FEATURE: Spotlight: Stealing Sheep

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Stealing Sheep

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I still maintain modern music…

is more concerned with making us reach for the tissues than it is making us feel alive and free. I am not down on all artists but there is a lot of heavy music about right now. Whether it is the bearded songwriters strumming away their heartache or the more vibrant Pop artists revealing their hurt with synths and machinery buzzing in the background – there is a lot of grief and bummer-vibes working away. That is fine if you need catharsis and a sense of release but, for those who want to get moving and feel a bit happier, there are fewer options. To be fair, Stealing Sheep do bring some weighty subjects into the fold but they always top it off a glisten and shine that makes you smile and gets you singing along. Before I come to their latest album and the reaction that is garnering, it is probably worth introducing the band. More accurately, I shall let Heavenly Recordings introduce them:

“Rebecca Hawley - Vocals and synthesisers

Emily Lansley - Vocals, keyboards, electric guitar and bass guitar

Lucy Mercer - Vocals, drum machines, percussion and acoustic drum kit

Stealing Sheep are an electro pop band from Liverpool, England, who formed in 2010.

The debut studio album ‘Into the Diamond Sun’ was released in 2012 by Heavenly Recordings

The band’s second album, ‘Not Real’, was released in the spring of 2015.

The band return with their third record, ‘Big Wows’ on Friday 19th April, 2018.

“Big Wows is heavier, harder and weirder than Stealing Sheep’s previous work. Bold neon pop songs with rave percussion, steelpans, dreamy segues and breathy experiments. The *fsszzt* sound of lemonade opens the album with a hyper-real sense of optimism that progressively reveals the cracks of dystopian irony amidst sugar–coated pop; held together by Emily Lansley’s bass guitar, Luciana Mercer’s drum kit, Rebecca Hawley’s synths, and the trio’s swooning steely vocal harmonies.

Stealing Sheep describe Big Wows as “a slow rush”; taking shape over a period of nearly three years spent working out exactly what they wanted it to be and creating an album that levitated their identities as individuals as well as merging them into one unit “We’re each finding our own creative intuition,” says Bex “..and then we come together…and we back each other up” adds Lucy.

Just as the title suggests, Big Wows is both cynical and optimistic: dreaminess and pop dance rhythms are cut With eye rolling vocal styles inflected by heartfelt lyrical messages “We hit upon this conversational-style between the vocals and have alternating lead melodies. There’s a sarcastic tone to some of the music but there is always a strong wilfulness to incorporate honest integrity, which is hard to do but refreshing when it finally comes out.”

Side one opens with a burst of shimmery synths as ‘Show Love’ and ‘Back in Time’ lead you heart first into the headier feels of ‘Jokin’ Me’ and upbeat bounce of ‘Why haven’t I?’ following into the more progressive grooves for ‘Girl’ then fading out with the narcoleptic comforts of ‘Just Dreaming’.

Side two digs deeper into a dreamworld, with the manias and hallucinations of ‘Breathe’ and ‘True Colours’ as well as the gorgeous disillusionment of the title track and ending with an unexpected tropical club banger ‘Choose Like You’.

Running through the whole record is a response to living in a tech era: “We wanted sounds to represent TVs, computers and everyday glitches” says Bex “We started to have this feeling that life is like a game and how you can malfunction when you’re blasted with too much information…”

As well as composing with traditional instrumentation they also started songs solely on the computer; sequencing, building sounds, drum machines and responding to that non-emotional binary world. “The big challenge,” continues Bex “is making machines sound organic, emotional, finding their flaws. That’s why Delia Derbyshire is so important to us. All the effects that she uses serve to humanise the machines.”

Since the release of their last album, 2015’s surreal and fantastical ‘Not Real’, they’ve been in demand as multidisciplinary public artists as well as musicians – on projects including Wow Machine, which brings to life another more conceptual strand of ‘Big Wows’; in a mechanical light up stage with dancers and live music.

This summer they also performed at UK festivals with a 15 strong all-female procession to celebrate the centenary of Suffrage. “Being female has become more of a theme in our work” the band say. “It’s obviously always been there but now we’re playing with it more conceptually and thinking about empowerment”

This greater confidence and rock-solid aesthetic mean that Stealing Sheep can take greater risks and reap more wonderful rewards. They have a broad range of influences – St Vincent, Michael Jackson, The Knife, Kraftwerk, Drake, Little Dragon – but they remain so resolutely and richly themselves. “We try new things out and we get more confident about what we like.” says Bex. “There’s a really good thing Grayson Perry says about developing your creative intuition. You get to a level as an artist where you know on a gut level what you like and what you don’t like. It takes a long time to feel comfortable in that place, to know your palette, to know you like these drum sounds or whatever it is.”

Lucy is working with a full drum kit now instead of just toms, Emily is playing bass guitar, Bex is making her own synth patches and they’re all using new equipment: they are developing and experimenting and moving forward together. “We wanted the machine sounds to be juxtaposed against a full kit and bass guitar, which we tracked live to feel intentionally loose in places. We like the idea of placing robotic tech next to real life energy.”

I have cribbed a lot from the band’s record label’s website but it is a good illustration of who Stealing Sheep are, where they have come from and where their album, Big Wows, takes them. To be fair, I think Heavenly say the album was released in April 2018 whereas it actually came out this year – a minor detail but important in terms of context. The album is a sensational mix of their earliest sound and new layers. You still have looseness and energy from their previous work but the new equipment that has come in add something special and nuanced. I particularly love 2015’s Not Real but I feel Stealing Sheep have hit their stride on Big Wows. The reviews for Big Wows have been largely positive. In this Loud and Quiet piece, there were some very pleasing observations:

“We’re all living in perpetual boredom and only with access to an endless supply of consumable content are we truly satisfied. For the past three years, Liverpool’s all-girl three-piece Stealing Sheep have been pondering such an impatient habitual nature, and on their third album, Big Wows, they try to map out our machine co-existence through more than just a confused face emoji.

Big Wows is heaving with the sort of bold neon pop production that’s symbolic of the information overload we like to cram into our brains on a daily basis. Each track is a well-woven mesh of sharp synths, cyber sung vocal harmonies and thumping rave percussion. During the music video to lead single ‘Joking Me’, each member features as their own pixelated avatar in a distinct image of the kind throwaway digital culture Big Wows consistently refers to”.

The Quietus were full of love for Stealing Sheep’s latest album:

“Amid their task of blowing up the pop form to bold, voltaic proportions, Stealing Sheep are packing a new punch in more ways than one. Paired with their fresh, candy-coloured sound is a matching new image, exemplified through the glittery album art, a series of collaborative 8-bit music videos with artist Pastel Castle (Emily Garner) and their recent live performances. Donned in matching gold sequined jumpsuits both on the album art and on stage, they’ve got the urgency of Devo with an organic, living heartbeat beneath it all. This goal may have been on their agenda for some time, as Becky Hawley foreshadowed their transition into this new era in an interview with the Quietus in 2015, “It is still all evolving as we haven't got a definitive image. But it is something we are genuinely into – looking at the visual aesthetic and how we can make that complement the music.” They’ve made a drastic but smart move here, ushering in a new freedom to play in the dynamic between the natural and digital, and it all feels like a bit of a knowing wink.

Big Wows is a risky, but remarkable move for the trio – even the weaker songs in the lineup offer a buzzy dance break, densely layering up the punchy synths and calculated, sharp percussion. Stealing Sheep may have retired the pagan folk for now, but they fling themselves into the future with a respect and appreciation for where they came. They colour their version of pop with a pumping life force, ending the album on the lingering sound of a heart thumping, a nagging reminder to soak up the time we’re offered and dance it out on our every whim”.

It seems that things have been pretty busy in the camp for Stealing Sheep. They have been in-demand and their music has been reaching various parts of the world; they have been preparing their latest album it has been a bit mad. Big Wows seems to be this unleashing of tensions and a realisation of their next stage. I will end this feature with a look at where Stealing Sheep are heading but, to me, they are producing some truly amazing work right now. It has been a bit hectic, it seems, so they are probably relieved a new album is out there in the world. I want to bring in this interview from The Skinny, where Stealing Sheep bassist Emily Lansley talks about the previous few years and making Big Wows:

"We’ve been juggling a lot of different things over the past few years, so it’s taken a little bit of time to put together," says bassist Emily Lansley of the group’s protracted studio lay-off. "We ended up working quite independently, which was new for us, coming up with our own ideas and then bringing them together at the end. It felt like something we needed to do, just to rediscover our own creative processes a little bit after so long doing things so collaboratively between the three of us. By the time we got together to record it, it all sort of melds together and becomes Stealing Sheep, but it seemed like a good idea to chip away on the initial stages of these songs by ourselves."

In the three years since Not Real, the world around Stealing Sheep has become more turbulent socially and politically; rather than strive to look for answers as to why, they instead spend Big Wows holding up a mirror to the role of technology in fostering the present climate of uncertainty. "Culturally, it seems as if we’re surrounded by the internet more and more all the time," says Lansley. "We were trying to speak through the language of how everything – and everyone – is so easily accessible, especially with the rise of social media. We were thinking about how you’d describe this moment of the internet age with sound, and create a landscape, and that’s something that’s spilled over into the videos we’ve made so far, because the visual side of our creativity has always felt crucial to the music. Hopefully, that’s obvious to an outsider from the videos for Jokin' Me and Show Love".

There is something captivating and infectious about Stealing Sheep. They are a group we need right now: one who can give us thrills and fun but also convey something serious and timely. They have just played Brudenell Social Club in Leeds and it seems like they are just winding down a bit at the moment. The band have been busy touring but, with Big Wows turning heads, it seems like there will be a lot of demand coming through.

I do wonder if they have played much abroad and whether they fancy a stint in the U.S. I can imagine them going down a storm there. Even though Stealing Sheep have been going a little while, I still feel there are areas of the planet where their music and name is unknown. I have spoken to a few people who are not aware of them and I feel excited telling people about them. They are a brilliant live act and, when you look back at their catalogue, you can see how they have developed and grown through the years. Big Wows is one of my favourite albums from 2019 and I am not the only one who holds that opinion. Long may the girls keep on stealing sheep – no idea where their name came from! – and producing music this good. They are a brilliant force in the industry and, as I said at the top, we sort of need positivity and something fun right now. If you are looking for a great act to follow and check out, you can do a lot worse than Stealing Sheep. From their tender days to where they are now; there is a bright road ahead of them and I cannot wait to see where they head. The group project plenty of energy and colour into the world and know how to have a bit of fun. When it comes to their success and how darned good they are, well, then…

THAT’S certainly no joke.  

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Follow Stealing Sheep:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/stealingsheep/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/stealingsheep

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/stealingsheep/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3ghT43Gj41br25PvBCDS22?si=05hf68LzRnmXB7TWJl_N4Q

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCasXoux3aQmouaa5OH-czqA

PHOTOS:

Stealing Sheep/Getty Images

FEATURE: A Bicentennial Celebration or a Genius Recharging His Batteries? Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

FEATURE:

 

 

A Bicentennial Celebration or a Genius Recharging His Batteries?

IMAGE CREDIT: Netflix 

Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese

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I am always fascinated by music documentaries…

and that moment when a filmmaker captures a particular moment in time. Some documentaries tell a life-story and the full narrative of an act; some concentrate on little periods of time and go into more depth. There is a lot of talk and attention on the music biopic right now, what with the Elton John picture, Rocketman, doing well – the Queen biopic, Bohemian Rhapsody, scooped some Oscars. There is a great new documentary, Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, that one can see on Netflix. There are two schools of thought when it comes to that tour. I shall come to that but, when it comes to its origins, the 1975 tour was a new step for Dylan. It was largely a Dylan tour but he took with him a rotation of musicians and collaborators. Dylan was playing in smaller venues for the tour and, after a busy year that saw the release of one of his most popular albums, Blood on the Tracks, he wanted to scale things down slightly. The tour was definitely quite intimate and Dylan was able to have a great connection with his fans. Some of the artists that he brought on the road with him included Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell – some of the biggest artists in the world sharing the same stage must have been an insane treat for fans! The tour reached Canada by the autumn of 1975 and reached the South-West by the spring of 1976 – Dylan released another album, Desire, between two legs of the tour (that sounds a bit smutty but you know what I mean!).

 PHOTO CREDIT: Netflix

There are a couple of different reasons why Dylan took the Rolling Thunder Revue on the road. It was a great way to play smaller areas and venues; to get away from a lot of the pressure and try something a bit small-scale. Some say that Dylan was showing signs of fatigue and it must have been pretty busy in his camp before 1975. Also, the U.S.A. was celebrating its bicentennial in 1975 and there was a lot of cause for cheer. I do not really buy the fact Dylan was showing his patriotism: more that he needed to cut loose from some of the bigger gigs and pare it down a bit. Bob Dylan was, and is, an ordinary guy who is humble and wants to please his fans. A lot of the larger venues and stadiums seemed impersonal and it was hard to feel that contact with the audience. As such, his new venture was a perfect way to get back in touch with his fans and not have quite so much on his shoulders. That said, Martin Scorsese’s documentary is definitely exciting, revealing and memorable! With all those musicians and artists with him, I can imagine there were some logical nightmares and debates! I have heard some say that the new documentary has its flaws and it is not really a cohesive and satisfying film. There are others who rightly say Scorsese has affectionately and passionately documented a key time in Dylan’s career.

A load of work went into the documentary and, as this feature in The New Yorker explains, one is definitely in for a treat!

“For the concert footage alone, Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue” is exhilarating and even essential viewing. (I’d estimate that about half of the movie, which runs two hours and twenty-two minutes, features musical performances by Dylan and others.) The shows reflected the carnivalesque tumult that surrounded them, and the musical reinvention was even more extreme than that of “Before the Flood.” The collaborations add distinctive new flavors to Dylan’s music (Rivera’s violin seems, all by itself, to turn the large group into an orchestra), and the musical reunion with Baez displays their exalted sense of shared artistic purpose.

IN THIS PHOTO: Mick Ronson and Bob Dylan trade licks/PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Regan

Yet there’s much more to Scorsese’s film than the concerts, and not for the better. The film’s most tantalizing, frustrating elements are scenes of Dylan and the group in rehearsal, which are all too brief. It is as if Scorsese were illustrating the mere fact that they rehearsed rather than looking with any curiosity at the processes behind the group’s real-time development of musical ideas. By contrast, the most exciting scene in the film features Mitchell jamming on her song “Coyote” with Dylan and Roger McGuinn—rather, teaching it to them—in Gordon Lightfoot’s Toronto apartment; that impromptu performance continues in a tightrope walk of an unexpected, extended take that catches the miracle of spontaneous artistic inspiration.

There is a cliché that has regained currency with the release of Scorsese’s film: Bob Dylan the trickster, the slippery and malleable figure whose first trick may have been the pseudonym under which he made his fame. In “Rolling Thunder Revue,” Scorsese seems eager not only to highlight this side of Dylan but to participate in his tricks. Interspersed among the film’s authentic interviews, for instance, are mockumentary scenes that concoct fictional details about the tour. Martin von Haselberg plays the role of Stefan Van Dorp, a fictional director who is presented as responsible for filming the archival footage. The real-life movie executive Jim Gianopulos plays Jim Gianopulos, the (fictional) businessperson behind the tour. Sharon Stone plays herself and talks about her (fictitious) acquaintance with Dylan in the course of the tour. Dylan himself takes part in these games, referring on several occasions to Van Dorp’s and Stone’s presence and actions during the tour. Scorsese even places these characters amid the archival footage, dubbing the voice of Van Dorp into documentary sequences, blurring the historical record to match the fictional conceit”.

The reviews have been largely complimentary and (the documentary) is a pleasure for fans and new followers alike! There is so much to enjoy regarding Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese. There is a mixture of interviews, rare footage and performances that tells this wonderful and exciting story.

SLANT reviewed Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese and talked about all the mixtures and ingredients that make it so epic:

“The footage of the Rolling Thunder Revue has a wandering, druggy intensity, with explosively lurid colors and smoky jam sessions that are occasionally punctuated with a sharp close-up that allows an icon to reveal an unexpected element of their persona. Initially, we see Dylan, Ginsberg, and Baez hanging out in clubs, seemingly patching the Rolling Thunder idea together in between beer and joints and poetry. In a hypnotic image, Dylan and Patti Smith, framed through bars that suggest a prison, discuss the mythology of Superman, with Smith suggesting that the character could crush coal into a diamond. The two artists are clearly playing the role of flake pop-cultural shamans, but they’re also revealing the obsession with power and influence that drives performers of all kinds, including flower-child liberals.

Scorsese culls various images together to offer a startlingly intense vision of America as place that, to paraphrase Dylan, essentially believes in nothing, following one demoralizing crisis after another. Rolling Thunder Revue gradually collapses, mutating from a freeform document of the concert into a series of essays and anecdotes, such as on the origin of Dylan’s Rubin Carter tribute “Hurricane.” The film attains a shaggy shapelessness that suggests the haze of travel, as Dylan and his cohorts push on, delving deeper into their micro worlds.

IN THIS PHOTO: Bob Dylan and the band rehearsing during Ken Regan’s first shoot in New York City in October 1975/PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Regan 

The true shock of Rolling Thunder Revue, however, is in how good, how alive, Dylan is on stage. All of the make-up and masks he wears—other allusions to reinvention, to the essential, simultaneously nourishing and damaging textures of pop culture—seem to liberate him. On this tour, Dylan performs quite a bit of material from Desire, and his singing is clear and urgent and stunningly divorced of his ironic parlor games; he’s connecting with these songs, using the revue concept to channel his canniest and most sincere instincts as an actor and storyteller. And Scorsese frequently contrasts this full-throttle Dylan with the aloof sex symbol who lingers at backstage parties—a pose that’s startled by Joni Mitchell and Baez, two of the rare people who appear to be capable of humbling the maestro”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Bob Dylan in New Haven, Connecticut, in his dressing room. Dylan declares this to be the best photograph anyone has ever taken of him/PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Regan

As an accompaniment to Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese, have a look at this fantastic article that has some great images and candid shots of Dylan at work. Make sure you catch Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese because it is another example of why Bob Dylan is this incredible genius. The seventy-eight-year-old is still on the road and thrilling the crowds. Dylan is one of those artists you never want to stop. He is this legend that has provided the world with some of the finest music ever created and, in Martin Scorsese’s latest project, we get to see Dylan at his very best. For that reason alone, you need to make Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Joan Baez takes centre stage with the Rolling Thunder Revue in full swing/PHOTO CREDIT: Ken Regan 

A definite priority.  

FEATURE: Female Icons: Part Seven: Amy Winehouse

FEATURE:

 

 

Female Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: Charles Moriarty 

Part Seven: Amy Winehouse

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ONE might have their own definitions…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Phil Knott

as to what constitutes an ‘icon’. Some say that a certain amount of time needs to have elapsed. Others say impact and influence is more important. Although Amy Winehouse died at the age of twenty-seven, in her short career, she managed to create some truly stunning music. It is not only the music she left behind that marks her as icon: the force of her personality and the power of her voice captivated the world and inspires artists to this day. Born on 14th September, 1983, Winehouse departed the world on 11th July, 2011. It is so sad she is no longer with us but, in the brief time she was, Winehouse made her mark on music. Born in North London to Jewish parents, music came into her life at a young age. School was never something she grew to love. As a child, there was that sense that she was meant for something else; something less disciplined and structured. The young Winehouse would find more comfort and inspiration in music. Many of her maternal uncles were musicians as was her paternal grandmother, Cynthia, who was a singer and artist. Not only was there music in her bloodline but her family would sing songs to her; music was played around the house so it is understandable this budding talent was bitten by the bug very early on. Spending several years at the Susi Earnshaw Theatre School before attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School.

 IN THIS PHOTO: A relaxed Winehouse on Cariblue Beach, Saint Lucia in 2009/PHOTO CREDIT: Blake Wood

The rebellious streak that would mark some of Winehouse’s life in the media started life earlier on. Perhaps a sense of structure and focus was a little too rigid and boring for her. Listen to the music Winehouse was creating from her debut and it is clear that she was not following guidelines and rules. Despite the fact her schooling years were not overly-fruitful, Winehouse did learn a lot and it gave her a distinct focus and hunger. Eventually, Winehouse was signed to Simon Fuller’s 19 Management (in 2002).The story of how Winehouse came to prominence and was set on a course is sort of an accident. She was with Fuller’s management company and was performing regularly at the Codben Club. To start, her set consisted of Jazz standards; small surprise given that a lot of her favourite artists, including Dinah Washington, were Jazz icons. There was this sort of silent tussle between Island and EMI. Her future Island A&R man, Darcus Besse, heard of Winehouse by accident and was allured by this fantastic voice. There was a degree of secrecy around Winehouse’s identity so, for a while, Besse did not know who this incredible singer was. Winehouse was already with EMI (where she signed a publishing deal) and had struck up a working relationship with Salaam Remi. There was, soon enough this bidding war; bosses from companies such as EMI desperate to sign Winehouse.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Valerie Phillips

Her debut album, Frank, was released on Island in 2003 and, whilst it did not gain the same critical attention as Back to Black in 2006, there was a lot of chatter around her. With Winehouse co-writing throughout Frank, there was a lot of personal input and direction from the start. Following all this bustle and hustle to get Winehouse’s signature, she was at the stage where her debut album was out and she had transitioned from a promising club/bar singers to someone about to be thrust into the world’s gaze. There is this constant cool, control and style on Frank; a sense of comfort and ambition that marked her out for stardom. One listens to the opening few songs on Frank and you are transported to this marvellous world. It is unsurprising there is Jazz influence on Frank and, rather than remould herself as a new Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald, Winehouse adopted her own style but had a bit of her influences in the mix. Winehouse would mature and hit her peak on her second album but, right from the off, it was clear here was a true star that was unlike no other. Never too commercial or inaccessible, there was a this blend of someone who could be appreciated by the masses but there was something a bit exclusive – a definite edge and nuance that dug deeper and hit a certain few.

As mentioned, there was plenty of praise directed her way when Frank was released. AllMusic, in their review, were blown away:

“What lifts her above Macy Gray is the fact that her music and her career haven't been marketed within an inch of their life. Instead of Gray's stale studio accompaniments, Winehouse has talented musicians playing loose charts behind her with room for a few solos. Instead of a series of vocal mellifluities programmed to digital perfection, Winehouse's record has the feeling of being allowed to grow on its own -- without being meddled with and fussed over (and losing its soul in the process). Simply hearing Winehouse vamp for a few minutes over some Brazilian guitar lines on "You Sent Me Flying" is a rare and immense pleasure. Also, like Nellie McKay (but unlike nearly all of her contemporaries), Winehouse songs like "Fuck Me Pumps," "Take the Box," and "I Heard Love Is Blind" cast a cool, critical gaze over the music scene, over the dating scene, and even over the singer herself. With "In My Bed," she even proves she can do a commercial R&B production, and a club version of "Moody's Mood for Love" not only solidifies her jazz credentials but proves she can survive in the age of Massive Attack”.

The A.V. Club had this to say:

“Frank traffics in bratty attitude and retro sounds, but instead of Black's almost oppressively catchy Motown/girl-group stomp, the album features languid, wide-open neo-soul grooves and jazzy vamping: Think Erykah Badu with Nancy Spungen's Neanderthal taste in men. On the first song, "Stronger Than Me," Winehouse admonishes an Alan Alda type overly in touch with his feelings to stop being so thoughtful, considerate, and sensitive, and start behaving like a man. The songcraft is looser and more organic than Black's, but also more ramshackle and meandering, with Winehouse's fluid cooing filling in the empty spaces and doodling airily in the margins”.

 ALBUM PHOTO: Mischa Richter

Three years later, Back to Black was released to the world. Influenced more by 1960s girl groups than Jazz, her follow-up was a bolder and more accomplished effort. With producers Salaam Remi and Mark Ronson alongside her, Amy Winehouse was about to release one of the greatest albums of the decade. Recorded between Instrumental Zoo Studios in Miami, Church King Studios and Daptone Records in New York, the album received impassioned reviews. Inspired by her turbulent relationship with her future-husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, a lot of songs on Back to Black revolved around infidelity, heartbreak and betrayal. Rather than, like so many new songwriters do, make the music sound too depressing and dry, Winehouse brought so much emotion and spark to the music. With brass, beats and incredible confidence, Back to Black inspired a wave of artists, including Duffy and Adele. Back to Black won Best Pop Vocal Album at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards and took Winehouse to new levels. Female artists were awoken to this new icon who put attitude, panache and fashion into her music; a sense of determination and emotion that was missing from music. When you consider the rawness of Back to Black and the stunning arrangements, it is not a surprise Winehouse’s masterpiece influenced so many others. A couple of choice reviews show why Back to Black resonated and why it was so different to anything else in 2006.

The Independent, in this review, made some interesting observations:

“That directness applies equally to her lyrics, whose sexual frankness and pottymouthed articulation leaves no room for misunderstanding. Lines such as "He left no time to regret/ Kept his dick wet/ With his same old safe bet" act like turbochargers on the emotion, bringing an unmistakable modern slant to the loping Fifties R&B of songs such as "Back to Black" and "Me & Mr Jones", an ironic Noughties equivalent of Billy Paul's affair anthem. When the same candid attitude is applied to female sexual obsession in "Wake Up Alone", the result is like Millie Jackson crossed with Peggy Lee, a blend of unashamed assertiveness and languid vocal power.

PHOTO CREDIT: Charles Moriarty

The lack of shame is probably the album's defining characteristic. From the opening "Rehab" to the closing "Addicted", there's none of the blame-shifting or hand-wringing apologia that American singers routinely employ. In the former - all fat horns, R&B feel and tubular bells punching up the lines - she refuses flip, therapeutic explanations for her melancholy and drinking ("There's nothing you can teach me/ That I can't learn from Mr Hathaway" - Donny, presumably); and in the latter, she gives equally short shrift to a flatmate's lover who smokes up all her stash without offering to replace it. If a man has treated her badly, as in "Tears Dry On Their Own", she doesn't whinge, just chides herself for placing too much faith in him: "I should just be my own best friend/ Not fuck myself in the head with stupid men"; and it's clearly hard for her to feel too guilty, in "You Know I'm No Good", about keeping two lovers on the go”.

AllMusic had their own take on Back to Black.

“Winehouse was inspired by girl group soul of the '60s, and fortunately Ronson and Remi are two of the most facile and organic R&B producers active. (They certainly know how to evoke the era too; Remi's "Tears Dry on Their Own" is a sparkling homage to the Motown chestnut "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," and Ronson summons a host of Brill Building touchstones on his tracks.) As before, Winehouse writes all of the songs from her experiences, most of which involve the occasionally riotous and often bittersweet vagaries of love. Also in similar fashion to Frank, her eye for details and her way of relating them are delightful. She states her case against "Rehab" on the knockout first single with some great lines: "They tried to make me go to rehab I won't go go go, I'd rather be at home with Ray" (Charles, that is). As often as not, though, the songs on Back to Black are universal, songs that anyone, even Joss Stone, could take to the top of the charts, such as "Love Is a Losing Game" or the title song ("We only said good bye with words, I died a hundred times/You go back to her, and I go back to black")”.

If Frank was a promising start and brought together Winehouse’s influences, Back to Black took another direction in terms of genre and subject matter. More personal and heartbreaking, that switch from Jazz of the 1950s to a blend of 1960s female Pop and R&B gave her work new edges, possibilities and beautiful moments.    

 PHOTO CREDIT: Phil Knott

Back to Black is more than one woman’s struggles and unpredictable love-life being put onto page. To so many other people, it is a relatable album and something that speaks to them directly. This article in FADER is a perfect example of why Back to Black stands the test of time – the article was written ten years after Back to Black was released:

“But Winehouse did make the album. And, perhaps owing to the turbulence in her life at the time, it’s one of the truest, most devastating pop albums of the 21st century. As a teenager I was drawn to its sticky-eyed sadness and macabre glamor; as an adult, I keep returning to its emotional honesty. “A lot of the stuff that’s out, it’s not heartfelt,” she told an interviewer with shrugging candor while promoting her first LP in 2003. “I just wanted to write music that was emotional, and that people would...connect with.” In other interviews, she insisted “I always write autobiographically” about “things that conflict me”; she would disarmingly disclose that she was a “manic depressive.” In an interview with The FADER in 2008, she said, “I wrote songs about relationships that almost ended me. When you write about stuff that’s so personal, you don’t have to dig that deep.”

Back To Black depicts a woman struggling with temptation, misery, and loneliness. Though it’s told — and was promoted — in the context of heartbreak, the album is actually more self-reflexive; it’s not just a woman singing to an ex-lover, but a woman wrestling with herself. 

Back To Black describes depression, addiction, and self-sabotage, in ways that are startlingly unusual for a Grammy-winning, chart-topping, 21st century pop record. (What other recent number one single by a woman contained a line like, I’m gonna lose my baby/ So I always keep a bottle near?) It’s important to acknowledge the singular way Back To Black treads this dark territory despite — perhaps even because of — what happened to Winehouse after its release”.

There is a few things one must consider when talking about Amy Winehouse and Back to Black. Early in her career, Winehouse had a more grounded and girl-next-door look but, by Back to Black, she had adopted the beehive – made famous by girl groups of the 1960s – and this more mature, smoky and confident look. Winehouse’s look and fashion is almost as synonymous as her music. Not only did we have this incredible artist putting out music that was opening eyes. Alongside it, there was this vivacious, stunning and amazing woman who sort of united the looks and sounds of the 1960s with something modern and urgent. Of course, with the acclaim, awards and press attention came demons and addiction. I do not want to talk too much about it and cast blame but one can link the press’ attention and hounding with the pressure that was on Winehouse. Those who knew her remembered her as a sweet and shy woman who was very relatable and honest; funny and kind but, at moments, a bit wild. This woman who wanted to have a career in music but was not chasing fame was soon in everyone’s sights and it took its toll.

Winehouse’s live performances used to be the thing of legends but, as addiction to alcohol grew, they were becoming more erratic and unreliable. Before long, Winehouse’s derailed moments were overtaking her music in terms of press coverage. You can draw a line from Amy Winehouse to newcomers like Jorja Smith and Halsey. Winehouse is one of the most original and striking singers of the past couple of decades and the impact she made in her short life is incredible. There is so much good about her: from her great and candid interviews to her incredible tracks and brilliant live performances. Maybe some misguided romantic choices led her stray but there is this feeling that, if the press had left her alone and she was allowed some space, she would not have died. Sadly, alcohol did contribute to her death in 2011 and it is heartbreaking thinking where Winehouse could have headed and how big she could have been. We have not seen anyone like her and, do you know what, I don’t think we will. You get these artists that come along so rarely and we are all so lucky for having experienced the magic of Amy Winehouse. Before signing off, I want to bring in the last interview Winehouse ever gave. There is a mix of honesty, sweetness and star quality that makes her death all-the-sadder and more poignant.

In The Telegraph, there are passages of conversation and observation that take the breath. The interviewer was covering an album of duets Tony Bennett had recorded and Winehouse duetted on Body and Soul. She was asked about her love of Tony Bennett and the two seemed to have this mutual respect and natural chemistry: 

“In mini-dress and patterned cardigan, she looked good, healthier than I had seen her in years, tanned and fuller-figured, big hair sculpted around her striking face. The year before, a producer I know described Winehouse as a write-off, creatively stuck and unable to function for ten minutes without resorting to drugs. The comment had offended her father, Mitch. “She’s not a write off,” he insisted. “She’s a recovering addict.”

“I’m my own worst critic,” she told me afterwards, “and if I don’t pull off what I think I wanted to do in my head, then I won’t be a happy girl.” Her sulky demeanour she put down to nerves. “I’ve got Tony’s voice right in my ear and that’s so much for me that I can’t look up and see Tony the person as well. I sound so stupid but it’s hard.”

Winehouse’s surprising self-criticism, and her unease in the situation, was revealing. “I’m not a natural born performer. I’m a natural singer, but I’m quite shy, really.” She said she always fought nerves before a performance.

She also opened up the possibility of studying music. “I would love to study guitar or trumpet. I can play a lot of different instruments adequately but nothing really well. If you play an instrument, it makes you a better singer. The more you play, the better you sing, the more you sing, the better you play.”

This was all in the future. She may have had a hedonistic and self-destructive streak, and she was an addict battling deep problems, but at 27, I think Amy really believed in her own future. She told Bennett that, after the session, she wanted to go home and put on one of his records. “I’d rather hear you sing than listen to my own voice.”

She was relaxed and laughing by the end, a warm, loud, dirty laugh, full of pleasure. “I’m so happy to be here,” she told Bennett. “It's a story to tell my grandchildren, to tell their grandchildren, to make sure they tell their grandchildren.”

“Tell your daddy I said hello,” smiled Bennett.

“He will cry,” said Amy. “He will cry”.

I think that is a good place to leave thing. Winehouse may have had her troubles and dark moments but she left the world with this mix of stunning work and a huge void. On the good side, we are lucky to have recordings from her and indications of where she was heading. On the sad side, she was primed to enter the next phase and was looking forward – something she was not able to realise. Rather than remember the troubled artist – some of that was brought into her work and was important – let us remember a great young icon whose music has enriched and touched…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

SO many lives.  

FEATURE: Always the Sinner, Never the Saint: Will the World Ever Get Off of Madonna’s Back?

FEATURE:

 

 

Always the Sinner, Never the Saint

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

Will the World Ever Get Off of Madonna’s Back?

_________

I have raised this point a few times…

but it seems, through the years, Madonna has received her fair share of criticism! In fact, most of the criticism and flack she gets is not warranted at all. It makes me wonder what an artist needs to do in order to get proper respect. It is true that, since 2000’s Music, her album output has been impressive but the quality has not been at her high level – 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor is an exception. Her new album, Madame X, is out and it has received a lot of love. The Guardian claim Madonna’s fourteenth studio album is her weirdest yet:

“Throughout, there is more density and musical adventure than at almost any other point in her career (perhaps this is the influence of Mirwais, who produces numerous tracks here and gave Music its fiendish intricacy). Her voice is remarkably plastic, pitched down one minute and up the next, into a Sia-like bleat and out into robotic polyphony. Often, around the seabed of the mix, is a swirl of aqueous psychedelic sound, profoundly different and much more interesting than her earlier R&B and EDM minimalism.

Killers Who Are Partying ends with the questions: “Do you know who you are? Will we know when to stop?” The untamed, batshit Madame X suggests that Madonna doesn’t have the answer to either – and that her strength is in never knowing”.

In this review, more positive vibes are put Madonna’s way:

“Her resulting 14th album implores us to take a ride with her new persona and her many and varied guises – “a secret agent… A dancer. A professor. A head of state. A housekeeper. An equestrian. A prisoner. A student. A mother. A child. A teacher. A nun. A singer. A saint. A whore. A spy in the house of love. I am Madame X” – and the results are at once stupefying and tremendous. This record is a true cathartic journey from the expert of such travels, with brilliant past collaborator Mirwais doing much of the driving. Most of this sprawling album, sung variously in English, Portuguese and Spanish and with an astonishing array of musical flourishes, is truly experimental, and captivating with it.

Tracks precursing the album’s release include the retro and slick R&B lick Crave, with Swae Lee, and the dark and trippy Future featuring Quavo, which has Diplo‘s fingerprints all over it. Elsewhere, Killers Who Are Partying is likely to be one of the more controversial moments. Madonna has always been a champion of minorities and name-checks a good many of them here, from Africa to Islam via Israel to a woman who was raped, with some hard-hitting lyrics in support. The starkly defiant and beautiful Extreme Occident explores a push and pull between herself and her critics. Even now, while often praised for her ability to reinvent, this is now something she is derided for. The hypocrisy of her detractors in this regard is astounding”.

That last review raises an interesting point: how Madonna is celebrated because she reinvents herself yet derided for it at the same time. This time around, when she was putting singles out, there were some who were turning up their noses; of the opinion Madonna was going too far or the sound wasn’t quite right. She has collaborated with a few artists on Madame X and there is a definite modern sheen; a pulsating and energetic vibe but throughout, there are unexpected moments of tenderness and darkness. If she had released an album like American Life (2003) or Confessions on a Dance Floor (2005) then critics and fans would go at her for repeating herself. Her more-recent albums – such as 2016’s Rebel Heart – have been received well but not gained the sort of kudos she is used to. In a way, Madame X is this throw-down to those who have written her off and claimed she is ripe for retirement. I remember when the Madame X trailer was out and we saw this new persona take shape. There was a lot of online criticism and cruelty; those who felt she was ridiculous and what was the point of doing all of this. I have not seen any other artist who has received the same relentless scathing and mockery through their career. Madonna recently appeared on Graham Norton’s chat-show and there has been criticism relating to that.

Some say she was rude and dismissive; a bit cringey and cold. Others ask why she was wearing an eyepatch. The latter, obviously, can be explained because she is Madame X: a new figure who, as part of her wardrobe, wears an eyepatch. We have heard Madonna being interviewed since the early 1980s (or before) and we know how she approaches interviews. She is quite guarded and can appear standoffish at times but that is a way of shielding herself. The abuse and comments she gets on social media is appalling and I do not see why people have an obsession with putting her down. There have been occasions where she has been the creator of her own downfall – some unwise comments online and some odd award speeches – but these in the minority. A new album is out and it has gathered incredible praise. I think Madame X is her most well-received album since 2005’s Confessions on a Dance Floor and one would hope Madonna would get some rest. Madonna has also received a lot of negative response because, in an interview, she had some negative words about Instagram:

“You get caught up in comparing yourself to other people. Should I be like that, act like that, look like that?” she told the Sun.

“Will that make me more popular, or more successful? People are a slave to winning other’s approvals. I refuse to bend a knee to convention and what society expects of me as a woman. 

Madonna, 60, added: “I think Instagram is made to make you feel bad.”

View this post on Instagram

Mother of dragons.............. 🐉 Madame ❌ Album drops June 14th ❌ #madamex

A post shared by Madonna (@madonna) on Jun 11, 2019 at 11:57am PDT

Social networks are expected to soon encounter tighter laws amid growing concerns about child safety online, with companies being urged to prioritise the protection of their users over commercial interests.

In the interview, the “Queen of Pop” said social media culture “runs people’s lives” and she was fortunate to have grown up in the pre-social media era”.

It is inevitable that every big artist, at some point, will get some criticism and they are not going to have an easy ride. From her earliest days, she had to face abuse and the constant media glare. When she was expressing sexuality and confidence in her music, she was accused of being a slut or setting a bad example. There is more than one example of her being taunted and abused at an award ceremony; sexist comments being thrown her way by male bands. At other times, the media have maligned her and discredited her records because there is mention of sex. Even during her Like a Prayer (1989) – Erotica (1992) phase, there was never anything in the albums that could be considered overly-offensive. The music world had never seen anyone like Madonna and she became an easy target. Sexism has followed her around for decades and, as a leader in Pop, she has opened doors and horizons for female artists.

Not only that but, as the music industry does sort of judge and limit artists when they get to a certain age, Madonna has rebelled against that. Her albums are always vibrant and fresh and, even though she is now sixty, there are some stations that refuse to play her music because of her age. Madonna, in this interview with Vogue, talked about ageism and how she has fought against it:

“People have always been trying to silence me for one reason or another, whether it’s that I’m not pretty enough, I don’t sing well enough, I’m not talented enough, I’m not married enough, and now it’s that I’m not young enough,” she tells Aitkenhead. “So they just keep trying to find a hook to hang their beef about me being alive on. Now I’m fighting ageism, now I’m being punished for turning 60.”

She’s motivated by the thought of paving the way for women to come, but Madonna’s duty of care to younger generations is often overlooked by the celebrity gossip narrative. “People got very excited about [the thought of Lady Gaga and myself as] enemies, when we never were enemies,” she sighs of society’s tendency to pit women against each other”.

In the list of things Madonna gets grief about we can put her gender, age and music to the list. She is criticised when she is interviewed and when she talks about anything; when she gives speeches and when she dares to reinvent herself or do something new. Where does all this stem from? The wave of attention sort of presented itself by the time of 1986’s True Blue; it heightened in 1989 with Like a Prayer and hasn’t really let off since. Is it because the industry has not seen anyone like her and does not know how to process her personality and music?

This illuminating article in The Independent, written by Helen Brown, offers an apology to Madonna; the attitudes many aim her way regarding retiring with dignity and going on for so long:

“If you’re a girl, you have to play the game. You’re allowed to be pretty and cute and sexy. But don’t act too smart. Don’t have an opinion that’s out of line with the status quo. You are allowed to be objectified by men and dress like a slut, but don’t own your sluttiness. And do not, I repeat do not, share your own sexual fantasies with the world. Be what men want you to be, but more importantly, be what women feel comfortable with you being around other men. And finally, do not age. Because to age is a sin. You will be criticised and vilified and definitely not played on the radio.”

In her Billboard speech, Madonna said: “I remember wishing I had a female peer I could look to for support. Camille Paglia said I set women back by objectifying myself sexually. So I thought, ‘oh, if you’re a feminist, you don’t have sexuality, you deny it.’ So I said ‘f**k it. I’m a different kind of feminist. I’m a bad feminist.’

Journalist Fiona Sturges, who normally writes this column, has previously suggested we all back off on Madonna’s age and just judge her on the music alone. I certainly agree with Sturges that women are judged much more harshly and I’m equally furious with those who tell Madonna to “put it away, grandma!”

But I also love her endurance, her wit, her ongoing embrace of fresh, new sounds and ideas. I love that she continues to speak up for women and named Simone de Beauvoir, Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Carson McCullers, Dorothea Tanning, Leonora Carrington, Frida Kahlo as inspiration for her most recent incarnation: Madame X”.

PHOTO CREDIT: @Madonna 

In this interview with The Guardian, Madonna also talked about the sort of unwanted attention she experienced early in her career:

“She has recently spoken of how Harvey Weinstein was “incredibly sexually flirtatious” with her and “crossed lines and boundaries” when they worked together on 1991 tour documentary In Bed With Madonna. “Harvey Weinstein was untouchable. His reputation was universal – everybody knew he was, you know, the guy that he was. I’m not into name-calling, but it was like: ‘Oh, that’s Harvey, that’s what he does.’ It just became accepted. And I suppose that’s the scary thing about it. Because if people do things enough, no matter how heinous and awful and unacceptable it is, people accept it. And that certainly exists in the music industry, too.”

She came up against it herself in the years when she was trying to get a record deal. “I can’t tell you how many men said: ‘OK, well, if you give me a blow job’, or: ‘OK, if you sleep with me.’ Sex is the trade, you know? I feel like maybe there isn’t a movement so much because we’re already used to expressing ourselves in a way, or fighting for things, although I do wish there were more women in the music business that were more political and more outspoken about all things in life, not just … the inequality of the sexes”

PHOTO CREDIT: Galella/WireImage 

Against all the judgement and pressure that is put her way, Madonna continues to forge her own path and stand up. I do hope she never retires because, as Madame X shows, she has plenty of life and inspiration in her. It is sad that some radio stations ignore her and it is exhausting seeing endless articles about Madonna with a negative spin. Do a quick search on Madonna and you will see more press inches regarding her age, fashion and comments than you will her music, messages and legacy. I have only skimmed the surface regarding the sort of attention Madonna gets. Many people forget about the music and all she has given the world. Maybe this will never change and, regardless of the music she is putting out, someone is going to have a go. It just seems like she has been facing constant scrutiny for decades and you wonder when it will stop. Madonna is not ever going to back down but it seems disheartening to see so much agro and negativity go her way. Sure, there have been times where she has divided opinions and not always been sensible but, when it comes to a Pop megastar, this is what we should expect, surely? This is the second of three features today where I am ending with a playlist. I am doing so to highlight the incredible music Madonna has put out and how, over thirty-five years since her eponymous debut album, she continues to inspire and push music forward. Just listen to the tracks below and realise why Madonna deserves…

PHOTO CREDIT: @Madonna

A lot of respect.  

FEATURE: The Day After Yesterday: How The Beatles Soundtracked Our Lives and Changed the World

FEATURE:

 

 

The Day After Yesterday

IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles/PHOTO CREDIT: © Apple Corps Ltd. 

How The Beatles Soundtracked Our Lives and Changed the World

_________

SAY what you like about…

 IMAGE CREDIT: Universal Pictures UK

Richard Curtis and his films – I guess there is a bit of a gender split regarding popularity – but, in his latest flick, he poses a very interesting possibility: what would the world be like if The Beatles never existed! Of course, the concept of a hopeless songwriter waking up to find that he is the only one who remembers The Beatles – and claims ownership to their songs – is a far-out and impossible predicament. The film itself, Yesterday, is out on 21st June and I have heard some mixed reaction to it (Danny Boyle directs). On the one hand, fans of The Beatles will have an interest because the band’s music is played. Of course, I like everyone else is a massive fan of theirs but I do think that the modern-day pitch and scenario is not as appealing as one would hope – and I have heard Ed Sheeran appears at some point! In any case, it brings The Beatles’ music to new ears and it is always great hearing Beatles music being performed. Peter Bradshaw, writing in The Guardian gave his thoughts regarding the film:

“Maybe it shouldn’t be any sort of evaluative factor, but the simple fact of hearing Beatles songs, the simple thought experiment of pretending to hear them for the first time, does carry a charge. And, although this film can be a bit hokey and uncertain on narrative development, the puppyish zest and fun summoned up by Curtis and Boyle carry it along. It’s ridiculous and indulgent at all times, like Russell Crowe shouting his “Are you not entertained” line from Gladiator wearing a Beatles wig. Yet there is a weird and heavy backwash of sadness at the end, a kind of melancholy comedown, and I can’t quite decide if that was intentional or not.

Arguably, the story as it pans out is a bit straightforward: there is no question of, say, some Beatles songs going down better than others in the present day. Moreover, Curtis scholars will see how Yesterday is a gender-switch version of Notting Hill, featuring an ordinary guy getting a brush with uber-glamour, with Joel Fry in the Rhys Ifans role of stupid best mate. There wasn’t much for Kate McKinnon to get hold of in the role of the nasty LA manager, but the onward rush of silliness compensates.

Of course, we’re heading for a colossal final cameo(s), and I was reasonably sure I knew what form this was going to take – but I was wrong. This big walk-on moment is every bit as sentimental and extravagantly sugary as everything else. For the first millisecond, though, it really will take you aback. As fab as it could reasonably be expected to be”.

Of course, the vision of a Beatles-less universe is a bone-chilling one! Imagine what music would be like without them. Not only would Pop be in a worse state but think of all the albums that would never have been recorded. Paul McCartney is seventy-seven on Tuesday and, kicking arse on tour as he is right now, it seems like there is no slowing him. In addition, The Beatles’ Abbey Road turns fifty in September. There is still a tonne of hunger for the classic Beatles hits.

Every one of us, to some degree, has exposure to The Beatles. I grew up listening to the music and albums like Abbey Road, Revolver; The Beatles and Rubber Soul were crucial discoveries. In Yesterday, there is this absence of The Beatles and, aside from a lone man, their music does not exist anywhere. The review above posits an interesting notion: what it is like hearing Beatles songs for the very first time. The band is ingrained into the psyche and, naturally, we all know their material back-to-front. There is a generation growing up that are hearing The Beatles for the first time. It was strange to me hearing them first in the 1980s, over a decade after they split. My parents experienced them the first time around in the 1960s and there are those who are just being born who will not hear a Beatles note for several more years. How different is the experience of The Beatles now compared to that first flash of excitement?! I regret I was not born when they started out; to experience that giddiness and delight. I love the fact that both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr are still performing and, with anniversaries and new films, we are never too far away from a Beatles song! I cannot envisage life without The Beatles’ music and they have made a huge impact on me. To me, The Beatles’ music revolutionised how we experienced an album; the fact that they made these complete albums rather than just a single – people more drawn to an album as a piece of work in general.  

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles at a press conference held at the West London home of their manager, Brian Epstein, on 19th May, 1967/PHOTO CREDIT: John Pratt/Keystone/Getty Images

How, then, did The Beatles change the world? There are a lot of great articles around but this feature lists the ways The Beatles transformed the music industry. There are some interesting points raised:

“Questioning the taste of America’s youth is a pointless endeavor (it’s a matter of record that in the 50s, Pat Boone rivaled and occasionally exceeded Elvis Presley in teen popularity polls), but certainly the Beatles were a blast of cool air into a somewhat arid teen idol landscape. Not only were they intriguingly exotic with their Liverpudlian accents and unusual looks, but they were also like four teen idols wrapped up in one gleaming package. There was Paul, the cute and adorable one; John, the smart and slightly dangerous one; George, the quiet and shy one; and Ringo, the fun and goofy one. There was something for all teen tastes, made all the more enticing by the “all-for-one, one-for-all, lads” uniformity of their presentation: the matching moptops, collarless button-down suits, and Cuban-heeled ankle boots.

The Beatles were more self-aware than their previous pop sweepstakes aspirants. They recognized a certain absurdity to the pop game and seemed determined to go their own way. This attitude was always apparent in their dealings with the press. During such encounters, they would good-naturedly turn questions back to reporters or answer them with nonsense. The Beatles made it clear that they were independent thinkers who were going to do what they wanted to do, whether the world approved of them or not. Teens had cottoned on to the rebellious stance of James Dean and Elvis Presley a few years earlier; the Beatles adopted this stance, but they conveyed it in a more sophisticated and subtle way. Never as docile as Elvis, who was unfailingly polite to all adults no matter how crass they were, the Beatles’ quips during their press conferences could have genuine bite to them. It was one of many ways that they showed their awareness of the showbiz apparatus that they operated in and how deserving it was of lampooning. The resultant anarchy was confusing and charming to adults in equal measure.

Although this was the accepted way that the record industry functioned, the Beatles did not see themselves as a singles machine, even though they released some of the most successful singles in music history. They tried to make all of their songs worthwhile at a time when album releases were mostly filled up with lesser material included to bolster sales of a hit song. There had been exceptions to this rule before the Beatles, such as Frank Sinatra, who assembled many LPs of songs that related to a theme, or various jazz artists, whose sound evolved with each record release. But the Beatles were the first pop musicians to craft consistent albums in which each song was an important part of the whole. They worked to make each Beatles album high quality, beginning to end. They began to stress the primacy of the album over the hit song.

It is clear that The Beatles changed things and caused this great explosion. In terms of studio techniques and the album as a concept, they were hugely instrumental and vital. The songs themselves, of course, helped with their popularity. Whether writing tight and catchy Pop songs at the start of their careers or experimenting more from Revolver onward, The Beatles’ legacy and place in history cannot be doubted. It is not only the loss of their music and influence we would feel if they were not around. Consider the hysteria that greeted them and the Beatlemania sensation. Fans chasing the boys and that incredible wave of affection they garnered.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Mark and Colleen Hayward/Getty Images

The Beatles did so much in a relatively short career and it is breataking discovering all the music they put out. From album tracks to rarities and demos, there is a wealth of material out there! I want to bring another article in that talks about The Beatles and how their legacy continues to this day:

“It can easily be said that the Beatles are the most influential band of all time. What sets them apart from everyone else is the continuing legacy they have left in music. As one of the decade-defining bands of the 1960s, the Beatles fully immersed themselves in anything and everything. They embodied what the "swinging sixties" were all about. It was one of the loudest and audacious decades in forms of art, music, culture, and news and the Beatles were smack dab in the middle of it. They absorbed everything around them and set off in their own direction: one that would define a generation. They changed the lifestyle of youths across the nation—something that history proves does not happen overnight.

The Beatles became the best friends of a generation and beyond. Despite two members having passed on, the power of their music has reached out to a new generation of fans that had not grown up with them. There is never-ending Beatles content to explore, whether it is music, promotional videos, interviews, or documentaries—there is something for everyone. They are a band the listeners could never bore of, only excitedly intrigued to hear more about.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

It's time to look at how the Beatles constant impact on music and their long-lasting success make them the most influential music group of all time. How the world saw an explosion of a mass group of fans that had not been seen since Elvis, their inspiring fashion, the growth between albums that accumulated a back catalog like no other and their influence in the 1960s compared to today.

It is impossible to get into the history of music without listening to the Beatles. The four members we've grown to love have left their mark on countless bands and artists and still do today. They managed to influence a wide audience as not only a commercially successful and critically acclaimed band but at the head of cultural change”.

So many artists today owe a debt of gratitude to Paul McCartney, John Lennon; Ringo Starr and George Harrison. The Beatles seem supernatural in their talent and ability; above everything else in music and on their own planet. To even consider a world without them sort of chills the blood. I think Yesterday will give young fans an insight into the world of The Beatles; it is always good to see The Beatles represented in film, regardless of the context. I will end with a playlist because I think, more than anything, the music itself proves why The Beatles were so beloved and important. It is lucky Yesterday is fiction because, without The Beatles, the music world would be a…

MUCH poorer place.  

TRACK REVIEW: Miles Davis (ft. Ledisi) - Rubberband of Life

TRACK REVIEW:

 

Miles Davis (ft. Ledisi)

Rubberband of Life

9.5/10

The track, Rubberband of Life, is available via:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayx93w3dyrI

GENRES:

Jazz/Neo-Soul/R&B

ORIGIN:

U.S.A.

LABEL:

Rhino Entertainment Company

The album, Rubberband, will be released on 6th September. Pre-order the album here:

https://rhino.lnk.to/Rubberband19

__________

IT is not often that I get to look at…

a Jazz artist - no less an icon who has helped redefine and revolutionise the genre. Before I talk more about Miles Davis and why this posthumous project is exciting, it is worth talking about a few other subjects. I wanted to look at Jazz in general and how, for years, it has been a maligned genre – and one that is coming back and has plenty of potential. I also wanted to address posthumous releases in general and an artist’s life after they have departed; a general look at broader music tastes and widening horizons; a sense of where Jazz can go in years from now and music that contrasts the mainstream with something much more satisfying and rich – I will look at ahead to the Miles Davis album, Rubberband, and what it might contain. It is worth looking at Jazz legends and how they have inspired the genre but, right now, let’s investigate Jazz. I do think many of us get into our heads this impression of Jazz that is quite old and limited. I have raised this subject when reviewing Jazz in the past but I think we all associate the genre with something quite stuffy, dry and long-winded. Rather than the exciting and varied style we have today, many still link Jazz with noodling, a certain impression and something they will not like. To be fair, there are still some corners of the Jazz world where improvisation rules and it can be quite hard to digest. Other Jazz artists tend to be quite plain and do not really allow much imagination to come out. For the most part, Jazz today is broadening and there are some terrific artists emerging. In Britain, there are some fantastic Jazz players coming out of London and, when you think about how Jazz is integrated into other styles of music, one can appreciate the genre in some form or other. I think the likes of Miles Davis represent an old order that, whilst inspiring, are part of the past.

The newly-charged and evolved Jazz we hear now is a different beast altogether. I am not a huge fan of Jazz that goes off on tangents and consists of wild freestyling but, if you look hard enough, there are plenty of options. It is a shame that, to many, Jazz is this limited genre that is for the outsiders and cannot integrate into the mainstream. Maybe people feel that, like Classical, Jazz is vocal-less and not something that is easy to get to grips with. True, a lot of Jazz is instrumental but there are Jazz artists who have singers and, with modern artists like Kamasi Washington mixing instrumentals with singer-fronted pieces, Jazz is a lot more eclectic than you’d think. I love how Jazz has changed and always had time for the genre. I do like the more composed and calm pieces that are pretty easy to appreciate but I like how artists such as Miles Davis took Jazz in new directions with longer, more psychedelic experimentations. There are modern Jazz artists who are mixing in other styles like Pop and Hip-Hop; some that are merging cooler Jazz with something more fired and exciting. I do not think we can easily define any genre but Jazz always gets this bad reputation. It is hard to convert everyone to Jazz but have a listen to what is coming out now and you will love something, that is for sure. Consider Sons of Kemet and The Comet Is Coming, They are splicing together different genres and providing this very tangible-yet-oblique music that paints pictures without words. It is Jazz that thrills the blood and hooks you but, rather than rely too much on traditional Jazz instruments, there is a fusion of genres. One might say that modern Jazz, then, is not that pure and is having to assimilate other styles of music to become credible. I think there is some truth in this but, like every genre, Jazz has developed and changed through the years. At the core, there is still this very traditional sound but, with so many different kinds of music available to the world, it is only natural that modern Jazz artists would sprinkle that into the pot.

I am going to be talking about Amy Winehouse later and, when considering her, there are all sorts of plans regarding her material and touring – despite the fact that she has been dead for years. It is understandable fans want to hear more material from artists after they have departed but where do you draw the line? In the case of Winehouse, there has been posthumous material released and there are plans for her to go on tour – in the form of a hologram. It is a bit ghoulish and weird considering that and I do think there needs to be lines drawn. Prince is another artist who has been gone for years but there is new stuff coming out regularly. In his case, there is this archive of material he recorded that will satisfy fans for many years to come. Some say there is almost a century’s worth of music that is available. That is quite an impressive haul but you have to ask how much is going to be relevant and whether you release everything or stop at some point. It is the case with any big artist that has gone. Do you mine every inch of their archives to see what can be sold or do you simply accept that, now that they have gone, that is the end of their recording life? It is a hard balance and situation but I do feel like only the most worthy and quality-driven material should be released. In the case of Miles Davis, Rubberband of Life has already been put out into the world but it is a first taster of what is to come; an album called Rubberband that he started recording back in 1985. Here, Pitchfork explain the situation:

 “In 1985, Miles Davis began recording an album called Rubberband, which was set to be his first album for Warner Bros. Records following his departure from longtime label Columbia. That record was ultimately shelved; his first album for Warner would be 1986’s Tutu. Last year saw the title track to Davis’ album, “Rubberband,” released on an EP of the same name.

Today, it’s been announced that Rubberband will now be released in its entirety, completed by the original producers—Randy Hall and Zane Giles—alongside Davis’ nephew, Vince Wilburn, Jr., who performed on the original album sessions. It arrives September 6 via Rhino. Find a tracklist below.

Featured on the album are Lalah Hathaway and the R&B/jazz singer Ledisi, who guests on an alternate version of the title track, “Rubberband of Life,” which appeared on last year’s EP. Find that below as well. In April, it was announced that Davis’ full recordingsfrom his sessions around Birth of the Cool would be coming to vinyl”.

It is great that we have this new release coming because I don’t think Davis is one of those artists who has a lot of scrappy stuff lying around that could be released just to cash in. Maybe I am wrong but, with some deceased artists, there are half-baked songs and demos that estates put out just because it is there. It can somewhat distil the legacy of an artist and is a shame to see. I can appreciate why people want to keep an artist alive but there has to be this point where you have to weight things up and consider whether the unfinished material is really worth putting out. Mile Davis always intended this full album and, for various reasons, it is only seeing the light of day now. It is interesting that we get to hear contemporary singers front Miles Davis songs. In his lifetime, he released few albums where there were singers on. For the most part, his music was instrumental so it is quite refreshing seeing these arrangements with singers on. Rubberband is the realisation of Davis’ work from the 1980s but it has that modern twist to it. With Ledisi scoring the current single from the album, there is that mixture of generations and, as I explained before, Jazz and other genres melting together – in the case of Rubberband of Life, there is some Soul and R&B in the mix.

One cannot listen to artists like Miles Davis, Sons of Kemet and Jazz artists such as Nilüfer Yanya and say that there is limitation. Jazz is always changing and moving in fresh directions so, if you do not like one form of Jazz, have a look around and there will be something out there for you. I feel we underestimate how important Jazz is and how, in terms of moving Hip-Hop on, it is essential. So many of the classic Rap and Hip-Hop artists cite Jazz as key; their albums incorporating Jazz in a very primal and affectionate way. Maybe pure, un-distilled Jazz is still resigned to specialist radio stations but so many modern artists are bringing in touches of Jazz to heighten their own music. Without realising it, most of us are listening to Jazz on a daily basis and actually enjoying it! It is easy to get into a habit where you only listen to stuff you grew up around or stick with a particular genre. Sometimes, we let our tastes widen but so many of us do not take leaps and experience something different. I think a music consumer is richer and happier when they listen to as much as they can. I do feel like it is impossible to like everything and embrace all music but I myself have started to investigate genres that I ignored until now. It can be very boring listening to the same music so, when you can, have a listen to something else and I am sure you will enjoy it. Maybe some of what is coming from the Jazz will not strike your mind but I am willing to bet that there is something from the world of Jazz you will like. I know it is hard to sort of break from a listening pattern and bring something new into the fold. Many of us, as mentioned, do stick with what we know and feel that anything we do not listen to isn’t worth the time.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Cameron Photography

I have started to listen to a lot of modern Country and Folk – something I have neglected for some time. I have also checked out a few Drill artists and, whilst it is not a genre I can see myself truly getting behind, there are some interesting sounds coming through. Before long, this natural sense of investigation reveals some fresh treasure and your music collection will be broader. I feel like the more aware we are of music’s spectrum and full extent, the more enriched and educated we are. Not all music is great and worth the trouble but few of us actually step out of our comfort zones and discover something fresh. Maybe this has to change and I am not sure what is responsible for this trend. Perhaps it goes back decades but I do feel modern playlists and streaming sites do not do quite enough to bring classic sounds to new listeners; a lot of genre-specific playlists are not broad enough or they are too concerned with promoting new music and neglect older sounds altogether. We do need to change practices and ensure that as many people as possible are exposed to more music. What bothers me is how people dismiss genres without ever listening to it and knowing what it is about. Jazz is one of those genres that gets a brunt of ignorance with people turning up their noses. It is not the only genre that gets a sniffy response but I feel like, if we all spend a bit more time expanding our tastes, then we will all be better for it. I shall move on now because I am aware there are other things to talk about. It just perturbs me that, with so much music out there, so many are unwilling to embrace this wave with any real interest and determination. One of the greatest joys imaginable is stumbling on a terrific song or artist that you were not aware of; discovering a genre that was foreign before and having this new obsession.

I have already mentioned Jazz and the fact that it sort of gets this rather cold reaction. Away from the true fans and aficionados, trying to dispel the myth that Jazz is pretty boring is a hard job. Aside from exciting British talent, there is a lot of variation and choice for those who are new to Jazz. I do feel like the world of Jazz that Miles Davis inhabited is a lot different to the one now. Back when he was reigning, there wasn’t the same scope and variation we have now. Maybe he was a pioneer in the sense he opened up Jazz and took it to new places. Look at an album like Bitches Brew and it has hallmarks of Prog-Rock. The way songs (on that album) went in all directions and were longer than traditional Jazz pieces; one can draw a line from Miles Davis’ more experimental songs and Prog-Rock. I do love Jazz in general but I admit that, back in the 1940s/1950s/1960s it was a little restrictive. Geniuses like Davis shook Jazz up and, with it, inspired generations of musicians in all genres. I do love the fact there is this new album coming; something that will introduce Jazz to new listeners and shows that, yes, Jazz is not as one-dimensional as you thought. I think the mid-1980s was a period where, to be fair, he was not producing his best work but there was still that determination and passion there. Davis died in 1991 but one cannot understate his impact and influence on the Jazz scene. He was at the forefront of stylistic changes in Jazz and, like all the best influencers, ensured that Jazz still has a voice today. If it were not for the likes of Miles Davis, maybe Jazz would have been relegated to the side and not have been taken to heart but so many Hip-Hop leaders.

They, in turn, have made Jazz accessible to the new generation who are bringing other genres into Jazz. All of the time, Jazz is changing its chemistry and shape but, at its heart, it remains true. Jazz is a genre that will never die and, in fact, with modern broadening things out, I feel like Jazz will become much more integrated into the mainstream. It may sound a little compromising but, the more accessible Jazz is, the more likely it is to be employed by modern artists. By that, I mean splicing other genres together with Jazz creates this more arresting and popular sound and it means people can experience Jazz in a new way. Direct, unfiltered Jazz still has its place but I do worry a lot of people are unwilling to accept it and spend the time listening. Instead, there is this strand of modern Jazz that is captivating, physical and deeply impressive. This will continue for many years and, as new sub-genres spring up, Jazz will integrate them and compel the next generation. Jazz is a genre that is moving forward all of the time and is a part of the fabric. One might say that, the more Jazz steps away from its roots, the more it betrays the original pioneers. Look at any genre and one can see how it has changed through the years. Modern Folk and Country is a lot different to what was being produced in the 1960s. Modern Punk is a different thing to the original movement in the 1970s; Pop today is completely different to what was out there decades ago. Music is always changing and that is a good thing. It might be hard convincing everyone that Jazz warrants your energy and time but we need to dispel these myths regarding its limitations and past. Even if you are a little unmoved by the older Jazz from the likes of John Coltrane, the modern breed is a lot different. Miles Davis has been responsible for Jazz’s continued appeal and place; the way it has changed and how it has helped reshape music in general.

IN THIS PHOTO: Ledisi

It is harder to review a track that relies more on instrumentation than vocals. That said, there is plenty of life in Rubberband of Life. Opening with Davis repeating the word ‘rubberband’, there is a rumble of percussion and the sound of traffic. In terms of Davis’ playing, there is more in common with Kind of Blue and Birth of the Cool, I guess, compared with his more experimental work. The trumpet work has a definitely spiciness and heat but it is tempered compared with what we saw on his more groundbreaking albums. In a way, that style suits the song a lot better. One detects suaveness and cool emanating from the song. You hear the drums roll and this sass filter through the speakers and are transported somewhere special. When Ledisi comes to the microphone, she talks about making sacrifices if you want to make a life. Looking at the song’s title, you get impression of flexibility or being this rubberband – stretching in different directions and being subjected to the unpredictable forces of life. Ledisi’s voice is gorgeous but holds a lot of power and strike. Backed by insatiable horns and this strange groove, Ledisi offers this gravity and seamlessly blends into the brew. Her cool and uplifting vocal is almost like a mantra. One has their own impression regarding the lyrics and will paint their own scenes. It seems that struggle is part of the agenda; the way we all have to battle in order to make a successful life for ourselves. I mentioned how Jazz, great Jazz, is not restrictive and is not solely for certain people. We have the backbone of Miles Davis and his brilliance but we get the sensational and vibrant vocals of Ledisi. I am not sure how the partnership of Ledisi and Davis came about but there is this perfect partnership. Of course, that decision was not made by Davis himself but the chemistry between them is wonderful.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rontyoungphotography

There is a fire burning inside, it is said, and it is wonderful how the Neo-Soul and R&B of Ledisi creates this warm wave against the hotter and more forceful tones coming from the back. Redemptive, inspiring and resolute, Rubberband of Life is a call of strength and fortitude against the rocks. The heroine talks about burning in the soul and how you want to make a life? If you do, then you need to show that determination and realise that there is greatness inside of you. Although the combination of Ledisi and Davis was not intended back in 1985, this new recording is incredible. We hear snippets of Davis and, of course, his incredible playing drives the song forward. It is often difficult pairing two different worlds in music but, on Rubberband of Life, the combination is successful. You are hooked by the smooth and sensuous rush of the foreground and attracted to the blasts and elements from the back. It all blends together marvellously and it is impossible to hear the song and not be moved. In many ways, I feel Rubberband of Life has a lot in common with the great R&B/Neo-Soul songs of the 1990s and early part of the last decade. That is no bad thing and, actually, one gets this blast of nostalgia and old-school vibes. I have listened to Rubberband of Life several times and, each time, new stuff is revealed. The inspiring spirit of the track will lift you up and brightens your mood. The song does calm a bit past the half-way mark; where there is a bit more chance for the composition to breathe and for the images to sink in. The heroine sings about letting it go and, maybe, she is referring to the tension of a rubberband and how we need to let that go. Whether you are familiar with the work of Ledisi and Miles Davis or not, this is a song that has its own spirit and brilliance. Originally released on the Rubberband EP, it will feature on the Rubberband album, as the opening tracks, and is an interesting combination of new vocals and Davis’ older input. I love the track and have heard many positive comments regarding it. Have a listen to it and feel all the stress and strain of life fade away.

  PHOTO CREDIT: @rontyoungphotography

Rubberband is out on 6th September so make sure you pre-order it. The album features these Miles Davis sketches with some great modern singers on them. Ledisi fronts the amazing Rubberband of Life but there are other terrific tracks (on the album) that will stick in the mind. It is weird to think that there is new material coming from Davis, almost thirty years after he died. I guess, like Prince, there was a certain amount of material left in the vaults when he died. It is intriguing to consider there might be other Davis works that are begging for release. Maybe there are fewer songs in the Davis vault compared to Prince but I would be interested to see more Miles Davis music. It goes back to my line regarding posthumous albums and whether there is a line one needs to draw. If you release everything and do not consider the quality then it is a disservice to the artist. I do feel uncomfortable that certain artists – such as Amy Winehouse – are being talked about in regards new material and touring…despite the fact that she has no say in any of it. I guess fans will always demand new work but there is a point where you have to say enough is enough. Miles Davis is a different case altogether. He has been dead for a long time and there has not been a huge amount of posthumous work. Now, a new generation can discover the master and see that fusion of modern artists with slightly older blueprints. This is the point of a review when I look ahead and see where the artist is going. Obviously, we cannot do the same with Miles Davis but I do urge people to listen to his work and see how amazing it is. From the peerless Kind of Blue and Birth of the Cool through to Sketches of Spain and In a Silent Way. There is so much to enjoy and, when it comes to styles, you cannot pin the man down. He was genuinely at the forefront and one of those people who wanted to take Jazz to new worlds. Because of that, if you are a bit picky when it comes to Jazz, Davis is a perfect artist. There are raw and exhilarating moments and those more cool and collected. Even though his songs are, largely, instrumental, there is so much imagery and texture projected. I shall leave things here but I want people to give Jazz a bit more time and affection and, if you can, get a copy of Rubberband – it is a fantastic album and will provide much delight. It is not often I get to review Miles Davis but, along with Ledisi, we have this Jazz treasure that shows what an exciting genre (Jazz is); how amazing it can truly be and what power…

IT holds.

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FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: The White Stripes – The White Stripes

FEATURE:

 

 

Vinyl Corner

PHOTOGRAPHY: Ko Melina Zydeko/Heather White 

The White Stripes – The White Stripes

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THERE are a couple of big music anniversaries…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The White Stripes in 1999/PHOTO CREDIT: Doug Coombe

that are happening today. Not only is Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasure forty; Nirvana’s debut, Bleach, is thirty. Running another decade down is another debut: The White Stripes’ eponymous gem. The White Stripes was unveiled to the world on 15th June, 1999 - and it was a bit of a minor success. Think about what was happening at the end of the 1990s in the U.S. and U.K. We had seen Britpop and Grunge die; Alternative sounds were coming through but I don’t think there was a huge movement to end the 1990s the same way Hip-Hop ended the 1980s and Grunge started the 1990s. There was a burgeoning Garage movement happening in the U.S. towards the turn of the century. In many ways, The White Stripes helped spearhead and popularise the scene. Although it would take another couple of years for proper exposure to come the way of Detroit Garage – The White Stripes were formed and based out of Detroit – the debut from the duo was extraordinary. It was produced by Jim Diamond and Jack White (lead/guitar) at Ghetto Recordings and Third Man Studios, Detroit. Although Jack White would take over production duties very soon, he and Meg (White) were relatively new to the scene and did not have the commercial respect they soon gained. I look at bands around today and the raw sound they provide. Whether it is Post-Punk bands like IDLES or the likes of Fontaines D.C., I think there is a slight nod to The White Stripes.

I have been looking back at the late-1990s and how, in a way, The White Stripes was completely different to what was happening here in the U.K. Whereas we were seeing a new wave of Dance music, it seems strange to think there was something as bare and basic as The White Stripes in the world. Taking its cues from the classic Punk albums, the Detroit duo’s debut consisted of short songs with stripped production values and very few instrumental touches – The White Stripes would add more instruments to the fold later but, here, it was mainly guitar and drums (with a bit of piano here and there). One of the finest tastemakers the music world has ever seen, John Peel, was attracted to The White Stripes right from the off. He was drawn to the cover and the song titles; he developed an instinct and would be a big part of their success in the U.K. To be fair to Peel’s prescience, one looks at the cover photos of Jack and Meg; their what-would-become-standard kit of red-white-and-black and this rather minimal design – like a local band selling their debut record, with little money, at a local shop. Opposed to a lot of the glitzy and big artists of the day, The White Stripes’ introduction was pretty modest and under-the-radar. The songs on the debut mix in a few well-selected Blues covers (including a great rendition of Robert Johnson’s Stop Breaking Down), a Dylan cover (One More Cup of Coffee) and the remaining originals.

Jack White would take more of a songwriting role after the debut – in the sense there would be fewer covers – and he clearly had a vision of where The White Stripes were headed. The White Stripes is a relatively brisk and concise album, even though there are seventeen tracks on it – most are under three minutes and a few are under two minutes. Even though the songs are Garage/Blues-based, there is a lot of variation and nuance. Jack White’s incredible licks and natural abilities fuse with Meg White’s minimal-yet-essential percussion work. One almost feels like they are in a living room hearing the duo lay down their tracks, such is the style of production. From the rumble and rawness of the opener, Jimmy the Exploder, to the interestingly-named and memorable closer, I Fought Piranhas, The White Stripes is an incredible debut. The White Stripes would widen their palette with 2000’s De Stijl; they would score massive reviews and acclaim with 2001’s White Blood Cells and hit their peak with 2003’s Elephant but, to me, their finest hour happened right at the start! The sparse production allows this live-feeling album to resonate and strike. My favourite songs include Wasting My Time and Screwdriver: you could see that classic White Stripes sound developing and, with just guitar and drums (the duo never used bass at all), it is breathtaking to hear. Of course, the duo had been playing gigs before they laid down their debut but nothing on the level they would achieve.

For the most part, they were playing sets locally so it was sort of hard to gauge whether their material – a blend of early workings of their tracks and covers – would translate in the studio. Everything about The White Stripes is pretty lo-fi and low-key. Jack and Meg would tour more on their second and it wasn’t until White Blood Cells when they really became involved in music video-making. If critics prefer the duo’s work from White Blood Cells onward, one cannot deny the importance of the debut. It is simpler and less ambitious than their later work but, in my mind, The White Stripes is the birth of one of the last great Rock acts. Have we seen many bands since them that could make you feel like they did?! The White Stripes were not concerned with hitting the charts and following what was popular in 1999. About to head into a new century, Jack and Meg were putting down an album that meant a lot to them and was true to their roots. The stories throughout are original and rare; the chemistry between them is tight (not a surprise considering they used to be married) and the production allows that balance of live-sounding and studio-set. Also, like a lot of Rock and Punk bands today, the sound was not one-dimensional. Listen to their take of Bob Dylan’s One More Cup of Coffee and compare it to The Big Three Killed My Baby; match that with Slicker Drips and then place it with Astro. They all come from the some act but the songs are very different. Even though The White Stripes limited themselves in terms of instruments, the songs’ subjects and the sheer scope was definitely not confined.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

The White Stripes is an amazingly confident and complete debut that definitely hinted and a golden future. AllMusic, in this positive review, highlighted the blend of sounds and genres:

“Singer/guitarist Jack White's voice is a singular, evocative combination of punk, metal, blues, and backwoods while his guitar work is grand and banging with just enough lyrical touches of slide and subtle solo work to let you know he means to use the metal-blues riff collisions just so. Drummer Meg White balances out the fretwork and the fretting with methodical, spare, and booming cymbal, bass drum, and snare cracks. In a word, economy (and that goes for both of the players). The Whites' choice of covers is inspired, too. J. White's voice is equally suited to the task of tackling both the desperation of Robert Johnson's "Stop Breakin' Down" and the loneliness of Bob Dylan's "One More Cup of Coffee." Neither are equal to the originals, but they take a distinctive, haunting spin around the turntable nevertheless. All D.I.Y. punk-country-blues-metal singer/songwriting duos should sound this good”.

The White Stripes’ debut gave us this unique and promising force that was very different to everything in the music world. Jack and Meg would go on to pretty much conquer the planet and seduce people around the world. In this great feature from Consequence of Sound, they talked about how The White Stripes defied expectations and added something truly special to music:

“Beginning with their debut self-titled record in 1999, spanning the likes of White Blood Cells and Elephant, and on into 2007’s Icky Thump, the duo made gigantic strides in the world of music. Riding the wave that was the garage rock revival, The White Stripes music was just as simple and grungy as the likes of The Strokes or The Von Bondies, but it transcended the confines of the genre by being so much more.

Stripped to the core and as minimalist as possible, the simplistic drumming of Meg White kept the steady rhythm for the wild guitar antics and virtuosity of Jack White. It was country, it was punk, it was blues, it was gospel; whatever it was, it rocked hard and quick and true. Every note was important, yet each sound created was free to interpretation”.

Stereogram are one of the few sites that have marked the twentieth anniversary of The White Stripes - and discuss the way the duo sort of saved the Indie-Rock scene from itself and provided much-needed guidance:

 “The White Stripes is an album of a band trying to understand itself by briefly attempting to become everyone it loves, and that works, too. Sure, they’re Son House on “Canon,” which uses a portion of House’s song “John The Revalator” for lyrical inspiration. And they’re Robert Johnson on a rendition of his old tune “Stop Breaking Down,” which, by the way, is a killer choice for track two on a debut album for a band. An introduction, and then an immediate stepping out of themselves. They’re also Dylan on a trembling and howling version of “One Cup Of Coffee.” But beyond the covers, there’s the sound and spirit of many, jumbled up into the music. They’re a bit of the Kinks, the wailing vocals of early AC/DC or Led Zep, the loud-quiet-loud dynamic of Pixies.

The White Stripes arrived in the middle of 1999 to save indie rock from its own self-analyzing. The band took its presentation and myth-building seriously, of course. But the songs themselves were playful, even when meditating on conventional or simplistic ideas…

This, too, is the blues. The blues aren’t just a musical mood, but also the way the mood looks when turned on its ear. The sad songs are also funny. The funny songs are sometimes about death. The blues is, among other things, an understanding that so much of living is absurd, and must be seen through as many lenses as possible in order for it to make sense.

For all of the other things about it The White Stripes is also an album made by a band that fell in love with songs, and then did their homework around those songs. It is an album that tips its hat to the past while restructuring old sounds for new audiences. Lineage fades when no one chooses to act as a lighthouse. More than just a great debut album for a band that would go on to invent and reinvent, The White Stripes was potentially also a starting point for someone who had never known what the blues were, and then found Son House, or Robert Johnson, or Ma Rainey. Someone who later bought a new amp, and stopped going to church as much as they used to”.

To me, there are few albums that sound as good and natural on vinyl. Jack White is a huge lover of vinyl and he is someone who you can imagine, even now, surrounded by records from the Blues masters. Because of that, there is something organic regarding the sound of The White Stripes. That attachment and knowledge of the Blues scene, combined with a ready-born genius means the debut from the Detroit duo will continue to intrigue for years to come. Make sure you grab yourself a copy on vinyl and allow this twenty-year-old treasure to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jack White at the Gold Dollar in Detroit on 27th November, 1999/PHOTO CREDIT: Doug Coombe

STUN the senses.

FEATURE: Comfort in An Age of Anxiety: How Portable Music/Audio Is Less About Blocking Out People and More About Silencing the Noise

FEATURE:

 

 

Comfort in An Age of Anxiety

PHOTO CREDIT: @thefakebhogra/Unsplash 

How Portable Music/Audio Is Less About Blocking Out People and More About Silencing the Noise

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ON 1st July…

 ILLUSTRATION CREDIT: Michael Ziska

the Sony Walkman turns forty and it is a great excuse to celebrate a breakthrough in music. Before then, music was not portable and one could not take their sounds around with them. People could carry stereos and devices but they were largely cumbersome and not especially slimline. To be fair, that way of life was great when it came to sharing music and taking it into neighbourhoods. Away from the radio and restrictive playlists, people could bring their own music with them and share it with others. It sounds pretty idyllic and not something we really see too much of these days. The Sony Walkman was a revolution: it opened up a new world and meant that people could walk around with their cassettes and not have to bother about disturbing people. One could listen to music on the move and enjoy all their favourite artists without lugging around something heavy. After 1979, technology companies were keen to take the Walkman to new heights. Various other versions were released and, before long, the C.D. version came about: the brilliant-yet-flawed DiscMan. It was a device that made it possible to listen to C.D.s on the go and, years later, technology took its next steps. The Walkman did not survive the turn of the century and, when C.D.s and cassettes started to decline, there was this move into digital music. Through the years, we have seen this switch from portable music that one could take anywhere to, well, the modern-day version of that. One can take a library of music around with them and shut out the world.

There are people that miss the older days…where you would have a boom-box or stereo and could play it to friends. I am old enough to remember those days but I was mesmerised by a device I could carry around with me and immerse myself in music. People say that we have come to the point where we are blocking out the world and not really focused on others. That debate as to whether people are blocking out the world or escaping noise has its representatives. I do like the fact that music is readily available and we can stream it on our phones. To be fair, I prefer portable devices and bespoke equipment rather than Smartphones. I love the older players where you could listen to music and not be distracted by visuals and have to block out people. I think people need to differentiate between technology that is distracting the eyes and attention and that which allows us to relax and feel comforted. I do agree that Smartphones, for the most part, are irrelevant and needless. We use them for various reasons but we can do without them. One walks down the streets and is greeted with a line of people all staring down at their phones and not looking where they are going. Not only is this practice rude and dangerous but it is completely needless. There is nothing people need to do when walking down the street other than the actual business of walking.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @le_buzz/Unsplash

I grew up seeing technology change and evolve but, at no point was there this lack of communication and sense of isolation. Nobody, anywhere needs to check emails, text others and play any games or look at the Internet! We are finding ways of avoiding eye contact and humans; unable to simply walk the street without grabbing our phones and avoiding the world – I never take my phone out and, instead, I only use it briefly and for the odd text and call. The likes of the Walkman never saw a future like we have now. Instead, it was only about music and the ability to be free and unleashed. One cannot link the Walkman to the sort of hell we have now: where eyes are always down and very few people can exist without constant staring at screens and texting. We need to differentiate between the Smartphone and useless distractions and what the likes of the Walkman has led to: a world where we can take endless music with us and actually block out the noise of the world. People that stare at their phones and do not look where they are going are avoiding the world and not concerned with the people around them. Those who have headphones on or earphones in – when listening to music – are silencing the noise around them. One can say that, with music and sound in their ears, people are unable to converse with others and help others out.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @sonance/Unsplash

If someone asks for directions or wants to strike up a conversation, can someone who is listening to music hear them? I do agree that, in towns and villages, that is more of a problem. If you take a big city like London, you do see a lot of people listening to music on the Tube and walking down the streets. In most cases, people are still looking around them and are not blocking out the world – the same way as people do when on their phones and not concerned with what is around them. I see people conversing in London and these interactions taking place but, with so many people around and there being a load of noise about us, we all need that sense of privacy and relief. If someone were listening to music and did not want any contact with others then that would be a different matter. The best thing about portable music and sounds is the fact we can feel inspired and energised; we can have anything from audiobooks, podcasts and radio in our ears and still be aware of the world around us. I see people listening to all manner of things and they can see other people; they can take their earphones out if someone approaches and they can balance interaction with escape. Forty years (almost) after the Sony Walkman revolutionised things, I still think its best aspects are present today.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @hyingchou/Unsplash

Maybe technology has moved music from the physical to the digital but where would we be without it? If we all had to sit at home and were unable to take music/sounds around with us, it would be restrictive and limiting. The freedom that we were given in 1979 exists today but the problem exists with the argument of ignorance/rudeness and escapism. If you, like me, live in a noisy and stressful city such as London, it can be very unnerving and anxiety-making. From the spate of ill people spreading germs (loudly) to the roar of traffic and the clamber of voices in the crowd…everyday life can be very distressing and tiring. I do admit that we need to be aware of people around us and actually be part of the world and, when you see people gawking at screens and not looking up, it is hard to achieve that. Even in a digital age, one need not stare at their phones and always be distracted – you can play an album through and select songs without glancing down too much. There is no way of bringing music into the modern age without putting it onto phones and into our ears – unless you want to annoy everyone around you. Not only can one listen to the radio or anything they want wherever they want but, indeed, they can rid themselves or distractions. People that say we are becoming less connected as a society and have lost the human touch are referring to, I would imagine, the stare-at-the-screen culture: those who are listening to music as they go fall in a different camp.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @antonio_dicaterina/Unsplash

The problem with trying to connect and interact with the masses of people around is that, more and more, there are more and more people in the world. People who feel we all need to be open to conversation need to differentiate between the crowded cities and how stressful that can be and less populous regions that allows one a sense of space and movement. Even those who are dedicated to sound and seem to shy away from human connection are not always slaves to muting the world – I do think there is a lot of misunderstanding. It is great having your ears and eyes open to roam and see the world, but one cannot ignore the size and busyness of things. So many people feel anxious and stressed walking the streets and travelling; having to listen to humans at their least considerate and negotiating with all the weird sound and effects that can be bamboozling, tiring and confusing. It is key that we are conscious of sounds we need to hear – people asking us for help and instructions – but there are myriad noises that can get into the brain and cause a lot of damage. More and more of us are suffering depression and anxiety and one wonders if it is possible to travel around and avoid that when you are not kept busy with music and sounds. I do feel like moments of quiet and calm does not require endless music and sound but look at the effects of modern life when it is shoved in our faces all of the time.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @stage7photography/Unsplash

Portable music and sounds can never completely cure and evaporate anxiety - but it does help an awful lot. I know a lot of people that run after work and they often take music with them. That was one of the things with the Walkman: it helped popularise aerobics and meant that people were more active because they could take music out with them. This same quality remains today and, if we can get more people out and about, that is a good thing. Being able to blow off steam after a long day is terrific and, if you are bringing music and sound around with you, that can provide release and inspiration. There is this ideal that you can take a walk or run and things are peaceful and calm – that is not always the way and, really, the distractions and noise can be unsettling! Making sound portable means that we can become more well-rounded and educated. Maybe someone is not a big reader but they can have an audiobook in their ears. Someone can erase the squall and slam of modern life without having to be too anxious and tired. Anything that can make modern life more bearable and tolerable is good in my books. We can listen to news on the move and we can also listen to the radio. I think this is very important. If we still lived in a time when radio/music was a less isolated and personal thing, it would cause ruction and offend people.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @thoughtcatalog/Unsplash

Now, we can stay informed and delighted all of the time and, at the same time, we are able to look at people and are not completely closed away. I still prefer people carrying books around with them but if you can have everything on one device, it seems more economical and less awkward. Personally, I do think the mere act of commuting and walking around can be very tough. There is a lot of noise around and the effect this can have over time is daunting. If one can take some of that ache away and learn something as they do, who are we to judge? Just listening to music as you walk about can inspire more curiosity and adventure; promote physical exercise and also make us want to go out more – rather than being kept inside and ignoring all people. On 1st July, we mark forty years of the Walkman and the way it transformed lives. I agree that the Smartphones we have now have made it easy to block out the world and spend insane amounts of time being distracted and mindlessly wasting time. The ability to still be aware of the world around us and having a way of muting the worst aspects of cities and busy communities – the traffic, noise pollution and irritations – can improve mental-health and make it much easier to cope. Everyone will have their own opinions but, from those who listen to music whilst running to the commuter who can experience a documentary without disturbing someone else, there are advantages to the rise in technology and what it can allow us. Freedom and choice is not the same as rudeness and isolation. If one chooses to listen to music/audio and ignore humans then we cannot blame technology companies – it is very much the responsibility of the individual. The experiences, joys; the possibilities and relief that portable music/audio has given us has helped enrich and improve…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @juja_han/Unsplash

SO many lives.  

FEATURE: The Beginning of a New Dawn: Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

The Beginning of a New Dawn

ALBUM COVER: Peter Saville 

Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures at Forty

_________

THERE are a few albums…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Joy Division/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

that are celebrating big anniversaries this year but, when it comes to impactful albums, there are few that hit as hard as Joy Division’s Unknown Pleasures. The album was released on 15th June, 1979 and it was recorded/mixed over three successive weekends at Stockport’s Strawberry Studios in April 1979. Produced by Martin Hannett, it was a record that made a big impression upon release and is considered one of the most influential albums ever released. Guided by Hannett’s production techniques and with that iconic cover from Peter Saville, it is amazing to see how many people are discovering Unknown Pleasures to this day. The album is the only one released during Ian Curtis’ lifetime and many fans considering Unknown Pleasures to be the greatest achievement from the band. Joy Division formed back in 1976 and they came together during Punk’s first wave. Inspired by the speed, simplicity and effectiveness of bands such as the Sex Pistols at that time, it planted the seeds for Joy Division. Terry Mason on drums, Bernard Summer on guitar and Peter Hook on bass – Ian Curtis was the last addition to the ranks. The band made some changes and, when Stephen Morris joined by August 1977, the set was complete. Many have tried to encapsulate the sound of Unknown Pleasures and what it represents.

At a time when Punk was coming through and grabbing people – it would not last too long – this great alternative was around. True, Joy Division encapsulated some of Punk’s spirit but one cannot directly link the likes of Sex Pistols with Joy Division. Instead, the northern band’s music was more sophisticated; maybe a bit gloomier but it seemed more real and nuanced. Hannett’s production emphasised space and opened up new possibilities. Bands had not worked in this way before and the revelations that came out on Unknown Pleasures rocked the world. Some members of Joy Division wanted something more intense and guitar-based but, when you listen to Unknown Pleasures and the emotions that it evokes, the production is perfect. Unknown Pleasures initially started with a run of 10,000 copies and half of the copies were sold within the first two weeks of release. Things started slow and, boosted by the non-album single, Transmission, Unknown Pleasures caught on and ignited a new flame. There is guilt and claustrophobia in the album; a sense of looking at the future with feet very much in the present; a huge debut and emphatic statement that resonates and echoes to this very day. Whether you gravitate towards the classic interplay and connection within the band or Ian Curtis’ grave-yet-incredible vocals, Unknown Pleasures was unlike anything else in 1979 – it still sounds amazing and otherworldly forty years down the line.

Reviews in 1979 were positive and praise-filled and, when it comes to retrospective acclaim, there is plenty to choose from. AllMusic, in this review, beautifully articulated the qualities and threads of Unknown Pleasures:

“Songs fade in behind furtive noises of motion and activity, glass breaks with the force and clarity of doom, and minimal keyboard lines add to an air of looming disaster -- something, somehow, seems to wait or lurk beyond the edge of hearing. But even though this is Hannett's album as much as anyone's, the songs and performances are the true key. Bernard Sumner redefined heavy metal sludge as chilling feedback fear and explosive energy, Peter Hook's instantly recognizable bass work was at once warm and forbidding, and Stephen Morris' drumming smacked through the speakers above all else. Ian Curtis synthesizes and purifies every last impulse, his voice shot through with the desire first and foremost to connect, only connect -- as "Candidate" plaintively states, "I tried to get to you/You treat me like this." Pick any song: the nervous death dance of "She's Lost Control"; the harrowing call for release "New Dawn Fades," all four members in perfect sync; the romance in hell of "Shadowplay"; "Insight" and its nervous drive toward some sort of apocalypse. All visceral, all emotional, all theatrical, all perfect -- one of the best albums ever”.

Pitchfork, in an effusive piece, talked about the relevance and beauty of Unknown Pleasures:

“And then there's the music, a conflation of tribal primitivism and sophisticated art-rock that set the template for those twin poles of post-punk. A lot of credit goes to eccentric producer Martin Hannett, and it's the production-- not Curtis's well-parsed words or the band's suddenly ubiquitous biopic cachet-- that benefits most extensively from cleaned-up deluxe reissues of the band's two utterly essential albums, Unknown Pleasures and Closer. Simply put, the group's debut full-length Unknown Pleasures, released in 1979, sounds like little that came before it. At its most familiar, it vaguely approximates the cold claustrophobia of Iggy's The Idiot or David Bowie's Low, but from the first notes of "Disorder" on, the music is almost as alien as its iconic cover art.

It's one of the most perfect pairings of artist and producer in rock history, but that shouldn't undersell the band's input. Joy Division, like many of their Manchester peers, were inspired by the DIY anti-ethos of the Sex Pistols; they just didn't know what to do with it at first. So, shaped and prodded by notorious provocateur Hannett (who would turn the heat in the studio down low enough for everyone to see their breath), the group embraced space, ambience, and an imposing austerity. It's noteworthy how many songs on Unknown Pleasures fade in like something emerging from the shadows. It's also worth noting how heavy songs such as "Day of the Lords", "New Dawn Fades", "Shadowplay", and "Interzone" are, while sinewy anthem "Disorder" and the discordant anti-funk of "She's Lost Control" are glorious anomalies in both their precision and concision”.

I do love all of Joy Division’s work but there is nothing that rivals Unknown Pleasures. It was almost as if the band knew they had created a masterpiece and were onto something special. Maybe it was because Punk was raging (in 1979) or there was this transition period. All genius and iconic albums fulfill a need or kick-start something that needed to exist. Some say Unknown Pleasures is the sound of an industrial estate and machinery; others feel it is the emotional bleeding of Ian Curtis whereas others struggle to put their feelings into words.

There are a lot of tributes and features running today that try to drill to the core of Unknown Pleasures. The Independent compliment the playing throughout the album and the way Hannett added fresh dynamics, possibilities and techniques:

“Drummer Stephen Morris’s percussive instinct gives it the feel of a muscled beast poised to spring, and the battle for its melodic soul has been won, right from the start of the opening track, “Disorder”, by Hook’s bass, with notes played high up on the neck of the instrument. Sumner’s guitar comes in like an alarm, ringing with anxiety. There are no places to settle, no comfort zones, anywhere on Unknown Pleasures.

Aside from the electronic effects on “She’s Lost Control”, Hannett used techniques that created a sense of the music existing in a real, if empty, echoing space; the closing doors and smashing glass on “I Remember Nothing” create an atmosphere of creeping unease and violence. That same sense of fear pervades “Insight”, on which Curtis’s vocal was famously recorded down a telephone line. “I’m not afraid any more,” he sings… “I keep my eyes on the door”, he adds, suggesting otherwise.

Unknown Pleasures in some ways is still a bridge between the band they were – “New Dawn Fades” is surely the apogee of Joy Division as a rock band – and the more ambitious sound of Closer, but it remains utterly unlike anything else before or since”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Joy Division in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Pierre Rene-Worms 

NME spoke with members of Joy Division to celebrate forty years of Unknown Pleasures. Peter Hook was asked about Ian Curtis’ lyrics and whether, indeed, the late frontman ever revealed his inspirations:

“Did Ian ever talk about what his lyrics were about?

Hook: “No. In fact, the ‘Unknown Pleasures’ session was the first time I’d actually heard Ian’s lyrics. You could never hear them live and we just couldn’t listen to the demo version we did for RCA because it was so horrible. So when I heard what Ian was singing, I was just really proud. It was a wonderful feeling of power and contentment to know that you had that in the band’s arsenal. I think people were very touched by Ian — his lyrics, his personality, and unfortunately his untimely demise. It struck a chord with a lot of lonely, depressed people who felt they didn’t quite fit in life. That connection started with ‘Unknown Pleasures’. It was me that used to handle the fan mail. And as time went by there’d be some horrific letters that got sent to us. After he died, we even got some that were written in blood.”

Did you expect the reaction to ‘Unknown Pleasures’ to be so positive?

Morris: “A lot of times when we did an interview, the journalist would say things like, ‘Oh well, there obviously is a deep symbiosis between the music you produce and the bleakness of your environment,’ and we’d look at each other and think, ‘What did he say? Symbiosis? What’s he on about?’ I think a lot of people had got into their heads that this album had come from the heart of darkness. We did try and contradict that idea but it didn’t do too much good, really. We’d rush out and buy NME because it was great that people were writing about us, but quite often we could only understand every 10th word! Sometimes, Rob would say to us, ‘We’ve got an interview, right, so here’s my idea: just let Ian do the talking.’ It was so people wouldn’t realise we were basically a bunch of idiots”.

I wonder how long the majesty and magic of Unknown Pleasures will last and how much of an impact it will make on future generations. It is clear that there are bands out there who take guidance from Joy Division; there are other albums that take their lead from Unknown Pleasures and have the same combination of sounds. In many ways, nobody has been able to match the immediacy, sense of surprise and brilliance of Unknown Pleasures. If you are new to the album then make sure you discover it now; if you are already aware and in love with it them use today as a good excuse to get the album back out and revel in all its triumphs. It is a marvellous album and one that has no equals or direct comparisons. There is not a lot else to say about it but, if you are curious still, look online because there are a lot of articles around and pieces that mark Unknown Pleasures’ fortieth. It has aged well and, as I said, it sounds as fresh now as it did back in 1979. Everyone will have their favourite tracks from the album but (Unknown Pleasures) is about the whole; the experience that is unveiled and how it makes you feel. I reckon Unknown Pleasure influence a whole new wave of artists and we will be talking about it in another forty years. There are not many albums that can boast that kind of acclaim and importance but, as I mentioned, I think Joy Division knew they had something special under their belts. Unknown Pleasures’ title suggests something mysterious and isolated but, forty years from its release, it remains adored and…

A big part of music’s history.  

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

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: Anna of the North 

An All-Female, Spring-Ready Playlist (Vol. XVI)

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AS it is that time of the week again…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Little Boots

let’s get to grips with the best female-led songs around. From great solo artists through to female-fronted bands, there is some awesome music around right now that deserves to be heard. Whether you prefer Soul, Pop or something with more grit, you will be sorted here! I have been searching around and listening to the best new songs around – and a few that are a few weeks old – and have put them in this playlist. Have a listen through and I am sure there is something in here that you will love. It is typical spring weather right now: rain is never far away and you are never quite sure whether it will be a washout or warm. In any case, here is some great music that will make the day…

IN THIS PHOTO: Black Honey

A lot brighter.

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

____________

Gold Mass – Fade Out

lennixx – Swimming 

Evan Petruzzi – Warrior

PHOTO CREDIT: @amdo_photo

Charly Bliss – Chatroom

Anna of the North – Thank Me Later

Marika Hackman – the one

Snoh Aalegra – Find Someone Like You

Wallis Bird – As the River Flows

Kelsea Ballerini – Better Luck Next Time

Lizzy Land – Braids 

King Princess – Cheap Queen

Anna Lunoe – 303

Jade Imagine – Big Old House

Annie Drury – Daughter of the Moon

PHOTO CREDIT: CLASH

Lola Coca – The One

Luna Bec – Over

Little Boots – Secret

PHOTO CREDIT: Portia Maae Hunt

Tallsaint – Skin Deep

PHOTO CREDIT: Katie Cook Photography

Nikita Alfonsa – Good Morning, Sunshine

PHOTO CREDIT: Gwenaëlle Trn

Sinead O’Brien – Taking on Time

JoJo Worthington – Argument

PHOTO CREDIT: Nick Dynan

Alice D – Offline

Little Sparrow – Corner of the Room

Naaz – TAPED

Sasha Brown – How Far (Are You Willing to Go)

PHOTO CREDIT: Flore Diamant

Tusks – Mind

PHOTO CREDIT: Morten Rygaard

Kill J – Silver Spoon

Ruby Duff – Moon and Back

Arlo Parks – george

Daniella Mason – Girl in the Box

PHOTO CREDIT: Cáit Fahey

Sorcha Richardson – Crush

PHOTO CREDIT: Guðlaugur Andri Eyþórsson

Glowie – Body

Rachel Chinouriri – Adrenaline

Black Honey – I Don’t Ever Wanna Love

FEATURE: The June Playlist: Vol. 3: Shockwaves for the Kids in the Dark

FEATURE:

 

The June Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: Liam Gallagher 

Vol. 3: Shockwaves for the Kids in the Dark

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I always say how there is this switch between…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Bat for Lashes

weeks that are pretty calm and nothing too special to those that are explosive, packed and memorable. This is a week that belongs in the latter category! Not only is there new material from Liam Gallagher, Bat for Lashes and Madonna; there are tracks from Shura, Bruce Springsteen, Kate Tempest and The Raconteurs; Taylor Swift, Sampa the Great and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds! It is a distinctly awesome week for music where some of the world’s biggest artists are rubbing shoulders with one another! I am struggling to get my head around all the brilliant music out this week and, if you need a perfect playlist to get the weekend kicking and jumping, this is the one you want – where the very best is separated from the merely promising. Enjoy the music and take it with you; turn the volume up and cherish these…

IN THIS PHOTO: Noel Gallagher/PHOTO CREDIT: Mitch Ikeda

HUGE tunes!  

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

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 PHOTO CREDIT: @anttran/Unsplash

Liam Gallagher - Shockwave

PHOTO CREDIT: Francesca Allen

Bat for Lashes - Kids in the Dark

Sleater-Kinney – The Future Is Here

PHOTO CREDIT: Valheria Rocha

Taylor Swift - You Need to Calm Down

Madonna – Crazy

Shura - religion (u can lay your hands on me)

Sampa the Great - Final Form

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Sail On

Little Mix – Bounce Back

Night Moves – Recollections 

Bruce Springsteen – Western Stars 

The Raconteurs - Bored and Razed

Kate Tempest – Three Sided Coin

PHOTO CREDIT: Michaela Quan

Jorja Smith – Goodbyes

Amber Mark - What If

Anna of the North - Thank Me Later

Dermot Kennedy – Outnumbered

Miles Kane - Can You See Me Now

Marika Hackman - the one

Charly Bliss - Young Enough

Little Simz - 101 FM

PHOTO CREDIT: Hamish Brown

The Chemical Brothers - Eve of Destruction

Honey Harper - Strawberry Lite

PHOTO CREDIT: Cara Robbins

Jackie Cohen – Yesterday’s Baby

Marshmello – Rescue Me

IN THIS PHOTO: London Grammar

Flume, London Grammar – Let You Know

PHOTO CREDIT: Rahi Rezvani

Editors – Frankenstein

IN THIS PHOTO: BANKS

BANKS, Francis and The Lights – Look What You’re Doing to Me

Bastille - Another Place

Kelsea Ballerini – Better Luck Next Time

Crumb – Jinx

King Princess – Useless Phrases

KEHLI – One Last Kiss 

TRACK REVIEW: Sampa the Great - Final Form

TRACK REVIEW:

 

Sampa the Great

Final Form

10/10

The track, Final Form, is available via:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2lvgKDpiSA

GENRES:

Hip-Hop/Pop/Soul

ORIGIN:

Melbourne, Australia

RELEASE DATE:

5th June, 2019

LABEL:

Ninja Tune

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THIS is an exciting weekend...

for reviewing because I get to look at, tomorrow, an old Jazz legend who has a new song out – Miles Davis is, it seems, still producing great songs long after his death! It is an interesting project and revival ad one I shall expand upon in more detail when I get there. Today, I am with Sampa the Great. I want to talk about a few things before I get to her latest single, Final Form. I wanted to talk about sound fusions and mixing genrews together to huge effect; Melbourne and the reasons why we need to look outside areas like London; potential singles of the year and what is defining this year’s music; more optimism and drive in music and the memorability inherent in that; a bit about upbringing and music coming into your life early – I will end by seeing where Sampa the Great is heading and what might be next for her. One listens to the opening bars of Final Form and you know it is going to be a great song. There is something about it that gets you moving and involved. I love the song because it gets you grooving and there is so much working away. What I love is how Sampa the Great has managed to fuse 1960s Soul and Pop with some modern Hip-Hop and global strands. I do think there are some artists mixing different sounds together and doing so in an effective way. I do think that music, too, can be a bit too simplistic and doesn’t rouse the spirits like it should. By that, I mean there needs to be a bit more boldness and experimentation regarding genres. Listen to Sampa the Great and she is s daring and original. Her songs seem to hop boundaries and borders and you are instantly intrigued by what she puts out. On Final Form, there is this incredible blitz that fuses with something more soulful and chocolate-rich. I do think that artists, for some reasons, are not putting together disparate and interesting sounds together.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Ying Ang

Maybe it is difficult to realise something quite ambitious or it comes down to sampling. Listen to Sampa the Great and you imagine you are hearing this song with loads of samples running through. I recognise that there are artists who take big steps and can integrate genres but what Sampa the Great is doing is amazing. I love her work and do thing that others should take a lead from her. I think it is important artists combine different genres and decades but it means listeners will be curious and go back to the original source, as it were. From Final Form, I was compelled to have a listen to Soul records and try and see where Sampa the Great was coming from. I think her eclectic nature and fusions result in an itinerant musical upbringing and living in an area of the world where there was this freshness, excitement and colour coming from music. I will look at optimism in music soon but, before then, listen to all the beats and rhythms that are in Final Form and one can only imagine the kind of music Sampa the Great grew up around. You listen to the song and are transported to a new world; a place that is full of life and adventure. Music’s physical power is amazing and Sampa the Great is one of those artists who can move people and get reaction. I do feel that certain areas of music, especially the mainstream, are becoming a bit stale and there is not quite the life and ambition you’d hope for. Away from the Pop core and the radio-friendly artists, you get a lot more fire and chemistry. Listen back to Sampa the Great’s catalogue and she has always had this sense of wonder and dare. A lot of artists might mix together genres and sounds and it would come off reckless and lazy. Sampa the Great has a great knowledge and passion and, in every song, she is in control and wonderful. From an artist so young, it is amazing to hear such ambition and quality.

That might sound a little bit patronising but I am always blown away by artists who sound complete and on top of their game so early on. In any case, Sampa the Great is based in Melbourne and, when it comes to musical areas of the world, do we look at Australia? I think that, still, London and New York are favoured when it comes to the best music around. Kylie Minogue, The Avalanches and Courtney Barnett are all from Melbourne and, dig deeper, and there is this wave of new talent emerging. It is understandable why there would be so many great musicians working in Melbourne. The city mixes art and history together but it has a contemporary vibe. That effortless assimilation of the classical and new inspires the mind and the mixture of people provides different accents, languages and movements. Great music venues such as The Tote are around and, if you walk around, there are brilliant spots to watch gigs and all sorts of music coming through. Maybe Melbourne is not quite on the same level as London when it comes to options and big venues but it is a city that has a huge quality of life and it is keeping native artists there. I do feel that too many concentrate on the U.S. and U.K. and forget that there is music coming from all areas of Australia. From Darwin and Hobart through to Sydney and Perth, there is so much to see and hear! Melbourne is a wonderful area of Australia and a naturally inspiring place in which to write and create. Sampa the Great was not born in Melbourne but she has adopted it as her new home. I do feel people get an impression that there is not the same sort of eclectic spirit in Australia; that the music is more narrow and predictable. You only need do a bit of research to understand that Melbourne is this happening and rich city that is among the most exciting in the world.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Koury Angelo

I am desperate to get to Melbourne because it is a place that calls to you; it gets into the mind and you cannot forget it. In musical terms, there are brilliant acts emerging but I feel like people need to be a bit bolder regarding their music tastes. We do get too fixed on what is coming from the U.S. and U.K. and this can limit our horizons. Aside from artists like Courtney Barnett and Kylie Minogue, we are not spending enough time with Australian artists. It is hard for musicians in Australia to get credit and recognition in the U.S. and U.K. because, obviously, travelling here to perform is not always possible. They have to rely on radio play and, a lot of times, there are few eyes trained their way. It is a shame that cities such as Melbourne do not get the credit and attention they deserve because, as I said, there is a rich seam running through the place. The artists here are strong and passionate and I do feel like they warrant more time. Sampa the Great definitely helps regarding putting new Melbourne music on the map. I think she brings together her childhood and musical upbringing with what is happening in Melbourne right now. Instead of following the mainstream pack or copying everyone else, she is trusting her gut and pushing boundaries. It is thrilling to see and I’d be willing to bet, if you spend some good time in Melbourne, you’ll hear other artists like Sampa the Great working away. Let’s move on in a bit because I am eager to talk about this year in music and what is going on. If you do get a chance to check out some Melbourne-based music, make sure you do – it is definitely rewarding and you might discover some new favourites. It seems that, with every week that passes, a potential ‘single of the year’ is born and blows me away.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Ying Ang

This year has been especially strong for music and I am damned to figure out why. I guess you can never predict what is going to happen or who might come through but, in sheer quality terms, 2019 has been a blockbuster. You only need look back at all the singles released so far and you are not short of quality and brilliance. I think Final Form is making a bid for the best single of the year so far and, to be fair, it might be hard to shift! I feel that women are leading the pack this year and showing why the industry needs to pay more attention to them. What amazes me is how varied female-led music is and how we often assume women will be quite limited. The music industry has never been too receptive regarding women and giving them a proper place but 2019 is a year where the finest female artists are stepping up and showing why they warrant proper respect. There are other reasons why 2019 has been a big one for music. I do feel like the new artists around are naturally building on what came before and trying to be different. If you repeat what has come before then it creates a stale scene but, in terms of the best and brightest, they are taking more risks and looking away from the tried and tested. Conventional mainstream music has its place but I am always attracted to artists that have a rare scent and special way of working; that ability to transcend the ordinary and go deeper. In terms of themes, artists are addressing what is happening in the world and the chaos around us. It is a tough time for us all and, more and more, musicians are bringing that stark reality into the fold. The striking and eye-opening nature of their work is resonating and people are discovering something potent and stirring. Also, there is a lot of the opposite: artists who want to provide some catharsis and distract us from the turmoil swirling around.

This blend and clash means that we have very evocative and real music that is getting into the head but we have the relief of release. I am not saying that disconnection and stress seems to breed quality but there is something in it. As the country and world is splitting and becoming less united, there is this force in the music industry that is bringing us together. Artists are speaking louder than politicians ever could and they are ensuring that the power of their work makes us feel better, more clearly or, at the very least, just makes us think. I do wonder where the rest of 2019 will take us and what we have to come. In terms of the genres that are ruling, it is hard to pin it down. Listen to Sampa the Great against the music of Fontaines D.C., Little Simz and others and there is difference. It depends what you like and go after but I just think there is an amazing vibe and electricity running through music. I will move on again but I have been bowled over by all the brilliant sounds that 2019 has produced. I do feel like Final Form can mix it up with the very best and will be challenging for the best single of the year. This rate of progression – and explosion of quality – leads me to believe that next year might be stronger still. I am not putting down last year and what has come before but 2019 is particularly awe-inspiring and memorable. It is rewarding to hear so much terrific music around of all shapes and genres. I will return to Sampa the Great and her fusions but, when I think of the best tracks of the year so far, I am drawn to the textures and sonic weaves as opposed the lyrics and anything else. I wanted to nod to Sampa the Great and where she started life but, on the theme of quality music and what defines it for me, a sense of optimism and fun must come into the fore.

Last week, I was reviewing The Divine Comedy and, whereas the Office Politics album looks at the workaday world and the annoyances we all have to encounter, there was so much brilliance and fun to be discovered. It is no surprise where you realise how great a songwriter Neil Hannon is but, in every track, there was something to turn the head and heart. Sampa the Great, right from the opening notes on Final Form, gets the head spinning and the body moving. One of my biggest complaints regarding music is how fun seems to be on the back-burner. Maybe things are changing this year but, in years past, there has been too much seriousness and not enough excitement. I do think we need to address what is happening in the world but there is a definite need for something escapist and thrilling. We all need to feel better and adopt a more positive outlook and I think music has that power. Sampa the Great, again, does focus on some bigger themes but the composition and vocal delivery has so much energy and spirit that you cannot help be intoxicated and drawn into it. I love that and I do feel more in the industry need to follow her. As an example of what can happen when you fuse sounds and go for something positive, the effects are spellbinding. Final Form, for that reason, is a song that stays in the mind for ages and, as I suggested, is one of the best singles of the year so far. Again, maybe it is Sampa the Great’s early years and roots that naturally grew into this positive outlook. If you are brought up around music that has a definite verve then that is going to inspire you and impact what you write yourself. If you do need to be lifted and discover your smile, may I suggest you investigate Sampa the Great and all she has to offer? It is a perfect tonic and blast of sunshine that will get you motivated and refreshed.

I do need to crack on with reviewing itself and the song in question but, before I do, it is worth mentioning that Sampa the Great was born in Zambia. She was raised in Botswana and she discovered Hip-Hop at an early age. Like she does on her recent cut, her earliest work was defined by heavier themes given a lighter touch. She moved to Australia where she has found acclaim and love but, listen back to her music and how she approaches things, and one can definitely hear her African roots running right through. I think it is that love of Hip-Hop and its naturally powerful, eclectic and fantastic nature that has influenced her the most. In this interview with HUCK, Sampa the Great was asked about Hip-Hop and when it came into her life; living in different areas and whether, truly, she feels like she has deserved the applause she has garnered:

 “Do you remember your first introduction to hip hop?

I went upstairs to my cousin’s bedroom and he was playing ‘Changes’ by Tupac. Everything stopped. It sounded like poetry and music together. Then ‘Until The End Of Time’ played and I was like, ‘Woah… what is this?’

Why do you think it resonated so much?

It was different but familiar as well. I guess I saw the similarities with music that I listened to, where it sounded like people were speaking on top of a song, rather than singing. That is what rap is to me: poetry spoken over beats. I was hooked.

You’ve travelled and lived in a number of different places. How has hip hop played a role in those moves and transitions?

I think the one thing I found within these culture shocks was that laughter and music were universal languages. Everybody knows how to speak them. Hip hop crosses all these borders and boundaries – it’s this language already.

I remember reading a past interview in which you spoke of “imposter syndrome”. How did you overcome that?

At the beginning there were times when I struggled with imposter syndrome. I don’t get those feelings anymore. You overcome that fear by taking stock of the work you’ve put in. Just because you didn’t do it professionally, or it wasn’t in the public view, doesn’t mean the skills were’t being refined. Knowing you actually did the work is enough”.

 IMAGE CREDIT: Beats 1

The head is mixed and shaken right off the bat with Final Form. There is, what sounds like samples working away (but they might be original cuts) and there is this phat beat that gives the song plenty of swagger and boost. The horns work away and there is this combination of Hip-Hop, Soul and Jazz that gives the introduction such weight and authority. You are hypnotised and moved by the incredible flair and panache of the introduction; the way it makes you feel and the body move. It is an incredible opening that brings to mind the classic Hip-Hop records. When Sampa the Great comes to the microphone, the lyrics definitely make you wonder. “The lace lady/Travel with grace baby/I can’t afford to cover the costs of course maybe/Settle that one in court ‘cos/Judging by the basics/Y’all already comfortable stuck up in the matrix”. One gets that mix of oblique and direct with Sampa the Great so you might know what she is trying to say but there is always that doubt. Her worldplay is great and I like the fact there is a bit of mystery. Rather than convey something personal and overly-clear, there is this room for interpretation and configuration. One is amazed by the flow of the song and the way Sampa the Great seamlessly blends in and guides the song forward. Part of your mind is hooked on the foreground and what Sampa the Great is laying down whereas another part of the brain is focused on the electricity and joy from the back. The video is shot in Zambia and there is colourful cast of dancers who all look splendid. Production by SILENT JAY and mixing by Jonwayne, it is amazing song that manages to unite the very modern and traditional with Sampa the Great’s heritage. The sheer confidence of her voice and the way she can make every line pop and crackle…that is the sign of a truly great artist! There does seem to be this insecurity and lack of confidence from the artist; maybe she feels like she has tried to find her place in the world but, in terms of sheer conviction, she is laying down a new classic.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Ying Ang

That slight feeling of being lost is replaced by a sense of purpose and ambition that is hard to ignore. Never boastful or showing ego, you are behind Sampa the Great as she strides forward and lays it all out there. One does not need to be a huge fan of Hip-Hop or know where Sampa the Great is coming from to appreciate the song. There is vocal scratching and samples (I am not sure whether the voice you hear in the background are from old records or created in the studio) that gives Final Form that vintage edge; spliced with the very raw and modern sound coming from the vocal and beats, it is a dizzying revelation that gets every sense fired and flamed. The beat is superb; the backing vocal (a bit Prince-like) adds shiver and rush whilst the sounds deployed makes Final Form a real cracker. At the front is Sampa the Great and, if you watch the video, you can see her own and rule. Sampa the Great talks about black power and the hope that Africa will replace America in terms of ethics, passion and kindness; black artists and voices getting more of say, perhaps. She also nods to Zion and Bob Marley and, again, one hears the combination of classic roots and leaders and what is happening in the world now. Whether you are thrilled by the chorus or generally stunned by the song as a whole, I would be very shocked if Final Form was not named the best track of 2019. It hits you instantly and will stay with you for a very long time! Blending classic Hip-Hop and epic beats with a patented blend from Sampa the Great, this is a titanic song that cannot be ignored. Instantly, it makes me curious whether there is more material coming and whether it will sound anything like Final Form. It is obvious Sampa the Great is in inspired form and there is no stopping her – who would want to, frankly! An amazing song that will put you in a better frame of mind and bring to your thoughts this incredible artist, Final Form is a masterpiece.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Maya Adjeley

It seems that Sampa the Great is always moving and it is her sense of transit that makes her songs so feel alive and exciting. Even though she is in Melbourne right now, what is to say she will remain there? Maybe she will live in New York and bring her unique blends to the scene there. Maybe she’ll come to London for a bit or she might favour a stay in Berlin. I do like the fact Sampa the Great has this energy that makes her music so wonderful and memorable. Final Form is her latest gem and one hopes that there is more music coming very soon. Keep abreast of all her happenings via social media and I am sure there will be more music coming along. I do really love the way Sampa the Great works and how far she has come. In a music world where it can be hard to stand aside and find footing, here is an original that has very few equals. It might be too early to call the single of the year so far but I do think Final Form is definitely in with a shout! What comes next is down to her. I know there will be people around the world who want to see her perform and get to witness the music up-close. This special artist is definitely hitting a peak right now and it is thrilling hearing these incredibly vibrant and vivacious songs. I am sure Final Form will be in my head for many more weeks and, to be fair, I do not want it shifted anytime soon! Let me wrap things up now but, after you have done reading and listening, make sure you do keep informed regarding what Sampa the Great is doing and where she steps next. Many people are new to her work so it is important to look back and get involved. There are very few as great and powerful as Sampa the Great and I do hope that many, as I keep saying, realise that the strongest music right now is being made by women – let’s hope this translates to greater recognition and equality. On a sunny Saturday, Final Form sounds like the perfect accompaniment as you head into the day. I keep saying how it is early to predict the singles that will grab the critical headliners but, when it comes to pure brilliance that rides high, Final Form, right now, is very much…

PHOTO CREDIT: @Theol_Home

THE song to beat.

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Follow Sampa the Great

 PHOTO CREDIT: Ying Ang

Official:

http://sampathegreat.com/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Sampa_The_Great

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/sampa_the_great/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/sampathegreat

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHPHV1vMBvc-hce4Z5xP88A

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7fw0E8WHdG3r9SuPBcGmWk?si=m9qDIjUhQKaOSyrpZGNIcA

SoundCloud:

https://soundcloud.com/sampa-tembo

ALL UNCREDITED PHOTOS:

Getty Images/Sampa the Great

FEATURE: The Original: Prince and a Golden Vault That Keeps on Giving

FEATURE:

 

 

The Original

 Prince and a Golden Vault That Keeps on Giving

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IN music…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty/Virginia Turbett

there are these rumours, extraordinary things and reliable stocks that endure for years. I briefly mentioned Prince when talking about Radiohead and the fact that, after material from their OK Computer sessions was hacked and held to ransom, the band put all the recordings out anyway – rendering any threats worthless and, in the process, providing fans with something terrific, personal and revealing. Whether all of the material from those days is worth listening to – I bought the recordings on Bandcamp and most of what is up there is solid – is down to the listener but, to me, that decision from Radiohead was a big one. It makes me wonder whether there are artists out there who have a lot of material sitting on the studio floor that they did not feel was album-worthy – maybe other people would like to hear it. Prince died back in 2016 and, as people know, the man was not exactly quiet - and, in his day, produced album after album of pure brilliance. It seemed like, just after one album was unveiled, another one would be working away and he’d be on a world tour or something else. He was a relentlessly hard-working artist who was always looking to push himself and put incredible music out into the world. After an artist dies, there is debate as to whether you should release anything that was left; if there is an ethical choice and whether the artist would have wanted it out there.

This debate has come into play when posthumous material from Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson has been released and, in the case of Prince, some quarters have questioned whether he would want all this music out there. There is this legendary ‘vault’ that Prince has that, it is said, contains all manner of unreleased cuts and interesting sounds. There is information about the vault and, with loving and loyal people ensuring that the vault is kept safe and material from it (is) treated with respect, it seems like there is no end what it will give us. In fact, back in 2018, Consequence of Sound ran an article that talked about this amazing treasure trove and the fact, unbelievably, Prince has stored enough material so that a new album can be released every year for a century!

“According to Prince’s former sound engineer, Susan Rodgers, the vault pre-dates the release of 1984’s Purple Rain and was already at capacity she left three years later. “When I left in 87, it was nearly full,” she explained in an interview with the Guardian. “Row after row of everything we’d done. I can’t imagine what they’ve done since then.”

As Prince’s death was unexpected and he left no will, his estate had no way of accessing the vault as only Prince knew the door’s key code. After drilling it open, the estate’s archivist discovered enough unreleased music to release a new album every year for the next century.

PHOTO CREDIT: Associated Press 

The first batch of this discovered material has begun to see release, including a reissue of Purple Rain, the 1999-era “Moonbeam Levels”, and the original version of “Nothing Compares 2 U”, which surfaced last week. The estate has also struck distribution deals with Warner Bros. Records and Universal Music with plans for more unreleased music to be unearthed in the months and years ahead. An early draft of Prince’s handwritten memoir is also on the way”.

Check out the article and have a look at some of the photos. It is this mystical and eye-opening space where the late Prince stored all this material. Given the amount of albums he released in his lifetime, it is mindblowing thinking he had the time to keep all this unseen material away. Prince, I guess, wanted to ensure that, in the case of death, there was material we could hear and enjoy (which is cool). That is kind of tragic but it would be a shame if there was nothing – you always wonder what could have been and where he would have headed if he had of lived. The latest album from the vaults is Originals. There have been other albums from Prince’s archives, but this is the first collection of original songs.

“Originals is the first posthumous stand-alone album of previously-unreleased studio material by Prince, and the fifth posthumous album release overall. The album is a collection of Prince's original versions of songs he gave to other artists for release. As a result, all songs on the album had been released by other artists. The final track had been previously released in the same form on the Nothing Compares 2 U posthumous single in 2018, at which point it was a stand-alone single.

PHOTO CREDIT: John Leyba/Denver Post 

Recording Process

The album is a compilation of tracks recorded between 1981 and 1990. Recording information is listed in chronological order below:

Chronologically, the earliest written track on the album is Wouldn't You Love To Love Me?, which is also among Prince's most-recorded songs. Initially the track was recorded in 1976 as a home recording on a basic cassette recorder, featuring some lyrics that were changed or removed for later recordings. It was then re-recorded twice in Summer 1978 at Prince's France Avenue Home Studio in Edina, Minnesota; once with Prince on vocals and once with Sue Ann Carwell on vocals. It was re-recorded again on 1 April 1982, at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, which is the version featured on this album. This version was worked on further in 1986 and was submitted to Michael Jackson for use on his album Bad. When it did not get included on Jackson's album Prince offered it to Taja Sevelle, who for her version simply replaced Prince's own vocals from the 1986 recording. It was released in 1987 as the second track on Taja Sevelle's first album Taja Sevelle and, in early 1988 was released as the album's second single.

Make-Up was originally recorded with Vanity 6 in mind, to be sung by Susan Moonsie. While specific recording dates are unknown, basic tracking took place in Summer 1981 at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. It was released as the sixth track on Vanity 6's first and only album Vanity 6. The track was included as the b-side of He's So Dull, the album's third single, and soon after also the b-side of Drive Me Wild, the album's fourth and final single.

Gigolos Get Lonely Too, although written solely by Prince was intended for The Time and was credited to Morris Day when it appeared as the fifth track on their second album What Time Is It?, and was released as the album's third single. Basic tracking likely took place on 11 January 1982 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California”.

The reviews for Originals has been hugely positive and, as I said, where did Prince get the time to record all of this new stuff?! At his Paisley Park residence, it must have been a hive of activity and constant invention. NME have given their thoughts regarding Prince’s latest album:

 “Capable of upstaging Eric Clapton on guitar, releasing powerful pop that toed the line between apocalyptic and sexy, and contorting his voice to do just about anything, there was no limit to Prince’s abilities. But not everybody is aware the purple one was also a prolific ghostwriter, penning hits for everyone from The Bangles to Kenny Rogers and Stevie Nicks.

Prince nails the deep nasally vocals of a country singer on ‘You’re My Love’, a track he tellingly penned for Kenny Rogers, while his effeminate vocals channel the experience of being an independent black woman on ‘The Glamorous Life’, the hit single he wrote for frequent collaborator Shelia E. Hearing. Prince, singing two songs that are so different stylistically, reminds us just how insanely talented he was, with the artist possessing a chameleon-like ability to master practically any genre of music.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alamy  

‘Prince: Originals’ is at its best when Prince lets loose and embraces his cheekier sider. The phallic symbolism of ‘Sex Shooter’, which contains the playful lyrics “I need you to pull my trigger babe / I can’t do it alone”, is one hell of a ride, while the absolutely bonkers ‘Holly Rock’ sees Prince talking slick over a beat that sounds like it was crafted from a psychedelic pinball machine. Honestly, it’s a shame Prince ever gave these tracks away to other artists.

A lot of the songs on this collection have a playful innocence to them and it’s clear Prince enjoyed writing music for other artists, seeing it more as an opportunity to be experimental and loose, rather than a coldly technical chore. You can almost feel the beaming smile Prince was rocking while singing the original ‘Manic Monday’ (the smash, which he penned for The Bangles, is one of the highlights here) while ‘Jungle Love’ (a hit Prince wrote for The Time) is reflective of an era where music was about making you dance first and think second.

Both tracks are infectiously joyous, and if this collection is any indicator of the quality of the thousands of hours of unreleased music Prince still has in the vaults, then don’t be surprised if we’re still partying to new Prince music in 2099”.

Originals is, appropriately, Prince taking back songs he wrote for other artists; the master singing them how he envisaged and, when compared to the more popular versions, it is amazing to see the difference!

We know there is this vault out there and who knows how many albums, scraps and notes there are that will see the light of day. It is haunting to think that people will keep releasing Prince material after I have died – I am thirty-six and the next generation will be old before the Prince legacy starts to dry! Albums like Ultimate Rave and Piano & a Microphone 1983 have already been released this year and I wonder how many albums are coming in 2019. To be fair, Originals is new Prince material and, largely, what has been released is already familiar or reworkings of his existing songs. Released in December 2015, HITNRUN Phase Two was the last studio album Prince put out in his lifetime (Prince died on 21st April, 2016) and I can imagine there are other albums of original material that are yet to be unshackled from his legendary vault. Not only is there this possibility of new music but, as has been rumbling for some time, a Prince documentary could be coming. This story has been brewing for a long time but, as Joe reported last year, the wheels are definitely turning:

 “One of the more enigmatic musical stars of all time, shedding some light on his life would be fantastic for the millions of fans he has around the world, and currently Netflix are working on bringing a documentary series about his life to their streaming service.

According to Variety, "the project has the full cooperation of the late artist’s estate, which is providing [the documentary] with interviews, archival footage, photos and archive access", which includes some of his currently unreleased music.

The multi-part documentary series is currently in production, with no set release date on Netflix yet announced, but it has been confirmed that the project will be directed by none other than Ava DuVernay.

The Oscar-nominated director is best-known for her work on Selma, as well as directing the Netflix documentary series 13th.

The in-demand director is also currently working on the Central Park Five documentary series for Netflix, superhero movie The New Gods for WB and DC, and fashion show drama Battle of Versailles for HBO.

Despite having a full slate, DuVernay is reportedly overjoyed to be working on the project, especially as Prince reached out to her specifically about working together:

"Prince was a genius and a joy and a jolt to the senses. He was like no other. He shattered every preconceived notion, smashed every boundary, shared everything in his heart through his music. The only way I know how to make this film is with love. And with great care. I’m honored to do so and grateful for the opportunity entrusted to me by the estate".

I am not sure how close to completion the documentary is but, with fresh Prince material out now, we are not short of our fix! All of this makes me wonder if, at some stage, the public will be allowed to see his vault and have a look around. Maybe that would encroach the privacy of the recordings but I can imagine it would be a huge popular experience.

Also, three years after Prince’s death and it is heartbreaking the creator himself is not around to see this work resonate and delight the people. I am sure he would have been heartened seeing so many people discover his work and the impact his material continues to have. There is nothing we can do about the master’s departure but, as we look forward, it seems like there is this endless bounty in his personal vault. What will the next album give? Will there be more originals or some alternative versions of songs that we all know? Whatever is coming, it will be interesting and I am still stunned at the size and capacity of the vault! Years and years from now, it will still hold music we have not heard: songs Prince recorded a long time ago and, you’d imagine, was always planning on sharing with the world. Make sure you get Originals (the physical version is available from 21st June) if you have not already and the world will wait with baited breath; anticipating what is coming next. I am not sure whether the much-hyped and anticipated documentary is coming this year and what is happening with it – it is going to be fascinating watching it unfold and, when it does arrive, seeing whether the wait has been worth it. Even after his death, Prince is keeping people guessing and offering these sensational moments. With his vault crammed with treasure and endless brilliance, there is a lot more magic to come from…

 IMAGE CREDIT: Helen Green Illustration

THE Purple One.

FEATURE: OKNOTOK…OKINTHEEND: Radiohead’s Victory Against Hackers Raises Some Interesting Questions and Possibilities

FEATURE:

 

 

OKNOTOK…OKINTHEEND

IN THIS PHOTO: Radiohead captured in 1997/PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch 

Radiohead’s Victory Against Hackers Raises Some Interesting Questions and Possibilities

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THERE are not many musical events…

 IMAGE CREDIT: Radiohead

that turn the head and get you standing to attention! The normal daily news consists of album releases and the odd bit of gossip but, when Radiohead announced they had a lot of material stolen from their OK Computer sessions, it shocked people. Not only did hackers take the material but they held the band to ransom! If you did not hear about it, The Guardian have provided the details:

 “Radiohead have released a vast collection of unreleased tracks made during the sessions for 1997 album OK Computer, after a MiniDisc archive owned by frontman Thom Yorke was hacked last week by an unnamed person, who reportedly asked for a $150,000 ransom to return the recordings.

The band have now made the 18 MiniDisc recordings, most of them around an hour in length, available on Bandcamp for £18. Proceeds will go to climate activists Extinction Rebellion.

The band’s guitarist Jonny Greenwood confirmed the hack, and said: “Instead of complaining – much – or ignoring it, we’re releasing all 18 hours on Bandcamp in aid of Extinction Rebellion. Just for the next 18 days. So for £18 you can find out if we should have paid that ransom. Never intended for public consumption (though some clips did reach the cassette in the OK Computer reissue) it’s only tangentially interesting. And very, very long. Not a phone download.”

Thom Yorke wrote of the 1.8 gigabyte collection: “It’s not v interesting. There’s a lot of it … as it’s out there it may as well be out there until we all get bored and move on.”

The hack was first discussed on a Radiohead page on website Reddit a week ago, where a user described being offered the files for sale. “We originally considered pooling our money together, as our enthusiasm over the rare opportunity to share material of such high historical interest for a band we love peaked, but were concerned about the ethics of the situation,” they wrote. “According to [the leaker], they got the whole 18 hours of material by trading some other rare/unreleased material for it”.

It is egregious and downright outrageous for anyone to hold a band to ransom like this. The fact the hackers stole some hardware makes the story both shocking and oddly old-fashioned. Now, we assume – if there is hacking to be done – people will have data stolen online but, in a strange way, the fact music hardware was involved makes it kind of odd. It is no surprise but I love the fact Radiohead would not be held and cornered. A lot of artists might pay the money or not know what to do but Radiohead, knowing the full spread of material is not all 100% gold, relented and just put the music out there. I do not think we realise how much material is recorded during an album’s session. We assume there is one or two outtakes and B-sides but, when it came to 1997’s OK Computer, there is this wealth of other material.

Radiohead tried longer versions of some songs; acoustic renditions of others and there are these rare cuts that only saw the light of day a few years ago. In 2017, Radiohead put out OKNOTOK - that celebrated twenty years of OK Computer but allowed fans the chance to discover songs that had been, until then, in the vaults. Now, with everything on Bandcamp, it is wonderful to see people react and get behind the band. Not only have the hackers been foiled but, actually, there are some realty great tracks in the sprawl. I would urge people to spend the money on Bandcamp (I have paid over twenty pounds for the material so, in case anyone is wondering whether I am embedding tracks without paying, I have already made the purchase) – the link is in the quoted feature above – and dive into OK Computer’s heart and bones. If you want to separate the gold from the bronze, Pitchfork selected a few songs that are worth serious investigation:

“Lift (Alternate Version)” [MD125; starts at 9:46]

The fabled “Lift”—the song Radiohead chose not to release as the first single from OK Computer because it would have made them “too big,” the song with a story longer than this leak—was finally heard in studio-recorded form on 2017’s 20th-anniversary reissue, OKNOTOK. This alternate version is even better. It’s not mixed very carefully, but it sounds scrappy and untamed, like the band is pushing it into the red unselfconsciously. It lives up to the myth. –Jeremy D. Larson

“Hurts to Walk” [MD112; 52:23]

This previously unreleased track is pure yearbook-photo material, equal parts embarrassingly awkward and sweet. A simple, near-Britpop strummer, it sounds very nearly like Del Amitri’s inescapable 1995 hit “Roll to Me,” slowed down to half-tempo. Polished up in a studio, it could have soundtracked a late-’90s teen comedy, and you wouldn’t have blinked. –JG

“Airbag (Mellow Version)” [MD111; 38:00]

This version removes the big old Tommy Iommi-style riff as well as the DJ Shadow-influenced stuttering beat from the center of OK Computer’s monolithic opener, and lo and behold, it becomes airy, sweet, nearly weightless—something an alternate-universe Radiohead could have performed on another MTV Spring Break. –JG”.

Instead of using a difficult situation to make money for themselves, Radiohead are donating all of the money to Extinction Rebellion. There are a few things that come out of this spectacle/controversy that have made me think and question. The first concerns protecting and making sure artists are not put in this situation again. I guess, if one steals a laptop or external hard drives then there is little way of getting them back. Back in the 1990s, one did not quite have the security we have now but, even in 2019, are artists vulnerable to hackers? The short answer would be ‘yes’, but I think there should be ways of ensuring recording material is safe and, if it falls into the wrong hands, artists are not blackmailed.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Thom Yorke at Glasgow Barrowlands in November 1995/PHOTO CREDIT: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian

Radiohead are a rare case but what if a big band/artist steps into the studio to record an album and, from the sessions, material falls into the wrong hands and then is used to blackmail? There are few cases of this happening…but I do feel like Radiohead were put in an impossible situation. If they paid the blackmailers then that would have been awful and the material would, I guess, still have had to be put out due to curiosity and pressure. I guess there was no real intent to release what they did before this all happened but, actually, it does give fans a chance to discover something that would have passed them by ordinarily. I do wonder how many other artists have this trove of material from album sessions that are yet to see the light of day. Many argue that, as Radiohead have sort of said themselves, the quality is not always there so there are few gems in the trove. That said, I am interested in the big albums and hold them dear. What if there are rarities and alternate versions from artists such as Oasis, Paul Simon and Madonna that would provide fascinating insight? Maybe a Radiohead-like banquet might only allure the die-hard fans but you never know what you’d find when all that material is out there. Some might say (this approach) is over-exposure but the songs have been recorded and it seems senseless keeping them secret.

 COVER CREDIT: Stanley Donwood

Even if an artist is ultimately unhappy with various versions of a song, fans might feel differently. I have checked out some of the songs on the Radiohead Bandcamp link and, yeah, there are some really good tracks. I like these special edition releases that have studio conversation and outtakes because they give fans a deeper insight into an alum’s creation and, I think, that means the material hits harder and stays with you longer. The as-God-intended album is wonderful - but I am always curious what was recorded at the same time and what was left on the cutting room floor. The Beatles put out fiftieth anniversary editions of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and The Beatles in 2017 and 2018 respectively - and it gave people an opportunity to hear these cool outtakes and embryonic versions. Maybe only the proper-big artists will get this sort of attention and would one realistically want a smaller artist to put everything out into the world? I think there is a lot to be said for giving people extra material and stuff that might otherwise have been scrapped. There are going to be people that are asking whether other classic Radiohead albums – such as 2000’s Kid A and 2007’s In Rainbows – are going to get the OK Computer treatment. I would happily pay money to hear all the off-shots and scraps from the Kid A sessions because, as I said, I think it does provide context and paints a more variegated picture.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Colin and Johnny Greenwood in 1997/PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch

Another thing that impressed me about Radiohead’s rebellion is the fact that, ironically, the money raised from this released material is going to Extinction Rebellion. I think it is funny that the words ‘extinction’ and ‘rebellion’ could be applied to the blackmail situation and the rebellious Radiohead are giving their earnings to ecological rebels. One might feel a tad uneasy if Radiohead had put the music out and all the money went to them but, rather than do that, they are giving it to an organisation that are doing great work. Radiohead have always been innovative regarding their work and promotions. We all remember their pay-what-you-like strategy for In Rainbows: fans could pay what they wanted for the record and had no complaints regarding the high prices of C.D.s and vinyl. Now, for under twenty quid, people can get hours of unheard material and can make their own playlists from the songs. One way of justifying artists releasing albums of rare material might be to tie it in with charity. I genuinely believe fans would buy this rare material because it does give you something unexpected and wonderful. Not all the songs are going to be great but the process of listening to everything and deciding what is great and what is not has its own pleasures. I am writing a feature about Prince tomorrow because, three years after his death, more and more material is coming out.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @iamjiroe/Unsplash

He recorded so much in his life and there is so much music we have not heard yet. One has to believe other established artists have these vaults and it would be great to see them explored. We all have a list of artists we adore and would like to hear more from. From the classic Hip-Hop albums of the late-‘80s to the classic Beatles albums, it is exciting to think what might be out there we have not yet heard. I do think Radiohead’s charity angle is great and they did something genuinely classy. Not only does it mean fans are doing something great but awareness is raised and there is that ethical dynamic. I love the sound of that and think it should be a way forward for bands. There is a lot of chatter regarding Radiohead’s latest move and how significant the archives are; whether what we have is a work of genius or mere curiosity. I have listened to a lot of the material and I love all the in-studio interactions and the false-starts. It is a window into, debatably, one of the best albums of the 1990s. I think Radiohead’s hacked MiniDisc opus expands OK Computer and provides new context and nuance. You already know the studio album but, with what is out now, you get more background and reveal regarding how these near-perfect songs ended up how they did.

 

The Guardian have written a short review and recommended a couple of other tracks to seek out – just in case you needed more convincing!

“Yorke and Greenwood are absolutely wrong though. This is the holy grail – or perhaps Ark of the Covenant – for hardcore Radiohead disciples, and even has merit for less nerdish fans. It reveals the inner workings of what is regarded by many as the greatest album of the 1990s, showing how they walked alongside and then turned away from the brash Britpop that surrounded them. Here are some of the songs to look out for.

Unknown title (57:01 on MD113)

A peculiar jam that – truth be told – needs a lot more time in the oven. But it’s notable for the bright, crude synths, recalling Vangelis’s synthetic brass lines for the Blade Runner soundtrack, and there’s something seductive about its constant loping gait: it hints at the more purely electronic experiments that eventually ended up at Idioteque. This track comes off the back of what fans have called Thom’s Screechy Song, a pleasingly rough, ill-disciplined and noisy unreleased track with shades of Sonic Youth.

I Need a Job (22:10 on MD117)

There’s shades of 90s alt-rockers like Sebadoh to this choppy, strikingly straightforward tune – the kind of thing a conservative subset of Radiohead fans wish the band had continued to make instead of broadening out into OK Computer and Kid A. And to be fair, Yorke’s high, girlish voice does pair strongly with rather more knuckle-drugging guitars. Similar but not so good is MD115’s When I Get Bored Give Me One of Those, which, could easily have ended up as a bad Oasis imitation – but it equally could have been a National Anthem-sized experimental rocker”.

Not only have Radiohead bested the hackers but they have caused a stir! I love this new wave of OK Computer material but it makes me wonder how much more Radiohead have in the cupboard regarding all their other landmark records. Not that we all demand every album be stripped and available on Bandcamp but one wonders what an expanded Kid A or Amnesiac might contain. Radiohead have also raised awareness regarding privacy, protection and security when it comes to files and music – are artists safe and, if they are in a similar predicament, do they succumb to a ransom demand or release the material? Radiohead pulled a huge power-move and stymied the hackers but I do feel concerned about modern artists and whether, in an age where hacking is known and we are all vulnerable, more music will be kidnapped. Also, there will be calls and queries aimed at artists as to whether they will release rare material from their big albums; maybe not to the same extent as Radiohead but something along these lines. Maybe, with a charity tie-in, they could get people interested and it would start a new revolution. Others fear that giving too much away is excessive and unnecessary. I do not think that is the case and I for one welcome what Radiohead have put out there. Get onto Bandcamp and get their new crop of material because there is only sixteen days or so to go. The band might be a little jokey regarding the consistency and quality of all they have put out but, as an accompaniment and addition to one of the finest albums of my generation, their salvaged and hacked nuggets of sonic gold are…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Radiohead circa 1997/PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch

WORTH every penny!

FEATURE: Spotlight: Madonnatron

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Madonnatron

_________

THIS year is a busy one for albums…

and it still seems that the solo artist is taking the biggest chunk of the pie. By that, I mean they are more prevalent and it seems, when it comes to variation, they are leading. I think women are producing the finest albums of 2019 and, in the case of Madonnatron…that is definitely true. I do love the fact that there are some terrific young bands emerging that are adding something exciting and fresh to the scene. I am a big fan of bands like Amyl and The Sniffers (from Australia) and there is something wonderful happening with Brighton’s YONAKA – both bands are female-fronted but they are very different in terms of style and intention. I do think the days of male bands ruling have disappeared and I doubt we will ever see that rise again. The past few years have shown some evolution and change and, in terms of who you need to watch out for, I would recommend Madonnatron. They come from humble backgrounds but, with determination and a finger raised to convention, they are a bright and explosive force. They can switch from the funny and cutting but then go in with something unexpected and hugely forceful. Their emotional palette is varied and vast and their performances, live and on record, are tight and wonderful. The band are heading around the country and bring their new album to the people.

Check out their website and social media channels for details but, trust me, you will want to see them lay down their songs from the stage. I will come to their latest album later but, for a bit, let’s take it back a couple of years back. Madonnatron have been on the scene for a few years now and, through grit and a unique style, they have seen their fanbase grow. Back in 2017, they unleashed their eponymous debut album. The South London four-piece impressed critics and, as this review from The Quietus shows, they make one hell of a lovely racket:

“Madonnatron have been going for a couple of years, after forming apparently quite haphazardly at venues and nights including Hank Dog's Easycome in Peckham and (of course) The Windmill in Brixton. When Liam May at Trashmouth first talked about making an album, they told him, “We only have five songs and we can't really play.” Lias Saoudi from Fat White Family has described their early gigs as “like listening to a kitchen falling apart in an earthquake,” and when I saw them last year they were still pleasingly shonky. They haven't become polished professionals since then, thank god. They are winging it. It is great, almost a rock & roll cliche joy, to have a bunch of chancers making music as good as this, especially when it's a gang of women who are clearly having a brilliant time.

All of a piece, the songs on this album belong together. Madonnatron are in the right place, too, signed to Trashmouth and produced by Liam May (who also worked on the submerged-unconscious vocals of Fat White Family's Songs For Our Mothers), and based in south London, part of a sprawling gang that includes Fat White Family, The Moonlandingz, No Friendz and Meatraffle. Like a lot of that gang, they are funny and deadly serious, chaotic and fully focussed, and making ace records”.

The fact Madonnatron had been around for a few years and had managed to hone their songs resulted in this incredible debut. The band’s live flair and sense of the unpredictable came through in their debut and the fact they managed to balance the professional with live-sounding gained them legions of fresh fans. In terms of who makes them buzz and which artists are important to them, one might think the likes of The Slits, Bikini Kill and Sleater-Kinney are at the top of the list but, as that might be stereotyping and being narrow, there are some unexpected idols in their collections. In this interview from 2018, We Are Raw Meat probed them about their influences:

 “We ask everyone what their favourite tracks or artists/ bands are from the past, the present, and who they think we should be listening out for in the future - I’d love to know each of yours.

Charlotte: Kate Bush is religious in status to me. I love the Broken English album by Marianne Faithfull. I'm a massive disco person and have an unabashed addiction to eighties pop. I think the eighties was a very interesting and experimental time with the advent of gadgetry and the trial and error factor when using all the new synths and ting.

Joanie: Love a bit of Throbbing Gristle, especially Hot on the Heels of Love. 
Stef: All sorts - Bongwater, La Femme, Delta blues, Italo disco. 
Beth: Also all sorts of things, Stooges, Can, a bit of Bronski Beat, Funkadelic, basically anything with soul and groove and/ or menace. 
Current bands we dig include Sex Cells, Warmduscher, Deep Tan, Melt Dunes, Pink Eye Club, Jack Medley’s Secure Men, Black Midi and Amyl & The Sniffers”.

That is quite an eclectic blend of sounds! It would be a bit lazy to compare Madonnatron too readily to others but, when you listen close, they have their own style and sound. They are a vastly exciting young band who are going from strength to strength and are getting some great focus. They have appeared in session for Marc Riley on BBC Radio 6 Music a few times and always give such incredible performances! Their new album, Musica Alla Puttanesca, was released a couple of week ago and, aside from its kick-ass cover art, the music takes their talent to new levels. In terms of describing it, this is what Rough Trade say:

“Having moved forwards emotionally from the wilds of dystopian stalking and associated hobbies, Madonnatron have instead been found frolicking through the green pastures of gangsta pimps, Hindu God wars, Cyber Men invasion, loveless nightclub hook-ups, modern Italian Nabokov, and revered screen goddess Elizabeth Taylor. Think of them as post-punk lab rats in the Secrets Of Nimh, feasting dubiously on back-dated episodes of Top Of The Pops. With notorious roaring guitars, chanting vocals and rabid drums they audibly glow in the dark, are strong-armed, and will probably bite you. Like their debut, which was released to much acclaim in July 2017, Musica Alla Puttanesca was produced by Liam D. May at Trashmouth Studios. Their atmospheric, raw, and confrontational live shows carry a sonic force that by turns will make you weep, cross yourselves, and weep again”.

More confident and daring than their earliest work, there is also more variety in terms of the lyrics and compositions; a sense of boldness than has come from a string of gigs and a lot of critical applause. I am struggling to take in all the great albums from this year and, as I say, women are leading the pack. Musica Alla Puttanesca is a terrific and has been gathering a lot of love. This is what Backseat Mafia had to say:

 “Moving away from the tales of dystopian stalking and associated hobbies, on Musica Alla Puttanesca the band tackle subjects including (but not limited to) gangsta pimps, Hindu God wars, Cyber Men invasion, loveless nightclub hook-ups, modern Italian Nabokov, as well as, well, Elizabeth Taylor. They wrap everything up in a wry humour, focusing on their skewed version of the world as if it were the norm, which by the end of the album, it seems to be.

But there’s more to Madonnatron than quirkiness. The music has this fearlessness about it – daring to make a post punk record and put string and brass into it (the sci-Fi thriller of NightRes in Silver being prime culprit) and a nod to X-Ray Spex with the added Sacophone on the brilliantly Super Hands.

From the opener, the fun-filled frothy Bone Dumb Grunt, right through to the mantra like theatric seems fun Venus & Rahu, Madonnatron  toy with the listener, contrasting the light of Sweet Serena, with the dark, almost suffocating Flesh Pond, with the taught anger of Super Hands, all wrapped up in melodies and chorus’ to hand on for dear life to. And in the glow in the dark Liminal Madonnatron have written something which shows everything great about them, and pop music.

Long live Madonnatron”.

That last line is a sentiment I can get behind. The fact Madonnatron have a sort of 1980s quirk to them with a bit of Pop mixed with some snarl and edge makes them an irresistible proposition. I have covered them a few times on my site and I genuinely think they are going to be huge. I do think bands are making a comeback and there is that change from the all-male Indie/Rock groups to a much more interesting group of new bands that are mixing genres together and, yeah, are lot of the very best are all-female or female-led. If you can see Madonnatron on the road then you will be in for a funny, sweaty and memorable experience! They are a band that have many more albums in them and I do wonder where they will go from here. The band have not put out too many interviews recently but I do wonder whether touring and recording is keeping them busy. It would be good to hear what they have to say and get a whole new press wave going. They are definitely on my list of artists to watch and I hope to catch up with them very soon! Madonnatron are definitely excited right now and, in addition to getting some big radio attention and love, they have a full calendar. People up and down the country will flock to see them and experience this dynamic and essential band do their thing. I can well see them getting gigs in the U.S. and further afield and, as word spreads, you wouldn’t bet against them embarking on a world-wide tour. Maybe that is getting ambitious but Madonnatron have the sort of music in their arsenal that transcends borders and translates around the world. Snap up their albums, go see them live and give them a follow online. Madonnatron are definitely growing in stature and making a name for themselves. Few bands deserve the acclaim more and, for that reason, I salute…

THE mighty Madonnatron.

______________

Follow Madonnatron:

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/Madonnatronband/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/MadonnatronBand

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/madonnatron/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5296LoeRErq9LMXgcFw3yX?si=m6Ogp3WTThmZXCTKZjJRUQ

PHOTO/IMAGE CREDITS:

Getty Images/Madonnatron

FEATURE: Steal My Sunshine: Why We Need to Keep Hold of Escapism in Music

FEATURE:

 

 

Steal My Sunshine

PHOTO CREDIT: @gohrhyyan/Unsplash 

Why We Need to Keep Hold of Escapism in Music

_________

I do think that music has the power to transform…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Hot Chip/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

and enrich lives around the world. There is no doubt that, on a daily basis, people are lifted and guided by music and its unique power. There are great artists out there who are making sure we are in a better mood and made to feel touched and protected. One such band is the always-reliable Hot Chip. The band has just played All Points East and their album, A Bath Full of Ecstasy, is out on 21st June. I am pleased they are about because the band is one of the very best out there. I saw an interview they conducted with The Guardian and there was something that struck me. Alexis Taylor, their lead, was talking about their music and what they want to achieve:

“I wrote the [new] songs for people to bathe in, or be lost in an active way,” Taylor explains, as we order an Uber afterwards. “To have a deep listening experience with it, without any distractions, if they can.” Both have railed before about how they dislike mindless escapism in pop. “And escapism is the opposite of what we should be doing in our lives, for political and ecological reasons.”

They find the world around them frightening: Goddard regularly retweets anti-Trump and climate change messages. But Taylor would never write direct protest songs. “Rather than just saying, ‘Oh, there’s Brexit and there’s Trump in power’, instead we’ll write songs like Positive, which is about looking for positivity – asking people to support those around them suffering from mental health problems or facing difficulty with poverty or homelessness. I’m thinking in songs instead, to try and figure out an answer.” Mindful escapism, perhaps?”

I do understand where Taylor is coming from regarding escapism and avoiding big issues. We are living in a time where the planet’s future survival is unsure and there is a lot of heavy sh*t around. Hot Chip are a band who look at environmental issues, mental-health and other subjects that we can all relate to. Rather than make these subjects quite severe and gloomy, they have a more comforting approach; putting their arms around people and making sure there is positivity among the hard-hitting words. ‘Escapism’ is a word that is pretty broad and I think, more and more, we need it in our lives. I can appreciate Taylor saying a more mindful escapism is good but, even when you add a positive and hopeful spin to ecological problems and mental illness, is that providing an actual distraction from the severity of the world?! I have complained about artists not addressing serious issues and being too mainstream and, whilst so many are stepping up and reacting, is there too much weight and not enough relief? How often does one hear a song that simply embraces life or is fun for the sake of it? I do feel there is a lot of Pop that is vacant and hollow but, in a music landscape that is becoming less and less fun, should we be advising artists to reject mere escapism – instead, put something with a deeper message out there?

 PHOTO CREDIT: @wildlittlethingsphoto/Unsplash

I think, so long as much has a bit of depth and nuance, it is great to give the people something a bit fluffy and simplistic. Hot Chip are an example of a band who can address what is important but put a slightly lighter spin on things. I do feel that Pop that is vacuous and aimless should be rejected but I think, reading that interview quote, there is a feeling that all music, if it is escapist, needs to come with a message. I reject the idea all music needs a purpose and we all need to address serious subjects. I know musicians have an important role and, the more they talk about environmental issues and get us to think what we are doing to the planet, the better that is. That is fine, yeah, but all of this can create quite a suffocating and one-dimensional vibe. We are all aware of the severity of big issues and many of us have to cope with an awful lot. The realities and pressures of modern life are shoved in our face all of the time. From the fatigue of the morning commute to the constant stream of bad news and dire warnings, it is hard to ignore the situation we are in. I genuinely think the average person is trying to do their best and we are all worried. I applaud artists who are using music to try and change things and open minds. It is important we all work together to make things better but music, for me at least, is a way of getting away from the world and finding some peace. I think one of the reason people look back and listen to a lot of classic sounds is because there is that guaranteed hit of pleasure and delight. I am not saying we all need to escape from serious music but, as we are all more stressed and divided, there is that desire to embrace something escapist.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @vespir/Unsplash

For me, I love a bit of classic House and Dance; songs that are about the pleasure of life and getting together. There is some great Pop from the 1980s and 1990s that did not necessarily hold a lot of seriousness and depth but, hey, it does make you feel a lot better! I do feel we all need this kind of music and we are not ignoring the world completely by mixing things up! I think there is a real lack of simple fun and uplift in music; something that does not have to be about anything other than having fun. Many might think there is a pretty healthy Pop scene that does that already…but I disagree. I think Alexis Taylor’s statement about vacuous Pop is right. What I want is for there to be more music out there that makes us all feel calmer and brighter; that sort of Summer of Love sound that can act as a contrast to everything else. The world has been in a pretty dire state in other periods and, even then, there was a balance of music. Look back at economic recessions and terrible governments. We were all strained then but, I feel, there was more in the way of relief and optimism.  Of course, we all do need to take note of what is happening to the world but rejecting non-mindful escapism is a bad thing. Why must all music be about the troubles we face?

 PHOTO CREDIT: @hannynaibaho/Unsplash

Does every artist need to be more responsible and use their voice to raise awareness?! I do not think so - and it would be an awfully bleak industry if this was the case! I think, as more artists tackle big subjects like mental-health, something fundamental is escaping from the industry: songs that make us feel better and let us forget about our problems. A few singles from this year have provided a good kick - but there is not a whole lot of hope around. I think more people are getting nostalgic because they want to bond with music that made them feel good and comforted. As the world is in a pretty unsure situation, I think escapism (small doses of it) is necessary. It means we can find that little retreat and area where we can switch off and recharge. If music is merely concerned with the big questions and issues then it does get to you and can be draining. I love artists like Hot Chip and their more optimistic spin on things. There are too many artists shoving reality in our faces and, if we can still hear songs that dig deep but have a smile, then that seems like a good balance. As I said, the planet has been in a worse state than it is now and, through warfare and political evil, artists have given us songs that we can wrap ourselves in and dive into; a pure escape that does a lot of good for our mental well-being.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @rosssneddon/Unsplash

This article was written in 2016 and talks about how good, fun music can provide heal and redemptive spirit:

“Music is a barrier and also fuel. Losing oneself in a song is as much a ward against exterior misery as it is a reminder to keep going, to start somewhat fresh and anew. To dismiss lightweight music as an opiate de-legitimises the work of talented creators. While the Weeknd's Abel Tesfaye is a vocal supporter of Black Lives Matter and of awareness for Toronto's Ethiopian diaspora, he's also the "Starboy" who rode through 2016 in a variety of expensive cars without a care and scored the second-largest debut week of the year. The number one song in the U.S. is "Black Beatles," a song that defies any analysis deeper than it being fun as hell.

Music is a wonderful escape and there's nothing wrong with that," says Dr. Mel Borins, a professor of community medicine at the University of Toronto and practicing family doctor. Borins is a songwriter and performing musician who writes comedic tunes about pap smears and colonoscopies and he believes that music – any and all music – is a legitimate medicine of sorts that can help with depression and anxiety, along with laughter and other forces of joy. "What we have difficulty with as human beings is change, and any loss is a change," he says. "I don't have anything against distraction… escapism is a good thing, and on the other hand, music has a way of uniting people."

PHOTO CREDIT: @erik_lucatero/Unsplash 

In her New Yorker essay "The Worst Year Ever, Until Next Year," writer Jia Tolentino felt the great flaw of the social media era in times of turmoil is how overwhelming the information intake is, that "there is no limit to the amount of misfortune a person can take in via the Internet… no guidebook for how to expand your heart to accommodate these simultaneous scales of human experience." It's a continuous sensory overload of doom-and-gloom for those who follow the news. Borins defines burnout as "when you have nothing left, physically, emotionally and spiritually… you get discouraged about things, you think negatively," and while he's hesitant to apply the condition to the current climate, it doesn't seem too far off.

It bears reminding that the liberty of musical nourishment, to even forget about troubles, is in itself a privilege. Those who managed to escape the fate of the many thousands dead in Aleppo won't find slipping on earbuds to listen to Bruno Mars as easy a solution as those of us in Toronto, and the same holds true for the non-white families in the U.S. and Europe who worry about the fact they may no longer fit a suddenly narrower definition of their own country's cultural identity. Again, the larger scale of human suffering threatens to extinguish hope. And you know what? All of this does suck, but it shouldn't have to do so in an all-consuming manner. Pop music may not have the answers but it might just be one more thing that keeps humanity going, just as long as someone's listening”.

Our planet and country is going through some hard times right now and we do all need to work together to make things better. If musicians can raise awareness and send important messages out to people; get us all motivated and thinking, then that is brilliant. We definitely need music to play its role in that sense but I feel, with all this crap flying around us, there is a big place for escapism; good music that does not need to protest and summon – something we can listen to and instantly feel better in ourselves. If we ignore the power and important of non-mindful escapism then it is depriving people of a much-needed release. This is something, I for one, would hate…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @hannahbusing/Unsplash

TO see happen.

INTERVIEW: Moodbay

INTERVIEW:

Moodbay

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IN one of my last interviews...

I have been talking with Moodbay about their new single, Listen Up, and how it came together. They tell me how they got together and how songs come together for them; the sort of music they listen to and which approaching artists we need to check out.

I ask if they get time to relax away from music, whether there are tour dates coming up and which albums Anna and Alfie love – they end the interview by selecting a couple of pretty cool and epic tracks.

____________

Hi, guys. How are you? How has your week been?

Hey. Good, thanks! And, yeah, it was great. We’ve been filming in London for one of our singles which was pretty fun. Hard work, though. Our director was so keen to capture as much as possible that we ended up shooting in her hotel room till 3 a.m. Her partner ended up having to sleep out in the corridor on the hard floor.

Poor guy...

For those new to your music; can you introduce yourselves, please?

We’re an Electronic girl/boy duo who met in BIMM Manchester. We both play piano; Anna sings and Alfie produces.

How did Moodbay get together? Was it an instant connection?

No. At first, we thought we were both lame-os and avoided each other. Then, later, we realised that we both had a passion for Electronic music, synths and melody. That’s when we formed Moodbay.

Do you both share similar tastes in music – or is there a sense of difference and individual spirit that makes your own music so strong?

Alfie: We share similar tastes in music t.b.f. Personally, I think that musicians with totally different tastes end up fighting for different vibes - which can lead to actual fighting because there’s nothing more personal and insulting than someone saying your riff is s*it.

You have a new track out. What can you tell me about it and how it came together?

Anna: This is our first single. It was originally called Wrong Wave, which refers to not being on the same wavelength as someone – “You’re riding on the wrong wave” and “Hiding on the wrong page”. I’m saying: ‘Look, I’ve had enough of you; we’re too different to be compatible’.

The melodies came to me in the shower and I ran downstairs, sung them to Alfie and he started making a beat on the spot to match. We were listening to future bass at the time so it has a bit of that vibe going on.

How do songs come together for you? Do you have a set process or does it change between releases?

We don’t have a set process, but this one came about through a common process of Anna writing verses at the piano and then bringing it to Alfie, who then thinks of chorus melodies and riffs and stuff. Sometimes, Alfie will produce the track without melodies and then we both work on the melodies afterwards. Sometimes, Anna has the whole thing and we just add a beat.

In terms of the stuff you listen to away from your own stuff, what sort of thing might we find in your collections?

Everyone from EST (Jazz triplet) to Justin Bieber (say what you want about him but he has an insanely good recording voice!).

Have you got a favourite memory from your time in music so far – the one that sticks in the mind?

Yeah. When we played at the O2 Ritz in Manchester, we only had a day to practice for the gig and it was a full room, but it turned out to be our best performance yet.

Which albums from all of music mean the most to you guys (and why)?

Alfie: For me, it’s a toss-up between Abbey Road (The Beatles) and The Bends (Radiohead). There’s nothing Electronic in those albums but they both contain some of the most striking melodies ever made and, for me, that’s what music is all about.

Anne: Gorillaz - Demon Days. Because every song is as good as the next. The album has such a strong identity you can almost taste it.

If you could support any musician alive today, and choose your own rider, what would that entail?

Alfie: There are so many acts that I would love to support but, again, I’d have to say my childhood heroes Radiohead. I’d ask for watermelons neatly sliced, not too thin. Seedless jam on toast with plenty of margarine; hand warmers and three grams of your strongest beta blockers to calm my nerves.

For Anna, it would be Chvrches (Alfie’s second choice). The best coffee money can buy. Dark chocolate, coconut oil and a super-reliable phone charger.

What advice would you give to new artists coming through?

Quit your job.

Do you have tour dates coming up? Where can we catch you play?

Alfie: Not yet. We will be performing live after the album has been released as we have a lot of writing and producing still to do for various projects. Gone are the days of performing to five people in a pub with s*it acoustics and a clinically depressed mix engineer - I just can’t hack it anymore.

What is a typical gig like for you guys? What might we expect if we come and see you perform?

Alfie: When we perform, you can expect a lot of swapping of instruments DURING songs, a lot of synths; some extended choruses for improv solos and plenty of awkward silences after one of us says something. We were thinking of hiring out tumbleweed.ltd to help us add character to these moments but, after doing extensive data analysis, we arrived at the conclusion that they were not cost-effective enough.

And piano-only versions of songs to show off Anna’s voice.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Litany/PHOTO CREDIT: Marieke Macklon Photography

Are there any new artists you recommend we check out?

Litany, Anelog and Pink Palace.

Do you get much time to chill away from music? How do you unwind?

We went to France for a week recently. But, other than that, we don’t chill because we have so much we feel we need to do - and we love it so much and we have no money.

Finally, and for being good sports; you can each choose a song and I’ll play it here (not any of your music - I will do that).

Anna: Georgia - Started Out

Alfie: Y Môr - Anelog

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Follow Moodbay

Official:

https://www.moodbay.com/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/moodbay

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/moodbay

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/moodbaymusic/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1P1cU0pEn5m662FzVtNwbx?si=cz8sV4bVSZqn7furAVnDYw

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/c/Moodbay

FEATURE: Director’s Cut: Is Now the Perfect Time for Another, Definitive, Kate Bush Documentary?

FEATURE:

 

 

Director’s Cut

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush (circa 1978)/PHOTO CREDIT: Mirrorpix

Is Now the Perfect Time for Another, Definitive, Kate Bush Documentary?

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ON Friday…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at her family's home in East Wickham, London on 26th September, 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Moorhouse/Evening Standard/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Kate Bush fans were able to see a documentary that first went out in 2014. Broadcast on BBC Four on Friday, the original capitalised on the news that Bush was returning to the stage for a residency – her Before the Dawn show was a raging success and her first properly extensive performance since 1979. I am a huge fan of Kate Bush – if you hadn’t already guessed!  - and I sort of regret not being able to see her perform in Hammersmith in 2014. Those gigs must have been something sensational and the reviews spoke for themselves. Everyone was raving, and so it was not a surprise that the BBC would want to make a documentary about her. The documentary, The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill, brought together celebrity fans (including St. Vincent and Tricky) and paired them with people who have worked with Kate Bush – including Del Palmer, David Gilmour and Sir Elton John. It was a huge boon getting all of these people together who paid tribute to Bush and shared their experiences. Lots of people tuned in and there were some healthy reviews for the documentary. The Guardian reviewed The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill and expressed their praise:

“Guests, contributors and soon even formerly ignorant viewers like me were in awe of the talent displayed and then intelligently discussed and dissected by John, Kemp and other respected experts, such as David Gilmour, Peter Gabriel, John Lydon, Tori Amos and Del Palmer, Bush's bandmate and partner from the 1970s to 1990s. Neil Gaiman was on hand to hymn her fearlessly literary inspirations and lyrics, from – of course – Wuthering Heights (from which she derived her first single, in March 1978) to Molly Bloom's soliloquy from Ulysses in the title track of her 1989 album, The Sensual World.

Bush herself appeared only in old interview footage – so young, so fragile, so shy, but full of the sureness and certainty that only talent brings – but what emerged was a wonderful, detailed portrait of that talent. Although it gave her precocity its full due (she had written The Man With the Child in His Eyes by the time Gilmour came to listen to her when she was 14), it also gave proper weight to her evolution and her later, less commercial, still astonishing work. Why it chose to close on a stupid jarring joke by Steve Coogan, I do not know. But the rest of it succeeded in making Bush and her work less of a mystery but no less beautiful for that”.

There is a lot to recommend about the documentary and it did get some things right. The raft of big names that were collected together is its biggest bonus. Having Del Palmer there – who has been with Bush since the start and still works with her – was a big asset and having everyone from Tori Amos and Stephen Fry sitting alongside David Gilmour and Lindsay Kemp (her former dance teacher) was terrific. Instead of it being purely celeb-driven, there were people in the mix who worked on Bush’s material and had that personal connection. I do like the fact that quite a bit of her work was featured and we got a nice span of interview archives.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

The fact that any documentary got made at all was an advantage and, rather than try to ride on the bandwagon in 2014, there was genuine intent and passion. For me, there were too many downsides and missed opportunities. The review above highlights how the documentary ended on a stupid joke. That seems to underline the documentary and some big mistakes. Why Steve Coogan was included so much baffles me and, fan through he is, he is hardly a big part of Kate Bush’s story. A lot of his ‘insights’ and words were not that revealing and fresh and he could have been omitted without too many people complaining. There were a couple of celebrity inclusions that provided little depth. St. Vincent and Tricky offered some good comments from a musician’s viewpoint and, whereas Bat for Lashes’ Natasha Khan was good value, the fact she said ‘The Hounds of Love’ rather than ‘Hounds of Love’ and was not sure about the name of a particular Bush song (it was the one with donkey braying, Get Out of My House) was a bit annoying – if you are a big fan then you get simple stuff like that right, you’d think. Guests shared their opinions on Kate Bush’s best songs and, rather than the songs being played in studios through speakers, they all whipped out their Smartphones and played these very tinny-sounding versions. It seems odd that this decision was made.

Bush is strict and passionate regarding sound quality and ensuring her music is as crisp and natural as possible. Having her rich and beautiful music bleached and distorted through technology was another poor decision. A couple more things got to me. The documentary was too linear and it did not deviate too much from the predictable and straight. At an hour-long, some albums were pretty much passed over; there were not enough interview and video inclusions and, considering The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill, was made off of the back of Bush returning to the stage, there was very little footage from her first live shows for the Tour of Life back in 1979. That groundbreaking live tour was a revelation and blew away critics back then. There is documentary and live footage of the shows and it is a shame that more was not included in The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill. With the BBC having direct access to the archives and their own material, why was so much omitted? The fact is that, at sixty minutes, you can just about skim the surface. I have tried to pitch a longer, multi-part Bush documentary to radio and T.V. producers but, each time, it is met with a bit of resistance. Many claim that, without Bush’s input, there is little attraction from them. That is near-impossible as Bush likes her privacy and there is no need to have her directly involved. Others say that the BBC documentary is conclusive and complete.

IN THIS PHOTO: A twenty-year-old Kate Bush/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

That might be true if you only know a bit about Bush’s work but, if you are a true fan, that statement is completely false: the documentary could have been much longer and there were some serious gaps! It sounds like I am dissing the BBC and reducing their efforts and, whilst The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill, is by no means long and deep enough, at least there is something out there in the world. Hearing musicians talk about Bush in such fevered and loving tones is heartening. There are a lot of pluses regarding The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill but, as five years have passed since it was broadcast, there is a lot of new ground to cover. Not only has Bush completed her Before the Dawn residency but she has also remastered and re-released her back catalogue and released a book of lyrics. This sense of retrospection and correction (Bush wanting all her albums to be out there and have this great sound) is understandable and it is sure to have attracted new listeners and pleased her existing fanbase. A lot has happened since 2014 regarding Bush’s live pursuits and her existing material. There will be many, myself included, curious to see where she goes next. This sort of begs the question whether now is the perfect time to mount another documentary. I think, if it expanded on what the BBC did and retained some of its better points (the quality of contributors) and redressed some omissions (made it much longer and scrubbed away its mistakes) then something properly authoritative could come about.

Many would have noticed The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill lacked a real in-depth look at her albums, videos and wonderful interviews. The Tour of Life coverage and footage is great and, rather than going chronologically and being too narrow, there is room for mixing things up and not being beholden to convention. A three-part documentary would be best and, in addition to bringing back the best guests of The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill (David Gilmour, Del Palmer and St. Vincent among them), there is a chance to bring new faces into the mix – including artists inspired by Bush (Florence Welch among them) and people who have worked with her since the start (family members, older engineers and producers would be great). There are these new projects and released (the book of lyrics and her back catalogue available on vinyl) and one imagines there are new stirrings and plans. Given the fact that, by the time the new documentary is out, there might be new material makes me thing now is the perfect time to strike. I have a bit of a sixth sense regarding artists releasing albums and I feel like a new Kate Bush album will arrive this or next year. It has been nearly eight year since her last album, 50 Words for Snow, so it cannot be too long until another release comes out way.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush takes a friend for a walk/PHOTO CREDIT: Claude Vanheye  

With new additions and some improvements to be made, I think there is the potential to make a genuine striking, fulsome and complete Kate Bush documentary. I do like a lot of The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill but, for an artist who has been releasing music since 1978, there is a lot of ground to cover. I do feel like it is impossible to distil all of her magic and individuality into a single hour. For Bush, you need a few different parts that explore her songs, videos and live performances. Not only is it a great time for a new Kate Bush documentary to come about but I think there is always room for more than one study. I think there is this feeling that one (documentary) is enough but the likes of David Bowie have had several documentaries made about them exploring different aspects. Bush is no less intriguing and varied so I do feel like there is this desire and scope. It seems like, very soon, something new could come about and that will naturally lead to a wave of interest and huge buzz. There are few that want to interview Kate Bush more than I and I have read (several times) biographies about her. I feel like I have a pretty deep understanding about where she came from and what motivates her. The more you read about her, the more you realise there is so much to cover and endless scope.

Bush loves dance and film; some of her albums have not been properly explored and there are many different aspects of her music and personality that have not been brought to the screen. The excitement about Kate Bush never goes away and I do know that there are new fans coming through and others that have not experienced her music. People can seek out her records but I do think that an everything-under-one-roof approach would help bridge the gap. Lesser artists than Kate Bush have had more airtime dedicated to them and had more than a couple of documentaries made. I think that now is a great time to launch another project and, whilst Bush herself might not get involved, there are plenty around her that would lend their time. Until all of this happens – and I do hope that someone, somewhere gets the wheels going -, go look at Bush’s previous work and all the great interviews online. Her interviews alone are fantastic and always intoxicating. There is this whole world to explore and, the more you dig, the more in love you fall. I love everything she does and cannot wait to see what comes next. You can never tell what will happen with Kate Bush and that is what makes her unique and so captivating. There are numerous sides, angles and colours that have not been shown on the screen and, the sooner that happens, the better. I do recommend people look at the BBC’s The Kate Bush Story: Running Up That Hill documentary but, as quite a bit of time has passed, it is now time to see Kate Bush’s story on the screen…

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

ONCE more.

FEATURE: Female Icons: Part Six: Joni Mitchell

FEATURE:

 

 

Female Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images  

Part Six: Joni Mitchell

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ONE can hardly do a feature about female icons…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Joni Mitchell in New York in November 1968/PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Robinson/Getty Images

and ignore the wondrous Joni Mitchell. To be honest, there are going to be gaps because, limited for time as I am, I am not able to span her entire career right now! Instead, I want to share my experiences of Mitchell; bring in a couple of interviews/features about her and, to end, present a (what I feel is a…) definitive playlist. To my mind, there is nobody finer than Joni Mitchell when it comes to penning ageless and unique lyrics. She articulates thoughts about politics and love more fervently and raw than anyone else. She can perfectly explain the twists and trials of relationships and the impact that has. Many might argue there are plenty of songwriters who can do that just as well but, for me, Mitchell is supreme. I have been listening a lot to Matthews’ Southern Comfort and their version of Woodstock – from Mitchell’s 1970 album, Ladies of the Canyon. That version of the classic song is sublime and they manage to take Mitchell’s words to new plains. The more I think about it, the more the lyrics stand out. Maybe Mitchell’s voice is her most divisive quality but the reason her songs are covered and stand the test of time is the linguistic power. Consider a song like Woodstock and its visions of an army of half a million-strong; bombers in the sky tuning into butterflies and this blend of the political, passionate and communitive. It is a staggering song that Mitchell wrote whilst watching Woodstock unfold on T.V. – in a way, the fact she was not in the thick of it meant she could detach and employ some imagination and license.

I love that song and the fact I have started with this is because Ladies of the Canyon is one of her underrated gems. It was only a year after the release of this masterwork that she released Blue – considered to be her finest hour. Mitchell’s work pre-1970 is wonderful and I do really love 1969’s Clouds. It is not one of her best-loved works but songs like Chelsea Morning and Both Sides, Now are instant classics. Again, it is the language and the way her voice wraps around the words that brings these visions to life. Look at Ladies of the Canyon and what was happening on that album. I think this is the moment her writing truly stretched itself and gave us a view of what was to come. Her range expanded and the themes explored – including celebrity and the complexities of love – were told in a very new and exciting way. I think, because Mitchell was becoming more successful, themes of isolation were particularly bold and present. The fact that her life was changing and relationships were, perhaps, a bit more challenging did feed into her work. Although a lot of the songs (on the album) are quite sparse, Mitchell’s association and friendship with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young did influence her own work. Listen to the dense harmonies and arrangements on tracks like Woodstock – its chorus is one of the most potent in Mitchell’s chest.

I love how Ladies of the Canyon mixes the ups and downs of love; the romance of tender scenes and the urgency of departing conversation with something heavier: the Woodstock generation having to face ecological degradation, warfare (the album was released when the Vietnam War was occurring) and tension. Out of all the turmoil and confusion around Mitchell, she was able to summon this beautiful music that was as evocative and thought-provoking as it was sensuous and graceful. It was 1971’s Blue that took these promising seeds from the canyon and turned them into something biblical and evergreen. Perhaps Blue contains less of the spritz and lightness of Ladies of the Canyon (in terms of the fact there are some positive moments); the songs are heavier and one gets the feeling this is the album where Mitchell is at her rawest and most open. I can’t remember where she said it and when but there is a quote from Mitchell where she compared herself to the wrapping you get on packets of cigarettes. In a way, that image provokes isolation, vulnerability and, in a sense, the thin layer that protects something toxic and dangerous – Mitchell feeling exposed and less comfortable in her skin. Blue sounds like a bleak record on the surface but it is not. It has harsh and emotional moments but there is so much tenderness and affection running through the record.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Robinson/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

I mentioned how few songwriters can write about love as strongly and interestingly as Joni Mitchell and, during the writing of Blue, Mitchell was inspired by relationships. From 1968-1970 she dated Graham Nash. Songs such as River are influenced by that time and, just as Blue was taking shape, their bond was frail and not long for the world. Her relationship with James Taylor (it pretty much followed on from her relationship with Nash) clearly had a big impact. This Flight Tonight and All I Want directly reference Mitchell’s bond with Taylor and it is clear the love they had for one another was intense and pure. The relationship did break and end but, when they were together, Mitchell had someone she could confide in and trust. The rush of new-found love and the ghosts of lovers past coarse through Blue and there are so many reasons why it is considered a classic. So many people can relate to what Mitchell was experiencing: the capriciousness of love and how, when you have it, there is nothing as elevating and spiritual. Also, Blue was very different to a lot of the male-driven Folk at the time. This was a distinctly female expression of love and pain; a different beast to what was coming out in 1971. Mitchell had hit her stride by this time and there were few that could deny her brilliance. I also think Blue is an album that can produce and summon as much release as it does introspection.

You listen to the songs and can relate but you also feel paternal towards Mitchell; protective and worried about her. Because of that, there are nuances and layers that unfurl through time. It would be unfair to focus too much time on Blue but, as career highs go, it is pretty stupendous! Pitchfork, when writing about Mitchell’s catalogue for an article, seemed to sum up Blue perfectly:

“…About that follow-up: 1971's Blue is possibly the most gutting break-up album ever made. After Mitchell's relationship with Nash dissolved, she headed to Europe to lose the tether of her fame, eventually taking exile in a cave on the Greek island Crete. The trip would inspire the how-Joni-got-her-groove-back ditties "Carey" and "California". The album is suffused with melancholy for all that is missing: her daughter ("Little Green"), innocence ("The Last Time I Saw Richard"), and connection ("All I Want"). Mitchell bleeds diffidence and highlights it with spare notes plucked out on her Appalachian dulcimer. While her pals Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Laura Nyro were also pushing the singer-songwriter genre forward, none of them managed to stride the distance that Mitchell did here in a single album.

"Will you take me as I am/ Strung out on another man?" Mitchell pleads on "California". She was (in)famously strung out on other talents that were as mercurial as hers, fueling constant speculation as to whether this song was about Leonard Cohen, or that one about James Taylor or Nash or that puerile heartbreaker Jackson Browne.

The year Mitchell issued Blue, an album that would be a landmark in any artist's career, Rolling Stone named her "Old Lady of the Year," a dismissal effectively saying her import was as a girlfriend or muse to the men around her more than as an artist in her own right. Worse still, they called her "Queen of El Lay," and offered a diagram of her supposed affairs and conquests. She'd made the best album of her career and in exchange she got slut-shamed in the biggest music magazine in America”.

Mitchell’s albums post-Blue took a different tone but she continued this incredible run of releases. Between 1969 and 1976, she produced some of the finest albums around and barely put a foot wrong! For the Roses is not as lively as Blue but, like that album, there were relationship burdens and troubles. 1972’s For the Roses is one of her most underrated albums and, the fact it came right after Blue might mean people are reluctant to move on or compare the two. 1974’s Court and Spark contains some of Mitchell’s most imaginative and spellbinding songs. Help Me and Free Man in Paris are so rich with imagery and expressions. I cannot even put into words what those songs do to me – as you can see! – but you listen to them and are transported. The sheer beauty and intelligence of the lyrics, combined with effectively bold compositions and stunning vocals create this heady brew and strange magic.

1975’s The Hissing of Summer Lawns, again, is an underrated classic but does contain some truly incredible moments. I want to single this album out for special consideration because, as this retrospective review from AllMusic shows, Mitchell was on a truly hot streak:

“Joni Mitchell evolved from the smooth jazz-pop of Court and Spark to the radical Hissing of Summer Lawns, an adventurous work that remains among her most difficult records. After opening with the graceful "In France They Kiss on Main Street," the album veers sharply into "The Jungle Line," an odd, Moog-driven piece backed by the rhythms of the warrior drums of Burundi -- a move into multiculturalism that beat the likes of Paul Simon, Peter Gabriel, and Sting to the punch by a decade. While not as prescient, songs like "Edith and the Kingpin" and "Harry's House -- Centerpiece" are no less complex or idiosyncratic, employing minor-key melodies and richly detailed lyrics to arrive at a strange and beautiful fusion of jazz and shimmering avant pop”.

By 1976’s Hejira, things had changed in Mitchell’s world. She relying a lot on cocaine and she embarked on several trips across the U.S. The third involved her embarking on a trek with friends from Los Angeles to Maine; she then went to California alone and would travel without a driving license. She would drive during the daylight and don a wig and sunglasses during these trips, as not to be recognised.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

This disguise did not always work but, reading these words, Mitchell seemed like a fugitive. Whether she was escaping her own life or needed the danger, that time did inspire some of her best songs. It is amazing to think that with such change and turbulence in her life, she was able to create such cohesive and original work – few artists would manage to do so! By the time Don Juan's Reckless Daughter arrived in 1977, Mitchell was experimenting more with the Jazz fusions she had introduced in Hejira. The music was more expansive and not quite as tight as her previous work. She was evolving and moving forward but it meant that, naturally, critical acclaim was not readily by her side. Many were wondering whether Mitchell had lost her touch and whether things were getting too much. Perhaps she had left her golden period and was embarking on a new phase that, whilst not as stunning as her best albums, was still ripe with innovation and imagination. The Canadian’s last album, 2007’s Shine, was well-received and was a decided return to form. Mitchell left the music business in 2002 and few were expecting her to make another album. The seventy-five-year-old icon might not make another album because she has suffered some severe health setbacks. In 2015, Mitchell had a brain aneurysm. It was a devastating thing to happen and she required physical therapy and dedication. Although she did return to the public eye by 2016, her appearances since then have been quite sparse.

I do wonder whether we will see any music from Mitchell again because, as she still suffers from poor health, maybe she has had enough. Many can forgive this. She has given so much to music and enjoyed a successful career; inspired countless other artists and transformed the Folk scene. There are many growing up today that might not be aware of Joni Mitchell or fully appreciate her music. I will finish with a few snippets of an interview she gave but, back in 2014, The Guardian revisited a golden period in her career where, between 1971’s Blue and 1976’s Hejira, she released five classic albums. The writer Sean O’Hagan investigated further:

“The sophistication of her songwriting and, in particular, her musical arrangements is the essential element that sets Joni Mitchell apart from her contemporaries and her peers, whether the troubadours of the early 70s Laurel Canyon singer-songwriter scene or lyrical heavyweights such as Leonard Cohen, Neil Young and even Bob Dylan. And yet in the music industry, Mitchell has never really been afforded the kind of respect heaped on her male counterparts. Rolling Stone magazine once listed her at No 62 in its 100 greatest artists of all time, just below Metallica. She was belatedly inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, but did not attend the ceremony. At 70, she remains a defiant outsider and recluse, who has often expressed her disgust at the music business. And who can blame her?

IN THIS PHOTO: Joni Mitchell in 2015/PHOTO CREDIT: Norma Jean Ray 

Mitchell came up though the American trad-folk circuit of the mid-60s and was for her first two albums marketed as a fey, fragile hippy folk singer. She had already survived several setbacks. Her childhood in small-town Saskatchewan was fractured when she contacted polio, aged eight, in 1951. In 1964, she had fallen pregnant and, struggling financially, gave her newborn daughter up for adoption the following year. (The song, Little Green, from Blue, is an ode to her lost daughter and, on Chinese Cafe, a song released in 1982, she sang: “My child’s a stranger / I bore her / But I could not raise her.” She was reunited with her daughter, Kilauren Gibb, in 1997.) A brief, unhappy marriage to her fleeting musical partner Chuck Mitchell followed, before she set out on her own to be a folk singer.

After the richness of Hissing, the mood poems of Hejira seemed to me for a long time to be a muted coda to Mitchell’s golden period. Over time, though, the best of these often slow and brooding songs – Hejira, Amelia, Blue Motel Room – have kept calling me back despite my slight aversion to Jaco Pastorius’s relentlessly virtuoso bass playing. If Blue Motel Room is a study in longing and languorous sensuality – Prince has been known to cover it live – Amelia, an ode to the pioneering aviator Amelia Earhart, sees Mitchell in reflective mood, her confessional honesty now even more nakedly self-searing than before. “Maybe I’ve never really loved, I guess that is the truth”, she sings in the penultimate verse, “I’ve spent my whole life in clouds at icy altitudes…”.

In true Joni Mitchell spirit, she can never be beaten and she will never truly retire. The woman has been active in music since the 1960s and her legacy will last forever. I urge people who are unfamiliar with her work to go back and investigate. If you want to narrow down your purchases then I would suggest going for the golden period that was just alluded to – from 1971’s Blue onward. I think all of her albums hold merit but, for me, Ladies of the Canyon is hard to top! Mitchell’s storytelling, poetry and performances are so captivating and personal that you fall in love with her and are helpless to resist. I think John Lennon remarked at one time that some of her work was the result of over-education. Maybe that was a class difference but I think one can misconstrue over-education with a poetic intellect. Mitchell was an is involved in art and literature but her finest words have always come from her heart and soul; which is as a result of love and the experiences we all share. The true beauty in Mitchell’s work concerns how she can sound elevated and grand but, in reality, everyone can understand her work and feel listened to. She never alienated the listener or shoved her intelligence in their faces. I want to end by bringing in an interview from 2014, where Mitchell was asked about the new generation and the music industry:

“Q: You’ve voiced concern over what you call the “push-button generation of today.” What is impairing us the most?

A: Everything is about channel changing. It has ruined attention spans. I spaced out in school but I didn’t develop attention-deficit issues because I placed attention on my imagination and ignored the curriculum. I didn’t have a million newsfeeds to contend with. It is just like when I have people over to my house to watch a film—it’s like living in a Robert Altman movie! They are always talking over each other. We are all losing the plot. It’s an addiction to phones and too much information.

PHOTO CREDIT: Norma Jean Ray  

Q: What repercussions do you think future generations will feel now that everyone is on their phone during concerts, etc.?

A: Here’s an example. My grandson and I were sailing on a boat and he said, “It’s boring.” I asked, “How can you say it’s boring? The sun is shining, we’re going across the water so fast . . . ” And he said, “Not fast enough.” Technology has given him this appetite.

Q: You’ve stated in your liner notes that the Grammys look like a porn convention. Many people consider Beyoncé to be subversive.

A: I once found the whole pimp-ho underbelly very interesting too. I’m not afraid or critical of that scene—I find it very colourful. But when it rises to the top and you find a five-year-old saying, “Plant it here, bitch,” we’ve got a problem. America loves to glorify its criminals. It’s not good for children.

Q: Sinead O’Connor wrote an open letter to Miley Cyrus pleading she not allow the music industry to make a prostitute out of her.

A: Right on. That’s what it’s become: “show us your tits!” I also got buried at Geffen Records because of it. Girls were being harassed and [executives] told me, “Your music doesn’t make me feel young and happy.” Whitesnake was their lead act and when the company got sold for the fourth time, I called the owner and said, “My name is Joni Mitchell, I am an artist on your label, did you know that?” He said, “No.” I said, “Of course you didn’t because you haven’t made a dime so the people buying from you don’t know either, so give me back my masters.” Well, he wouldn’t”.

Joni Mitchell is a true icon and someone who has inspired so many other artists. I think lyrical genius and Joni Mitchell are synonymous and her brilliance will never fade. I hear her songs on the radio now and they never get old and too familiar. One always picks up something new from her and discovers fresh revelation. I am so glad she her health is improving and that nothing will ever stop her. Even though we might not see another album from Mitchell, I do hope that everything is okay with her. She has given music so much. In a way, I wish we could preserve and protect Mitchell forever and have her around all of the time. That is impossible but, so long as we have her music, she will never die. I will leave things there but, once more, make sure you listen to as much Joni Mitchell as you can. It is impossible to define her work and I feel too many people use reductive terms of try to suggest that only a few of her albums are worth studying – where, in actual fact, there are scores of her albums that are absolutely wonderful. She is this rainbow and army of butterflies; she is green and blue and a rebel; she is a poet and tender lover; a sensitive soul and warrior that has embarked on strange trips, giddy relationships and horrible lows. Whether putting this into her music or keeping it private, Mitchell has lived quite a life! It is not a life that should be kept secret, and so, with her peerless music out there, we can all share Joni Mitchell’s experiences. A true icon and innovator of music; the adoring public will cherish her work…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Norma Jean Ray 

FOR the rest of time!

FEATURE: Good Vibrations: Sending Love and Support to the Wonderful Brian Wilson

FEATURE:

 

 

Good Vibrations

IN THIS PHOTO: Brian Wilson/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images  

Sending Love and Support to the Wonderful Brian Wilson

_________

EVERY one of us loves The Beach Boys…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

and it is impossible to ignore the brilliance of Brian Wilson. I mean, everyone should love The Beach Boys because they have been responsible for some of the greatest music of the past fifty years. There are few bands as varied and extraordinary as them and, yet, we sort of forget just how influential they are. From their Surf period where they talked about Californian sun and girls through to the iconic Pet Sounds – here is a band that has an enormous mark on the music scene. I followed them from my childhood and was hooked by their harmonies and insatiable choruses. When Pet Sounds came along, it was like being taken into another world. Although the band are not really performing at the moment – it is more Brian Wilson on his own now – we can look back at the incredible music left behind and how many artists have been inspired by The Beach Boys – including The Beatles, to boot! The leader of the group, Brian Wilson, has never had an easy ride. This curious genius has had to live with mental-health problems since he was young but the pressures of touring and music have taken their toll. There are sad reports that suggest Wilson is not in a good place right now and has had to step away from touring. Here, in this article, The Guardian give some details:

“Brian Wilson has postponed a US tour scheduled to begin on Friday due to feeling “mentally insecure”.

In a statement, Wilson said he had “been living with mental illness for many decades. There were times when it was unbearable but with doctors and medications I have been able to live a wonderful, healthy and productive life.” He said that following surgery on his back, “I started feeling strange and it’s been pretty scary for a while. I was not feeling like myself. Mentally insecure, is how I’d describe it.

“I’ve been struggling with stuff in my head and saying things I don’t mean and I don’t know why. Its something I’ve never dealt with before and we can’t quite figure it out just yet.”

Wilson has been diagnosed with a schizoaffective disorder for some time. He once described his symptoms: “For the past 40 years I’ve had auditory hallucinations in my head, all day every day, and I can’t get them out. Every few minutes the voices say something derogatory to me, which discourages me a little bit, but I have to be strong enough to say to them, ‘Hey, would you quit stalking me? Fuck off! Don’t talk to me – leave me alone!’ I have to say these types of things all day long. It’s like a fight.” He has partially attributed his mental health struggles to LSD use.

Wilson has maintained a robust touring schedule in recent years, playing shows across the US and Europe alongside former Beach Boy Al Jardine”.

It is heartbreaking hearing news like this and everyone in the music community sends the very best to Brian Wilson at this time. I guess we all assume our favourite musicians will be okay but we do not realise that they, like us, have these struggles and bad times. Maybe it was excessive LSD use but I think a combination of events have contributed to Wilson’s poor mental-health through the years.

It is staggering to see how long Wilson has been playing and the music he has put out since the 1960s. Here is a man who is always working hard to reach audiences and touch the people. The Beach Boys’ music has impacted us all hugely and I don’t know if there is another songwriter like Brian Wilson on this planet. His gifts are rare and huge and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude. I think this will be a minor setback because I’d hate to see him stop touring and struggle so hard. Maybe this is a particularly bad turn but there are people worried about him and whether we will see him record/tour again. Everyone wishes the very best for him and hope that we see him very soon. Although there are more complex reasons as to why Wilson has pulled out of touring commitments, I think the general pressure and expectation on all artists is huge. Those who know Wilson and have interviewed him know how much he lives and breathes music. The interviewer from this Uproxx feature (in 2018) spoke with Wilson and tried to get to the heart of what keeps him going:

“On one hand, he’s an in-demand musical titan, revered by millions for helping to shape the sound and aesthetic of pop music for every single generation that came after him. As such, he gamely schleps around the world, and with the aid of his large backing band that includes fellow Beach Boy Al Jardine as well as Blondie Chaplin, he performs his oversized collection of classic hits – “California Girls” is his favorite — to audiences totally willing to see past any and all faults and flaws in presentation and performance, merely grateful to share the same oxygen as the man himself. On the other hand, he’s a tired, 76-year old man who just wants to have a comfy place to sit and be left alone.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Burnell 

“What keeps you going?” I asked.
“Well, it’s inspiration to meet people of all ages inspire me to write music,” he responded.
“Are you currently writing new music?” I wondered.
“I haven’t written anything for a while,” he replied.
“I heard you were thinking about doing a rock and roll covers album called Sensitive Music for Sensitive People. What’s kind of the status on that?
“You know, I don’t know. I don’t really know.”
“Do you still love to play for people?”
“Yeah, yeah, I do.”

Despite the allure of that comfy recliner, despite the fact that he’s got a wife and five kids set up in a pretty nice home in Beverly Hills where he goes for regular walks through a nice, nearby park and frequents a favorite deli for lunch, despite the fact that he once had a nervous breakdown on an airplane at the very height of The Beach Boys’ success in the ‘60s that caused him to swear of touring forever, he just can’t get out of the business of being Brian Wilson: Musical Genius. Having seen him live myself, it doesn’t outwardly appear he gets much personal joy from the adulation of the fans, and while I’m sure the money is nice, he can’t really need it at this point”.

I don’t think Brian Wilson will quit music for a very long time but it is important he rests and takes some time out to recharge.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

There are few details regarding the reason behind Wilson’s sabbatical but it seems that he needs to address something personal. Although we know he will be back in the music world, there are a lot of concerned fans that wonder what this means. I do think Wilson will be okay but it is always alarming seeing someone so revered and legendary suffer like this. Whilst we all send love and support his way, take some time to acquaint yourself with the wonderful music of Brian Wilson. He is this truly sensational and enigmatic artist who continues to bring joy to our lives. As an interviewee, he is warm but somewhat distant (understandable given his psychological health issues) but he always leaves a mark on everyone who encounters him. We all do wish him the best and look forward to seeing him back on the road very soon. After hearing the news of Wilson’s health problems, I have been reacquainting myself with his music and genius. Whatever mood you are in, The Beach Boys’ magic is there to comfort, lift and amaze. At the centre of everything is the incredible Brian Wilson. I, as I said, have been following him since childhood and I feel this personal attachment to him. His music has inspired my life and soundtracked some of my happiest days. Lots of love and warm thoughts to the legendary Brian Wilson and I, and everyone in music, wishes him…

THE best of health.