FEATURE: Don’t Stop Now: Dua Lipa’s Move Into Acting…and the Artists That Should Follow

FEATURE:

 

 

Don’t Stop Now

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa at the 2022 Grammys/PHOTO CREDIT: Lauren Leekley

Dua Lipa’s Move Into Acting…and the Artists That Should Follow

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MAYBE it is a minor notion…

IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa and Henry Caville in Argylle/PHOTO CREDIT: Apple TV+

but major motion pictures with respected and mainstream artists in the role are becoming more common – though they aren’t as common as you’d imagine. I will finish with a few artists who people would love to see hit the big screen. Or at least spend more time on there. This has been motivated by news that Dua Lipa is moving into acting. Whereas contemporaries like Taylor Swift have inevitably stepped into roles and look set to take their talent and gravitas to cinema (Swift had a brief role in this year’s Amsterdam), there are others that are surely primed for that transition and transition from film to music. Lady Gaga and Harry Styles have appeared in films with mixed results. As NME report, Lipa has said that her first role is baby steps:

“The pop star plays an undisclosed role in Apple TV+‘s forthcoming spy thriller Argylle, which is slated for release next year, opposite Henry Cavill.

Lipa has addressed her acting debut on a recent episode of her podcast Dua Lipa: At Your Service on iHeartMedia.

Speaking to Schitt’s Creek creator and star Dan Levy on the episode, Lipa reflected on shooting the film. “I had a really great time, and it was really exciting, but I think for me it’s like baby steps,” she said.

“I think that’s also just, like, the best way to discover yourself as well. Rather than throwing yourself in the deep end with something that maybe you can’t completely tackle head on. Like, I think my biggest fear would be taking on a really big role and being, like, fuck. Now I have to, like, be an actor and feel these emotions and feelings on camera, when I haven’t, like, you know, brought myself up to that point yet. But definitely really exciting.”

The film, which adapts the currently unpublished novel by Ellie Conway, features an ensemble cast of Cavill and Lipa alongside Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O’Hara and Ariana DeBose, with John Cena and Samuel L. Jackson.

According to a press release, the film “follows the globe-trotting adventures of a super-spy named Argylle across the US, London and other exotic locations”.

Vaughn (Kingsman) is on board to direct from a script written by Jason Fuchs (Wonder Woman), produced by Marv and Vaughn’s regular collaborators Adam Bohling and David Reid, as well as Fuchs. Zygi Kamasa, Carlos Peres, Claudia Vaughn and Adam Fishbach will serve as executive producers.

Meanwhile, in other Dua Lipa news the singer revealed recently that she feels more in “control” on her forthcoming new album than ever before”.

This looks like an interesting project! As a major artist whose latest album, Future Nostalgia (2020), took her to a new level, Dua Lipa would have had offers for film and T.V. projects. I have said for a long time how Lipa would make a natural film actor. A lot of big artists do, as they are on the largest stages and, through their videos and music, adopt different roles. I know the disciplines are different, but as everyone from Halsey, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Hudson, Rihanna and even Justin Timberlake have shown is that they can tackle a range of different roles with aplomb!

I think Argylle is a film Dua Lipa will slip comfortably into (sorry!). She has a charisma, conviction, allure and screen command that is very obvious from videos and interviews. From her live performances, we can feel this very accomplished young women who has an exceptional ability. Her physicality brings her songs to life, and she turns her shows into spectacles. Maybe the small role she has at the moment is a little more modest, but by channelling her multiple gifts, I think she will get people watching closely. There are definitely going to be more roles off. Lead roles too. I think that Lipa is sensible that she is not getting ahead of her. Not to keep comparing her to others, but I think of Lady Gaga, an exceptionally natural and acclaimed actor. Award-nominated and with terrific versatility, I can see Dua Lipa enjoying the same sort of success. There is a natural and very obvious spark that she will bring to the screen. It gets me thinking about other artists that could ably go into acting. I know Self Esteem (Rebecca Lucy Taylor) has said she would like to take on acting roles. I could see her doing some incredible T.V. series and films. Taylor Swift has had a few film roles, but she is going to enjoy some huge lead roles soon. Keeping with Pop, and Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish seem like they are made for the screen. Kendrick Lamar would be such a powerful and awesome actor.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tinashe/PHOTO CREDIT: Pat Martin for THE FACE

To me, Tinashe would be sublime and such a phenomenal actor. Again, someone who I could see just owning various roles and being award nominated. This is just me throwing out names, but I think they would all be a success. I am not suggesting we flood films and T.V. roles – big series on streaming sites would also be a perfect place for wonderful artists to show their chops – with artists, but there is something about them that add something special. Coming from music, they bring new angles and layers to roles. Used to adopting different personas and sharing a lot of the same disciplines actors are taught, there are so many potential stars out there. Even though Teyana Taylor is a successful actor, musician, director and dancer, she is someone who absolutely explodes and ignites the screen. I hope that she has in mind some roles in 2023, as I can distinctly picture her in some particular film roles. The Harlem-born superstar is someone who could win multiple awards for acting roles.

IN THIS PHOTO: Teyana Taylor/PHOTO CREDIT: Carl Timpone/BFA

Whether you’d imagine Billie Eilish being Debbie Harry in a Blondie biopic, Dua Lipa going onto be a bad-ass spy in a thriller, Tinashe stunning in a complex physiological drama or Kendrick Lamar starring in a 1970s-set comedy-drama that brings to mind the classic films of Spike Lee, there are pairings that we can all imagine. Taylor Swift seems like she would be able to do screwball comedy as well as horror, romantic comedy or pretty much any other film genre. From historical pioneers, LGBTQIA+ icons, famous musicians and fictional roles, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about the world of music and acting. How they are naturally linked and yet there are not as many artists in acting roles as you’d imagine. I think that Dua Lipa is going to get a lot of great reviews for her work in Argylle. She will definitely blossom as an actor. Who knows just how huge that side of her career will get. As we move into 2023, I predict that artists major and upcoming will step into film and T.V. roles. Some terrific performances have been turned in this year by beloved artists, so next year will not disappoint. Just make sure that you…

KEEP your eyes peeled.

FEATURE: Revisiting... Billy Nomates – Billy Nomates

FEATURE:

 

 

Revisiting…

Billy Nomates – Billy Nomates

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AS she recently…

announced the release of her second studio album, CACTI (due on 23rd January), I have been thinking about the eponymous debut from Billy Nomates. The moniker of Tor Maries, Billy Nomates was released in 2020. I would advise people go and buy the album, as it is a remarkable debut from the British songwriter. Mixing politics, personal and societal lyrics with her distinct and incredible vocals and something danceable and catchy, there is nobody on the scene like Billy Nomates. If you have not heard the debut album, I would strongly recommend it. I am going to come to a couple of reviews for the album. Prior to that, there is an interview from NME to promote her debut. For many, it was the introduction to this amazing artist. I have selected a few segments from it:

“Originally slated for release in May on Invada Records, the you-know-what pandemic has meant that the record has now been delayed until August 7. “I initially freaked out,” Maries admits. “I thought back in April that the world may never be the same — will we just wait forever if we delay? But it was a good call.”

It was on the train home from her final day in the studio producing the record alongside Invada’s Geoff Barrow (also of Portishead) and Stu Matthews that she first read about coronavirus, such is the album’s symbiotic relationship with the pandemic. Indeed, in the post-COVID reality that is now beginning to dawn on us, her tales of class struggle and social inequality are set to ring truer than ever.

“I’ve never really had money, but I was the poorest I’d been a couple of years ago after working a load of minimum wage jobs,” Maries explains. “I was miserable and poor and unfulfilled: I couldn’t write about fancying someone or anything nice. I thought: ‘If I’m going to write again, I have no option but to write about “ah, it’s all crap“.’”

Maries says that she considers herself to be on the edge of working class, but she does rue the absence of the full range of voices in music. “You don’t see a lot of working class people in any arts, you have to really look for it. You’ll instantly notice them, though, because there’s a tone of voice that’s allowed to come through that you haven’t heard for a long time.”

One of the most visible examples of this in recent years is Sleaford Mods, and frontman Jason Williamson appears on the bitterly sweet Billy Nomates track ‘Supermarket Sweep’. Aside from the obvious kinship that they share musically, the two artists also have roots in the East Midlands (Maries is originally from Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire) as well as another more pivotal connection.

“I went through quite a bad depression stage,” Maries says, referring to the inception of the Billy Nomates project in early 2019. “I had a few months where a relationship had broken down, I was sleeping on my sister’s couch, I’d gone into a real funk and just didn’t want to leave the house or see anyone. I saw Sleaford Mods were coming to Southampton, so I just got a ticket by myself. I remember being in the crowd watching the warm-up band — Liines, a really good band — and some drunk guy shoved me on the shoulder and shouted: ‘It’s Billy no-mates!’ I’d just started recording at the time and I didn’t have a name. It’s genuinely one of those moments that I’ll never forget. That guy was a fucking genius”.

An album that was well reviewed by those who heard it but not shared and talked about as much as it should have been, I wanted to alert people to Billy Nomates’ eponymous debut. I am interested to hear what we might get from CACTI – she released the saboteur forcefield single recently – and how it differs from Billy Nomates. Here is what Loud and Quiet observed about a mighty debut album – and one of the best albums of 2020:

“Tor Maries only embraced self-prioritisation recently. Meaning: she’d spent a life not always putting herself first. The songwriter, who originates from the pork pie capital Melton Mowbray, spent years performing in groups around Bristol – there was some success, but little satisfaction.

It was only when Maries moved to Bournemouth, bought a ticket and flew solo to watch Sleaford Mods in 2019 – in a neat piece of circularity Jason Williamson pops up to rap about meat on ‘Supermarket Sweep’ – Maries decided to go it alone (she owes the moniker to a drunk man calling her “Billy Nomates” at that very show).

Billy Nomates is therefore what happens when you discard outside perceptions, pause people-pleasing and discover the power of self-expression. That’s why when observers question why Maries sometimes sings with a U.S. accent, she simply counters: it’s because I want to. Why not? Damn right.

These songs are Tor Maries’ experienced truth, then. ‘Modern Hart’ – a melancholic track that feels like a telegram to her old self – provides the opening. “Anyone can do it,” she sings over a grimy, Kim Deal-esque bassline.

It’s a subtle start, but things soon spice up with a string of acerbic and entertaining pot-shots. ‘Hippy Elite’ is about wanting to be more active in the climate emergency, but also needing to cover the household bills. ‘Happy Misery’ takes aim at anti-productive nostalgic mindsets (see also: Gazelle Twin’s ‘Better In My Day’) and ‘Supermarket Sweep’ a song about how the mundanity of financial survival chips away at aspirations. There’s the catchy centrepiece ‘No’ – about the empowering discovery of resistance.

Such everydayisms could come across as corny, but like her pals Sleaford Mods the songs are authentic, authoritative and frequently funny. They also pack a consistent and timely reminder: “Forgotten normal people are a force to remember”.

A really great album that warranted more exposure at the time and should be played and explored more now, Billy Nomates is so satisfying and rewarding. In their hugely positive review. Louder Than War recognised the quality that runs through Billy Nomates:

“A stark, black and white video appeared for No in March this year, just as things started to get a little strange. Just before the great toilet roll and hand sanitiser shortage. A video for FNP appeared in early June; Tor dancing in an otherwise empty field and singing about all the, “forgotten normal people”. The latter felt particularly apt when it dropped in the midst of the Barnard Castle, eye test fiasco and the governments increasing ambivalence towards the general population. As we head into summer, Billy Nomates has arrived with an album of innovative post-punk, defiance and danceable dissatisfaction.

Modern Hart bursts into life with Tor’s vocals riding over an insistent bass line and a wash of atmospheric synths. “He knows the codes to crack/ he watches me break my back/ I’m a slow learner” she sings before adding “but I’m getting the hang of it”. The lyrics are an undeniable highlight throughout the album; an engaging mix of anger, wit and storytelling. “One time I cycled all the way home/ because this planet is our only one” sings Maries on Hippy Elite “but nobody saw it and I felt all the worse for it”. A brilliantly sharp and genuinely funny post-punk belter about trying to do your best for the environment but never being good enough for the wealthy, hippy elite.

Tor builds each track with guitars, drums, bass, programmed beats and electronic textures. You can almost picture her jumping from one instrument to the next, relentlessly pinging around the room. Every track crackle’s with creativity. The jittery rattle of Happy Misery evokes the Monty Python ‘4 Yorkshiremen’ sketch – Ohhhh we used to DREAM of livin’ in a corridor! Tor snarls and struts through a bitter tale of tainted nostalgia and living in the past, “back in my day/ I had nothing/ we lived in happy misery!”

Most songs don’t last much longer than 3 minutes; bursting with ideas while retaining a tight, punk-indebted sense of economy. Tor’s vocals switch between singing and a kind of snarled spoken word. The propulsive No sits at the heart of the album with a simple but powerful message; “No is the greatest resistance/ No to your nothing existence”. A defiant two-fingered refusal to succumb to damaging digital narratives, sexism and media manipulation. Supermarket Sweep tackles the seemingly never-ending black hole of a dead end job and features a guest appearance by Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson. The unexpectedly gentle chorus offering a particularly melancholic inner dialogue, “Maybe the monotony is here to stay he thought”. A great piece of songwriting and an all too relatable tale.

The punkified electro-pop of FNP delivers another empowering clarion call before Mudslinger takes aim at busybody curtain twitchers over a glitchy, electro-punk backing. Call In Sick lurches into view with drum machine beats and menacing synths as Maries tries her best to pull a sickie, “See I’ve been up all night/ with one of the worst cases this town has ever seen/ and if I come in Debbie/ if I come in Debbie/ I’m gonna take down the whole team”. The excellent Fat White Man rumbles in with a bluesy guitar riff and a superbly sleazy tale of a lecherous, red-faced executive. The cigar-chomping, once untouchable, dinosaurs rolling down the road and out of town for good.

Wild Arena is built around a sparse, repetitive drum loop and subtle synth interjections. Tor’s vocals all the more startling with the tense, minimalistic backdrop. It doesn’t feel as immediate as the other tracks yet emphasises the spirit of discovery and experimentation at the albums core. The album comes to a close with the breathless thrill of Escape Artist; Nomates sneering and swooning as she looks for the nearest exit in the midst of another unremarkable week. Of course, the magic here is that throughout the album, Billy Nomates takes all the unspeakable blandness and frustration of everyday life and turns it into something fun, exciting and damn near magical.

Clocking in at little over half an hour, Billy Nomates has made the kind of album you’ll find yourself playing again-and-again. Some much-needed respite from the never-ending Tory endorsed nightmare that is 2020. You can hear the boundless energy that Tor puts into every song and that kind of enthusiasm is pretty infectious. Make no mistake, Billy Nomates has just delivered one of the most exciting albums you’ll hear all year. What’s more, you get the feeling that she’s only just getting started”.

Although Tor Maries has been recorded music for a while now, with Billy Nommates, she has created one of the most potent and impressive forces in British music. I think her second album will top her amazing debut. That said, the 2020-released Billy Nommates is one everyone should hear. It is a wonderful album more than worthy of…

A second spin.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Måneskin

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Måneskin

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I am not late to the party…

but I thought, as Måneskin have just announced news of an album, I would feature them in Spotlight now. This incredible and fascinating force are an Italian Rock band formed in Rome in 2016. They comprise of vocalist Damiano David, bassist Victoria De Angelis, guitarist Thomas Raggi, and drummer Ethan Torchio. The band rose to prominence after finishing second in the eleventh season of the Italian talent show, X Factor, in 2017. Måneskin won the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 for Italy. They are an incredible band who put the controversy, excitement, and thrill back in a Rock scene that has seriously been lacking it for years! Before coming to interviews they have been involved with this year, DORK reported news of an upcoming Måneskin album last week:

“The official release date has been revealed – January 20th, 2023 – but no other information has been made available yet.

The Italian rockers recently debuted a new track, ‘Kool Kids’, at their Mexico City concert. This newest tease at new material follows the official release of their current single, ‘THE LONELIEST’, earlier this month.

The surprise announcement was made via Spotify’s social media accounts earlier this afternoon, with the band quickly confirming the news themselves. They have supplied the artwork for the release, which shows all four members of the band being leaped over by a character in a blue skirt

No other information has been provided.

Måneskin continue to tour the US & Canada throughout the remainder of October and November”.

It is hard to know where to begin with Måneskin! They are such an interesting and compelling band when it comes to the music and interviews. Stylish and raw at the same time, they have the Italian characteristics of passion and panache! Rather than being specific to various age groups and taste brackets, there is this widespread and easy charm and power to their music that will hook in people from across the generations and nations. I think that 2023 is going to be a huge year for them! With celebrity fans including Angelina Jolie, they are primed for massive things! Because they introduce us to the band, I want to start off with an interview with Vogue from earlier in the year. Måneskin were talking about the success of their song, Supermodel, and their rising success:

“Even if you’re not familiar with the musical sensation that is Måneskin, there’s a better than good chance you know that Angelina Jolie and Shiloh Jolie-Pitt were among the 70,000 fans who gathered to see the band play at the Circus Maximus in their hometown of Rome a few weeks ago because TikTok and the tabloids had a field day reporting it.

If introductions are in order, Måneskin (pronounced “moan-eh-skin”) is an Italian rock band with a Danish moniker (meaning “moonshine”). It was formed in 2016 by bassist Victoria De Angelis (who is half Danish, which explains the band name), guitarist Thomas Raggi, lead singer Damiano David, and drummer Ethan Torchio.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Måneskin: (from left) Ethan Torchio, Victoria De Angelis, Damiano David, and Thomas Raggi, in New York, July 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Fabio Germinario/Courtesy of Arista Recordings

The foursome participated in a local talent contest and busked in Rome prior to competing on Italy’s X-Factor in 2017, where they placed second. Three years later they won the San Remo Festival and then the Eurovision Song Contest with an explosive and glam performance—complete with laced aubergine leather, platform boots, bare chests, and heavy eyeliner—that brought the house down. It was May 2021, the world was coming off a year in lockdown, and the band’s sense of fun was infectious. Not long after, they received an invitation to open for the Rolling Stones in L.A.

They’re back in America this week for a SiriusXM Small Stage performance, and it’s fortunate that all of Måneskin’s members have reached the legal drinking age because they have a lot to cin cin. Their hit single “Supermodel,” produced by Swedish hitmaker Max Martin, is currently number one on alt-radio and is on track to becoming the song of the summer. On top of that, it was just announced that the band is up for two MTV Video Music Awards (best new artist and best alternative). All that and a Gucci wardrobe via Alessandro Michele himself.

Theirs is not a gritty rag-to-riches story, though it follows roughly that of the apocryphal American dream that so many Italians left to pursue in the States. “We’re living a dream, that’s for sure,” conceded frontman David on a Gucci-clad visit to Vogue, “but in a different way. We don’t feel like we’ve been discovered. We dug every inch of this hole we’re in. We worked a lot to get here, so of course we are happy, but on the other side, pardon if I’m a bit cocky, but we feel like it’s well deserved.”

Deserved, yes (the band’s devotion to its craft is revealed in their 2018 documentary)—but also seemingly out of left field. An Italian glam punk-rock band? Who would have thunk it? Italy is known for many things—fashion, artistry, food, and fabrics, among them—but youth culture not so much. And at least outside of Italy, it’s not at all known for rock and roll. Måneskin surprises at every turn, defying expectations again and again. Whether it’s your taste or not, David’s bluesy voice cannot be denied, nor can the band’s sheer joy in what they’re doing. In a short time they have manifested their rock-star dreams, transitioning from playing a role to owning it.

At first sight, what most marks Måneskin as Italian is their Guccification. But in almost every other way, they have flipped the script. So much that is exported from Italy is given the stereotypical and nostalgic dolce vita spin—it’s all Roman Holiday, Sophia, Gina, and Michelangelo’s David. Måneskin’s viewpoint is more global, particularly anchored in a guitar-heavy 1970s sound in the style of British and American rockers. David Bowie as Ziggy Stardust, Slade, and the New York Dolls come to mind.

Though Måneskin channels the sex-drugs-and-rock-and-roll vibe developed in the dive bars and gritty environs of New York’s Lower East Side, the four have a more evolved attitude toward health and self-preservation. Artificial stimulants don’t seem to be part of the equation, despite a tempest in a teapot at Eurovision. (A photo of David leaning over a table led to allegations of cocaine use. He denied the claim, and a voluntary drug test confirmed that.) Unlike the anti-heroine of their summer hit, the band members, who have been constantly on the road and in the spotlight, are in need of a vacation, not rehab.

The song, by the way, is not about a specific person but a composite of poseurs the band met during their time in Los Angeles. “A lot of people think that the song is actually about a supermodel, but it’s not,” David stresses. “The supermodels in the ’90s…are supercool, supersmart, super focused. They were living this weird, crazy lifestyle, but it was authentic and natural [to them]. The song is about people faking to be supermodels. We saw a lot of people who had no money, no skills, no nothing, pretending to have money, skills, and networks, and that was super funny for us. They were actually pretending to be supermodels.” While we were on the topic, I asked each member to identify their real-life favorite ’90s super. De Angelis, Raggi, and Torchio are all team Kate Moss; David’s pick is Carla Bruni.

Fame is now part and parcel of the lives of all the Måneskins, and maintaining a personal life is challenging, says David. There’s also the matter of sustaining the person and the persona; fashion and heavy eyeliner are important parts of the latter. This foursome is a ’70s-style fever dream, with a preference for tattoo-revealing open shirts and flared pants. They don’t shy away from some BDSM in their wardrobes or lyrics, either—listen to “I Wanna Be Your Slave” from the band’s second album and the remake featuring the Me Decade icon Iggy Pop for proof.

In some ways, fashion and society today are very close to the ’70s, a decade defined in part by fights for social justice, feminism, and sexual liberation. “There were a lot of artists then in the rock or punk scenes who were trying to break the norms through their music. In style and aesthetics they were very revolutionary, also for society, not just for fashion,” notes De Angelis. “Unfortunately you still have to fight for many of the same topics from that time. They’re still actual now, and you still have to stand up and speak up for them.”

Gen Z’ers all, the band wants to communicate a message of freedom. They also want to share their passion for classic rock with their fans. As David said in a 2017 interview, “Our band is a translation of music from the past into modernity.” Consider the version of Elvis Presley’s 1968 hit “If I Can Dream” they did for the Baz Luhrmann Elvis movie. Måneskin’s cover of the Four Tops’ 1967 song “Beggin’” has more than a billion listens on Spotify.

Covers remain an important part of their performances, even as the band writes and performs original work. It’s an approach that syncs with their mission of bridging old and new and, in the context of their upbringing, seems to have a particularly Roman slant. Everywhere in the capital city, antiquity is in dialogue with the present. At the same time, nostalgia has never been more of a force in popular culture, both before the pandemic and today. De Angelis suggests that their loud, raucous form of play was the post-lockdown antidote many needed. On top of that, their glitter and glam speak to the escapist party mood many designers are now exploring.

Though Måneskin promotes a message of acceptance and works a genderfluid aesthetic, their world contains some basic binaries: new-old, Italian-English, public-private. Which leads me back to that person-persona divide. For David, the two coexist: “I think it gets back to the [idea that] two different things can live at the same moment and be equally real in the same way. I feel like I’m completely a different person onstage and offstage, but I don’t feel like I am faking anything in either situation. It’s just a part of me that comes out. When I’m offstage I’m very introverted, and onstage I’m crazy. It’s just two parts of me that are equally true and real. It’s just the context that changes”.

In May, NME shored up a lot of Internet space to dig deep into the music and lives of Måneskin. The band stated how there is not really anyone like them keeping Rock and Roll’s flame alive. That said, as they make apparent, you cannot kill the genre either. I have selected a few sections from the fascinating interview:

“Eurovision might seem a strange turn for most rockers, but mass appeal and pure entertainment lay at the heart of this band’s DNA. They formed in Rome in 2016 “to have fun and fill up our afternoons,” David explains. Soon they were busking; playing any school hall, dingy bar or street corner that would allow them. “It got pretty serious in a very short amount of time,” says De Angelis. “Even though we were very young and it was like a dream, we were always aiming for something bigger.”

Their first major move was to enter the Italian version of TV’s X Factor in 2017, finishing second. Why X Factor? “Basically, we were sick of carrying instruments and amplifiers on our fucking shoulders,” replies David, candidly. “We saw an opportunity and we just jumped on the train.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Fabio Germinario for NME

Defending the move, De Angelis argues that the show in her home country doesn’t have the same reputation for trite pier-side entertainment as it might here in the UK. “Here it’s cool,” she argues. “It’s the only X Factor that allows real bands to play, or at least it was the first. It gives you the opportunity to show off something real. We did whatever we wanted to do.”

The four-piece have gained a reputation for their larger-than-life performances (one setting the tone with David pole-dancing) and they still regularly air their longstanding covers of The Killers and Franz Ferdinand at Måneskin shows today – to the giddy delight of some and aggressive derision of others. David pragmatically describes the show as “full immersion training from professionals” in getting “five years of experience condensed into three months”, while Torchio says they used it as “a trampolene” to fame. The tactic worked. “Just three months earlier we were playing on the streets,” recalls De Angelis, “then we had a sold-out tour.”

“Having breakfast at Chris Martin and Dakota Jones’ house – that was pretty ‘What the fuck!?’” – Victoria De Angelis

Still, it seems attitudes towards talent shows have shifted anyway. Harry Styles started out as a product of X Factor with One Direction, and now he’s headlining Coachella and just released one of the most warmly received albums of the year.

“Our generation doesn’t feel the urge to label everything,” says David. “They just want to enjoy your music, enjoy your journey and follow you in whatever you do. Harry Styles is the perfect example. He had the biggest fanbase with a boyband, and now is one of the most respected and worshipped artists in the world. He deserves it because he has been able to make that happen for himself. It’s literally what an artist should do: be true to yourself.”

When Eurovision came, the Måneskin train was already chugging ahead with gusto in Italy, where they’d shifted over one million records with their two Number One albums 2018’s ‘Il ballo della vita’ and ‘Teatro d’ira: Vol. I’ from last year. ‘Zitti E Buoni’ had already clocked 45million streams before the competition.

Now they’re following in the footsteps of ABBA and Celine Dion as one of the most successful ‘Vision off-shoots of all-time. Their cover of The Four Seasons’ ‘Beggin’ alone recently achieved one billion streams on Spotify. “That’s fucking crazy,” laughs David. “That’s fucking ‘Despacito’ or fucking ‘Levitating’! It’s a fucking hit!”

It’s also an audience in their millions discovering the band afresh, probably unaware of their X Factor and Eurovision past. Godfather of punk Iggy Pop recorded vocals for a new version of the sleazy sex-rock smash single ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ a month after its initial release last year, and you can’t imagine him sat at home screaming “DOUZE POITS!” at the TV.

“When he recorded that, I was like, ‘Fuck – he’s singing my lyrics with my melody, my structure, and it’s fucking Iggy Pop’,” says David. “He trusted me, and that was the best moment ever.

Raggi agrees: “It was just crazy because he’s a fucking legend. He was so humble and kind. He was really into this shit.”

Another icon who’s “really into this shit” is Mick Jagger; the septuagenarian rocker anointed Måneskin with his seal of approval when they supported The Rolling Stones last year. Jagger recently upset some rock purists when his big lips declared that the new breed of rockers such as Doncaster tearaway Yungblud and dayglo rap-punk Machine Gun Kelly made him feel like “there is still a bit of life in rock‘n’roll”.

Yet this is “a very old-fashioned way to see it,” reasons David: “Nobody is ‘keeping rock’n’roll alive’. It’s just impossible to kill. In my head what we’re doing is very different to what MGK is doing, which is very far from what Yungblud is doing, which is very far from what Willow Smith is doing, but a lot of artists are bringing back that kind of sound and energy: distorted guitars and real drums, to fucking play with a band with real analogue sounds, stage-diving – all the rock’n’roll shit. Music is just developing. Everything is colliding and mixing in a good way”.

To finish, ironically, I want to take things back to the start. Of this year that is! In February, Kerrang! profiled and chatted with Måneskin. After their Eurovision victory in 2021, the band were ready to own and destroy 2022 with their unique and incredible music. It has grown bigger and bigger from them since this interview predicted great things:

“Okay, well here’s what’s going on. Currently, Måneskin attract 38 million monthly plays on Spotify, a number that places them in the Top 40 of the most streamed artists in the world. For anyone looking for context, in the same period lowly upstarts Metallica had just under 18 million plays. Obscure have-a-go-heroes such as David Bowie (15.5 million), The Rolling Stones (21 million) and The Beatles (25 million) are all dining on the Italians’ dust. Their label says the last artist they saw rise like this was Katy Perry.

“Seeing our numbers grow so much in such a short space of time is crazy,” admits Victoria. “Especially when you consider the kind of music we play, considering that some of the songs are in Italian. The numbers are crazy and we’re very grateful for that.”

Måneskin – whose line-up is completed by drummer Ethan Torchio and guitarist Thomas Raggi – spend so much time expressing gratitude that it can sometimes feel as if our interview is with a troupe of children’s television presenters. Nice young people one and all, the group formed as teenagers in Rome in 2015; by the time they won Eurovision they’d already issued two albums (Zitti e buoni is the opening track on their second LP, Teatro d’ira: Vol. I, released in March).

 PHOTO CREDIT: Aidan Zamiri

Eurovision wasn’t even the first TV competition the quartet had entered; playing cover versions of songs by The Killers and Franz Ferdinand, in 2017 they finished second in the Italian edition of The X Factor. Burnished by this success, the quartet’s first European tour was seen by more than 140,000 people.

Even so, it was the night in Rotterdam that truly lit the touchpaper. On a chilly Saturday morning via Zoom, Måneskin talk (happily) about having been given almost no time to see the sights in what is their first visit to New York. Who knows, they say, maybe later they’ll have a chance to take a stroll around Central Park. A few nights earlier, the group appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon; four nights hence, they’ll be guests on The Ellen Show out in Los Angeles. After headlining concerts at New York’s Bowery Ballroom, and The Roxy in LA, on November 6 the Italians stepped onto the stage at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as special guests of The Rolling Stones.

For a group whose average age is just 21, the change in circumstances is surely startling. As well as much else, it can be as startling for a band to get more than they expect as it is to receive less.

“Of course we’re aware of that,” nods Damiano. “We’re aware that it’s tough and that you have to be mentally prepared and mentally strong, and not everybody is capable of living this kind of life. But I would say that we are [capable] because we’ve prepared ourselves for five years. We’ve been friends since we were really young. We know each other very well. We know the best parts of us. We’re able to help each other every time something feels like it’s too heavy or too stressful or something. I feel like you have to be able to understand your limits and set boundaries when you need to rest and disappear for a little bit and focus on your personal life”.

If you have not followed Måneskin, then you really do need to. A band who are far from a novelty or what one would associate with a former Eurovision act, they are the real deal. Combining aspects of Glam fashion and excess with Rock swagger and attitude with songs that are definitely among the most essential and finest around, they will be legends of the future! Go and connect with…

THE sensational Måneskin.

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Follow Måneskin

 PHOTO CREDIT: Fabio Germinario for NME

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/maneskinofficial/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/thisismaneskin

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0lAWpj5szCSwM4rUMHYmrr

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgQna2EqpzqzfBjlSmzT72w

Facebook:

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FEATURE: Kate Bush’s Lionheart at Forty-Four: The Weird, Wonderful and Unique Full House and Coffee Homeground

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush’s Lionheart at Forty-Four

 The Weird, Wonderful and Unique Full House and Coffee Homeground

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AHEAD of its…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

forty-fourth anniversary on 13th November, I have already written features about Lionheart. I have one or two more coming up. For this one, I want to include two songs that not many people talk about. The reason I am highlighting them is because they signal the biggest shift from her 1978 debut, The Kick Inside, in terms of style and mood, I think. By that, I mean they are more eccentric, anxious, and experimental even than anything that came on that debut. Track six is the brilliant Full House. The penultimate song, track nine, is the equally brilliant Coffee Homeground. I have written about both tracks before but, as I want to unite them, these are gems that Bush did not really talk about. A B-side for Wow, you can tell that Full House was one of the new songs written for the album. As there was an expectation Bush would release a quick follow-up to The Kick Inside, that left her very little time to write new material. As it is, three of the ten tracks are original. I feel she would have made the album a track or two longer if she had more time. Both Full House and Coffee Homeground have paranoia and weirdness at their heart. Perhaps signalling Bush’s stress and fatigue regarding the busy year (1978) she had and what she was going through, psychology is at the heart of these tracks. The other new track, Symphony in Blue, opens Lionheart. Although there is some sadness, it is a beautiful song that showed Bush was able to produce masterful and truly stunning songs very quickly. Symphony in Blue is one of her greatest songs.

I feel Full House and Coffee Homeground are less regarded in a sense. I reckon they could have been likely singles. I would have loved to have seen what Bush came up with if there were videos. Hammer Horror was the first track released as a single. It has a good video, but I feel many saw it as a weaker version of Wuthering Heights. Maybe something not quite as striking as that song. In terms of the potency of the video and originality, maybe Full House would have been a better choice. In any case, it is a song that packs a punch and looked inside the mind of an artist under a bit of pressure. Rather than Full House being a strained song and one that is exploitative, it is a fascinating window into Bush’s songwriting. Whereas The Kick Inside looked mainly at love and desire, there is something a bit different and deeper when it comes to Lionheart. Consider lines from Full House that could be Bush talking about her younger self being replaced by something changed. She seems to want to return to a simpler life: “I am my enemy/Mowing me over/And towing the light away/Somehow it just seems to fit/With that old me/Trying to get back again”.  An ecstatic, wracked and electric chorus brings the song to life and elicits reaction. It is another reason why I would have loved to have seen a video! Bush mixes the oblique and personal throughout. It is a wonderful track that few people talk about. I love her lyrics: “By questioning all that I do/Examining every move/Trying to get back to the rudiments/(If they nig and they nag, I'll just put in the boot)”. Showing what range and quality there is through Lionheart, Full House is an example of her incredible songwriting talent. Even though there is no video, Bush did perform Full House as part of The Tour of Life in 1979. It was brilliant visualised there. I also think it is interesting the song opens the second side. After the gentle (sort of) title track, Oh England My Lionheart, we are taken in a very different direction with Full House. Sort of like the switch between Wuthering Heights and James and the Cold Gun on The Kick Inside.

A song that leads us into the finale, Hammer Horror (I have always been unsure about the sequencing on Lionheart), Coffee Homeground seems like a companion piece. Less autobiographical in some ways, it does feel more extreme and wilder! The images and lyrics are trippy, murderous, colourful, crazy and intelligent. I am not sure where Bush wrote Full House, but we do know she wrote Coffee Homeground in the U.S. Thanks to the Kate Bush Encyclopedia, Bush did reveal the origins of Coffee Homeground:

“['Coffee Homeground'] was in fact inspired directly from a cab driver that I met who was in fact a bit nutty. And it's just a song about someone who thinks they're being poisoned by another person, they think that there's Belladonna in their tea and that whenever they offer them something to eat, it's got poisen in it. And it's just a humorous aspect of paranoia really and we sort of done it in a Brechtian style, the old sort of German [vibe] to try and bring across the humour side of it. (Lionheart Promo Cassette, EMI Canada, 1978)”.

It is amazing that Bush managed to get Coffee Homeground from that interaction from the cab driver! Rather than it being purely based on him, I think there is a sense of Bush feeling pressure or lost in a foreign country. Maybe wary of people and paranoid: “Offer me a chocolate/No thank you, spoil my diet, know your game!/But tell me just how come/They smell of bitter almonds/It's a no-no to your coffee homeground”. Again, this is not a chance to reveal some insecurity and unhappiness. Coffee Homeground is a remarkable song! It almost whirls and waltzes like a fairground ride. A step on from anything on her debut, I picture Bush thinking of the song in the hotel room and putting the words together gradually. Her wording and lyrical twists and turns are amazing!

In actual fact, as I have noted before, the Kate Bush fanzine, HomeGround (set up in 1982) takes its name from that Lionheart song. I am not sure whether I have ever heard Coffee Homeground played on the radio. It is a Bush deep cut that should be better know. Another song that would have had an incredible video. Bush did also perform this during The Tour of Life. This being Kate Bush, there is something classical and almost literary about her lyrics! Consider these lines: “Well, you won't get me with your Belladonna - in the coffee/And you won't get me with your aresenic - in the pot of tea/And you won't get me in a hole to rot - with your hemlock/On the rocks”. One (of many reasons) to listen to Lionheart is the consistency and the variation when it comes to subject matter and sounds. Even though it came out the same year as The Kick Inside, Lionheart does sound like a different album. Songs such as Coffee Homeground are perfect demonstrations of Bush’s unique talent and the way she can create her own worlds. Her lines and lyrics draw you into the song: “Maybe you're lonely/And only want a little company/But keep your recipes/For the rats to eat/And may they rest in peace with coffee homeground”. Ahead of Lionheart’s forty-fourth anniversary on 13th November, I wanted to spend some time with it. The final feature will be more general and less track-specific, but I was keen to highlight two of the three new songs that Bush wrote for Lionheart. They sort of seem linked by a  feeling of dread and paranoia, even though Full House seems more autobiographical, whereas Coffee Homeground is more musically experimental. Lionheart reached number six in the U.K. and it has been certified Platinum. A remarkable achievement given the constraints and lack of time Kate Bush had to explore and create something fresh! I think a reason why she does not see Lionheart as an album representative of her is that it was quite rushed and Andrew Powell was producing. She would exert more control for 1979’s The Tour of Life, and she co-produced her third album, Never for Ever, with Jon Kelly. Bush should be very proud of Lionheart. Full House and Coffee Homeground are two incredible songs from…

A remarkable artist.

FEATURE: Station to Station: Fee Mak (BBC Radio 1Xtra)

FEATURE:

 

 

Station to Station

PHOTO CREDIT: BBC/Fee Mak

Fee Mak (BBC Radio 1Xtra)

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THERE are a couple of things…

 PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

I need to get out of the way before moving onto pouring praise over the subject of this feature. I started this feature a while ago. It is designed to highlight amazing D.J.s, presenters and broadcasters. I did number each feature but, as I have sort of lost count, I am going to abandon the number bit of it! I also have been quite negligent when it comes to broadcasters across BBC Radio 1’s sister stations. BBC Radio IXtra is a station that is very much up my alley! Cutting-edge, contemporary, cool, but with a hint of the vintage, throwback, and decades-spanning, one D.J./broadcaster I am very fond of is the amazing Fee Mak. Her Sunday breakfast show is such a treat! Alongside station colleagues like Nadia Jae (BBC Radio 1Xtra) and Sian Eleri (BBC Radio 1), she is one of the finest presenters in the country. One reason why I am highlighting Fee Mak is that I think she will be a radio legend of the future! Kicking things off at 7.am. on a Sunday, I guess many listeners are recovering from the Saturday night and need something soothing and uplifting. Rather than it being a show to fit in with the assumed demographic of BBC Radio 1Xtra, it is such a wide-reaching show! I think BBC Radio 1 and its sister stations is a lot broader than it has been for years when it comes to the music played, the target audience and the range of D.J.s there.

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BBC Radio 1 Xtra (or just 1Xtra for short) is a station I have tuned into a lot more because of people like Fee Mak. So infectious and passionate about the music she plays, I do predict that she will D.J. at festivals around the world next year. She’d be awesome at Glastonbury 2023. Like titanic D.J.s such as Honey Dijon, I wonder whether Fee Mak has an album in her. Maybe a compilation series that she curates. I know her colleague Trevor Nelson is prolific when it comes to these compilations. Fee Mak’s eclectic tastes and undeniable knowledge for the music she spins would create demand and curiosity if she ever were to consider an album of her favourite Sunday morning jams – or a broader album of her choice tunes from across the years. I am going to snatch from an interview she gave this year, as it is always fascinating knowing more about young and exceptional broadcasting talent. Alongside peers like Nadia Jae, Joelah and KeKe, and Snoochie Shy, there are these extraordinary women who are changing the game! I love listening to Fee Mak as her voice is so warm and friendly - but she has this charm and enthusiasm that makes the listener feel like they are a mate of hers! You tune in and, without needing to read the room and get a feel of what the show is about, she is there to (metaphorically) throw her arm around you, give you a hot brew and welcome you to a Sunday morning or brilliant music, humour, and this incredible connection. Such a natural broadcaster, D.J. and future icon, go and invest some time exploring Fee Mak’s work!

In the course of researching, I have watched videos of Fee Mak, and there is the odd podcast she has appeared on. I personally would love to hear more podcasts with her on. Maybe she will do a weekly one down the line where she plays music, chats to guests – musical or otherwise – and we learn more about her beginnings. A one-on-one interview would be great to, as Fee Mak is such an immense talent and someone who enriches you the minute you hear her speak and play such stunning music! A strong and hugely talented broadcaster who is going to inspire so many other people to get into radio, I can’t wait to see her career blow up. Thinking ahead, but I can see her doing T.V. – if they ever do another music show to rival Later… with Jools Holland – and more radio shows too. Prior to coming to the interview I mentioned earlier on, I want to bring in some background and biography. First, go and follow Fee Mak on Instagram and Twitter. It is clear that the awesome and enormously promising Fee Mak is someone with a very long and golden future:

“Fee Mak is a Radio and TV Presenter based in London. She is the host of the BBC 1Xtra Breakfast show on Sunday's, 7-11am.

Fee started her presenting career at CSR 97.4FM, the student station for the University of Kent. Alongside her BA (Hons) French and Business Administration degree, Fee presented a weekly show showcasing the best up and coming new talent. Her shows included early music from the now established Ramz and Zone2.

Fee was picked up from her university radio shows by Westside Radio 89.6FM in London. And after only a few demos, Fee began to cover shows, followed by a permanent weekend slot on Saturdays. Her skills developed at Westside under the mentorship of the then breakfast show presenter Shayna Marie (Capital Xtra) and drivetime show host Rebecca Judd (Apple Music 1) leading to presenting the drivetime show ‘The Jam’, Monday to Friday. During Christmas 2019, Fee hosted Drivetime on BBC Radio 1 after being selected through their Presenter search. This led on to a month of Early Breakfast on Radio 1 alongside daytime cover shows. Shortly after, Fee made her debut on BBC 1Xtra where she deputised throughout the daytime schedule before landing the Sunday Breakfast show, 7-11am in July 2022.

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During Fee's career in broadcast she has done many projects for digital platforms such as hosting the music show 'Hype Right Now' on Kiss TV (4Music) and interviewing a number of established acts and performers online, which includes comedian and broadcaster Kojo Anim, Ray Blk and Loski.

As a host, Fee has presented a variety of live events which includes the Urban Talent Show at Westfield London, Earls Court International Film Festival, live in-game for London Lions, London's oldest carnival 'Hanwell Carnival' and the inaugural Young Ealing Foundation awards.

Music has always played a predominant role in her life and from a young age, Fee has appreciated all music genres through various creative avenues. At the age of 8, she was a junior associate at The Royal Ballet School as well as a ballet girl on the Westend musical, Billy Elliot at 10 years old. Likewise, she expresses her creativity through fine art and was invited to showcase her work at an exhibition in London.

Having come so far, in such a short space of time the future looks increasingly bright for Fee. She is one of the UK’s most exciting young broadcasters”.

I would love to chat with her one day! A brilliant and adored presenter on Westside Radio, and one of the jewels in the crown at BBC Radio 1Xtra, she spoke to Fourth Floor earlier in the year about her work on Westside Radio, a prized BBC Radio 1 moment, promoting and saluting terrific new women in music coming through, and what happens next. Here is someone that everyone needs on their radar!

“AT WHAT POINT DID YOU REALISE THAT YOU WANTED TO BE A PRESENTER? AND HAS IT ALWAYS BEEN SOLELY RADIO THAT YOU’VE BEEN INTERESTED IN?

I never really planned on being a radio presenter but radio and music have always been a part of my life. I remember listening to Ricky, Melvin and Charlie every morning on the way to school and loving their vibe and chemistry on air, I also danced competitively for over 10 years (ballet, tap, street etc) and was exposed to different genres of music. But it wasn’t until I discovered Soulection Radio in 2015 that I really wanted to pursue radio. Their weekly radio show changed my life by introducing me to new sounds and artists from all 4 corners of the world (Goldlink, Masego, Kaytranada, Sango etc) and I would think, ‘Wow, Joe Kay has the best job ever’.

COULD WE HAVE SOME INSIGHT INTO YOUR JOURNEY UP UNTIL THIS POINT? HOW DID THIS ALL BEGIN?

I started my weekly university radio show, #LowkeyWithFEE at CSR 97.4FM (University of Kent) to showcase the best up and coming talent. I had little to no radio experience prior to creating my show so I was winging it 97.6% of the time but it was the perfect distraction from uni stress. I enjoyed discovering new artists and sounds, so my shows included music from the hottest artists in the scene right now like early Ramz, Knucks, DC, Zone2, Scribz Riley and more.

Using the advice of my best friend, I uploaded my shows on mixcloud as a way to put my content out there for people (whoever they were) to consume. Sometimes I would forget people were actually listening to my shows until the station manager of Westside Radio scouted me. This is was the push I definitely needed because my presenting style at university was 2 packs of ass (garbage)! I recorded demo after demo to develop my presenting style, then covered shows, followed by a permanent weekend slot. I was gassed and grateful. After a few months of presenting my weekend show, I was given the drive time slot which is BIG especially when taking over from Rebecca Judd (Apple Music 1 presenter).

THAT IS A SICK JOURNEY YOU’VE HAD! IT’S EASY TO FORGET THAT STUFF ONLINE CAN FIND ITS WAY TO ANYONE IN ANY INDUSTRY. SO NOW THAT YOU’VE BEEN DOING THE DRIVETIME SHOW FOR A WHILE, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS YOUR FAVOURITE THING ABOUT BEING A PRESENTER AND IS THERE ANYONE THAT YOU LOOK UP TO FOR INSPIRATION?

My favourite thing is that I can wholeheartedly be myself and people love me for that. The one thing I knew I wanted to do in life is to get paid to be myself! I’m too stubborn to wake up and do something I don’t care about day after day. Presenting allows me to bring my personality and my love for music to my shows and you can’t learn that.

I have so many inspirations like Rebecca Judd and Shayna Marie who both came from Westside Radio too! I spent a lot of time shadowing their shows and learning from them, as well as covering their shows. Other inspirations are Clara Amfo, Sian Anderson, Henrie and Nadia Jae. Black women who are all different but absolutely killing the game in their own way!

WHO ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE ARTISTS THAT YOU ENJOY PLAYING ON YOUR SHOW?

I am LOVING the girls in the scene right now, so my shows definitely include artists like Miraa May and Bree Runway. You can’t go wrong with Victoria Monet and Snoh Aalegra too! Scribz Riley is new to some but real ones know he’s been mashing in work from time, so I’m currently spinning his new track too. There’s too many!!!!

YEAH MIRAA IS TOO COLD. THE UK WOMEN ARE DEFINITELY KILLING IT RIGHT NOW.

YOUR ENERGY ALWAYS RADIATES THROUGH THE SPEAKERS AND I THINK THAT YOU DO A GREAT JOB AT KEEPING YOUR AUDIENCE ENGAGED WHILST ALSO MAINTAINING PURE POSITIVE VIBES. I REMEMBER OVER CHRISTMAS YOU WERE ABLE TO COVER SOME SHOWS ON BBC RADIO 1, HOW DID THIS COME ABOUT? AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HOW EXCITED WERE YOU WHEN THIS OPPORTUNITY AROSE?

Awww thanks!!!!

Mate, that experience is honestly a testament to God’s faithfulness. For ages I was applying for work experience at the BBC, as a producer or presenter and every time I never heard anything back. This time around I had no expectations, I told myself, ‘If I don’t hear anything back, it’s not that deep, something better will come along’ but at the same time I was thinking, presenting on Radio 1 would be lit! I applied anyway and left it. When I got a call back, I thought ’Naaaaaaaaaa! Are you dumb?!’ And the rest was history.

I was gassssssed and grateful because my journey isn’t how the average radio presenters career starts off. I had just graduated before taking over drive time at Westside and now I’m hosting two drive time shows at BBC Radio 1?! Please bear in mind that I also had NO CAREER PLAN following university. Mad mad mad word to Afro B.

I GUESS THAT LEADS PERFECTLY ON TO ASK; WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR PROUDEST MOMENTS IN YOUR LIFE AND CAREER SO FAR?

Graduating at university is up there. For one, I don’t consider myself an academic at ALL. I was the average student at best, so graduating with a 2:1 reassured me that I really can do anything I put my mind to. It was 4 years of pure madness but I learned so much along the way, discovered myself and my career path too!

Another proud moment is obviously hosting drive time BBC Radio 1 too. Absolute scenes!

DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR ANYONE THAT WANTS TO BREAK INTO THE RADIO INDUSTRY AND BECOME A PRESENTER?

Do it for the right reasons. When you’re passionate about something it shows and people see/hear it. Clout is killing my people and it’s so obvious when people are doing things because of trends or to be popping.

Start NOW! When I speak to other aspiring presenters, I always encourage them to just start. Use whatever resources you have, however you can and just do it. People spend too much time planning and day dreaming and less time being practical.

Networking is super important! I used to hate the term but it has enabled me to build genuine relationships with clean hearted people in the industry not just because of what they do but for who they are! I guess that kind of links into my  final piece of advice, BE NICE.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE STRUGGLES THAT YOU HAVE EXPERIENCED ON YOUR JOURNEY, ESPECIALLY AS A BLACK WOMAN IN A LARGELY WHITE, MALE DOMINATED SPHERE?

A lack of representation at bigger radio stations is a struggle for a black woman like myself. For example, over Christmas I received nasty DMs from strangers regarding the way I speak on air (e.g. not pronouncing my t’s like the true East Londoner I am) and I realised that a lot of listeners on certain stations are so used to hearing a particular type of presenter that a new voice rattles them. So I think it’s super important that young, fresh talent is introduced to bigger stations not just to tick a box but to genuinely diversify the talent.

THEY DID WHAT?! PEOPLE GENUINELY HAVE TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS.

DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THERE HAS BEEN PROGRESS IN TERMS OF REPRESENTATION WITHIN RADIO AND THE MEDIA AS A WHOLE?

Small small. Although, it shouldn’t take a man dying at the hands of the police and global protests to happen for big corporations to wake up and fight for change.

I know things won’t happen overnight. However, it’s going to take a lot more than removing the term ‘urban’. I just pray it’s not performative and that real change is taking place and being implemented behind the scenes.

AMEN!

ON THE TOPIC OF SOCIETY & ITS DOWNFALLS, HOW HAS COVID-19 IMPACTED THE INDUSTRY AND HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH THE ISSUES THAT SURFACED WHEN THE PANDEMIC CAME ABOUT?

I believe it’s made a lot of people reevaluate their priorities and work smarter instead of harder.

With everything in life, I approach it in a calm minded manner - panicking doesn’t change anything.

I was advised to buy a mic, which was the best investment I made because I could still do VoiceOver work and record my radio show from home. Even though pre-recording from home can be so long, it meant I was consistent in presenting which is helpful in the long run.

AND FINALLY, WHAT CAN LISTENERS EXPECT FROM FEE MAK OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS?

You might see me on your tv screens or on a national radio station again but one thing’s for sure is that big tings a gwarn!!”.

Such a loved and infectious broadcaster, presenter and D.J., the pure love and passion Fee Mak exudes through the airwaves for her listeners is wonderful to hear! I have mentioned her in the context or her Sunday morning show on 1 Xtra, because that is where I discovered her. Not to overlook her essential work on Westside Radio, but this is someone primed for bigger roles on national radio. I have speculated what 2023 can bring. Maintaing her roles at the moment but, who knows, some huge D.J. gigs and a few cool interviews. Maybe cover slots on BBC Radio 1 or some screen time. Sky’s the limit when it comes to this exceptional human! There was a lot of curiosity when BBC Radio 1 shook up the schedules back in 2020, and how people like Fee Mak and Sian Eleri would fit in – and whether they would be loved and make an impact. Two years later, Fee Mak can look back with huge pride on all she has achieved! Someone who will be in radio for decades more, check her work out. I especially think she adds something unique and unforgettable to Sunday mornings…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Richard Gray

ON 1Xtra!

FEATURE: The Battle of the Bands: Round One: The Cardigans vs. No Doubt

FEATURE:

 

 

The Battle of the Bands

PHOTO CREDIT: jontyson/Unsplash 

Round One: The Cardigans vs. No Doubt

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THIS is a ten-part series…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Cardigans

where I pit bands against one another. Like you get in high school, this is a battle of the band where I compare stats and ratings to determine which of them comes out on top. I may include Blondie for the second round, as they are one of my favourites! There will be no tournament and knock-out; just a winner in each round. I am starting out with two great bands who had their best moments in the 1990s. American heavyweights No Doubt, led by one of the coolest women in music, Gwen Stefani, take on Swedish icons The Cardigans. With Nina Persson at the front, this should be a close tie! Here, I match two great and influential groups in this first round of…

 IN THIS PHOTO: No Doubt

THE Battle of the Bands.

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The Cardigans

Band Members: Lead Singer: Nina Persson, Guitarist: Peter Svenssonb, Bassist: Magnus Sveningsson, Drummer: Bengt Lagerberg and Keyboardist: Lars-Olof Johansson

Origin: Jönköping, Sweden

Year of Formation: 1992

Studio Albums: Six

Singles: 20

Most Successful: Lovefool (re-issue, 1997): U.K.: 2; U.S. (Alt.): 9

The Iconic Video (75M YouTube Views, 04/11/2022):

Lovefool (From First Band on the Moon, 1996)

The Four Best of the Rest:

My Favourite Game “Stone Version” (from Gran Turismo, 1998)

Carnival (From Life, 1995)

I Need Some Fine Wine and You, You Need to Be Nicer (From Super Extra Gravity, 2005)

Erase / Rewind “Director's Cut” (From Gran Turismo, 1998)

Their Three Most-Streamed Songs (as of 4th November, 2022):

Lovefool: 376,664,327

My Favourite Game: 122,696,610

Erase / Rewind: 70,329,128

The Cardigans Spotify Twelve-Song Mixtape:

The Best Album:

First Band on the Moon

Producer: Tore Johansson

Release Date: 17th September, 1996

The Standout Song: Lovefool

Second: Your New Cuckoo

Review:

“LATE 1996 and the glorious POP! uprising in Indieland is subject to a counter-revolution. The Boo Radleys retreat into art-wank experimentalism. Blur grumble ominously from the studio about their new 'dark' direction. Lush announce plans for an Einsturzende Neubaten collaboration. Possibly.

The general 'thrust' of these Britpop quislings' 'argument' appears to rest on the patronising premise that wilfully uncommercial music is better per se than proper pop music with tunes and everything. Why? Er, well, y'know, it doesn't get played on the radio, my kid sister doesn't prefer it to Peter Andre and, er, that's about it really. Still, never mind. Let the Britpop boys return to their bedrooms and the nether regions of the only chart that counts, if that's what they want; the Swedes will surely save us. And right on cue, here come those chirpy Cardigans, the one band you can rely on not to make a 'difficult' second album full of neo-jazz experimentalism, tales of pain and betrayal and doom metal cover versions.

Er, except that's precisely what they have done. The difference is, it hasn't made The Cardigans uncommercial, and it has made them even better.

True, 'The First Band On The Moon' may come as a bit of a shock to those expecting a breezy collection of summery pop tunes like last year's two-million-selling 'Life'. But 'Life' was actually a sweet'n'simple compilation of their first two Swedish albums, which rather sneakily left out all the weird'n'nasty bits. Here, however, are The Cardigans in all their Ozzy-worshipping, ex-boyfriend-abusing, ambient cocktail jazz-embracing glory.

Yup, there's a dark side to '...The Moon'. 'Your New Cuckoo' starts off sounding like Mike Flowers then lunges headlong into an embittered tale of rabid infidelity. 'Step On Me' is a menacing, claustrophobic slump through self-loathing. 'Iron Man' is the Black Sabbath song. But they all sound like heavenly pop hits regardless.

And there's also a brighter side: the dizzy disco of 'Lovefool', Nina's Disney theme matinŽe queen routine on 'Great Divide', the magnificent flute solo (no, really!) on 'Choke'...

And sometimes, there's the two together. Like 'Been It', which manages to combine a melody so sweet it's almost sinister with jarring rock beast guitars and lyrics ("I've been your sister, I've been your mistress/Baby I was your whore") straight out of a Brookside subplot.

The Cardigans, then, are still a pop group, if no longer a POP! group. But that's just dandy, because they're advancing rather than retreating to the indie womb, challenging the mainstream rather than chucking in the towel and, most importantly, still writing genius pop songs rather than noodling around in no-tunes land. Because that's what they do best and that's what makes for the best music. And, contrary to (un)popular belief, the only place for the best music is in the hearts and charts of the general public and the only worthwhile 'revolution' is an over-the-counter one.

8/10”– NME

The Underrated Gem:

Gran Turismo

Producer: Tore Johansson

Release Date: 19th October, 1998

The Standout Song: My Favourite Game

Second: Erase / Rewind

Review:

“I'm not ashamed to admit that the Cardigans grabbed my attention not with their spacepop hit "Lovefool," but with their deliciously sexy vocalist Nina Persson, and the way she beckoned me seductively from the video of the same name. I knew she wanted me, and her ocean- blue eyes yearned to whisper "Jag alskar dig," in my hairy ears. I played hard- to- get back in 1996, when they released First Band on the Moon, and I contine to play hard- to- get, safe in the secret knowledge that Nina fights through every day, yearning for my touch. Believe me when I tell you, Nina, absence breeds anticipation-- we must wait for the proper moment for our Scando- American vibes to be combined like a tasty black- and- white milkshake. We must wait...

Our delicious waiting is made even more appetizing by the Cardigans "new" release, Gran Turismo. The sounds I hear disturb me, though. Where the Cardigans seemed so on top of their game on Last Band, Gran Turismo gives me a Nina that seems to have grown morose from her waiting. The light, sharply- arranged and smilingly ironic attitude that saturated their previous effort has metamorphosed into a self- concerned dragging effort devoid of the featherweight happiness that the Cardigans have been notable for.

Leaning more heavily on distorted guitars and electronica tidbits, most lyrics circulate thematically around breakups and regret. Nina's vocals are fitting to the subject, but where the Cardigans' past tracks about disappointment would often initially sound like a romp through the fertile fields of first love, Gran Turismo regretably strips away this facade. Let's be clear, though-- Gran Turismo isn't a bad album, it's just a distinct downer when compared to their earlier records.

I continue to wait for Nina to come to me. I feel her need for me is most urgent now, still sharpening our desire. Yet, I wonder-- is it all my fault? Could Nina be sending me a message? Should I go to her, gathering her close and soothing her fears, smoothing the sugary- coating that she refused to give to Gran Turismo? Come to me, Nina, come to me... -James P. Wisdom” – Pitchfork

A Cool Interview:

A Great Live Performance:

Ratings:

Coolness: 8

Consistency: 8

Songwriting Quality: 9

Iconic Lead: 7

Originality: 9

Total: 41/50 

No Doubt

Band Members (Final line-up): Lead Singer: Gwen Stefani, Guitarist: Tom Dumont, Bassist: Tony Kanal, and Drummer: Adrian Young

Origin: Anaheim, U.S.

Year of Formation: 1986

Studio Albums: Six

Singles: 22

Most Successful: Don’t Speak (1996): U.K.: 1; U.S.: 1

The Iconic Video (942M YouTube Views, 04/11/2022):

Don’t Speak (From Tragic Kingdom, 1995)

The Four Best of the Rest:

It’s My Life (From The Singles 1992-2003, 2003)

Trapped in a Box (From No Doubt, 1992)

Just a Girl (From Tragic Kingdom, 1995)

Settle Down (From Push and Shove, 2012)

Their Three Most-Streamed Songs (as of 4th November, 2022):

Don’t Speak: 510,022,938

Just a Girl: 200,403,553

It’s My Life: 108,088,757

The No Doubt Spotify Twelve-Song Mixtape:

The Best Album:

Tragic Kingdom

Producer: Matthew Wilder

Release Date: 10th October, 1995

The Standout Song: Don’t Speak

Second: Sunday Morning

Review:

“Led by the infectious, pseudo-new wave single "Just a Girl," No Doubt's major-label debut, Tragic Kingdom, straddles the line between '90s punk, third-wave ska, and pop sensibility. The record was produced by Matthew Wilder, the auteur behind "Break My Stride" -- a clever mainstream co-opting of new wave quirkiness, and, as such, an ideal pairing. Wilder kept his production lean and accessible, accentuating No Doubt's appealing mix of new wave melodicism, post-grunge rock, and West Coast sunshine. Even though the band isn't always able to fuse its edgy energy with pop melodies, the combination worked far better than anyone could have hoped. When everything does click, the record is pure fun, even if some of the album makes you wish they could sustain that energy throughout the record. Tragic Kingdom might not have made much of an impact upon its initial release in late 1995, but throughout 1996 "Just a Girl" and "Spiderwebs" positively ruled the airwaves, both alternative and mainstream, and in 1997 No Doubt cemented their cross-generational appeal with the ballad hit "Don't Speak” – AllMusic

The Underrated Gem:

Rock Steady

Producers: Nellee Hooper/No Doubt/Ric Ocasek/William Orbit/Prince/Sly & Robbie/Steely & Clevie Release Date: 11th December, 2001

The Standout Song: Hey Baby

Second: Hella Good

Review:

“Despite the title, Rock Steady is a collection of songs that reveal the heartbreaking nature of romance, of love that clings out of desperation. Intimate revelations are wrapped in ska beats, dancehall rhythms and mellow melodies. Betrayal lies at the heart of the nursery rhyme Detective, while insecurity negates the sauciness of Waiting Room, which features the sweeping harmonies of an on-form Prince. Underneath It All that captures the essence of singer Gwen Stefani's gamine charm, as she paints a smile on a relationship fraught with anxiety. "Somehow I'm full of forgiveness, I guess it's meant to be," she sings, her pain showing through the sweetness of the Sly and Robbie production. This is a great pop album, catchy and funky in all the right places, and Stefani's attitude shines brightly as she sums up: "Sometimes I just think Cupid is taking the piss. Betty Clarke” – The Guardian

A Cool Interview:

A Great Live Performance:

Ratings:

Coolness: 8.5

Consistency: 7.5

Songwriting Quality: 8

Iconic Lead: 9.5

Originality: 8.5

Total: 42/50

THE WINNERS:

Rather than there being absolutely No Doubt about the outcome, the Californian band pip The Cardigans by a whisker! The exceptional Swedish songwriting and brilliant band led by Nina Persson are just out-muscled by the iconic cool of Gwen Stefani and co.

FEATURE: Re-Release and Revision… Celebrating Kate Bush’s The Whole Story at Thirty-Six

FEATURE:

 

 

Re-Release and Revision…

Celebrating Kate Bush’s The Whole Story at Thirty-Six

__________

ON 10th November…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in an outtake from The Whole Story shoot/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

the Kate Bush greatest hits album, The Whole Story, is thirty-six. Through the years, the album has been released on L.P., C.D., tape, and Minidisc (in 1998). A 180-gram vinyl edition was released by Simply Vinyl on 30th October, 2000. My exposure to the album came in the form of the VHS. That was my first exposure to Kate Bush. The VHS had videos of the album’s songs on them. There was one difference that I will mention (also, an extra video (not included on the audio version), for The Big Sky, was added). The video for Wuthering Heights was a revelation! There was something about the choreography and the setting of the video. Bush, wide-eyed and ghostly. It was a  turning point in my life when it came to music and how I saw it! You can get a copy of The Whole Story on vinyl, but the cost is quite steep. Ahead of the anniversary of the album, I want to discuss a couple of different aspects. Before I get to it, here is a link to interviews where Bush talked about The Whole Story:

“Yes, I was [against the release of a compilation album] at first. I was concerned that it would be like a "K-tel" record, a cheapo-compo with little thought behind it. It was the record company's decision, and I didn't mind as long as it was well put together. We put a lot of work into the packaging, trying to make it look tasteful, and carefully thought out the running order. And the response has been phenomenal - I'm amazed! (Kate Bush Club newsletter, Issue 22, December 1987)

It wasn't chronological because we wanted to have a running time that was equal on both sides, otherwise you get a bad pressing. In America, where I'm not very well known, they didn't realise it was a compilation! ('Love, Trust and Hitler'. Tracks (UK), November 1989)”.

It would be nice if The Whole Story were re-released on vinyl. She remastered her catalogue in 2018, and I feel a new edition of The Whole Story would be a great introduction to fans. I will end with thoughts on the album and why, thirty-six years after its release, it still remains powerful and one of the best greatest hits albums. There are a couple of limitations and drawbacks with the album. Even though the video for Wuthering Heights was included, the audio version of the song featured a new vocal by Bush. Perhaps conscious of its higher register and the way some people satirised it, Bush wanted something that made her feel and seem less child-like and young. I feel the original vocal is one of her very best and should have been left. For her first greatest hits collection, having one of her  most important songs remain intact would have been better. Also, as the album was released a year after Hounds of Love, there was a lot to choose from in terms of the songs. I have already written about the single released from the album, Experiment IV, Bush wrote this especially for The Whole Story. I do think there should be a remaster of the greatest hits album, as we have not really seen anything like it since. There has been chronicling of Bush’s work after 1986, though there has not been a greatest hits collection.

I have written about this before when looking at The Whole Story but, as we prepare to mark thirty-six years of this collection, it is interesting how there has bene no real further revision. Bush’s success this year must make her think that a career-spanning album or compilation could be welcomed. As she told Tom Doyle in a 2006 interview, Bush thought that the idea of a greatest hits was naff. She said no way. It was a crap suggestion. The man - whose name is not revealed -came back with all this research. A convincing amount of hard work changed Bush’s mind. She was sold and, as it turned out, The Whole Story reached the top spot and became Bush’s biggest-selling record. She is glad that she had her hesitancy reversed and allowed The Whole Story to go ahead! Bush is not a great fan of revisionism, but at least remastering The Whole Story would be a start. What I wanted to conclude with is how much respect and adulation the album received. I guess the success of Hounds of Love in 1985 and 1986 carried into November of 1986. She was very much at the forefront of public affection and critical approval. It is funny, as Hounds of Love might have been her first album – her fifth at that point – that unified people in that way. Whilst Hounds of Love did not get all great reviews in the U.S. (even though it was a critical success there), British press raved! When The Whole Story came up, Bush’s popularity was at an all-time high. Even though there were twelve tracks on the album, critics were stunned by the vast quality. Recognising her gifts and genius, they were stunned at the variation and consistency that The Whole Story offered! NME noted how Bush was streets ahead of her male peers. Andy Strickland, writing for Record Mirror noted: "A monumental tribute to this craziest, coziest girl-next-door. (...) One of the most refreshing compilation LPs it would be possible to put together".

I am dropping in a few videos that would have appeared on the VHS edition of The Whole Story. Not only did the public and press get the audio delights of Bush’s career in the compilation. It was a rare occasion to piece together her ever-evolving and growingly ambitious videos. It is quite fitting that Bush, who was being mocked, facing sexist questions, and being reduced to her looks in 1978 and actually through her career, was now being heralded as a goddess and British innovator! 1986 was a watershed year when this once-derided and misunderstood artist was being elevated. Not everyone was in Bush’s camp and, to be fair, there was respect for all of her albums until this point. There was definitely a shift in the way she was perceived and the impression people had. Linking together a selection of her best songs together did provide the complete picture. The whole story. In 1986, that was definitely true. Bush has released five studio albums since 1986. There has been a lot of activity and new material. I do think that there should be some form of retrospection. Bush could not object. In lieu of new material and plans for an eleventh studio album, she would surely allow there to be something in the way of a new collection,. In recognising how important The Whole Story was for me, in the sense it introduced me to Kate Bush, it also sees me looking ahead. 2022 has been such a packed and crazy year for Kate Bush. Once more thrust back into the limelight – though in a very different way to 1985 and 1986 -, fans all around the world hope that…

THE story is not finished quite yet.

FEATURE: Looking Ahead to Fifty-Five Years of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour Double E.P.: Ranking the Six Tracks

FEATURE

 

 

Looking Ahead to Fifty-Five Years of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour Double E.P.

Ranking the Six Tracks

__________

I have written a feature previously…

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles set off by coach to the Westcountry to film the Magical Mystery Tour movie/PHOTO CREDIT: Potter/Express/Getty Images

about The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour. It was released as an album in the U.S. in 27th November, 1967. It consisted of songs from the film soundtrack of Magical Mystery Tour, plus some singles from the band. In the U.K., on 8th December, 1967, it was released as a five-track E.P. Many do not consider Magical Mystery Tour to be cannon when it comes to The Beatles’ music. Maybe not as recognised as their studio albums, I do really love the E.P. Six very different and incredible tracks, I think that it should be re-released on vinyl and remastered. Later in the same year as The Beatles released the seminal Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearst Club Band, Magical Mystery Tour was going to suffer in comparison. Perhaps goofier than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, the E.P. is trimmer and does not include songs like Strawberry Fields Forever and Penny Lane (both of which are on the U.S. album). Regardless, I wanted to look ahead to the fifty-fifth anniversary of Magical Mystery Tour as an E.P. by ranking the six tracks. They are all fantastic, but I think there are a couple that stand out from the pack – and most people can probably guess which one I am going to put at the top spot! Before getting to the song rankings, here is some information from The Beatles Bible, about Magical Mystery Tour’s filming and recording:

“Released as a six-song double EP in the United Kingdom and an 11-song album in the US and elsewhere, Magical Mystery Tour was the soundtrack to the television film of the same name, which was first broadcast by the BBC on 26 December 1967.

In the wake of the death of Brian Epstein on 27 August 1967, The Beatles found themselves suddenly without direction. Whereas since 1962 they had been carefully guided by their manager, at the peak of their career they were unused to making their own business decisions or having absolute autonomy over their future.

On 1 September 1967, five days after Epstein’s body was discovered in his London home, The Beatles met at Paul McCartney’s house at 7 Cavendish Avenue in St John’s Wood, London. The previous day an announcement had been issued stating that the band would continue to be managed by NEMS Enterprises – now under the guidance of Epstein’s brother Clive – until further notice.

During the 1 September meeting The Beatles agreed to continue with Magical Mystery Tour, a project begun in April shortly after the completion of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Crucially, this was a time when McCartney began steering many of the group’s decisions, encouraging them to continue during a period in which they might easily have collapsed amid a lack of direction.

I was still under a false impression. I still felt every now and then that Brian would come in and say, ‘It’s time to record,’ or, ‘Time to do this.’ And Paul started doing that: ‘Now we’re going to make a movie. Now we’re going to make a record.’ And he assumed that if he didn’t call us, nobody would ever make a record. Paul would say, well, now he felt like it – and suddenly I’d have to whip out twenty songs. He’d come in with about twenty good songs and say, ‘We’re recording.’ And I suddenly had to write a fucking stack of songs.

John Lennon, 1972

Anthology

McCartney’s concept for Magical Mystery Tour was to produce a television special about a group of ordinary people taking a mystery trip on a coach. The film would take in various locations in England and France, and would be mostly improvised and take advantage of the encounters they had on the road.

Magical Mystery Tour was Paul’s idea. It was a good way to work. Paul had a great piece of paper – just a blank piece of white paper with a circle on it. The plan was: ‘We start here – and we’ve got to do something here…’ We filled it in as we went along.

We rented a bus and off we went. There was some planning: John would always want a midget or two around, and we had to get an aircraft hangar to put the set in. We’d do the music, of course. They were the finest videos, and it was a lot of fun. To get the actors we looked through the actors’ directory, Spotlight: ‘Oh, we need someone like this, and someone like that.’ We needed a large lady to play my auntie. So we found a large lady.

Ringo Starr

Anthology”.

To celebrate a big anniversary for an undoubtably excellent E.P. and a vital moment in Beatles history, I am borrowing from The Beatles Bible once more when it comes to song information and details. Whilst there are Beatles fans who write off Magical Mystery Tour or do not consider it essential listening, I would argue that the E.P. and L.P. versions…

SHOULD not be forgotten.

______________________

SIX: Blue Jay Way

“Written by: Harrison

Recorded: 6, 7 September; 6 October 1967

Producer: George Martin

Engineer: Geoff Emerick

Released: 8 December 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)

Available on:

Magical Mystery Tour

Love

Personnel

George Harrison: vocals, Hammond organ

John Lennon: backing vocals

Paul McCartney: backing vocals, bass

Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine

Peter Willison: cello

‘Blue Jay Way’, George Harrison’s songwriting contribution to the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack, was written while he was waiting for The Beatles’ publicist Derek Taylor, who was lost in fog in the Los Angeles canyons.

The song was composed in the Hollywood hills on 1 August 1967. Harrison was visiting California with his wife Pattie, plus Neil Aspinall and Alexis Mardas. They were staying at a rented house in Blue Jay Way, high in the Hollywood hills, which belonged to the manager of Peggy Lee.

The Beatles’ former publicist Derek Taylor had become delayed on his way to meet them. The jetlagged Harrison found a Hammond organ in the house and began writing the song as an outlet for his ennui.

Derek Taylor got held up. He rang to say he’d be late. I told him on the phone that the house was in Blue Jay Way. And he said he could find it OK… he could always ask a cop. So I waited and waited. I felt really knackered with the flight, but I didn’t want to go to sleep until he came. There was a fog and it got later and later. To keep myself awake, just as a joke to pass the time while I waited, I wrote a song about waiting for him in Blue Jay Way. There was a little Hammond organ in the corner of this house which I hadn’t noticed until then… so I messed around on it and the song came.

George Harrison

Harrison’s stay in the house was arranged by Brian Epstein, who called The Beatles’ attorney Robert Fitzpatrick to enquire whether a house could be leased. Fitzpatrick persuaded the owner of the house, another entertainment attorney named Ludwig Gerber, to lend Harrison his LA residence.

Ludwig Gerber was a former US Army colonel who had managed Peggy Lee for many years. He was also a film producer and lawyer. In his house there was a Hammond S-6 organ, which Harrison used for writing the song while waiting for Taylor to arrive.

In the Magical Mystery Tour film, Harrison ‘performed’ the song while playing a keyboard chalked onto the ground. One of the movie’s most psychedelic sequences, Harrison’s appearance is subjected to dated camera techniques involving prism refractions to create multiple images” – The Beatles Bible

FIVE: The Fool on the Hill

“Written by: Lennon-McCartney

Recorded: 6, 25, 26 September; 20 October 1967

Producer: George Martin

Engineer: Ken Scott

Released: 8 December 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)

Available on:

Magical Mystery Tour

Anthology 2

Love (iTunes bonus track)

Personnel

Paul McCartney: vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, bass, recorder

John Lennon: harmonica, Jew’s harp

George Harrison: acoustic guitar, harmonica

Ringo Starr: drums, maracas, finger cymbals

Christopher Taylor, Richard Taylor, Jack Ellory: flutes

The ‘Fool On The Hill’ was Paul McCartney’s major contribution to the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album. In the companion TV film it appeared over a sequence shot on a hilltop near Nice in France.

Now that’s Paul. Another good lyric. Shows he’s capable of writing complete songs.

John Lennon

All We Are Saying, David Sheff

The song was composed on the piano at McCartney’s father’s house in Liverpool, “hitting a D 6th chord”.

‘The Fool On The Hill’ was mine and I think I was writing about someone like Maharishi. His detractors called him a fool. Because of his giggle he wasn’t taken too seriously. It was this idea of a fool on the hill, a guru in a cave, I was attracted to.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

The Beatles’ 1968 authorised biography contains a lengthy passage in which writer Hunter Davies observed Lennon and McCartney as they composed ‘With A Little Help From My Friends’, at McCartney’s house in London. A fascinating insight into their songwriting processes, it showed how they were content to be distracted while waiting for inspiration to arrive.

Paul then went back to his guitar and started to sing and play a very slow, beautiful song about a foolish man sitting on the hill. John listened to it quietly, staring blankly out of the window, almost as if he wasn’t listening. Paul sang it many times, la la-ing words he hadn’t thought of yet. When at last he finished, John said he’d better write the words down or he’d forget them. Paul said it was OK. He wouldn’t forget them. It was the first time Paul had played it for John. There was no discussion.

The Beatles, Hunter Davies

McCartney decided to go to France to film the Magical Mystery Tour sequence, taking with him Mal Evans and cameraman Aubrey Dewar. Despite having no money or passport with him, he managed to talk his way through customs. The sequence was filmed in the mountains near Nice, shortly after sunrise.

I just ad-libbed the whole thing. I went, ‘Right, get over there: let me dance. Let me jump from this rock to this rock. Get a lot of the sun rising. Get a perfect shot and let me stand in front of it.’ I just had a little Philips cassette to mime to and roughly get the feeling of the song. There was no clapper because there was no sound… It was very spontaneous, as was the whole of Magical Mystery Tour. Later, when we came to try to edit it all, it was very difficult because I hadn’t sung it to synch.

We shouldn’t have really had just one cameraman, it was anti-union. That was another reason to go to France. The unions wouldn’t have allowed it in Britain, nor probably in France, but they didn’t know we were doing it.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles” – The Beatles Bible

FOUR: Your Mother Should Know

“Written by: Lennon-McCartney

Recorded: 22, 23 August; 16, 29 September 1967

Producer: George Martin

Engineers: John Timperley, Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott

Released: 8 December 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)

Available on:

Magical Mystery Tour

Anthology 2

Personnel

Paul McCartney: vocals, piano, bass

John Lennon: backing vocals, organ

George Harrison: backing vocals, guitar

Ringo Starr: drums, tambourine

‘Your Mother Should Know’ was written by Paul McCartney at his home in London. It took its title from the screenplay of A Taste Of Honey, and the music harked back to Busby Berkeley showtunes and the golden age of music hall.

I wrote it in Cavendish Avenue on the harmonium I have in the dining room there. My Aunty Jin and Uncle Harry and a couple of relatives were staying and they were in the living room just across the hall, so I just went to the dining room and spent a few hours with the door open with them listening. And I suppose because of the family atmosphere ‘Your Mother Should Know’ came in. It’s a very music-hall kind of thing, probably influenced by the fact that my Aunty Jin was in the house.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

It’s likely that ‘Your Mother Should Know’ was briefly considered for the Our World satellite broadcast of 25 June 1967. The Beatles went instead with ‘All You Need Is Love’, a simpler message and one more readily understood by a worldwide audience. But the idea of a big old-fashioned singalong clearly stayed with McCartney when planning the Magical Mystery Tour film.

The big prop was that great big staircase that we danced down, that was where all the money went: in that particular shot on that big staircase. I said, ‘Sod it, you’ve got to have the Busby Berkeley ending,’ and it is a good sequence. Just the fact of John dancing, which he did readily. You can see by the fun expression on his face that he wasn’t forced into anything.

Paul McCartney – The Beatles Bible

THREE: Flying

“Written by: Harrison–Lennon–McCartney–Starkey

Recorded: 8, 28 September 1967

Producer: George Martin

Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott

Released: 8 December 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)

Available on:

Magical Mystery Tour

Personnel

John Lennon: vocals, organ, Mellotron, sound effects

Paul McCartney: vocals, guitar, bass

George Harrison: vocals, guitar

Ringo Starr: vocals, drums, maracas, sound effects

A mostly instrumental recording with wordless vocals from all four Beatles, ‘Flying’ was recorded as incidental music for the Magical Mystery Tour film.

Originally titled ‘Aerial Tour Instrumental’, it was the first Beatles recording to have a songwriting credit featuring all four members.

‘Flying’ was the only Beatles instrumental released by EMI. The group had previously recorded ‘Cry For A Shadow’ in Hamburg in 1961, and ‘12-Bar Original’ during the Rubber Soul sessions in 1965.

In the Magical Mystery Tour film, ‘Flying’ was used to accompany landscape scenes of Iceland taken from an aeroplane. These sequences were unused outtakes from Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr Strangelove.

Paul McCartney revealed the background to ‘Flying’ in Barry Miles’ biography Many Years From Now:

‘Flying’ was an instrumental that we needed for Magical Mystery Tour so in the studio one night I suggested to the guys that we made something up. I said, ‘We can keep it very very simple, we can make it a twelve-bar blues. We need a little bit of a theme and a little bit of a backing.’ I wrote the melody. The only thing to warrant it as a song is basically the melody, otherwise it’s just a nice twelve-bar backing thing. It’s played on the Mellotron, on a trombone setting. It’s credited to all four, which is how you would credit a non-song.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now” – The Beatles Bible

TWO: Magical Mystery Tour

“Written by: Lennon-McCartney

Recorded: 25, 26, 27 April, 3 May, 7 November 1967

Producer: George Martin

Engineer: Geoff Emerick

Released: 8 December 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)

Available on: Magical Mystery Tour

Personnel

Paul McCartney: vocals, piano, bass

John Lennon: vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar, percussion

George Harrison: vocals, lead guitar, percussion

Ringo Starr: drums, percussion

Mal Evans, Neil Aspinall: percussion

David Mason, Elgar Howarth, Roy Copestake, John Wilbraham: trumpets

Recorded just four days after the completion of the Sgt Pepper album, ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was Paul McCartney’s attempt to maintain momentum within The Beatles and to give them a new direction and sense of purpose.

John and I remembered mystery tours, and we always thought this was a fascinating idea: getting on a bus and not knowing where you were going. Rather romantic and slightly surreal! All these old dears with the blue rinses going off to mysterious places. Generally there’s a crate of ale in the boot of the coach and you sing lots of songs. It’s a charabanc trip. So we took that idea and used it as a basis for a song and the film.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

Inspired by Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters and their LSD-fuelled bus, McCartney decided The Beatles should try something similar. He devised a rough concept for the new project, which would involve the group travelling around the England in their own coach, filming whatever took place.

I used to go to the fairgrounds as a kid, the waltzers and the dodgems, but what interested me was the freak shows: the boxing booths, the bearded lady and the sheep with five legs, which actually was a four-legged sheep with one leg sewn on its side. When I touched it, the fellow said, ‘Hey, leave that alone!’ these were the great things of your youth. So much of your writing comes from this period; your golden memories. If I’m stuck for an idea, I can always think of a great summer, think of a time when I went to the seaside. Okay, sand sun waves donkeys laughter. That’s a pretty good scenario for a song.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles

The resulting TV film was a mess, and critically panned, though the soundtrack double EP (expanded to a full album in the US) was a best-seller.

‘Magical Mystery Tour’ was co-written by John and I, very much in our fairground period. One of our great inspirations was always the barker. ‘Roll up! Roll up!’ The promise of something: the newspaper ad that says ‘guaranteed not to crack’, the ‘high class’ butcher, ‘satisfaction guaranteed’ from Sgt Pepper. ‘Come inside,’ ‘Step inside, Love‘; you’ll find that pervades a lot of my songs. If you look at all the Lennon-McCartney things, it’s a thing we do a lot.

Paul McCartney

Many Years From Now, Barry Miles - The Beatles Bible

ONE: I Am the Walrus

“Written by: Lennon-McCartney

Recorded: 5, 6, 27, 29 September 1967

Producer: George Martin

Engineers: Geoff Emerick, Ken Scott

Released: 24 November 1967 (UK), 27 November 1967 (US)

Available on:

Magical Mystery Tour

Anthology 2

Love

Personnel

John Lennon: vocals, pianet electric piano

Paul McCartney: bass guitar, tambourine

George Harrison: electric guitar

Ringo Starr: drums

Peggie Allen, Wendy Horan, Pat Whitmore, Jill Utting, June Day, Sylvia King, Irene King, G Mallen, Fred Lucas, Mike Redway, John O’Neill, F Dachtler, Allan Grant, D Griffiths, J Smith, J Fraser: backing vocals

Sidney Sax, Jack Rothstein, Ralph Elman, Andrew McGee, Jack Greene, Louis Stevens, John Jezzard, Jack Richards: violins

Lionel Ross, Eldon Fox, Bram Martin, Terry Weil: cellos

Gordon Lewin: clarinet

Neil Sanders, Tony Tunstall, Morris Miller: horns

John Lennon’s final masterpiece of 1967 found him at his surrealistic, sneering best. ‘I Am The Walrus’ was included on the soundtrack of the Magical Mystery Tour TV film, and first released as the b-side of ‘Hello, Goodbye’.

Lennon had wanted ‘I Am The Walrus’ to be The Beatles’ next single after ‘All You Need Is Love’, but Paul McCartney and George Martin felt that ‘Hello, Goodbye’ was the more commercial song. The decision led to resentment from Lennon, who complained after the group’s split that “I got sick and tired of being Paul’s backup band”.

The song was written in August 1967, at the peak of the Summer of Love and shortly after the release of Sgt Pepper. Lennon later claimed to have written the opening lines under the influence of LSD

The first line was written on one acid trip one weekend, the second line on another acid trip the next weekend, and it was filled in after I met Yoko.

John Lennon, 1980

All We Are Saying, David Sheff

‘I Am The Walrus’ was a composite of three song fragments. The first part was inspired by a two-note police siren Lennon heard while at home in Weybridge. This became “Mr city policeman sitting pretty…”

Hunter Davies recounted the beginnings of the second part in his authorised 1968 biography of The Beatles:

He’d written down down another few words that day, just daft words, to put to another bit of rhythm. ‘Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the man to come.’ I thought he said ‘van to come’, which he hadn’t, but he liked it better and said he’d use it instead.

The third part of ‘I Am The Walrus’ started from the phrase “sitting in an English country garden” which, as Davies noted, Lennon was fond of doing for hours at a time. Lennon repeated the phrase to himself until a melody came.

I don’t know how it will all end up. Perhaps they’ll turn out to be different parts of the same song – sitting in an English garden, waiting for the van to come. I don’t know.

John Lennon

The Beatles, Hunter Davies

The lyrics

‘Walrus’ is just saying a dream – the words don’t mean a lot. People draw so many conclusions and it’s ridiculous… What does it really mean, ‘I am the eggman’? It could have been the pudding basin for all I care. It’s not that serious.

John Lennon

Anthology

The song’s title came from Lewis Carroll’s poem ‘The Walrus And The Carpenter’, from the book Through The Looking Glass. Lennon later realised with dismay that he’d identified with the villain of the piece.

It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the capitalist system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles’ work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realised that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, ‘I am the carpenter.’ But that wouldn’t have been the same, would it?

John Lennon, 1980

All We Are Saying, David Sheff

The eggman of the chorus – while possibly a reference to Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty – was more likely The Animals’ lead singer Eric Burdon, following a particularly notable incident recounted to Lennon at a London party.

It may have been one of my more dubious distinctions, but I was the Eggman – or, as some of my pals called me, ‘Eggs’.

The nickname stuck after a wild experience I’d had at the time with a Jamaican girlfriend called Sylvia. I was up early one morning cooking breakfast, naked except for my socks, and she slid up beside me and slipped an amyl nitrate capsule under my nose. As the fumes set my brain alight and I slid to the kitchen floor, she reached to the counter and grabbed an egg, which she cracked into the pit of my belly. The white and yellow of the egg ran down my naked front and Sylvia slipped my egg-bathed cock into her mouth and began to show me one Jamaican trick after another. I shared the story with John at a party at a Mayfair flat one night with a handful of blondes and a little Asian girl.

‘Go on, go get it, Eggman,’ Lennon laughed over the little round glasses perched on the end of his hook-like nose as we tried the all-too-willing girls on for size.

Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Eric Burdon with J Marshall Craig” – The Beatles Bible

FEATURE: Lost in Transition... The French Dissolution: Kate Bush's Lionheart at Forty-Four

FEATURE:

 

 

Lost in Transition…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at the Lionheart launch party in 1978. Lionheart has its international launch at the 14th-century Ammersoyen Castel, two hours' drive from Amsterdam. After dinner, in the grounds of the castle, Leo Bouderwijas (the President of the Association of Dutch Phonographical Industries) presents Bush with the prestigious Edison Award for the best single of 1978 (Wuthering Heights). Bush is also presented with a platinum disc for sales of The Kick Inside in Holland

The French Dissolution: Kate Bush’s Lionheart at Forty-Four

__________

I have another Lionheart feature…

coming ahead of the album’s forty-fourth anniversary on 13th November. Some might wonder why I am putting out quite a few features for an album that was rushed, and Kate Bush was disappointed by. Even though it is a paler (if more ambitious and wide-reaching) version of her debut, The Kick Inside, then there is a lot to love about it. This feature, actually, is more a look at some of the problems and reasons why Lionheart did not gel and was a little unusual. I am going to end with some positives regarding the album. Before I get to the feature and explain why I am notching up my Kate Bush features in terms of regularity, it is worth thanking Tom Doyle! I have been inspired to write this feature because his amazing Kate Bush biography/book, Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, is out - and it has scooped some positive reviews and loads of love through social media. I would not usually recommend people buy a book on Amazon rather than via bookstores and other sites but, in this case, you can get Doyle’s book for £10 at Amazon. Even if I am a bit conflicted – as he will get less money if the book retails less than on other sites? -, then I hope the lower price does provoke Kate Bush fans and those unfamiliar with her work to invest and grab this excellent tome! Such an original and multifaceted approach to her incredible career and unique creative genius, I have read what he wrote about Lionheart.

Actually, because I am immersed in Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush, so many feature ideas have come to mind. I am going to sprinkle them between other Bush pieces, as I still have a few anniversary bits concerning albums like The Whole Story (the 1986 greatest hits album) and 50 Words for Snow (her most recent studio album released in 2011). I am also gearing up to do some Christmas bits around Kate Bush, a round-up of an eventful and hugely successful 2022, plus a couple of anniversaries that happen early in 2023 – including the forty-fifth anniversary of Bush’s debut single, Wuthering Heights, in January; the album it is from, The Kick Inside, is forty-five the following month. It is amazing that less than nine months after her debut album came out, Bush released her second album! That would never happen today! I am not sure she had much say or desire when it came to that decision. EMI, doubtless capitalising on the momentum and huge success of The Kick Inside and Wuthering Heights’ unstoppable brilliance – but, as I will write in a future feature, the song received plenty of mockery and bad reviews – put Bush back into the studio. Rather than returning her to AIR in London, Bush and band were dispatched to Super Bear Studios, Berre-les-Alpes, France between July and September 1978. The studio was sadly destroyed in 1986, yet the owner, Damon Metrebian, had fond memories of Kate Bush recording there. I think those dates are right, because Bush was still promoting The Kick Inside heavily in July 1978! How did she get her head around the fact that she was promoting her debut whilst working on her second album?!

I think this is the main reason why Lionheart seems rushed. It was! As I have said many times, even though she only had opportunity to write three new songs – including the remarkable opening track, Symphony in Blue and the anxious and slightly mad Coffee Homeground -, she could not have salvaged and controlled the direction of Lionheart. Assisting production with Andrew Powell (who produced The Kick Inside), her second album was a pivotal moment. It made Bush aware of the fact she did not want to produce with anyone else/Powell (I will explain why soon), and she also needed to do things her way. Maybe going to France was designed to provide Bush with a break and a different climate to help cope with the huge demand and rush. It sort of backfired. I feel Lionheart would have been a bit more stable and better if she was in London and working back at AIR. Tom Doyle documented Lionheart and its problems. Chapter 13 of Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush is entitled ‘Lost in France’. It sort of says everything about the L.P. As Bush said – and Doyle wrote – “No offence to the musicians on the second record, but there was conflict between myself and Andrew Powell in the way that we saw it”. Whilst Bush wanted her band (including Del Palmer and Brian Bath (who is seventy on 30th November) to play on the debut, Andrew Powell favoured more experienced musicians.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in an outake from the cover shoot for Lionheart/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

Having worked with Palmer and Bath as part of the KT Bush Band in 1977, she knew they’d gel. But maybe they needed more time on the stage and studio. She had hoped, I think, the success of The Kick Inside would earn her a little more sway when it came to personnel. I don’t think Andrew Powell was quite the domineering and misguided controller of Lionheart some paint him as. If the location was different, the band and working methods seemed relatively unchanged after The Kick Inside. The sort of if it ain’t broke then why fix it approach. Bush wanted to change. If not change, then perhaps a realisation that she had from the start: to work on an album with musicians of her choosing. Not to piss people off; she would be more comfortable around them and be able to communicate her ideas to them more effectively. She held no ill feelings towards those who are on Lionheart – including David Paton and Ian Bairnson -, but she felt distant. A cog in the machine rather than the thrust and architect (as Graeme Thomson noted in his excellent Kate Bush biography, Under the Ivy: The Life & Music of Kate Bush). Moved from the Eat Wickham Farm her family resided in to the similarly-named 44 Wickham Road, Bush lived with her brothers Paddy and John. They each took a floor of the house, whilst Kate was on the top floor. It is a cute and familial scene where you had the siblings all under one roof! Brian Bath was asked to the Brockley flat to work on songs for Lionheart (I am paraphrasing and getting this detail from Doyle’s Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush).

The Kick Inside suggested birth and new life: an artist beginning her ‘journey’ and creating (audio) life. Lionheart’s title points at a determined and emboldened woman ready to take a leap. Only twenty when Lionheart came out, Bush’s intention was very much to assert more say and start to craft music in a more independent fashion. Perhaps a little tired of others moulding her sound and vision, early designs were geared around a new band and a fresh start. That wasn’t to bear much fruit. Bush’s father, Dr. Robert Bush (Beatles earworm alert!), helped construct a demo studio at East Wickham Farm where songs could be worked on. About five years later, Bush would return again to the family home and, perhaps with new skills learned and independence desires at their peak, constructed a bigger and more ambitious recording barn for Hounds of Love (1985). Who knows what Lionheart could have been if her plans had actually worked out?! Songs – including Lionheart’s first (if unsuccessful) first single, Hammer Horror – were worked on. Bush was being encouraged by her family and Brian Bath. Tips and suggestions were given and, by all accounts, the working set-up and earlier days (around June at the so-called Summerhouse Studios) were promising! I will not directly quote too much from Doyle’s book, but it is interesting what he says about France. A chosen recording destination/tax haven for artists including Elton John and David Bowie (two heroes of hers that did not have a great relationship themselves…more on the John/Bowie beef in another feature!), it seemed like a weird setting for Kate Bush’s music and trajectory. Having promoted The Kick Inside around the world through 1978 – the same month test recordings were happening for Lionheart; Bush was also promoting The Kick Inside in Japan! -, she needed some focus and routine. Traveling to France was probably the last thing she needed in a year where her air miles were insane! If the climate, romance and landscape seemed conducive to fresh creative life and relaxation, the summer holiday was about to turn sour. A potential French revolution became a fresh dissolution.

There had been a loose agreement between Andrew Powell and Kate Bush for her to use her musicians, including Paddy Bush (who appeared on The Kick Inside (he is seventy next month) and all post-Lionheart albums excluding 50 Words for Snow). Del Palmer was to be there, as was Brian Bath. Almost a KT Bush Band reunion, the demo sessions back in the U.K. meant there was some drive, sheen, conviction and solidity to the early recordings. Promising seeds being planted and, as Doyle points out, perhaps this was a reward for the way the KT Bush Band had developed their act prior to steeping into AIR to record The Kick Inside, thus, giving her some invaluable experience and training that would feed into those sessions. There did seem to be distractions. With a pool and sun at their disposal feet away – often, Bush would be sunbathing topless, which must have been eye-opening for those not expecting such a ‘relaxed’ compatriot! At one point, Bush attempted to break a wine glass by singing as high as possible (she was fortunately talked down from that potential ledge and avoided having glass explode in her face!). There were fun and cool vibes at times for certain! The heat and lack of air conditioning and necessary ventilation impacted on the musicians’ concentration and playing. Unusual requests and working demands were new to the inexperienced band, and there were some frank words (no pun intended) and cracks showing. Lionheart is unique in the sense that two different band line-ups played on it. Bush’s guys were packed home when an EMI representative travelled to the studios in France and realised things were not working out. Musicians who played on The Kick Inside were drafted in. Awkward moments where the two bands were with one another and had to be civil whilst there was obvious tension and disappointment.

One need only look at what Bush was doing in 1979 to realise what a breaking and turning point Lionheart was. Embarking on The Tour of Life – a spectacle that Bush was very much involved in from the ground up and had a say in everything -, the idea of recording in sweaty studios with musicians not her first choice for a producer who was on a different page held little long-term appeal and practicality. Not that Bush was a perfectionist, but Powell noticed how the guide vocal for Wow (the remarkable second single from Lionheart) was very musical. Maybe digging her heels in and trying to be more of a producer, Bush did so many vocal takes to make the sound more dramatic, nuanced, complex and of her liking. Maybe it was a purely musical decision, but I feel some of her frustration towards Andrew Powell meant she spent a lot longer on the song than she would have otherwise done. If she was keen to push on with new material and break from her debut, the fact that she had a Prince-sized safe and archive full of unreleased and unrecorded song ready to go seemed to make more sense to Powell. Bush did say in an interview how Oh England My Lionheart – one of the older songs written long before the album was recorded – was her favourite on the record. She soon distanced herself from it, perhaps feeling it was jarring, juvenile and not what she wanted for her second album. If new songs like Coffee Homeground and Full House point at paranoia, something darker and more complex than what came before (Symphony in Blue a more mature and almost philosophical update of the songs on The Kick Inside), then tracks like Oh England My Lionheart were almost twee by comparison. I love the song a lot - but one can see where Bush was coming from!

If Andrew Powell wanted a The Kick Inside 2 or Bush to record old songs not considered for her debut, Bush resolutely was looking to evolve and move on. Perhaps also trying to prove to critics who mocked her high vocals and hippy image that she was not so easy to define and pin, Lionheart didn’t help in that sense! As Tom Doyle notes, there was a sense of deflation and disappointment. Having finished recording in France in August 1978, mixing took place in London in September. Bush, wanting to remain normal and fetch sandwiches and walk the street, was now so famous she was being advised to stay inside. Perhaps another reason why she was determined to do The Tour of Life the year later and very much get out there and not be confined and directed! If the singles were not as successful as those from The Kick Inside (Wuthering Heights was a number one; Moving was a number one in Japan), the album did get to a not-too-shabby six in the U.K. If it was a failure compared to her supernova debut, looking back now, I think it is truly remarkable Bush made an album so wonderful given constraints and such incredible time limitations! She did say “I was thinking, y’know, I don’t want to be produced by someone who sees it differently to me”. She recognised how integral producing was regarding the sound and shape of a song. It seemed illogical to write these unique-sounding songs only for someone else to craft them in their image and distil them (not her sentiment, but that is the shape of things!). Even if Lionheart’s recording and reception was far from ideal and overly pleasurable, the aspiring and already-talented producer learned enough from two studio albums. 1980’s Never for Ever did see her co-produce with engineer Jon Kelly, but the experience was much more pleasurable this time around. Perhaps because they were the same sort of age, rather than there being this generation and age gap between her and Andrew Powell.

Chapter 13 of Tom Doyle’s magnificent Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush discusses Lionheart as a classic ‘difficult second album’. I know Bush and her musicians had some good moments, and there would have been some terrific revelations in the studio. Despite the hot weather and mountain air, it was clear that London – the smog and stress of it all – was where Bush needed to position herself for album number three. Lionheart is forty-four on 13th November (some sites erroneously list 10th November). Bush’s memories of the album must be dim now. I wonder whether she has any fond recollections from that summer in France. The fact she was simultaneously still promoting her debut album and was pulled and pushed all around the place, coupled with disputes and conflicts involving the choice of musicians for Lionheart, surely must have soured some of her memories. Whilst not my favourite Kate Bush album, it is one of her L.P.s that I love more and more each time I visit it! The reason the header photo for this article is Kate Bush at the at the Dutch release party for Lionheart is because she said the album was stronger than her debut, and the atmosphere was more what she was looking for (check the video below where she talks about it). As I have said before loudly: Lionheart is so underrated and excellent!

At least several of the tracks here equal some of the best from The Kick Inside (including Symphony in Blue and Wow). Tere are really interesting songs that show Bush was a songwriter impossible to pigeonhole or predict! The cover (shot by Gered Mankowitz, who photographed Bush in from 1978-1979) is one of her best. At ten tracks, it is a lean album. I think the sequencing is not excellent. Rearranging a few songs would make Lionheart stronger and more consistent (why end the album with Hammer Horror, when it should have been a song like Full House?!). Bush’s vocals are more confident and varied compared to The Kick Inside and, given more time and control, she could easily have topped that remarkable debut. There are what-ifs and questions. Rather than chase ghosts or predict alternative scenarios and realities where Lionheart would have been this wonderful and well-received smash, I actually wanted to urge people to detach and delete other people’s views and the story behind the album. Instead, as it is forty-four on 13th November, go and stream or buy the album! Whether you are a diehard Kate Bush fan or are brand-new and need guidance regarding which albums to get, you will see that there is plenty of promise and quality. Andrew Powell’s production is not terrific, but I think there is more than enough to recommend when it comes to Lionheart! A gorgeous album with some exceptional songwriting, the unfairly maligned and ignored Lionheart does deserve new love and contextualisation. Neither an album that constantly makes you go ‘wow’ or one that is a horror, Kate Bush’s Lionheart…

IS far from a disappointment.

FEATURE: Inspired By… Part Eighty-Seven: Smokey Robinson

FEATURE:

 

 

Inspired By…

Part Eighty-Seven: Smokey Robinson

__________

HERE is another legendary artist…

who I have not yet included in Inspired By… One of the greatest songwriters and most soulful voices ever, Smokey Robinson has definitely made an impact on artists who have followed. I am going to end with a playlist of songs from artists who are similar to Robinson – or they have definitely been influenced by him. Before I get there, AllMusic provide a biography of the legendary artist:

“Berry Gordy founded Motown Records, but one could argue that Smokey Robinson was the man who first pushed America's most iconic soul music label toward greatness. As the leader of the Miracles, Robinson was one of the very first artists signed to the fledgling label in 1959, and while he racked up many hits for it with the Miracles and as a solo act, Robinson was also an invaluable behind-the-scenes talent who wrote songs, produced records, scouted and groomed talent, and served as a vice president at Motown from 1961 to 1988. Robinson is one of the most iconic figures in American R&B; his work helped defined pop-oriented soul, his lush, romantic R&B ballads literally gave quiet storm its name, and no less an authority than Bob Dylan has called Robinson "America's greatest living poet."

William Robinson, Jr. was born in Detroit, Michigan on February 19, 1940. He grew up in Detroit's Brewster housing project, and picked up the nickname "Smokey Joe" from his Uncle Claude, which quickly stuck. Robinson first developed an interest in music by investigating his mother's record collection, which included classic sides by Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Muddy Waters, and John Lee Hooker. Robinson's mother died when he was ten, and since his father was frequently on the road making his living as a truck driver, young Smokey was looked after by his older sister Geraldine, and in his early teens he began singing, performing in informal doo wop groups with his friends.

In 1955, Robinson assembled a vocal group called the Five Chimes, which featured his schoolmates Clarence Dawson, James Grice, Pete Moore, and Ronald White. In 1956, the group adopted a new name, the Matadors, after Dawson left and Emerson Rogers took his place, and a year later, Rogers and James Grice left the lineup, and Claudette Rogers and Bobby Rogers (respectively Emerson Rogers' sister and cousin) stepped in. With their new co-ed lineup, the name the Matadors was considered a poor fit, and they began calling themselves the Miracles. A guitarist, Marv Tarplin, joined the act in 1958, and the Miracles began making a name for themselves on Detroit's R&B scene.

In 1958, Robinson met Berry Gordy, a Detroit-based songwriter who had penned several hits for Jackie Wilson and was looking to make a name for himself in the music business. Gordy was impressed with the Miracles and Robinson's talents as a songwriter; he helped the band land a deal with End Records, and the Miracles released their first single, "Got a Job" (an answer song to the Silhouettes' hit "Get a Job") later that year. While the single sold well in Detroit, it didn't make much noise nationally, and follow-ups on End and Chess fared no better. Robinson believed he and Gordy could do better themselves, and he urged Gordy to follow through on his idea of forming his own label. The Miracles became the first act signed to Gordy's new record company, Motown, and in 1960, their song "Shop Around," written by Robinson, was the first Motown single to become a nationwide hit.

Through the '60s, the Miracles were a frequent presence on the pop and R&B charts, scoring hits with such songs as "Tracks of My Tears," "Mickey's Monkey," "You've Really Got a Hold on Me," "Going to a Go-Go," "Ooo Baby Baby," and many more. As Robinson became recognized as the creative force behind the group, their name was changed to Smokey Robinson & the Miracles in 1966. Robinson also shared his talents with many other Motown acts; he wrote "My Guy" and "The One Who Really Loves You" for Mary Wells, "My Girl," "Get Ready," and "The Way You Do the Things You Do" for the Temptations, "Ain't That Peculiar" and "I'll Be Doggone" for Marvin Gaye, and "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game" for the Marvelettes, among many others. As a vice president at Motown, Robinson was also a key part of the label's management and production team, and helped guide the company into being one of the most successful independent American record labels of all time.

Robinson fell in love with Claudette Rogers not long after she joined the Miracles, and they were married in 1959. By 1969, Robinson was growing tired of dividing his time between his family, Motown, and the Miracles, and he decided to retire from the group so he could spend more time at home and less time on the road. He postponed his departure when "Tears of a Clown" (recorded in 1966) unexpectedly became a major hit in 1970, but a year later, he launched a "farewell tour" with the Miracles, though the group would continue without him (and Robinson would write one of their latter-day hits, "Floy Joy").

After a two-year layoff, Robinson returned to the recording studio with his first solo album, 1973's Smokey. The album found Robinson focusing on midtempo romantic numbers as well as more mature and personal themes, which would carry over to his second solo effort, 1974's Pure Smokey. Robinson scored a pair of major R&B hits with 1975's A Quiet Storm, the title tune and "Baby, That's Backatcha," and the former tune would give a name to the sort of polished, romantic R&B that was becoming Robinson's stock in trade. Robinson was no longer as consistent a hitmaker as he once was, but he continued to make his presence known on the charts with tunes such as "Cruisin'" (from 1979's Where There's Smoke) and "Being with You" (from the 1981 album of the same name). The year 1987 was a memorable one for Robinson -- the album One Heartbeat would score a massive hit for him with the song "Just to See Her," which also earned him a Grammy, and he was also inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (though the rest of the Miracles were not, much to his consternation). But this came near the end of an important era for Robinson -- in 1988, Motown was sold to MCA, and Robinson stepped down as vice president. In 1990, he recorded a final album for Motown, Love Smokey (Robinson received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy the same year), and he signed with SBK Records for 1992's Double Good Everything.

The end of Motown came during a turbulent period for Robinson -- in the mid-'80s, he developed a serious addiction to cocaine, and his marriage to Claudette ended in divorce in 1986. While Robinson would kick drugs shortly after the end of his marriage, following the commercial disappointment of Double Good Everything, he wouldn't record again until 1999, when he recorded Intimate for MCA's revived Motown label. In 2004, Robinson (who cited a spiritual reawakening as a key factor in giving up drugs) recorded a contemporary gospel album, Food for the Spirit, and a collection of standards, Timeless Love, followed in 2006. Robinson returned to the smooth soul sounds of his '70s and '80s solo work with 2009's Time Flies When You're Having Fun, released on his own label, Robso Records; several tracks from this album were matched with remakes of Robinson's Motown hits for the collection Now & Then. In 2014, he released a Verve album, Smokey & Friends, for which he remade 11 of his most popular compositions with a roster of duet partners that included Elton John, James Taylor, Mary J. Blige, and Jessie J”.

To show the impact and importance of the magnificent Smokey Robinson, below are songs from artists who have definitely been influenced by the great man. Simply one of the greatest ever artists, there is no doubt that Robinson will continue to inspire legions of wonderful musicians. Here is a selection of the…

ARTISTS he has inspired.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Skylar Stecker

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Kigon Kwak for Wonderland. 

 Skylar Stecker

__________

HAILING from Tampa, Florida…

the amazing and hugely talented Skylar Stecker is someone that I want to recommend to everyone. She has a massive fanbase already, but I feel that she may not be that well-known to some in the U.K. The twenty-year-old is already an established artist and actor. In 2015, Stecker released her debut studio album, This Is Me. In March 2019, she independently released her second album, Redemption. I think that Stecker deserves a major label release, as she is an incredible artist who could penetrate and infiltrate the mainstream and stand alongside the biggest artists of today. There is no doubting her passion and commitment. Someone who I recently discovered, I wanted to bring in a few interviews so that we can learn more about the multi-instrumentalist and multi-talented Stecker. She has actually been releasing music since 2013, so here is someone who started out incredibly young! I think that she will be releasing music for decades more. It is always amazing finding these very young and prolific artist making an impact now. Those you know will only get better and grow bigger. I am going to finish with an interview from earlier this year. Before that, there are a couple of older interviews that are worth sourcing from to give us background, context and a sense of development.

Back in April last year, Wonderland. spoke with Stecker about her music. They were curious, being nineteen at the time of the interview, how she navigated the industry at such a young age. Redemption is one of the best albums from 2019. It is one that deserves new exposure now:

“The excitement and confusion that comes with newfound feelings can be overwhelming, to say the least. Whether you catch yourself smiling at your phone one too many times or overthinking everything your crush says and does, the process of liking someone can be both draining and euphoric. 19-year-old singer Skylar Stecker is here to remind you that you’re not alone with her latest track “Questions”. A display of pop perfection, the track has it all. From the singer’s ethereal vocals to the romantic lyrics – which are steeped in longing and complex emotions – we are provided with sultry sounds and an introspective look into Stecker’s love life.

“Questions is a special song to me because I wrote this song alone during quarantine with someone special in mind,” states the young star. “The words and melodies just fly out of me effortlessly and I was able to finish this song in one day. Then I sent it to my friend and producer Jordan Manswell who took the production to another level.”

At the tender age of 19, Skylar’s boasts an outstanding resume. From taking to the stage at The Today Show and shooting to the top of the Billboard Dance Charts in record-breaking moves to mastering the guitar, drums and piano from the confines of her own bedroom, the singer’s raw talent is evident. And, with a string of new music releases on the horizon, the young star shows no signs of slowing down.

Check our interview with Skylar below…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Kigon Kwak

Hey Skylar! How has this past year been for you? How has it affected your creativity?

The past year has had its challenges, but it also allowed me the extra time at home to learn how to produce and produce vocals, as well as spend more time mastering the drums!

You’ve been performing and singing for years, how did you first get into music?

I entered a talent show when I was 9 to play the piano, which turned into me singing instead and from there on I was obsessed with trying to find venues where I could continue to perform and be around music in any capacity. That led me to performing National Anthems in College and then at Pro Sporting events. Eventually, I moved to California to pursue a singing career.

You’re 19-years-old and have already released your second album, what is it like navigating the industry at such a young age?

In many ways starting at such a young age was a blessing. Being young allowed me to be able to be like a sponge, and soak up knowledge

from people without judging where I was creatively. I explored different genres while also continuing to hone in on my writing and my vocal skills.

You were signed as well before becoming independent, why the change and do you prefer it?

What I have learned through that experience is that it’s more about the people involved and if it’s the right fit at the right time. As an artist, I have continued to evolve and the most important thing to me, regardless of being with a label or being independent, is that my voice and vision are heard.

Congratulations on your new single “Questions”, take us through the production process? What was the inspiration behind the song?

Questions is a special song to me because I wrote this song alone during quarantine with someone special in mind. The words and melodies just fly out of me effortlessly and I was able to finish this song in one day. Then I sent it to my friend/producer Jordan Manswell who took the production to another level.

What do you want people to take away from your latest single?

I want people to just enjoy the feeling of the song as a whole. It has a very sensual vibe that taps into the feeling we all get at the beginning of a relationship.

Looking back on your previous singles, how do you think this one differs from your last?

With every single I release I try to give the listener more snippets of who I am and what I am experiencing at that moment.

You’ve had so many accolades over the years! What’s been your biggest pinch-me moment?

Definitely performing on The Today Show!

You have more music lined up in the pipeline, what can we expect from your future projects?

You can expect a lot more music and my next single out this summer!”.

RAYDAR spoke with Skylar Stecker late last year when she was promoting her amazing E.P., Earth Signs. An artist who is so prolific and always impressive and original, there are few out there as promising and exciting as her:

“A self-taught multi-instrumentist, Skylar is one of the youngest artists to top the Billboard Dance Charts and saw early success from pop ballads such as “How Did We” and “Only Want You.” The rising artist is becoming widely loved for her honey-drenched vocals and occasional song covers. Her 2019 project Redemption was well-received and served as her first full-length release as an independent musician. Songs like “Let It Pour,” “Don’t Test Me,” and the title track rose as fan-favorites from the project.

Earlier this year, Stecker unveiled her EP aptly titled Earth Signs, a 7-track offering with a lone feature from Lucien Parker that the trials and triumphs of navigating a new relationship and learning about how to deal with feelings that she had never experienced up until that point in her life. Fast forward to now, Skylar is working on her next EP slated to arrive during the summer of 2022 with more content to follow. Keep your eyes peeled for the young promising songstresses as she carves out her own space in pop-infused R&B.

We spoke with Skylar Stecker about being an independent artist, new music, relationships, and much more! Check it out below.

I know that you’re originally from Florida but moved to Los Angeles to pursue music. How did the different cultures on top of being so laser-focused on music affect who you are today?

I feel like it helped me to adjust and not be too attached to things. The number one thing I take away from it is being able to live in the moment because I’m a forward thinker, but at the same time, I have to reel myself back in and really live in the present. Where I’ve lived, all these places have given me perspective and stories to tell in my music.

Prior to being an independent artist, you were signed to Cherrytree Records in a joint venture with Interscope at a fairly young age. Is there anything liberating about putting out music on your own now?

I think before, I didn’t feel as attached to certain things or songs because I didn’t 100% write them or they didn’t reflect how I felt for other political reasons. There’s always a sense of disconnect from not having full ownership. Now, with the music release, it’s definitely a bit more nerve-wracking because I can’t put that weight on other people’s shoulders. Obviously, I have a team around me, but the responsibility lies within me but it’s also really exciting because I get to create my own story.

Considering you decided to be more vulnerable on Earth Signs, how long did it take to perfect this EP? Did it feel any different compared to your previous works?

I was going through my first real serious relationship and basically “Superman” was the first song I wrote on that project. After that, everything just came so easy to me and I knew I wanted to use that as the blueprint for the rest of the EP. I created stories around my life experience and also that person that I was experiencing these things with. It’s funny I named it Earth Signs because I’m actually an Earth sign and I got into that stuff during quarantine as well.

Can you walk us through what your songwriting process is like?

It really varies, I definitely keep a tight circle of music creators. I really love to try to lock in with people and do as much as I can with them because it feels like a family and the music comes out more authentic. I think that’s translated in my music and songwriting, but I’m also starting to do a lot at my home studio as well. Due to COVID, I learned how to vocal produce and do stuff like that which has been really really helpful.

A good bit of your music focuses on love, dating, and intimacy—what is your definition of modern love?

That’s a very good question! I would like to know the definition of love! For me, my number one thing is that I lead with my brain. Love is being able to be yourself and have that person be able to see you who you are fully. Not the persona that you start off with because we’re always worried about saying the right thing. Love is that comfortability, and I know that I definitely fall in love with someone when they show consistency that matches me.

What are some key points and components of your music that you would like your fans to pick up on and enjoy?

I think the number one thing for me is that I’m trying to find my way. I feel like we’re all humans and no matter what we’re going through, we’re always trying to figure it out. I think my music reflects that whether it be love or tribulations in some other areas of life. I just want to be very transparent and honest about the mixed emotions and thought processes that we go through.

I see that you also have a pretty unique sense of style, what are some of your go-to brands or sneakers these days?

I love Jordans! I started with one pair and now I have a whole collection and it’s dangerous. Every time I see new pair online, I’m like oh god. My style is definitely comfort but I try to find shoes or accessories to spice it up a bit. I love Nike, Adidas, all the sportswear brands, and really nice jewelry whether it be hoop earrings or something of that sort.

I have a stylist that I’ve been working with lately and he’s been getting me out of my comfort zone lately. I think that’s the cool thing about fashion, you can always reinvent and evolve. I’m definitely a sweats person but when I wear a dress you’ll catch me in the car getting my flick on.

Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your younger self?

The number one thing I would tell myself is to be patient with everything. I think in life, to get the greatest reward you definitely have to have your fair share of work. Stay steady and look at every day as a way to grow. There are always going to be challenges but try to make the best choices. I’d also say listen to your gut because there will always be people with opinions and not in a bad way. Just take them as a grain of salt in comparison to your own.

Obviously, your younger years are in the rearview, so what are some long-term goals you have set for yourself?

Long-term, I want to do a lot. I want to do the GRAMMYs and hopefully I can get there. I really just want to continue to grow and evolve as an artist. I think embracing change is good and I want to be able to best translate that in a way that I can look back and have a sense of contentment that I was able to do all the things I wanted to do”.

I am going to wrap things up there, actually. I would recommend you follow Skylar Stecker on social media, as she is such a fascinating artist whose music cannot readily be compared with anyone else. I would encourage anyone to listen to her songs, as they are so engaging and memorable! There are videos and live tracks I am unable to include as I will run out of space and opportunity. For that reason, go and look at her YouTube channel and all the amazing videos on there! Sounding already established and confident, it is amazing to discover this in a twenty-year-old. I think, as she moves through the next few years, we will see more albums and E.P.s from this wonderful artist. As I said, I hope there is some interest from big labels – or a label that is a perfect fit for her and treats her with respect. Her work deserves as much love and attention as possible, so I do hope that the next E.P. or album spreads around the world and we see her hit the road. There are definitely going to be people in the U.K. and Europe who would be interested seeing Stecker in the flesh. Such a talent and loved artist – check out her TikTok videos for a start! -, we will hear a lot more from her. I am glad I discovered Stecker’s music, as I have got to know more about her career and start. Because of that, I have bonded with this truly stunning artist. I am predicting some immense and wonderful things for Skylar Stecker…

IN 2023.

____________

Follow Skylar Stecker

 PHOTO CREDIT: Kigon Kwak

Official:

https://www.skylarstecker.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/skylarstecker/

TikTok:

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

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/skylarstecker

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6f6VAs9A49Er8jbbCUjAH0?si=lQyKF3KzTESKaeOItUwxyg&nd=1

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQucnHGzMJmkEsO9z_EgKhA

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/skylarsteckermusic/

FEATURE: With Love to Bertie: Kate Bush’s Aerial at Seventeen

FEATURE:

 

 

With Love to Bertie

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo for Aerial/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton

Kate Bush’s Aerial at Seventeen

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I am winding up…

my anniversary features for Kate Bush’s Aerial. Her return following 1993’s The Red Shoes, Aerial was released as a double album on 7th November, 2005. It has been interesting looking deeper at one of Kate Bush’s best albums. I have already talked about the gap between The Red Shoes and Aerial. I have also explored various songs on the album, in addition to the second disc suite, A Sky of Honey. What is at the centre of Aerial’s brilliance and wonderful scope? It is an album as ambitious as Hounds of Love (her 1985 masterpiece), but it has a different sound. If the singles and first side of Hounds of Love is quite propulsive and has a definite rush, the second side, The Ninth Wave, is dark, scary and emotional. In contrast, Aerial’s first disc has one or two bolder and racing songs (King of the Mountain kicks off Aerial beautifully!), but it seems more personal and emotive. Contemplative, gorgeous and steeped in nature and the open, A Sky of Honey has the feeling of an artist as incredible as she was in 1985 but, fifteen years later, her music was taken on fresh meaning and energy. I think it is good to compare Hounds of Love and Aerial, as both albums are extremely important and personal. The former was a bit of a rebirth for Bush. After the exhaustion and endless hard work put into 1982’s The Dreaming, Hounds of Love found Bush finding new space and inspiration.

Things changed in terms of her living conditions, work rate and the how she recorded. Hounds of Love is as fantastic as it is because she was surrounded by family and had a studio at her family home. It allowed her the environment to make some of the best music from any artist ever! Similarly, with home very much at its heart, Aerial is as fantastic as it is because of the importance and influence of family. Rather than her parents, brother and boyfriend (Del Palmer) fusing into Hounds of Love, there is someone who I feel not only influenced most of Aerial, but also subsequent albums and Bush’s return to the stage with 2014’s Before the Dawn. Her son Bertie was born in 1998 (I am not sure which month). Before then, Bush had started working on Aerial - but his birth certainly changed the direction and meaning of this hugely important album. There is one song that is very much about him. I feel A Sky of Honey is Bush imagining the course of a summer’s day with her new son. Songs on the first disc, including Pi and A Coral Room, I feel, can be linked to Bertie. It is the eponymous song that is very much about her treasured new son. As she revealed to Ken Bruce in a 2005 interview, there was always going to be a song about him on Aerial:

“He's such a big part of my life so, you know, he's a very big part of my work. It's such a great thing, being able to spend as much time with him as I can. And, you know, he won't be young for very long. And already he's starting to grow up and I wanted to make sure I didn't miss out on that, that I spent as much time with his as I could.

So, the idea was that he would come first, and then the record would come next, which is also one reasons why it's taken a long time (laughs). It always takes me a long time anyway, but trying to fit that in around the edges that were left over from the time that I wanted to spend with him.

It's a wonderful thing, having such a lovely son. Really, you know with a song like that, you could never be special enough from my point of view, and I wanted to try and give it an arrangement that wasn't terribly obvious, so I went for the sort of early music... (Ken Bruce show, BBC Radio 2, 3 November 2005)”.

Whilst Bush has said Aerial is her favourite album, she never really revealed the reasons why. It is personal to her, but I think it is because it was recorded and released at such a happy time! With so much expectation on its shoulders, there could have been disappointment. Maybe it was because The Red Shoes was not quite Bush’s best and most acclaimed album. If she had departed with a phenomenal album, some might have felt a tinge of underwhelm with Aerial. One cannot really compare The Red Shoes and Aerial. So vastly different, I think Bush starting a family really did something to her creative vision and recording! Perhaps her warmest sounding and feeling album ever, it is beautifully produced (by Bush), ewngineered (by Del Palmer) and arranged. I do not love every song on Aerial, but the overall album is flawless. Everything works perfectly together! Of course, not every song is about Bertie. I feel he was very much in Bush’s mind when she was writing and recording these songs. There is no doubt that her young son infuses the material throughout, and he definitely gave her motivation to keep recording! 2011’s 50 Words for Snow features Bertie, as does its predecessor, Director’s Cut. Now that Bertie is twenty-four, one wonders whether he will feature on his mum’s next album – if there is one that is! Maybe a vocal duet, some guitar playing or something else, it seems strange to imagine Bertie as a grown man or not appearing on an album by his mum! MOJO named Aerial their third-best album of 2005. Aerial received a BRIT Award nomination for Best British Album in 2006. Bush was also nominated for Best British Female in the same year. Such a remarkably successful album (it charted at three in the U.K.), this was a music icon in peak form twelve years after her previous album! Although many factors go into Aerial, I think her new bundle of joy, Bertie, was a constant inspiration and source of influence. For many reasons, Kate Bush fans offer Bertie…

OUR love and appreciation.

INTERVIEW: PRIESTESS

INTERVIEW:

 PRIESTESS

__________

FOR this interview…

I have been speaking with the London Alt-Pop artist, PRIESTESS. An extraordinary, hugely impressive, relevant artist, she released the new single, Landscapes, on 28th October. Landscapes won the 2021 Greenpeace/DJ's for Climate Action (DJ'S4CA) competition judged by the likes of Matt Black from Ninja Tune, BLOND:ISH, and Cosmo Baker. Also, and rather wonderfully, it was pressed onto the first eco-friendly vinyl. I talk to Kate (PRIESTESS) about Landscapes, the importance of pressing music to eco-friendly vinyl, working with producers James Mottershead and Oli Kilpatrick. PRIESTESS also discusses the artists that influenced her, as well as what we can expect from a forthcoming E.P., and what 2023 holds. It has been a real pleasure getting to know…

SUCH a phenomenal artist.

____________

Hello Kate (PRIESTESS). Landscapes is your new single. Can you reveal a bit about the inspiration and the story behind it…

This track is about connection. If we are so disconnected on a day-to-day basis from climate change and the destruction of our planet then we are also disconnecting from our own human experience. I thought about these incredible sounds that we used to make the track (The Climate Sample Pack by Greenpeace) and how they are the sonic imprint of Nature aligning us to a deeper part of ourselves.

This is a love song that imagines a future that is so wide and cinematic and technicoloured that you can get totally lost within it. Wandering, stumbling through a widescreen landscape of emotions, raw and natural, bright, and dark; always on the edge of trauma or pain which is also reflected in the way that we love but also destroy our planet. Ultimately finding your way home within that love to a place of greater connection and hope 

The track has been pressed onto eco-friendly vinyl. How important was it to you that Landscapes earned this rare distinction? Do you think this signals a larger move towards eco-friendly vinyl? 

Yes, I hope so! Landscapes was made from the Greenpeace sample pack and won the competition by DJ’S4CA (DJ’s for Climate Action) with judges such as Matt Black from Ninja Tune, Blondies, and Cosmo Baker. It was pressed onto the first eco-friendly vinyl alongside artists such as Acid Paulie and we were so excited to be part of this movement! It is one of the first of its kind. Vinyl - however wonderful and special - also impact the environment through the plastic and the process, and I think that as these new ways of doing things emerge then I have hope that it can become the new normal. It may take time, but hopefully it’s moving in the right direction. 

 

The video, created in Volta - a new software that creates 3-D immersive visuals and mixed reality experiences –, is especially impressive! What was the reason for harnessing this technology and innovation for Landscape’s video? 

Thank you! I wanted to explore the worlds of online and digital for this track rather than making a traditional music video. And as it’s called ‘Landscapes’, I felt it was fitting to create digital worlds that could express that in visuals.

Volta has been really supportive of me as an artist. I’ve used their software before and I always wanted to expand the experiments into a music video. This felt like the perfect track to do that. 

For PRIESTESS, you teamed with producers James Mottershead and Oli Kilpatrick. How did the collaboration start its life? 

I had formed the idea and vision for PRIESTESS and I looked long and hard for the right producers to help me realise it and work/write together. I first met James when he was intro’d by a friend saying we had some similar tastes, he has been with me since the very beginning and has been a total partner in the process - he’s so talented. I was then putting feelers out for a very beats-based producer and the universe gave me Oli! He is multi-faceted and amazing but creates killer beats and he’s been a totally integral part of the project since we started working together. We also play live together, and it has been a huge feat of his to take what we have all created in studios and made it into something you can take on the road. They are both brilliant and I’m so grateful I get to work with such lovely men. 

“The sound has evolved due to all of us creatively expanding and feeling more at ease”.

I love Landscapes and your incredible sound. How do you think your sound and creative vision has evolved and changed since the early inception of PRIESTESS? 

I think it’s just been following a feeling. Landscapes was beautiful - I wrote the melody over Oli’s beats/samples he sent me, then I wrote the lyrics, and we created it from there. The tracks get passed around the three of us until we are happy with them.

The sound has evolved due to all of us creatively expanding and feeling more at ease. The vision has always been strong, and I allow the creativity to lead. 

You recently performed at Ridley Road Social Club, Dalston. How was that gig, and how important is it to be on stage and delivering music directly to a live audience? 

So important! It’s taken a while to get the whole thing up and running technically, but we are there now and I’m so excited to play more. Performing live is a huge part of it and a massive love of mine. The gig at Ridley was amazing! We had such a good night, and the feedback was awesome. Watch this space…. 

In terms of sonic influences, which artists would you say are most important and impactful? 

For me, I’ve always given a list of artists to the boys and named inspirations to hold the vision and vibe. My top influences for Priestess are Moderat, Massive Attack, Fever Ray, FKA twigs, Little Dragon, Nine Inch Nails, and Portishead. I grew up with Folk music and Grunge (and a lot of Metal actually - one of my favourite bands is Metallica) so you can always hear a little bit of those flavours in there I think. 

I believe there is an E.P. due before the end of the year. Can you tell us more in regard to a title, songs and particular themes explored? 

The E.P. is called Landscapes - so Landscapes is the title track for this body of work. There are three songs - the first one, which was released in September, was Holy Flesh, and the next track to be dropped is called Hooks. They all were written in really different states of mind and from different places about different experiences, and so I felt that the idea of emotional, changeable landscapes encompassed the music as a whole. 

“…so I’m really excited to share the next body of work and stage of the journey next year”. 

Yourself included, there are some fantastic and hugely innovative acts coming through right now. In terms of artists we need to watch out for, who would you recommend?

Halina Rice, Ana De Llor, and Kathleen Frances.

Looking to 2023, what might we expect from PRIESTESS? What do you hope to achieve?

I am really excited to keep playing and putting out music. Another E.P. - maybe an album. Winter is the time for me to incubate these ideas before they solidify, so I’m really excited to share the next body of work and stage of the journey next year.

_______________

Follow PRIESTESS

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/priestessmusic/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3BGqkxPQlHEzOphSm714zn?si=Gduia0i5SyaXc9BLnBhfqA

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR8PO_2KjVwhNUoKVVAaVkA

FEATURE: Second Spin: Leona Lewis - Spirit

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

Leona Lewis - Spirit

__________

THERE are two reasons…

why I have selected Leona Lewis’ debut album, Spirit, in this Second Spin. For one, it was very underrated and I think it deserves some new focus and play. Many critics did love the album, but there were a few that were mixed or had some negative things to say. It is a shame because, whether you are a Leona Lewis fan or not, there is more than enough to enjoy and respect about her debut. Her fifth studio album, I Am, was released in 2015. I wonder whether she will record another studio album. Let us hope so! Spirit came out on 9th November, 2007. As it is fifteen soon, I wanted to include it for reassessment. For a bit of background: Lewis achieved recognition when she won the third series of The X Factor in 2006, earning a recording contract with Syco Music. Her winner's single, a good cover of Kelly Clarkson's A Moment Like This, reached number one in the U.K. and broke a world record by reaching 50,000 digital downloads within thirty minutes! In February 2007, Lewis signed a five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records. In spite of the fact there was so much anticipation around Spirit, many critics did not give it the praise it deserves. The public reacted differently. Reaching number one in the U.S. and U.K., Spirit was the sixth-biggest-selling of 2008. It was best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.K., and one of the best-selling albums in U.K. chart history. The best-selling album by a female artist in the twenty-first century, the incredible and unbeatable success of Spirit contrasts to the critical reaction. Maybe there was a lot of hype and too much in the way of numbers and record breaking for critics to judge it on its own merit.

I think many were reacting to Spirit in the context of The X Factor and seeing it as a talent show album. Instead, listen to Spirit as an album by a great young artist whose incredible vocal abilities are at the fore. Even though Lewis did not write a lot of the material on Spirit, it does sound very pure and personal. Not a case of a reality show winner singing songs by others in a rather lacklustre way. She makes every track her own! I know Leona Lewis and her huge fanbase will mark Spirit’s fifteenth anniversary on 9th November. She was only twenty-two when her debut came out. That isa a remarkably young age to deal with such pressure, acclaim and responsibility! Already hugely promising at the start, her music has developed, and her confidence has grown through the years. Perhaps her best album is I Am. Even though there were some mixed reviews for her most recent album, there was a lot of praise and new affection for Lewis. I think that Spirit is an incredible album in many ways. I want to bring in a couple of reviews that, whilst pointing at some flaws, definitely praise Lewis as a performer and talent. This is what SLANT said in their 2008 review:

“Quick (and mostly useless) fact: Last week, Leona Lewis, winner of Simon Cowell’s U.K. talent show The X Factor, became the first British female artist to top the U.S. singles chart since 1987, when Kim Wilde transformed the Supremes’ “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” into a dance-pop classic…and then quickly faded into obscurity. If all goes according to Cowell’s plan, however, Lewis’s career trajectory will be a little more like Mariah Carey’s. Not only does Lewis share with Carey a multiracial heritage, but she’s also got the voice—albeit, one with a slightly less impressive range and timbre.

The #1 hit in question is “Bleeding Love,” penned by teen heartthrob Jesse McCartney and OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder; it’s the kind of pop song that announces itself from the very first note (in this case, a distorted organ), and though it’s an utterly by-the-numbers pop ballad, Lewis delivers vocally, and the track’s crunchy drum loop gives the illusion of edginess, something her debut, Spirit, desperately needs. The album alternates between similar heavy-beat ballads and more traditional adult contemporary mush; “Angel” falls into the former category (it’s yet another lazy copy from the “Irreplaceable” assembly line, and someone needs to buy Stargate a new drum machine for Christmas…2006), while “I Will Be,” a cover of an Avril Lavigne song produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin (who takes a step even farther away from his “…Baby One More Time” past), is dangerously middle-of-the-road. Though the 21-year-old’s faithful, capable rendition of “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” proves that the timelessness of the song should remain unquestioned, the album’s adult-skewed material sounds even more jarring next to two fresh new tracks, the bouncy and youthful “Forgive Me” and urban club jam “Misses Glass,” added for American consumption. Drippy songs like “Footprints in the Sand,” which was co-written by Cowell himself and is based on the Christian allegorical text “Footprints,” might draw comparisons to Carey, but it’s the Carey of 15 years ago, not the one Lewis is currently trying to fend off at the top of the charts”.

A phenomenal commercial success in the U.S. in addition to her native U.K. (Lewis was born in Islington, London), huge songs like Bleeding Love makes Spirit enduring to this day. Even if you are not a fan of this type of music or have heard of Leona Lewis, I think you can play the album and find quite a few tracks that hit you. It is not perfect by any means, but it is an impressive debut from one of the U.K.’s most popular and important artists of the past fifteen/twenty years. This is what AllMusic said in their review:

“The truest test of Simon Cowell's power within the music industry circa 2008 was not whether American Idol could produce a star in its seventh season or if its U.K. cousin, The X Factor, would have another success in its fifth season -- it was whether he could turn Leona Lewis into the international superstar he so clearly believed she is. Lewis was the third winner of The X Factor -- the Cowell-driven replacement to Pop Idol in Britain, a replacement that came to be because he wanted to own a significant piece of the show -- and one of the key differences between Factor and Idol is that the judges can mentor the contestants and therefore have a stake in the outcome of the show, more than they do on Idol, where the judges merely comment.

Rightly impressed by Lewis' multi-octave voice -- reminiscent of a warmer, earthbound Mariah Carey -- Cowell continued his mentorship after the conclusion of the show, making her the first contestant in the whole Idol/Factor enterprise that he personally shepherded through the major-label process. He struck a deal with Clive Davis -- the executive producer behind all the American Idol projects, the producer who publicly bristled when Kelly Clarkson tried to take control of her career through her original compositions -- and the two launched a grand plan to break Lewis in her native U.K. first, then slowly roll her out in the U.S. a few months later, via an appearance on Oprah and a slightly re-sequenced and remixed version of her debut, Spirit.

That U.S. version drops the bonus track of Leona's version of "A Moment Like This," her first hit single that is not so coincidentally a cover of Kelly's first big single. If Kelly became a thorn in Davis' side, Leona Lewis seems happy, even eager, to play the major-label game, singing anything that comes her way, never lodging a complaint when she has to cut a couple R&B-flavored tracks to appeal to the American market. These tunes -- "Misses Glass" and "Forgive Me" -- are just slightly glitzier than the rest of Spirit, surely bearing heavier rhythms but not to the extent that the beats obscure Lewis' voice, as the whole point of Spirit is to showcase her singing, particularly those high glory notes that are all the rage on Idol/Factor.

Unlike most Idol/Factor alumni, Lewis can hit those big notes but make it seem easy, never straining her voice and building nicely to the climax. Unlike most divas, there is a human quality to her voice, as she's singing to the song, not singing to her voice. Then again, this was also true of Mariah Carey on her 1990 debut, which Spirit greatly resembles in how the handful of R&B-oriented songs camouflages how this is almost entirely a stuffy middle-of-the-road pop record. Not only that, but Spirit is so old-fashioned it sounds as if it could have been released in 1990 and compete with Carey's debut for the top of the charts; her first single, "Bleeding Love," opens with a crawling organ that recalls the muted gospel of "Vision of Love," even if the skin-crawling lyric "you cut me open and I keep bleeding love" wouldn't have suited the Top 40 in 1990.

I can appreciate how some people highlighted flaws on Spirit. Maybe lacking too much personality difference and development throughout the album, the emphasis is on the sheer power of Lewis’ voice, rather than range or diving too deep into her vocal gifts. That is a shame, as I think she could have produced a lot more if allowed to have more of a production and writing say. I feel Spirit has many highlights and should be commended because of its success and how it clearly resonated with millions of people. Turning fifteen on 9th November, people need to give this another spin. For someone like me – who really does not bond with winners of The X Factor and reality show winners’ albums -, I was not a big fan of Leona Lewis’ debut in 2007. I have grown to really appreciate it and the beginning of the professional career for a mighty talent. Spirit is appropriately named, as the album…

HAS that in abundance!

FEATURE: Spotlight: Antony Szmierek

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Antony Szmierek

__________

FOR this Spotlight…

I am staying with solo artists, but here is someone that might be quite new to many people. The tremendous Antony Szmierek is a wonderful talent who many are predicting big things from. There are not many interviews online from him – I could only find one recent one -, but I hope that changes in the next year or so. I guess his career is still building and developing. How best to describe Szmierek and his sound? Such a compelling, promising and original artist, this from Primary Talent is a pretty good overview:

“Antony Szmierek is a spoken word and indie hip-hop artist making unique moves by blending his poetic, often introspective lyricism with undeniably smooth riffs and nostalgic beats. Hailed by Lauren Laverne as "the best thing I've heard all year" and described as "Mike Skinner spliced with Simon Armitage" - his track 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Fallacy' spent 4 weeks on the 6 Music B-list, as well as being featured on Jack Saunders' 'Future Artists' show on Radio 1. The same track also bagged the high score on Steve Lamacq's legendary Round Table. Support continues to pour in from the likes of Craig Charles, Steve Lamacq, Nemone, Mary Anne Hobbs and Chris Hawkins”.

I will end with a bit of press about a recent song. Before getting there, here is an interview with Skiddle. It is from September and, as it seems, press sources, music magazines and radio stations are starting to recognise the music and brilliance of Antony Szmierek. I think that 2023 is going to be a big breakout year for him where he plays a lot of festivals and bigger stages:  

“This year has been a bit of a wild one for you so far, it would be fair to say. Heavily playlisted by the likes of Spotify and BBC 6 Music, and with adulation coming from some of the biggest names on the airwaves, the likes of Lauren Laverne and Craig Charles - it must feel incredible to be receiving so much appreciation for your work. How’s the experience been so far?

"I like ‘wild’ as an adjective and have been using it a fair bit myself. It’s been unexpected for sure. I keep trying to pinpoint the specific moment it changed but can’t decide when it was. I’m a big fan of 6music anyway so to hear my name read out by these disembodied voices that are a stable of my life is really strange in the best possible way. And then they become real people and you’re suddenly on Zoom with Craig joking about Robot Wars or sending voice notes to Lauren Laverne and trying not to freak out about it. Let’s stick with wild until I find anything better.

Where and when did your journey in music begin? How did it all start?

"I’m one of this new wave of lockdown musicians, I think. I’ve been writing for ten years – novels at first and then short stories and eventually poems. The performance aspect of that was what became important and being heavy into music and experiencing it live - it was just right there in front of me and seemed an obvious next step. I bought a couple of these little Volca synths and started bashing out rudimentary stuff on audacity, which is free, and then Ableton, which is also free for 60 days. So I had 60 days to make something. That became ‘Giving Up for Beginners’ which my now producer and live keyboard player Robin Parker helped me get over the line."

The release of your most-listened-to-track to date, ‘Hitchhikers Guide To The Fallacy’ marked a watershed moment for you, in terms of breaking through to a wider audience. What do you think it is about this track that resonates with music fans?

"I did sort of know it was good, but it was only supposed to be the intro to the next EP and not a proper single or anything. I think I’d have been tempted to overthink it and include a hook or something but I’m really glad I didn’t now as it’s informed a lot of my writing since."

"I honestly couldn’t tell you. Everyone seems to have their own favourite line and the house beat bubbles along nicely in the background. I’m a big fan of the little guitar motif that runs through it from my brother, Martin, who is also in the live band. I think that’s the glue. The secret sauce."

How do you approach writing a song such as ‘Hitchhikers Guide To The Fallacy’? Do you have a particular process?

"It was the title first with this one. Just a notes app thing. We were working on this song called ‘Last Train Back’ that never quite made it so moved on to another song to cleanse the palette and I just started reading things out from my notes. It got a laugh from Dean (producer based in VIBE Studios, Cheetham Hill) and that was enough of a thumbs up for me. Hitchhiking as a concept is quite desperate and yet there’s a hopeful optimism to it. And so I just applied that to how I was feeling, which as it turns out was quite jaded”.

I am just going to finish off with an article from CLASH, who looked ahead to the release of Szmierek’s new E.P., Poems to Dance To. I am writing this on 25th October, so I have not got any of the reviews from it yet - though the ones that come out are likely to be terrific. I would recommend you check it out, along with phenomenal recent tracks like Working Classic. A terrific talent who is going to go very far:

“Antony Szmierek knows that communication essentially boils down to words and music.

A word-of-mouth hero in his native Manchester, he melds together spoken word lyricism with hip-hop, adding in a dash of soul for good measures. Literate and worldly wise, he also packs a punch – there’s romance, there, but also grit.

New EP ‘Poems To Dance To’ is out on October 28th, and it represents a neat encapsulation of his methodology. The project is led by superb new single ‘Working Classic’, matching his word play to aspects of UKG.

Digging into a classic UK sound, ‘Working Classic’ is a point where Antony’s approach merged with music, his two loves sparking into one. He explains: “It has these hyper specific references but also these ambiguous, gut-punch universal truths that come in when you’re starting to have too much of a good time. The UKG influence is there to amp up the nostalgia.”

A fantastic starting point, ‘Working Classic’ feels like life in the UK right now – under grey skies, fighting to survive, but somehow managing”.

Go and follow the remarkable Antony Szmierek. He is someone who is unlike anyone out there. With his incredible E.P. out in the world, there will be more eyes and ears his way. His blend of Hip-Hop and spoken word lyricism has, as CLASH said, grit alongside heart and depth. It is an intoxicating blend that…

HITS the soul.

_____________

Follow Antony Szmierek

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/antonyszmierek/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/antonyszmierek

TikTok:

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

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/1odn2oz1bEsGWugQ8W3zhn

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-VwXR6M4HD4Wo1UpTBi4SA

FEATURE: A Beautiful Sunrise: Kate Bush’s Aerial at Seventeen

FEATURE:

 

 

A Beautiful Sunrise

Kate Bush’s Aerial at Seventeen

__________

I am going to publish…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton

one more feature about Kate Bush’s double album, Aerial, ahead of its anniversary. Released on 7th November, 2005, it reached number three in the U.K.  Similar to her 1985 masterpiece, Hounds of Love, Aerial is split into two sections. The first disc is subtitled A Sea of Honey. The second disc is called A Sky of Honey. I like the titles of each disc and the sort of warmth and sweetness they project. It was brilliant that Bush gained so much success with her double album. Aerial sold more than 90,000 copies in its first week of release and has now been certified as platinum by the British Phonographic Industry. Dissimilar to The Ninth Wave, A Sky of Honey is about the richness, sweetness, beauty, redemption and restorative beauty and natural wonder of a summer’s day. Rather than a heroine being struck at sea and struggling for life and hope (though she is rescued in the end), there is this endless purity and sense of uplift and wonder through the song cycle on Aerial. If the first half of Aerial is not as striking and hit-filled that on Hounds of Love, I do think there is a greater variation and depth in terms of the material. Bush’s late mother Hannah is referenced in A Coral Room. Her then-new son (who was seven in 2005) Bertie has a song named after him. Mrs Bartolozzi is about the mundanity of laundry, yet it turns into this stirring and almost fantastical piece where the clothes seem to be dancing and twirling. Sexual, suggestive, longing, and powerful, it is one of Bush’s best songs!

Although I am not featuring A Sky of Honey entirely and making it my focal point, it is one big reason why Aerial is so successful and loved. Bush herself has cited this as her favourite album. I really like the first disc. If songs such as Pi, Bertie and Joanni are harder to get on board with an embrace – the first song is literally Bush reciting a series of numbers- it shows that she was as explorative, ambitious, and original as ever. Bush was not going to come back after twelve years – her album before Aerial was The Red Shoes (1993) – and make an album that was a little watered-down and safe. There is plenty of eccentricity and unique moments through A Sea of Honey. I am going to end with a couple of reviews for Aerial. The reason behind this feature is to bring Aerial to people’s attention. Although the vinyl is expensive, I would advise people to buy it if they can afford, as it is such a tremendous album. An album designed to be listened to the entire way through, you immerse yourself in Bush’s 2005 masterpiece. A Sea of Honey features a couple of Bush’s all-time great song. The single from the album, King of the Mountain, is a phenomenal track that was an obvious single. Mrs. Bartolozzi is hugely memorable and strangely moving. I also think A Coral Room and How to Be Invisible rank alongside her greatest moments. Perhaps there are one or two tracks I am not keen on, but A Sky of Honey is flawless!

One of the only problems with it was that the original 2005 release did feature spoken vocals from the disgraced Rolf Harris. They have since been removed on subsequent releases, but it is an issue if you have an original vinyl copy. If you get the 2018 remaster, you do not have his voice. Not a huge part of Aerial – The Painter’s Link finds Harris replaced by Bush’s son Bertie McIntosh (the surname comes from Bush’s partner, Danny McIntosh) -, you are not too offput. Aerial was Bush’s return after twelve years. It has almost been that long since she released her latest studio album, 50 Words for Snow (2011). I recently spoke with journalist Tom Doyle about interviewing Bush in 2005. Although she did not give too many interviews, the ones that she did are excellent. Excited to come back and put new music into the world, it must also have been strange to do promotion and answer questions. Perhaps cautious that people would want to know what she has been doing and why she’s been away for so long, there was plenty of respect and affection for her! The hugely positive reviews for Aerial show that Bush was dearly missed and, as you would expect, had lost none of her genius. Inspired and more refreshed after the somewhat tired The Red Shoes, Aerial sits up there with Hounds of Love as Bush’s best album. I think that A Sky of Honey is one big reason why Aerial is so accomplished and nuanced. The nine short tracks are flow and weave together. They bring the listener into the cycle of a summer’s day. Prologue, Aerial Tal and Nocturn are so gorgeous and spellbinding. Influenced by motherhood, a new life, the simplicity and importance of nature and the natural world, there is this feeling of compassion and warmth throughout A Sky of Honey. The compositions are so rich and fascinating. I am going to finish with two sample reviews for the remarkable Aerial. It is seventeen on 7th November.

The BBC were unequivocal in their assertion that Aerial is a masterpiece. It is hard to argue against that, as the more you hear the double album, the more layers you find. It is a sensational piece of work that started life back in the 1990s:

“After 12 years of waiting Kate Bush fans finally get their hands on an album of new material. A double album-sized helping of new songs should keep most fans happy with 16 tracks to delve into.

Disc one is a varied set of numbers which mainly centre around her private life, with odes to her son and a moving song about the loss of her mother. But at times these songs feel too personal and are hard to decipher with dense and difficult melodies. They encompasse a range of musical styles - from folk ("Bertie") to new age ("Pi") and classic Kate Bush ("How to be Invisible"). However, some of these tracks never really achieve lift-off and could have been left on the recording studio floor.

The Kate Bush of "Cloudbusting" and "Wuthering Heights"-fame is in there but struggles to get out. After the flatness of disc one, the second disc is full of surprises. It's an old-fashioned concept album that takes the listener on a journey. And what a journey! Bush has written a lyric poem set to music, which has an epic quality, transporting the listener to a deeply lush and fertile landscape. Lyrically cryptic, but strangely seductive, side two is the album Pink Floyd might have made in 1979 if Bush had been their lead singer.

Concept albums are not everyone's cup of tea - but this is a masterpiece”.

This is what AllMusic noted in their review. Although they observe how not a lot happens during the majestic A Sky of Honey, they do recognise how powerful and wonderful it is:

“A Sky of Honey is 42 minutes in length. It's lushly romantic as it meditates on the passing of 24 hours. Its prelude is a short deeply atmospheric piece with the sounds of birds singing, and her son (who is "the Sun" according to the credits) intones, "Mummy...Daddy/The day is full of birds/Sounds like they're saying words." And "Prologue" begins with her piano, a chanted viol, and Bush crooning to romantic love, the joy of marriage and nature communing, and the deep romance of everyday life. There's drama, stillness, joy, and quiet as its goes on, but it's all held within, as in "An Architect's Dream," where the protagonist encounters a working street painter going about his work in changing light: "The flick of a wrist/Twisting down to the hips/So the lovers begin with a kiss...." Loops, Eberhard Weber's fretless bass, drifting keyboards, and a relaxed delivery create an erotic tension, in beauty and in casual voyeurism.

"Sunset" has Bush approaching jazz, but it doesn't swing so much as it engages the form. Her voice digging into her piano alternates between lower-register enunciation and a near falsetto in the choruses. There is a sense of utter fascination with the world as it moves toward darkness, and the singer is enthralled as the sun climbs into bed, before it streams into "Sunset," a gorgeous flamenco guitar and percussion-driven call-and-response choral piece -- it's literally enthralling. It is followed by a piece of evening called "Somewhere Between," in which lovers take in the beginning of night.

As "Nocturne" commences, shadows, stars, the beach, and the ocean accompany two lovers who dive down deep into one another and the surf. Rhythms assert themselves as the divers go deeper and the band kicks up: funky electric guitars pulse along with the layers of keyboards, journeying until just before sunup. But it is on the title track that Bush gives listeners her greatest surprise. Dawn is breaking and she greets the day with a vengeance. Manic, crunchy guitars play power chords as sequencers and synths make the dynamics shift and swirl. In her higher register, Bush shouts, croons, and trills against and above the band's force.

Nothing much happens on Aerial except the passing of a day, as noted by the one who engages it in the process of being witnessed, yet it reveals much about the interior and natural worlds and expresses spiritual gratitude for everyday life. Musically, this is what listeners have come to expect from Bush at her best -- a finely constructed set of songs that engage without regard for anything else happening in the world of pop music. There's no pushing of the envelope because there doesn't need to be. Aerial is rooted in Kate Bush's oeuvre, with grace, flair, elegance, and an obsessive, stubborn attention to detail. What gets created for the listener is an ordinary world, full of magic; it lies inside one's dwelling in overlooked and inhabited spaces, and outside, from the backyard and out through the gate into wonder”.

One of Kate Bush’s best works and most important albums, Aerial’s seventeenth anniversary next week should be celebrated and noted fondly. Let us hope that, if we do get to a point when there has been twelve years since Bush’s latest album (2023), that we get something from her. She did need that gap between albums, and she returned to music sounding a lot more positive and fulfilled. Aerial demonstrates that the musical pioneer and icon was…

AS wonderful as ever.

FEATURE: Hardly a Pretender! The Making of a Pop Icon: Madonna’s Like a Virgin at Thirty-Eight

FEATURE:

 

 

Hardly a Pretender!

The Making of a Pop Icon: Madonna’s Like a Virgin at Thirty-Eight

__________

ALTHOUGH it is not a big anniversary…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Steven Meisel

I wanted to mark the upcoming thirty-eighth anniversary of Madonna’s Like a Virgin. Released on 12th November, 1984, the iconic album was re-released worldwide in 1985. I think that her second studio album is one of her most important and underrated. When we think of the ‘classic’ Madonna albums, usually we look towards Like a Prayer (1989) or Ray of Light (1998). After her eponymous 1983 album, there is a definitely sense of new ambition and boldness on Like a Virgin. Although her most explicit, expressive, and remarkable work would start to take shape later in the decade, Madonna ensured that her second studio album was unlike her debut the year before. Whereas Madonna wrote most of the songs on her debut, Like a Virgin saw her working with writers like Steve Bray. Bray actually produced the album alongside Madonna and primary producer Nile Rodgers. Like a Virgin has more pronounced Dance Pop and Disco sounds because of Rodgers’ involvement. I like the evolution between albums. Although there are a couple of deeper cuts that lack depth and memorability, Like a Virgin has more than enough to hold your interest. The title track is one of the most celebrated in Madonna’s catalogue. Angel, Love Don’t Live Here Anymore, and Pretender are also terrific tracks. The opening track – and the only song that could truly open things – is the divisive Material Girl. Not in terms of quality! I think many Madonna fans can agree that it is one of her greatest moments. I think Madonna resented being seen as material and having shallowness. Trying to establish herself as independent and strong, a song that talked about excess and material things possibly went against what she felt. That said, she performed Material Girl in subsequent tours and has an improved relationship with the song.

Although Like a Virgin fluctuated in the U.K., it did get to the top of the chart. A chart-topper in the U.S. and other nations, it is a huge-selling album that started to establish Madonna as the Queen of Pop. I don’t think enough people credit Like a Virgin with putting Madonna in that position. After only two albums, she was very much head and shoulders above most of her female peers! Big singles like Material Girl and Like a Virgin, tied to interviews and a lot of airplay, meant that Madonna was a huge star that was becoming an icon. I am going to come to a Wikipedia article that documents the legacy of Like a Virgin. First, back in 2019, Albumism celebrated thirty-five years of Madonna’s second studio album with ten fast and fun facts:

“(1) The first time that Madonna performed the controversial title track was at the first-ever MTV Video Music Awards on September 14, 1984, roughly seven weeks before the single’s official release on October 31, 1984. It remains arguably the most infamously memorable performance in the event’s history, for obvious reasons.

(2) The iconic photograph that adorns the album cover was shot by Steven Meisel, the revered fashion photographer who collaborated with Madonna on her provocative Sex coffee table book in 1992, eight years after Like A Virgin’s release.

(3) Signaling her growing stature in the pop music sphere, Madonna enlisted Chic co-founder and producer extraordinaire Nile Rodgers to oversee recording sessions for Like A Virgin. Hot on the heels of his production work for David Bowie’s massively successful 1983 Let’s Dance album, Rodgers invited his Chic bandmates Bernard Edwards (bass) and Tony Thompson (drums) to play on Madonna’s second LP, consistent with his greater emphasis on live instrumentation relative to Madonna’s synth and drum machine indebted debut album Madonna (1983).

“When I was talking to Madonna during the making of Like A Virgin and I got Chic to play on her songs, she kept saying: ‘Why don’t we just use a drum machine instead?’ Rodgers recently recalled to Classic Pop magazine. “I replied: ‘Because if you do that, then anybody can sound like you. But if we play it, then only we will sound like that.”

(4) While filming the iconic, Marilyn Monroe inspired music video for “Material Girl,” the album’s second official single, Madonna met the actor Sean Penn, whom she married seven months later on her 27th birthday (August 16, 1985). Their four-year marriage concluded with the couple’s divorce in 1989.

(5) Like A Virgin was Madonna’s first album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Since she achieved the initial milestone, eight of her albums have also reached the top spot, with her most recent album Madame X (2019) debuting at #1 earlier this year.

(6) Though closely associated with Like A Virgin, the hit single “Into The Groove” was not included in the original track sequencing for the album. It was subsequently added to the album’s European-only 1985 reissue and appeared in the 1985 film Desperately Seeking Susan, though it was curiously absent from the soundtrack. “The dance floor was quite a magical place for me,” Madonna once reflected in revisiting the song’s impetus. “I started off wanting to be a dancer, so that had a lot to do with the song. The freedom that I always feel when I'm dancing, that feeling of inhabiting your body, letting yourself go, expressing yourself through music. I always thought of it as a magical place—even if you're not taking ecstasy.”

(7) Although Like A Virgin proved to be a smash success commercially, the critical reception that welcomed her sophomore long player was lukewarm at best, with more than a few critics unwilling to embrace her growing credibility as a pop artist and vocalist. This scrutiny would begin to dissipate, however, with the release of 1986’s True Blue and particularly 1989’s Like A Prayer, which earned well-deserved critical plaudits across the globe.

(8) On April 10, 1985 at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, Madonna launched The Virgin Tour, her first national tour, which spanned 40 dates in all, concluding in June 1985 with a five-date run split between New York City’s historic venues Radio City Music Hall and Madison Square Garden. Though their debut album Licensed To Ill (1986) wouldn’t arrive for another year-and-a-half, the Beastie Boys were selected as the tour’s opening act. However the upstart hip-hop trio were neither the first nor the second choice to share the billing with Madonna—The Fat Boys and Run-DMC were the preferred picks, but the groups were not available and too expensive, respectively. “I don't know why she thought it would be a good idea,” Adam “Ad-Rock” Horowitz said of Madonna and her management’s decision to invite the group on the tour during a 1998 SPIN interview. “It was a terrible idea. But it was great for her in a way because we were so awful that by the time she came onstage, the audience had to be happy."

(9) Like A Virgin remains Madonna’s highest selling studio album of her career to date in the United States, having earned the coveted diamond certification reflective of 10 million units sold. The rest of her top five selling studio LPs include 1986’s True Blue (7 million), her eponymous 1983 debut Madonna (5 million), 1998’s Ray Of Light (4 million) and 1989’s Like A Prayer (4 million). The 1990 hits compilation The Immaculate Collection has also earned diamond certification status.

(10) Albumism readers and writers disagree with respect to where Like A Virgin ranks within Madonna’s studio album discography, with the former ranking it #12 and the latter placing it at #3”.

The fact that Like a Virgin has sold so many copies and scores so highly in polls of her best albums shows how important it is. I still feel it is a little underrated by some critics and fans. Surely one of her five best albums, it definitely helped shape the sound and face of Pop in 1984. Sexy, playful, assured, varied and fun, Like a Virgin is a superb album that does not sound that dated. Some of the production is not that strong, but the fact we are playing songs from the album and discussing it today shows how important it is! I want to get to a review of Like a Virgin that was published many years after the album came out. First, Rolling Stone said this in 1985:

“IN THE EARLY Sixties, when girls were first carving their niche in rock & roll, the Crystals were singing about how it didn’t matter that the boy they loved didn’t drive a Cadillac car, wasn’t some big movie star: he wasn’t the boy they’d been dreaming of, but so what? Madonna is a more, well, practical girl. In her new song, “Material Girl,” she claims, “the boy with the cold hard cash is always Mr. Right/’Cause we’re living in a material world/And I am a material girl.” When she finds a boy she likes, it’s for his “satin sheets/And luxuries so fine” (“Dress You Up”).

Despite her little-girl voice, there’s an undercurrent of ambition that makes her more than the latest Betty Boop. When she chirps, “You made me feel/Shiny and new/Like a virgin,” in her terrific new single, you know she’s after something.

Nile Rodgers produced Like a Virgin, Madonna’s second LP; he also played guitar on much of it and brought in ex-Chic partners Bernard Edwards on bass and Tony Thompson on drums. Rodgers wisely supplies the kind of muscle Madonna’s sassy lyrics demand. Her light voice bobs over the heavy rhythm and synth tracks like a kid on a carnival ride. On the hit title song, Madonna is all squeals, bubbling over the bass line from the Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself.” She doesn’t have the power or range of, say, Cyndi Lauper, but she knows what works on the dance floor.

Still, some of the new tracks don’t add up. Her torchy ballad “Love Don’t Live Here Anymore” is awful. The role of the rejected lover just doesn’t suit her. Madonna’s a lot more interesting as a conniving cookie, flirting her way to the top, than as a bummed-out adult”.

I want to bring in AllMusic’s more contemporary take on one of Madonna’s best albums. A hugely important moment in Pop music, an artist that many only heard about a year before Like a Virgin was starting to dominate the charts and airwaves! Like a Virgin definitely turned Madonna into an icon of the ‘80s – and, looking back, it was the album that confirmed her place as the Queen of Pop:

“Madonna had hits with her first album, even reaching the Top Ten twice with "Borderline" and "Lucky Star," but she didn't become a superstar, an icon, until her second album, Like a Virgin. She saw the opening for this kind of explosion and seized it, bringing in former Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers in as a producer, to help her expand her sound, and then carefully constructed her image as an ironic, ferociously sexy Boy Toy; the Steven Meisel-shot cover, capturing her as a buxom bride with a Boy Toy belt buckle on the front, and dressing after a night of passion, was as key to her reinvention as the music itself. Yet, there's no discounting the best songs on the record, the moments when her grand concepts are married to music that transcends the mere classification of dance-pop. These, of course, are "Material Girl" and "Like a Virgin," the two songs that made her an icon, and the two songs that remain definitive statements. They overshadow the rest of the record, not just because they are a perfect match of theme and sound, but because the rest of the album vacillates wildly in terms of quality. The other two singles, "Angel" and "Dress You Up," are excellent standard-issue dance-pop, and there are other moments that work well ("Over and Over," "Stay," the earnest cover of Rose Royce's "Love Don't Live Here"), but overall, it adds up to less than the sum of its parts -- partially because the singles are so good, but also because on the first album, she stunned with style and a certain joy. Here, the calculation is apparent, and while that's part of Madonna's essence -- even something that makes her fun -- it throws the record's balance off a little too much for it to be consistent, even if it justifiably made her a star”.

I’ll finish with that Wikipedia article about the legacy of Like a Virgin. Still influencing artist to this very day, it is amazing to consider just how impactful the album is. Ahead of its thirty-eighth anniversary on 12th November, I know fans around the world will be playing the album loud:

“After the release of Like a Virgin, Stephen Holden commented in The New York Times: "No phenomenon illustrates more pointedly how pop music history seems to run in cycles than the overnight success of the 24-year-old pop siren known as Madonna. The month before Christmas, Madonna's second album, Like a Virgin sold more than two million copies. Teen-agers were lining up in stores to purchase the album the way their parents had lined up to buy Beatles records in the late 60's." Madonna proved she was not a one-hit wonder with the release of the album which sold 12 million copies worldwide at the time of its release. In 2016, Billboard ranked at number nine in the list of Certified Diamond Albums From Worst to Best. Like a Virgin was placed at fifth at Album of the Decade by Billboard—the highest peak by a female performer.

Taraborrelli felt that "Like a Virgin is really a portrait of Madonna's uncanny pop instincts empowered by her impatient zeal for creative growth and her innate knack for crafting a good record." He added that the success of the album made it clear what was Madonna's real persona. "She was a street-smart dance queen with the sexy allure of Marilyn Monroe, the coy iciness of Marlene Dietrich and the cutting and protective glibness of a modern Mae West". Although the album received mixed reviews, Taraborrelli believed that the "mere fact that at the time of its release so many couldn't resist commenting on the record was a testament to the continuous, growing fascination with Madonna ... Every important artist has at least one album in his or her career whose critical and commercial success becomes the artist's magic moment; for Madonna, Like a Virgin was just such a defining moment."

Chris Smith, author of 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music, believed that it was with Like a Virgin that Madonna was able to steal the spotlight towards herself. She asserted her sexuality as only male rock stars had done before, moving well beyond the limited confines of being a pop artist, to becoming a focal point for nationwide discussions of power relationships in the areas of sex, race, gender, religion, and other divisive social topics. Her songs became a lightning rod for both criticism by conservatives and imitation by the younger female population. Consequence of Sound ranked the album at number two on "The 10 Greatest Sophomore Albums of All Time," calling it the album that "carved out the throne...that would be Madonna's forever: the Queen of Pop”.

An album that I think does still not get the respect and true salute that it deserves, Like a Virgin is undoubtedly one of the most important in all of Pop! From 1984, Madonna would continue to expand her music, grow in confidence, and change her image. True Blue was her next studio album in 1986. In 1984, with the remarkable Like a Virgin, a global superstar…

WAS born.

FEATURE: Inspired By… Part Eighty-Six: Rihanna

FEATURE:

 

 

Inspired By…

Part Eighty-Six: Rihanna

__________

I am amazed that I have not yet included…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Rihanna attends Marvel Studios' Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever premiere at Dolby Theatre on 26th October, 2022 in Hollywood, California/PHOTO CREDIT: Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

the amazing Rihanna in Inspired By… This feature highlights a legend of music and the artists that they have influenced. There is no doubt that so many other artists follow in the footsteps of Rihanna. She recently released a new track, Lift Me Up (From Black Panther: Wanda Forever – Music from and Inspired By). It has been getting a lot of coverage and love. Before coming to a playlist featuring songs from artists influenced by a legend, I wanted to drop in some biography for Rihanna. Let’s hope there is a follow-up to the amazing ANTI of 2016. I am keen to get to the playlist. First, AllMusic give us a deep biography about the iconic Rihanna:

“Rihanna established her pop credentials in 2005 with "Pon de Replay," a boisterous debut single that narrowly missed the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and fast-tracked her to becoming one of the most popular, acclaimed, and dynamic artists in postmillennial contemporary music. Mixing and matching pop, dancehall, R&B, EDM, and adult contemporary material, Rihanna has been a near-constant presence in the upper reaches of the pop chart. Through 2017, she headlined 11 number one hits, some of which -- "Umbrella" and "Only Girl (In the World)" among them -- led to her eight Grammy Awards. And more than just a singles artist, Rihanna has continually pushed ahead stylistically with her LPs, highlighted by the bold Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), steely Rated R (2009), and composed Anti (2016), all of which confounded expectations and placed within the Top Ten of the Billboard 200 with eventual multi-platinum certifications. Her secondary discography as a featured artist is impressive as well, with major crossover pop hits headlined by the likes of Jay-Z ("Run This Town"), Eminem ("Love the Way You Lie," "The Monster"), and Kendrick Lamar ("LOYALTY.").

Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna exhibited star quality as a child, often winning beauty and talent contests. Because she lived on a fairly remote island in the West Indies, however, she didn't foresee the global stardom she later attained. Her break came courtesy of a fateful meeting with Evan Rogers, writer and producer of pop hits for such big names as *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Rod Stewart. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife, an island native, when he was introduced to an aspiring singing group that featured Rihanna. The trio performed for Rogers, who was then eager to work with Rihanna as a solo artist. After the fledgling singer recorded material with Rogers in the U.S. and signed with SRP (Syndicated Rhythm Productions), operated by Rogers and partner Carl Sturken, she sparked the interest of the Carter Administration -- that is, the newly appointed Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. Following an audition, Rihanna accepted an on-the-spot offer to sign with the major label.

Come May 2005, Def Jam rolled out "Pon de Replay," Rihanna's first single and the lively introduction to the full-length Music of the Sun. Produced almost entirely by Rogers and Sturken, the song synthesized Caribbean rhythms with pop-R&B songwriting. "Pon de Replay" caught fire almost immediately and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, denied the top spot by Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together." Music of the Sun, released that August, spawned a Top 40 placement with "If It's Lovin' That You Want" and ranged stylistically from a remake of Dawn Penn's rocksteady-styled crossover hit "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" (featuring dancehall star Vybz Kartel) to the Beyoncé-like "Let Me" (co-produced by emergent duo Stargate). Music of the Sun was only eight months old when Rihanna followed up in April 2006 with A Girl Like Me. It showed that the singer wasn't a fluke success and could also stretch out, laced with three dissimilar hits. "SOS," high-gloss dance-pop with a sample of Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love," topped the Hot 100. "Unfaithful," her first big ballad, and "Break It Off," an electro-dancehall hybrid (with Sean Paul), became her third and fourth Top Ten pop singles.

Superstar status was attained with Good Girl Gone Bad, an album that built on Rihanna's commercial momentum and developed into a blockbuster. Released in May 2007 and "reloaded" with additional material the following June, its lengthy promotional campaign yielded several chart-topping singles and boasted collaborations with A-listers such as Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Timbaland, and Justin Timberlake. Lead single "Umbrella," co-written by the-Dream and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, sounded like nothing else on the airwaves and shot to number one, as did "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia," while "Hate That I Love You" and "Don't Stop the Music" added to the tally of Top Ten entries. "Umbrella" gave Rihanna her first Grammy win for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. The album was on its way to triple platinum status by October 2009, when Rihanna set the dark and provocative tone for fourth album Rated R with "Russian Roulette," another Ne-Yo collaboration and Top Ten single. Abused lover, dominatrix, and murderer were among the perspectives Rihanna offered throughout the album, released that November. Even the additional Top Ten hits "Hard" and "Rude Boy" -- the latter her fifth number one -- were stern in demeanor, making the early hits sound like the work of a significantly more complex artist. While Rated R was riding high, Jay-Z's "Run This Town," with Rihanna on the intro and hook, won Grammys for Best Rap Song and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

Annual studio albums, each one with a November release date and a broad range of light and dark material covering EDM, contemporary R&B, adult contemporary, dancehall, and straight-up pop, continued well into the following decade. In 2010, just after Eminem featured her on the diamond platinum "Love the Way You Lie," there was Loud. Led by the Stargate-produced "Only Girl (In the World)," eventually a Grammy winner for Best Dance Recording, it was sustained with additional Hot 100 toppers "What's My Name?" (featuring Drake) and "S&M." Talk That Talk was heralded in 2011 with Rihanna's most triumphant single, "We Found Love," on which she collaborated with Calvin Harris. After she nabbed yet another Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy, this time for her role on Kanye West's "All of the Lights," the streak concluded, and culminated, with the 2012 set Unapologetic. Her first LP to top the Billboard 200 (after all of the previous six had gone Top Ten), it also became her first to win a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album. "Diamonds," the anthemic and inspirational standout among some of Rihanna's brashest moments, became her tenth number one pop hit and 18th to peak within the Top Ten.

Within a span of three years, Rihanna had released her fourth through seventh albums. An equal amount of time passed prior to the release of her eighth full-length. In 2013, she lengthened her list of chart accolades as a featured artist with an assist on Eminem's "The Monster," which became her 25th Top Ten hit as a lead or featured artist, went to number one, and led to her fourth Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy. No longer with Def Jam -- a deal had been signed with Roc Nation via Jay-Z, who left Def Jam several years earlier -- Rihanna released non-album singles throughout 2015, beginning with the unembellished "FourFiveSeconds," an unlikely matchup with Paul McCartney and Kanye West that reached number four. "American Oxygen" didn't flourish as much from a commercial standpoint but upon release became one of her most remarkable recordings, a dignified ballad with a personal, pro-immigration theme.

Album eight, the strikingly composed Anti, became Rihanna's second consecutive number one album following its January 2016 arrival. She partnered again with Drake, resulting in another number one hit with "Work." "Needed Me," a buzzing slow jam cooked up with a production team including DJ Mustard and Kuk Harrell, and "Love on the Brain," a throwback soul belter involving Harrell and Fred Ball, entered the Top Ten as well. Those who missed the comparative lack of high-spirited exuberance in Anti were placated across 2016 and 2017 with Rihanna's guest appearances on Calvin Harris' "This Is What You Came For" and N.E.R.D.'s "Lemon." Meanwhile, Drake, Future, DJ Khaled, and Kendrick Lamar likewise profited from Rihanna's featured spots. Lamar's "LOYALTY." made Rihanna a five-time winner of the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, setting a record for women artists in that category”.

With the hope of new material in the air – in the form of an album -, there are a lot of people looking Rihanna’s way. Such an important artist who has inspired so many others, below is a selection of acts who definitely follow the Barbadian legend. Whether citing her as an influence or clearly indebted to her, below are those who are moved and compelled…

BY a truly great artist.

FEATURE: A Renewed, Reborn Artist: Kate Bush’s Aerial at Seventeen

FEATURE:

 

 

A Renewed, Reborn Artist

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 2005/PHOTO CREDIT: Trevor Leighton 

Kate Bush’s Aerial at Seventeen

__________

BECAUSE Kate Bush’s…

eighth studio album, Aerial, is seventeen on 7th November, I am writing a few features about the double album. I will concentrate on various songs from it. To start off, this feature is about how Bush returned with this wonderful record. I have talked about 1993’s The Red Shoes and how this was the last album before Bush took a well-earned break from music. That album is also celebrating an anniversary next month. I have just written my final features about that too. When it comes to Aerial, I want to explore how it is Kate Bush in a renewed and rejuvenated headspace. She would go on to release two albums in 2011 – Director’s Cut and 50 Words for Snow (whose anniversary it is next month) – and come back to the stage in 2014 for Before the Dawn. It was a creative and fertile period where Bush released some of her best work. Work on Aerial started in the 1990s, but I think it was necessary for her to take the time to create an album that was right and as good as could be. She had her son, Bertie, in 1998. I think prioritising personal life and creating some space was pivotal. I think, if she tried to release an album too soon after The Red Shoes, it might have meant she’d burn out or quit. You can hear this refreshed and reinspired artist on Aerial. Similar to Hounds of Love in 1985, Aerial has two distinct sides.

The first, A Sea of Honey, has a selection of songs that mix fantasy, the personal and traditional ‘Kate Bush’. Bertie is a paen to her new son, A Coral Room references her late mother, and King of the Mountain seems to be autobiographical. The second side, A Sky of Honey, is the course of a summer’s day. One of Kate Bush’s most accomplished pieces of music, there is this sense of wonder and revival that runs through. Whereas there is some tension and fatigue on The Red Shoes, Aerial always sounds like it is from an artist starting again. A Sky of Honey is such a remarkable work that you listen to and are engrossed by. I wanted to bring in an interview from 2005. This was a big moment for the media and Kate Bush fans. There was this doubt whether she would return. I guess she would always release music, but would there ever be an album, and what would it sound like? Nobody was expecting a double album, not least one that is among her very best work. Aerial’s greatest strength is the distance between albums. A very different sounding and feeling album, this is almost like Bush pushing away from the past and taking more control. Bush set up her own label, Fish People, in 2011. A year where she was no longer reliant on EMI and tied to the label (even though there was still some relationship with them). Aerial was the first album where Bush was starting to enter this phase of her career where her welfare and the quality of her life were very much at the forefront. I feel the years 1978-1993 were a blur when she was grinding away so much and not able to take a break and reflect!

Even though Bush was starting anew and there was this sense of a happier and calmer artist enjoying music more than ever, the press still speculated. There has always been this impression Bush is a recluse and she hides away. Living this weird life. If an artist is not seen to be touring and releasing music all of the time, then they are written off as too private or weird! With Bush’s music being so original and not like anything else, she has suffered more than most. Aerial absorbs all the past tragedy and loss and couples that with new life and someone more settled in her own skin. Tom Doyle interviewed Bush in 2005 for The Guardian. Whilst Bush realised that it had been a long time since she released an album (twelve years), we get the sense of someone charmingly down-to-earth and domestic. An artist who can release this extraordinary music but be grounded and normal:

“This is how 12 years disappear if you're Kate Bush. You release The Red Shoes in 1993, your seventh album in a 15-year career characterised by increasingly ambitious records, ever-lengthening recording schedules and compulsive attention to detail. You are emotionally drained after the death of your mother Hannah but, against the advice of some of your friends, you throw yourself into The Line, the Cross & the Curve, a 45-minute video album released the following year that - despite its merits - you now consider to be "a load of bollocks". You take two years off to recharge your batteries, because you can. In 1996, you write a song called King of the Mountain. You have a bit of a think and take some more time off, similarly, because you can.

Two years later, while pregnant, you write a song about artistic endeavour called An Architect's Dream. You give birth to a boy, Albert, in 1998 and you and your guitarist partner Danny McIntosh find yourselves "completely shattered for a couple of years". You move house and spend months doing it up. You convert the garage into a studio, but being a full-time mother who chooses not to employ a nanny or housekeeper, it's hard to find time to actually work in there. Bit by bit, the ideas come and a notion forms in your mind to make a double album, though you have to adjust to a new working regime of stolen moments as opposed to the 14-hour days of old. Your son begins school and suddenly time opens up and though progress doesn't exactly accelerate ("That's a bit too strong a word"), two years of more concentrated effort later, the album is complete. You look up from the mixing desk and it is 2005.

If the outside world was wondering whether Kate Bush would ever finish her long-awaited album, then it was a feeling shared by its creator. "Oh yeah," she sighs. "I mean, there were so many times I thought, I'll have the album finished this year, definitely, we'll get it out this year. Then there were a couple of years where I thought, I'm never gonna do this. If I could make albums quicker, I'd be on a roll wouldn't I? Everything just seems to take so much time. I don't know why. Time ... evaporates."

There was a story that some EMI execs had come down to see you and you'd said something like: "Here's what I've been working on," and then produced some cakes from your oven. True? "No! I don't know where that came from. I thought that was quite funny actually. It presents me as this homely creature, which is all right, isn't it?"

Even if apocryphal, it's a nugget that reveals something about Bush's relationship with a record label she signed to 30 years ago. For a long time now, she hasn't taken a penny in advances and refuses to play them a note of her works-in-progress. In the latter stages of Aerial's creation, EMI chairman Tony Wadsworth would come down to visit Bush and leave having heard nothing. "We'd just chat and then he'd go away again," Bush says. "We ended up just laughing about it, really."

If the completion of Aerial put paid to one set of anxieties for Bush, then its impending release has brought another - not least, a brace of newspaper stories keen to push the "rock's mystery recluse" angle. It seems the more she craves privacy, the more it is threatened. "For the last 12 years, I've felt really privileged to be living such a normal life," she explains. "It's so a part of who I am. It's so important to me to do the washing, do the Hoovering. Friends of mine in the business don't know how dishwashers work. For me, that's frightening. I want to be in a position where I can function as a human being. Even more so now where you've got this sort of truly silly preoccupation with celebrities. Just because somebody's been in an ad on TV, so what? Who gives a toss?".

Aerial album sold more than 90,000 copies in its first week of release. MOJO named Aerial their third-best album of 2005, and it received a BRIT nomination for Best British Album in 2006. Bush was also nominated for Best British Female in the same year. In fact, I am not going to source another interview. There was not a lot in print in 2005. Bush did some radio interviews, but she would do more promotion for albums like 50 Words for Snow. I think there might have been some wariness about the questions she’d be asked. Perhaps trying to transition into being an artist in the spotlight again. Bush, clearly, was setting new rules when it came to promotion and how much she’d be engaging. Not wanting to burn-out as soon as she came back, she recognised how much time the creative and promotional duties too. Aerial came together over a number of years and, whilst she was excited to have it out there, she was not about to go on T.V. shows, do a load of interviews and repeat a pattern of the past. I am glad Bush brought Aerial’s conceptual suite to the stage for Before the Dawn. She has named Aerial the favourite of her albums on more than one occasion. You can tell how much it means to her! Of course, a new partner (Danny McIntosh) and son is a big reason for that. After losing her mother in 1992, Bush now had a new family. There has been almost eleven years since her last album. I wonder whether Bush is recalibrating again and planning something for next year. She is definitely taking her time and does not have to be as full-on and meet demands of the label anymore. This all started with Aerial. Although there was still expectation, she would not be rushed! Breaking from a stressful and tiring period of her life, Bush is revived through Aerial. It is no wonder critics love the album and she ranks it so highly! Previously needing to step back after a hard time in her life, Bush stepped back and delivered one of her best albums. This was an iconic and legendary artist doing things…

ON her own terms.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lana Lubany

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Lana Lubany

__________

I was going to feature…

the magnificent Lana Lubany in my Spotlight feature next weekend. I have already published one Spotlight feature today, but I was so determined to put this online now. In my next two Spotlight features, I am concentrating on Antony Szmierek, and Skylar Stecker. I have been focusing on a lot of incredible female artists. I keep saying that I will include bands and more male artists but, to be honest, the most innovative, interesting and long-lasting music is being made by women right now! I have been following Lana Lubany’s music for a while, and I have grown to love it more and more. An artist with such a spectacular talent, the American-Palestinian wonder has a very long and bright future. Now based in London, do go and follow her on social media and support her music. As I am based in Soho, I hope that Lubany has some gigs in the capital soon. So many venues and passionate fans would love to see her in the flesh! There is quite a bit that I want to cover but, before getting there, here is a bit of biography and early career background:

“Lana Lubany has always known a career in the music world was awaiting her. Growing up, she had the opportunity to perform for Barack Obama, Pope Benedict XVI, alongside Bobby McFerrin, Peter Yarrow of “Peter, Paul and Mary” and other notable artists and public figures at a very young age.

Born in Jaffa on November 3, 1996, with origins from Nazareth, Lana started off her career singing in a local multi-national peace choir and playing the piano, discovering her passion for music and performing. She was quickly singled out as a soloist, and in 2013, she was selected to perform in front of president Obama. After her first solo performance on a big stage in the Nazareth Christmas Market in 2013, she knew she was born to be on the stage. A year later she had her own one hour performance in the Bethlehem Christmas Market.

After graduating from high school in 2015, Lana started uploading covers to YouTube as well as focusing on her own music and songwriting. She started writing songs and short stories at a very young age – never about personal experience, at least back then – inspired by mystery and horror books and films. She released her first single “One Of A Kind” in January 2017 which was very well received by a growing number of fans from all around. Along with producer “Dushii”, Lana began working on her debut EP in April 2017. Almost a year later, the first song off of the EP, called “Still Love U Call Me” is out now”.

There are a few features and interviews that I want to bring in. Lana Lubany’s music is so distinct, and each of he tracks inhabits its own world. Such a striking and nuanced artist, I have been listening back to E.P.s like Devil in My Eden (2020), and singles such as Bad Angel and Down I Go. Although Lubany has been in the industry for a little while, I think some of her best and most popular work has come this year. To me and so many fans, her music helped us during the pandemic. Now, as we are out of the other side (sort of), we are seeing this remarkable human put out modern gems like THE SNAKE and SOLD. I am going to end with some predictions and thoughts about the hypotonic Lubany. First, Scene Noise published a feature with her earlier this year (on my birthday, as it happens!). Although the interview centres around the TikTok hit, THE SNAKE, it is fascinating knowing more about Lubany and her awesome personality and passion:

“With nothing but complete devotion to her music, 24-year-old Palestinian-American pop star Lana Lubany emphasized how this complete shift in her social media presence inaugurated what would be one of the hardest years of her life, “I had this like the major crisis of, like, why am I not getting somewhere? I didn't understand what was happening. And it was kind of really depressing actually. But by the end of 2021, I did a lot of self-discovery and a lot of work on myself. I spent a lot of time alone, just working on my mental health and writing things down, working on my awareness, which I think is so important. And eventually, by the end of that, I had a healthier relationship with social media. In general and with myself.”

Touching on her own self-healing journey quickly prompted me to ask her to wholly pick apart what that entailed. “So I was like, okay, let me write down my goals. Let me write down what I need to do in order to get to these goals. And I just did that. Without thinking about numbers without thinking about my worth relating to these numbers. I just did that. And I made the content that I needed to make in order to reach my goals, I was very clear about everything. And I organized myself and I spent time on it and gave planning importance. And then it just kind of came together because it made my mental health so much better. And having all these things laid out in front of me, showed me the path I needed to follow to get there.”

Not pointing out how crazy organized and meticulous Lubany is, would be a hate crime at this point. It’s clear from hearing her talk that the artist’s attention to detail and planning is akin to that of a mad scientist. Every step calculated, every decision mulled over with one eye on the future.

“I knew what I had to do,” she continued. “I was like, okay, I'm gonna release ‘THE SNAKE’ because I’ve had the song since the summer. So Ben [my producer and co-writer] and I wrote ‘THE SNAKE’ in the summer before LA. Whenever I showed the song to people, they just reacted differently. So I was like, ‘Okay, this is the next song that I’m going to release’. And that’s all I know. When I posted the video with my mom, ‘THE SNAKE’ had been out for three weeks already. It wasn't viral or anything. I wasn't expecting it to go viral because I was like, okay, I'm just gonna keep on making content until I have to release the next song. And then I'll keep on making content for that. Eventually, something will catch on.”

And catch on it did. Perhaps unexpectedly, but Lubany was prepared, and perhaps had even subconsciously manifested this moment. The Arabic/English hybrid song trickled down into existence through years of exposure to her mother’s array of classic tapes. Whilst there was no direct influence on the song - some might even say Lubany and her co-writer Ben wrote ‘THE SNAKE’ in a studio vacuum of their own - the hit had been years in the making.

Though this was my first music editorial feature, I knew I had the duty to dig into Lubay’s discography – how else would one contextualise her current work and rising fame? Many backseat-car listening sessions later, it was her EP, titled ‘Devil in My Eden’ that stood out to me. It struck me as a little genre-bending - perhaps experimental - of a release for the rising pop star. So different that I had to inquire as to where that piece of work falls in her mental catalogue.

“To me, everything before ‘THE SNAKE’ doesn't really represent me anymore…If I could wipe everything and just keep ‘THE SNAKE’ I would. I guess that's one of the reasons why [the title] is in capital letters and everything else isn’t? Because it's a new era. And I'm excited about [it].”

Sitting with any independent artist always feels like free game and insight into the intricate crevices that is the music industry. What I was fully not expecting to learn, however, was how integral healing as an artist is to ‘making it’ as an artist. Hearing about Lubany’s undertaking of her own healing journey post-algorithmic shift and the cognitive dissonance that followed, is truly commendable.

With much of the inner workings of the music industry completely contingent upon the artist’s personal timeline, Lubany knew she had to put herself first if she wanted to continue making art, “I think in order to heal, you need to reflect, you need to reflect and accept your flaws, and the things that you do wrong. So, to me, that was a flaw in my mindset. And I had to work on it. And the minute I realise that there's something wrong, I feel liberated. It kind of slowed things down for me, because I, you know, I want to be doing big things right now. But I realized that I needed to be patient and I couldn't rush things. Because, by me trying to rush things for the past five years, I've actually slowed them down by a lot. But it is what it is. And I'm here now. So I think the most important thing or one of the most important things is acceptance, awareness.”

Talking about social media triggered a thought I’d been reflecting on for some time, regarding the intricacies of music distribution and how its methods have changed over the years. Being 20 going on 21, I’m what people are now labeling as ‘Gen-Z’. I grew up with iTunes. Digital music distribution. I saw firsthand CDs becoming obsolete, with platforms like Spotify and Apple Music taking over. I knew that back in the day, people used to hand out their demos at gas stations, train stations, in front of label headquarters. You don’t need to be involved in the industry to know that the shift from that to social media is hugely pivotal for the medium of music as a whole, both in creativity and business. I asked Lana how she felt about this change, and whether social media being the main conduit for music could get overwhelming at times.

“I think because a lot of people don't get this social media shift, they hate it. I think that's the wrong mindset…we need to be open to change…There's gonna be new things like NFTs which I personally don’t get right now…But I know I should be getting more familiar with it. So in order to keep being successful, you have to keep on evolving. I think that's so important. So with social media, I've always been an internet girl. I love content and I love creating in general – not just music, but also videos, and all types of digital content. So that's why I don't mind the social media game… [it’s] a path that really suits me.”

Having dived deep into the meta of what will soon be the metaverse (social media), I brought the focus back down to ‘THE SNAKE’. “Were the religious connotations in ‘THE SNAKE’ and the kind of underlying biblical imagery that followed intentional?” I asked”.

I think, apart from her determination and undeniable natural talent, it is her mixed heritage that makes Lana Lubany’s music so compelling and original. Such a beautiful, layered, emotive and commanding voice, her delivery and performances are truly remarkable. After a massive and instantly loved song like THE SNAKE, SOLD hit just as hard. It seems like this always-phenomenal artist is starting to reach new heights and peaks. We are going to see Lubany standing on some of the biggest stages around the world soon enough. In such a competitive and eclectic music market, she stands aside from many of her peers. The Line of Best Fit were eager to throw a spotlight on Lubany back in July. Waxing lyrical about the stunning SOLD, they underlined the magnificence and huge promise that has been unfolding:

“Based in London but with American-Palestinian descendants, Lubany merges middle eastern influences with more Western ideals, her blend of Arabic and English lyrics telling the story of an artist searching for their true selves, unsure of where to turn and unwilling to let go of an even small piece of herself.

Growing up as a Palestinian in Israel, she’s fluent in Arabic, English and Hebrew and has utilized all three across her work to ensure equilibrium with self and art. "SOLD" jumps out from the off as one of the most fascinating and enchanting pop singles of the year so far, it comes with it the potential to normalise the use of more left-field production influences, and potentially introduce a new dawn of middle-eastern sounds and textures to Western pop.

“SOLD" is about falling prey to that persuasive voice in your head that stops you from making the right decisions” Lubany explains of the track, “It tempts you into creating a ruthless cycle of repetition and regret, where your comfort zone is your safety, but your safety is your danger zone. You’ve had a taste of luck in the past, and it was comfortable, so you try different shortcuts and start losing and doubting yourself in the process.”

"SOLD" follows up Lubany’s previous, self-released single "THE SNAKE" which amassed widespread support on TikTok, with the sound viewed over 13 million times on the app and Instagram alone, as well as racking up over 6 million streams on Spotify. Both singles were created in collaboration with producer Ben Thomson, their partnership allowing Lubany the structure to develop and incubate her unique blend of infectious pop melodies and thoughtful lyrical dexterity.

Both tracks are set to feature on Lana’s upcoming debut project with Beatnik, entitled THE HOLY LAND, which Lana describes as a creative exploration through the journey of self-discovery, with each track included representing a different stage of the journey through life and self. “It’s about internal battles. I wanted to call it ‘THE HOLY LAND’ because I personally ended up finding my identity in my roots, but it could be anybody’s hold land. It can be whatever you find sacred and wherever you end up finding yourself.”

Writing across three languages from a very young age, Lubany has crafted her early sound in no small part thanks to years of singing on stage as a child. Still, in the early stages of her career, she has already performed in venues worldwide and has sung to audiences including President Obama and the Pope, to name but a few. There’s little to no doubt that Lana Lubany is a voice for the ages, and an artist looking to break beyond the influences of music and to make the world the more blended reality of her dreams”.

@lanalubany LAST NIGHT WAS TOO FUN CANT WAIT FOR MORE SHOWS #THESNAKE #londongigs #uksinger #concertcheck ♬ THE SNAKE (slowed + reverb) - Lana Lubany

In the coming weeks, I am highlighting a range of new or rising artists who are making impressions now but will make a big impact in the next few years. From approaching Indie bands to sizzling R&B solo artists, it is almost too hard getting to grips with the best and brightest out there! One of the very best young artists around, everyone needs to follow and listen to the marvellous Lana Lubany. NME chatted with her last month. They also recognised how, in spite of the fact she has a solid foundation of brilliant work under her belt, this year has been next level successful:

“Despite releasing music for several years, Lubany describes ‘THE SNAKE’ as the “first real song that represents me”. Along with ‘SOLD’, the success of the tune has solidified Lubany’s creative vision: flitting between Arabic and English and inspired by the likes of Billie Eilish and Rosalía, the tracks provide an exciting glimpse of what’s to come on her forthcoming debut project ‘The Holy Land’.

Taking a well-earned break to speak to NME in a cosy central London café, Lubany talks us through her rollercoaster last six months, the importance of having a creative vision, and what her mum thinks of being a viral sensation.

NME: It’s been a pretty wild six months for you…

“Yeah, definitely! My life pretty much changed when I released ‘THE SNAKE’ back in February, and it went viral a month later. It was a surreal experience. I’ve gone viral in the past, but it wasn’t like this. This translated: it got interest from the industry, it got me actual fans, it was crazy, and I’m very grateful.”

 PHOTO CREDIT: Erea Ferreiro/Press

Why did you decide to follow up ‘THE SNAKE’ with ‘SOLD’?

“Something about ‘SOLD’ felt right – it felt different and like the perfect follow-up. I’m working on a project called ‘The Holy Land’, and I’ve divided it into phases: ‘SOLD’ fit perfectly into ‘Phase 2’. It was different enough that it wasn’t a recreation of ‘THE SNAKE’. That’s something I don’t want to do: I don’t want to have a hit song and then recreate it, because that’s where I feel some artists go wrong. Where’s the magic in [doing] that?”

There’s a strong creative vision behind your work. Have you always felt comfortable enough to say “we’re doing it this way”, or have there been times when you felt pushed to do certain things?

“Early on in my career I was working with somebody who’d get people to write songs for me, and he would gloss over the fact that I wanted to write my own music. I was young at the time and I didn’t really understand, so it was uncomfortable. I didn’t understand how the industry worked: I was like, ‘OK, that’s what pop stars do, they have songs written for them’. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it felt wrong to me as I’ve always known that I want to write my own songs and I want to create my own art, and I really like to be involved in every aspect. I want to be a songwriter as well as an artist. So that led me down the wrong path, because I kept on meeting the wrong people and I wasn’t listening to myself. So music was definitely uncomfortable for me for a few years, but I love it again now. 

When ‘THE SNAKE’ started blowing up, were record labels getting in touch with you?

“I had so many meetings the week after it went viral, [they went on] for a month. [It] was so draining, but it was a great learning experience. I expanded my networks, I met people and I started understanding the industry a little bit more, because it’s a really tough industry to understand. So the door [was] opened for me and I had a foot in the door, I was so happy.”

Has your TikTok success changed your ambitions for the future at all?

“I definitely feel like I have more power because of my TikTok success. Before that, I think I was one of those artists that wanted to be saved,  in a way… Not to be saved, but for someone to find me and develop me. But TikTok success has given me independence. That’s not to say I’ll stay independent as an artist forever, but it’s given me the freedom to build myself with an audience watching – and I think that’s one of the most valuable things an artist can have these days”.

I want to wrap things up now. It is so exciting following Lana Lubany’s music and career progress right now. With every song she offers something astonishing that leaves a big mark on the heart and mind. As I said, I think she will play big international stages. With some great London venues perfect for her, I know there are a lot of fans established and new who would flock to see Lubany play. I know she is a dedicated artist, but I think there is an amazing acting talent that could be explored and exploited more. Maybe it is a bit of a tangent but, similar to big artists like Taylor Swift and Halsey, I could see Lana Lubany expanding her gifts to the big or small screen. Her music has a quality that could see it work wonderfully on the screen too. So many sides to an artist whose is catching the eye and attention of some huge magazines and music websites, I predict 2023 will be a really massive year for Lubany! I am not sure whether there are plans for an album or another E.P. As she grows more intruiging and assured with every song, things bode very well for next year! I have not even brought in reviews for Lubany’s work but, suffice it to say, she has won the praise and affection of so many around the world.

Undeniably a huge future star, the rich and gorgeous music of the Palestinian-American artist is what every music lover needs. I have been following her since about 2020. I am so pleased by all of her success. I do hope (like on THE SNAKE) there are more songs in both Arabic and English, as it sounds utterly wonderful and new. I am sure she will inspire other artists (with a similar heritage) to mix Arabic and English. Blessed with stunning and eye-opening videos full of imagination, colour and epic scenes; music that lingers long in the memory and a clear eye on the future, we will hear a lot more about Lana Lubany. I hope to interview her one day. Some artists can fade from view or lose their promise and popularity after years. There are others that grow bigger and greater as time goes on. Lana Lubany definitely falls in the latter category! She is going to be making music years from now. It may be premature to predict major and worldwide success at this point but, considering the sheer and indefatigable quality of her music, I have…

@lanalubany Full BTS video on my youtube!! 💚 #SOLD #musicvideos #vlog #uksinger ♬ SOLD - Lana Lubany

ABSOLUTELY no doubt!

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 PHOTO CREDIT: @dom_sesto/@pique.portraits

TikTok:

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