FEATURE: Glastonbury 2020: Will It Be the Greatest Music Event of This Generation?

FEATURE:

 

Glastonbury 2020

IN THIS PHOTO: Sir Paul McCartney is a favourite to fill one of the headline slots for Glastonbury next year/PHOTO CREDIT: MJ Kim/MPL Communications Ltd.

Will It Be the Greatest Music Event of This Generation?

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EVEN though we have just cleaned up…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Taylor Swift is another favourite to take a headline slot in 2020/PHOTO CREDIT: Billy & Hells for TIME

the debris from this year’s Glastonbury, there is a lot of excitement about next year’s event. The grass is starting to recover and Worthy Farm is returning to its normal state. This year’s Glastonbury was, perhaps, the strongest we have seen in a decade. Not only were there great headline sets from The Cure, Stormzy and The Killers; the smaller sets were fantastic and the atmosphere was incredible. It was a year where there was a greater move towards equality. Women were included more and Glastonbury was closer to a fifty-fifty gender split. The line-up was one of the most diverse of recent years and one cannot fault the sense of togetherness, energy and range. In a very difficult year for us all, the weather stayed calm for the revellers and performers. We still have fond memories of this year’s event and, already, tickets have sold out for 2020’s festival. The tickets flew and there were problems with the official website. It is understandable there was such a rush, considering next year will be the fiftieth anniversary of Glastonbury. This article explains the enormity of demand:

“Tickets for the 50th year of Glastonbury have sold out in 34 minutes, as a record number of fans tried to secure a ticket for the event at Worthy Farm next June.

Emily Eavis confirmed that a record number of people had registered to be eligible for the sale, which started at 9am on Sunday and was finished in little over 30 minutes. A record 2.4 million people signed up to have a chance of securing a ticket.

“We have now sold out. Thank you all for your incredible, continued support,” she tweeted. “Demand was higher than ever … Bring on 2020!”

The festival confirmed that 135,000 tickets had been sold, with coach packages selling out on Thursday in 27 minutes. The ticket sale was the second fastest in the event’s history, with only the 2014 festival selling out a few minutes more quickly.

Glastonbury’s official Twitter account also confirmed the sellout and confirmed there would be a ticket resale in April – and “details of a special ballot for the sale of 50 pairs of tickets in the coming days”.

No acts have been confirmed for Glastonbury 2020, but the bookmakers’ favourites are Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac and Paul McCartney”.

People took to social media to express their delight at getting tickets: others were dismayed they did not get any; the fact there were website problems fuelled that sense of anger. It would have been impossible to please everyone but, with the demand so high, I wonder whether more tickets will go on sale. The excitement is still in the air and, naturally, there is speculation as to which acts headline Glastonbury 2020. The bookies’ favourites at the moment are Taylor Swift, Fleetwood Mac and Paul McCartney. The former is one of the biggest Pop stars at the moment and having two legend acts join her would please pretty much everyone.

This year had Grime artist Stormzy on the bill and, whilst it would be good to have another Rap/Grime artist headline, the fiftieth anniversary means there is stiff competition! One of Glastonbury’s biggest problems is the lack of female headliners. Having someone like Taylor Swift headline would be a rare occasion of a female headliner – long-overdue and, let’s hope, the sign of things to come! I think Emily and Michael Eavis (the festival organisers) have said booking Fleetwood Mac would be too expensive but, as Mick Fleetwood has cheekily suggested they would do it, one feels they would play for a lesser fee; maybe it is just a tactic to put people off of the scent! I do wonder whether there will be room for a fourth headliner or, as it is the fiftieth anniversary, maybe a new stage will be constructed that allows for more legends to play. I think a lot of upcoming artists will feature and, whereas this year saw the bill consist 53% men, I think 2020 will make it a fifty-fifty split at the very least! This year was also diverse and, given the spectacular albums that have arrived from every corner, I think we will see a hugely impressive field in 2020. It is eye-watering considering the artists who will be involved! We will all have our fantasy line-ups, and there is going to be speculation regarding headliners until the official announcement.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @anniespratt/Unsplash

I think it is unlikely the current favourites will remain in place because, between now and the day itself, there will be other artists who are under the spotlight. Not only are the headliners going to be exciting, there will be other events happening around the site. In a normal year, there are different tents, attractions and events. I think the organisers will go all out for the fiftieth and turn Worthy Farm into a Mecca that combines the best new music with some true icons. I wonder whether there will be any sort of museum or monuments that combine all the greatest performances from the past fifty years. Whatever happens, I know Glastonbury 2020 is going to be this once-in-a-lifetime happening. After all the problems with Brexit and the strains we have faced this year, I think next year’s Glastonbury will be the biggest one ever. It will aim itself at providing celebration and escape; of coming together and a look at how the festival has changed since the start. The more one thinks about the possibilities, the more depressing it is realising I (and so many others) have not gotten tickets! This year is one many will want to see the back of. 2020 offers a lot and I do think it will be a new beginning in many ways. Even if you are not a huge fan of Glastonbury, it is impossible ignore the importance of its fiftieth anniversary.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Michael Eavis/PHOTO CREDIT: Andrew Firth

If you need a Glastonbury fix between now and its fiftieth anniversary, there is a book coming out on 31st October. Here are the details:

“With the venerable Glasto celebrating a half century of mud-soaked musical mayhem next year, Michael and Emily Eavis, the iconic father and daughter team behind the festival, have produced a sumptuous visual history encompassing recollections from legendary artists, and seminal images from rock’s greatest photographers. The definitive companion to a British summertime institution.

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

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

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

IN THIS PHOTO: Emily Eavis/PHOTO CREDIT: Jason Bryant 

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

Some might feel it is excessive to call Glastonbury 2020 the biggest and most important musical event of this generation, but I feel there is so much expectation and build. The desire to celebrate and unite will be incredibly strong, and who knows where we will be in a few months’ time after all the Brexit debacle?! There are fears whether artists will be able to travel in Europe and how musicians will be affected. All of this – plus the possibility of the acts who will play – means all eyes will be on Somerset between Wednesday, 24th June to Sunday, 28th June. I cannot wait to see just what is in store. For those lucky enough to attend, it will be a wonderful, you-had-to-be-there-to-believe-it event; the kind that you can only dream about. For those of us who will be watching on T.V., it will still be a defining moment…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @jg/Unsplash

ONE day soon.

FEATURE: Reassume Form: Changing the Way We View Women as the Songwriter’s Muse

FEATURE:

 

Reassume Form

IN THIS PHOTO: Activist, radio presenter and actor Jameela Jamil not only inspired songs on James Blake’s Assume Form (they are a couple), but she actually worked on it, promoted Blake to tackle the way women are seen merely as ‘muses’ and ‘inspirations’, when they do so much more/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

Changing the Way We View Women as the Songwriter’s Muse

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I saw a feature online…

 IN THIS PHOTO: James Blake/PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Charchian

that concerns James Blake and his girlfriend Jameela Jamil’s role in his album, Assume Form. He was speaking with Billboard and correcting attitudes when it comes to women and how they are seen as muses and inspirations – and the fact they deserve reappraisal, proper credit and equality. NME reported the story:

“James Blake has spoken up for his girlfriend Jameela Jamil’s role in creating his new album ‘Assume Form’.

The producer released his fourth album in January, and has previously played up the Good Place star’s role in the creation of the album.

Now, in response to a new interview by Billboard, he’s clarified her role in creating the album, saying that she (and other female partners of musicians) are often unfairly referred to as a ‘muse’ or merely ‘inspiration’.

“Not just inspired it – she actually worked on it,” Blake clarified while quote-tweeting the Billboard article. “I even said it in the interview, but people focus on ‘inspired’ because the idea of the ‘muse’ is so romantic and pervasive.”

“Women who help their partners with their album, being a sounding board and often their only emotional support during the process, almost invariably go uncredited,” Blake continued, “while majority male producers come in and make a tiny change to a track and they’re Mr. golden balls.

He finished: “Shout out to all the partners who selflessly placated a musician during a very self absorbed process like creating an album, who got the title ‘muse’ afterwards which basically amounts to being an object of affection while the musician exercises their ‘genius’”.

Shout out to all the partners who selflessly placated a musician during a very self absorbed process like creating an album, who got the title ‘muse’ afterwards which basically amounts to being an object of affection while the musician exercises their ‘genius’.

— James Blake (@jamesblake) October 7, 2019

The fact Jamil is a celebrity, perhaps, meant she was mentioned more in regards to music than another artist’s partner; maybe there was this focus on a big-name couple and how, regarding the songs of love and devotion, Jameela Jamil was a muse and form of guidance. Of course, she influenced the songs and was on Blake’s mind when he recorded the music. There is a difference between a male artist writing a song with a woman in mind and people assuming that woman was somehow interior. There has been this old image of artists’ muses who are their fountain of inspiration and spark. How often do we see things reversed and a man seen as a muse when it comes to a female artist or band? What would happen if we used language like that in that context?! I think there would be questions raised, yet when we continue to see a woman as ‘the muse’ or ‘inspiration’ nobody bats an eyelid. Blake’s words and sense of anger needs to change attitudes regarding women. Not only did Jameela Jamil help Blake bring Assume Form to the world, so many other women have been instrumental when it comes to putting the music together. From helping to write songs to producing; providing emotional stability and the strength to carry on, are we being too reductive and insulting?! I do think we need to drop words like ‘muse’ from the vocabulary of music.

To me, the idea of a woman being an artist’s muse is a very old-fashioned and dismissive term. It has been applied to women for decades. There are articles that celebrate the muse; the inspiring women behind male artists and some of their biggest songs. I want to bring in a feature that reacts to the Leonard Cohen documentary, Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love. Marianne Ihlen was often referred to as Cohen’s muse – the track, So Long, Marianne, from Songs of Leonard Cohen is about her. The article explores how pivotal and important women are often seen as secondary and unimportant when it comes to the narrative of male artists and their work:   

“What are the life skills appropriate to an artist’s muse? Hotness is a given; and sexual availability, while not compulsory, has generally been appreciated. The ability to keep a house tidy is a plus, as is being supportive of the artist at all times, even if he – and it is nearly always he – is being an arsehole. It helps, of course, to be mysterious; if one is to be endlessly gazed at, it’s best not to give everything away at once. As for a life, and a career of one’s own, well, history has shown that such things are rarely tolerated.

In Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love, out later this week, the filmmaker Nick Broomfield examines the on-off relationship between the late Marianne Ihlen, a Norwegian single mother, and the poet and musician Leonard Cohen, whom she met on the Greek island of Hydra and who died just four months after her in 2016. Ihlen was immortalised in the song So Long, Marianne, and inspired Cohen to write Bird on a Wire.

Since Ihlen gets first billing in the title, one might assume that this is her story, a biopic of sorts, but instead it depicts her through the prism of the men in her life. These include the novelist Axel Jensen, who left her not long after their son, Axel Jr, was born; Cohen, the towering genius whom we are told she could never hope to tame; and Broomfield himself, who had a fling with her during a visit to Hydra in his early twenties.

We live in a time when women are seen as capable of making great art, even if the old structures ensure they don’t always get the chance. Still, the history of art, music and literature is littered with women upon whom muse status has been bestowed but whose lives appeared to be miserable and whose legacies remain indistinct.

Not all artists make their muses lie in freezing baths, but they’re not above eclipsing their careers. Ask Marianne Faithfull, who was a singer before she met Mick Jagger, though as his girlfriend became, in the immortal words of the Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, “an angel with big tits”. No wonder her masterpiece, Broken English, didn’t emerge until after she and Mick had split. In her lifetime, the painter Frida Kahlo’s work was overlooked in favour of her artist husband, Diego Rivera, who loved nothing more than to paint his wife; only in death did she finally get the credit due to her. Camille Claudel was an artist in her own right but barely got a look-in during her relationship with the sculptor Auguste Rodin, and ended up destroying much of her work. The list of women overlooked, cast aside or actively ruined by their artist lovers goes on”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Marianne Faithful in 2009/PHOTO CREDIT: Paolo Roversi

When James Blake was speaking in his interview about the way we interpret men and women when it comes to creating…the fact a man can do some light production work and celebrated where as a woman, who not only is a major force in the artist’s life but works on the music too…she is dismissed as simply a ‘muse’ and not viewed as constructive or actually having direct impact. I do feel we need to get rid of the notion of the woman as this beauty, this sexual thing; instead, putting the woman on an equal platform and, rightly, written about in the same way we document men. It is rare to get an artist coming out and tackling lazy language and getting us to rethink how we think of music regarding songs/albums. Assume Form is the latest in a series of albums where a woman (women) are instrumental and vital. In studios, in living rooms and on tour, there are countless women who are never really written about in a big or meaningful way. It is, unfortunately, the case that the music industry is male-dominated and there is so much sexism around. Let’s hope we can say goodbye to this seemly romantic vision of the artist’s muse and actually realise it is a way of diminishing women who are, actually, heroines who are as key to the creation of the music as the artists themselves. It is wonderful to hear artists like Blake speaking up, and I do think the media and many people have to retune their perceptions regarding the women behind the music – realise that women, as Blake said, are emotional rocks, sounding boards and help get the music into shape. It is obvious that, moving forward, we need to…        

 PHOTO CREDIT: @thoughtcatalog/Unsplash

REASSUME form.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Biig Piig

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: @brynley.davies 

Biig Piig

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THERE are a lot of fantastic female artists…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Oscar Eckel for CRACK

and female-led bands who are really turning my head right now. Pom Poko is a name you should check out but, before you do, investigate Biig Piig. I wonder whether she will put together a Wikipedia page – at the time of this feature, I could not find one. She is an artist who was tipped heavily last year and is fulfilling that promise and potential. Biig Piig has a new track out, Roses and Gold, and you should check out her Spotify page to listen to all her great material. I am not sure whether there are plans for a studio album, but she has released E.P.s and singles, so there is plenty to get your teeth into. It is hard to compare Biig Piig to anyone…and I guess that is pretty good. The tendency is for everyone to link artists to others and see where they came from. Rather than hearing other voices and songwriters in Biig Piig’s work, I can hear colours and shades. That might sound a bit pretentious, but she is an artist who has her own voice yet manages to add so much into her songs! Before carrying on, I want to bring in a feature from last year that talks about her start – and that rare moniker – and how her music life began:

 “Smyth’s path to making music as Biig Piig – a pseudonym she found on a pizza menu – started when she moved to London from Spain aged 13. Inspired by watching videos of acoustic covers on YouTube, she started making her own videos and attending local open mic nights. At college, she was introduced to a whole world of music outside of her folk bubble, leading to a fateful meeting with producer Lloyd MacDonald, and Ava Laurel – aka musician and MC Lava La Rue – founder of the Nine8 Collective, a West London-based group of underground musicians, artists, and designers. Smyth has been a part of the collective ever since, collaborating on projects spanning music, filmmaking, and clothing design.

Her move into hip-hop was sparked by a chance visit to a party with Ava: “There was a soundsystem with hip-hop beats, and people just flowing over a mic – I’d never seen that kind of thing before. They put on a Dilla beat and someone handed me the mic. I was off my tits and I just took it and started singing – I thought ‘fuck! I don’t even know what I’m doing!’ but I kept going and the crowd were really into it. Ava looked at me and said ‘Jess, you need to get into making this kind of music’. So I met up with Lloyd and we started messing around with beats and putting melodies over the top. At first I wasn’t very confident because it wasn’t my field, but eventually it started coming easy”.

I love what she is putting out into the world and I think 2020 is a year when she will really clean up. This year has been an eclectic and stunning one for music. There have been some great bands pushing through, however, I feel solo artists are still at the very peak. Biig Piig has been played on stations such as BBC Radio 6 Music and she is an artist whose music is not limited to a demographic. I wanted to finish with a couple of interviews, where she talks about her songwriting and approach. Here, in a feature from earlier in the year, Biig Piig was asked about her content and voice:

“Her tone gets a slightly introspective peak when she pauses, then continues with “I feel like I’m starting to get out of the habit of looking back too much. Cause you can overthink and over complicate things in your own head. When it’s finished, just put it out and keep going. Otherwise, you’ll just tangle yourself up.”

So too much self-analysis is a negative thing? “It’s the worst, especially when you’re trying to make yourself sound like yourself, comparing yourself to the old records. Oh, that part needs to sound like that cause that’s how it used to be. That’s NOT the way to go.”

London has been Smyth’s home for years now. Creatively, the vibe of the city suits the artist down to the ground. “[There’s] so many different musicians, so many different scenes about – especially right now. Such a good buzz between those different worlds…there’s a lot going on & a lot of opportunities to see & do different things”.

To give just a taste, A World Without Snooze came out in March, while Nine8’s No Smoke came out just under two months later. All this while doing gigs with both projects. When I mention the schedule Smyth laughs it off with “The month of March was a bit intense, it was good though. To finally have that out [Nine8’s EP] and released is the best feeling cause you can kinda breathe – it’s liberating.”

Yet, Smyth seems eager to push forward “I feel like I’m just kind of ready to get this third one out now – get it finalised. I’ll definitely start recording it this summer. Then hopefully get it out by the end of the year..We’ll see.”

This drive is no small part fuelled by a desire to grow creatively, Smyth tells me that “I feel like, there are always things I want to improve. It’s cool though, I’m kinda finding my feet in terms of how I like to work. There’s more of a calm when you go to do it. Cause I kinda know myself and how to jump into it”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Parri Thomas for The Line of Best Fit

She is growing by the release, and I think 2020 is the year when we will see Biig Piig get big festival dates and acclaim. Her fanbase is rising and, if you can follow her on social media, there are some links at the bottom of this piece. There are a lot of other great interviews and features regarding Biig Piig, but I was struck by a feature from Loud and Quiet that took us inside her London home and how her living space connects with her music:

 “There’s a guy who lives near Jess Smyth who keeps bringing random shit to her house. She tells me about this when showing me yesterday’s drop – a blue carrier bag full of old Will Young CDs. It’s a story that she casually puts out there and smoothly glides away from, which befits the music she makes as Biig Piig: storytelling hip-hop that’s slow and heavy-lidded, and nonplussed by fussy details. Just as ‘Perdida’ has Smyth gently singing, “I just wanna lay here/ And smoke my cig/ And drink my wine/ And think”, stopping to question who the guy with the Will Young CDs is, or what the hell he’s playing at, is not really important. I’ll ask about it later.

For now, the arts scene of Peckham seems to work well for Biig Piig, who at the end of last year put on a show at the local working men’s club and packed it with a bunch of friends and fans who dreamily nodded along to her Big Fan of the Sesh, Vol 1 EP. She tells me there was a completely different feel to her more recent show at the much bigger Village Underground in support of her new EP, A World Without Snooze, Vol 2 – it was leery.

Smyth’s room – in a house she shares with three friends currently studying graphic design and film – is as minimal as her music is. Her walls are plain but for a couple of film posters, a framed print she found in the street and a makeshift washing line with a few items of clothing pegged to it. While we’re talking she peels the back off of a Rebellion Extinction sticker from the recent climate change protests and slaps it on the wall too. There’s also a painting of Eve by the daughter of a family friend, of which Smyth says it wouldn’t feel like home without, and a small stack of books (“but I’m not a reader”). It’s a calming, clutter-less space, where found items are here and there, and a deck of cards which hark back to Smyth’s previous double life as a late-night poker dealer. She demonstrates her impressive shuffle, reads my tarot cards (also dropped off by her neighbour), and then talks me through her new home and the things in it”.

Biig Piig is a fascinating artist, and I think she has hit upon a sound that is so rare yet accessible. Many eyes will be cast her way as we head towards next year. Biig Piig has accomplished so much already, and go and see her play if you are nearby. I shall wrap things up, but I just wanted to bring to attention (if you have not heard of her already), an artist who is producing sensational music. As we look around for music that can dig deep and lift the spirits, it is clear we need more artists like Biig Piig…

IN the industry.

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Follow Biig Piig

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/biiggpiigg/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/BiigPiigMusic

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/biig_piig/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCknUiQbBajFvNEC0iI28BGQ

FEATURE: The Sensational Polly Jean: PJ Harvey at Fifty: The Playlist

FEATURE:

 

The Sensational Polly Jean

PHOTO CREDIT: Maria Mochnacz 

PJ Harvey at Fifty: The Playlist

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I know it is a bit rude…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Lex van Rossen

to mention PJ Harvey’s age but, as she is celebrating a big birthday tomorrow (9th October), I thought it was a great opportunity to compile a playlist of fifty PJ Harvey songs. Harvey is one of the most influential artists around and her music is sensational. Ever since 1992’s Dry, Polly Jean Harvey has charted her own course and done things her way. In the course of her career, she has barely put a foot wrong or released anything that was average – some might disagree, but you only need to listen back to her nine studio albums and there is brilliance bursting from every corner! In honour of the Dorset-born icon’s fiftieth birthday, I have assembled a half-century of tracks that, I feel, best displays her range and true brilliance. That said, I would urge people to check out all of her albums and really get a sense of how she started out and how the music has progressed through the years. Here, then, is a playlist of spellbinding tracks that could only have come from the mind…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Seamus Murphy

OF the dazzling PJ Harvey.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly

FEATURE:

 

Vinyl Corner

Kendrick Lamar – To Pimp a Butterfly

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YOU get these albums that take on a different life…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

when you hear them on vinyl. Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly is an album you want to hear on vinyl and experience every drop of. It is Black History Month in the U.K. and, as I will do for the rest of the Vinyl Corner albums this month, I am including powerful albums from black albums. To Pimp a Butterfly is an album that can be appreciated and absorbed by anyone, from any background. Sure, those who will feel the album hardest are those who can identify with themes of police violence, community deprivation and the rights of black lives. I would not suggest there is a hierarchy when it comes to appreciation but, as I say, Kendrick Lamar’s third studio album is a masterpiece that translates through borders and barriers. With some production skills from important names – including Flying Lotus and Boi-1da -, it is a busy and eclectic album that is so rich, layered and complex. One would assume the album is direct and simple but actually, there is so much nuance and life that one needs to have a few listens before everything clicks. Not only do the lyrics look across a variety of themes but the music brings together Jazz, Funk; some Spoken Word and, of course, Rap. To Pimp a Butterfly is a charged album that brings fire and support to those oppressed and struggling, yet it also sounds deeply personal to Lamar. One cannot help but feel a very real sense of aggrievement and anger throughout To Pimp a Butterfly.

To Pimp a Butterfly is the follow-up to 2012’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and marks a quantum leap in terms of scope and impact. Whilst Lamar was reacting to what was happening in the U.S. in terms of police violence and political turmoil, he visited South Africa and saw the jail Nelson Mandela was incarcerated in on Robben Island. That must have been a pivotal moment; the sense of injustice and a saviour being wronged and banished. I think To Pimp a Butterfly is a lot more fluid, story-like and cinematic because of its use of samples, dialogue and story. I would not say To Pimp a Butterfly is a concept album, as such, yet there does seem to be this definite narrative and flow. There are many standouts on the record, but I think Alright is the defining anthem. It has been adopted as a rallying call for the Black Lives Matter movement. To Pimp a Butterfly is not an album where Lamar is focusing on white-on-black violence and that form of a racism. He puts black-on-black violence under the spotlight on The Blacker the Berry and asks why his community is turning on their brothers and sisters. I find a lot of Rap and Hip-Hop albums are quite flat and lack depth in terms of their musical roots. To Pimp a Butterfly connects with black tradition and African-American styles. Lamar seamlessly looks back and pushes forward with his mixture of tones and sounds.

To Pimp a Butterfly is as much a celebration of black history and lives as it is a call for action, change and progression. The sheer ambition, urgency and insatiable mood of the album means every song hits the mark and moves you. A lot of Rap albums are also intense the way through: To Pimp a Butterfly brings Jazz to the fore and one gets this fusion of smooth supplication and electricity. I think To Pimp a Butterfly is an album that will continue to impact and influence generations from now. It has only been four years since its released, yet it grows in relevance and power every year.  There have been many articles written about Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly – I will bring in a couple of reviews. In this feature, the author talks about Lamar’s striking and expansive narrative voice:

“Lamar’s narrative was just as ambitious. It’s an intense exploration of big themes: exploitation, living up to responsibilities, the importance of staying true to yourself, finding strength in the face of adversity. Over the course of To Pimp A Butterfly he tells the story of a rapper finding fame; learning how to “pimp” his talent for material gain; dealing with the temptations that accompany fame and wealth; feeling the burden of his new position of influence; turning to black history and his roots to try to find guidance; dealing with a kind of survivor’s guilt after leaving his people; and eventually finding the self-belief and wisdom to share with his community.

But the album is nowhere near as tidy and linear as that sounds. As complicated as the subject demands, To Pimp A Butterfly’s songs are crammed with deep dives into US history, and just about every lyric has the listener conflicted as to the narrator’s motive (and, sometimes, even the identity of the narrator).

All of this would be worth little if the album didn’t communicate all of its ideas effectively. Somehow, however, To Pimp A Butterfly does that brilliantly. A thrilling, genuinely affecting and often awe-inspiring ride through Lamar’s psyche, it resonated with enough people for its influence to be felt everywhere: the hope-filled ‘Alright’ was adopted as the unofficial anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement; there were stories of teachers playing the album to students to help them better understand the oppression faced by African-Americans; listening to it influenced David Bowie to move in a jazz-inspired direction on his final album, ★.

With To Pimp A Butterfly, Kendrick Lamar delivered on expectations and then some. It remains a visionary, landmark album that will resonate for generations to come”.

Hip-Hop and Rap are always moving; we are seeing phenomenal albums arrive every year – this year has been especially strong. Lamar’s most-recent album, DAMN., was released in 2017 and I am not sure whether there is another album in the works. Lamar is an artist who can do no wrong; who has received praise throughout his career and is a source of guidance and influence for so many young artists out there. To Pimp a Butterfly goes beyond Kendrick Lamar’s discography and the Hip-Hop landscape: it is a record whose language and visions are historic, political and world-straddling. In fact, I think To Pimp a Butterfly is less an album and more a work of art; maybe an historical artifact that should be studied decades from now. The reviews, as you’d imagine, were universally positive! This is how AllMusic judged the album:

“The sentiment is universal, but the viewpoint on his second LP is inner-city and African-American, as radio regulars like the Isley Brothers (sampled to perfection during the key track "I"), George Clinton (who helps make "Wesley's Theory" a cross between "Atomic Dog" and Dante's Inferno), and Dr. Dre (who literally phones his appearance in) put the listener in Lamar's era of Compton, just as well as Lou Reed took us to New York and Brecht took us to Weimar Republic Berlin. These G-funky moments are incredibly seductive, which helps usher the listener through the album's 80-minute runtime, plus its constant mutating (Pharrell productions, spoken word, soul power anthems, and sound collages all fly by, with few tracks ending as they began), much of it influenced, and sometimes assisted by, producer Flying Lotus and his frequent collaborator Thundercat.

"u" sounds like an MP3 collection deteriorating, while the broken beat of the brilliant "Momma" will challenge the listener's balance, and yet, Lamar is such a prodigiously talented and seductive artist, his wit, wisdom, and wordplay knock all these stray molecules into place. Survivor's guilt, realizing one's destiny, and a Snoop Dogg performance of Doggystyle caliber are woven among it all; plus, highlights offer that Parliament-Funkadelic-styled subversion, as "The Blacker the Berry" ("The sweeter the juice") offers revolutionary slogans and dips for the hip. Free your mind, and your ass will follow, and at the end of this beautiful black berry, there's a miraculous "talk" between Kendrick and the legendary 2Pac, as the brutalist trailblazer mentors this profound populist. To Pimp a Butterfly is as dark, intense, complicated, and violent as Picasso's Guernica, and should hold the same importance for its genre and the same beauty for its intended audience.

I shall round things off shortly but, before doing that, I wanted to bring in Pitchfork’s review, as it makes for compelling and engrossing reading (I have selected a snippet):

To Pimp a Butterfly pivots on the polarizing lead single, "i". Upon release last autumn, the sunny soul pep talk came off lightweight and glib. When it appears deep in the back end of Butterfly, though, "i" plays less like the jingle we heard last year and more like the beating heart of the matter. To push the point, the album opts for a live-sounding mix that ditches out midway through, giving way to a speech from the rapper himself. In tone, the speech is not unlike the legendary 1968 concert where James Brown waved off security and personally held off a Boston audience’s fury after news broke that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated.

"How many niggas we done lost, bro?" Kendrick shouts over the crowd. "It shouldn’t be shit for us to come out here and appreciate the little bit of life we got left." Underneath the tragedy and adversity, To Pimp a Butterfly is a celebration of the audacity to wake up each morning to try to be better, knowing it could all end in a second, for no reason at all”.

Whether you are new to To Pimp a Butterfly or have listened to it numerous times, I do think it sounds completely awe-inspiring on vinyl and is a completely new experience. I am revisiting the album now and I wonder whether Lamar, when making the album, realised just what he was releasing into the world. Maybe the political situation is more fraught now than in 2015, but To Pimp a Butterfly has helped so many people and remains this incredibly powerful creation. As it is Black History Month in the U.K. – it is celebrated in the U.S. in February -, I wanted to feature some wonderful albums from black artists (from the U.K. and U.S.). Make sure you go and grab a copy of To Pimp a Butterfly and, if you cannot get the vinyl, stream the album and I am sure you will agree: it is a truly staggering thing! There will be a lot of debate when I say this: I think To Pimp a Butterfly is one of the finest…

ALBUMS of the decade.

FEATURE: The Cream of the Crop: Saying Goodbye to the Legendary Ginger Baker: The Playlist

FEATURE:

 

The Cream of the Crop

IN THIS PHOTO: Ginger Baker/PHOTO CREDIT: Alexis Maryon 

Saying Goodbye to the Legendary Ginger Baker: The Playlist

__________

IT is inevitable we have to say goodbye…

 

to so many music icons because, as we all know, life is that most capricious of beasts. Many of us were waking up to the news that the iconic Ginger Baker had died at the age of eighty. Whether you are explicitly familiar or not with his work, you would have heard his drumming skills deployed through the years. Not only did Baker co-found the band, Cream; his sterling and prolific work through the 1960s gained him the reputation as one of Rock’s best drummers. In fact, it could be said Baker was the first true Rock drumming superstar! Whereas some percussionists have a limited style in terms of influence and pace, Baker bonded African rhythms with Jazz influences and that unique combination of tones. Having picked up the sticks as a teen, Baker joined Blues Incorporated in the 1960s and met bass player Jack Bruce at that time.

IN THIS PHOTO: Ginger Baker with Baker-Gurvitz Army in the mid-1970s/PHOTO CREDIT: Colin Fuller/Redferns

They were sometimes at loggerheads, but the two provided the rhythm section for the Graham Bond Organisation and, importantly, Cream – Baker co-founded the band with Eric Clapton. Cream only survived a couple of years and, as has been noted by so many people, Baker’s volatile temper could get the better of him! I have been looking online at the tributes and recollections. Many have interviewed him and say that, whilst he was fascinating to speak with, he was a bit sharp and direct – or he was someone who did not suffer fools and was keen to air his thoughts! Like so many musical geniuses, Baker was a complex figure. We must remember what a pioneering drummer he was and how important he will remain. You can look at his Wikipedia page to see the drums and cymbals he used; how his career progressed and, indeed, why he is so revered.

IN THIS PHOTO: Ginger Baker performing in Rotterdam, Netherlands on 28th November, 2015/PHOTO CREDIT: Peter Van Breukelen/Redferns

Before ending with a playlist of his best moments, I want to bring in a couple of articles published today that pay tribute to Ginger Baker. This, from The Guardian tracks his career post-Cream and turbulent moments:

“Baker moved to Nigeria in 1971 and set up the Batakota recording studio in Lagos, which hosted local musicians as well as established stars (McCartney’s band Wings recorded part of Band on the Run there). He performed with Nigerian star Fela Kuti – “he understands the African beat more than any other westerner,” said Kuti’s drummer Tony Allen – and went on to collaborate or perform with a hugely varied array of musicians: Public Image Ltd, Hawkwind, hard rock band Baker Gurvitz Army, and jazz performers Max Roach, Art Blakey and Elvin Jones. In 1994, he formed a jazz trio with Charlie Haden and Bill Frisell.

He had spells living in Italy, California, Colorado and South Africa, and developed a passion for polo. In 2008, when living in South Africa, he was defrauded of more than £30,000 by a bank clerk he had hired as a personal assistant. He also suffered from various health issues, including respiratory illness and osteoarthritis, and underwent open heart surgery in 2016. “God is punishing me for my past wickedness by keeping me alive and in as much pain as he can,” he said in 2009.

That wickedness perhaps included his notorious temper – “I used to be mean – I’d deliberately mess up recording sessions with my temper and go mad at the slightest thing,” he said in 1970. He was married four times – “If a plane went down and there was one survivor, it would be Ginger. The devil takes care of his own,” first wife Elizabeth Ann Baker said in 2009 – and used heroin on and off since the mid-60s: he told the Guardian in 2013 that he relapsed “something like 29 times”.

A documentary, Beware of Mr Baker, was made about his life in 2012. He is survived by his three children, Kofi, Leda and Ginette”.

In this feature from Rolling Stone, it is clear Baker influenced so many others and, even though he struggled with debt and addiction, he kept playing and remained an extraordinary force:

“Regardless of how Baker felt about his influence, countless hard-rock drummers consider him one of the greatest players in history. “His playing was revolutionary — extrovert, primal, and inventive,” Rush drummer Neil Peart told Rolling Stone in 2009. “He set the bar for what rock drumming could be. I certainly emulated Ginger’s approaches to rhythm — his hard, flat, percussive sound was very innovative. Everyone who came after built on that foundation. Every rock drummer since has been influenced in some way by Ginger — even if they don’t know it.”

It took watching his good friend Jimi Hendrix die after a debauched night on the town together for Baker to finally kick hard drugs. Feeling he couldn’t pull that off in Europe, he packed up and traveled to Africa, teaming up with Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti for his classic 1971 LP, Live! (“He understands the African beat more than any other Westerner,” Afrobeat co-creator Tony Allen told RS in 2016.) Baker developed a lifelong love of polo, but he was far removed from the rock scene — now a huge business thanks to groundbreaking groups like Cream — and he began slowly descending back into severe drug addiction, crippling his career.

Throughout the late 1970s, Eighties, and Nineties, Baker traveled the world, working with nearly anyone who would hire him, constantly struggling to pay the bills and stay sober. He played with Hawkwind, Public Image LTD, and the hard-rock group Masters of Reality before teaming up with Bruce once again in BBM, a short-lived power trio that also included guitarist Gary Moore. In 1993, Baker was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of Cream.

In 2012, Baker was the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary Beware of Mr. Baker, directed by Jay Bulger off a 2009 feature story he wrote for Rolling Stone. Bulger had lived with Baker in South Africa for the story and would later return to finish the film, which would go on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the South by Southwest Film Festival. (“Some of it is very good and some of it is annoying,” Baker told Rolling Stone of the film in 2013.) Asked if his life had changed following the release of the documentary, the typically terse Baker replied, “No.”

Throughout his career, Baker always insisted that it was his collaborators who informed his playing, regardless of genre. “I’ve never had a style,” Baker said of his drumming philosophy on a 2013 episode of The Jazz Show With Jamie Cullum. “I play to what I hear, so whoever I’m playing with, what they play has a great influence on what I play, because I listen to what people are playing”.

Ginger Baker meant so many different things to different people. So many have paid tribute to him today. Paul McCartney posted a tweet, and musicians from around the world have underlined just how impactful Baker was to them. Music fans such as myself recognise him as one of the greatest drummers ever and, as so often it is the frontmen and women who are celebrated and put in the spotlight, Baker gave a voice to drummers who, more often than not, are given less credit and attention than they deserve! He was one of a kind and someone who will be remembered for generations to come. His work will resonate through time, and he has helped influence artists and change music. Such a unique player and wonderful performer, it is clear there will never be another…

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

LIKE the marvellous Mr. Ginger Baker!

FEATURE: Black History Month: Giving Greater Exposure and Celebration to Black Artists and Creatives

FEATURE:

 

Black History Month

IN THIS PHOTO: Solange/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

Giving Greater Exposure and Celebration to Black Artists and Creatives

__________

OCTOBER is Black History Month in the U.K.…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Dave/PHOTO CREDIT: Evening Standard

and it occurs that, when you look out at magazines and the music press, there is still a dominance of white faces – most of them male. Given the rise and charges of essential artists such as Stormzy, Little Simz; Lizzo, Dave and so many of their peers, one cannot ignore black artists in 2019. This year has been one of the strongest for music in a very long time and I think black artists are right at the forefront. Lizzo, Jamila Woods; Sampa the Great and Solange have produced some of the sharpest and most incredible albums of 2019. I do think there is still a preference, whether it is the press or festivals, to book white artists. There are so many great black artists that get overlooked. I am not suggesting there is a racist component to the decisions but, really, in terms of sounds and looks, are we saying white artists are more commercial, desirable and popular?! We are seeing changes happening and steps being made. From the hottest and most relevant Grime and Rap through to Pop and R&B, black artists warrant huge acclaim and kudos. You only have to do a quick Google search to realise there is racism in genres like Grime; societal discrimination and stereotypes that is stifling and wrong. I think there are genres where racism is more pronounced – Rap and Grime are definitely up there. As I said, the strongest and most varied music is being made by black music.

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

I adore the Neo-Soul of Jamila Woods but listen to the Tyler, the Creator’s Igor or the latest cuts from Brittany Howard! It is an evolving industry and I do think we are a long way from equality when it comes to race. Black History Month is a chance to celebrate black pioneers and key figures; in musical terms, give some respect to the best artists, creatives and peeps that make the music world so vibrant, strong and promising. I will end with a playlist of some of the most important black artists, new and established, but if you want to hear more about Black History Month, make sure you do some reading. It is troubling seeing articles where artists must fight racism; where genres are subjected to problems of isolation and ignorance. For me, personally, I have been so inspired by black artists and producers (such as Quincy Jones). From Beyoncé and Prince to D’Angelo; Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin…these artists have stirred me and created some incredible memories. I do not think one needs to understand a particular lyrical viewpoint or story to appreciate black artists, in terms of their story and perspective. Take a lot of the best music now from black artists and we can all see where they are coming from. Their music is political and personal; it is pertinent and timely and, not to write off other artists, I think the greatest shivers and movement from music right now is from black artists.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Stevie Wonder/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

I have been intoxicated by the music of Vagabon and Anderson .Paak's Ventura. This year has been incredibly varied and there are artists performing today who will be legends in the future. As there are corners of the music industry where black artists are either pushed aside or not represented fairly, I think Black History Month is actually an important way of promoting the wealth of black talent right now; looking back at the icons and influencers who have inspired the generations. Artists such as Stevie Wonder and Bob Marley have shaped music and I do wonder, given the sheer wonder (no pun intended) of the music coming from black artists right now, whether the industry is doing quite enough. It is a complex subject, but I do feel there needs to be positive progression in so many areas. Rather than talk of the negatives, I think October should be about the positives of music made by black artists. I know there are artists I have missed out of the playlist and, whilst unavoidable, it just shows what a wealth of talent there is out there; from the legends and massive superstars to those breaking through. Some of the biggest and most memorable festival moments were made by black artists – who can forget Stormzy’s headline slot at Glastonbury or Lizzo and Janet Jackson in their Glastonbury’s sets?! I shall end things there, but I was eager to put a playlist together and get everyone, I guess, to look around and realise the incredible black artists who are creating big waves. We can all see the raw talent out there and I hope, when it comes to equality and due attention, let’s hope there is change…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Lizzo/PHOTO CREDIT: Amy Lombard/The New York Times/Redux

ONE day soon.

FEATURE: Life in the Slow Lane: Is Digital Music Making Us Less Attentive and Connected?

FEATURE:

 

Life in the Slow Lane

PHOTO CREDIT: @rosssneddon/Unsplash 

Is Digital Music Making Us Less Attentive and Connected?

__________

I had to check to see whether…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @clemono2/Unsplash

this report was legitimate or whether it was a joke. As it is October – and it is a way until 1st April -, it is worrying to see something like this come out:

“Two adjacent 75-metre long (247ft) ‘mobile phone safe lanes’ have been installed in central Manchester, after new research by AO-Mobile that found that a staggering 96% of the population say that they have experienced someone walking and not paying attention because they were too busy looking at their phone, in the last 12-months.

Thought to be the first of its kind in Europe, the trial, which is located in the Spinningfields district of the city centre, features a designated pathway for pedestrians to help stop people who walk with their eyes glued to their mobile phones from bumping into each other.

The pavements along Hardman Boulevard – a busy pedestrian thoroughfare surrounded by offices, shops, bars and restaurants, used by tens of thousands of people every week – now has arrows and signs that mark out separate walking lanes on the pavement exclusively for slow-walking smartphone users.

A whopping 75% of Brits say they are guilty of walking and using their phone at the same time, according to the new research.

The rise in so-called “DALAPs” (Distracted As Looking At Phone) and “distracted walking” (a behaviour recognised by The World Health Organisation) is when people walk whilst looking down at their phone in their hand rather than looking where they are going or concentrating on their surroundings – typically because they are instead texting, on social media, reading emails or video calling”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @meghanschiereck/Unsplash

We can all identify with a common scenario: walking down the street and having to dodge out of someone’s way because they are on their phone. The lure and addictiveness of technology is getting to a point where we must modify the streets the same way as we would a dual carriageway. Rather than make accommodations for those too distracted to look where they are walking, it would seem better to fine those who are caught staring at their phones. I know most people, when looking down, are texting or on the Internet. I know there are many who are listening to music and, when we have to move out of their way, they are on Spotify or scrolling through a playlist. Like the slow lane idea in Manchester, many might say having a device/audio option that allows you to check the playlist/screen, so you do not need to look down. Even trying to work out how that works is exhausting and probably wouldn’t make a lot of sense. In many ways, we have gone backwards regarding technology and its ease of use. At least when we had a Walkman of iPod, there seemed to be far less distraction and people were listening to albums through. Technology has allowed music to reach so many people and bring happiness to their lives. I am not against people playing music on their phones/using a device, but the fact we cannot seem to tear our eyes away from a screen is a terrible sign. It is not just people checking music whilst moving down the street and walking around.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @sonance/Unsplash

When you go on public transport, you see people casting their eyes down or not looking up. It means they are not aware of what is happening around them and, from someone else’s viewpoint, it appears they are being rude. I have written about the Walkman and how its brilliance changed music. I have also argued against the assumption portable music is alienating and rude: rather, it is a way to escape the noise of life and find some peace. I maintain that, yet that theory only stands when people are playing albums through and not endlessly looking down, wobbling down the street as they look for a track or load a playlist. The problem of people bumping int pedestrians is much more common in terms of texting and the Internet. One cannot say music is without blame and, as so many of us play music through our phone and rely so much on screens and visuals, how practical is it listening to music on the go? For sure, one can immerse themselves and take music wherever they go. Having cities like Manchester implement slow and fast lines – to avoid collisions and anger – shows how technology is literally dividing us! In so many ways, music binds us and provides community. Once was the day, we would share music physically and congregate to listen to albums and songs. That still happens but, more and more, we can do all our sharing and experiencing on our own.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @meghanschiereck/Unsplash

There is a lot to be said for solitude and some privacy regarding music. It seems we have an extreme situation where visual awareness and concentration are second to our phones and technology. This is not new news, but things are getting worse. What is the solution? Listening to music on the move is fine; yet consider where you are and the fact looking away from what is in front of you creates danger for yourself and others. There is also a good argument that we can avoid so many preoccupied listeners if we listened to albums rather than cherry-picked songs. Yes, there would still be a need to glance at the screen, but not so much. There is that conflict between technology allowing us to carry a world of music anyone against the erosion of human contact and, in a lot of cases, common courtesy. I listen to a lot of music on my laptop but, when I am going about my day, I either wait to listen to music or, when I do, have earphones in and stream the radio. As we become a civilisation more dependent on technology and at the mercy of our phones, there are going to be more slow/fast lanes. Unfortunately, a lot of us experience music on phones and tablets. That is fine but, rather than repeatedly stare at a screen, enjoying music without pause or interruption seems best – it avoids clattering into people on the street! Music is a fantastic form of communication; a way of joining us and digging deep into the heart. It is important we have access to music wherever we travel but, at the same time, ensuring that we are…

 PHOTO CREDIT: @dylu/Unsplash

KEEPING our eyes peeled.

TRACK REVIEW: Angel Olsen - Impasse

TRACK REVIEW:

 

Angel Olsen

Impasse

9.3/10

The track, Impasse, is available via:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUtALx9i14

GENRES:

Indie-Country/Indie-Folk

ORIGIN:

North Carolina, U.S.A.

The album, All Mirrors, is available via:

https://open.spotify.com/album/0RedX0LZkGUFoRwFntAaI0?si=V_1NfdyhR0mH3wdji2nL9w

RELEASE DATE:

4th October, 2019

LABEL:

Jagjaguwar

PRODUCERS:

John Congleton/Angel Olsen

__________

I intend to re-cover a couple of themes that I have addressed…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Taylor Boylston

in previous reviews when talking about Angel Olsen. I will come to her new material in a bit but, before getting there, I want to discuss a few other topics. I want to bring in Olsen’s relationship with her fans and how there is a difference between artists who have a bond with their fans online and those who remain relatively aloof. I also want to talk about transition and how, in 2019, we are seeing more albums explore that look into an artist’s heart and explore a darker side. I also want to mention Angel Olsen and her attachment to music; whether the politics of our time will affect her future and how her fans are reacting; a little about Olsen’s sound in the context of 2019 and where she might go from here. There are some artists who remain a little quiet when it comes to their fans. I can understand how, in an Internet age, some of the slightly older artists are more traditional and, either do not use social media, or they keep their interaction to business matters. I think any artist who has an online presence is great, but one does see a split between those who are active and collaborative and those who sort of back off a bit. There is a lot to be said for reaching out to fans and having that relationship. We live in a time when few fans writer letters to artists; where we have that physical connection and closeness. I follow quite a few artists online and it is wonderful seeing them update their pages and keeping everyone informed regarding what is happening. Olsen is someone who garners a lot of affection and has a  closeness with her followers. You can go to her Twitter page – the link is at the bottom of this review – and she answers questions and shares stories. There is a danger of being too open or giving too much away; the riser in trolling is evident, but Olsen’s fans are hugely loving and supportive.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Marsalis

More than anything, one gets the feeling Angel Olsen is accessible and has a grounded quality. She has experienced some bad times (more on that later) and does not want to exclude and push away her fans. What you find is this great artist who is always happy to answer questions; to treat her fans like family and have that connection. The fact Olsen is pretty open, humorous and real gives her music something powerful and relatable. You do get artists who seem distant online or do not have the time to have that relationship with their fans. That is okay, I guess, yet the power of seeing an artist go online and speak with their followers is amazing. Angel Olsen has no ego (or it doesn’t seem like it) and she is writing music that cuts to the heart and really gets into the head. She has built up a steady fanbase, and there are several reasons why she is so popular. Not only does she come across as very friendly and compassionate; the way she opens in interviews and puts her story on the page is also very powerful. I am glad Olsen is growing and building a healthy foundation. She is one of these artists I can see dominating festivals and getting some huge gigs very soon. She has a fantastic sound and is resonating with so many people around the world. Apart from Olsen being a pretty awesome human and being very real, the quality of her music is up there will the very best of the best. I think she is able to produce this sensational and peerless music because she digs deep and is unafraid to reflect what is inside of her. Some artists do get nervous when being too honesty and raw, feeling they will give too much away or they feel exposed and vulnerable. More and more artists are talking that step and are discussing their life in a pretty naked and potent way.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Kyle Coutts

Angel Olsen has being pretty revealing in interviews regrading her past and how she has had to face change and struggling. I don’t know whether it is because more people are talking about mental-health and are being encouraged to open up; Olsen is someone who gives us a window into her life and how things have changed over the past couple of years. In interviews, she is warm and fascinating, but you also get someone who is very honest regarding her life. It seems that after her last album, My Woman in 2016, Olsen had to shoulder a lot of hurt and change. Maybe it was the pressure of this rise and the fact she was garnering so many great reviews and so much celebration. Regardless, as she explains in this interview with The Times, her life did undergo this almighty shift:

“My Woman received rave reviews, but in the summer of 2017 everything went to pieces. Olsen was playing at bigger festivals with the backing band she had hired. At Primavera Sound, in Barcelona, she says she will “always remember how 10,000 people were quiet for us”. Even so, she couldn’t enjoy it. She was struggling with personal issues at the same time as trying to be a band leader.

“I was dealing with a lot of emotional stress and relationship problems in front of my band, and trying to hide it from them,” she explains, “and they thought it was happening because I was upset with them. I’m not saying I’m a struggling alcoholic, but I was drinking to self-medicate.” They started off as her friends, then their relationship shifted. Eventually, she concludes: “We stopped talking to each other.”

She often wonders whether she feeds off that turmoil, especially when it comes to songwriting. She has calmed down a bit, fired some members and hired new ones, and found more balance. But still she asks herself: “‘Do I instigate trouble in my life so I can write about it?’ This is the eternal question. It definitely felt at times that I was a tortured artist and I got really excited about the drama of it.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Amanda Marsalis 

All Mirrors is a lot to do with turning the looking glass inwards and owning up to her dark sides, as well as finding “peace” in solitude. She wrote and recorded the songs alone, and intends to release the album in a stripped-back version next year.

The album is doomy, gothic and sultry, but it is also hopeful. “I’ve always been obsessed with things ending, and death,” Olsen says. “A lot of that has to do with being raised by older people who are sick a lot.” She was adopted aged three, and her parents are now elderly. “My mother had surgery when I was 14, and she could have died. It’s helped me to appreciate time in a different way”.

Now that she has come through the other side of a rocky and unsure period, she is sort of looking inside herself and trying to find answers and catharsis. It might go a bit far to say her music is therapy, yet one gets the feeling Olsen has been able to tackle demons and find clarity through songwriting. Olsen, it seems, is natural curious when it comes to finality and death, but one could not help but sympathise and support her when she was going through bad times after My Woman. It is quite rare, even for a solo artist, to record and write songs alone. So many solo songwriters have a group of musicians, producers and writers helping them craft music. One can say having too many bodies around means the music loses focus and it is not as personal as it could be. The reverse is also true: if one is alone, does that mean the music lacks something or is a bit too personal? It seems like Angel Olsen needed to be on her own to process solitude and get that distance. She was communicating with fans but, when it came to creating and getting her music down, it seemed like a degree of separation was needed.

Even though Olsen has had to transition through hardship – a little more on that a bit later -, she has that undying love of music and its power. Music is transformative, and I think that is a reason why she receives so much love and interaction from her fans. They can hear a woman who is similar to them and is talking about things that mean a lot to them. Of course, even if an artist is direct and unguarded, that does not mean the music will resonate and appeal to everyone. It is hard to tick all boxes and cross borders. So many artists have their own fanbase and limits; they are not as wide-ranging as others and they struggle to speak to everyone. There is a select few that can do it all and create music that gets into the heart of the masses. Angel Olsen is one of those artists. She has a real desire for a sense of truth and beauty; a serious passion for music and writing that you can hear in every song. All Mirrors is rich with detail, nuance and beauty. There are darker moments, but they never seem too heavy or suffocating: instead, you are getting into the soul of a very brave and passionate woman. I wanted to bring in an interview from GQ, Olsen recently conducted where she talks about a variety of subjects – I shall come back to it a little later.

 “I love playing music and I love writing, but the processes of writing and performing and doing photo shoots—they're all fun in different ways and they all teach me about myself and make me reflect about other people and other writers and other music, but too much of it drives me insane. It's difficult to keep in touch with people, and feel known and to know people.

So I think a lot of the songs came from the isolation that I felt and the irony of becoming successful, somewhat, and known in this way that I'm now responsible for. It's been really good for my life, but it's also been isolating and a little weird. In my experience, people forget to check in because they think, “Oh people love your music and you’re doing really well. You must be doing really well. You must feel on top of the world.”

That last sentiment and expression is quite sobering. I have mentioned how Olsen has this bond with her fans, but in the real world, it seems like there is an assumption that she is okay because her records sell and she is popular. Social media is a way of correcting that assumption and being pretty open when it comes to the reality of life. Olsen’s fans are very open, yet you do get people who will be negative and attack that honesty – there are problems when one shares too much online. I digress, of course. I think Olsen can express a lot of herself through her music. It seems like this very noble calling for her and, when listening to the music on All Mirrors, one is struck by the power and beauty. I think music is more than a way of processing and understanding emotions when it comes to Olsen. It is more than simply expressing herself and being honest. If her latest album is about looking inwards and trying to find a degree of resolution, I feel her music is hugely important to others. I think Olsen writes music with an expressed desire to help others and make them feel less alone. Maybe I am over-reaching; one feels this artist who wants others to feel understood and take something very important away. Not every artist approaches music this way. Olsen knows how powerful music is and how helpful it can be to people going through some challenging times.

Although Olsen is based in America and might not have the same problems as E.U. artists will post-Brexit, it does seem like the political climate is impacting her fans. Everyone has an opinion regarding the changing political landscape and how it affecting our values and connection. People who were once joined and harmonious are split and balkanised. One cannot avoid politics and the developments regarding Brexit. Olsen has travelled to Europe and has a great affection for her fans there. She has noticed a change in the mood. I want to bring in another few questions from the GQ interview, where Olsen was asked about touring and politics:

“Do you enjoy the travel component of touring, or do you find yourself wishing you were home?

What I don't love is when I do a European tour and then two weeks later I go back to Europe. That is not cool. Like, Europe and I need to take a break from each other. Europe is a lot of different cultures and every day there’s a different story. That’s very humbling. You experience xenophobia everywhere in different forms wherever you go. You’re faced with being an American in the country we’re living in now.

I was talking to a friend today, when I was getting my hair done, [about] how when I go to Europe, it’s such a reminder that we’re still living in the ‘50s in a lot of ways. The world is actually not progressive. You end up missing the United States because there is at least the false sense of progressiveness, even though it’s not really true here either.

Everyone wants to talk about the President being this influencer who’s changing the way people think, but it’s also eye-opening to see how many people are still very, very conservative, and it’s really scary. That’s what I mean by missing [this] country, because it at least puts up a façade of progressiveness. But then we’re living in this time where that’s being pulled away. Young people are more active and more aware politically, but at the same time I’m also seeing young people becoming more and more conservative.

PHOTO CREDIT: Bobby Doherty 

You see young people becoming more conservative in Europe, or in general?

In Europe I feel like it’s always been that people are very upfront about their racism and classism. Whereas here, I feel like people are starting to say it more.

Does that change the way you approach your music at all?

I hope that my songs are reaching people in a way that’s powerful because I want people to have an escape, even if it’s just for a couple minutes. For me, when I listen to music, it completely takes over my world. It’s my way of meditating”.

It is odd someone would feel more secure and safe in America when we consider Trump and his leadership, but Olsen is talking more about the mindset of the public in the U.S. In Europe, we have this feeling that we are moving forward and to something better and, in truth, we are heading backwards. I do wonder how Olsen’s European fans will be affected in the future. Even though they can still travel, one is not sure how artists are going to be impacted after Brexit on 31st October. Will she be able to travel freely and moving between countries without issue? I guess America does provide some stability, in the sense there are no upcoming changes that will impact the country in a huge way. She can travel across the U.S. like she has and, when speaking with people, there is not that delusion this big change is good and makes for a stronger country. Naturally, with Trump in power, hope is a far-off thing, but the people of America do not have to process something as divisive and destructive as Brexit. It is a bit of a sorry situation and it is troubling to think how the musical landscape will change very soon. I shall come to my review very soon but, before getting there, I want to introduce a new subject.

Angel Olsen’s music is pretty revealing and is unafraid to expose its wounds when needed. There is also a sense of hope and light when you hear the music. I do think there has been this big shift regarding mood and tone at the forefront. Listen to artists of the moment like Kate Tempest and Dave, and you have this very timely music that is looking at the state of the U.K. and the wider world; how people are being caught up in miasma; the struggles we all face and how things have gotten harder and tougher. It sounds rather bleak but, in its anger and honesty, there is a call for awareness and action. Rather than be all dread-like and doom-laden, these artists are talking about the importance of people, community and hope. We are going through something transformative and unprecedented right now, yet there is something positive when we cast aside our differences and pull together. Gone are the days of big Pop anthems and a music culture where artists tackled change and darker times with positive, emphatic music. Maybe that is just the way things are but, as I say, inside the music of today there is a humanity and sense of hope that we do not talk about. Even when one witnesses an album as emotionally raw and draining as Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ Ghosteen, you find a yearning and desire for better times. I think the best music of 2019 concerns political awareness and personal openness. Angel Olsen’s All Mirrors very much fits with the sound of today. She knows how important it is to be honest and discuss tougher themes; there is this overriding arc of strength that makes you feel like Olsen has emerged from the album a stronger and happier person – I hope so at least!

There is a great selection of tracks on All Mirrors, but I wanted to review Impasse. The song begins with a fade-in that has a degree of shimmer but there is also something quite intense. One gets a combination of Lana Del Rey and Bernard Herrmann in the song. There are background strings that do not encroach, yet there is a sense of drive and fever that affects the foreground. Olsen’s words are slowly projected and you get to feel every word. Her delivery is quite breathy but there is also a lot of emotion packed in. “Go ahead, tell your friends I was wrong/Take it all out on me/I’m too caught up to see/Everyone will believe…” are intriguing words and it makes me wonder what Olsen is referring to. It seems like Olsen is being cast as a villain or blamed for something that is not her fault. The truth of reality and how people interpret her; it seems they know what is best and what the truth is. Without revealing the origin of the story and what has provoked the song, the listener is free to interpret and bring to mind certain images. Given the sense of drama and tension in the composition, I was imagining Olsen, alone, as she looks through a window harassed and pummeled by rain. Maybe she is pondering something that has gone down or feeling like she is alone. Impasse seems like a song where two people have been sparring and conversing and cannot reach a compromise. It is like listening to a game of chess and seeing these moves being played; a sense that there will be no winner from this situation. I do love Olsen’s voice because there is this sleepy quality that is actually very powerful. One can feel a seductive, alluring quality that draws you in and a real weight in her delivery. The composition continues to provoke shivers as the strings contort and yowl. Other artists might put the strings higher in the mix and it would crowd the vocals and seem too intense.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @cameronmcool

Instead, Olsen has this song that puts beauty and stillness at the front, but you have a very different sound in the background that gives the lyrics new context and life. The lyrics “You think this is what I wanted when I said/I’m just living in my head”. Maybe someone has abandoned Olsen or been aloof because they feel she is pushing them away or needs some space. It seems like Olsen has a lot on her mind and is getting tied up in her own thoughts. Rather than be alone and want everyone to go away, she does need that support and has been left to tackle things alone. That is the way I see the song, anyway. The more I listen, the more powerful Impasse becomes. When she delivers words of misunderstanding and living in her head, the composition rises and provides crescendo. There is a heavy beat and the strings become more enraptured. One cannot help but feel the hit of that emotional intensity and the power of the delivery. From a slightly breathy delivery, Olsen unleashes something inside her that was hidden or quieter. Impasse gets heavy like a wave and you are immersed in this hugely forceful song that does leave some questions. It is clear someone has wronged Olsen, but I wonder whether she is referring to a friend who has not been true or whether it is a lover who has not been supportive. Whatever the truth, Impasse is a fantastic song and one of the brightest gems from All Mirrors. It is clear Olsen is one of the most impressive and interesting songwriters around. If you have not heard All Mirrors, then I suggest you get onto it as it is filled with terrific and memorable songs.

There are European dates coming up next year, and we would have emerged from Brexit by then. I hope there are no problems regarding touring and getting between the nations. It will be interesting to differences between the mood now and what people feel like post-Brexit. I do think there will be negative changes but, actually, I do feel like there will not be too many challenges when it comes to movement and travel. Many people are already looking forward to these 2020 dates and, right now, there is so much love out there for Angel Olsen. She is this very rare artist that can appeal to everyone and does not have a façade. Olsen’s music is dreamy and beautiful; it holds great power and is very honest. In interviews and online, Olsen comes across as accessible and very tangible. A lot of artists can be quite standoffish and cold in interviews. Olsen is very warm and interesting, and she is going to be a huge star of the future. There are tour dates and commitments coming up, and I do think Olsen will get some big opportunities in 2020. There are big festivals like Glastonbury and Olsen will surely be a part of that conversation. I predict Olsen will release a fair few albums and get a lot of big tour dates. If All Mirrors was a way of processing things that happens after My Woman and how her life changed, it will be interesting to see what her next album sounds like. When reviewing artists like Angel Olsen, I sort of wonder what their lives are like away from the music. Olsen is a fascinating figure and is writing truly incredible music. I hope Olsen is more settled than she was in 2017 and that she is happy. It seems like music is a vital outlet and a way of making sense of, not only personal struggles, but what is happening in the wider world. Keep your eyes peeled on her social media channels and see where she is heading in the coming months. 2019 has been a terrific year for music and there have been some truly sensational albums. All Mirrors ranks alongside the very best and will definitely be in the year-end lists that celebrate the best albums. Olsen, truly, is a simply…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Bobby Doherty

WONDERFUL artist.

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Follow Angel Olsen

PHOTO CREDIT: @cedoberlin 

Official:

https://angelolsen.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/angelolsenmusic

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/AngelOlsen

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/angelolsenmusic/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpa5b4sHZadBoFrcni-N8Kg

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6mKqFxGMS5TGDZI3XkT5Rt?si=2TCxnx_OSIakP33IS8RiwA

ALL UNCREDITED PHOTOS:

Getty Images/Angel Olsen

FEATURE: Storms: A Flawed Masterpiece: Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk at Forty

FEATURE:

 

Storms

A Flawed Masterpiece: Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk at Forty

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I know I have written a few album-specific articles lately…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Fleetwood Mac photographed by Sam Emerson for the Tusk tour book

and there are one or two more to come! If an album celebrates a big anniversary, I feel it is only right to mark it and pay tribute to that artist. In terms of bands who overcame adversity and created something truly sensational, are there incidences more amazing and unbeatable as Fleetwood Mac and 1977’s Rumours? That album was completed at a time when couples Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, Christine and John McVie were parting and strained; drummer Mick Fleetwood also was going through some tough times. In the wake of all this separation and conflict was music that sounds unified and solid. I am staggered the band were able to complete the album, let alone release an album that ranks alongside the very best ever. There was a lot of praise and celebration once Rumours was released and, when it came to following that masterpiece, the band went in a different direction. I always love a good double album because it is ambitious putting something like that together. There are few double albums that are flawless and, even when you have a flawed one such as The Beatles (‘The White Album’) or Physical Graffiti (by Led Zeppelin), they are interesting and diverse. With twenty tracks – and each band member pulling in their own way -, Tusk was always going to be a different animal to Rumours. The twelfth album from the American-British band is a more experimental creation and (is an album) where Lindsey Buckingham exerts a lot of production influence – as he did on Rumours.

The songwriting is sparser and many people attribute the change in direction/production sound to the arrival and explosion of Punk – or, more accurately, the Post-Punk movement that followed on. Tusk was the most expensive Rock album ever made (at over $1 million), and the band toured the album relentlessly and extensively. There are a couple of ways at look at Tusk. Upon its release, it was viewed a commercial failure because it was far less successful than Rumours. Shifting far fewer units and not getting acclaim across the board, one needs to consider Tusk down the line; an album that needs more time to settle in than Rumours.  The music scene was very different in 1978/1979 compared to a year or two previously. If the band had released something more commercial and Rumours-esque, perhaps they would have stalled or felt formulaic. They needed to evolve and acclimatise to the new world. In doing so, you get a double album that sounds like three writers’ – Lindsey Buckingham, Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie – work rather than a band. Maybe the pains and tensions of Rumours meant that, by the time they came to record Tusk, Fleetwood Mac realised they could not work in the same way as they used to. Despite some patchy moments, some of the best Fleetwood Mac material can be found on Tusk. The first side has the primary songwriters flexing: Buckingham’s The Ledge, McVie’s Think About Me and Nicks’ Sara are incredible.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Warner Bros.

Nicks also contributes big tracks like Storms and Beautiful Child, but she has less input in the album than Buckingham and McVie, in terms of song credits. McVie’s Brown Eyes and Never Forget are stunning but, in essence, Tusk does feel more of a Lindsey Buckingham album than the slightly more cohesive (if fractious) Rumours – nine of the twenty tracks are his and Save Me a Place and That’s Enough for Me are gems. In my view, the strongest two tracks come from the divided American sweethearts: Stevie Nicks’ gorgeous Sara and Lindsey Buckingham’s elephantiac centrepiece, Tusk. There are incredible songs across Tusk and the retrospective reviews have been largely positive. This is how AllMusic judged the album in 2016:

“Lindsey Buckingham directed both Fleetwood Mac and Rumours, but he dominates here, composing nearly half the album, and giving Christine McVie's and Stevie Nicks' songs an ethereal, floating quality that turns them into welcome respites from the seriously twisted immersions into Buckingham's id. This is the ultimate cocaine album -- it's mellow for long stretches, and then bursts wide open in manic, frantic explosions, such as the mounting tension on "The Ledge" or the rampaging "That's Enough for Me," or the marching band-driven paranoia of the title track, all of which are relieved by smooth, reflective work from all three songwriters. While McVie and Nicks contribute some excellent songs, Buckingham owns this record with his nervous energy and obsessive production, winding up with a fussily detailed yet wildly messy record unlike any other.

This is mainstream madness, crazier than Buckingham's idol Brian Wilson and weirder than any number of cult classics. Of course, that's why it bombed upon its original release, but Tusk is a bracing, weirdly affecting work that may not be as universal or immediate as Rumours, but is every bit as classic. As a piece of pop art, it's peerless.

I could sample a whole heap of reviews but here, in Pitchfork’s review, we get a glimpse into the recording process and what makes Tusk so intriguing:

“Nicks described their space in Studio D as having been adorned with “shrunken heads and leis and Polaroids and velvet pillows and saris and sitars and all kinds of wild and crazy instruments, and the tusks on the console, like living in an African burial ground.” Everyone agrees Buckingham was losing it a little—that he was chasing something (artistic greatness? avant-garde credibility?) and pursuing it wildly, haphazardly, like a crazed housecat stalking a black fly about the living room. Did he really have a drum set installed in his bathroom so he could play while on his toilet? (More reasonable minds have suggested he merely liked the acoustics in there.)

Though Tusk’s most memorable tracks are also its strangest (like “The Ledge,” a manic, pitter-pattering kiss-off in which the band’s signature harmonies are overridden by a guitar that’s been tuned down and turned up), there are a handful of songs that harken back to Rumours’ rich palatability. “Save Me A Place” plays like an extension, at least lyrically, of “Go Your Own Way,” in which Buckingham begrudges his lover’s unwillingness to grab what he’s half-offering her.  

A lot of Buckingham’s lyrics from the late ‘70s seem to simultaneously admit trepidation and cast him as the aggrieved party; he seems, in an endearing way, oblivious to his own caveats, or how they might dissuade another person. “Guess I want to be alone, and I guess I need to be amazed/Save me a place, I'll come running if you love me today,” he sings on “Save Me A Place.” He later described the song as vulnerable. “None of us had the luxury of distance to get closure… It’s about a feeling that’s been laid off to one side and maybe not been fully dealt with, sadness and a sense of loss.” It captures the wildness of recovery: what happens when love dissipates, and you have to find a new thing to believe in? What if that thing is work?”.

Depending on your opinions on what makes an album successful determines whether Tusk can be viewed as a failure or success. Certainly, those expecting Rumours 2.0 would have been in for a bit of shock. That album was recorded at a particular period, and circumstances had changed by the time Fleetwood Mac came to record Tusk. If the band had gone into Tusk with the view of replicating Rumours, I think the results would have been inauthentic and repetitive. Tusk is a bold and brave record and, as NME argue in 2011, Tusk is a misunderstood album that inspired Fleetwood Mac themselves and a legion of acts:

“Although misunderstood at the time, the album’s cobweb-filled sound later found fans in Air, The Strokes and Vetiver. Today, the influence of ‘Tusk’ extends from chillwave to freak folk. And the subversion of what was expected after ‘Rumours’ and the creative space it created also gave the band (and primarily Buckingham) reason to continue making music in Fleetwood Mac for the next decade.
But then, is ‘Tusk’ really as subversive, as ‘difficult’, as critics have always made out? Sure, it’s long and druggy and sprawling – and named after Mick Fleetwood’s nickname for his own penis. But take away Buckingham’s scuffed, home-made sonic experiments and this is an album that’s just as lush and melodic as ‘Rumours’”.

I will round of this feature with an article from Ultimate Classic Rock that gives a balanced view of Tusk; stating it is masterful, but it has its flaws and cannot quite be seen in the same vein as Rumours. I think Tusk is definitely in Fleetwood Mac’s top-three albums and, as we know, drove the band forward. They could have gone their own ways after Rumours and struggled to find impetus to reconvene and solider on. Whilst there are more of Buckingham’s fingerprints on Tusk than the rest of the band, one cannot argue against the commitment and input of each member! Tusk is undeniably brilliant…but I come back to that question as to whether it is inferior to Rumours and a disappointment or whether its evolution, different sound and breadth makes it a stronger and more interesting listen. This article has some theories and input:

 “Given its length, its ambition, and its much clucked-over million-dollar cost -- not to mention the mountains of rock-star excess that sprung up around Fleetwood Mac during an epic Tusk tour that included specially painted hotel rooms for singer Stevie Nicks and no shortage of on-stage tension -- the record came to be regarded as a weird, costly tumble from the dizzying heights of Rumours.

Unsurprisingly, the band members took issue with this point of view. "In the context of the whole, Rumours took longer to make than Tusk. One of the reasons why Tusk cost so much is that we happened to be at a studio that was charging a f--- of a lot of money," Buckingham pointed out. "During the making of Tusk, we were in the studio for about 10 months and we got 20 songs out of it. Rumours took the same amount of time. It didn't cost so much because we were in a cheaper studio. There's no denying what it cost, but I think it's been taken out of context."

Fleetwood also insisted in a Trouser Press interview that change was part of the band's legacy. "We've never stayed one way for very long, and I don't think we ever will. We've always changed a lot whether or not players have changed," he said. "Doing a double album didn't make any business sense at all. But it meant a lot to us, artistically -- whether we could still feel challenged. We really, really are pleased with it. We've also, I think, got enough discretion to know if the songs aren't up to standard, in which case we'd have just put out a single album."

Meanwhile, Christine McVie bristled during a 1982 interview with Sounds, pointing out that "Tusk sold 9 million copies -- so it can't be too shabby, can it? But a lot of people gave us flak about that album. It's very different, very different, very Lindsey Buckingham. I'll have to say that. He was going through some musical experiments at the time."

Still, the backlash took its toll, and when the sales came in considerably softer than those for Rumours -- which was, it's worth noting, one of the biggest-selling records of all time -- Buckingham felt that the other members of the group turned on him, jaundicing his perception of his place in the band as well as its artistic limits”. 

On 12th October, Tusk turns forty, and I think we should all sit down and listen to this fascinating album. Fleetwood Mac are still touring today – minus Lindsey Buckingham – and I think Tusk is the last time when they really soared and hit genius levels. Albums like Mirage (1982) had their moments but Tusk is a fascinating album with more than its fair share of wonder. Tusk is a precious and complex album that, for years to come, will…

CONTINUE to inspire.

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

FEATURE:

 

 

Sisters in Arms

IN THIS PHOTO: Diana Gordon 

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

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AUTUMN is upon us…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Samantha Urbani/PHOTO CREDIT: Highsnobiety

and I think we are getting used to the days being a bit shorter and there being a bit of a chill in the air. It is a time of change and transition and, as the weather turns a bit less predictable, we have music to provide some stability and heat. I have been looking around at the best new tracks from female artists. There is such an array of brilliance on display that covers an array of genres and sounds. I hope you’ll find something in the list that appeals and catches the ear. It is another fantastic week for music where you are sort of caught by the wealth and quality. Enjoy the latest female-led playlist and take these sounds around with you…

IN THIS PHOTO: Jetta/PHOTO CREDIT: tmrw

WHEREVER you go.

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

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Chromatics – Move a Mountain

Goodnight Louisa – Someone So Sublime

PHOTO CREDIT: Sapphire Needham

Thyla – Two Sense

Summer Walker – Fun Girl

PHOTO CREDIT: Ashley Gellman Photography

Harmony Woods – Misled

Kathryn Joseph – Whole

Samantha Urbani – Made in Love

Tilly Moses – Rot & Ruin 

Sawyer – Emotional Girls

PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Orton 

Angie McMahon – Take It With Me

Annabel Allum – Not Where You Pretend You Are

Ms Banks – Bad B Bop

Diana Gordon – Becoming

Willdwood Kin – Wake Up Sleeper

bülow – Upside Down

Jessica Mauboy – Jealous

Violet Skies – This Could Be Love

Kim Petras – In the Next Life

RuthAnne – Honest Man

King Princess – Hit the Back

PHOTO CREDIT: Cáit Fahey

Sorcha Richardson – Honey

Liza Anne – Devotion

Molly Rainford – How Many Times

Kash Doll – Mobb’n

Norah Jones (with Mavis Staples) – I’ll Be Gone

Dido – Just Because

PHOTO CREDIT: tmrw

Jetta – No Fire

Doja Cat – Bottom Bitch

FEATURE: Time to Face It: Don’t Call Me ‘Blondie’! The Washington Post and Debbie Harry: When Will We See an End to Sexism in the Music Press?

FEATURE:

 

Time to Face It: Don’t Call Me ‘Blondie’!

IN THIS PHOTO: Debbie Harry/PHOTO CREDIT: Sebastian Kim 

The Washington Post and Debbie Harry: When Will We See an End to Sexism in the Music Press?

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ALTHOUGH the title of this feature…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Celeste Sloman for The New York Times

suggests something academic, the actual reality is simply this: in 2019, there is still casual sexism in the music press, and it is getting too much! The latest woman who is an unwarranted recipient of sexism is Debbie Harry. The Washington Post, when writing on Twitter, posted a statement/headline that proved/suggested (regarding her memoir, Face It) that she was more than a blonde singer in tight pants. The gist of it was Debbie Harry is more than a pin-up or sex symbol; that she is a role model and icon. Whilst there was that subtext in the headline, what it looked like was a reductive and ill-thought-out approximation of an artist who, since the 1970s, has shaped the musical landscape and inspired fans and artists around the world. Although that was a few days ago now, it is still fresh in my thoughts. The backlash to The Washington Post’s Twitter post was swift. Grazia Daily explain in more detail:

“The Washington Post has made Debbie Harry's soon-to-be-published memoir, Face It, all about her hair colour and the elasticity of her trousers. Publicising a review of the memoir, the newspaper wrote on Twitter 'Review: In her memoir, Debbie Harry proves she’s more than just a pretty blonde in tight pants'.

Unsurprisingly, Twitter users have taken to the platform to drag The Washington Post's problematic editorial decision.

One user wrote ' I’ve never heard David Bowie referred to as a pretty blond in tight pants. Or even as a pretty blond in eyeliner and mascara. He was both, but his talent is why he was so famous and why his memory endures. But he was a guy, so…'. Multiple others tweeted about Debbie Harry's pivotal influence in the punk and new wave genres”.

Although The Washington Post retracted their statement and apologised, the fact they felt a poor choice of words was right and okay is troubling. I guess their headline remark was a bit flippant; meant to mirror what a lot of critics and people would have thought when Blondie arrived: that Debbie Harry was just a blonde singer with nothing besides her sexuality. It is worrying we still see this sort of sexism occur because, as they say in their review, The Washington Post have read her memoir and are keen to praise:

“The chapters about the New York scene and Harry’s early adventures making music are the most compelling parts of the book. We’re in her environment — smelling the garbage piled up on the street, trolling the sidewalks for discarded clothing, stepping over drunks on the Bowery. Life was DIY. About her experience playing at the notorious club CBGB, birthplace of punk, Harry writes, “It was a time of felt experience — no special effects, just raw, visceral, uncut living.” Nothing seemed to faze her. There were loft fires and relocations, and she once was raped at knife point: “I can’t say that I felt a lot of fear,” she writes of the experience. “I’m very glad this happened before AIDS or I might have freaked.” In these chapters, Harry is introspective, as she writes about death, time and the serendipitous, sometimes hazardous life she was living.

More engaging is Harry’s effort to categorize her music, which she calls a “crossover between glitter-glam and punk.” She’s reluctant to name disco as an obvious influence, instead insistently aligning herself with punk. But she was familiar with disco — music favored by the drag queens she watched in underground clubs. She also loved drag’s performative qualities, especially its attention to fashion and gesture, two practices Harry perfected while shaping her own image. Drag queens saw Harry’s display of femininity as drag, “a woman playing a man’s idea of a woman.” Harry’s words are more revealing: “I’m not blind and I’m not stupid: I take advantage of my looks and I use them.”

The strange final chapters of “Face It” include a rambling poem Harry wrote about 9/11 and a plea to save honeybees. Throughout this visually evocative book are photographs and a lengthy gallery of fan art. Readers, both familiar and unfamiliar with Harry’s career, will enjoy this memoir because on nearly every page she proves she’s more than just a pretty blonde in a pair of tight pants. If she sometimes comes across as self-interested, so what? She was a young woman who fell under the spell of New York and made herself into the performer she always knew she’d become, one who went on to cast her own spell on millions of listeners”.

It must have been bad enough that Harry faced cat-calling and crude language before playing with Blondie. Through incredibly powerful music and the sort of cool nobody else could pull off, she established herself as one of the most remarkable songwriters and artists of her generation.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @alvaroserrano/Unsplash

I still don’t think there is anybody quite like her and, with so many facsimile artists around, Harry is a true original. Whether harmless, unintended or thoughtless, sexism has always been close to the forefront of the press in general. There is a lot to be done regarding redressing inequality and sexism across the industry; from the number of women booked as headline festival acts and how radio stations prioritise music by female acts. So many inspirational female artists have had to endure sexism through their career, and one suspects Debbie Harry is used to it. She has given the music world so much, so it seems a bit crude and diminishing she should have been referred to in a disrespectful manner. I do hope that the case of Debbie Harry and The Washington Post serves as a deterrent to the rest of the music media. In general, the music press is less culpable of sexist language than the national press, yet one still sees cases of female artists given little focus and cover opportunities; their music less widely promoted and, at times, the way they are described – in terms of their looks and abilities – is quite appalling. From Metal magazines ranking the ‘hottest women in Metal’ through to female artists being seen merely as sex symbols and exploited, I do hope things improve.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @patrickian4/Unsplash

Before moving on, I have been looking online and found a couple of articles from 2016 that discuss sexism in the music press/media. In this feature, it is highlighted that, indeed, there is sexism in the press but it is a larger issue. The music press is so powerful and widespread that negative attitudes and sexist language has a very potent effect:

“The media may spotlight a pretty female musician without any requests to do so, yet if that same musician should gain weight like Kelly Clarkson did, God help her. The endless roasts, jokes and body-shaming disguised as "health concerns" could well be the type of media attention Clarkson will enjoy for years to come by an overwhelming amount. And she's nominated for a Grammy this year.

Instead, shaming is the media standard, and outlets do it under the false assumption of protecting us from the evil influence of wayward females.

But why talk about sexism at all? Because trends in media are really trends in our culture. It’s reflective and symptomatic of larger issues, namely gender expectations. Journalists who promote restrictive gender codes by crafting questions and conversations around their own biases and microaggressions are really perpetuating these unrealistic standards upon our culture, and therefore upon all women.

Denying its seriousness is also denying the power the media has over culture. From demands on women’s bodies to be uniformly thin or sexy to literally tearing apart women simply because they’re women, the music media is relentlessly judgmental and misogynistic”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Björk/PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Pfluger for The New York Times

In this feature, we learn how Björk called out sexism in the music press:

“The Icelandic artist recently DJ'd at a festival in Houston, with fellow musicians on the line up including Aphex Twin, Arca, Oneohtrix Point Never and more.

She wrote:

i am aware of that it is less of a year since i started djing publicly so this is something people are still getting used to and my fans have been incredibly welcoming to me sharing my musical journey and letting me be me . its been so fun and the nerd in me editing together pieces of others peoples songs for weeks , gets to share the different coordinates i feel between some of the most sublime music i know .

but some media could not get their head around that i was not "performing" and "hiding" behind desks . and my male counterparts not . and i think this is sexism . which at the end of this tumultuous year is something im not going to let slide : because we all deserve maximum changes in this revolutionary energy we are currently in the midst of

She also critiqued the manner in which female songwriters are portrayed by a largely male music press:

women in music are allowed to be singer songwriters singing about their boyfriends . if they change the subject matter to atoms , galaxies , activism , nerdy math beat editing or anything else than being performers singing about their loved ones they get criticized : journalists feel there is just something missing ... as if our only lingo is emo ...”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @jesseskitt11/Unsplash

It is clear that, in order to rectify sexism in the music press, we need to tackle the industry as a whole and take a tougher stance. Female artists are producing the best music at the moment; women are crucial in regards the diversity and growth of music, and yet, there is a long way to go in regards equality and attitudes. If one imagines the case of The Washington Post’s comments about Blondie’s Debbie Harry are rare and isolated, one needs to do their research. I do understand it is a minority of music blogs/magazines/sites that are guilty of sexism and discrimination, but I feel now is the time to taking stricter action concerning those who overstep the mark. Women throughout music deserve the utmost respect and to be taken seriously. Whether you are a certified goddess like Harry or a promising Country artist, one should not have to read about women in terms of their looks or figure. Whilst attitudes (slowly) are starting to change in the media, we still see too many articles that gain umbrage on social media because of the languages used or the way a female artist(s) is portrayed. Whilst women are changing music and inspiring the masses, those in the music press need to start…    

 PHOTO CREDIT: @stanleydai/Unsplash

RE-WRITING the headlines.

FEATURE: The October Playlist: Vol. 1: Stranded Death and the Love Cassette

FEATURE:

 

The October Playlist

IN THIS PHOTO: CHVRCHES 

Vol. 1: Stranded Death and the Love Cassette

___________

THIS playlist…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Nick Cave

puts together some monster tracks from some incredible artists. There is new music from CHVRCHES, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds; Angel Olsen and Floating Points. I can see so much terrific stuff from right across the board. If you need a kick to get the weekend started, make sure you have a listen to the playlist and I know it will do the job! I am sure there is something in there for everyone and, as I said, this is a really huge week. Alongside the aforementioned artists, there are tunes from The Who, Sleater-Kinney and Elbow. It is a really exciting mix and one that digs deep into the heart. There are so many emotions and sounds on display, you will need some serious time to get behind everything and absorb it all. So, ensure you get involved with this playlist of the best new music…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Angel Olsen

OF the week.  

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

_________

CHVRCHES - Death Stranding

PHOTO CREDIT: Kyle Coutts

Angel Olsen – New Love Cassette

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Bright Horses

Sea Girls - Violet

PHOTO CREDIT: Nikko LaMere

Sleater-Kinney – ANIMAL

Floating Points – Anasickmodular

Gengahr – Everything & More

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlotte Patmore

BLOXX - Go Out with You

The Who – All This Music Must Fade

The Divine Comedy - Infernal Machines/You’ll Never Work in This Town Again

Halsey – clementine

Elbow – White Noise White Heat

Holy Fuck (ft. Alexis Taylor) - Luxe

Dermot Kennedy – Dancing Under Red Skies

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds - Evil Flower

PHOTO CREDIT: Mikey Buishas

Big Thief – Forgotten Eyes

The Sherlocks – Under Your Sky

Wildwood Kin – The Crown

Camila Cabello - Cry for Me (Animated Audio)

Foster the People – Pick U Up

AJ Tracey – Cat Pack

Dido – Just Because

PHOTO CREDIT: Brynley Davies

Biig Piig – Roses and Gold

Wilco – Everyone Hides

PHOTO CREDIT: GQ

Maren Morris, Hozier - The Bones

Doja Cat – Bottom Bitch

King Princess – Hit the Back

IN THIS PHOTO: Norah Jones 

Norah Jones, Mavis Staples - I'll Be Gone

Jessie Reyez - Far Away

TRACK REVIEW: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Waiting for You

TRACK REVIEW:

 

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

PHOTO CREDIT: Matthew Thorne 

Waiting for You

9.8/10

The track, Waiting for You, is available via:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GF43RrFmpb0

GENRE:

Ambient

The album, Ghosteen, is available via:

https://open.spotify.com/album/6UOvMBrdfOWGqSvtQohiso?si=IYG5R6MERsymFddhtMijLg

RELEASE DATE:

3rd October, 2019

LABELS:

Ghosteen Ltd./Bad Seed

PRODUCERS:

Nick Cave/Warren Ellis

__________

WHEN thinking about…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Amelia Troubridge

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, there are several different things to cross off the list. The band have released a new album, Ghosteen, and it sort of came out of nowhere! In this review, I want to mention a few things. I will explore albums that are beautiful and uplifting in spite of darkness and personal loss; artists such as Cave who experience tragedy and remain inspiring, strong and creatively fascinating; Cave’s bond with his audience and how that has shifted through the years; the nature of album promotion and why Ghosteen should give other artists inspiration; a bit about the power of music to bond music and join strangers together – and how that manifests on social media. I will start by discussing Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ latest work. I will discuss its sense of surprise and how we were not expecting it later, but first I want to discuss something that many reviewers and fans have picked up on: how incredibly beautiful it is. There are various phases of the band’s career, and I think the last few albums have gravitated more towards more emotional, tender music – some of the earlier work has more strut and energy to it. That might seem like a natural evolution, but I think Cave has changed as a writer and is coming from a different perspective. I will come on to the death of his son, Arthur, and how that informed the sound of Skeleton Tree in 2016. Maybe that was a point where Cave had to dig into the soul and work from a darker space. Despite the hurt and loss, he has experienced in the past few years, Cave’s music with his band has been a source of help and solace for many people. Doubtless, Ghosteen is a gorgeous album that ponders subjects such as loss, but it is much broader than that. There are songs that have a spiritual nature and there are some that are deeply personal. Everyone will take something different away from the album but, as you will see from my review, there are certain songs that will hold greater weight.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Muir Vidler

I do think there is a lot of anger percolating and pooping in music now. The onslaught of bad news and division has affected us all and we are all sort of in this mindset where it is hard to find light and happiness. Whilst there are few overtly positive albums and songs around this year, there are artists who are finding structure and hopefulness in black scenarios. Cave is someone who has a very productive and pragmatic approach to bleaker times and situations. His music does not shy away from the challenges and realities of loss and acceptance, but there is this overriding feeling of beauty, togetherness and future that you get ion spades. He embraces and absorbs everything but, when putting pen to paper, I get the feeling Cave wants the listener to feel like there is salvation and hope out there. It is hard to distil my words because, when one encounters an album like Ghosteen, you are sort of knocked backwards and struggle to take it all in. For sure, one needs a good long time to really grapple with the record – it is a double album – and ensure the songs resonate. Just listen to the instrumentation throughout Ghosteen; the power and emotion that comes from Nick Cave’s voice and you experience something truly spellbinding. In a way, Nick Cave is like Scott Walker at his genius best: someone who can say so much with his voice and produce these symphonic, sumptuous songs that instantly hit the heart. I have found that a lot of music this year has angled itself towards anger and outrage. That is fine, given the situation we are in with this country, yet I wonder whether, in order to be honest and raw, artists have forgotten to add a note of optimism – that we can see improvement is we pull together. Maybe that sounds naïve; it can be draining hearing so much anger and negativity. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ latest album is a wonderful tonic that is sure to speak to so many people and give them strength and hope.  

Cave’s son, Arthur, died in 2015 and it had a huge effect on his work and life. Skeleton Tree reflects on some of the anguish and desperation he went through. Songs like Fireflies put Cave’s voice firmly at the front. It is one of Ghosteen’s best tracks and, even though it seems quite haunting and hopeless, there is a sense of light. It is a wonderfully immersive and moving track – there are so many examples like that throughout the album. A few years has passed since Cave lost his son and, whilst it is not the reason why his music is more searching and tender (although it might play a role), I am amazed that he has found the strength to produce such coherent, stunning work. As I have been saying, we are living through a time where we do not know what is going to happen and the world around us is being reshaped and damaged. It is understandable that artists would respond with anger and a feeling that hope is being sucked away. Even when Cave is singing about humans being, essentially, fireflies pulsing in the darkness, one can take something humbling from that. Rather than feeling like we are floating hopelessly, and we are small in a chaotic world, I felt a sense of tranquillity; there is this aura of calm that soothes the spirits yet, inside that song, there are some very powerful images. All the songs on Ghosteen have so much going on. Even if the compositions seem quite bare and minimalist, they hold such impact and purpose. I am not sure how long it took to put the material together, but it seems like so much craft and thought went into it. I shall not quote other reviews; it is plain to see people adore the album and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have produced what is, perhaps, their finest work. That is a bold claim, I know. It is hard to deny the sheer wonderful and tingles one gets from listening to the material. It is an amazing work and I feel like the true effect of Ghosteen will be felt years down the line. Maybe it sets an impossibly high bar for the band when it comes to another album. They will not worry about that just yet. The fan reaction so far has been intense and overwhelmingly positive. Maybe there is something about the wider world and how artists are tackling a universal sense of uncertainty and fear. Rather than plunge us into complete darkness and wallow, Cave mixes loss and grief with some of the most passionate and personal performances to date. One comes away from Ghosteen and feels lifted and strengthened. Sure, the echoes of the songs remain and there is a lot of deep emotion to produce; the abiding feeling and takeaway is of enlightenment and personal nourishment – that is what I felt, anyway! I shall move on to another topic soon, but I was keen to talk about albums that appear quite oppressive or heavy-going on the surface yet have positivity and edifying quality. I know other artists have done similar things with their albums; none has come close to the resonance of Ghosteen.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Anton Corbijn

It is worth moving on to another subject that sort of strays away from the material as such. Now, Nick Cave is hosting intimate talks with an audience and the Conversations with Nick Cave tour was hugely successful and applauded. From the more talk-based shows, Nick Cave is heading on the road and will play a lot of the new album for audiences. Now, we see this artist who clearly loves his audience and wants them to feel involved. As this article explains, things have not always been smooth and harmonious between Cave and the crowds:

“When the band arrived in England in 1980, they landed with a thud of disappointment. The world they read about in NME back home in Australia failed hopelessly to live up to their expectations and they found themselves at the centre of a musical scene they largely loathed (with the exception of allies such as The Fall and The Pop Group). Combined with the arrogance and fury of youth, this saw a level of contempt brew and manifest from Cave and co. towards their new audience. At a 1982 performance, a growingly restless crowd broke out into fights amongst themselves as the band waited to go on. As a flustered promoter rushed backstage to inform them of the escalating tension, Cave replied: "Good. I hope the pigs kill one another."

By this stage people were actively attending shows to cause trouble and they would often get back what they gave. One performance was interrupted by a fan that got on stage to urinate on bass player Tracy Pew whilst he was playing, only for Pew to hammer his bass into the head of the offending pisser and send a stream of blood oozing down his face. Punches and kicks were often exchanged between band and audience and one fan called Bingo - who had taken offence to comments Cave made in the press about English audiences being stupid sheep - decided to make it his mission to torment the band. This came to a head one evening when Bingo decided he would breathe fire at the band whilst they were performing, bringing with him his own bottle of meths and spewing a DIY fireball in an attempt to engulf the band. Such maniacal behaviour led the band to hire Bingo as their minder - as someone ready to pounce on stage and brandish a metal pipe at any audience members crossing the line as he once had.

By 1983 in one of Cave’s last major interviews before The Birthday Party broke up he told NME: "I don't know of another group who are playing music that is attempting in some way to be innovative that draws a more moronic audience than The Birthday Party. There's always ten rows of the most cretinous sector of the community".

The live shows now are a changed affair and, when circling back to his recent conversational tour, I want to bring in a review from back in January; where we get an insight into the questions asked/answered and how, even though Cave is a lot closer and harmonious in terms of audience interaction, there is still a bit of the old flame inside him: 

 “Our interactions fall into three categories. First, when he quips back: many are gently teased by Cave tonight. In these moments he’s “as funny as a circus” (that’s my dad, who I took, not Nick). “Maybe you don’t need to clap after I answer each question?” Cave suggests. “I start to analyse the volume of each clap and, well … ”

The second is when he latches on to a topic and answers with depth and honesty. It’s like a late-night D&M with a mate – only the mate is Nick Cave and we’re yarning with the lights up amid a cast of thousands. “We’ll all live two lives,” he says in response to a comment about David Bowie’s final years – when he was facing mortality and reaching out to connect with fans. “In his first life, he did what many of us do and put himself forward as an individual … then later he looked for something communal and collective. It’s what happens to us all … I think we’re united by suffering.”

The “great thrill” of the creative process, meanwhile, is when something “starts to emerge from meaninglessness even when you don’t see it at first. To be a creative person requires most of all, faith. Faith the moment will come. And when it does you can see it vibrating in front of your face”.

The third category of interaction is tidbits about his music and collaborators. “It’s really about loss, the Bad Seeds,” he says. “It’s hard for people to look at them and not see the absences, now, of some towering figures.” He names some who’ve died and some who left the band: Blixa Bargeld, Conway Savage, Barry Adamson and Kid Congo. He talks about Brett Whiteley, Shane MacGowan, Tony Cohen”.

Let us move on and address another subject because, as I am sure, I need to cover the music itself. There is a remarkable aspect of Ghosteen that has made its arrival and brilliance all the more defined and extraordinary.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Muir Vidler

Whereas so many albums are flogged to death ahead of time and you get Instagram posts galore, that was not the case here. Nick Cave is not the sort of artist who puts endless teasers out but, apart from a few little bits here and there, there was not a lot of build. The announcement was made a few weeks back and, as the article explores, there was plenty of intrigue and enigma:

“Cave told a fan that Ghosteen is a double album. “The songs on the first album are the children,” he wrote. “The songs on the second album are their parents.” Cave also said, “Ghosteen is a migrating spirit.” Find the tracklist and cover art below. The band’s last album of new material was 2016’s Skeleton Tree”.

I love the fact Cave sort of made the announcement after a fan asked a question regarding future material. I wonder what would have happened if that question had not been asked. The album would have come out, of course, but I am interested how the announcement would have been made. In these days of oversaturation and long-winded campaigns, I love it when an artist sort of gives us a tiny bit of warning before an album comes. Unfortunately, as a lot of smaller artists rely on teasers and need to build momentum, I wonder if a lot of the bigger acts need to do that. After all, they have acclaim and a huge fanbase and I think there is something wonderful regarding surprise releases and not making too much of a fuss. I know Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have not approached their previous albums in quite the same way. That said, the way they announced Ghosteen was perfect. Rather than get spoon-fed songs and fragments, there was this completeness when Ghosteen arrived on YouTube on Thursday night. The physical product is not released until 8th November, but you can pre-order a copy now. 

I will get to the review in a second, but I think Nick Cave’s recent talks and Ghosteen have helped bring together on social media. I have been checking the solo media feed and mentions of Nick Cave, and it is clear he is having a huge effect on people. Not only were some fascinating and big themes addressed and discussed on his tour; people also got to see a different side to Nick Cave. Away from the noise and the usual roar of a gig, here was a man letting people in and providing this intimate affair – even if a few questions did cause annoyance; Cave keeping his audience in check when required. I have seen so many responses online where people have been in his presence and, after hearing him talk, have found fresh impetus and guidance. It is rare one gets that from an artist; so many new connections have come off the back of Cave’s conversations. Whilst there has been some great interaction and shared experiences online after the tour, I am already seeing people bonding over Ghosteen. Not only are people expressing how the album makes them feel; they are posting comments and saying how the music is true to them – fans saying how the music is familiar and they can identify with Cave. Many have experienced loss and tragedy; the music throughout Ghosteen is going to resonate with those who need belief and direction. I know every artist can unite people and strike up conversation, but there is something almost unheard of when it comes to Nick Cave. I associate modern music with digital distraction, endless promotion and a sense of the familiar. In some ways, Cave is stripping away all the layers and baubles of modern life. The music, as I said, goes deep and there was not this months-long promotional onslaught for Ghosteen. Instead, this incredible album has bene released and people are connecting because they feel like Cave’s songs are about them; that they are moved hugely by what he and the band are saying. That is an amazingly special and unexpected gift in these times.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Muir Vidler

Whereas one might have expected something quite soothing or ethereal to open the song, Waiting for You, instead, there is a clatter and rumble of percussion that has definite rumble and intent. There is an industrial sound to the drums; a sound that seems familiar but, with Nick Cave, you know the song is not going to be a Dance tune or something similar. Instead, it is a brilliantly atmospheric moment that opens a truly gorgeous song. The piano comes in and replaces the percussion. It is slow and meditative; it has a grace and elegance but, alongside that, there is a sadness that is accompanied by hovering, elevated electronics. Before Cave sings a word, you get this picture of an abandoned scene or night-time drive. Our hero talks of the cool evening breeze and the heroine’s hair being caught and blown. Driving along, they park up by the beach. Cave’s projection is measured and slow; it allows the words to breathe and unfold as one hears every emotion and ounce of his soul going into the song. It seems that some things are better now said and it is best to remain in silence. Whether Cave is referring to a romantic moment where they are capturing the beauty of the surrounding or whether we are experiencing a tense encounter, I am not sure. One cannot help but fall for the sheer wonder of Cave’s delivery and the passion that he puts into the song. The woman’s body is an anchor that never asked to be free; she is in the business of making the hero happy. There are a number of possibilities one can extract from that but, for me, there is a slight hesitancy to this love. One could rush to visions concerning women of the night, but I think Cave’s tryst is purer, yet there is a slight fracture or pause. It makes for arresting listen as the chorus allows the song’s title to be stretched and unfolded so powerfully. Cave’s voice never seems too heavy or mordant. Instead, he is quivering with emotion and desire.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Anton Corbijn

It makes for one of his most beautiful and moving moments ever. Strings echo and shiver as Cave talks about “a Jesus freak” and a priest running through the chapel. I do wonder whether Cave meant his words to be taken literally or whether there is this sense of metaphor and imagery that symbolises a sense of turmoil and change. It is fascinating unpacking the words and trying to decipher where Cave’s mind is. This heroine’s soul is an anchor and it seems like it is keeping Cave safe and warm. It never asked to be free and, as he sings those words, I wonder whether that is a regret for both. One can interpret that sentiment and feel like Cave is reliant on the heroine and she is being tied down. I think the lyrics are referring to two sweethearts who are, maybe, in different spaces or are divided at the moment. The chorus has a real sense of desire, which makes me think the two are not together. It seems a little bit of faith can go a long way and, my mixes religious imagery and language together with vocals that are exquisitely tender and heartfelt, you cannot help but be affected by Cave’s plight. I had to come back to the song a few times and just play the song without thinking. I just let its power move me and inspire imagery. It is one of the finest tracks I have heard from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, and Waiting for You ranks alongside the most beautiful songs of 2019. If Skeleton Tree seems to carry a heavy heart, I do think songs such as Waiting for You have a degree of hope and feeling of betterment; like things will turn and we can recover. I would encourage people to listen to the entirety of Ghosteen, but Waiting for You really stood out for me.  

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jesse Frohman

I have already provided a link to Nick Cave’s tour dates and he will be taking the band on the road. In fact, at the moment, it seems like the Conversations with Nick Cave juggernaut goes to the U.S. and will be back in Europe very soon. Now that there is a new album out, there is going to be demand for Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds to hit the road – whether there are plans to do that between other Nick Cave dates or wait until, next year, I am not too sure. A lot of legends seem calm down and restrict their workload as the years go by. Nick Cave, by contrast, seems to grow more ambitious and wondrous with the passing of time. The albums keep on getting better and better; Cave is endlessly fascinating and engrossing. We will need some time to compute Ghosteen and let all the songs unfurl and do their work. So far, I have heard most of the album and I am going to spend the weekend going back in and listening. I know Ghosteen will be considered one of the defining albums of this year. As this decade comes to an end, maybe Ghosteen will make it into the top-ten albums of the 2010s. I will let people make up their own minds about Ghosteen, but it is clear the album is very special indeed. I shall round things off in a bit. I wonder what is coming in the next year or so for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds. There is already speculation regarding who might headline Glastonbury in 2020 – it is the fiftieth anniversary and some big names are already rumoured. Whether Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney or Fleetwood Mac will headline – or all three perhaps; they are the favourites right now -, I am not sure. It is clear Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds need to be added to the conversation as I feel they could deliver a truly memorable Glastonbury headline set. That is all speculation and a way off. In the next few months, there will be more Conversations with Nick Cave and it will be interesting to see what questions arise in regards Ghosteen and its inspiration. Cave does not give too many media interviews, so these dates are a rare opportunity to learn more from one of the greatest songwriters in the world. I shall end the review here and urge people to stream Ghosteen. Make sure you grab a copy when it comes out in November. When it comes to this treasure of an album, one discovers…

A rare blend of heartbroken and hopeful.

___________

Follow Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

PHOTO CREDIT: Muir Vidler 

Official:

https://www.nickcave.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/nickcaveandthebadseeds/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/nickcave

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/nickcaveofficial/

YouTube:

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

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4UXJsSlnKd7ltsrHebV79Q?si=BgKUdrADRvuVLjDQtuSf0Q

ALL UNCREDITED PHOTOS:

Getty Images/Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds

FEATURE: Beneath the Cover Art: The Importance of Truly Experiencing Vinyl

FEATURE:

 

Beneath the Cover Art

PHOTO CREDIT: @priscilladupreez/Unsplash 

The Importance of Truly Experiencing Vinyl

__________

HAVING just purchased a couple of copies…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Iain Macmillan

of Abbey Road’s 50th Anniversary Edition, it got me wondering about the pleasures of vinyl and how, even though that release is a huge one for music fans, it is the sensation of holding a record and all its intricate details that gets to me! I was queuing outside a record shop in Covent Garden the day those editions (there was a four-C.D. format too) came out on 27th September. I got to talking with a man who was also waiting – whose names I did not grab -, who told me how he has every Beatles record; he is retired and spends what little money he has on records. It has been a long while since I queued outside a record shop (maybe the last time I did it was back in the 1990s) and I have played the three-record edition of Abbey Road and all its demos/new additions. I know there are people out there who will buy the anniversary editions because it is collectable and momentous and, whilst that is completely fine, I fear there are going to be copies of Abbey Road employed as art rather than their true purpose: hugely important work that needs to be enjoyed and poured over. It is great vinyl sales are doing well, and vinyl sales are primed to outstrip C.D.s very soon. It is amazing that this decades-old format has survived other competitors and formats and, in 2019, remains vital and popular.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @luana_dmc/Unsplash

Not that it really matters in terms of sales, but how many people are buying vinyl because it is cool and fashionable?! I must confess that I have been guilty on a couple of occasions of buying records and leaving them to collect dust. Not necessarily because I wanted this piece of art…more that I felt I needed that record in my collection. I do worry that we sort of buy a lot of records and never get around to hearing them. I have been looking at my vinyl collection and there are a few albums that are still in the original state: unplayed and looking for some attention. It is a lot easier streaming songs and listening online. You can play songs and albums without much physical effort. Vinyl is more expensive than streaming and a lot of us are struggling to find the time to experience music in its fullness. I think vinyl remains adored and profitable because of the experience one gets from it. Digital music is fine…but nothing beats the feeling of putting the needle down and letting the music play. You are forced to stop and there are few distractions. If you need to unwind and detach from the world; get a sense of perspective back and digest music in all its glory, vinyl is the only way to go! I am rectifying my habits and am compelled to step away from the laptop and get down to some serious listening.

 PHOTO CREDIT: @lastly/Unsplash

The tactile nature of records means you can listen and read the sleeve credits and see the artwork. I love the size of a record and knowing that it has been crafted and there has been this process involved. Maybe I am over-romanticising the whole thing a tad. I do feel many people see records as accessories and, in the case of anniversary releases, they buy them because everyone else is. I do understand and appreciate the artistic value of vinyl, yet I feel too many people are buying records and not actually hearing the music. What is it about a record that means vinyl can survive and grow in an age where digital music is everywhere? This article investigates the ritual of playing a record and exploring the physical nature of a record:

“The entire experience of vinyl helps to create its appeal. Vinyl appeals to multiple senses—sight, sound, and touch—versus digital/streaming services, which appeal to just one sense (while offering the delight of instant gratification). Records are a tactile and a visual and an auditory experience. You feel a record. You hold it in your hands. It's not just about the size of the cover art or the inclusion of accompanying booklets (not to mention the unique beauty of picture disks and colored vinyl). A record, by virtue of its size and weight, has gravitas, has heft, and the size communicates that it matters.

PHOTO CREDIT: @sethdoylee/Unsplash

Records, in all their fragility and physicality, pay proper respect to the music, proper respect to the past. They must be handled carefully, for the past deserves our preservation. They are easily scratched, and their quality is diminished as a result of those scratches. They are subject to the elements—left in the sun, they warp. Like living things, they are ephemeral.

The cumbersome process of putting on a record is akin to a ritual, an experience that mirrors the care that artists took in creating the work. First you have to find the record—a treasure hunt which might take five or 10 minutes depending on the size and organization of your collection. When you find the record, you pull it out. You remove the album from its cover. (Or, if you're a real stickler, you remove the album from the cover, still inside the inner sleeve”.

I have written numerous features about vinyl and, as C.D.s fade out and we still have this great affection for vinyl, I would recommend people carve out some time to listen to some of their favourite albums. The problems comes with people disconnecting from the digital and conserving time where they can solely dedicate themselves to music. In these hectic times, I think we all need to allow ourselves sanctuary and calm. Even if it is an hour a week, playing records allows for a great sense of restoration and peace. Taking out the record, holing it in your hands and watching the needle drop down…is there anything quite like it? If you are someone who either collects vinyl for artistic worth or has bought a load and not got around to listening to them, I would urge you to find some time in your day. Shutting the rest of the world away and playing a record without interruption is…  

 PHOTO CREDIT: @priscilladupreez/Unsplash

A perfect thing.

FEATURE: Modern Heroines: Part Three: Fiona Apple

FEATURE:

 

Modern Heroines

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Part Three: Fiona Apple

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IN the first couple of parts of my…

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Modern Heroines feature, I have turned the spotlight on two very different British artists: Laura Marling and Little Simz. Today, I want to discuss an American artist who is in the news right now. Not only is she rumoured to be recording her fifth album, but Fiona Apple is planning a collaboration. In terms of albums, we might see one very soon.

“Fiona Apple has said she wants to release a new album in 2020, eight years after her last release.

The singer-songwriter has only released four albums in her career, including her 1996 debut ‘Tidal’ and her latest, 2012’s ‘The Idler Wheel…’.

Now, in a rare interview, the musician has discussed the follow-up to the latter record, saying she was meant to be done with it “a million years ago”.

“I mean, I don’t know! It’s hard to say,” Apple told Vulture when asked when a new album would be ready. “I was supposed to be done a million years ago. And I go off and I take too long making stuff. I’m hoping for early 2020. I think”.

Also, there are rumours Apple wants to work with Lil Nas X, and we might see something between them. Her last album, The Idler Wheel..., was released in 2012 and there is a definite hunger for Fiona Apple. Where do we start when it comes to the New York-born Art-Pop star?

Well, I guess starting at the beginning is a good idea! Apple was born in 1977 and raised between her father’s home in Los Angeles and her base in New York. Music bit Apple (I shall try not to do too many puns!) and she started to compose her own pieces as a child. Growing up on the Upper West Side of New York, one can envisage the sort of sounds and sights Apple was exposed to. One of the things that staggers me about Apple is her resilience and bravery – sort to wander off briefly! Apple has revealed in interviews how she has OCD and has lived with PTSD and depression; she was raped (I will not go into that in too much detail in this feature), but she has experienced a lot of trauma and heartache. The fact she has come out the other side and is an inspiration to so many out there is truly amazing. Apple never conforms to ideals of womanhood and what a female artist should be; she has always spoken out and been unafraid to speak the truth. I shall go back to where I started. Music and dance were part of Apple’s upbringing. Her maternal grandparents were dancers and big band vocalists – the former, Millicent Green, her grandmother and the latter, Johnny McAfee, her grandfather. There was a lot of movement and change in Apple’s early life. She moved out to Harlem with her mother and sister but commuted to see her father in Los Angeles. I am not sure whether the transitory nature impacted a sense of individualism and focus on music.

Perhaps it was hard to put down roots and find stability; music provided a great allure and muse for Apple. She was a classically trained pianist as a child and, when composing, she would translate guitar tabs into music; she was a fan of Jazz standards and gravitated towards artists like Billie Holiday. I find that pretty romantic. One might imagine a girl of the 1980s being more interested in the sounds of the time. The fact Apple was more interested in iconic Jazz artists dictated the course her music would take. Apple did experience trauma as a girl (she was raped aged twelve) and developed an eating disorder. Whilst Apple has maintained there is a distance between her trauma and writing, I do wonder whether, in some ways, her debut album was a sort of release or way of getting some of her pain out there. Maybe not. Perhaps this would not happen now but, in 1994, Apple; had a demo tape with a few songs on (including Never Is a Promise) and gave it to a friend who was a babysitter for a music publicist. It was only two years until Apple’s debut, Tidal, arrived. Released on Work Records and Columbia Records, the album went three-times platinum. It was a huge success and it is mindblowing realising just how popular the album is.

Maybe that was helped by its huge single, Criminal, but the entire album is rich with melody, musicianship and passion. Criminal has woozy horns and Trip-Hop beats; Slow Like Honey and Pale September are romantic and sumptuous. If some critics felt Apple’s musicianship was far stronger than her lyrics, others compared her favourably to singer-songwriters like Alanis Morissette and Tori Amos (1994-1996 was a period where both artists enjoyed huge success and attention). After causing a bit of offence at the 1997 VMAs, there was some criticism from the media but, in honesty, they were afraid of an artist who was bold and not reading from a script. Apple (rightfully) does not regret what she said back then; an artist who was pure and authentic. The reviews for Tidal are hugely positive. I want to bring in this review from Pop Matters from 2009:

“She wrestles with the burden of her despair and isolation, quietly hoping to be saved. Anchored by its smooth sonic landscape, and her restrained voice, it is very easy for one to grow engrossed in Apple’s intimate narrative. With its opaque and painterly lyrics, “it’s calm under the waves, in the blue of my oblivion” – “Sullen Girl” is able to elevate itself from a simple retelling of sexual abuse (i.e. Tori Amos’ “Me and A Gun”), and instead opens itself up to a variety of interpretations.

IN THIS IMAGE: The cover of Fiona Apple’s debut album, Tidal 

 For me, the song was about grappling with the weight of my desires, for my mother it might have been a song that captured the loneliness of depression, and I am sure that for many other listeners, it was about finding the courage to accept their silent anguish.

Elsewhere, Apple tackles female exploitation, as is evidenced by “Criminal”, a lavish track that is ambivalent about the tension between exploiting one’s self sexually, and protecting what is sacred. And despite her young age (and innocence), her breathy Nina Simone-style vocals echo a maturity and understanding of a woman twice her age”.

In this interview from 1999, Apple talked about the changes from her debut to her sophomore effort, When the Pawn…

“And where "Tidal" was a tsunami of adolescent feelings in which Apple revealed far too much of herself, "When the Pawn" is a decidedly more mature work that trades in youthful melodrama for somber ruminations on shattered relationships and romantic obsession delivered in Apple's husky alto. The album offers cycles of struggle and surrender, optimism and cynicism, hope and hopelessness.

"When I was sequencing the album, I was thinking about the amount of hope in each song," Apple admits. She also recalls cataloguing the album's ever-shifting perspective on relationships: "Don't try it . . . Okay, try it, please . . . Okay, we tried it, it failed . . . Please, one more chance . . . I'm not going to give you one more chance . . . I'm going to go [expletive] something up on purpose".

Although I really love Tidal, you can tell there is more confidence and variety throughout When the Pawn… The album seems bolder and more memorable. If Tidal’s standout cut was the edgier Criminal, the suaver and waltz-like Paper Bag is the key example of When the Pawn…’s brilliance.

When reviewing the album, Pitchfork made some very keen observations:

““I went crazy again today,” she sings in “Paper Bag,” the Grammy-nominated single that may be the most fondly remembered track on When the Pawn. It’s Broadway meets the Beatles in its triumphal horn blasts, but as the melody grows ever bouncier, the words increasingly counter that levity with disappointment. The lyric starts out all stars and daydreams and doves of hope, before dispelling those pop song illusions to reveal the grim reality that the man Apple desires sees her as “a mess he don’t wanna clean up.” She’s never had trouble laughing at herself, and “Paper Bag” hinges on a sly reference to her own solipsism—“He said ‘It’s all in your head’/And I said ‘So’s everything’/But he didn’t get it”—that drags the singer and an uncomprehending public at once.

The song is emblematic of an album that broadened Apple’s fragile, mercurial image not just with self-awareness, but also by expanding her sound beyond the jazzy, beat-backed piano ballads of Tidal. When the Pawn’s producer Jon Brion (whose baroque arrangements had recently created context for the dateless, scene-less voices of Rufus Wainwright and Aimee Mann) intuited that her style was distinctive enough to absorb other elements without losing cohesion. Still, even in his own estimation, he tends to get an outsized share of the credit for the record’s innovations. In a conversation with Performing Songwriter, Brion clarified that its unusual rhythms—namely, the time-signature shifts in “Fast as You Can”—originated with Apple’s songwriting. “In terms of the color changes, I am coordinating all of those,” he said. “But the rhythms are absolutely Fiona’s”.

There are great interviews from 1999, where Apple talks about her creative process and the freedom she gets from the videos. I think the visual aspect is one of the most striking aspects of her work. They are so eye-catching, nuanced and arresting that one cannot help but come back time and time again! If you can find interviews online and get the time, I recommend you do – as there are not that many print ones from that period. It is clear music, to Apple, was a way of getting something out; her creative activity is a chance to tackle her confusions and feelings – one can say that about most songwriters, I guess. There is a lot more confidence and positivity on When the Pawn…; Tidal is a little angrier, I think, and there seems to be blame cast (either on others or herself). Perhaps there was greater collaboration on her second album; critics picked up on that change. Many expected a third album to follow fairly soon after When the Pawn… arrived. Given the momentum and demands, it was not going to happen in a year or so – the third album did not come until 2005. Produced by Jon Brion, it was due for release in 2003 but there were numerous delays. There is no real explanation why: leaked recordings emerged and, given the delays, there was unrest from the fans.

Maybe the earlier recordings were not satisfactory or there were demands from Epic Records that could not be met. In any case, Extraordinary Machine had a troubled start. This 2005 article from The New Yorker shed more light:

“Apple’s decision to re-record her third album was hardly remarkable; artists tinker with their tracks all the time. But the rough mixes that she produced with Brion were leaked anonymously on the Internet, where they were widely circulated, putting fans in the unusual situation of being able to choose between two versions of the same record. (In its published form, “Extraordinary Machine” features two recordings from Brion’s original production, nine re-recordings, and one new song, “Parting Gift.”) In fact, the differences matter less than you might think. The songs from Apple’s collaboration with Brion sound as though they were being played on a calliope inside a merry-go-round. Elizondo and Kehew’s arrangements are more bass-heavy and less whimsical. But, whichever version you end up preferring, Apple is in charge: the songs follow her around like a boat on a towline.

Sony is releasing the album this week, and, as Apple has made clear in interviews, she, not the label, was responsible for the delay. (Not satisfied with the results of her collaboration with Jon Brion, who produced her second album, known as “When the Pawn”—the actual title is ninety words long—Apple re-recorded most of the songs with Mike Elizondo, a bassist who played on “When the Pawn,” and Brian Kehew, a producer.) Apple’s insistence on control should not come as a surprise to close listeners of her work. Apple, who is twenty-eight, is as musically sure-footed as she is emotionally labile. “Extraordinary Machine” is the confident extension of a rich and original musical language that she has been carefully fashioning for the past decade”.

Despite the delays, setbacks and challenges, Extraordinary Machine is another remarkable album that, yet again, finds Apple moving in new directions. This review from AllMusic is full of praise:

“Now, Extraordinary Machine sounds like a brighter, streamlined version of When the Pawn, lacking the idiosyncratic arrangement and instrumentation of that record, yet retaining the artiness of the songs themselves. Like her second record, this album is not immediate; it takes time for the songs to sink in, to let the melodies unfold, and decode her laborious words (she still has the unfortunate tendency to overwrite: "A voice once stentorian is now again/Meek and muffled"). Unlike the Brion-produced sessions, peeling away the layers on Extraordinary Machine is not hard work, since it not only has a welcoming veneer, but there are plenty of things that capture the imagination upon first listen -- the pulsating piano on "Get Him Back," the moodiness of "O' Sailor," the coiled bluesy "Better Version of Me," the quiet intensity of the breakup saga "Window," the insistent chorus on "Please Please Please" -- which gives listeners a reason to return and invest time in the album. And once they do go back for repeated listens, Extraordinary Machine becomes as rewarding, if not quite as distinctive, as When the Pawn. Nevertheless, this is neither a return to the sultry, searching balladeering of Tidal, nor a record that will bring her closer to tasteful, classy Norah Jones territory, thereby making her a more commercial artist again. Extraordinary Machine may be more accessible, but it remains an art-pop album in its attitude, intent, and presentation -- it's just that the presentation is cleaner, making her attitude appealing and her intent easier to ascertain, and that's what makes this final, finished Extraordinary Machine something pretty close to extraordinary”.

Again, after a gap before Extraordinary Machine, we had to wait until 2012 for Fiona Apple’s fourth album. The Idler Wheel… (not its full title, but it would take me a while to type it all out!), is, perhaps, Apple’s most challenging and full work. She incorporated elements of her previous records and added new ideas. I am a big fan of the album and, when listening, one is dazzled by the lyrics, music and vocals. Apple creates her own world and, in terms of songwriting, there is nobody like her. When speaking with Matt Diehl in 2012, she was asked about her ideas and lyrics:

“DIEHL: I’ve heard you say that your songs always start with a phrase. Was there a phrase that launched the creative process for The Idler Wheel . . . ?

APPLE: Hmm . . . I think the first phrase that I wrote off of for this album was at the beginning of the song “Left Alone.” I wanted to use the phrase “moribund slut,” which led me to use the phrase “orotund mutt.”

DIEHL: There are some really evocative lyrics on this album. Where does the imagery in the title come from?

APPLE: For years now, in many of my notebooks, there would always be something about an idler wheel. I like the idea of the idler wheel—it just sits in between things, but it makes such a big difference in the way that the machine is working. That concept has always been something that has interested me, but I didn’t really know why. Now I feel like it connects with feeling everything because I’ve gone through a lot of attacking things in my life—like, “There’s a problem here, I have to do something about this,” or “I’m not useful unless I’m doing some kind of job.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Sebastian Kim for Interview Magazine

It’s to the point where I feel like I’m not really a full human. I used to feel like, “I’m not a functional person because I don’t go on lunch dates with friends. I hear about people having dinner parties but I never do that. I’m not really human.” But if I were to imagine myself as an idler wheel inside some big mix of gears, then I would be connected to everything. It’s not like there’s just me and then nothing. This is going to make me sound kind of flaky, but I’m like “Hands Across America” with the moon right now. I feel like I am connected to even the farthest-reaching part of the universe—as is everybody.

DIEHL: Well, when you experience the kind of success that you did so early, people kind of wonder if you can—or will—follow a certain path.

APPLE: I get that, yeah, but, you know, I have no idea if this album sounds different, or doesn’t fit with the ones from before. I don’t have any idea of how either I am really perceived or the music that I make is really perceived. I color it all with my own perception anyway.

DIEHL: There is that line in “Every Single Night” where you actually say, “I just want to feel everything.”

APPLE: Yes. It connects to the name of the record, which I have no idea if anybody can make sense of. I don’t know if it would make any sense to me”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sebastian Kim for Interview Magazine

Here is a typical review for The Idler Wheel… that proves, sixteen years after her debut, Fiona Apple was able to turn head and surprise:

 “Though the outside nature of these sounds is initially somewhat jarring in the more expected context of Apple’s piano and voice, they quickly insinuate themselves into the melody, becoming the skeletal framework upon which Apple and co-producer/percussionist Charley Drayton build spare, occasionally catchy, usually melancholy melodies. (After all, as Apple sings, somewhat cheekily, on the outro of “Werewolf,” “Nothin’ wrong when a song ends in a minor key.”) Even pre-recorded and looped, these sampled elements feel organic and spontaneous, the result of human experience rather than knob-twiddling. Like everything Apple does, the album’s production feels compulsive, not calculated.

Compulsion is a fitting lens through which to view both Apple and The Idler Wheel…. Like the intermediary gear for which the record is named, Apple seems to spin in her own fixed state, doing the only thing she knows how to do without regard for whatever outcome it may produce. Yet in doing so, she creates an immense amount of energy. She reflects action rather than directing it; as she repeats over and over on “Every Single Night,” she just wants to feel everything. The beauty of The Idler Wheel… is how it transmits each of those feelings in excruciating, frank, and lovely detail. 

Again, when we think about Fiona Apple, there are gaps between albums. I like that fact because, today, there is so much pressure on artists to put out stuff to remain relevant and capitalise on demand.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Kevin Hayes for Vulture

Now that so much material is streamed, I feel artists rush releases so that they can get something out there. Fiona Apple is the perfect example of someone who takes her time and makes music that matters to her. She allows enough time to pass before recording; experiences to come and inspiration to hit. She is so involved and committed to the music…this shows in every track. I opened by mentioning some recent rumblings. Apple, it seems, is working on material and there is whisper of something in 2020. She rarely provides interviews, but I want to conclude with one she recently gave with Vulture - one she requested herself:

“How do you keep up with what people are saying about you? Are you lurking online?

Other people tell me. I’m not online. I don’t have Twitter. I do search things, like when I searched the Hustlers thing … to see what people are talking about. That’s how I found you.

You famously wrote “Criminal” in 45 minutes at age 17, after the record label asked for a single. What does the song mean to you as an adult?

Right now the song itself, the lyrics, those don’t really mean anything to me. The way it started, the video, all the crap I got — using this song now, and using it in this movie for a purpose I believe in, is like reclaiming it. I’m not that scared girl in underwear anymore. The song isn’t that to me anymore. It’s my way of paying for things that I want to get done.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images 

What does your life look like right now?

Well, it is music now, because I’m finishing a record. But that’s all, like, me in my house, and I’m in control of everything. So I don’t have to be getting other people’s ideas of what I should be doing yet.

You’ve always been good at that — controlling your own narrative. How did you develop that power?

I don’t even think it’s a power. I do think I’ve always had it. It’s honestly a direct result of me never getting people’s phone numbers and never getting chummy with a lot of people. So then people don’t think of me to call up and badger to come out and do stuff. So I never go out and do stuff, because it’s never expected. My family hasn’t seen me at Christmas celebrations for years and years. So I just don’t get invited anymore. [Laughs.] I mean, that’s an exaggeration.

I assumed in the beginning I could do whatever I want. If you’re just doing that from the beginning, and don’t have any doubt about it, then that’s how it goes. I had no idea I was setting my own narrative by not acting a certain way or taking anybody’s advice.

In that life, does it make its way to you that you’re something of an icon for your refusal to conform to certain ideas about womanhood? Are you aware of it, and does that get internalized for you?

Hearing you say that … I like the sound of that. I will choose to believe that. I’d like to internalize that. That would be great.

When you do leave your house, what’s your relationship like with fame, with your fans? Do you interact with them, do they approach you?

I don’t get approached a lot. I’m not around people enough for it to be a thing. I haven’t noticed anybody notice me in [a long time] … but when I’m out with people, sometimes they’ll notice me getting noticed. Anytime anyone talks to me, they’re always really nice. Way back at the beginning, I was thinking I could put out a CD and I’d make all of these friends, and I wouldn’t know them but they’d know me, so that when I met them I could just say hello and we’d already be friends — I think it actually came true in a way. Not that I’m actually friends with everyone I meet. But if you’re intimate with my music, you’re intimate with me and I’m intimate with you. I feel like you’re my friend. Maybe that’s a little bit too childlike, but I do feel like that.

I do think Fiona Apple, in years to come, will be considered an icon. Right now, she is among the most original and fascinating songwriters in the world. She is so separate from the commercial and the routine; an artist who marches to the beat of her own drum; someone who wants the music to connect and mean something. I think Apple is someone who can be understood and loved by anyone, regardless of your tastes and preferences. I am looking forward to hearing new material and, as we all wait, there are four magnificent albums in the world already. Take a listen, lose yourself and embrace an artist who is…

UTTERLY sensational.

FEATURE: Spotlight: James Holt

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Asupremeshot 

James Holt

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THERE are some artists where it is easier…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Asupremeshot

letting the music do the talking rather than words! As I am charged with putting something on the page, I suppose I need to think quick! Actually, there is plenty to pen when it comes to James Holt. At a time when the music industry needs a bit more skip, step and sway…Holt is an artist who fits the bill. His latest single, Come Out to Play, is a slice of 1960s Pop and is another magical offering from the Manchester artist. Having gained kudos from stations like BBC Radio 6 Music – and D.J.s such as Chris Hawkins -, Holt is someone with a bright future. Before I continue on, how about some information from the man himself?

“James Holt is a solo artist from Bolton and is receiving attention and praise from music industry giants, such as legendary producer Brian Eno, and the listening public alike. With the craftsmanship and energy of his song writing translating effortlessly to his stage performance, and having performed at the UK’s most prestigious venues such as the Royal Albert Hall, this is an artist to watch out for in 2019.

The 24-year-old – who was diagnosed with a bilateral hearing loss at the age of four – has overcome his disability to release a pulsating and raucous rock’n’roll track. Speaking candidly about the record’s inception, James explained:

“The inspiration came from a Sky Arts TV programme set in an alternate reality in which John Lennon walked out of the Beatles before their fame in the mid-60s. It’s a fusion of thoughts and ideas and also bears references to George Orwell‘s 1984. Some people say that it sounds very Dylan-esque in the verses (especially with the harmonica), but I think the Indian-fused Beatles’ Revolver creeps in the bridge.”

Music legend, Brian Eno – who has long championed James – invited the young luminary to meet him at his John Peel Lecture for BBC Radio 6 Music. The former Roxy Music keyboard player, record producer and revered ambient pioneer also chose James’s song to use as part of an arts festival last year.

James – who graduated with a BA Music 1st class honours and MA in Music Composition (distinction) provides lead vocals, backing vocals and plays all instruments on the track, highlighting his immense talent as a musician and his resilience in the face of adversity.

This feature is going to be fairly short, but I hope I can get people tuned into Holt and his music. He has overcome adversity and, for my money, he is one of the most interesting and promising artists around. I do think the North gets overlooked regarding music; it is wonderful such a strong and vibrant wave of artists are making their voices heard right now. I think my first taste of James Holt was back in 2016 when he released the E.P., Sanguine on the Rocks. I was hooked by the sheer vitality of the songs and Holt’s voice: this rare blend of cautious and emphatic. You get drawn in by a sense of intrigue and mystery but, just as you lean in, this blast of energy and fun comes out. Holt’s music perfectly mixes moods and emotions to create this harmonious blend.

Holt has been garnering some attention recently, and I think he is one of these artists you need to keep your eyes peeled out for in 2020. With a voice that has echoes of John Lennon (Holt is a big fan of The Beatles), it is hard to ignore the quality and authority. I do think the scene is more primed towards the political and serious right now. There are pockets of light and joy and, with James Holt out there, one can be guaranteed of rich songwriting, sunshine and bounce. That is not to suggest the songwriter dodges more emotive and deep subjects – his music is so varied and wide-ranging. In every song, you feel this rare power and conviction that makes every word hit the mark. His music rewards repeated listens. One can hear a song and find much to enjoy. The more you listen, the more that comes out; little notes and angles that you might not have caught the first time around. I have seen his music evolve and grow in confidence. There are a couple of big dates coming up so, if you get a chance to see James Holt play then do. I know the remainder of the year will be busy and Holt will be working on new material. He is embarking on his earliest steps now but, at a time when strong and vibrant songwriters like Sam Fender are coming from the North, I wouldn’t bet against Holt reaching the same status. There is a lot of anger and seriousness in music so, luckily, we have an artist like James Holt who can…

LIFT the spirits.

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Follow James Holt

PHOTO CREDIT: Asupremeshot 

Official:

https://www.jamesholtmusic.com/

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/jamesholtmusic/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/jamesholtmusic

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jamesholtmusic/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5RU4BAi19LHkaPFcE1USkb?si=HRQGW7H-QPuIEekS84kk_g

FEATURE: The Good Vibes Playlist: Part Two

FEATURE:

IN THIS PHOTO: FRANKIIE/PHOTO CREDIT: FRANKIIE

The Good Vibes Playlist: Part Two

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AFTER the previous edition of my Good Vibes Playlist…

IN THIS PHOTO: LIFE/PHOTO CREDIT: Lindsay Melbourne

I am back with another installment of the best and most interesting songs around. This is another playlist crammed with quality…and artists who have a very special vibe. I hope you do enjoy the selections and, if you can, get involved with the artist and follow them on social media. The weather is pretty changeable and unpredictable at the moment, so it is the perfect time to immerse yourself in music. I know these tracks will supply some energy, emotion and sunshine. 2019’s music has been among the strongest of the decade and, with each passing month, I am amazed at what is coming through. Take a dive into the waters of some truly…

IN THIS PHOTO: PIXX/PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Gullick

SENSATIONAL artists.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Donald Fagen – The Nightfly

FEATURE:

 

Vinyl Corner

Donald Fagen – The Nightfly

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I realise I have featured….

 PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

a few Steely Dan albums here and there but, when it comes to Donald Fagen solo work, I have been a bit shy. There are a number of reasons why I am putting his debut solo album, The Nightfly, into Vinyl Corner and recommend people buy a copy. It is a wonderful record and one that is renowned for its textures, layers and brilliance. For audiophiles and those who want their stereos tested, The Nightfly is the perfect record! Many people know Donald Fagen from Steely Dan but some might not be aware he has a successful solo career - his most recent album, Sunken Condos, came out in 2012. I am a huge fan of Fagen’s work and feel his solo material does not get enough coverage. The Nightfly was produced by Gary Katz and was released on 1st October, 1982. Steely Dan’s last album before their split was 1980’s Gaucho. The band broke the year after and Fagen decided to go solo. It is amazing to see the leap in quality between the uneven Gaucho and the sublime, flawless The Nightfly! Maybe Fagen was keen to head in a new direction or had a few songs ready for a solo project. Whatever the truth, The Nightfly is a treasure trove of incredible sounds and moments. Unlike Steely Dan’s work, The Nightfly has an autobiographical nature and many of the songs relate to the optimistic mood of Fagen’s childhood in the late-1950s and 1960s. Everything from fallout shelters, Jazz D.J.s and tropical escapes are covered across the album.

To listen to The Nightfly is to be transported back to a time when there was fear in the air but there was also hope of a better future; a period of transition when America was looking forward. That seems alien today but, actually, I think The Nightfly is a work that is relevant today. We are facing perils and an uncertain world but, really, there seems to be little optimism. America transitioned through a period when nuclear annihilation seemed likely and, whereas our global crisis cannot be fixed instantly, I do think there is a way we can all come together and find a new hope; a fresh frontier on the horizon. Back in 1981, digital recording was quite new. Maybe that is why The Nightfly has a freshness and shine that embeds it in the mind. It is a gloriously produced record that is finely engineered and honed. There is looseness in the music, but it is the passion and fastidiousness of the production team, musicians and Donald Fagen that means The Nightfly such a classic. One of the reasons Steely Dan went into hibernation is the perfectionist tendencies of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Maybe having two perfectionists in a room was too much: on his own, Fagen was allowed to step away from the confines and strains in the Steely Dan camp – Becker’s drug problems exacerbated tensions between the two. In total, thirty-one musicians were employed for The Nightfly’s sessions. I think Gaucho had ambition, but its compositions often wandered and failed to connect.

Conversely, The Nightfly seems more focused, refreshing and nuanced; full of songs that stand up to endless plays and are ripe with inspiration! If The Nightfly demonstrated a new peak in Fagen’s writing, there was a period of writer’s block following the album; Fagen finding it hard to transition and adapt without Becker’s input and voice. There are some welcome changes from the Steely Dan days in terms of the lyrics and style. The music is more Jazz-influenced whereas the lyrics are more personal, less cutting and, yes, more optimistic! As Fagen was recalling childhood memories and writing from a new perspective, loading an album with sarcasm, cynicism and dread would not have sounded right. He wanted The Nightfly to sound fun and enjoyable. Indeed, Fagen’s debut album is among his most uplifting work. I think Fagen downplayed the purely autobiographical tones – saying it was more a composite of various versions of himself from the past -, but there is a warmth and personal relevance that makes The Nightfly so compelling and engaging. As one can imagine, the reviews for The Nightfly are universally positive. I want to bring in a couple of reviews that highlight different points. AllMusic, in their review, had this to note:

“A portrait of the artist as a young man, The Nightfly is a wonderfully evocative reminiscence of Kennedy-era American life; in the liner notes, Donald Fagen describes the songs as representative of the kinds of fantasies he entertained as an adolescent during the late '50s/early '60s, and he conveys the tenor of the times with some of his most personal and least obtuse material to date. Continuing in the smooth pop-jazz mode favored on the final Steely Dan records, The Nightfly is lush and shimmering, produced with cinematic flair by Gary Katz; romanticized but never sentimental, the songs are slices of suburbanite soap opera, tales of space-age hopes (the hit "I.G.Y.") and Cold War fears (the wonderful "The New Frontier," a memoir of fallout-shelter love) crafted with impeccable style and sophistication”.

When they assessed The Nightfly, Albumism were full of praise:

“The Nightfly also remains a curious case in build-up. The title track doesn’t appear until the second song on the B-side, and the A-side has some of the album’s weaker tracks. “Green Flower Street” has all the patter of a rain-slicked street and a swingin’ cover of the Drifters “Ruby Baby,” closing with the lovelorn (but musically sparse) “Maxine.”

But it just further sets the stage for the B-side, where all the real action is. The album kicks into gear with “New Frontier,” a raucous party in an abandoned bomb-shelter. “It’s just a dugout that my dad built / in case the Reds decide to push the button down.” It seems almost worth building a bomb shelter just to limbo and listen to Dave Brubeck records, plus the added benefit of surviving the nuclear blast. It’s that sort of cheeky look at the apocalypse that makes Fagen so goddamn wonderful.

IN THIS PHOTO: Donald Fagen in 1982/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

The album winds down with “The Goodbye Look,” which is perhaps the darkest song on the album. There’s a twinge of his late musical partner Walter Becker in here, a sinister quality that is missing from the rest of the album, all feathered over with Fagen’s increasingly-anxious vocals. And it’s in sharp contrast to the album’s upbeat closer, “Walk Between the Raindrops,” an easy, lovely little tune that wouldn’t have been out of place in any Manhattan ballroom or cocktail party of the time.

(In addition to “I.G.Y.,” Fagen performed “The Nightfly,” “Green Flower Street,” and “New Frontier,” during his solo tour earlier this summer. I am not in the slightest bit ashamed to say that I wept with breathless, nearly-orgasmic bliss through most of the first verse. Though he rarely performs his solo work live, he played “Green Flower Street” with the Dukes of September and has been playing “New Frontier” during his current tour, along with Becker’s “Book of Liars” from 11 Tracks of Whack.

Fagen would follow up the album with two more in the “Nightfly Trilogy,” Kamakiriad in 1993 and Morph the Cat in 2006. But 35 years later, The Nightfly couldn’t be more perfect. It remains a record collection essential, a sonic delight. Thanks for calling. I wait all night for calls like these”.

For someone like me – born a year after the album came out -, it is hard to identify directly with the scenes of childhood/adolescence in the 1950s and 1960s. As powerful and evocative as any drama set in the time, The Nightfly is this snapshot into a past time; a better world maybe but, even with looming uncertainty, there is a sense of hope and betterment – Fagen does dip into negative territory at times but the mood is largely beautiful and hopeful. The Nightfly is not an album reserved for Jazz fans or those who are who are explicitly aware of Fagen’s cannon. In this feature, the writer discusses the album in more detail:

“Everything about the clear-eyed, merrily nostalgic The Nightfly is resonant from that time. Fagen's No. 26 hit "I.G.Y.," the album's first single, referenced the International Geophysical Year – an global scientific project held from 1957-58 – while looking ahead to a hoped-for time when technology will work in concert with man. "New Frontier," a follow-up single named after a term used by John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech at the 1960 Democratic convention, took place during a teen's party inside his family bomb shelter. Period groups like the Drifters and the Four Freshmen had a notable influence in "Maxine" and "Ruby Ruby," respectively, while "The Goodbye Look" seemed to build off the era's revolutionary upheaval in Cuba.

The Nightfly would eventually be part of triad of albums that were meant to represent the three stages of life – youth, middle age and death. First, however, Fagen would have to endure a lengthy layover between the first and second installments as he battled with a crisis of creative faith.

You could blame The Nightfly, he said. "I had come to the end of whatever kind of energy was behind the writing I had been doing in the '70s, and The Nightfly sort of summed it up for me in a way," Fagen told the Los Angeles Times in 1991. "And although I would work every day, I essentially was blocked because I didn't like what I was doing. I'd write a song and then a week later I just wouldn't connect with it at all. It seemed either I was repeating myself, or it just bored me. It wasn't relevant to what I was going through at the time".

I am a huge Steely Dan fan and I can hear a lot of them in Donald Fagen’s work (obviously). That being said…Fagen does not repeat himself: his solo work is a different sensation, even if he used a lot of the same musicians on The Nightfly as he did on Steely Dan’s final (before they reformed) album. The Nightfly is perfect on vinyl! It is a deep, rich and exciting album that provides so much story, detail and colour. If you have not heard the album then I would urge people to buy it on vinyl – if not, then go and stream it now! On I.G.Y. (What a Beautiful World), the words “What a beautiful world this will be” are sung. In these hard times, listening to The Nightfly gives one hope and…

MAKES you believe.

FEATURE: Female Icons: Part Twenty: Ella Fitzgerald

FEATURE:

 

Female Icons

IN THIS PHOTO: Ella Fitzgerald in 1935/PHOTO CREDIT: Universal 

Part Twenty: Ella Fitzgerald

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ROUNDING off my Female Icons feature…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Ella Fitzgerald in a London hotel room in 1961/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

is an artist who is seen as the Queen of Jazz. Renowned for the incredible clarity and tone of her voice, there is grace, command and incredible passion in each of her performances. Ella Fitzgerald died in 1996 aged seventy-nine but, in her career, produced some of the most emotive and memorable recordings ever put down. Born in 1917 in Virginia, Fitzgerald has gone on to influence so many modern artists. This article lists a few artists that owe a debt to Ella Fitzgerald. Adele spoke about her love of Fitzgerald:  

"There was no musical heritage in our family," she told The Telegraph in 2008.

"Chart music was all I ever knew. So when I listened to the Ettas and the Ellas, it sounds so cheesy, but it was like an awakening.

"I was like, oh, right, some people have proper longevity and are legends. I was so inspired that as a 15-year-old I was listening to music that had been made in the Forties.

"The idea that people might look back to my music in 50 years' time was a real spur to doing this".

Lady Gaga – among many other artists - is someone who has also taken some guidance and spirit from the legendary First Lady of Song:

“Lady Gaga threw a career curve-ball in 2014 when she teamed up with Tony Bennett to release a jazz album, but Gaga had been listening to and loving jazz since her early teenage years.

"I started singing jazz when I was 13 and I discovered it before then," she told Vogue magazine in 2014.

"My mom used to play Billie Holiday on Sundays, I found Ella Fitzgerald - who’s my absolute favorite jazz singer - and my father listened to Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

"So part of me knew in my heart that many of my fans would fall in love with jazz the same way I did, because we’re very similar".

It is no wonder that the intoxicating music of Ella Fitzgerald still affects artists today. It is such a potent, rare and beautiful concoction, one cannot resist its potency. Like so many icons, Fitzgerald’s early life was not the smoothest. She did face some upheaval before the stability arrived. I guess music is that grounding force that can give troubled souls direction and strength – that is definitely the case when it comes to Ella Fitzgerald. Before Fitzgerald embarked on a solo career, she found success and fame with The Chick Webb Orchestra. Whilst they performed through the U.S., the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem was their home. I am not sure what Harlem’s Jazz scene is like now but, when Fitzgerald and the band played, one can only envisage the sights, smells and music in the air! Fitzgerald embarked on her solo career in 1942 but, alongside her solo work, she collaborated with the likes of Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington. There are countless golden moments in the catalogue of Fitzgerald but, when thinking about her finest renditions, her interpretations of the Great American Songbook spring to mind. It is clear Fitzgerald enjoyed a steady rise and came from a difficult background. It is worth looking back at Fitzgerald’s upbringing to see what inspired her path. The daughter of William Fitzgerald and Temperance Henry, the early life of Ella Fitzgerald was not the most stable.

By the early-1920s, Fitzgerald’s mother and Joseph Da Silva, her new boyfriend, moved to New York City; by 1925, the family relocated to a poor Italian area. Although Fitzgerald’s surroundings were not ideal and glamorous, she excelled at school and was a keen dancer. A gifted student and dancer, Fitzgerald performed during school and recess when she could; her early experiences in church exposed her to music and the combination opened her eyes. Listening to Jazz artists like Louis Armstrong and The Boswell Sisters, this new world gave Fitzgerald the inspiration and fuel she needed to dream. One can only imagine the feeling Fitzgerald felt when her mother used to bring her records; the sounds that came from the vinyl and how deep the music resonated. Alongside this burning love for music and discovery came tragedy. Fitzgerald’s mother died when she was fifteen and she was raised by her stepfather. There is rumour that she was abused by her stepfather and, after moving in with her aunt in Harlem, there was this hugely uncertain and unsettled period. When in Harlem during 1933/1934, Fitzgerald performed on the street and got a break when she performed at the Apollo Theatre in 1934 at the age of seventeen. Not only was there change in Fitzgerald’s personal life; there was also change in the music industry. During the early-1940s, Swing and Big Band music was still burning. By the end of the Second World War, changes were occurring and genres like Bebop came through.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Universal

This led to a change in Fitzgerald’s vocal style; a period when Fitzgerald began scatting – one of her ace cards – and used her voice more like an instrument (she said she tried to imitate the horns in the band when singing). Her earliest recordings with Decca Records were successful, but her Verve years provided turbulent. There were events during the 1950s that spring to mind; times where Fitzgerald was subjected to discrimination and attack. Fitzgerald enjoyed a successful tour of Australia in 1954 but there was an incidence of discrimination that caused her to miss her first two concerts in Sydney. As it goes, Fitzgerald and members of her band were due to fly from Honolulu to Australia but were ejected from the plane and not allowed to retrieve their luggage and items. They were stranded in Honolulu and were late for the Australian tour. There was a defence from Pan-American Airlines that the incident was not racially-motivated but one struggles to find any other explanation. Whilst Fitzgerald excelled in Bebop, she was frustrated at Verve Records because there was a feeling things were getting stagnant and routine. It was her discovery of Cole Porter that led to an awakening. Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook sounds like an artist refreshed and re-inspired; entering a new phase and taking her voice in a new direction. That collection was released in 1956 - Fitzgerald recorded eight Song Book collections with Verve from 1956 to 1964.

These stunning recordings are the bedrock of the Great American Songbook and helped bring Jazz to audiences who were not used to the genre. Fitzgerald was a pioneer. Why is Ella Fitzgerald so important? This article from June raised some theories:

“Dip into any one of her Song Books, pick any track at random and you will hear perfection. Everything from the arrangements, the musicians, and the songs themselves create the perfect blueprint for Ella’s voice. Ella was 38 years old when she recorded her first song book and her voice was honed to perfection. Whether she is singing a straightforward ballad or love song or something with more than a hint of jazz about it she purrs and swings. There can be no one who has heard these records and not been totally beguiled.

It was also in 1956 that Ella recorded again with Louis Armstrong. Following a gig at the Hollywood Bowl the day before, they went to Capitol’s Hollywood studio to record Ella and Louis, arguably the greatest album of jazz duets ever. The following year they recorded Ella and Louis Again and Porgy and Bess; the latter is one of the most beautiful recordings ever made.

It wasn’t until 1964 that Ella completed her song book cycle with the Johnny Mercer album. In between there were numerous other albums with arrangers like, Russ Garcia, Paul, Weston, Quincy Jones, Frank DeVol and Nelson Riddle all adding their shimmer and gloss to a career that was the kind that other singers aspire to.

Ella’s later career while not climbing to the dizzy heights of her decade with Verve Records still produced memorable highlights, as did her concert performances around the world. In 1980, Granz, who still managed Ella, came up with the idea that was almost a songbook, Ella Abraça Jobim; her tribute to the brilliant Brazilian songwriter. She also returned to the Gershwin canon with her old friend, Andre Previn”.

Although, like other artists in this series, I cannot give too much depth and review of her albums (as there is less material available in that sense), I shall let the music do the talking. There were few harder-working artists in the world than Ella Fitzgerald. Such a prolific performer, Fitzgerald continued to perform, even when her health was declining. I will finish this feature soon but, before I do, I want to bring in this feature from Grammy Museum that talks about Fitzgerald’s later life and how her legacy is more than music: her altruism and charity rarely gets mentioned when we discuss her legacy:

“Fitzgerald continued to work as hard as she had early on in her career, despite the ill effects on her health. She toured all over the world, sometimes performing two shows a day in cities hundreds of miles apart. In 1974, Fitzgerald spent a legendary two weeks performing in New York with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie. Still going strong five years later, she was inducted into the Down Beat magazine Hall of Fame, and received Kennedy Center Honors for her continuing contributions to the arts.

Outside of the arts, Fitzgerald had a deep concern for children and those in need. Though this aspect of her life was rarely publicized, she frequently made generous donations to organizations for disadvantaged youth, and the continuation of these contributions was part of the driving force that prevented her from slowing down.

In 1987, U.S. President Ronald Reagan awarded her the National Medal of Arts. It was one of her most prized moments. France followed suit several years later, presenting her with their Commander of Arts and Letters award, while Yale, Dartmouth and several other universities bestowed Fitzgerald with honorary doctorates.

IN THIS PHOTO: Ella Fitzgerald captured in 1991 at Radio City Music Hall in New York/PHOTO CREDIT: Mark Phillips/Associated Press

On June 15, 1996, Ella Fitzgerald died in her Beverly Hills home from complications of diabetes. Hours later, signs of remembrance began to appear all over the world. A wreath of white flowers stood next to her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a marquee outside the Hollywood Bowl theater read, "Ella, we will miss you."

Ella Fitzgerald won 13 GRAMMY Awards, a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, and has eight recordings inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. She holds the distinction as the first African-American to ever receive a GRAMMY Award”.

I shall end things here, but I urge people to listen to Ella Fitzgerald. Not only is her work essential and hugely powerful; she has inspired so many modern artists across various genres. A true icon, grounbreaking artist and timeless force in music, there is nobody in music like Ella Fitzgerald. As I wrap up my Female Icons feature, I get to put out an Ella Fitzgerald playlist that proves what a…

MAJESTIC artist she was.