, but the lyrics are, like you say, about a really sad situation

The juxtaposition there is my favourite thing too. It's really vibey and it makes you want to party, but at the heart of it, it's really sad. If I'd made a sad version, you'd literally be sat alone in your room crying.

This is your major label debut single - was it clear from the time you finished it that this was the track to lead with?

No. It wasn't! I wrote Strangers in February and actually...this is quite funny...I was originally [going to lead] with a different song. It's very trance, I was leading that across all my socials and that is coming out soon, but I wrote Strangers as a filler post. I wanted to keep people engaged! When we actually finished it, though, I think everyone knew this was the one to go with.

I think this has come at such a great time for women in dance music - drum'n'bass as well, which is seeing such a resurgence. Becky Hill and Chase & Status just scored a Top 10 with Disconnect, too. There's also so many women in pop writing and producing all their own stuff - Charli XCX, Eliza Rose, PinkPantheress...

I honestly think this is such an inspiring time for women in general. There are so many sick girls out there right now smashing it. We're feeding the narrative of girls absolutely slaying it, as they should! I actually love it, and I'm so happy to be a part of it”.

I am going to finish with a Rolling Stone UK interview. It is clear that Kenya Grace will get a lot of international attention and requests very soon. With more singles undoubtably in her mind – she did release Only in My Mind after Strangers -, it is not too long before her name is known far and wide. If you are new to her or completely unaware, do make sure to check out Strangers and her other music. These are early days, though this is an artist that you need to keep your ears open for:

“It’s been the craziest thing that’s ever happened to me,” she says, reflecting on the tune’s success, “and the best thing as well. It’s just been insane — I’m very grateful.” On her debut tour, she’s seen the real-life manifestation of this success. “Sometimes people on Instagram and TikTok don’t feel like actual people, so when you meet them in real life, it feels a lot more real.”

As well as her formative electronic influences, Grace is a musical peer of PinkPantheress. There are also plenty of similarities to the conversational, charismatic songwriting of Lily Allen in her work. Asked whether she considers herself primarily a producer, songwriter or both, Grace shrugs and plays down the importance of labels. The two terms feel equally applicable, though; her songs are far from just lyrics put on top of beats, and the tracks could have their dance-led dressing removed and stand strong as stripped-back, singer- songwriter tunes.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hannah Diamond

Following ‘Strangers’ is the ecstatic new single ‘Only in My Mind’, a track even catchier and more immediate than the chart-topper. With the promise of a bigger body of work on the way, it shows the next steps of an artist interested in building longevity, not simply a viral moment. As for the future, Grace is contemplating moving out of home and entertains ideas of collaboration and studio-based work. Despite these doors now being open to her, she feels drawn back to her comfortable and creatively stimulating origins, and there’s something irreplaceable and special about the songs being created purely inside the mind — and bedroom — of this intriguing new voice in British music”.

The Strangers title seems ironic now for an artist who is well-known and has a growing and loving fanbase. There are still those who do not know about the music of Kenya Grace. If that applies to you, then make it is a point to go and check out this brilliant artist. This year has been a hugely successful one for Kenya Grace. I have a feeling that 2024 will be…

EVEN better.

____________

Follow Kenya Grace

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/kenyagrace/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/kenyagracemusic

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@kenyagracebaby

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7uMDnSZyUYNBPLhPMNuaM2

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@kenyagracebaby

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/kenyagracemusic/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Five Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

  IN THIS PHOTO: Jamila Woods/PHOTO CREDIT: Bradley Murray

Songs from Albums Turning Five Next Year

_________

WHEN I did this series…

 PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

last year, I focused on albums celebrating big anniversaries in 2023. I started with those turning sixty, right down to those turning five. I started this run starting at fifty – 1964 and 1969 omitted -, whilst I was also going to stop at ten. I have decided to end on 2019 as, compared to 1964 or even 1969, there is a wider range of incredible albums that will get some focus in 2024. I know that a fifth anniversary is not really a big one, through many artists reissue albums that turn five. In any case, it is an excuse to spotlight brilliant albums that are five. In any case, as you will see, below is a selection of songs from albums that…

DOMINATED 2019.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Ten Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Ten Next Year

_________

THE penultimate part of this series…

celebrates albums that turn ten in 2024. The year 2014 was especially strong when it came to albums. I have included a song from a range of wonderful 2014 albums in a playlist at the bottom. I suspect that a few of the albums will get a reissue treatment sometime next year. As we look ahead to 2024 and what new music will arrive, I wanted to take us back a decade to some of the brilliant albums that came out that year. If you need a refresher as to what was happening then, the playlist below assembles songs from sensational albums that…

ARRIVED in 2014.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Fifteen Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Fifteen Next Year

_________

I am going to do one more…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Armin Rimoldi/Pexels

edition of this series before wrapping up. This penultimate feature spotlights albums that turn fifteen next year. Focusing on pearls from 2009, the playlist at the end has more than a share of quality songs! Maybe there are fewer classic and huge albums as features earlier in the run. I am heading briefly back to 2009 to celebrate albums that are fifteen in 2024. I will end with albums turning ten for the final in this run. Right now, and if you need a reminder of what was popular in 2009, then I think that the playlist underneath should…

JOG the memory.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Twenty Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Twenty Next Year

_________

IN this feature…

 PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

counting up to 2024 and looking ahead to legendary albums that have significant anniversaries coming up, the playlist below is all about 2004. Albums that are coming up for twenty years. Definitely a big and important milestone, it is a pleasure to go back twenty years and albums that were gaining acclaim – even if I am a bit earlier and we are still in 2023. It has been interesting putting together a playlist of tracks from epic albums of 2004. A terrific year for music, you can see the quality below. It is a pleasure to embrace and spotlight albums that turn…

TWENTY next year.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Twenty-Five Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Twenty-Five Next Year

_________

NEXT up in this series…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Diana Onfilm/Pexels

that looks ahead to 2024 and albums that have important anniversaries, it takes us now to 1999. This is a celebration of albums that turn twenty-five. A big milestone, there are some real classics and masterful albums in the pack! A superb playlist with songs that ended the 1990s with real style and impact, it is worth saluting a quarter-century of some sublime work. Like I say with every feature in this run: there will be albums and songs you will recognise, though there will also be ones that you are not necessarily familiar with. Whether you were growing up in 1999 or it was before your time, you cannot deny that the songs in the playlist below are from some…

SERIOUSLY important and incredible albums.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Thirty Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Thirty Next Year

_________

IN the next…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Andrea Piacquadio/Pexels

of this series of features marking albums that have important anniversaries next year, it is a beautiful one-two. The previous one was concerned with 1989. One of the finest years for music ever, perhaps it is bettered by 1994. That brings me to albums that are thirty in 2024. Such a beautiful bounty of stunning albums that defined a truly wonderful and memorable year for music, I have chosen a song from each and popped them into a big playlist. I know that a fair few of these albums will be reissued next year in anticipation of their anniversary. I think that 1994 is the best year for music. The playlist below is a good argument that I am…

RIGHT on the money.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Thirty-Five Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Thirty-Five Next Year

_________

CARRYING on…

 PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

with features that celebrate albums that have big anniversaries next year, we are now at 1989. One of the very best years for music ever, this is a brilliantly full and varied playlist! I am going to include as many as I can. There might be albums that I have overlooked. Turning thirty-five in 2024, below is a selection of the magnificent and genius albums that ended the 1980s in real style! Such a wonderful and near-unbeatable year for music, I have collated the very best of 1989. As many eyes will be turned to these albums next year – as there may be reissues and anniversary releases – I wanted to get in early and focus on them. Again, you may know most of these albums, yet there will be a few that are new or a bit less familiar. Here is a playlist featuring cuts from the very best and most important albums…

OF 1989.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Forty Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Forty Next Year

_________

KEEPING going…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

in features that celebrate albums with big anniversaries next year, it is now to 1984. A terrific year for music, I wanted to mark forty years of some giant albums. Even though we are not in 2024 yet, it is worth looking ahead to some world-changing and classic albums that have those important anniversaries approaching. You will know about most of these albums, yet some might be new to you. I hope that you enjoy the playlist. As so many albums get these anniversary reissues, I think we may see some of those included in the playlist get a new vinyl/physical release next year. Let’s hope so anyway. Take a listen below to some wonderful songs from some seriously worthy and standout albums that turn…

FORTY next year.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Forty-Five Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Forty-Five Next Year

_________

IN this run of features…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Grzegorz/Pexels

I am casting ahead to albums that celebrate big anniversaries in 2024. There are lots of timeless albums that will be included. For this part, I am looking to those that turn forty-five next year. Those treasures from 1979. One of music’s best years, there were so many unbelievable and legendary albums that came out then. Apologies if I miss a few, though I think I have managed to capture the very best from that year. There will be a load of songs in this playlist that are familiar and get played a lot – some of them might not be. I am excited to bring the best of 1979. For the next instalment in the series, I am compiling a best of from those wonderful albums…

FROM 1984.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Albums Turning Fifty Next Year

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

Songs from Albums Turning Fifty Next Year

_________

I was going to go back…

 PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

sixty years to celebrate albums that hit that milestone next year. 1964 saw some fantastic albums release, though I think I will start this run of feature looking back fifty years. I am starting with the best albums released in 1974. Such a rich, fantastic and iconic year for music, below is a playlist feature selections from songs from the very best. You may have been around then or it was before your time. Either way, enjoy a combination of wonderful songs from legendary albums…

RELEASED in 1974.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Some Sexy, Hot and Sensual Songs from the 2020s

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

 PHOTO CREDIT: nappy/Pexels

Some Sexy, Hot and Sensual Songs from the 2020s

_________

I am in the midst of preparing…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Tim Samuel/Pexels

various features and playlists for Christmas and next year. From Christmas playlists, present guides, plus albums celebrating big anniversaries next year, there is a distinct vibe with that music. As it is cold and the days are shorter, I wanted to use both of those things and provide a playlist featuring the sexiest , most sensual and hottest tracks from this decade so far. It has been one when we have seen some alluring R&B, fiery and intense Pop, together with some red-hot Rap. Below are a collection of songs that will bring thew heat and sweat. For those cold days and long nights, this a selection of some pretty racy and intense songs. Even if, in my view, genres like Pop and R&B have become less provocative and risk-taking when it comes to discussing sex and passion, there is still plenty of raw and revealing songs. From nakedly direct tracks to those that have a sensuous backdrop, here are some temperature-raising songs for…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Luiz Gustavo Miertschink/Pexels

AUTUMN’S chill.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Kevin Abstract

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Kevin Abstract

_________

ALONGSIDE new and rising artists…

there are those are more established that I like to highlight for Spotlight. In the case of Kevin Abstract, there may be those who do not know about his work. Born Clifford Ian Simpson, the Texan rapper, singer, and songwriter is a founding member of Brockhampton.   His debut album, MTV1987, arrived in 2014. Kevin Abstract’s second album, American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story, was released in November 2016. His third, Arizona Baby, was released in April 2019. Now, with Blanket fresh out, we have this impressive body of work from an amazing artist. I still think there are people not aware of Kevin Abstract. Rather than spotlight him as an artist coming through, it is a chance to make people aware of the brilliance of Kevin Abstract. Before coming to some recent interviews and reviews, I want to take things back further. Office Magazine spoke with him in 2016. After the release of his second studio album, it was a busy and eventful time for Abstract:

“OFFICE — So American Boyfriend’s just come out, what’s this past week been like for you?

KEVIN ABSTRACT — It’s pretty calm. I guess things happen here and there that I get stoked off of, but it’s pretty calm. Yeah, it’s just been figuring out what I’m gonna do next— not figuring it out, but just trying to do it.

O — Well that’s nice that it hasn’t been hectic. Have you been doing a lot of press?

KA — Yeah, a lot of the press I did, I did right before the album came out, so I get to finally see those things come out. I’ve been planning a video for the next single, that’s been taking up a lot of my time. It’s for a song called Runner, it’s one of my favorites. I’m also planning this prom, like to have my own prom basically for kids that never got to go to theirs. People like me, and most of my fan base. That’s gonna be fun.

O — And you’re performing? 

KA — I’m gonna do the whole album, I’m gonna have Jaden Smith come out, and the Neighbourhood.

O — So you moved here to LA about six months ago, right? 

KA — Yeah, I moved here from Texas, and I lived in Georgia for a little bit, the last two years of high school. In Texas I lived in Corpus Christi, and I lived in The Woodlands, which is like a suburb north of Houston. Arcade Fire, some of them are from there.

O — What made you choose LA, as opposed to, say, New York, as your destination? 

KA — New York’s too cluttered for the way I think about things, and sometimes I just have to be somewhere where I can go outside and breathe a little more, if that makes sense. See more of what’s actually around me, and be a little more in control. I like having control of certain things in my environment, when I’m in New York I don’t feel like I have that—maybe just not now because I’m, uh...I’m not rich. If I had more money, then maybe. But California feels like its own world, it’s crazy. Coming from Texas at least. I love it here.

O — Tell me about Texas.

KA —Well Corpus is kind of like a beach town almost, there’s the ocean, and the palm trees. That’s one of the reasons I like LA so much, because it reminds me of it. Except Corpus is not as beautiful as LA, but it’s beautiful in its own way. Selena’s from there. Pretty cool. The type of hip-hop scene there is like Baby Bash, Paula Deanda, just weird pop things. I was just always on the internet growing up, so I found Kid Cudi through Kanye West’s UniverseCity blog, that sparked a lot for me. Tyler, the Creator, Odd Future, all that stuff was like a really big turning point for me as an artist, and as a person. The Woodlands was just a boring suburb with a bunch of white people, not many black people or people of color, not too much culture I could resonate with. But what I found that I liked the most about the suburbs was the fact that there’s a lot of pain behind the beautiful homes and shit. I ended up bringing that to my music, and that’s what my entire album is.

O — What is that pain, where does it come from? I guess I’m not really surprised to hear that it exists.

KA — It’s not really surprising. I think it just comes from broken families, and lies. People should just be way more real with each other, and there’s a lack of that, in the suburbs that I grew up in.

O — Do you think there’s something about the suburbs that’s inherently less honest?

KA — People just want to keep up with other people’s lifestyles and money, they all have to look a certain way and they don’t want to be real with each other. This guard is up, no one ever wants to let their guard down”.

 

I will bring things more up to date. Some might not know about Kevin Abstract. There is a lot to explore and dive into when it comes to Blanket. It is an album that I realty love. One that everyone needs to hear. Vulture recently spoke with Abstract about his new album:

“Kevin Abstract is mellowing out, singing in a low whisper, and trying to abstain from antics that incite indignant threads in fan forums. Blanket, his third solo album, is a dark, tender rock opus that centers sounds he has dabbled in before — in the psych-rap jams “Tattoo” and “Yellow” from 2016’s American Boyfriend and the indie-trap deep cut “Cash” off Saturation, the 2017 release from his boy band Brockhampton — and he doesn’t want to distract from the music. “For the first time, I feel myself growing older,” Abstract sings in the shimmering, devastating “Voyager.” Maturity means making more focused art and seeking less attention. This will excite Brockhampton fans who were incensed last year when the group announced an indefinite hiatus and a final album called The Family, which turned out to be a captivating one-man postmortem on the collective’s career starring Abstract, before following up the next day with the real swan song, TM. Collective exhaustion and an itch to be done with a record deal inspired the feint last year, the 27-year-old rapper, singer-songwriter, producer, and director explained during a call last week. I wanted to confirm my guesses about which Pacific Northwest rock bands from the ’90s influenced the new songs and to trace the polymath plays that landed him a consulting job on HBO’s Euphoria.

There were guitars in the mix on your first two solo records, but Blanket is a full-fledged rock album. What brought that about?

It happened naturally. For years, I’ve been trying to make something that I genuinely would want to listen back to and stand next to on the road as a solo act. I finally did something that I’m beyond proud of. At times, I just haven’t allowed myself to fully go all the way there, but this … instinctually, it just felt right. I kept saying early on that I wanted to make my punk version of folklore. It’s a little joke we were throwing around, but it became a vision I ended up chasing throughout the whole album-making process. I was writing about exactly where I was and also dreaming of old memories from my childhood, not living in that nostalgia, but just looking back.

What have you been listening to lately?

A lot of current rap, some classical music. A lot of stuff I listened to growing up: Sunny Day Real Estate, Modest Mouse.

I like hearing that you were listening to some of the specific indie rock your new stuff made me think about. There’s a sense of intimacy because Modest Mouse at one point was just three guys trying to fill space in a song.

There’s also something supermodern about that. In a lot of rap, there’s so much space. You hear one line over and over, and it’s hypnotizing and kind of psychedelic. I thought it’d be cool to do that with these sonics and this whispering vocal style. Everyone was like, “Oh, it sounds like Alex G.” I Love Alex G so much. God Save the Animals was on repeat in my crib and in the studio all year. But the thing is, those chords are very similar to Modest Mouse chords, and growing up in high school, every boy I had a crush on was playing Modest Mouse. So it’s just in my soul and in my DNA to naturally like those kinds of chords. I think that’s why I like Alex’s music so much. I’ve been a fan since living in Texas, before we put out any of the Saturation stuff.

The timing of Blanket is very, “All right, there’s gonna be some changes around here.”

The last Brockhampton album was me straight up rapping every song. On this one, I didn’t really want to do that. But I still view it at its core as a rap album, maybe because I’m a rapper and I love rap music.

Let’s talk about those last two Brockhampton albums. When I saw the back-to-back release dates of The Family and TM and realized everyone would get 24 hours to think the final Brockhampton album had cut the rest of the group out, I knew people would be fried. How did that go for you?

People hated me. But I think it will be appreciated later down the line. I cringe a little bit saying that, but I love the fact that the group allowed me to do that.

What were the conversations about making The Family like?

They were easy because everyone was pretty much over it. Like, “All right, cool. Run it.” I think they felt betrayed by it, but we were just fully off it at that point. No one wanted to do another album, basically. Everything I say on The Family sums up how everyone felt about our decision to do that. It wasn’t just mine. It was me and a few other members.

Did you really make that album to wrap up a deal?

A thousand percent.

Before that, you became a consultant on Euphoria. What does that job entail?

Really just Sam Levinson showing me vibes and having me come to set to be like, “Yo, what do you think of that? Does that look cool?” I’m like, “Yeah, it’s cool.” It was lit. It was sick. You’re killing it. All the actors are great. I’m around all these new Hollywood people. It’s crazy energy to be around. Inspiring. One of my favorite videos I ever directed, the “Sugar” video by Brockhampton, opens with an alien in a sex scene. I sent it to Sam, and he liked it and asked me to be a consultant. I saw a bunch of cool stuff I never experienced before because of that opportunity. Truthfully, all I want to do is make movies, TV shows, and commercials. I try to take advantage of the chance whenever I’m rolling out my own music. World building — making an experience for people — is my favorite. It’s equally as important as the music. The music is just a piece of that for me.

I heard you met Drake.

I met Drake through Euphoria. I mean, I didn’t really meet him. Right before lockdown, I was at a table read, and there was a lot of food. I had a cheeseburger, and I saw him and I was like, “Bro, thank you for the food.” He said, “Of course, man.” That was great.

How has your creative process evolved since Saturation?

Back then, I was so broke and so desperate for attention. It was like, “How can I get everyone in Los Angeles and in New York and on the internet to look at me? How can I carve out my own lane where I can make albums and remind an audience that they can only come to me to get this specific sound?” I’m very patient with it right now. I’m not desperate for the attention. I’m not in a hurry to get there.

How was writing lyrics without a group to bounce ideas off of?

It was hard. It was lonely. It was challenging. But once I broke through, it was incredible. I need to be pushing myself more. It showed me how I was slacking in the past, relying on others too much”.

I am going to jump to reviews. CLASH were among those keen to praise a stunning album. Blanket ranks alongside Kevin Abstract’s very best. The more I listen to it, the more I seem to get. It is clear that this artist needs to be on everyone’s radar:

“Blanket’ is the moody new record by Kevin Abstract, a sometimes-minimalist project bathed in vulnerability and boasting a defined essence of melancholia and reflection. Coming nearly one year after the final BROCKHAMPTON album, ‘TM’, this new record from Abstract marks his first solo venture since the end of the band. ‘Blanket’ will clearly attract the lion’s share of BROCKHAMPTON fans, but where this record shines is in its absence of hip-hop, and in its embrace of genres Abstract has yet to toy with this heavily. It casts fuzzy guitars and pitched vocals in leading roles, providing a raw live concert feel – though Abstract ensures the tracks retain the hard-hitting nature of his hip-hop background.

What makes ‘Blanket’ thrive and pulse is its completely commitment to unrelenting honesty and vulnerability from Abstract. He runs through the record naked, speaking odes on his identity, atop of some gloriously fuzzy riffs, synthesisers and drums. The Texan polymath cultivates a visceral world on ‘Blanket’, the track list a diverse conglomeration of grunge, bittersweet ballads, pop and hip-hop. The record is at its best when noisy and scrappy, nineties West Coast undertones the thread throughout – the dynamic ‘The Greys’ sparse but still thrashing and heavy, ‘Today I Gave Up’ downtempo but oozing that Pacific Northwest emo tonality.

Though between the rock sensibilities, Abstract’s knack for the subtle shines brightly on penultimate cut ‘Heights, Spiders and The Dark’, a brooding, country-tinted moment with a healthy dose of expansive sub-basses. Though the tracks on ‘Blanket’ may not see the virality of previous material like the Dominic Fike-bolstered ‘Peach’, Abstract’s writing across this new record is some of his most assured and confident to date, with the phenomenal Romil Hemnani (also of BROCKHAMPTON fame) and multi-instrumentalist Jonah Abraham lending their skills to the creation of ‘Blanket’.

Remaining true to form, Abstract retains his genre-less but directed appeal, this new LP an incredible effort and easily his greatest opus to date. While the bulk of his hip-hop flair has been thrown to the side on this project, his voyage into guitar-based territory was clearly a fantastic move, Abstract sounding as comfortable and infallible as ever. As his first solo outing since the denouement of BROCKHAMPTON, Kevin Abstract’s newest studio album continues to assert him as one of the greatest talents of this generation, an individual who eliminates conformity and remains earnest and candid, regardless of the sonic environment he visits. 8/10”.

I am going to end with a review from The Standard. More alternative and broader than his previous work, some critics have not been sold and won by that. Regardless, there are plenty who have shown affection for Blanket. I think that it is one of the strongest albums from this year. Go and listen to it if you have not heard it already:

“A former boyband member making a solo rock album is not a surprising concept. From Charlie Simpson of Busted going indie with Fightstar, to Harry Styles channelling David Bowie on his first single, a guitar is a common shortcut to credibility for those suffering from a shortage of the stuff.

But as with everything involving Kevin Abstract and his former group Brockhampton, it’s a bit more complicated than that. The diverse LA rap collective, who notoriously formed on a Kanye West fan forum and included a web designer and a photographer among their members, always seemed to be using the “boyband” term to subvert it rather than because their music had much in common with production line pop, and tired of it well before the media did.

Meanwhile Abstract, real name Ian Simpson, was operating as a solo act even before his group really got going. This is his fourth album since 2014, while Brockhampton managed a remarkable eight between 2017 and their official split this time last year.

Nor is this the first time he has put guitars on a record. On his 2016 album American Boyfriend: A Suburban Love Story, songs such as Seventeen, Tattoo and Papercut (the latter famous as the moment he came out as gay on record) all feature casually strummed guitars and a lo-fi, indie feel. But he was still mostly rapping back then. On Blanket he sings throughout in a semi-whispered, intimate voice.

Abstract has described the album as follows: “I wanted to make, like, a Sunny Day Real Estate, Nirvana, Modest Mouse type of record. But I wanted it to hit like a rap album.”

The song Heights, Spiders, and the Dark does have the kind of grim-faced acoustic chords and cello that recall Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged album. Earlier in the album, Running Out is a melodic highlight with pretty, energetic chords that might remind listeners of the Smashing Pumpkins favourite 1979.

The idea of Blanket hitting like a rap album is a tougher sell. The distorted electronic buzz and chopped-up screams of the song Mr Edwards has more dynamism, but it’s over in less than a minute. The track he calls Madonna has the brightest chorus, but he refrains from making the musical backing as forceful as it could be.

More commonly, as on Scream and Today I Gave Up, he sounds sad and sleepy, the style coming closer to the laidback indie feel of Mac DeMarco or Alex G. It’s not the kind of album that will launch him to solo superstardom, but it doesn’t sound like that would appeal to him anyway”.

Even though he is quite an established solo artist, maybe there are not as many people in the U.K. as know his work when you compare that to his U.S. fanbase. Kevin Abstract is a remarkable artist who you know is going to keep putting out these wonderful albums. If you have not tuned into his music, then make sure that…

YOU do that now.

____________

Follow Kevin Abstract

PHOTO CREDIT: Jesper D. Lund for Office Magazine

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/kevinabstract/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/kevinabstract

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinabstract

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/07EcmJpfAday8xGkslfanE

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiHgxgW9C3SEwppVzCJ0PRw

FEATURE: Eireplay: Doubling Up: The Urgent Need to Correct Gender Imbalance on Irish Radio

FEATURE:

 

 

Eireplay: Doubling Up

 IN THIS PHOTO: Denise Chaila/PHOTO CREDIT: George Voronov via District Magazine

The Urgent Need to Correct Gender Imbalance on Irish Radio

_________

ONE issue that seems to come up…

IMAGE CREDIT: Why Not Her?

every year is the gender imbalance across radio stations. In the U.K., there is still this problem with women being underrepresented. There is also a comparative lack of artists of colour. It is slowly improving on some stations, though there are major ones that have a huge gulf. The same is true of Irish radio. One might say there are fewer female artists (compared to men) across the Irish music scene, meaning it would be harder to create that sort of balance. A recent tweet by Linda Coogan Byrne (GDEI Consultant + Equality Campaigner at Why Not Her?) looked ahead to the gender disparity report that will come out in January. It documents the imbalance across Irish radio. There are a lot of great new Irish artists coming through that are not getting played. As I will explore, maybe the industry is not supporting women and creating an environment where they can be heard and in the mix. It is going to be quite angering reading:

“So far on Irish radio this year, in the Top 100 most played songs on Irish radio: (Jan -Oct 31st)

Only 18% of Irish radio is by Irish artists on Top 20 Playlists across all radio stations.

Dermot Kennedy still reigns across the radio, having 4 songs on heavy rotation the entire year round.

14% are white male artists.

4% is female artists and that is The Cranberries, Aimée and Jazzy making up that 4%.

Of the 18% of Irish artists, 2% make up Irish POC artists and that one artist is Jazzy, with two track, one her solo project release under Jazzy and second one is with her collab with Belters Only.

4% of Irish radio's most played artists were comprised of 3 female artists/lead female vocalists.

82% make up International Artists.

Doesn't seem right does it?”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kynsy/PHOTO CREDIT: Paula Trojner

It is not the case that there is a lack of great Irish women to play. From CMAT to Denise Chaila through to Biig Piig and Kynsy and Pillow Queens, there is enough variety and choice out there. It is not a new issue, imbalance. Look at this feature from last year that reacted to the 2022 Gender Disparity Data Report:

“The 2022 Gender Disparity Data Report on Irish Radio by Why Not Her? has stated that no artists of colour from Ireland featured in the Top 100 Most played songs on Irish radio in 2021.

Irish women artists make up just three per cent of the Top 100 Most played songs on Irish radio in 2021.

Dermot Kennedy is now the highest-impacting artist in the last five years across Irish radio with Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” being the most-played song in 2021.

The Findings

RTÉ Lyric FM and RTÉ Radio 1 had the greatest gender balance out of all Irish radio stations while Spin 1038 was the most improved.

FM104 significantly lagged behind for the third year in a row, with only three female artists in their top 20 most-played acts.

The report noted that “if you are a white Irish male artist, it is five times more likely that you’ll make it to the Top 100 than if you are an Irish female artist.”

Linda Coogan Byrne, founder of Why Not Her? and data analyst commented on the report’s findings: “There is a diverse multicultural vibrancy that is at an all-time high, this needs to be reflected in the radio stations in Ireland. It is my continued hope that these data reports can continue to set the precipice for a lot of change to come. Change can happen at a quick rate, (as is evident in Spin 103.8, Rte2fm etc) when an unconscious bias is stripped back and when the effort is applied to make the shift towards DEI.”

“It is a sad situation that we mostly rely on the privileges and power of white men to make the decision as to whether women and artists of colour are good enough to be seen and heard. I hope one day this changes. We will continue as a collective to stand with our colleagues and friends in broadcasting and the music industry in working towards reaching an equal voice for women and artists of colour alongside the LGBTQIA+ community across every facet of Irish culture and we will never be afraid to ask the question Why Not Her?”

Upcoming Legislation

Under new government plans to encourage greater participation of women on the airwaves, radio and TV programs may be required to show or publish their gender balance.

Media Minister Catherine Martin has issued a proposal for gender balance in the media that will be included in several amendments in the Online Safety and Media Regulations Bill which provides for radical moves for the establishment of Coimisiún na Meán.

Some of Minister Martin’s amendments will provide that Coimisiún na Meán may make media services codes to promote gender balance on current affairs programmes on TV and radio, as well as promote the broadcasting of musical works composed or performed by women on radio services”.

There is a gender disparity that has existed for years. It is evident that there is insufficient support of female artists on Irish radio. Like the U.K., the industry does seem to still favour male artists. I don’t entirely think it is a lack of visibility that causes these alarming statistics. Not only is there a gender disparity on U.K. radio. Sadly, there is racial imbalance too. I am not sure whether this is going to be corrected completely in the next few years. The more we see inequality across Irish and U.K. radio, the more it will impact negatively in the future. Apart from a natural bias that has always worked against women, I think there is an ignorance of talent. The talent is out there, yet there seems to be this blindness. I know that fewer female artists are signed to labels. This means it can be harder to build a large profile to make it onto radio playlists. Female artists are performing live and releasing music online, though how many have a realistic shot of reaching the same level as male artists who have a label and bigger push from the industry?! I don’t think the larger industry can be blamed entirely. Like on Country stations, there seems to be this block against women. Not playing a run of songs by female artists. It is insulting to the brilliance of music being made by women. There are so many Irish women who are making incredible music. Again, it is men who dominate and take most of the airplay. Sadly, the Gender Disparity Data Report 2023 is going to highlight inequality across Irish radio. It is very clear that…

THIS time next year.

FEATURE: Spotlight: DEBBY FRIDAY

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

DEBBY FRIDAY

_________

HAVING played…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Katrin Braga for The Line of Best Fit

at London’s Roundhouse last night (11th November), there is a lot of love and support in the U.K. for DEBBY FRIDAY. A stunning Electronic artist based in Toronto, her debut album, GOOD LUCK, was released through Sub Pop this year - where it deservedly won Canada’s Polaris Music Prize. I am going to get to some reviews for GOOD LUCK. With all Spotlight features, it is worth pulling in some interviews. Gaining traction and popularity in the U.K., I know that DEBBY FRIDAY’s music is connecting with people around the world. I am going to start out with an interview from The Line of Best Fit from earlier in the year. In promotion of the as-then upcoming GOOD LUCK, we learn more about her artistry and music. She is a compelling artist that everyone should follow:

“Decades down the family tree of Audre Lorde’s thinking on the transformative power of our erotic nature, which triggered an awakening that still resonates strongly today, FRIDAY’s multidisciplinary work is centred on the idea of the erotic and togetherness. “[Those two things] are very linked in the way that I understand music, and the way that I communicate through music,” she says. “I think music is metaphysical because it's both tangible and intangible. You’re dealing with stuff that is unseen, but at the same time it’s felt in the body.”

It’s a theory that she has talked about at length, and one that guides her expression through a multitude of avenues like filmmaking, writing, directing, music-making and her study of philosophy, psychology and mysticism. Armed with acid-laced drum pads and subaquatic basslines, FRIDAY plunges into the depths of herself, allowing her inner turmoil to be a source of information that prompts unfiltered creativity.

She takes her cues from the works of philosopher Carl Jung and his concept of the ‘shadow self’, using electronic punk as a tool to illuminate every aspect of herself. “I am a very firm believer in the Jungian theory that states that what is not let in through the front door will come in through the backdoor, every time,” she says. “If you don’t face your shadow – the ugly and disgusting parts of yourself, the parts that you’re ashamed of – then you’re going to have a lot of issues in life.”

FRIDAY’s artistry transcends genre and exists as a style she describes as “both a hybrid of feeling and emotion.” It’s inspired by a collection of her experiences, from warehouse raves to her early exposure to the internet and pop culture as a young child. She recalls hours spent downloading music through LimeWire, feeling as though she had everything at her fingertips while discovering genres old and new.

The music of Nigerian juju musician King Sunny Ade and Afrobeat originator Fela Kuti floated in the background of her childhood, along with folk gospel music. The electronic genre crept into her realm during high school, but her connection to it gradually bloomed when she began rave-hopping through Montreal’s nightlife circuit at age 15.

It was during her time in university that she surrendered to the experience and immersed herself in this space that was also largely informed by the underground Soundcloud culture of the time. Friday soon found DJ’ing, which was influential in establishing a foundation for her own production style. Although she only did it “for a little under a year,” the experience allowed her to travel around North America and over to Europe, bringing her into contact with “all these different communities of artists who were making the most strange and interesting kinds of music.”

Quitting the nightlife scene, unhappy with how it affected her mental wellbeing, FRIDAY moved from Montreal to Vancouver, where she taught herself how to produce her own music, gathering resources from YouTube and other online platforms. “Essentially, I just went after the sounds that I liked,” she says. “I didn’t really have an understanding of how to create a track or how to make music, but I knew what I liked”.

NME are big fans of DEBBY FRIDAY. I am going to get to a very recent interview that they conducted. First, back in April, they chatted with the artist and producer about her debut album, performing at SXSW, and her first global tour. GOOD LUCK truly is one of the best albums of this year:

“NME: How do you feel about sharing ‘Good Luck’ with the world?

“I’m very excited. It feels like it’s been a long time in the making so I’m just ready and I’m ready to see what happens. When I made the album I had the intention of making something that felt honest and I feel like I accomplished that with ‘Good Luck’. It feels authentic to me and to so many parts of my artistry. It’s a very personal album.”

Was it daunting to produce and write such an authentic record?

“I don’t think I’ve had a choice. Even from the beginning as a young person growing up in a very strict household being myself was an act of rebellion. When you’re in a really structured environment you have to find ways to express yourself outside of your home. You have to find ways to be honest about who you are. It comes automatically, I don’t know what else I would do.”

You’ve previously said that if you could describe your music in one word you’d choose ‘thunder’. What word would you use to describe ‘Good Luck’?

“I would say ‘journey’. A lot of the emotion that went into ‘Good Luck’ was coming from a place of feeling lost and finding myself and becoming myself. A lot of those songs are me in the present time writing to a past self, either sharing words of comfort or reflection. One of the things I wanted to do with this album was connect with people who had similar experiences. If you’ve ever felt lost, or like ‘what am I doing’ or ever wondered, ‘is this heaven, is this hell?’ I wanted to translate that question of ‘who am I?’ into the album to let people know they aren’t alone in that experience. It’s something that’s very common and a lot of people go through that, and a lot of my album speaks to that.”

What messages were you hoping to share with those past versions of yourself on ‘Good Luck’?

“I love you. Don’t be scared. Keep going. Especially keep going. I never thought I’d be a musician. I was very creative as a child but the idea of being a musician never entered my mind. My parents are immigrants and I had no understanding of the music industry. Even now, putting out this album I still feel so in awe of everything. I have a lot of gratitude and I’m still wide-eyed. I’m still like ‘what life am I living right now?’ So I would tell my younger self, ‘keep going’. Everything I’ve been through all of the pain all of the suffering, all of the fucked up moments, my path hasn’t been linear but I can say now on the other side that it’s worth it.”

You’ve described yourself as the “zillennial anti-heroine”. What is it about that title suits you?

“I feel in between generations. I’m a very young millennial and I grew up on the internet which I think is the dividing factor. I call myself an anti-heroine because I think if you look at the beginning of my story, you wouldn’t think I’d eventually figure things out. I was very lost and rebellious when I was younger. Now, I feel like an unexpected underdog in a certain sense”.

Prior to getting to some reviews, I am going to jump to this recent NME interview. Reflecting on her Polaris award win for GOOD LUCK, defying genres and a successful year, DEBBY FRIDAY revealed what it was like listening back to her debut album now:

“With Sub Pop backing her do-it-yourself mentality and two EPs drumming up her subversive sonics, Friday released ‘Good Luck’ in March of this year. The album followed suit of her previous releases, brimming with caustic confidence and showcasing a melting pot of soundscapes, with Friday’s soulful and sinister vocal delivery pontificating about love and hardship while outlining what she told NME during her SXSW debut earlier this year was the “journey” to become herself.

The vibrating, pulsating single ‘So Hard To Tell’ leads the album’s charge, as she sings to her younger self, asking a protagonist in a sultry register “All alone by yourself in the city / Act like you don’t need help / Honey, honey Is this heaven or hell?”. In other moments, like ‘What A Man’ Friday plays with timeless orchestration, building her voice over blistering echoing retro guitars, repeating “what a man” with the veracity of a funk singer. ‘Good Luck’ is a testament to how comfortable Friday is being both vulnerable and daring. It’s a clear evolution from her earlier EPs, and she’s not done growing.

“I did what I set out to do with this album,” she says. “Now I am in a completely different emotional space. When I listen back to it, it can be very heavy at times. I feel like I got it all out in the album and I’ve been working on my new music and hearing the difference between where I am now sonically and emotionally. I’m in a different place and it’s a different tone. I feel like the Polaris Award was almost this bow on top of ‘Good Luck’.”

Now that she’s wrapping her last life cycle the different place she’s in can be heard in her latest single ‘Let U In’, a glittery, drum ‘n’ bass love song she wrote while on tour in Melbourne, Australia. “I wrote the song about surrendering to love and missing your boo when you’re on tour,” she says. “I felt very happy and vulnerable and wanted to explore romantic vulnerability. I’m using my voice in a different way and the emotion feels lighter. It expands in a different direction, and the sound of my next album is similar.

Next month, Friday heads back out on a global tour, something she’s eager to embark on now that she’s able to revisit her past through her music and still show her fans the optimistic and lighter emotions she’s feeling in the present. “The power of music is what really takes me,” she says when asked about performing ‘Good Luck’ to fans. “I’m in awe of it.”

Now, with an award-winning debut behind her and a future of mining new sounds from fresh emotions, Friday is looking forward to what’s next while still wonderstruck about what she’s created so far. “Of course, you have goals and aspirations but having these things come true and all of it exceeding your expectations?” she says with a smile and a pause. “That’s a wild feeling”.

GOOD LUCK was received with a lot of acclaim when it came out. I am going to include a couple of the great reviews it scooped. Stereogum were compelled by the feverishness and epic quality of a compelling and confident debut from DEBBY FRIDAY:

“The artist that goes by Debby Friday was born in Nigeria and grew up in Canada, bopping around different cities before landing in her for-now home base of Toronto. She came up in the clubs and started out as a DJ but quickly branched out into making music of her own. Her debut EP came out in 2018, and it was called BITCHPUNK: a sort of genre signifier to label her aggressive, domineering sound. Another EP, DEATH DRIVE, followed the next year. Both early releases had their moments, but neither could prepare you for the sheer ambition GOOD LUCK.

Her first full-length is sweaty and determined, eager to deliver on its teeth-chattering beats with a feverish intensity. The influences are obvious, but the ways that Debby Friday crashes those sounds together are not. There are healthy dashes of Nine Inch Nails and Death Grips in her industrial gothic thump; there’s a dose of Crystal Castles in the shattered glass beat of “HOT LOVE.” You might be reminded on Beyoncé’s recent foray into the pulse-racing annals of house music on the opening title track, or the strangled guitars of Yves Tumor on “WHAT A MAN.” She spits and twists into raunchy rap on “HEARTBREAKERRR,” launches herself into sloppy religious ecstasy on “PLUTO BABY.”

There’s nothing necessarily groundbreaking about the sonics of GOOD LUCK, but its executed so well. Every one of its shadows have contours. Debby Friday has it all: songs that make you feel like that bitch, songs to wallow in, songs to lose your dignity to. Her voice is versatile and elastic — sometimes it channels disco detachment, other times it takes the form of a vicious snarl. In between the cockiness, a more conflicted figure emerges: “I’ve been a bad girl/ Oh, all my life,” she sings on “LET U DOWN,” a song that cycles through different perspectives, all downbeat and downtrodden. “I’ve been a mean lover, I’ve been a dream crusher/ I know I let you down.”

And I’ve been holding out on you, saving the best for last. The clear standout on GOOD LUCK — and the song that I think might make Debby Friday a star — is “SO HARD TO TELL,” the one where she ditches her music’s spikiness and softens her sound into a hypnotic, intoxicating loop. Pulled apart by forces beyond her control, Debby Friday navigates the wild swings of a soul that’s never content. “You’re just a young girl/ All alone by yourself/ In the city/ Act like you don’t need help,” she sings. “Honey, honey/ Is this heaven or hell?/ When it gets like this/ It’s so hard to tell.” The song is soothing and immensely catchy, and though it doesn’t contain any of GOOD LUCK’s in-your-face sonics, it’s just as tenacious and bold”.

I will finish up with Loud and Quiet’s take on an album from an artist and producer that I have a lot of respect for. DEBBY FRIDAY has just played in London, so that will boost her already large U.K. fanbase. With more dates set to come in 2024, many will also look forward to new music. There is no doubt that GOOD LUCK made a big impact with critics:

“Don’t you fuck it up / Give it what you got,” sings Debby Friday in the opening moments of her debut record, GOOD LUCK. The Nigerian-born, Toronto-based artist has produced a coming-of-age record that candidly deals with past mistakes as well as inserting positive affirmations to serve as reminders to continue growing as both a person and artist. In her lyrics, there’s evidence of a life lived and lessons learned, both in the personal and professional sphere. “You’re just a young girl / All alone by yourself in the city / Act like you don’t need help,” she intones, with an endearing vulnerability in her cadence on ‘So Hard To Tell’. A few songs later, ‘Pluto Baby’ ushers in a far more assured Friday whose unflinching presence is magnetic not only on this song but throughout the record.

Metallic timbres and industrial beats provide solid foundations to these ten instantly immersive and infectious arrangements. An overarching Y2K sensibility dominates some of the electronic elements woven into the defiant musical personality of the propulsive centrepiece ‘Hot Love’ and the pop-tinged ‘Heartbreakerrr’, which already feels like an instant classic designed to be sung late into the night. Elsewhere, Friday injects tonal variety towards the end of the LP with the sultry (and slightly unexpected) ‘What A Man’ melding a Cure-esque bass riff and a Slash-like solo within a nocturnal setting, yielding similarly magnetic results in the way these worlds collide in an Yves Tumor tune.

There’s an extraordinary elasticity across GOOD LUCK’s masterful production that makes repeated listens not just enjoyable but irresistible. Friday establishes a great sense of balance throughout the ten tracks. From the industrial, claustrophobic gloom of the album’s title track and ‘I Got It’ to the sweeter and more spacious compositions, Friday moves seamlessly through these deftly-engineered soundscapes. There’s always something new to hone in on and further draw you into this immensely multi-faceted body of work that further illuminates her dexterity as a songwriter and performer. It’s in these moments, and her faultless portrayal of GOOD LUCK’s commanding protagonist, where we can see the artistic evolution since the release of early EPs Bitchpunk (2018) and Death Drive (2019).

If there’s only one thing to be said about Debby Friday’s poised debut it’s that she most certainly gave it all that she’s got”.

A producer and artist who has already been tipped for greatness, I know that the next year or two will see DEBBY FRIDAY ascend to new heights. GOOD LUCK has been followed with amazing singles like let u in. Always creating such physical, soulful and dynamic sounds, I am going to watch DEBBY FRIDAY closely. She is an amazing talent that we all need…

IN our music rotation!

__________

Follow DEBBY FRIDAY

PHOTO CREDIT: Stella Gigliotti for NME

Official:

https://debbyfriday.com/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@debbyvendredi

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/debbyfriday/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DEBBYVENDREDI

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5lofelrRCFBwzTF616hSx4

Bandcamp:

https://debbyfriday.bandcamp.com/album/good-luck

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@DEBBYFRIDAYOFFICIAL

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/debbyfridayy/

FEATURE: Revisiting… Dagny - Strangers / Lovers

FEATURE:

 

 

Revisiting…

Dagny - Strangers / Lovers

_________

AS the wonderful Dagny…

is releasing her second studio album (or ‘mini-album’, technically), ELLE, soon, I wanted to shine a light on her amazing 2020 debut, Strangers / Lovers. She (Dagny Norvoll Sandvik) has talked about the album and breaking that ‘second album curse’ that some artists face. Strangers / Lovers was acclaimed and popular - though you do not hear as many of these wonderful songs as you’d like on the radio. I will come to some of the amazingly positive reviews that this album accrued. Released during a real peak in the pandemic, it must have been frustrating for Dagny not to be able to tour the album and talk about it how she would have liked. Strangers / Lovers provided great relief and released for her fans at a difficult time! Check out her Instagram for updates regarding the new mini-album. I think that her debut is one of the most impressive of this decade. It is terrific and needs to be heard by everyone. I am going to start with an interview from The Last Mixed Tape. Released on 2nd October, 2020, Dagny’s remarkable debut album definitely made a big impression:

“Following her breakthrough hit ‘Backbeat’ grabbed music fans attention in 2016, Dagny has been building towards the creation and release of her forthcoming debut studio album Strangers / Lovers (due out on October 2nd). Speaking about the road leading up to this pivotal point, Dagny reflects. “It’s funny, I’ve been singing since I was 16 years old and I’ve found old interviews from years ago where I am promising my debut album was just around the corner. I eventually had to stop saying that, cause it wasn’t true. I wasn’t ready yet. Since ‘Backbeat’ I had so much to learn, I’ve always wanted to tell a story on a bigger picture and show a different side to my music, but it wasn’t until last year that I felt the time was right.”

“I think when I decided to set up my own label,” Dagny continues. “I felt I had the freedom to make the album. I had 250 songs to work through, and people were looking for a massive hit but I much rather the idea of making a full record. I enjoyed the process of telling a story not with just one song but with lots of songs and sounds. Plus, I’ve been gigging the same ten songs for years, so I think me and the people who have stayed with me all this time are ready for something new”.

Set for its full release on October 2nd, Strangers / Lovers is an album cast across two parts, one of which (side A) was released earlier this summer. Speaking about the narrative and thematic concepts that went being the record, Dagny states, “the two sides to the album came to me a long time ago. I’m from Northern Norway, and we get 24 hours of night and 24-hour daytime depending on the time of year. I remember saying that when I got the chance to do a full album, I wanted to make something that had both a light and a dark side. Side A is upbeat like summer, while Side B feels more like Autumn.”

“I react emotionally to songs” Dagny comments when asked about how she curated years of songwriting into her debut offering and fit with the central narrative of the album. “So I was able to bring everything down to the songs I connected with the most, and I felt I could make the contours of a full story. The idea of going from Strangers to Lovers and back to Strangers again is brutal. The idea of being close to someone then not being able to pick up the phone to talk to them again. Side A is chronological, it’s about meeting up and falling in love like ‘Come Over’ and ‘Paris’, but by the time you get to Side B you can see things aren’t what they once were.”

Live shows are such an essential part of the music. With the current pandemic impacting performances across the globe, Dagny looks forward to finally being able to perform once again, stating. “I love live music, it’s what I live for. Gigging is the reward to making this album, I miss it and hope that I can go out and play this album before I go and start the next one. I really can’t wait to play ‘Somebody’, ‘Come Over’ and ‘Coulda Woulda Shoulda’. So hopefully things will go back to normal soon, for both musicians and fans”.

I will come to a couple of the reviews. There was a lot of positive reaction to the amazing Strangers / Lovers. Awarding the album 9 out 10, this is what The Line of Best Fit said about a sensational debut album that announced this very special artist. If you have not checked out Strangers / Lovers, then I would thoroughly urge you to:

“Ever since bursting on to the scene with the dazzling Backbeat in 2015, Dagny has continued to deliver hit after hit. Having opened The Line Of Best Fit Five Day Forecast event back in 2017, the Norwegian star has steadily made a name for herself as a genuinely talented song-writer, a reputation which was boosted by the release of the first tranche of songs from her debut album Strangers / Lovers earlier this year.

Having proven her pop pedigree by penning tracks for Katy Perry and collaborating with Steve Aoki amongst others, Dagny’s song-writing prowess is there for all to see on this record, the second half of which, Lovers, completes the set. It’s unusual to be able to refer to something as ‘classic’ sounding for an artist when talking about their debut album, but Dagny has released such a wealth of material in the years leading up to this record that it’s hard to argue otherwise; as we’ve come to expect, this is powerful, punchy, effervescent pop music at its finest.

The latter half of Strangers / Lovers sees Dagny in her prime: open-hearted about being broken-hearted, free to muse on the highs and lows of new relationships and exuding boundless energy. Explaining why the album was released in two parts, Dagny explains “there was a very clear divide in the lyrics. There's this part that's about going into a relationship that's happy, and then there's also this part that explores the story of being out of a relationship. I felt like putting them together as one big package felt confusing.”

Following on from the foot-stomping, euphoric sounding tracks on Strangers, such as “Somebody” and Come Over”, there are elements of Lovers which are similarly explosive, irresistibly catchy and produced to perfection. You can be sure that if dancefloors were still a thing in 2020, they’d be packed out with people bouncing to the punchy bassline on “It’s Only A Heartbreak” and joining in with the ‘Oooooh’s’ on “Bye Bye Baby”. There are nevertheless some more tender moments scattered throughout, such as the melancholy piano-ballad “Bad At Love” and a nod to Dagny’s hometown of Tromsø on the closing track “Coast To Coast”.

Overall, Strangers / Lovers confirms Dagny as a true force to be reckoned with - a stellar record, consistent in its emphatic sound and almost entirely without fault”.

I will finish off with a review from The Independent. As many fans get excited about the release of ELLE – the first of a trilogy of mini-albums, it is scheduled to be released at the turn of the year -, I think that there is still a lot to get from the magnificent Strangers / Lovers:

“In Dagny’s native town of Tromsø, Norway, the sun is obscured from view from November through to January. Perhaps this explains why the artist – full name Dagny Sandvik – is compelled to make such dazzling pop music.

Her debut album, Strangers / Lovers, is a veritable koldtbord of slick, danceable tracks that capture both the euphoria of love and the defiance of heartbreak. On “Somebody”, she’s giddy, soaring across propulsive synth beats to reach an anthemic chorus; the shimmering “Bye Bye Baby” revels in the catharsis of closure. There’s a wonderful Fleetwood Mac bass thrum on “Moment”, while “It’s Only a Heartbreak” – inspired in part by Humphrey Bogart’s famous “Here’s looking at you, kid” line from Casablanca – is a clever twist on the oft-explored theme of unrequited love.

Dagny's debut has arrived a couple of years after the UK's Scandipop frenzy, which might be perfect timing. While it’s been noted that she might (to date) lack the big personality of stars such as Katy Perry (Dagny co-wrote and was sampled on Perry’s 2019 hit “Never Really Over”), her personality – and music – seems more inspired by the quirks and introspectiveness of early Sia. Which is by no means a bad place to be. RO”.

An album I loved when it came out. Strangers / Lovers is a wonderful, moving and enormously impressive release from the Norwegian queen, Dagny. She is one of the best artists in music right now. Such a complete talent who is going to inspire so many other artists in years to come. If you have not explored the brilliant, vibrant, varied, mature, open and awes-inspiring Strangers / Lovers, then make sure that this beautiful album…

DOES not pass you by.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Bo Milli

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Bo Milli

_________

EVEN though I wish that she had…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Synne Sofi Bønes

more of a profile across Twitter/X and Facebook, you can still find Bo Milli across a variety of platforms. Her music is that which needs to be heard by as many people as possible. Her Making Friends E.P. came out in October. I want to start out with some biography and interviews. There is not a lot of information out there about an artist based out of Bergen, Norway. I think these are the earliest days of her career. Things will expand as we look into next year. There are some interviews bits that give us more insight and depth regarding an amazing artist. In 2022, The Indy Review spotlighted her track, At the Wheel. Still a rising artist then – as I guess she is now -, there were eyes and ears on the brilliant Bo Milli:

“Coming of age during a global pandemic, with climate change as an ever-present background nightmare, newcomer Bo Milli has had a lot of existential crises to draw from with her music. Raised on an island in Norway, and now based in Bergen, the young indie rocker has been gaining recognition this year after first posting her single “At the Wheel” on Soundcloud. That track, a lightly melancholic rocker with Milli questioning the state of the world (“who is at the wheel these days?”) drew comparisons to artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Soccer Mommy.

With the release of her latest single “How it Is” last week, with “At the Wheel” as a b-side, Milli is showing that she is definitely a voice to watch. Milli’s vocals on the track have an ethereal sweetness to them, going into twee levels that contrast nicely with the sturdy drum beats, chunky, upbeat chords and horn accompaniment. Lyrically juxtaposing apathy and youthful determination, one can hear this inner battle in the musical dynamics”.

I want to move to One to Watch. They spotlighted Bo Milli (Emilie Østebø) and praised the approaching Making Friends E.P. They noted how she is someone primed for world domination. You know that this is an artist who is going to be firmly on everyone’s radar next year:

“Hailing from Norway, Bo Milli is a rising star bound for worldwide domination. 23-year-old Emilie Østebø pours her heart out in her debut EP, Making Friends, a tale of self-discovery and learning through experience. Like any successful exploratory young adult piece, each track could be perfectly placed in your favorite coming-of-age film. Universally relatable yet earnestly personal, Bo Milli’s gentle yet powerful vocals tell stories of first relationships, nights out in Bergen, and realizing harsh truths about herself and social interaction.

The EP opens with the melodic driving track “Come After Me,” an ode to the art of yearning and overthinking. Bo Milli sings of expectations taken from make-believe, grand romantic gestures you only see in movies that don’t have to be explicitly requested. A track that details the hope we feel as we age into the dating world, our narrator pours her heart out in song but not reality. The repetitive line “I want you to read my mind” showcases her admirable naivety, a trait that is also encapsulated in the lackadaisical sound of the record.

In the titular “Making Friends,” Bo Milli details the unmatched novelty of going out with friends. Its indie-rock sound energizes listeners to feel the experience first-hand, as she describes weaving through the crowd. Bo Milli sings with soft vocals, “Everyone here’s a stranger / but I know they love me / because I love them.” It’s the epitome of the electrifying experience of going out and absorbing the energy of a party.

There are welcomed stripped-back moments in the project, especially on “Be your Girl.” A flip side of the opening track, Bo Milli focuses on sincerity as she admits real intention to be with said crush. Desire slips through angelic vocals as she sings, “I know I might not be very cool / and this might be a very risky move / but it’s true.” It’s a simple love song, but one whose dynamism could only belong to Bo Milli.

"All the songs on the EP are in some way about struggling to ask for what you want from other people," Bo Milli shares. "'Making Friends' describes drinking too much when looking for genuine connection, ‘Come After Me’ fantasises about being perfectly understood without having to say anything, ‘I’m in' is about being honest in the wrong way and 'Chewing Gum’ - about macho-posturing."

 “Chewing Gum” is a standout moment for this budding artist, with a chorus so catchy it’ll be on your mind long after the song ends. What can only be described as a female macho-anthem, Bo Milli experiments with her own agency and plays the role of someone who’s unaffected by past lovers, convincing herself of her own indifference. Over an addictive pop-rock instrumental, “Chewing Gum” is an anthem for girls to pretend they don’t care, and even if they do, they’re welcome to jam out and pretend to be carefree for a couple of minutes.

In the last track on the EP, Bo Mili reflects on her actions and wonders if people can truly change. With an intriguing melody and smooth bass, she takes responsibility for blowing things out of proportion, reflected sonically in the explosive chorus. With the most confidence in her words, Bo Milli bravely announces that she’s fully in.

In her debut EP Making Friends, Bo Milli takes listeners inside her brain, from overthinking to yearning to contradicting herself and repeating the cycle again. It’s an accurate description of growing up, a diary on display put to music that emphasizes those complicated feelings. The start of a fruitful songwriter on the rise, we can’t wait to see what’s next for Bo Milli”.

I am going to finish with a feature from The Line of Best Fit. They highlighted Bo Milli’s Chewing Gum single. In the course, they also wrote how Making Friends is an E.P. is one you will want to hear. Chewing Gum is an “alt-pop macho anthem with plastic-girl power”:

“Bo Milli’s latest track "Chewing Gum" sounds like the song that kicks in as the credits roll in a teenage-coming-of-age movie (the kind they just don’t make anymore). If the song were a movie plot, it would follow the protagonist as she uses and drops someone as though they were just a piece of gum. It carries all the sonics of early 2000's pop-punk but treats us to a modern spin, lyrically subverting the traditional female role. She doesn’t submit to being dropped by anyone so takes the role on herself, describing the track best herself, as “macho-posturing.” The lyrics are all the evidence we need to know that she is not the type to comply with any preconceived expectation, and as the listener you can’t help but root for her.

Based in Norway, Bo Milli’s music is steeped in the heightened emotions of adolescence and she plans to express this in her debut EP, a body of work that has been in the making for the last two years. At only 23 she expresses her woes matter-of-factly. She paints an image of loud clubs and quiet mornings after, capturing her age with ease. It just so happens that the alt-pop rock genre suits her lyrics and the many emotions she has to let out.

Describing this latest track, Bo Milli says that "'Chewing Gum' is a macho-anthem expressed with unconvincing and plastic girl-power: totally unapologetic about having used and dropped someone as carelessly as if they were a piece of gum, I excuse this behaviour with the line "I’m a woman, I’ve gotta get it done". The choruses (and the solo) are all bravado, but the verses describe meeting a scorned lover with someone new and hints I’m not nearly as unaffected as I claim to be."

The distorted guitar alongside the echoey vocals makes it cathartic music at its best, full of frustration and relief when played at full volume. It carries all the frustration of a woman scorned presented with all the confident expression of her alt-pop rock predecessors. Bo Milli takes the events of her life and turns them into a catchy hook for others to relate to, evident as ever on "Chewing Gum".

I am curious to see where Bo Milli goes next. The Norwegian artist is one of the freshest and most exciting young artists coming through. Making Friends is among the strongest E.P.s of the year. If you have not heard her before, go and seek out her music. I hope that more interviews and profiles come online. Perhaps more engagement on Twitter/X and some bigger shouts and focus from radio stations here in the U.K. There is no doubt that the amazing Bo Milli is going to go…

A very long way in music.

____________

Follow Bo Milli

 Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/bo__milli/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/bo_milli

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0LODGxvIf07NVyiMAVnVAc

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCBxI3g5nxhne5UilNPXDA

Bandcamp:

https://bomilli.bandcamp.com/music

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/p/Bo-Milli-100035400116783/