FEATURE: Before a (Sort of) Live Studio Audience… Revisiting the Magnificent 1979 Christmas Special, Kate

FEATURE:

 

Before a (Sort of) Live Studio Audience… 

Revisiting the Magnificent 1979 Christmas Special, Kate

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AS we are in December now…

and looking towards Christmas, I wanted to pop in a few Kate Bush Christmas features. I will come to discuss her single, Home for Christmas, which was released in 1992. I wanted to spend some time with the underrated and sometimes forgotten Christmas special, Kate. Filmed at Pebble Mill Studios and broadcast on 28th December, 1979, it must have been exciting for fans to see this unique show on the screen. Earlier in 1979, Bush had performed The Tour of Life around the world. She had that live experience under her belt, because her gigs before that were a lot more modest. She had done live performance on T.V., but The Tour of Life was this huge stage production that was a whole new level. Conversely, Kate is a smaller affair. You can hear a studio audience cheering and clapping songs, though it was not recorded with an audience. It has an artificial quality that must have created this odd sensation. Having been used to playing before huge audiences months earlier, Bush was in a studio doing live versions (the vocals were recorded earlier and mimed in the performance) of songs from her first few albums. In fact, apart from some other treats, Bush was premiering songs that would appear on 1980’s Never for Ever. A single that was released in 1980, December Will Be Magic Again, was performed during the show – though it had its premiere days earlier for the Christmas Snowtime Special (22nd December). I am going to draw in a few revisiting features about Kate/her 1979 Christmas special. It was not just Bush and her band performing in the 1979 special. She was joined by Perter Gabriel. He performed solo, and there is a haunting duet of Roy Harper’s Another Day. The was a reason why Harper wanted to collaborate with her. He sang backing vocals on her 1980 song, Breathing, whist she duetted on the track, You, on Harper's album, The Unknown Soldier (1980).

Some people disregard Kate, as it is seen as inessential and a bit bare. There are a couple of odd set designs and performances (Egypt and Ran Tan Waltz spring to mind), and one glaring issue: only one of the songs, December Will Be Magic Again, is about Christmas! The set is not Christmassy, and Bush does not perform carols or any Christmas standards. I wonder whether there was any discussion about whether to include something more Christmas-like, as it is a T.V. special broadcast at Christmas that is more designed to promote Kate Bush and her music, rather than evoke something of the season. In their feature in 2019, Medium investigate the songs and whether they relate to Christmas. There is a section of the feature that I wanted to bring in:

“For the uninitiated, the Kate Bush Christmas Special (titled simply Kate on-screen) aired on the BBC on December 28th, 1979. Bush was in between albums at the time, having released Lionheart in November 1978 and in the the middle of recording Never For Ever, which would come out in November 1980. Despite the lukewarm critical and commercial reception for Lionheart, the Christmas special came hot off the massive success of Bush’s Tour of Life, her first (and, until 2014, only) concert tour, and one she embarked on after turning down an opener slot on Fleetwood Mac’s Tusk tour.

It’s important to mention the Tour of Life here, since the Christmas special’s choreography borrows heavily from that tour. But where she sang live on the Tour of Life, she lip-syncs to pre-recorded tracks here and incorporates pre-recorded video segments. As a result, the Christmas special plays out more like a crazy, longform music video than a traditional stage show.

Kate answers the age-old question: “what would happen if the BBC gave a Christmas special to an incredibly ambitious 21-year-old art rocker who also smokes a ton of weed?” 40 years have passed since it came out, and it’s just as weird and wonderful as the day it first aired”.

Some pick at the performances and the fact that it is a lesser staging of The Tour of Life. Unable to replicate the feel and scale for T.V. broadcast from a studio, there were those who disliked Kate and felt it was a missed opportunity. I feel the biggest question comes around the nature of the show and whether it should have been shown at Christmas. I think it is actually a nice and unusual twist. Not everything shown at Christmas has to be about the holiday. This was simply a nice live show featuring Bush performing some known songs, new cuts, and a great set of songs from Peter Gabriel. Perhaps not cheery and evoking much delight, there are some wonderful moments. I love Bush and Gabriel’s duet on Another Day. The rendition of December Will Be Magic Again is one or two. It was released as a single, but never performed live when it was released in 1980. Bush never released a video for it. The best version of the song, Kate is worth watching alone for this remarkable performance! There is this selection box approach to the songs selected. We get a nice mix of flavours and sounds, and Bush is committed throughout. Other highlights include a very rare performance of The Wedding List. That would appear on Never for Ever the year after, but it was never released as a single. With her brother Paddy playing a couple of roles during the performance (a vicar and a gun-toting groom assassin), it is wonderfully realised and choreographed performance! I am going to go on, but I want to bring in Far Out Magazine’s featured about a ‘forgotten’ Christmas show:

“Featuring just one recognisably Christmassy song, it is a mind-bending theatrical odyssey that sees Bush perform a range of tracks from her first three albums, with a rendition of Erik Satie’s ‘Gymnopodie No. 3’ thrown in for good measure.

By the time Kate Bush sat down to write ‘December Will Be Magic Again,’ she was in the middle of recording her third album Never For Ever, a record which would land Bush such hit singles as ‘Babooshka’, ‘Breathing’, and ‘Army Dreamers’. Despite the tepid reception of her sophomore album Lionheart, she’d managed to win back her fans with her spectacular Tour Of Life concert tour, which was praised for its originality and spectacular visual appeal. Having been forced to turn down a slot supporting Fleetwood Mac on their Tusk tour, it was clear that Bush was in the midst of one of the busiest and most creatively rewarding periods of her life, and she wanted more.

So, when she was invited to host her own TV Christmas special in 1979, she jumped at the chance. Directed by Roy Norton, the 45-minute performance saw Bush bring the theatricality of her stage show to the small screen, offering her suburban-bound teenage fans the chance to see her in action. From the moment she jumps into the frame, dressed like some chiffon-clad bat, it’s clear Bush has no intention of offering us any of the wholesomeness of the Morecambe and Wise Christmas specials – rather her intention is to thrill us into submission.

Surreal and heartwarming in equal measure, Kate: Kate Bush Christmas Special 1979 is a wonder to behold. As well as containing some hilariously overblown choreography, (including the moment in ‘Them Heavy People’ when one of Bush’s dancers breaks a glass bottle over her head) it also features a couple of amazing cameos, including one by Peter Gabriel.

So, if you’re looking for something unusual to watch this Christmas, look no further”.

I am going to wrap up in a minute. I can see why some are not huge fans of Kate. It is a special broadcast at Christmas, though it never really marketed itself as a Christmas bonanza with lots of songs set around the time of year. Instead, it is this broadcast that keeps her live momentum going, acts as some promotion for her first two albums and what was to come. It also makes me wonder whether it will be released onto DVD. There is a Japanese release that also has a Hammersmith Odeon set from The Tour of Life, but nothing else is available from what I can see. On 28th December, it will be forty-three years since the Christmas special, a.k.a. Kate, was broadcast on the BBC. I do hope that we get to see this show on the BBC again, as this year has been a big one for introducing Kate Bush’s music to new people (though it was shown in the summer). They would get a kick from seeing the 1979 special. I really love it, and I would agree that it is underappreciated and sort of lost. Not seen as an essential part of her cannon and catalogue, I would encourage people to give it a watch, because there are so many great moments. Another brilliant one is Bush’s performance of Symphony In Blue. The lead song from 1978’s Lionheart, you get tingles listening to her delivery. It is a beautiful song that is a bit of a Bush deep cut. Recorded in October 1979 at the BBC’s Pebble Mill Studios in Birmingham, with choreography by Anthony Van Laast (who choreographed for The Tour of Life), the barmy, brilliant, and bountiful Kate is something that…

EVERYONE needs to see.

FEATURE: Looking Ahead… Songs from Albums Turning Forty in 2023

FEATURE:

 

 

Looking Ahead…

Songs from Albums Turning Forty in 2023

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LOOKING ahead to 2023…

I am doing a run of features marking great albums celebrating big anniversaries. I am now at 1983 – that was the year I was born! Albums from that incredible year that are going to be forty in 2023. I am highlighting this with a playlist of songs from that year. 1983 was a simply brilliant year for music, and there is plenty of gold to be heard below. I am looking forward to covering 1988 next, but let us continue with sensational albums turning forty next year. Such an important anniversary, these songs below are iconic and huge. If you are not sure which great albums came out in 1983, then the playlist below gives you an idea of how wonderful…

 THE year was.

FEATURE: Revisiting… Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE

FEATURE:

 

 

Revisiting…

Beyoncé - RENAISSANCE

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THIS it feature is normally…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Carlijn Jacobs

for great albums of the past five years that didn’t get all the credit they deserved first time around and need a new spin. I have used the last few or so for albums released this year that are either underrated or warrant another listen. The reason I am featuring Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE is because it is one of her best albums, but there might be some who have not heard it. Maybe feeling it was going to be like her other albums, RENAISSANCE is different to 2016’s Lemonade. Whereas that album seemed more personal and featured more R&B and Hip-Hop, RENAISSANCE has a lot of Disco, House and Dance. It seems like it is from a golden era, compared to the somewhat more modern and urgent Lemonade. RENAISSANCE is the first instalment of a trilogy project. Beyoncé conceived and recorded the album during the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to inspire joy and escapism in listeners who had experienced isolation and to celebrate a club era in which marginalized people sought liberation through Dance music. One might think critics would react less warmly to an album not quite as striking and personal. One that sort of sounds similar to her earliest solo work. In fact, there have been huge reviews across the board! There were some a little mixed towards RENAISSANCE when it came out, whilst there was this enormous explosion of attention on social media.

As it was released in July, I wanted to come back to the album now and recommend it to those who might not have heard it. Proving herself to be one of the most inventive and consistent artists ever, Beyoncé is at her best on RENAISSANCE. I will come to a couple of reviews for RENAISSANCE soon. I could not find interviews with Beyoncé where she discussed the album and its origins. Instead, there is a great feature from The Ringer, where they highlight how Beyoncé has cemented her place in music history from Lemonade in 2016, to her Coachella headline slot in 2018, to her latest album with RENAISSANCE. They also highlight how Beyoncé’s lyrics and perspectives have shifted:

“Renaissance marks a new method of storytelling from Beyoncé: If Lemonade was an exercise in building a longform musical narrative, her latest record clips together individual scenes as part of a larger world-building project. The universe Beyoncé has created on Renaissance is one of joy, pleasure, hedonism, regained confidence, and assured power. Though she’s previously explored these themes, they feel recontextualized given the social and political climate in which she is releasing the record. This new mindset is perhaps most evident in her takes on feminism and power, which has shifted dramatically since the beginning of her discography. On the breakout single “Break My Soul,” Beyoncé sings joyously about quitting her job in order to focus on love and pleasure, while a Big Freedia sample encourages listeners to “release” their work and stress.

“They work me so damn hard, work by nine, then off past five,” Beyoncé laments. Her sentiment comes in direct opposition to her 2011 hit “Run the World (Girls),” wherein the artist celebrated the working woman: “I work my nine to five, better cut my check.” Other tracks, like opener “I’m That Girl” reify the artist’s colossal confidence and swagger while separating her from the opulence often associated with her stardom: “It’s not the diamonds, it’s not the pearls, I’m that girl.” On Renaissance, power is derived not from money, work, or status, but rather the “release” of all of these things that previously defined Beyoncé’s artistry and persona. The record finds the artist at her most free-spirited, which, in a sense, puts her at her most powerful in turn.

While the lyricism and themes of Renaissance find Beyoncé putting old ideas in a new light, its music and production illustrate her ability to step onto entirely new ground and experiment with genres that have yet to be heard in her expansive discography. Powerful Afrobeats are plentiful on Renaissance, making the tracks feel gloriously decadent and effortlessly danceable. The record’s fifth song, “Energy,” finds Beyoncé rapping over seductive, tropical instrumentation as Jamaican American reggae artist BEAM describes the sublime energy of the club. On “Move,” which features Nigerian musician and producer Tems, an infectiously danceable beat mirrors the song’s encouraging lyrics: “Move, move, move, skrrt off, make room / stampede coming through,” Beyoncé proclaims as the track accelerates, emulating the immediacy of a flood onto the dance floor. In a testament to Beyoncé’s range, those quick-paced Afrobeats live right next to several more ethereal, disco-inspired tracks on Renaissance; impossibly smooth transitions allow both sounds to not only coexist but coalesce on the album. “Cuff It” and “Virgo’s Groove” utilize an effective combination of psychedelic strings, light brass instrumentation, and a grounding, funky bass line to create a shiny, uptempo groove perfect for the dance floor. The album’s closing track, “Summer Renaissance,” solidifies Beyoncé’s ode to disco via references to Donna Summer’s classic 1977 hit, “I Feel Love.” She even dives into light EDM: “All Up In Your Mind,” coproduced by hyperpop artist A.G. Cook, has an undeniably electronic feel.

On Renaissance, Beyoncé pushes herself to journey into genres that feel surprising even for an artist of seemingly infinite range. One of the most surprising and lyrically impressive songs on the record is “Church Girl,” which finds the artist singing about “Church girls acting loose” and “bad girls acting snotty” over a staccato bounce beat built around a hymnal sample from the prominent gospel group The Clark Sisters. Beyoncé grew up in the church and sang in her church choir, experiences which translate beautifully onto this track: the song is at once a celebration of the gospel tradition and a subversion of the often rigid, misogynistic standards Black women are held to under Christianity. Her religious expertise comes through clearly in her subtly clever lyricism. “Nobody can judge me but me, I was born free,” the artist proclaims, a play on the common Christian saying that “only God can judge you.” An undeniably danceable anthem, the track goes beyond simply encouraging listeners to “drop it like a thotty” to advocate for bodily autonomy within the church and outside of it. In the Christian tradition, children often undergo Communion, a ritual where they eat a wafer that symbolizes the body of Christ. “Now you are the body of Christ,” reads Corinthians 12:27, “and each one of you is a part of it.” When Beyoncé declares that “soon as I get in this party, I’m gonna let go of this body,” it feels like a direct rejection of this Christian ideal, a proclamation that her body is hers to dance and move how she pleases. In a way, the track operates as a musical mirror to Beyoncé’s 2016 hit “Daddy Lessons,” a boisterous country jam wherein the artist’s Texan Christian father “swore it on the Bible” that she needs to protect herself from and even “shoot” dangerous men. “Church Girl” is a continuation of Beyoncé’s rejection of a patriarchal Christian tradition, and the track stands as a reminder that she can bring us to church on her own terms”.

I will finish with a couple of reviews. There was so much love out there for the joyous and phenomenal RENAISSANCE! This is what AllMusic noted in their review of an album that surely sits alongside the very best of this year. It is definitely one of my favourites:

“Break My Soul" offered much to dissect as the preliminary single off Renaissance, Beyoncé's first solo studio album since Lemonade and part one of a promised three-act project. Integrating a flashback to early-'90s crossover house hit "Show Me Love," the resilience anthem -- reinforced with an echoing gospel choir and sampled Big Freedia exhortations -- came across like a nostalgic dance remix preceding the original version. Instead, it slid neatly into place on the parent LP not only as an accurate representation but also as a foreshock to an hour-long housequake filled with irrepressible exuberance in celebration of self and sisterhood. Among those to whom Beyoncé dedicates Renaissance is her late gay cousin and godmother, Uncle Jonny, credited for introducing her "to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album." The multitude of dancefloor sounds cultivated and celebrated since the late '60s in underground clubs by liberation-seeking gay, Black, and Latino dancers has been a natural ingredient in Beyoncé's recordings since the birth of Destiny's Child (take the use of the Love Unlimited Orchestra's proto-disco exemplar "Strange Games & Things" in "No, No, No, Pt. 2"), but it is the basis of Renaissance.

The LP is top-to-bottom danceable and sequenced with each track setting up the next, through the ecstatic finale, where Beyoncé most potently mixes sensuality and aggression, claiming her man with nods to Donna Summer, Giorgio Moroder, Patrick Cowley, and Larry Heard. "Cuff It" is a disco-funk burner with Nile Rodgers' inimitable rhythm guitar and a slick quote from Teena Marie's biggest ballad, though it has all the vigor of Lady T's uptempo classics. The more relaxed "Virgo's Groove" is designed for circling the rink with its delectably plump bassline and handclaps, and moves to a private room where Beyoncé commands, in one of the set's many memorable turns of phrase, "Motorboat, baby, spin around." Renaissance pulls from the more recent and present sonic developments with equal guile. Dancehall-derived dembow is stretched out for the strutting opener "I'm That Girl." "Heated" works a chugging Afrobeats rhythm, and is keenly trailed by the swollen dubstep pulsations of "Thique." The most exciting moments fearlessly blend and switch eras. "Pure/Honey" alternates between a duly vulgar ballroom brush-off and pop-funk rapture, and "Church Girl," a rousing gospel-bounce marvel, weaves the Clark Sisters with the decidedly less-reverent DJ Jimi and the Showboys. Beyoncé is vocally up to the challenge of juggling the almost-innumerable quantity of styles and references, sighing, purring, beaming, belting, and spitting fire with all the required conviction and attitude. Her congregation of fellow writers, producers, and vocalists is a formidable assembly of close collaborators (the-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Mike Dean, NOVA Wav), younger trailblazers (Honey Dijon, Kelman Duran, Tems), and legends (Grace Jones, Raphael Saadiq). Act II will presumably have at least one ballad. They're not missed here”.

I’ll finish with CLASH’s effusive recommendation of an album from a music legend. After a couple of decades or more in the industry, you cannot predict or write off Beyoncé! If you have not spun RENAISSANCE, then I would urge you to do so as soon as possible:

“On ‘I’m That Girl’, the opening track from her long-gestating seventh album ‘RENAISSANCE’ – the first act of a planned trilogy – Beyoncé offloads a series of hubristic declarations as an audibly frantic sample of Tommy Wright III’s and late Memphis rapper Princess Loko’s ‘Still Pimpin’, ripples like an engine underneath. A slow rapture of self-love unfurls as Beyoncé’s announces “all these songs sound good”. Is she wrong? No, she isn’t. All sixteen tracks warrant that admission.

‘RENAISSANCE’ arrived without the visual accompaniment we’ve come to expect from the auteur. The Houstonian opted instead for a more conventional rollout, letting the songs simmer in the imagination of her listeners. The effect is already palpable. The space-age glitchtronic odyssey ‘Alien Superstar’ – the album’s jewel in the crown – is already a viral hit on Twitter and TikTok; the soaring chorus scoring hyper-feminised animation and digital memes curated by creative fans.

Since ‘4’, Beyoncé has mainstreamed fringe sounds to the masses. Bypassing trends and hits, she’s oscillated between pop-skewed R&B aspirations and a synthesis of modernist sounds. On ‘RENAISSANCE’, she completely leans into her musical impulses with unmitigated passion and poignancy. Beyoncé has never sounded more uninhibited, more whimsical or “cosier” than she does on ‘RENAISSANCE’. From the hedonism of Studio 54 disco, to the highs of Hacienda clubland and Detroit techno, Beyoncé puts her proverbial stamp on a ravey revivalist trip through era-defining dance. Wild and gleefully self-possessed, ‘CLUB RENAISSANCE’ is an unceasing hour-long DJ mix that rewards stamina; a summon to commune on the dancefloor and unburden the mind and unshackle the body from the flames that threaten to engulf us all.

PHOTO CREDIT: Mason Poole

‘RENAISSANCE’ memorialises Beyoncé’s late Uncle Johnny, who lost his life to AIDS as her career began to flourish in the early 00s. Beyoncé credits her ‘godmother’ with exposing her younger self to the underground subculture of queens, femmes, ballroom splendour and its language of aspirational fantasy. The legacy of these lost souls looms large throughout: Beyoncé pays tribute to the Black trans and genderqueer innovators who birthed these fiefdoms on the dancefloor, prizing them back from gentrified hands. On the languorous sway of ‘Cozy’, Beyoncé zealously lists the colours of Daniel Quasar’s ‘Progress’ pride flag, a powerful nod to marginalised LGBTQ+ people of colour.

‘RENAISSANCE’ doesn’t just pay homage to the spiritual antecedents of the Black queer tradition through idioms, it embraces the culture of “serving” through collaboration that is so integral to its survival: ‘Cozy’ and the penultimate track ‘Pure/Honey’ features production by house music forerunner Honey Dijon, and queen-speech regality from drag archetypes Kevin Aviance and the late Moi Renee, who add veracity and “cunty” realness to Beyoncé’s brand of shit-talking flagrancy.

At times Beyoncé has been criticised for a maintaining a too clean and sterile approach to her work. On ‘RENAISSANCE’, she masters the art of controlled chaos. ‘Heated’ – the older, nastier sister of ‘Bow Down’ – is a guttural siren cry; the final minute loaded with the most outlandish pomp and posturing you’ve ever heard on a Beyoncé track. ‘Church Girl’ threads together the consecrated and profane, recalling the seismic vocal yelps of ‘Get Me Bodied’ backed by a chipmunk vocal loop of ‘Center Thy Will’ by the Clark Sisters, producers No I.D. and The-Dream creating a scratchy bounce base for Beyoncé to wax lyrical about sisterhood and the right to self-determination. She knows she has sauce; she wants you to tap into yours as well.

‘RENAISSANCE’ surveys the lusty and febrile Dionysiac dimensions of after-hours music. This is grown people music. Beyoncé offers the listener a brief respite from the churning soundscape midway through, lowering the tempo for the lush retro segue of ‘Plastic Off The Sofa’ and ‘Virgo’s Groove’. Beyoncé has always excelled in her vocal production work, but here her ornate harmonies are soothing and indelibly smooth, mirroring the ecstatic rise and fall of synchronised motion, of sex, of groovy basslines and eternal monogamous love.

Pain is no longer a prelude to transcendent art. ‘RENAISSANCE’ is instead a prolonged flex; a parade of joy, emotion, coked-up glam and excess. It’s delirious and dicey, denotative without being derivative. Yes, Beyoncé’s the “greatest living entertainer” but what about her foresight, her finely-tuned instincts or her vocal ingenuity. The word ‘genius’ isn’t bestowed upon Beyoncé the way it is for Kanye or Kendrick; if ‘RENAISSANCE’ doesn’t convince you of her merit or her unerring willingness to produce sprawling bodies of work that are editorially precise, prismatic and rhythmically audacious, nothing will.

9/10”.

One of 2022’s best albums, I have featured it in Revisiting… as some may not have heard the album. Even if you have, then it is one that needs to be played again and again! In future features, I will investigate a couple of albums from this year that may have been overlooked a bit. When it comes to RENAISSANCE, there was a lot of love out there for it. It will be fascinating to see where…

THE magnificent Beyoncé heads next.

FEATURE: Looking Ahead… Songs from Albums Turning Forty-Five in 2023

FEATURE:

Looking Ahead…

Songs from Albums Turning Forty-Five in 2023

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AS I continue…

this feature series, I am arriving at a very special year for music! I am doing a run of features marking great albums celebrating big anniversaries. I am now at 1978. Albums from that marvellous year that are going to be forty-five in 2023. I am going to celebrate that with a playlist of songs from that brilliant time. 1978 was a hugely exciting year for music, and there is plenty of gold to be heard below. I am looking forward to covering 1983 next, but let us continue with sensational albums turning forty-five next year. Such an important anniversary, these songs below are legendary. If you are not sure which great albums came out in 1978, then the playlist below gives you an idea of how incredible…

THIS year was.

FEATURE: On the Right Tracks: Recognising Brilliant Female Directors and Actors for Tantalising Music Projects

FEATURE:

 

 

On the Right Tracks

IN THIS PHOTO: Margot Robbie shot for Vanity Fair in November 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Mario Sorrenti  

Recognising Brilliant Female Directors and Actors for Tantalising Music Projects

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I couldn’t think of a more succinct title…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Laura Jean Marsh/PHOTO CREDIT: YellowBellyPhoto

then the one I have chosen, but I have been looking back at this year in cinema and some of the amazing films that have come through. It has been a brilliant one for genres like Horror and Thriller, and there have been some huge-budget successes and Indie films that have done really well. The things I wanted to explore here are some incredible female directors and actors – those who I feel are perfectly suited to directing wonderful projects. Although there is increased recognition of female directors, there are still gulfs and gaps not being addressed! In terms of talent and vision, I wonder whether Hollywood is an open and forthcoming when it comes to features and women helming them. Alongside the staggering actresses defining modern cinema and turning in truly remarkable performances, there are incredible female directors who are delivering such important work. One area or genre that I am especially interested in relates to music. Whether covering comedy or drama, I hope 2023 provides a range of projects where music is at the heart. This year ha seen some interesting music biopics come to the screen. Whether it is Daniel Radcliffe playing a fictionalised version of ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic in Weird, or Naomi Ackie playing the late Whitney Houston in I Wanna Dance with Somebody, there have been some success and incredible films featuring an array of artists. As I shall write, biopics are particularly hard to get right. Circling back to the Yankovic biopic, and Evan Rachel Wood is very strong as Madonna. I know Madonna is directing her own as-yet-unnamed biopic (with Julia Garner playing Madonna), which I guess will come out next year. Timothee Chalamet will appear as Bob Dylan in Going Electric, and I know everyone from Michael Jackson and Bee Gees have biopics about them in the works.

It was announced recently that Daisy Edgar-Jones will play Carole King in a biopic called Beautiful. It drew criticism for some because of the casting of a non-Jewish actress. That said, it is being directed by an incredible Jewish directed: the wonderful Lisa Cholodenko. I shall come onto music biopics soon. There are so many amazing women directing at the moment, though I feel they are not given as much exposure and financing. There are four brilliant women I want to spotlight, because they are either directing amazing projects or have that flair and ability one would love to see on the big screen. From a rather selfish perspective, there is a project I am trying to get off of the ground – or paste the scrap paper stage – that several incredibly talented women are in my mind (I know that is not proper grammar!). Margot Robbie is currently creating enormous excitement as she will star alongside Ryan Reynolds next year in Barbie. I am not sure what direction the film will take but, as the trailer shows, it is looking mighty exciting! Robbie has just appeared in the Damien Chazelle-directed film, Babylon – where you can see the trailer below. One of the most eclectic and talented actors of any generation, she turns in these unbelievable performances. So versatile in terms of tone, time period and subject, I think of Robbie as someone who is going to go down as one of the all-time screen icons. She runs her own production company, LuckyChap Entertainment, in California alongside her husband, Tom Ackerley, with their friends Josey McNamara and Sophia Kerr.

Not only is Robbie an exemplary and world-class actor with few peers, she is also an incredible producer. Someone who is very hands-on and respected, I also see her moving into directing. Perhaps another plate to spin, she strikes me someone who would bring so many great projects to life with her distinct and unique leadership. I have a film idea at the moment where music is at the heart. A 1980s-set film in Haight-Ashbury, California, it would revolve around two groups of people, teens and adults, who are trying to make their way and navigate life. With social and political issues sitting alongside the music and culture of the time, it is a comedy that sees the teens find a way to make money and stave off threatening bullies by buying albums through a record club that is advertised on T.V. The film would be called Dozen a Dime, because that is the cost of ordering twelve albums. They then sell them to school friends for profit, and they can use the money to placate bullies and also make plans for themselves. There is a lot more to it but, rather than drop an entire synopsis and treatment here, it was something that I instantly had Margot Robbie in mind for! With LuckyChap Entertainment perhaps as backers, I did have her considered (on paper) for one of the main roles. The more I thought about the film, the more I considered her as director. I don’t think women are given much respect and chance as directors, but there are particular genres and types of films where there is a surfeit.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Margot Robbie shot for Vanity Fair in November 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: Mario Sorrenti

Most music biopics or music films are directed by men, but I know Robbie has incredible taste in music. She is a passionate music fan, and I think she could bring to life something like Dozen a Dime. Away from my own self-interest, there are music films and possibilities where I can see Margot Robbie directing the most incredible films. She is someone whose filmography takes in many time periods. From Babylon in the 1920s, to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino (1960s), to I, Tonya (1990), to Barbie (I think Greta Gerwig is setting her film in the 1980s), to Amsterdam (1930s), to The Wolf of Wall Street (1980s), Robbie has bounced between the decades. Of course, she has done a lot of modern films (including Bombshell), but most of her time has been spent in other time periods. It is that curiosity for different parts of history and people that draws Robbie. It also allows greater diversity and completely different canvases. For that reason, there are two potential film ideas and concepts that I think Robbie would jump at. As she is Australian, I have been thinking of a film where music is very much at the core. Robbie was born in Dalby (rural town and locality in the Western Downs Region, Queensland), and I don’t feel Australia is brought to the screen much. I think a film set during the 1990s or early-2000s in that part of the film around an aspiring actor with an Australian soundtrack – songs from the time and classics – would be great. More coming-of-age, it would be set around a teen who is dreaming of California and bigger things whilst using music as inspiration and protection against quite a quiet, sheltered and tough life.

Maybe mixing comedy with something quite gritty, I feel Robbie would love to go to Australia and film in her hometown and areas around that. Maybe a wider look at Queensland. Her film career is so colourful and broad, she is destined to be a director! Another project I rabbit on about is a biopic involving Blondie or Debbie Harry (their iconic lead). Debbie Harry has been portrayed in films before, but I cannot see a biopic exclusively about her or the band. It is one of those film ideas beginning to be realised. I have always imagined Margot Robbie portraying Harry but, as I think more, she would be an amazing director who could green-light. I think Harry herself has always been keen for a Blondie biopic, or there could be one about her memoir, Face It. In terms of people who could play Harry, if it were not Robbie, then actors like Saoirse Ronan or artists such as Taylor Swift or Billie Eilish. Not only would we get a phenomenal soundtrack but, if it were a Blondie biopic, but it would help introduce the legendary band’s music to a new generation. I feel Margot Robbie would be the ideal director. Again, if it was made through LuckyChap Entertainment, then she would also be producer. Robbie clearly has an affection for Harry, so I hold hopes that there will be a Blondie biopic where Margot Robbie is involved!

An incredible woman who is already directing, I have a lot of respect for Laura Jean Marsh. A brilliant actor and writer, her 2021 film, Giddy Stratospheres, is one that influenced the idea for my own film (idea). Her film explores the highs and lows of the mid-‘00s U.K. Indie music scene. Made with quite allow budget, it is wonderfully directed by Marsh! A singular talent, I think she has said how there are fewer opportunity for female directors. They are definitely not talked about that much. Marsh is also a music video director, and this is another area mostly dominated by men. Whether we view music videos as essential anymore or not, it is still exciting seeing innovative and fresh videos coming through. I think Laura Jean Marsh is one of the best directors and writers out there. As music is important to her and films like Giddy Stratospheres, I hope that she directs another music-focused film. She is someone who should be given open doors and opportunities by Hollywood studios. With a bigger budget, I can see her directing large projects that are either similar to Giddy Stratospheres, or films where music is key to the story. In terms of dialogue and visuals, Laura Jean Marsh is a very naturally talented director who we need to see more of on the small and big screen. I can only imagine what she could achieve if she was given a large budget. An exceptional actor,  I am particularly drawn to her directing.

I hope to work with her some day in some form, but I know Laura Jean Marsh will inspire other young women to direct. I am not sure why there is not more exposure of female directors, because their voices and work is extraordinary. I am focusing on music and music-related films at the moment, but genres like Horror have seen incredible women adding something new and utterly beguiling to the genre. Laura Jean Marsh is a wonderful talent, and I have had her in mind firmly when plotting and scribbling ideas for my own film and other projects. I wonder whether she is going to direct a lot more next year. Even if Giddy Stratospheres didn’t get huge acclaim – or the credit it deserves -, Marsh’s words and visions shine through. It proves what talent she has and how much potential is inside her. I am going to move onto two other incredible women who I feel either will be or are phenomenal directors – and would be wonderfully suited to direct a music-based film. In terms of genre, there aren’t a huge amount of films that revolve around music, or where music plays an essential role. There should be. The ones that are out there are largely directed by men. I know there are so many brilliant female writers and directors who are not being given the same opportunities and respect as their male peers. Directors and writers like Laura Jean Marsh definitely inspire me!

Someone who I think shares similarities with Margot Robbie, Rachel Bronshan is an actor who has not directed a feature yet, and she also runs her own production company. Based in New York, Scrap Paper Pictures gives women the opportunity to see their ideas (however young and undeveloped) brought to the screen. Another chameleon actor who has extraordinary range and also has featured in a few films/shows from different time periods (including the 1970s-set I'm Your Woman). An exceptional producer and actor who stars in one of my favourite modern T.V. shows, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, I love Brosnhahan’s work. The Marevlous Mrs. Maisel is set in New York in the late-1950s/1960s, where Brosnahan plays the titular character. A stand-up who works her way from small clubs to national success, it is a wonderful show that is sadly ending in its next season. Rachel Brosnahan is someone who I would like to work with. As a male creative, I understand I may not be eligible to submit and work with Scrap Paper Pictures, but I had her in mind too for my film idea. Music plays a big part in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and I know Brosnahan is a big music fan. Someone who is going to have a very long and successful career, I can see Brosnahan directing a lot of films. I think about a 1970-set film or T.V. series in New York. Perhaps based around a young women or young female group, I think that she is someone who could bring so much imagination and brilliance to the screen as a director! Something tells me Florence Pugh should star in a potential Brosnahan-directed film. Don’t know why, except the fact Pugh is wonderful in everything and can do anything!

 PHOTO CREDIT: Pamela Hanson for Town & Country

I am going to finish with one final amazing women who is also a fantastic director. I just want to bring in some exerts from a fairly recent interview from Town & Country that is quite engrossing. It gives greater insight into the daily life of an actor who is becoming a lot more recognised and famous:

“She landed small roles on TV shows like The Good Wife and Gossip Girl, but her success didn’t come immediately. She worked at a downtown restaurant called L’Express, which had a colorful clientele. “This dominatrix would come in after midnight on Thursdays or something. We had one table that was always reserved for her, and she’d order the escargots,” Brosnahan recalls. She roomed with two friends in Chelsea in a two-bedroom that they jerry-rigged into three. In 2009 she auditioned for Gus Van Sant’s Restless, a role she wanted so badly that she flew to L.A. at her own expense—money she definitely didn’t have—and didn’t get it. A picture from that trip is the very first photo on her phone. She finds it. She’s 18 but looks even younger. “I sobbed,” she says, when she learned she hadn’t gotten the part. “All over New York.” She walks around a lot when she’s sad.

At one point she moved to Los Angeles on the advice of a studio executive. “He told me that you can be an actor in New York, but you can only make a living as an actor in L.A. I got scared, so I moved,” she says. “Turns out that’s not true. It was not for me. I’m glad I did it; I’m glad I tried it.”

 Arguably her first big break was on House of Cards, the adaptation of a British series directed by David Fincher that gave Netflix its first original TV hit. Her sex worker character Rachel Posner didn’t even have a name initially, just a few lines. “Everyone was like, ‘Whoa.’ Rachel just blew everybody away,” says Michael Kelly, who played creepy henchman Doug Stamper on the show. Their chemistry together prompted the screenwriter Beau Willimon to expand her role into a longer character arc for the second season, and Brosnahan came away with an Emmy nomination. Kelly thinks she could do anything next. “She’s done drama and comedy and a western, so what’s left, an action movie or play a superhero? She has achieved that status in the industry where I truly believe there’s nothing she can’t do with a work ethic and a talent like that.”

If you ask Brosnahan what she wants her career to look like, she mentions Frances McDormand and Emma Thompson. “I admire how versatile they are and how they continue to push themselves and take risks,” she says. “It feels like they never do the same thing twice. I would be thrilled if my career gave me the same opportunity.” Brosnahan is a planner, though; she’s not content to sit back and hope that Maisel was enough to launch her on such a trajectory. And so, like Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington and Jessica Chastain and other actresses who have noticed that producing allows one to circumvent Hollywood’s often stale notions of womanhood, she has started her own company, Scrap Paper Pictures. (“I asked Rachel, ‘If I don’t get a job for a while after Maisel, can I work at your production company?’ ” Hinkle joked.) Through it she has already produced two podcasts, The Miranda Obsession and Listening In, the feature film I’m Your Woman, and two editions of the Amazon original special Yearly Departed”.

A renaissance woman who has given to communities and is an inspiring human, Olivia Wilde is also a successful and stunning director. Again, she is instantly in my mind for projects I think of. She did appear in the music based T.V. series, Vinyl, a while back. That was short-lived. In addition to directing a couple of music videos (one for Red Hot Chili Peppers no less!), and the brilliant short, Wake Up, Wilde has also directed two exceptional films. The most recent is this year’s Don’t Worry Darling, starring the aforementioned Florence Pugh. I am not sure whether Wilde has her own production company but, like Rachel Brosnahan and Margot Robbie, she would definitely help mould and support brilliant talent coming through. Among the many reasons I love and respect her – aside from appearing in shows like House and Vinyl and great her brilliant acting in films like Drinking Buddies – is how she speaks up against sexism and injustices. Someone who has said things are slowly changing now s women are not seen as competitors in Hollywood, they are more like partners. There is still a long way to go, but I am glad very successful and acclaimed directors like Olivia Wilde are creating awareness and hopefully opening eyes to the fact there are some amazing female directors who deserve a say and to be treated fairly. I am going to round things up in a bit.

Before I do, as one of the most influential and important women in Hollywood, Olivia Wilde was interviewed by ELLE recently. One of my favourite films of the past decade, Booksmart, was Wilde’s feature directorial debut. Released in 2019, it was rightfully hugely acclaimed. It was a big spur for me to write and conceive a film influenced by Booksmart. In Wilde’s comedy-dramas, on the eve of their high-school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night. Wilde’s direction throughout is outstanding! She is instantly oner of the finest and most impressive directors in Hollywood. I know she has more projects coming up and, whilst it will never happen, she is someone I would love to work with – as she is so focused and compelling to be around by the sounds of it:

“But putting a project into the world, she has found, inevitably means relinquishing control. Wilde’s directorial debut, Booksmart, transformed the way Hollywood saw her, after nearly two decades in the business. But it has nothing, in terms of column inches, on Don’t Worry Darling, which has become the most talked-about movie of the year. (It came in at #1 its opening weekend, an impressive outing for a second-time director.)

That’s due in part to its intriguing premise, 18-studio bidding war origin story, and stacked cast, including Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Pine, and Wilde herself. (Wilde has a turn as Bunny, “the all-knowing salty friend” who crackles with “an almost pickled cynicism.”) Outshining all the stars, though, is a media meta-narrative around the film that—with its themes of sexism and public scrutiny—oddly echoes that of the movie. Instagram gossip hub DeuxMoi doesn’t chronicle the day-to-day doings of Martin Scorsese, but Wilde is another story. In case you’re reading this from your home under a rock: She has been in the news for her reported relationship with Styles, a rumored feud with Pugh, and a disagreement with Shia LaBeouf about the backstory behind his departure from the movie (a conflict that was not yet aired when we spoke). Then there’s her contretemps with ex Jason Sudeikis, who served her custody papers when she was onstage promoting the film at CinemaCon.

Over tea, Wilde confides her disappointment with the way the story has been “minimized into bite-size TikTok points.” When I offer that it could be good publicity, she says her intention was not, as she jokes, to “throw myself into the flames for the movie.” She wants people to pay attention to what’s onscreen, and is frustrated that the press hasn’t. “This film is trying to ask big questions, but [it’s] ‘Let’s just focus on this sideshow over here,’” she says. “Having been a known figure for a while...makes me well-equipped to have a Teflon exterior. But it also means that you’re under a different kind of microscope. It’s brought my attention to the media and how it pits women against one another.” (For what it’s worth, she has nothing but praise for her leading lady. “She’s so generous in her acting in every scene. She makes everyone around her better.”)

Meanwhile, Wilde is developing, and set to direct, a Kerri Strug biopic with the working title Perfect, and reportedly has a deal with Sony to direct a hush-hush, female-centric Marvel feature. “A few of the things I have in development are about the raw determination of women,” she says. “Clearly, I idolize women who survive a system that they feel challenged by.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Cass Bird

Perhaps it’s something she can relate to as she navigates this latest chapter. “It is shocking to see so many untruths about yourself traded as fact,” she says. “Florence had a really wise comment that we didn’t sign up for a reality show. And I love that she put it that way, because it’s as though the general public feels that if you are making something that you’re selling to the public, you somehow have accepted that your life will be torn to shreds by a pack of wolves. No, that’s actually not part of the job description. Never was.”

“I’m very curious about our collective complicity in [upholding] the patriarchy. I found myself seeing a lot of content that was struggling to address feminist issues and instead becoming either really simplified or overly didactic. I had no interest in making a feminist parable that was judgy or that defined men as bad and women as good. I was much more interested in that tense space where we recognize our own participation in the system that objectifies us”.

In addition to writing about four amazing women who are either established directors or have the promise to be, I wanted to talk about women as directors. Things aren’t as bad as they used to be regarding sexism and a lack of respect from the industry, but I still feel like there is a degree of alienation, ignorance and misogyny still at play. Every time a woman wins an award or sets a record in directing, rather than it being seen as normal (as, with greater respect and chances, this would have happened decades back), it is seen as odd or alien! Alongside the likes of Greta Gerwig, Olivia Wilde and Laura Jean Marsh, there are so many phenomenal women making the small and large screen so much richer and more memorable because of their voices! I hope that in the next few years, there is a greater balance and appreciation of female directors.

PHOTO CREDIT: YellowBellyPhoto

Also, I wanted to talk about music films in general. There have been biopics and music films this year, and there are some wonderful ones planned for next year. I think it is a section and genre that is underrated and under-represented to an extent. I also feel it is a corner of the film industry where the films mostly directed by men. I have talked about four of my favourite female directors, writers and producers. Each, in varying degrees, have an attachment to music and would expertly and exceptionally direct a great biopic or film where music plays a big and enduring role. I would kill to work with either or all of the four – Rachel Brosnahan, Olivia Wilde, Laura Jean Marsh and Margot Robbie -, though I know chances are slim to none. I wanted to salute their work and, for Brosnahan and Robbie (who have not directed features yet) to nudge them in the direction of possible musical projects – a Blondie biopic or Australian-set feature for Robbie; a New York-set film for Brosnahan. For them and incredible women like them, we need their immense talent and crucial voices now…

PHOTO CREDIT: Pamela Hanson for Town & Country

MORE now than ever!

FEATURE: Looking Ahead… Songs from Albums Turning Fifty in 2023

FEATURE:

 

 

Looking Ahead…

Songs from Albums Turning Fifty in 2023

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I normally do this in January…

but I do a run of features marking great albums celebrating big anniversaries. I count down from 60 to 5, and I am continuing with a playlist of songs from albums turning fifty this year. 1973 was a great year for music, and there is more than enough gold to be heard below. I am looking forward to covering 1978 next, but let us proceed with sensational albums turning fifty next year. Such an important anniversary, these songs below are legendary. If you are not sure which great albums came out in 1973, then the playlist below gives you an idea of how incredible…

THE year was.

FEATURE: Spotlight: piri & tommy

FEATURE:

 

Spotlight

piri & tommy

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ONE of those incredible acts…

that are going to dominate 2023, piri & tommy are an English Drum and Bass group, formed in 2021. They are Sophie McBurnie and Tommy Villiers. They released their debut mixtape/project, froge.mp3, in October. I shall come to a couple of reviews for that soon enough. A sensational and feelgood duo, they remind me in some ways of Australian duo Confidence Man. Although their styles are slightly different, both have this incredible connection and deliver music to get you moving and together. I will arrive at a 2022 interview with the pair. First, at the end of 2021, NME featured piri & tommy. At that point they hadn’t released too much. It was a case of this clearly promising pair coming to prominence because of the amazing single, Soft Spot. That song actually appears on their debut mixtape/’project’. It was interesting hearing how the duo met and started making music together:

“For IRL couple Piri and Tommy Villiers, lockdown has been somewhat of a blessing in disguise. After (virtually) meeting via Instagram DMs earlier this year, the pair – who bonded over a mutual love of generational dance artists like Disclosure and Kaytranada – decided to bubble up in a student house together and make music as a duo.

Although spending most of her time with Tommy instead of focusing on uni might have initially been risky (vocalist Piri – real name Sophie McBurnie – was studying Chemistry before meeting her producer boyfriend, who is also in the indie-pop band Porij), things have certainly paid off since. The Manchester duo’s colourful brand of drum ‘n’ bass with a Gen Z touch has made them the latest TikTok success story.

The pair’s breakbeats-inspired single ‘Soft Spot’ started blowing up seemingly out of nowhere on the social media platform throughout the summer, standing out thanks to its singalong chorus and racing beats. A few months later, it received a major label re-release due to its sudden viral success. Now, the track has clocked up more than seven million streams on Spotify, and the couple now count PinkPantheress and Charli XCX among their fans.

Here, they tell NME about what it’s like to be at the forefront of a DIY dance scene explosion and why – with an album’s worth of bangers ready to go – this is just the start for them.

Hi Piri and Tommy Villiers! How are things?

Piri: “To be honest, life is pretty chaotic for us right now! We don’t have our own place, so we’re travelling around a lot and staying between our parents’ houses, but feeling very blessed overall by our careers.”

How did you both meet?

Piri: “Basically, I saw a picture of Tommy’s other band on Twitter and thought he was handsome. I then found [the band’s] Instagram and soon slid into his DMs!”

Tommy: “We met for a date in Piccadilly Gardens in Manchester and it was the best first date ever… so then we had another one… and another one…”

Piri: “It probably only took us a couple of weeks before we started making music together, and because of the lockdown, we had so much time to be creative and work on tunes.”

What’s your creative process like?

Tommy: “I’ve been making beats in my free time since I was about 17. Either we’ll set a vibe and I’ll make a fresh 8 bars, or we decide we like one of the old beats from my hard drive and I will send it to Sophie, and then she comes back with a song.”

Piri: “I always loved writing songs but I was felt limited by my mediocre guitar playing – I could never have imagined making an actual record! Once I met Tommy, I finally had the opportunity to write over really good beats. We just ended up being a great team”.

Charli XCX and PinkPantheress have said that they are fans of yours. That must feel pretty cool, right?

Piri: “Yeah! PinkPantheress DM’d us actually to say that she loved ‘Soft Spot’ and she thinks the beat goes stupid! That was so cool for us because she really broke through with this new pop-style, girly dance music and showed that people really want and need this style of music. And she did it without the aim of blowing up too – it was so organic.

Tommy: “Charli XCX played ‘Soft Spot’ on Radio 1, which was mad! She said it was one of her favourite songs and that she runs to it when she goes to the gym. She’s an artist that we both love and really look up to.”

Are you feeling any pressure to prove that you’ve got more than one big hit in you?

Piri: “Yeah for sure, we’re so confident in our music but ‘Soft Spot’ is definitely a big act to follow. Even though we love our unreleased music, we just really hope it does as well – especially on TikTok. I would love to see people using our music for their videos again.”

Tommy: “We definitely can’t wait to release more music though, and people are already asking for it!”.

I will move to DORK’s July interview with the incredible piri & tommy. What is clear from the interview is not only how talented they are, but the fact their music is so powerful and hooks you in! I don’t think there is anyone out there like piri & tommy:

“Following up ‘soft spot’ was quite stressful for me, because then I had to make something just as good as this,” tommy, aka Tommy Villiers, admits. “Suddenly, I knew loads of people would listen to this. I’d never had that pressure before in my life.”

Written, recorded, mixed and mastered all under that same roof, the pair’s self-sufficient nature clearly produces magic, but having to then share that insular process and deliver their next singles to a record label was nothing short of nerve-inducing. The release of follow-up ‘beachin’ was defined by apprehension. When millions of people have the lyrics to your first single bouncing around their heads, there’s a lot to live up to.

“We were kind of pessimistic about releasing ‘beachin’,” explains Sophie McBurnie, who goes by the moniker piri. “Both of us were really anxious about it, but people liked it. Now we’re a bit more comfortable and excited to release more. Tommy had imposter syndrome about it.”

“It was like ‘oh my god, I’m a producer now!’, like legit. That was the biggest track I’d ever released, and I’d mixed, mastered and recorded it all, so it was a big step up. Before, I’d just been in bands as a guitarist and singer. I never thought of myself as a legit producer. But now I am, I guess!” tommy laughs.

PHOTO CREDIT: Patrick Gunning

Despite the anxiety, as they step into this crazy new world, they still consistently deliver the opposite with their sound. Playful and upbeat, it’s fundamentally feel-good. Their latest single, ‘words’, is a condemning narrative around a lack of communication in a relationship, served alongside an old school garage style beat. piri’s vocals keep things carefree, never losing that insatiably danceable quality. With each release, they lean more heavily into their freeing, high-speed tendencies – it hooks you in like no other.

“I remember when I first discovered dance music. It’s honestly like once you’re in, there’s no going back; you just keep listening,” reflects tommy. “Once you find a new genre that’s a bit faster, you just have to keep going – it’s like, oh, this song is 200bpm, this will mess you up! It’s like a drug. It’s sick.”

piri jumps in: “I think it’s a product of people’s attention spans these days, and fast music just being sick, but people really seem to be digging the higher tempo. Any song sped-up on TikTok seems to do way better than the original, and obviously drum and bass has been huge, and hyperpop and breakcore.”

It’s a useful dynamic that has ultimately streamlined their creativity too – piri has her go-to producer, while tommy has a topliner for all of his beats. That deep knowledge of how the other works is evident – they’re in sync and prepared to push each other into different directions. Working in harmonic tandem has allowed them to become even more ambitious and at home with stretching their boundaries as musicians. With a debut album in the works, they’re set to become more comfortable with letting their listeners into their world, too.

“It’s all of the music we made in the first year of knowing each other – each song is a different memory or moment from that year,” hints tommy. “Yeah, you can listen to the lyrics and track the point of the relationship, what’s occurring between us at the time,” piri contributes.

“The whole album is just us two, just our names on it,” she continues. “All the writing, all the producing, all the mixing is just piri & tommy. I think it makes it the purest form for our first album. You’re letting people know: this is what we sound like. Even though we got signed, and it started to pop off a bit, it’s important not to just get swept up in that. We had a lot of ideas, and we made ‘soft spot’ ourselves – let’s just do the rest ourselves”.

One of the biggest releases of 2022, froge.mp3 needs to be in everyone’s lives. Ones to Watch provided more details about piri & tommy’s incredible new release and why their music sounds so natural, connected and in-sync. The way they fuse and blend with one another is amazing to hear. I think that they are going to have a huge year next year:

“Eclectic and spacey, piri & tommy’s love manifests as futuristic dance pop in their debut project, froge.mp3.

Based in the UK, the chemistry between singer piri and production partner Tommy Villiers couldn’t be feigned, mostly because it isn’t. Meeting on a date and then embarking on a rollercoaster on-again-off-again relationship, their viral single “soft spot” was written from the gaze of piri’s longing. Though lucky for us, it worked itself out.

“[froge.mp3] is basically a diary of the first year tommy and I have been making music, and pretty much the first year of us knowing each other at all," shares piri. "Each song (in both lyrics and vibe) captures a different point in time of our journey, and the different experiences and emotions we were going through. We really wanted to avoid guiding or limiting ourselves too much during the creative process: we made whatever we felt like, just for fun, and I can definitely feel that energy of us enjoying being creative and with no pressure when listening back. It’s so cool having a collection of tracks to document parts of our lives in that way, like a little time capsule.”

The energy between the duo is perfectly encapsulated sonically, both softly passionate and fiercely gentle. Each track is a hit of dopamine, a euphoric high you never want to come down from.

Featuring already popularized singles “on & on” and “words,” froge.mp3 only continues to explore the edges of their modernized garage sound with tracks like “can we” and “player 2.” You can hear influences of artists they were raised on, from MJ Cole to The Meters, while finding footing next to the artists who are becoming peers, from Kaytranda to PinkPantheress.

piri & tommy’s essence is liberatingly playful because to their core, they’re kids having fun. piri’s lyrics and porcelain voice encompass the charm of their romance, while Villier’s production is a digital experiment gone beautifully right. They create first and think second, laughing along the way.

With a nearly sold-out tour ahead of them, the addictive duo has amassed a feverish following because of what they’ve gifted long car rides and impromptu dance sessions. Infused with love and humble chaos, there isn’t a doubt that their music is going a very long way”.

I will wrap things up with a review from DORK. Big fans of  piri & tommy, they definitely loved what the heard on the sensational froge.mp3. I have been listening to it quite a bit the last couple of weeks, and I love everything on it! You just know the duo are going to be making music together for years to come:

“The build-up to a debut ‘project’ hasn’t been stress-free for piri & tommy; the pair’s collaboration marks the first time either musician has taken up their newfound roles, and they both felt the anxiety of following up TikTok sensation ‘soft spot’ – not to mention a major label signing. The blistering hype around the dance act has funnelled directly into an air-tight, comprehensive taster of their potential in the form of ‘froge.mp3’.

piri & tommy’s music defines and describes the energy they create at their live shows, with rattling percussion (‘Say It’, ‘Can We’) fuelling popping nights, and deeper beats (‘Silver Lining’, ‘Sunlight’) echoing blurry days. It is quite ridiculous that this Mancunian couple has so quickly summoned such a formidable collection of tracks, and already proved that each of them can cause chaos at the drop of a hat.

A university bedroom project exploded onto the big stages, the freeing nature of piri & tommy’s creative pursuit explains why its experimentation and fluidity rule supreme. They throw Gen-Z eyes on a much-celebration genre, splicing and dicing it into the ears of eager new listeners in a format digestible to their era of music fans.

At its core, though, ‘froge.mp3’ digests the ups and downs, smooth sailing and tight corners, of piri & tommy’s own relationship – this internal inspiration, as well as their effortless chemistry, makes it a release that only they could have come together to curate. Praise be to Instagram DMs”.

If you have not heard the name piri & tommy or know about their music, then I would say to dive in! I am sure there are going to be tour dates next year and some more tracks. Where they go from here is up to them. There is this huge wave of support behind them. With this effortless and amazing chemistry between Sophie McBurnie and Tommy Villiers, it is so easy to fall for the music of piri & tommy! There is no doubt that they are…

SO good together.

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Follow piri & tommy

Official:

https://www.piriandtommy.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/piri.and.tommy/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@piri.v2

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2U6J9Q89i1TNhesKreFD65?si=TpN2WahIS4-mlqvdUcU9XA

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/piri_io_

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaQEeVGOAQ_ZXKTEbfTh-lA

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/piriandtommy/

FEATURE: Second Spin: The Corrs – Talk on Corners

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

The Corrs – Talk on Corners

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FOLLOWING their excellent…

1996 debut album, Forgiven, Not Forgotten, The Corrs’ followed it up with 1997’s Talk on Corners. This is an album that has divided critics, and it has been unfairly seen as pretty lightweight or lacking in any substance. I think that it is an excellent album boosted and defined by the vocal harmonies and personalities of the Corr sisters (Andrea, Caroline and Sharon). The Irish band released the album on 17th October, 1997, where it reached number one in several nations, including the U.K. and Ireland. Preceded by the lead single, Only When I Sleep, there was a bit of a split when it came to commercial success. Some nations took it to heart, whereas it was a bit slow in others. I have written about this album before, but I wanted to come back because it is terrific and has some of the group’s best material on it. In 1997, there was this incredibly eclectic scene that had OK Computer by Radiohead alongside Urban Hymns by The Verve. Maybe not in the same league as them, there is something original and refreshing about Talk on Corners. Apart from The Cranberries, there were not too many female-led Irish bands in the decade. Led by Andrea Corr, she had this command and beauty in her vocals that lifted the songs above mere Pop songs. Instruments like the violin, whistle and bodhrán are not used too heavily, so there is this nice blend of more commercial Pop with Irish sounds.

I think that What Can I Do and So Young are terrific tracks that I loved when I was at high school. Their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s Dreams was included on a re-release version, and whilst quite faithful to the original, it is a strong version. I like non-single songs like When He’s Not Around and Hopelessly Addicted. It is a pity there are not more features and interviews online that discuss the album. Talk on Corners definitely make a big impact back in 1997. Twenty-five years after its release, and I think the album still stands up. I will bring in a review from AllMusic and then wrap things up:

“Songs on the Corrs' Talk on Corners fly inoffensively past the window like scenery on a drive through the countryside, with two pretty singers at the wheel. This essentially Irish sister act (with Corr group Andrea, Caroline, and Sharon on vocals, drums, and violin, respectively, and brother Jim on guitar and keyboards) legitimately brings to mind comparisons with another family-based girl group, Wilson Phillips, particularly since the impulses and instincts are truly pop and not so much alt-traditional Celtic (as they are often cited to be). This timely record documents a high-riding point for the Corrs by re-releasing newly mixed versions of "What Can I Do?" and "So Young," both highly compressed digital productions featuring their trademark glass voices and barely discernible acoustic musical instruments. Also on the record: "Queen of Hollywood," "Runaway," "No Good for Me," and their huge international hit ballad "I Never Loved You Anyway." The best and most spirited Celtic cut is "Little Wing," deliciously resting on the contributions of the dropping-by Chieftains. Each and every cut sounds wired for radio play; unlike the less Americanized, riskier Cranberries, the Corrs should enjoy a career as nicely sustained as some of the girls' best musical notes”.

Because Talk on Corners was released near the end of the year that saw experiment music and more serious Pop and Electronic sit alongside great Indie and Rock, perhaps it was seen as a bit weak compared to them. I would encourage people to check out The Corrs’ Talk on Corners, as it is very accessible put carries enough weight, diversity and strength to keep you coming back. It actually makes got a great single listen, rather than skipping and choosing the singles. I love the album title and its cover. Its production is pretty strong, but I am not sure why the band recorded across so many studios. Maybe it was mixed at various studios, but it is an album that could have been quite disconnected and scattershot. As it is, there is a consistency and a solidity to the album that means it has not aged too badly. Perhaps not something you will invest in, go and stream Talk on Corners and bond with a great and underrated album from the 1990s. I am not sure whether the sibling band (also consisting of Jim Corr) will release another album. Their most-recent, Jupiter Calling, came out in 2017 to mixed reviews. I think the group were at their peak in the 1990s. Albums like Talk on Corners do deserve a revisit and re-inspection.

I want to end with one more feature. Essentially Pop had their say on The Corrs’ 1997 album and paid tribute to its strengths. I feel people may have judged it too quickly in 1997, so you do need to come back to it:

“Yes it’s another Irish album because, let’s face it, if there’s one good thing the Irish do (yes we know there’s many many things they’re good at), it’s making amazing music.

The Corrs released their second album, “Talk on Corners” in Ireland in late 1997, following it up with a US release in April 1998.  The album title comes from a line in the song, “Queen of Hollywood”, and kinda catches you by surprise when you hear it – “oh there’s the album title”…well it did us anyway.

Everyone knows something from this album, even if they don’t think they do. We picked it up recently and were worried that as it didn’t include, “Runaway” we’d not know anything…but we did. In fact, “Only When I Sleep” has been ear worming pretty much constantly since we first played it, and there you go – bet it’s ear worming with you now just from us mentioning it.

Apart from the afore-mentioned “Only When I Sleep”, our highlights on this album include “I Never Loved You Anyway”, another ear worm you’ll know (word of advice: don’t get caught singing this in front of your significant other), the instrumental, “Paddy McCarthy”, and our personal favourite, the very lovely cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams”. It’s a surreal Celtic take on the classic song – if any song was ever crying out for the Celtic treatment of tin whistle, fiddle and bodhrán it’s this one.

The Corrs followed up this album with a further three, but have been on hiatus for several years to focus on raising their individual families. Andrea and Sharon have however released solo albums, with moderate success.

Will the Corrs reunite and produce more albums? It remains to be seen, but in the meantime, they’ve left a pretty sizeable legacy behind them…everybody sing now…”But it’s only when I sleep…I see you in my dreams…”.

A great album with amazing singles and some interesting and must-hear deeper cuts, The Corrs’ Talk on Corners is an album that I remember fondly from 1997. It was one I bought and enjoyed straight away. I can come back to it now and find much to love and appreciate. If you have not heard the album at all or for a while, then take a few moments out to experience the County Louth group’s…

INCREDIBLE second studio album.

FEATURE: Broadcast Critical: Saluting Awesome Faces Across BBC Radio

FEATURE:

 

 

Broadcast Critical

 IN THIS PHOTO: Clara Amfo/PHOTO CREDIT: Justin Sutcliffe

Saluting Awesome Faces Across BBC Radio

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THE BBC…

IN THIS PHOTO: Arielle Free

celebrated its centenary recently, and it provided us a chance to collectively express how valuable the corporation is to us. Whether it is T.V. or radio, the BBC has been a part of our lives and cultural upbringing! BBC radio especially has been so important to me. From new music when I was a child, through to the amazing broadcasters that work across their many stations today, I have a lot to thank them for! I wanted to salute all of BBC radio, but there are a few broadcasters particular I have listened to a lot and wanted to mention individually. I have already done a feature about BBC Radio 6 Music’s Lauren Laverne, as she is someone I respect enormously - and, in addition, her breakfast show weekdays is a bit of a lifeline. I will take the BBC stations from the lowest-numbered to highest. You can check out all the amazing broadcasters across the stations, but I wanted to start with BBC Radio 1. As a thirty-nine-year-old, I always feel I am a little bit too old to tune in! I have got so many great music tips from broadcasters on the station. One of my favourite broadcasters is the amazing Arielle Free. An amazing D.J. and presenter, her Early Breakfast show has been responsible for giving me a boost that early in the morning! She is someone I have a lot of respect for, and I know she will continue to deliver wonderful shows throughout 2023.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sian Eleri

The sensational Clara Amfo delivers her must-hear Future Sounds. A radio icon of the future, she is someone who is going to be a staple of BBC Radio 1 for many years to come. She took over from the great Annie Mac. I would recommend everyone to listen to Amfo, as her show brings the hottest new sounds and artists. I have found some terrific artists thanks to her, and Amfo is such an engaging and amazing broadcaster who has ably and seamlessly stepped into some very big shoes and made the show her own. I listen to BBC Radio 1 at the weekend now and then, and there is a terrific variety of shows to be discovered. I wanted to shout out Charlie Hedges and her Dance Anthems show. A great mix of soul and body-moving jams, I have spotlighted her before. I hope that she continues at BBC Radio 1 and gets more space, as I think she is one of the best voices on the station. Speaking of voices, Sian Eleri and her Chillest Show is a perfect way to spend a Sunday evening! The phenomenal Welsh broadcaster is another future icon. I love her soothing sounds, and her massive talent definitely warrants more airtime! I wonder if Eleri has ever been considered to do a classic chill-out mix or compilation. She gives listeners these blissful sounds, but I feel there is a much busier and larger 2023 ahead!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Snoochie Shy

Away from BBC Radio 1, 2 and 6 Music, there are a few of their stations I will briefly dip into. One is BBC Radio 1’s sister station, IXtra. There are some male D.J.s I will mention, but I think the best and most engaging broadcasters are women. That might be a generalisation, but it is my view and preference. Snoochie Shy is on late nights at 1Xtra. She is such a wonderful broadcaster. So much energy and passion, I only recently tuned into her show. I actually listen on BBC Sounds, as it is on a little late for me. Again, this is a great place to get the inside track on new artists that we need to check out! I have mentioned a few of these broadcaster earlier in the year, but I wanted to shout the immense Nadia Jae again! Her breakfast show is brilliant! I switch between her breakfast show and Lauren Laverne’s. Nadia Jae is one of the finest voices on British radio, and her blend of eclectic and amazing music with giggles and guests is intoxicating and addictive. I love her work! Her R&B Chill is also fabulous and right up my street. Before moving on, I wanted to mention Fee Mak. I listen to her on Sunday, but she is someone that I want to highlight to everyone. Another warm and hugely passionate broadcaster, she also has a very bright future. Such an awesome broadcaster, I have spent many great hours in her company!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Zoe Ball/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC/Ray Burmiston

There are a few from BBC Radio 2 that I want to highlight. A station I listen to every day, there are some legendary broadcaster in the stable. Zoe Ball’s weekday breakfast show is such a source of fun and comfort. Alongside Lauren Laverne, I tune into Zoe Ball and get that reliable boost and entertainment. She is an iconic broadcaster. Ball leads into the mighty Ken Bruce’s show. With Pop Master and some fabulous music, Bruce has also given me and millions of listeners so much enjoyment and wit. Such a funny and brilliant broadcaster, he is a cornerstone at BBC Radio 2. I don’t want to overlook or miss anyone, but I have to narrow down the focus a bit. Sara Cox is among my favourite broadcaster, because she is so personable and down to earth. I have loved Cox’s shows for years now but, in such a tough year, she has been invaluable. Before moving onto some weekend wonders, another legend is in my thoughts. Trevor Nelson’s Rhythm Nation brings together classic Funk, Soul and R&B. He is a master broadcaster and genius D.J., so we are always in safe hands! I am going to whip through a few names – not to disrespect anyone -, but there is a broad mix of shows on BBC Radio 2 that I really enjoy and tune into regular. Angela Griffin’s Unwinds is another I catch on BBC Sounds, as it is a little late for me. Providing relaxation, companionship, soothing sounds and healing balm, Griffin has this incredible voice that calms you and has so much atmosphere, pull, power and character. An amazing actor, Griffin is a new addition to BBC Radio 2 – and I hope she is there for years to come!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Ken Bruce

A different vibe to Angela Griffin’s show, Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s Kitchen Disco has given me and so many others a lot of lift and joy this year. The amazing artist put out her own kitchen discos through lockdown to entertain people and give them something nice to focus on. It is great it has come to BBC Radio 2. Michelle Visage gives Fridays a boost with her Party mixes and Handbag Hits. A wonderful curator of feelgood sounds, it is a wonderful way to jump into the weekend. Rylan Clark-Neal’s Rylan on Saturday is another terrific show. He is on before the legendary Liza Tarbuck. I listen to a bit of radio on Saturdays, and I always make sure I catch some of Clark Neal’s show, as he is such an excellent broadcaster with unparalleled energy levels! Fearne Cotton’s Sounds of the 90s is something I never miss. Coming to you Saturday evenings, Cotton’s love and knowledge of the 1990s is amazing! She is a broadcaster who has been on the radio for many years, but she seems to have found her paradise and natural home on BBC Radio 2 with her ‘90s show. I really love Claudia Winkleman, because she is a phenomenal presenter and talent. Her Saturday morning show is absolutely wonderful. There is no doubt that she is one of the best broadcaster around. So funny and fun, I do hope that Winkeman stays put for a very long time too - as her stunning shows never fail to deliver something absolutely remarkable and joyous.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Claudia Winkleman/PHOTO CREDIT: Matt Monfredi

I will end with a few people from BBC Radio 6 Music. I am a fan of BBC Radio 3, but I need to spend more time with it in 2023. Elizabeth Alker’s Unclassified is about an “exciting new generation of unclassified composers and performers, breaking free of the constraints of practice rooms and concert halls”. Alker is a superb broadcaster, and I remember her from the BBC Radio 6 Music days. Because of her, I have listened to BBC Radio 3 more, and got more into modern Classic music. I tend to stick with the sounds I am used to, so Alker has certainly broken me out of a rigid pattern! On the Asian Network, there are so many amazing personalities and broadcasters. I wanted to shout out Islah and Mehreen Baig and their shows. With great chemistry and connection, I have bonded with an entire network because of them (I am also a fan of the wonderful Nikita Kanda). There are so many great stations across BBC radio, so I will spend a lot more time next year keeping the dial flexible and being a lot more explorative and curious.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Islah and Mehreen Baig

I shall wrap things up with BBC Radio 6 Music. A station I listen to more than any other, I would urge anyone to tune into the station regular. I want to give a quick mention to Deb Grant, who has stood in for Chris Hawkins a fair few times this year. She is an incredible broadcaster that one can hear on Jazz FM, and I hope BBC Radio 6 Music make her a permanent fixture very soon – as she is held in high esteem by the listeners. One of the hardest working people in radio, Chris Hawkins’ early morning show is a definite favourite. Hawkins has stood in for Craig Charles during the afternoon this year, and the man never seems to tire! He is one of the station’s finest talents, as he has been with BBC Radio 6 Music since it started life in 2002. A stellar and hugely professional broadcaster, everyone needs to hear Hawkins’ show. Jamz Supernova has been sitting in for Mary Anne Hobbs lately, but both of these broadcasters are jewels in the BBC radio crown. Different in terms of their style, they are equally wonderful and valuable. The man the legend Craig Charles gives us plenty of spirit and brilliance weekday afternoons. With his incredible team, he is someone I have a lot of affection for. Radcliffe and Maconie bring their decades-lasting partnership to weekend breakfast. They have been with BBC Radio 6 Music for years, and we all hope that they are there for a very long time more. With features like The Chain, and Stretch Armsong, they have created this haven and world for us to escape in and discover a lot of brilliant music. I want to finish off the BBC Radio 6 Music section by mentioning Matt Everitt’s The First Time with…, where he speaks with artists about their musical ‘firsts’. A terrific broadcaster, here is someone else who has been at BBC Radio 6 for years – he was formerly on Shaun Keaveny’s afternoon show – and is going to be there for a lot longer.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Chris Hawkins

I will wrap up now. I have mentioned the broadcasters and shows I listen to but, to be fair, every name and face across BBC Radio deserves respect and acclaim. That extends to local radio. Such a fountain of diversity and comfort, I have found myself listening to BBC radio more and more the past few years. Against the horrors and uncertainty in the world, the sheer range and mix of shows available across their networks has been so important. I think I speak for so many. From legends of broadcasting to newer names who you know will be making amazing steps for decades, it is exciting to see what next year brings. With so much talent and range from the broadcasters across the BBC, there is something for everyone! Credit to for the amazing producers who help bring shows together. At a challenging time, BBC radio has been such a stable and reliable place we can all good. Whether it is to find community, great new music, documentaries or news, I wanted to highlight just some of those amazing broadcasters that work so tirelessly and passionately. I keep using that word ‘passion’, as that seems to be the most obvious connection here! Broadcasters absolutely dedicated to the station and their listeners. It leaves me to offer a huge thanks to the…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Jamz Supernova

BRILLIANT BBC radio.

FEATURE: Kate Bush and 2022: Part One: The Deal with God…

FEATURE:

 

 

Kate Bush and 2022: Part One 

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

The Deal with God…

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I will break this into two features…

 PHOTO CREDIT: ZIK Images/United Archive

as it is hard to combine everything that has happened to Kate Bush this year into one! The second feature will look at books and magazine features about her, in addition to a rare interview and new fans and musicians discovering her work. This one is about Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) and how it has almost brought her out of some sort of hibernation. Most people know about the classic from 1985’s Hounds of Love, but there was an audience that discovered it through its appearance on Netflix’s Stranger Things. There have been other things that have got Bush’s music back to the fore and in the spotlight. One cannot underestimate how this one song going to number one and setting records has transformed things. It has meant other songs have come to people’s attention. I think the whole ‘Kate Bush Effect’ is a thing that other artists hope to achieve. It would be insulting and unfair to say that Stranger Things resurrected her career or brought her to a younger audience. I think she is already widely known and extremely relevant, but this one track captured the imagination and gave her a deserved number one (it originally reached three in the U.K.). Named the U.K.’s Song of the Summer, and with Bush understanding how mad things are, the impact this classic song has made in 2022 is wonderful to see:

“Kate Bush has scored an improbable and inspiring No 1 in the UK singles chart, with Running Up That Hill reaching the top 37 years after the song was released.

The 1985 track has stormed domestic and global charts after its inclusion in the hit Netflix series Stranger Things last month, introducing it to a new generation of fans.

Bush has broken three UK chart records with her No 1 placing. She is the oldest woman to top the chart, while 37 years is the longest time a song has taken to get to No 1, beating Wham!, whose Last Christmas finally made it in January 2021.

Bush also has the longest gap between No 1 singles, with 44 years elapsed since her debut, Wuthering Heights (Tom Jones was the previous record holder at 42 years). Running Up That Hill reached No 3 when it was originally released.

“It’s hard to take in the speed at which this has all been happening,” Bush, 63, said in a statement on her website earlier this week. “So many young people who love the show [are] discovering the song for the first time.

“The response to Running Up That Hill is something that has had its own energy and volition. A direct relationship between the shows and their audience and one that has stood completely outside of the music business. We’ve all been astounded to watch the track explode!” The song is currently at No 4 in the US, her highest-ever placing there.

The UK chart success of Running Up That Hill – currently achieving about 575,000 plays a day on Spotify in the UK and more than 6m a day on the platform globally – was aided by the waiver last weekend of a rule that determines how streams for older songs are tallied, sparking speculation that Bush has opened the gates for more vintage songs to return.

“Running Up That Hill has itself changed things as we know it,” pop chart analyst James Masterton told the Guardian. “This is the first time in the streaming era that a back-catalogue track has not only been spontaneously resurrected but has maintained its popularity over an extended period.

While football anthem Three Lions hit No 1 again during 2018’s European Championship, “it was gone from our lives a week later as a passing fad”, Masterton added.

“The Kate Bush song has become a genuine sustained smash hit, and for that reason it is appropriate that the rules are waived so it joins contemporary releases on a level playing field. That’s the true game-changer, as it lays down a precedent for other classics to do the same if circumstances merit”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

This feature is about the resonance and endurance not only of Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), but of Kate Bush’s music. It is not confined to decades or movements. There is a timelessness and adaptability that means it is being played and adored all these years later. NPR wrote why Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is a success now, despite it first being released in 1985:

“What the "Running Up That Hill" resurgence demonstrates, beyond the timelessness and craft of the song itself, is the extreme power of familiarity. For those of us who were kids in 1985, its return evokes childhood nostalgia. But it's not as if the song had been fully consigned to the distant past: It played a prominent role in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and Meg Myers' faithful 2019 cover has been a persistent presence in its own right. The original's return doesn't feel like a discovery, so much as a reminder.

The return of "Running Up That Hill" has a lot to say about the way songs help form our shared cultural language, even as we're siloed in a thousand other ways. The barriers to entry are low with songs, which require only access to a device on which to play them; we don't have to subscribe to Netflix, the way we do with Stranger Things, and we don't have to pay to sit in a movie theater, the way we do with, say, Top Gun: Maverick.

Songs live on the wind in ways other forms of entertainment simply can't”.

It is hard to put into words what it means for Kate Bush fans to see her doing so well. In the second part of this feature, I will look at her Woman’s Hour, in addition to the articles dedicated to her – plus a brilliant new book from Tom Doyle. If some feel that resurgence like this mean Kate Bush and other big acts take attention from smaller and newer acts, I will say that she has not orchestrated this. Bush said how crazy it is that she has got all this attention. Now, in December, Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)’s rise and dominance has subsided. Rather than it being this all-consuming and relentless juggernaut like some have painted it, it is a great moment for a legendary artist who some feel has retreated or is near to retirement. Whilst we do not know whether she will release another album, it is clear there is so much love out there for her. A whole new generation has found this amazing artist. I hope there has been proper explanation from them. Rather than sticking with Hounds of Love and not venturing beyond that, there is this whole world of wonder! Kate Bush has definitely dominated and owned 2022. I think that she will inspire a whole generation of upcoming artists, reach new fans in a very profound and real way, and prove beyond doubt that she is one of the greatest and most innovative artists ever. If she feel things have gone mad this year, it goes to show that her music has this incredible power and appeal. I think that there will be a lot more success and acclaim for Kate Bush in 2023. I think she should be very proud looking back on a year that ranks alongside the…

BEST and most important of her career.

INTERVIEW: Marina Laurendi

INTERVIEW:

Marina Laurendi

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FOR this interview…

I have been finding out more about the sensational and hugely talented Marina Laurendi. She brilliantly mixes elements of Indie Rock, vintage Pop, and singer-songwriter Folk that fits around lyrics that are both honestly personal yet accessible. With a dreamy soundscape blended with something edgier, her music is an intoxicating and compelling blend! A Western New York native, Laurendi relocated to N.Y.C. after college, where she initially worked as an actress Off-Broadway and the East Coast. Her music is heavily inspired by the rush and stories of the city, but I think her heart and soul pulls towards home. Laurendi finds inspiration from the music of the 1960s and artists such as Lana Del Rey, Hozier, and Phoebe Bridgers. I have been speaking to her about the video for her sensational track, Stay Mine, and the E.P. of the same name. Laurendi discusses her musical influences, how New York and Buffalo impact her music, what she has planned for 2023, and whether she might come to the U.K. and play soon. It has been a pleasure spending time with…

A truly superb artist.

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Hi Marina. How are you? How has your week been?

Hello! I’m doing well. This week has been busy. We’re going into the studio this weekend to record some new tracks - so it’s been a lot of rehearsing and planning on top of rehearsals for live shows.

Talk to me about your track, Stay Mine. There is a mix of desire and yearning together with something dreamy and vintage. What inspired you to write the track? Was it inspired by a real-life relationship, or was it more based around a more fictional wanderlust?

Well firstly, I really appreciate you picking up on all those things, because I think that was something I really wanted to get across in the production of the song. I have always had this sense of wanderlust and a curiosity for the world and different experiences. I’ve always been interested in traveling and it’s something I’m starting to do more but I’ve only scratched the surface so I find myself daydreaming about the places I want to go and the possibilities of what’s out there.

“It’s all about what could be”.

At the time I wrote the song, I was having these really interesting, deep intellectual conversations with someone who was really stimulating that part of my brain that just wanted to go live life and be free.  We never dated, but I think those talks sparked the realization in me of wanting a big life that’s full of new traditions. I want to find my way with someone who shares the same values and spirit as me. A lot of the times when I’m writing I’m using my life experience as a springboard for my imagination to go crazy and tell a story. I like things that are rooted in truth and reality but have a sense of freedom and fantasy. It’s all about what could be.

I love the video for the song! What was it like working alongside director Luke Haag on the shoot? How involved were you in the storyline of the video?

Thank you so much. Working with Luke was so great. I had looked really carefully and for a really long time for the right person to shoot this, and I had seen a video Luke shot for Fernway, another Buffalo band, and I immediately thought the way it was shot was so aesthetically beautiful and perfect for this project. I always wanted the story to focus on this couple and this '“can’t live without each other” kind of love, and we both really liked the idea of performing the song in certain moments, so we landed on this concept of snapshots of a relationship, intercut with performance moments.

We talked about having that element of nostalgia and restlessness, so choosing locations like the perfect dive bar, an old motel exterior, and tiny campfires gave it an intimate feel like these two people are living in their own world. Luke used this special lens to warm and soften the shots to give everything that subtle old-fashioned feel. It was one of the best collaborative experiences I’ve had, between Luke and the rest of our little team. We all just clicked and had so much fun which is why I think it turned out how it did.

Your music has been linked to artists like Lana Del Rey and Phoebe Bridgers. Are these artists that you would say are influences? What kind of sounds and music did you grow up listening to?

I’m a big fan of both Phoebe and Lana. What I’ve always loved about Lana’s music is that it’s dark, feminine, and unfiltered. She’s got this sad, romantic sort of “stand by your man” theme across her music, and a lot of music today is more “independent woman”, you know, you don’t need a man. Which you don’t. But it’s innately feminine to be in your feelings and to be emotional, and I love leaning into that softness and vulnerability in music. And really taking a lens to masculinity and romanticizing the good parts that feed your feminine power - I love that, and I lean into that when I write.

I grew up listening to all kinds of music: The Beatles, Queen, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, show tunes; so I had a lot of wildly different genres to impact my musical taste.

“I’ve spent the greater parts of my life in Buffalo and then New York, so they couldn’t help but find their way into my music in some form”.

I feel New York and specifically Buffalo are a big part of your direction. How important is the dichotomy of New York rush and the quieter Buffalo pace to your songwriting?

I think every place I go has an impact on my music. I just think of every place I’ve visited, and in the quiet moments there I would feel inspired not by my surroundings exactly. But I think it was the peace and calm of being somewhere new, where there were no expectations other than to show up, do my thing and not worry about the future or external stuff. I’ve spent the greater parts of my life in Buffalo and then New York, so they couldn’t help but find their way into my music in some form.

I really love the Stay Mine E.P. and have a new favourite song and moment each time I listen. Is there a particular track that stands out or you rank as your personal favourite?

I want to say Stay Mine, but I really have a soft spot for Upper East Side. It’s probably the most personal song I’ve ever written. I’m most proud of that song, because it felt like the end of a chapter for me and really letting go of something.

As amazing as you are as a solo artist, are there any artists that are on your dream collaboration list that you’d love to work with?

Hozier, The 1975, Phoebe Bridgers, Jack Antonoff, Lana, Lady Gaga - the list is endless.

The reaction to the Stay Mine E.P. has been very positive, and you have had a busy 2022. What do you hope to achieve in 2023?

I really want to travel more and fuel my life and music with energy and purpose. I want it to be the most intentional year, so I want to get clear about my intentions and get specific.

You are playing New Year’s Eve at Nietzsche’s in Buffalo. How does it feel to be playing to live audiences after the pandemic and lockdowns? What is it like seeing that immediate reaction to your songs?

It’s so cool. Someone told me recently that they didn’t know how songwriters got up there and performed their material, because if people hated it they’d be mortified. And I guess I just don’t think of it, because I’m having too much fun to care when I’m playing live. Watching someone have fun and be wild onstage makes you have a good time. I get to go up there and dance and throw my body around and jump and release all this pent up energy, and I love it.

I know there are people who would love to see you and venues that would house you in the U.K. Have you any future plans to come and play over here?

I would love to come play in the U.K. I don’t have an international tour planned yet, but one day.

This year has been an extraordinary one for music. I think that women have been dominating and leading the way. What has been your standout album of 2022?

I’ve been loving Taylor Swift’s Midnights honestly.

Finally, you can pick any song you like to finish. It can be an old favourite or a new song. What should we play?

Play So Much Wine by Phoebe Bridgers! It’s what I am listening to at this very moment, so no time like the present…

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FEATURE: Looking Ahead… Songs from Albums Turning Fifty-Five in 2023

FEATURE:

 

 

Looking Ahead…

Songs from Albums Turning Fifty-Five in 2023

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KEEPING this run going…

I am spotlighting awesome albums celebrating big anniversaries. Now, I have arrived at albums turning fifty-five this year. 1968 was a huge year for music, and there is more than enough golden music to be heard below. I am looking forward to covering 1973 next, but let us continue here with a selection of simply brilliant albums turning fifty-five next year. Such a massive anniversary, these songs below are sublime! If you are not sure which great albums came out in 1968, then the playlist below gives you an idea of how awesome…

THE year was.

FEATURE: Looking Ahead… Songs from Albums Turning Sixty in 2023

FEATURE:

 

 

Looking Ahead…

Songs from Albums Turning Sixty in 2023

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KICKING off this run of features…

I am marking great albums celebrating big anniversaries. I am starting off with a playlist of songs from amazing albums turning sixty this year. 1963 was an important year for music, and there is more than enough wonder to be heard below. I am looking forward to covering 1968 next, but let us start with sensational albums turning sixty next year. Such a big anniversary, these songs below are wonderful. If you are not sure which great albums came out in 1963, then the playlist below gives you an idea of how stunning…

THE year was.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Abbie Ozard

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlotte Rudd

Abbie Ozard

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HAVING completed…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Preece

a tour to promote her excellent E.P., Water Based Lullabies, Abbie Ozard can settle back and celebrate a very successful year. The Manchester artist has been courting acclaim since 2019/2020, but I think this year has been one where she is on many people’s radar. A sensational talent who is creating amazing and timeless music, I think 2023 will be her biggest and most successful year. I am going to end with a review of her amazing new E.P. I want to drop some interviews in and sort of go chronologically. As was the case with so many artists, 2020 was a rotten year. As a rising talent and relatively new artist, it was hard for Ozard to make as big an impact as she’d hoped. The year after her Growing Pains EP was unleashed, she would have been looking forward to solid touring and getting out there – though that wasn’t to be unfortunately. Since then, Ozard has released some amazing singles and E.P.s including 2021’s let’s play pretend. One of the country’s brightest young artists, I want to explore her career more. I think Ozard’s sound and direction has changed slightly since 2019 and 2020, but I want to start with a 2020 interview from Yuck Magazine, where she talks about her parents’ musical tastes and her how lockdown affected her songwriting:

“Manchester’s Abbie Ozard catapults us into the opening scene of a 70s coming of age flick, through her self-proclaimed collection of ‘sad bangers.’ Developing an interest in music from a young age, she has since been thrown into the public consciousness after being signed to Modern Sky Entertainment UK and recently releasing the lo-fi pop track ‘TV Kween.’

The song puts a spin on the classic feel-good after school special vibe, and Ozard pulls no punches when commenting on 2020’s influencer culture. There’s a real honesty in her songwriting, offering an unapologetic, shoulders-back attitude to femininity. “When you’re laying on your bed and you’re scrolling through your phone, you see all of these sick people on Instagram,” Ozard begins, “you think to yourself ‘fuck sake, I’m still at home,’ or you look at yourself in the mirror of a bar thinking ‘who the fuck even am I?’ It’s inspired by that, the pressures of influencer culture now.”

Commenting on the lyric: ‘everybody wants to be famous, I play it cool, but I’ve not got the patience,’ she says: “I don’t really want to be famous, it just sounded like a cool little line, but I think everyone is fighting for attention all the time. It’s all very fake and boring.”

The zeitgeist of our times isn’t the only inspiration Ozard draws on. She winds back the clock looking to 20th-Century music and cinema, which has almost certainly rubbed off from her parents’ admiration for them. “My Mum loves The Breakfast Club and my Dad is a big Blondie fan,” she explains. “I think it all got in my head a bit. I love films like Juno and all those coming of age type films, so I guess that’s my favourite kind of style.”

Cutting her teeth on a songwriting course at Manchester’s BIMM, Ozard found inspiration more outside of the classroom than in. “I don’t think you can really teach songwriting, it’s more of a subjective thing,” she begins. “I was going out and getting pissed, and wasn’t writing as much as I would have liked to, but the personal experiences I had at university influenced my writing a lot more than the course.” Not alone in a sea of discontent towards higher studies, she was still able to express her creativity elsewhere, “all the people in my band are from BIMM, and my housemates studied music, so we’d all just chill downstairs and jam. So it was better for the people you met, you know?”

After a spur of confidence from her Bowie-loving Father persuading her to take the songs out of the bedroom, Ozard decided to take the leap of faith with her music and accept an offer to be signed with Modern Sky Entertainment UK. “I released the single and from that Dave [Pichilingi] approached me and was like ‘I wanna fuckin’ sign you!’ [heavy Scouse accent impersonation],” she begins. “I thought I could stay independent and do it all myself, but I’m a dosy bitch, I’ve got no idea about money or anything. I’d rather just concentrate on writing my songs.”

Forced apart by lockdown restrictions, the usual songwriting process had to take a new turn, as Ozard and co-producer Rich Turvey [Blossoms, Vistas] took to facetime to squeeze in those crucial creative hours. “We wrote the song over Facetime during lockdown,” she says, “it was our first facetime writing sesh, it was so weird. We both have our guitars, he can hear me and I can hear him, so we just crack on.”

Despite the struggles of the pandemic, the creative process is not halted and ‘sad bangers’ continue to be written: “they eventually develop and you then realise that you’ve actually written a song that’s very personal, without specifically saying how you feel. ‘On A Low’ was on my own, so it’s a bit more sad and slow. It’s always good to mix it up though.”

Ozard has rightfully garnered interest from tastemakers at BBC Introducing and Radio 6Music, playing a number of festivals before lockdown hit and is certain to appear on more line-ups when (if) the time comes again. The growing pains are surely over for Ozard now with an impressive collection of tracks under her belt. Watch this space”.

I love the fact that Abbie Ozard was surrounded by his great and eclectic music in her family house. As DORK discovered in 2021, her musical beginnings were quite different to what they are now. If she is a Folk artists with Pop sensibilities now, there was a time when something more choral and classical was in her life:

“Surrounded by the sounds of the 80s, David Bowie and The Cure growing up in a family home in love with music, Abbie’s first steps to stardom involved stepping into… a cathedral? “Yeah, like a cathedral choir,” she laughs. “It was classical music at the start but then as I got older, when I was 13, I was like fuck it, don’t want to do any of this classical stuff anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind whacking a bit of it on now, but I started kinda listening to folk-y music and that, and it went from there.” A love of artists including Bon Iver and, in particular, Bombay Bicycle Club soon followed and it became the base for Abbie’s early forays into songwriting.

That “base of folk” as Abbie puts it poured together in no time. “I’ve realised that when I’m dead happy, I find it really hard to write, like it’s so frustrating. PLEASE someone have a go at me, get me out of this happiness!” Songs began to flourish from the emo poems she’d write down after school. “I was 17 and had my first breakup, and I didn’t know what to do,” Abbie remembers. “I wrote and wrote, and it helped me make this product out of me just being a mess.”

2019’s ‘Growing Pains’ EP was a bubbling introduction to a songwriter having fun with the world around her. Combining lo-fi bliss with pure pop sensibilities, it was an early sign that Abbie was a voice bound to make a mark. Last year’s standout croon ‘TV Kween’ is the track Abbie points to as a perfect snapshot of where she is now. “Before, the whole genre wasn’t really solidified. With ‘Growing Pains’, it was like right okay – I’m going to make a little EP that’s a chapter on everything’s that happened in that year and the pains of growing up basically. It was a little experiment really, compared to what I was doing before. With this next EP, it’s basically that on steroids”.

“Like ‘TV Kween’ was done over Zoom, and that’s been my favourite one so far. After that I was like, right, I love this vibe. I wanna stick with this for a bit and see where it goes. Like it feels like I’ve found my sound, though saying that I’ll probably end up getting bored and trying something different in the future, which is fine. That’s the fun of music, you can do what you want.”

While those live moments that the ‘Let’s Play Pretend’ EP scream out for may be on pause, there’s no doubt that Abbie’s future seems destined for those grand occasions. Early nights supporting whenyoung are ones Abbie can directly point to as inspiring her to write songs that “absolutely slap live”, but with a wealth of material that also pulls from those early folk routes – predict what comes next from Abbie at your peril. “I have this SoundCloud playlist of all these sad demos that I just haven’t released,” cracks Abbie. “I keep thinking that nobody can ever hear these, just so sad and no laffs at all, but I may slip a few of these in next time…

“I just want to get to a place where every day can be music, and things to do. To play a show, eat some pizza and then get back on it again. I want to meet people who love music and chat to them. I want to make people feel better with whatever people are going through. That’s the aim really, to make people feel better.”

Abbie breaks out another smile. “I don’t think I’ll ever stop… don’t really have a choice! Might as well have a listen, eh?!”.

By the start of this year, Ozard had confirmed herself as one of the most arresting and consistent artists around. I am looking forward to seeing her career grow and expand even more. Water Based Lullabies is another amazing release from the Manchester artist. I guess sit begs the question as to whether a debut album is the next step for her. The Line of Best Fit chatted with Ozard earlier in the year. One of the most interesting segments talked about the fact Ozard has not been able to tour much to date:

“Mentions of family and growing up as the youngest child are peppered throughout Water Based Lullabies. It was with her family in Manchester where Ozard’s mish-mash of influences from McFly to Mazzy Star spawned, and today, she can still be seen lending a hand at the family café on a Friday. “I haven’t had any fans pop in yet!” Ozard laughs. Yet, despite not having fully flown from the clutches of the café, Ozard is on her way to achieving her ambition of making music a full-time career – and so too are many of her Manchester contemporaries.

So, what’s the secret behind the city’s musical talent? “Probably just being northern!” Ozard suggests. “I think everything is more rough and ready, which is quite a good thing. I’m not shitting on people from down south at all, but everyone here is so focused on what they’re doing and there’s a sense of community surrounding it all as well. You don’t have to move to London to do music anymore, which is exciting.”

To achieve the authentic vision Ozard strived for in her Water Based Lullabies, she had to overcome self-imposed barriers. Apprehensive that “nobody would listen” to tracks such as “Grown”, a tender ballad on a broken relationship, or her favourite Coldplay-esque track “Norway”, confidence was required for Ozard to hone in on the sadness that characterises her artistry – and the artists she loves most.

“Most of the time, I tend to listen to sad, depressing music from people like Phoebe Bridgers, but I was almost too scared to release those kinds of songs,” Ozard reveals. However, with its contrasting dynamics from pop banger “Pisces” to the dreamy “Rose Tinted”, Ozard has conquered her fears. And with it, there’s a newfound maturity evident in her songwriting. “With Water Based Lullabies, lyrically, everything is quite deep – but it comes in peaks and troughs,” she says. “I’ve tried to be as honest as I can with the lyrics and I think it tells listeners more personal details about me than they’ll have heard before. It’s quite open, which is scary too.”

Recently, Ozard spoke about the treatment of some record labels encouraging artists to upload excessively to TikTok. It’s a problem plaguing many up and coming artists such as Ozard today with the changing landscape of the music industry. Ozard admits that her own relationship with social media “isn’t great”, but has mixed opinions on the impact it’s having on artists today.

“Personally, there’s no pressure coming from my label for me to make TikToks and things like that, which is why I like working with indie labels,” Ozard explains. “However, on my days off, I find that I spend so much time making TikToks, which means less time for writing. I feel like artists getting signed from 10-15 second clips on TikTok could pose problems for the music industry. I think I go on it too much and I compare myself to other artists a lot too. Everyone does it, you know? There’s a lot of pressure from that end, but a lot of the time though, I do find it fun. It’s just hard not to become obsessed with it.”

Live shows have been a bit of an inconsistent fixture in Ozard’s musical career to date (through no fault of her own, though). Plans for her first UK headline tour have been side-lined on numerous occasions due to the pandemic. But off the back of a stellar Glastonbury performance, this December marks the end of Ozard’s wait for a headline tour. “I feel like the tour is coming at a good time,” says Ozard. “It’s been pushed back for two years but I’d rather it be perfect than rushing into doing it. I’m looking forward to Manchester the most, and London. I’d also say Glasgow as well. We played at St Luke’s a few months ago and we had the nicest promoter there. We even got fed, which was great!”

With three distinct EPs in the bag, can Ozard now begin to set her sights on a debut album? “I’ve got it laid out in my head, but I want to start thinking about where I want to go with it,” she ponders. “I think Water Based Lullabies is a really good direction of where I’m heading next. When I’m ready, in my head, it’ll be there!”.

Before ending on a review for Water Based Lullabies, there is a great feature from Atwood Magazine from this year. Maybe her most Pop-driven offering yet (?), the sheer quality and confidence finds her stepping up a gear and cementing her brilliance:

“Captivating and charismatic, anxious and unfiltered, Abbie Ozard’s third EP is an utter thrill: A radiant outpouring of dynamic passion and stirring emotion all wrapped up in fuzzy indie pop fever dream. From angst-ridden upheavals and stirring inner reckonings to resonant anthems of empowerment, the Manchester singer/songwriter soars high and true with seven tracks that inspire the mind and invigorate the soul. As charged as it is charming, Water Based Lullabies captures Ozard’s raw energy and irresistible allure, cementing her place as one of the UK’s most exciting up-and-comers.

What’s the point in growing up

When each day you give less of a f-

Meditate they say

It’ll take the pain away

while you suffocate (I’d rather medicate)

Now I’m trying my best to translate

The emotional cocktail pouring out of my brain

And I’m trying my best to keep it at bay

Put it on the shelf for a rainy day

But I can’t, and it feeds my anxiety,

Takes the best of me

Hoovers up my fun

Leaves me feeling like a liability

Listen to my favourite song

And now everything is rose tinted…

Everything is rosey everything is great

I love my life I love my dog

So wrapped up in a bubble for a moment I forgot

– “Rose Tinted,” Abbie Ozard

Released July 1, 2022. via House Anxiety, Water Based Lullabies is an inspiring, energizing aquatic-themed reverie. Following her 2019 debut Growing Pains EP and 2021’s follow-up, let’s play pretend, Abbie Ozard’s roaring and resounding new seven-track EP sees her embracing a vast range of stories, sounds, and styles: From the explosive indie rocker “Candy Blue” to the post-punk strut of “Rose Tinted” and the churning, cathartic, and contemplative rush of “Grown,” Water Based Lullabies is an achingly intimate and unapologetically expressive eruption from the artist’s innermost depths.

Deeply vulnerable lyrics and hard-hitting sonics ensure a spellbinding journey throughout this tight, triumphant 20-minute experiece. Ozard cites artists like Phoebe Bridgers and Wolf Alice, Lorde and Colouring as some of her current influences – and just like all of the above, she truly holds nothing back in her songwriting. “I love that no two of my singles are sounding the same in this era,” she shares. “The last thing I want to be is predictable. I feel like genre isn’t really a thing anymore and when I remind myself of that I feel like I can express myself creatively and have the freedom to make whatever music I want”.

I will finish up with a review from Clunk Mag. Water Based Lullabies has quite rightly received so many glowing reviews. Albums get preference when it comes to attention and the end-of-year lists. I think E.P.s are very important, and Water Based Lullabies ranks alongside the absolute finest of 2022:

“From the first dreamy strains of ‘Pisces’, Abbie Ozard‘s latest EP ‘Water Based Lullabies’ sweeps in, picks you up and transports you to somewhere beautiful. The wavy synth and bouncing bass line create the flowing river that Abbie Ozard‘ sweet, vulnerable sounding vocals ride along on with lyrics like “I’m a Pisces so I’m not sure your energy’s for me” lending further lightness to an already breezy song.

When ‘Candy Blue’ comes bursting in with a flurry of drums, it grabs your attention in an instant before Abbie Ozard‘s special blend of dream pop sweeps through and carries the rest of the song. Songs like ‘Comfy’ and ‘Grown’ slow the pace but are no less charming and special. ‘Comfy’ with its wonky guitar sounding like it’s being played through a warped vinyl complimenting Abbie’s vocals wonderfully and ‘Grown’ leaning a little to the left with a harmoniser on the vocals and various instruments drifting in and out creating a cinematic quality to the song.

‘Fizzy’ plays almost like a sweeter Pale Waves with scuzzy guitars in the chorus creating a huge chorus that can’t help but satisfy a live crowd. With each song having its own unique identity, ‘Water Based Lullabies’ is sown together by Abbie Ozard’s gorgeously sweet and raw voice and flawless knack for writing indie pop gems.

Much like Lauran Hibberd, there is something about Abbie Ozard’s music that is not only dripping with cool but feels totally unique to her. All hail the future of dreamy indie pop”.

With so many great songs under her belt, I feel Abbie Ozard will tour quite extensively last year. She has just completed some U.K. dates, but I think there is a possibility of international dates in 2023. I am going to wrap up soon. Go and check out Abbie Ozard, as she is a stunning talent and someone who is being talked about as a huge artist of the future. I would not be surprised to see her feature heavily during festival season next year. I am sure she is not getting ahead of herself, but Ozard should prepare herself for an explosion. If you do not have Ozard’s music in your life, then that is something that you need to correct! Someone bound for huge glory next year, here is someone that…

WE all should all follow.

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FEATURE: Wouldn’t It Be Nice… Innovative and Fascinating New Music Videos for Classic Songs

FEATURE:

 

 

Wouldn’t It Be Nice…

IN THIS PHOTO: The Beach Boys in an outtake for the Pet Sounds shoot at San Diego Zoo in February 1966/PHOTO CREDIT: George Jerman

Innovative and Fascinating New Music Videos for Classic Songs

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MAYBE it is not a new phenomenon…

IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles in 1966/PHOTO CREDIT: Robert Whitaker

but I have been stunned recently but music videos scoring classic songs. I think there is still a generational divide where certain people are not aware of songs from the 1960s and 1970s that the likes of me and my parents are fully conscious of. Radio does play these songs but, as stations have demographics and they may not feature these songs, I do wonder what the best way is to bring these masterpieces to the younger listeners. For me, music videos have been a great and effective way of making songs stick. Original videos for classic songs might be a bit poor in terms of the picture quality, or the concept might be basic. I think this is especially true of songs from the 1960s. Of course, it is costly creating new videos for songs that are not going to make money or have any modern design and desire! There is a particular reason I bring this up. Two bands have been back in my mind for different reasons. In fact, these bands competed with each other in the 1960s and created some of the finest music ever released. The Beatles recently saw their 1966 album, Revolver, given the deluxe treatment. Reissued and added with extras, there were new promotional videos for some of the songs – including songs that were not originally released as singles. One especially effective and stunning video was for I’m Only Sleeping. A song led by John Lennon, I don’t think there would have been the same animation technology in the 1960s to equal what has come out in 2022!

An animation video that is trippy and is almost like a painting melting, Em Cooper directs this wonderfully realised vision of the song. To me, it is what The Beatles would have been thinking if they were to release a video in 1966. Not only have I got a renewed interest in I’m Only Sleeping, but I would love to see each song on the album given a new video. That would be costly but, considering Here, There and Everywhere and Taxman also have videos, it is not such a stretch. There is no danger of legendary and iconic bands ands artists fading from view or being overlooked by young generations. I do feel the way music is passed down between parent and child is different and maybe less frequent than it was decades back. There are so many wonderful songs from the 1960s and 1970s (and before and after obviously) that are ubiquitous or at least very well-known by a certain generation, but they may be fresh or undiscovered by others. Are they going to stumble upon them by themselves? As I mentioned, there are cost and logistical issues with dipping into the decades and randomly making videos for classic songs. The Beatles’ Revolver has a special edition released, so there was call for promotion and these amazing videos. Looking at comments online and on YouTube, many have stumbled upon songs like I’m Only Sleeping and Taxman because of these new videos.

The power of the visuals against the timeless song is a potent and intoxicating combination. If not a sure-fire way to recruit new minds to these older songs, the videos for The Beatles’ gems are a great way of visualising them in a new way. The Beatles’ videos of the mid-‘60s were actually quite advanced and filmic. Given the relative technological limitations of the time, their videos are as impressive and forward-thinking as their music. As Magical Mystery Tour has not been reissued, I am not sure whether we will get videos for I Am the Walrus, Penny Lane, Strawberry Fields Forever or The Fool on the Hill. Whether you mark the U.S. or U.K. double E.P., it is fifty-five. It is a good time to celebrate this work! In terms of the videos for The Beatles’ reissues, they have been largely animated if memory serves. With only two surviving band member left (Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr), you’d have to find other actors anyway to ‘represent’ the band. I think the animation styles and choices made to represent these songs has been spot on. It has given us the chance to see the great work of talented directors and see these songs in a very different way. I was so blown away by I’m Only Sleeping’s new video, that it made me think about how it has brought hidden layers and visions from the original! By seeing the video, I am sure that many – who were not aware of the song – would have looked for Revolver and discovered that.

Another band that have released a series of videos for some of their best-known songs are The Beach Boys. I will embed a couple here. The first three in a four-video mini-series. Unlike The Beatles’ animated approach, The Beach Boys’ Barbara Ann, Don’t Worry Baby, Wouldn’t It Be Nice and God Only Knows are used to soundtrack this story arc of two young sweethearts. I first saw the new video for Don’t Worry Baby, and I was not sure what it was being used for. Again, I was blown away by the direction and new interpretation. Here are some more details about the exciting project:

“Four classic Beach Boys songs are the soundtrack of a new, unprecedented four-part video series that builds into one long dramatic narrative. Each film can also be enjoyed individually. The series begins today with a new video for “Barbara Ann,” available to view on the Beach Boys official YouTube channel.

The cinematic story is directed by Andrew Litten, whose credits include Anderson .Paak, Pusha T, and Earth, Wind & Fire, and was filmed in South Africa with a local cast of actors. In the spirit of the timeless songs they illustrate, the narrative of the films captures young love, tracing a high school romance between the surfing-obsessed Helena (played by Zoe Manoek) and aspiring photographer and new kid in town Lucas (Toby De Goede). It addresses the difficult decisions each must make as graduation day approaches and their futures beckon.

“Barbara Ann” introduces Helena, a young teen who spends her days daydreaming about surfing and escaping from her small town. The story of Lucas, who moves to town with his father, will be told in the next video, “Don’t Worry Baby,” which follows tomorrow (10) at 9am PT.

The following videos in the series are “Wouldn’t It Be Nice” (premiering next Friday, September 16 at 9am PT), which portrays the relationship between Helena and Lucas; and “God Only Knows” (September 17 at 9am PT), in which their young love reaches a crossroads as the end of high school comes near.

Each of the episodes focuses on an element of the escapism sought by the protagonists as they stand at the intersection of innocence and adulthood. They mirror the sentiments of indelible songs written when the Beach Boys were teenagers and young adults themselves.

Says Listen: “A recurring theme throughout the Beach Boys’ music is the feeling of being young and in love. Their most iconic songs were written when they were between the ages of 15 to 21, so there’s this exciting view on life that’s immortalized in their lyrics. I wanted to do the same with the music videos by capturing the spontaneity and playfulness of being a teenager, fantasizing about the future, pursuing new passions, and falling in love.

“I wanted to capture the feeling after your first kiss or how it felt leaving home for college,” the director continues.”Each video builds on itself to become one long narrative but it was also very important that each video could stand on its own. If you’re watching chronologically, you become more invested in the characters.” The videos also contain several hidden “Easter eggs” that further salute the legacy of the Beach Boys”.

Normally, the way one might see classic tracks visualised for the screen is through film and T.V. This is an invaluable way to showcase these songs to a new audience. I am interested in the four songs that were chosen for this Beach Boys project. They flow together nicely, and each of the videos push the story forward. Two groups that share similarities have seen their work given a new spin in very different ways. It is not only music of the ‘60s that could be included in any future plans. I just like the way songs I am very familiar with have dug deep and surprised me because of the videos. I am sure there are people who have never heard the songs that are discovering them now. I do wonder if you have a different relationship with the track depending on whether you hear it on the radio or see the video. We could all rattle off these beautiful older songs that would benefit from new videos. Bands or artists who could have their own four-song cycle/project. Maybe you’d have to wait for an album reissue or an anniversary, but a new spin and lick of paint can do wonders for tracks some take for granted and think they know everything about – and some people do not even know about them to begin with! The Beatles and The Beach Boys’ videos are astonishing, so I am fascinated to see whether anything similar happens in 2023 for another act. By the end of the Beach Boys’ video series, I was transfixed! Check out the video for God Only Knows too, as it is a wonderful tribute to…

THIS genius track.

FEATURE: For the New Generation of Kate Bush Fans… Why You Need to Explore Her Whole Discography

FEATURE:

 

 

For the New Generation of Kate Bush Fans…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989

Why You Need to Explore Her Whole Discography

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HEADING through December…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Guido Harari

I am going to do one or two Christmas-themed features around Kate Bush. There will be a gift-buying guide, a piece about a track, Home for Christmas. I will also look back on her 2022 and everything she has achieved. I will also do one or two more deep cut dives – where I look at great songs that do not get much attention -, and I will also start features around the forty-fifth anniversary of The Kick Inside (on 20th January). I don’t think it is possible or the full story if fans stick with one album or they are too beholden to a particular period. As I have said numerous times this year, Bush’s music has found a whole new generation because of the Netflix series, Stranger Things. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is a well-known song that is played regularly on radio. It does seem that many people did not know about the track, so the show has put it in their lives. Because of this, Hounds of Love (the song the album is from) has regained a giant amount of popularity and focus. It is no surprise that The Guardian recently recommended 1985’s Hounds of Love as the gateway Kate Bush aolbum – the one that fans should start with:

“With a catalogue as rich and deep as Kate Bush’s, it feels almost too easy to recommend her best-known and biggest-selling album as a first point of contact. But her most famous album is also her best. It has all the strangeness, density and boldness of 1982’s The Dreaming – it variously involves Tennyson, Wilhelm Reich, Gregorian chant, Irish jigs and a song about maternal love written from the point of view of a murderer – but allied to more directly appealing music.

Running Up That Hill didn’t become a No 1 single earlier this year just because it was featured in Stranger Things, but because it combines a stunning melody with a curious atmosphere that buries itself under your skin. To make commercially successful music this complex and fascinating takes unique skill; so does making music that exists so apart from anything else happening at the time that it inhabits its own space: Kate Bush’s genius in miniature. AP”.

I do think that this album is a masterpiece, but I still think there is too much weight on it. Other albums get overlooked. For instance, if you want an album that introduces her music and provides a good starting place, I will say 1978’s The Kick Inside. There are so many brilliant albums that paint the full picture of Bush’s talent and songwriting. I know that, by looking at streaming figures, songs from a few of her album have boosted their numbers. I am curious whether many of the new fans (mainly Gen Z) even know about 1978’s Lionheart, 1980’s Never for Ever, and 1982’s The Dreaming? Those albums are each unique and steppingstones to Hounds of Love. They are very strong and varied, offering treats and new layers of her music. It is all well having a gateway album but, as I have also mentioned before, if it the most acclaimed and popular album, then does that mean people peak too soon? Also, if you have the best album, are you going to explore beyond that? Not to say that everyone who is new to Kate Bush will stick with Hounds of Love, but there are distinct early and later periods either side of that album that are remarkable. The fortieth anniversary of The Dreaming this year was a reminder of how underrated and important it is. Influencing so many artists, I think that it would resonate and connect with young listeners. The same could be said of later albums like Aerial (2005) and 50 Words for Snow (2011).

In the same way many critics and people defined Kate Bush in 1978 on the strength of her debut album, many now might have a very limited and misleading perspective if they remain on Hounds of Love. Rarities and B-sides provide eccentric gems and lost classics. It may be harder for young listeners to afford the vinyl copies of Bush’s albums. They may well buy one, and that is likely to be Hounds of Love. Streaming means there is access to pretty much everything! A few of the B-sides are not on Spotify, but you can get them on YouTube and other sites. I will do a Christmas feature recommending books and albums to buy, but I would say to be bold and adventurous. I can listen to Never for Ever or Hounds of Love and get one experience. I then spin The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993) and there is something else. A new experience. Each album charts that stage in Kate Bush’s career, and gives you that broader impression. Many not diving right into whole albums and doing them all in a single day, I would say to start at the beginning and then spend time with each album going forward. Find out about Bush’s B-sides, because I feel knowing one song or clinging to Hounds of Love denies you of so much treasure and context. Start exploring today because you will find that there is…

SO much wonder to discover.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Carrie Baxter

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

  

Carrie Baxter

__________

DETERMINED to feature…

as many great rising artists in this feature as I can before the end of the year, I think that Carrie Baxter is someone who should be known and heard by more people. An amazing artist with such an incredible voice, I am going to come to an interview from this year. Before coming to an interview from last year, here is a feature from Tileyard. Baxter talks about her background, in addition to how important the Tileyard Education experience was for her:

“Tell us about your background, your upbringing, and your introduction into the world of music.

I’m from Waterford City in Southern Ireland. My hometown is very special to me despite me not being based there anymore. I think firstly it’s impossible to be from Ireland and not inherently pick up some form of love for music. The country is very rhythmical and built on storytelling which is why I love writing lyrics so much. My family were and still are very musical. A lot of my family either play or sing and I have to say they have great taste in music. You will rarely be in my house without some form of music on.

How did you get into music production, songwriting, and performance?

I’ve been writing lyrics / poems for as long as I can remember. They only turned into songs when someone bought me a guitar for Christmas one year and I sort of taught myself some chords and started piecing structures together. That lasted a few years, then I found electronic music and started top-lining over various beats – that’s when I really found my flow. Performance came from my childhood; I trained in acting and musical theatre so I’ve been on stage for a long time.

What were some of the barriers you experienced, or still do experience, as a ‘female producer/performer’?

I think I’ve entered the industry at a really exciting and supportive time for women as there is a lot of brilliant people doing fantastic things to push the needle forward and shine light where there previously was none. I can only comment on myself as a writer in the room and as an artist showing up in a male dominant workplace and say that it’s very important to be able to stand your ground and say what you think. Having confidence in your own ideas and abilities is imperative.

How was your experience of Tileyard Education, and how did this teach you the knowledge and life skills needed to be in the industry?

It’s not an understatement when I say studying at Tileyard Education changed my life. When I started at Tileyard my songwriting and understanding of the craft really went up a level. Having people around all the time that I could ask for advice or guidance was invaluable and getting constant feedback from my peers was priceless.

What can we look forward to hearing from you in the next few months / year from your creativity?

I’m not even sure what to expect from my creativity next. I’m hoping to continue working on the multiple different projects that I’ve got going on. Dance music, R&B, Bassline etc. I’m thankfully playing a lot of live shows and just figuring out what I want to do next!”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Meara Kallista Morse

Carrie Baxter has released a series of wonderful singles this year. Last year, the incredible mixtape/long E.P., What Now. Differing from her previous E.P., Placebo, it was a step up from the Waterford artist. I am looking forward to next year to see if there is an album or another E.P. coming. WONDERLAND. chatted with Baxter about What Now. Residing in London, it is clear that the city has had an impact on her sound, production and direction:

“With everything that happened last year, how was your creativity affected?

My creativity had its ups and downs like everyone I guess. One day I would write loads and the next I was freaking out that I had lost my “spark” lol I did feel a bit nuts in lockdown.

How did you first get into music, what sparked the interest?

Well I guess firstly there is no denying the presence and history of music, storytelling & rhythm in Ireland, it feels natural to love music, almost an inherited love for it. I grew up in a very musical family, there was always decent music on in my house growing up and a lot of my family were/ are musicians and I was encouraged to play from a young age. I don’t think I realised how much I loved music until I hit my teenage years when I found Hip-Hop.

And you’re from Ireland but moved to London, do you think this change impacted your sound in anyway?

Yeah 100%. I’ve lived in London for around 12 years now so the city is part of me as much as my home is. I didn’t start writing music until I came to London and so I would say my taste in sounds has been completely shaped here in comparison to perhaps the narratives I reflect on which is across the board from growing up in Ireland to living in the fast lane in London.

You’ve just dropped your EP “What Now”, talk us through your mindset approaching the project?

I co-wrote this whole project with my friend GRAMM. It’s been so close to us for so many years I guess I have to jog my memory back to when we started it a couple of years ago because finishing it was an almighty stress in the middle of another lockdown and him not being in the same country as me. We just wanted it to be a total amalgamation of how we hear music together.

Who would you say inspires you?

Lots of people in different ways. Some inspire me to keep swimming, some inspire me to write music. I guess the most obvious answer is people who are already achieving what I want but more so everyone in my inner circle. They all share similar qualities that I like to keep around me.

What are you most excited for? What’s next for you?

Most of the work I have put out over the last 2 years has been written about the past or were made in the past and released quite a bit later on. I feel like I’m starting with a blank canvas in 2022 – like damn, I have to get to know myself again, what sounds do I like now, what do I have to say now, do I want to work with more people, less people – who knows- all of these questions – it feels daunting and exciting all at the same time. Hopefully some more live opportunities too – that would be nice – I miss singing live”.

I will wrap things up with an interview from this year. ReVamp spoke with Baxter about a successful year. Since her debut single arrived in October 2019, she has built her fanbase and established herself as an incredible artist with a big future. She is someone that people need to be aware of:

“Thanks for talking to ReVamp Carrie, when you were growing up, who are you inspired by in the music world?

A lot of different people really. Like most young girls at that time I was in love with the Spice girls, then as I hit teenage hood I really went heavy into hip hop & R&B. My house was a hub of music really, my family were the ones who gave me Norah Jones, Fleetwood Mac, Anita Baker & Van Morrison.

You are a fan favourite thanks to your ‘Honesty' and the ‘Straightforwardness’.. was this always something you wanted to achieve when creating your songs?

I didn't really set out to achieve anything, its just how I am as a person so I guess it translates quiet naturally into my writing. I enjoy writing made up stories too but writing is healing for me so I don't have an option not to be.

You have a live version of your single ‘You’, what made you decide to perform this single completely unfiltered?

It's just something I've always wanted to do. Me and a piano, one take, simple and classic. I had to write a song that I felt warranted this treatment haha and I love the lyrics on You so it was an easy choice to finally do it with this track. I'm a huge fan of space in music so I enjoyed being able to sing it with no distractions.

What is the song about and when people listen to it, what do you want them to feel?

The song was written for my friends wife actually, he wrote the chord progression and brought it to me asking me to write a song for her - from his perspective (he's not a singer lol ) and this came out. Unconditional love, soul mates. I'd like to think people feel peace for 3 mins.

On the day of writing and recording, can you talk me through the process?

We pretty much wrote that song is 1 go. We went back and forth on the chorus melody for MONTHS ! I'm not one to change my mind on my first idea a lot of the time so we eventually landed back on the original. We got Alex Tierney on board to add BVS to the hook and he subsequently ended up writing the final outro/bridge section. Recording is a pretty similar process for me - I don't usually do many takes - I didn't on the original and also the live version was pretty much the same. Nathan - my friend who plays the keys in the video literally turned up a few hours before we sang through it and then hit record.

What is next for you?

A very busy 6 months ahead, lots of festivals, an irish tour, a london show anddd perhaps a surprise release (or 2)”.

I know Carrie Baxter is going to have a fantastic 2023. Recent singles like Selfish are among the best of this year. Having said how she’d like people to get a sense of her personality when they play the music, I think that does come through. You get so many different emotions and shades. Growing bigger and more assured with everything she releases, Carrie Baxter is an artist who will be reaching a huge audience…

NEXT year.

______________

Follow Carrie Baxter

 Official:

https://www.carriebaxtermusic.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/iamcarriebaxter/

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/iamcarriebaxter

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/052GxJJYMQVVqXRsZfORK1?si=RmWaycrYQAONXkpI8E1RUw&dl_branch=1&nd=1

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrfyg_O7oFTugzsYjHJITPA/videos

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/carriebaxtermusic/

FEATURE: The Headline Stays the Same: Get Your Acts Together! Is Gender Inequality at Festivals Going to Pervade in 2023?

FEATURE:

The Headline Stays the Same: Get Your Acts Together!

 

Is Gender Inequality at Festivals Going to Pervade in 2023?

__________

I don’t think…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Billie Eilish/PHOTO CREDIT: Kelia Anne MacCluskey

there are many festivals in the world that are going to struggle to find women to perform at. Few that are so restricted in terms of availability that they are going to be male-heavy. Even Metal festivals – which have been accused of gender inequality in the past – have a stock of female talent to select from. I know there are Hip-Hop festivals that are struggling to balance the line-ups. Given the number of amazing women coming through and established in that genre, one wonders what the excuse is. There were festivals last year that fulfilled the fifty-fifty gender split. There was a pledge a while back that festivals would commit to ensuring their bills were equal when it comes to gender. Whilst there were festivals last year that hit that target, there are many more that have not! I say it every year, but it seems staggering that there is still this inequality at festivals! What excuses can there be?! No organiser can say female artists are unavailable, as they are no busier than male artists. You cannot defend the statement that punters are used to men at festivals and want to keep it that way. Change and progression is not happening, so how can they be spoken for?! Regardless as to whether they would be aggrieved at more women playing, that would show there is something pretty toxic at the heart of festivals. I don’t think there is this active resistance to equality. The same tired acts are being trotted out at festivals at a time when women are dominating music and adding something incredible to every genre. From Folk to Pop, right through to Hip-Hop, Electronica and Metal, there is no huge shortage of women that could ensure festivals hit that target.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Halsey (even though she was a bill-topper last year at Reading & Leeds alongside Megan Thee Stallion, women were still in the minority)/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images

Some moan about this fifty-fifty pledge and say it is political, woke or not based on quality or demand. They say that festivals have always been male-heavy, so that shows that this is what people want. Maybe women are not festival-ready and including them would weaken the line-up. These arguments are moronic, not based on any fact, and are lazy at best. I do worry that music festivals are going to repeat the same patterns next year as they have always done. Aside from bigger festivals like Glastonbury pledging actively to make their line-up gender-equal, many other large festivals are not. One glaring and repeated offender is Reading & Leeds. NME reported on the line-up announced. Even though not all names are confirmed, around a third of the artists listed are women.

“After 2022’s edition of the iconic twin-site festival saw Arctic Monkeys, Megan Thee Stallion, The 1975, Dave, Bring Me The Horizon and Halsey all top the bill, the August Bank Holiday bash will return next summer with more big names.

After festival boss Melvin Benn teased to NME that two of the top acts booked had topped the bill before, returning headliners The Killers and Foals will be back at R+L, while Fender, Eilish, Capaldi and Imagine Dragons will be making their Reading & Leeds headline debuts.

Other acts on the line-up include Wet Leg, Slowthai, Bicep, Becky Hill, Steve Lacy, Central Cee, MUNA, The Snuts, Tion Wayne and more.

R+L boss and Festival Republic MD Melvin Benn said: “We are delighted to return to Reading’s Richfield Avenue and Leeds’ Bramham Park in 2023 with another epic six headline artists, and an incredible, genre-defying line-up that features some of the very best in modern music. Once again Reading & Leeds is set to be the ultimate bank holiday festival weekend – we can’t wait to be back!.

IN THIS PHOTO: Nessa Barrett 

The full line-up for Reading & Leeds 2023 so far is:

BILLIE EILISH

SAM FENDER

FOALS

THE KILLERS

IMAGINE DRAGONS

LEWIS CAPALDI

ANDY C

BABY QUEEN

BECKY HILL

BICEP LIVE

CENTRAL CEE

CHASE ATLANTIC

DECLAN MCKENNA

DON BROCO

ELIZA ROSE

GEORGIA

INHALER

LF SYSTEM

LIL TJAY

LOVEJOY

LOYLE CARNER

MEEKZ

MK

MUNA

NESSA BARRETT

NOTHING BUT THIEVES

SHY FX

SLOWTHAI

SONGER

STEVE LACY

THE SNUTS

TION WAYNE

TRIPPIE REDD

WET LEG

YOU ME AT SIX

YUNG LEAN”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Wet Leg/PHOTO CREDIT: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times

Other festivals will announce their 2023 line-ups soon. I feel it is insane that women are being denied or ignored when they are producing the best music. I am not picking on Reading & Leeds specifically. Whilst Billie Eilish is headlining, very few women are high up the bill. There are more than enough female acts to ensure greater gender parity. Maybe Nova Twins will be announced, but where are they?! They are Mercury-nominated and not even on the bill yet! Self Esteem would have been an awesome headliner. How about Laura Mvula, FKA twigs and Charli XCX? I am glad Wet Leg are featured, but there are so many female-led groups and solo artists (or duos/trios etc.) that could replace male artists that, to be fair, are far inferior! There is not even a commercial bias, in the sense the male acts hold more influence, have more pulling power and will bring in more people. The only male artists I am excited about in that line-up above is Loyle Carner, Sam Fender, and Declan McKenna. Not a huge amount to recommend. As you can see from the artists announced, they are not restricted in terms of gender. Reading & Leeds used to be Indie/Rock-heavy, but they have diversified their ethos. That has not translated into offering a great deal more women slots. You could easily name a dozen more women/female-led bands who would be eligible for inclusion and bring in so many new faces! I fear 2023 is going to be no better than last when it comes to including women. There is not a lot of outcry and demand from male artists for festivals to get their acts together, as they are denying a valuable platform for so many incredible musicians. One hopes things do eventually improve, but there is no reason why tiny steps happen. This is something that can change right away without any delay. Why do festivals continue to show such ignorance and short-sightedness?! I think Reading & Leeds’ line-up is a sad harbinger of things to come. Let’s hope I am wrong! Line-ups that largely disregard women and put them lower down the bill – despite there being one female headliner – is so angering…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Sam Fender live at Reading 2021/PHOTO CREDIT: Emma Viola Lilja for NME

AND depressing to see.

FEATURE: Crank the Bass… Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground at Twenty

FEATURE:

Crak the Bass…

Girls Aloud’s Sound of the Underground at Twenty

__________

I don’t think it is an exaggeration to say…

British Pop music might not have been at its peak in 2002. I think American artists were dominating but, here, maybe there needed to be a kick and revolution! I don’t think that too many artists who have appeared on reality T.V. shows have made a huge impact on the course of music or changed a genre. Girls Aloud were created during Popstars: The Rivals in 2002, and comprised Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. We lost Harding last year from cancer. I will come to that in a minute. The amazing debut single, Sound of the Underground, smashed Pop upon its released on 16th December, 2002. As it is twenty soon, I wanted to celebrate a huge song. The single later featured on the album of the same name. If the album itself did not positive reviews across the board, one cannot deny the impact and importance of the first single from it. Written by Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins, and Niara Scarlett, and produced by Higgins and his production team Xenomania, it is Pop music, but it is edgy and not what one might associate with a girl group. More in common with U.S. girl groups, it is a catchy and confident song that still sounds so fresh and captivating to this day! It became the year's Christmas number one in the U.K., spending four consecutive weeks atop of the charts in total. I will come to some critical reviews of the amazing Sound of the Underground. I think that the song did reshape British Pop at the start of the 2000s. It was such a breath of fresh air compared to the rather commercial and uninspired Pop that was around prior!

There is a special release of Sound of the Underground coming as CLASH reported. Given the fact Girls Aloud lost one of their members, it is fitting that an anniversary vinyl of their breakthrough debut sees proceeds going to charity to honour her memory and help fund important research:

“Girls Aloud are giving their iconic debut single ‘Sound Of The Underground’ a seven inch vinyl pressing for the very first time.

The song emerged from their Pop Idols roots, and went on to claim the coveted Christmas No. 1 spot. Remaining a central part of Girls Aloud mythology, ‘Sound Of The Underground’ is set to receive a seven inch vinyl pressing for the first time ever.

The no-doubt highly collective release is kept to just 5000 copies globally, accompanied by a never-before-released alternative vocal version of the song from the archives. In a neat touch, you’ll also get a sheet of “Buy Girls, Bye Boys” stickers.

Girls Aloud have joined with their record company Polydor to donate 100% of the profits from this vinyl release to The Sarah Harding Breast Cancer Appeal. The weekend just passed saw Cheryl, Kimberley, Nadine and Nicola hold The Primrose Ball, a charity gala event for The Christie NHS Foundation Trust and Cancer Research UK.

Pre-order the vinyl release online now” .

I want to end up by sourcing from Wikipedia in terms of the success and reaction to Sound of the Underground. Undoubtably one of the best debut singles from a girl group, I think the song took a lot of people by surprise in December 2002. Twenty years after its release, and I do think that Girls Aloud created this explosion on their debut single:

“Critical response

"Sound of the Underground" received a positive response from most music critics. It "proved a first: it was a reality pop record that didn't make you want to do physical harm to everyone involved in its manufacture." A review for Girls Aloud's debut album stated that the song has "become a pulsating pop classic with a modern, metallic beat, catchy chorus and just the right amount of sleaze." The song was further described as "an enticing blend of spiky guitars and Fatboy Slim beats topped off with an irresistibly catchy chorus." Michael Osborn said that "Sound of the Underground" offers "a fresh tune that has no intentions of following the road to seasonal schmaltzville." An article from The Guardian called the song "an icy confection very different from the normal run of girl-band things."

"Sound of the Underground" and another Xenomania production, Sugababes' "Round Round", have been called "two huge groundbreaking hits", credited with reshaping British pop music for the 2000s. Peter Robinson wrote, "Instead of what would become the predictable 'victory lap' ballad, here was an upbeat attitude-soaked celebration of life, partying, and being young." In 2003, "Sound of the Underground" was voted Best Single at the Disney Channel Kids Awards. The Telegraph placed the song at number 15 on a list of 100 songs that defined the 2000s, while NME included it at number 39. Spinner.com named "Sound of the Underground" the eighth best British song of the 2000s.

Chart performance

"Sound of the Underground" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 22 December 2002. Girls Aloud sold just over 213,000 copies, while One True Voice's "Sacred Trust" sold only 147,000. Girls Aloud stayed at number one for a second and third week, the final chart of 2002 and the first chart of 2003. The single spent another week at number one, bringing "Sound of the Underground" to a total of four consecutive weeks at number one in the UK. It spent two weeks in the top five at numbers three and five respectively, before slipping to number nine. The single spent fourteen further weeks inside the UK's top 75. It was certified platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in March 2003 for shipments of over 600,000 and sold over 653,000 copies. In December 2015, the Official Charts Company stated that "Sound of the Underground" had a chart sales tally of 679,770. In August 2017, the Official Charts Company updated the single's total sales figures to approximately 715,000. Following Sarah Harding's death in September 2021, the song had a resurgence in popularity with sales rising over 125%.

The song had similar success on the Irish Singles Chart. "Sound of the Underground" debuted at number two behind Eminem's "Lose Yourself", while One True Voice only managed to chart at number nine. They held on at number two for a second and thirdweek. In the song's fourth week on the Irish chart, "Sound of the Underground" managed to rise to number one, finally dethroning Eminem. It spent two weeks at the pole position. The song peaked inside the top twenty on Belgium's Ultratop Flanders chart and the Netherlands' Single Top 100 chart. The song also charted in Australia and various European countries”.

Even though Girls Aloud split in 2013, their music has endured and they remain a group that have this admiring fanbase. It was very sad when Sarah Harding died in 2021, as it would have been great to see them reform for a gig. I wanted to pay tribute to a remarkable song on its twentieth anniversary. This was a salute to Sound of the Underground. It is such an important single…

IN British Pop history.

FEATURE: Vinyl Corner: Small Faces - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake

FEATURE:

 

 

Vinyl Corner

 

 

Small Faces - Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake

__________

I have not done a Vinyl Corner…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Small Faces in 1968/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

for a while now, so I thought it was time to return! One of the best albums of the 1960s, Small Faces’ Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is a Psychedelic classic. Released on 24th May, 1968, it is one of the defining albums of that era. Not that The Beatles dominated the 1960s, but I often look at albums released around the time of Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (May 1967) as the most influential Psychedelic album of the period. Small Faces, like The Beatles, were an English band. I do think there was a difference in style and scope between English and American bands when it came to Pop and Psychedelia in the 1960s. Led by the late great Steve Marriott, Small Faces’ third studio album is often seen as their very best. Consisting of two distinct sides, the first is a selection of songs of different styles. The second is called Happiness Stan, and it is a concept suite. The boy in the concept is Happiness Stan, and there are six songs interlinked with narration provided by comic monologuist and performer Stanley Unwin in his unique, nonsensical private language of ‘Unwinese’. I am going to come to a review for the magnificent Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. The song the album is best known for is Lazy Sunday. One of the finest songs ever, that is not the only pearl to be found! Go and own this album on vinyl, as it is a remarkable thing to listen to! Before coming to a review, Louder Sound told the story of Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake in a great and insightful feature from last year. I love how Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is distinctly English. With more groove and attitude than American brands, this was Mod and Psychedelia blended together:

“In 1966 The Small Faces were the ultimate embodiment of the metropolitan mod ideal. Four diminutive Jack-the-lads perpetually decked out in razor-sharp threads fresh from Carnaby Street. Rail-thin, hyperactive, mischievous; it was blatantly obvious to every ticket on the street that you didn’t get cheekbones like that from early nights and All-Bran.

Mum-friendly pop stars or not, The Small Faces were clearly quaffing large on whatever chemical indulgences Swinging London swung their way. To alleviate the boredom of a heavy provincial touring schedule, The Small Faces invariably took to the road with as many stimulants as were necessary to render rain-lashed Manchester club dates bearable: at first a little grass or hash; on occasion something a little speedier.

Then, shortly after Steve Marriott (guitar/vocals), Ronnie Lane (bass/vocals) and Ian McLagan (keyboards/vocals) moved into a shared Westminster apartment, a new drug entered their orbit that expanded their artistic remit almost beyond all recognition: LSD.

“We took our first trip in Westmoreland Terrace in early ’66,” remembers Ian McLagan. “And almost immediately started experimenting, using Chinese instruments and all sorts of sounds, to try and recreate a trip.”

By the following year the band’s singles output painted them as full-blown, unashamed drug evangelists. Though interestingly, July ’67’s lyrically blatant Here Comes The Nice concerned scoring speed rather than acid; yet another weapon in the Faces’ extensive pharmaceutical armoury.

“It was weird that they allowed Here Comes The Nice to come out at all,” smiles McLagan. “We were dabbling in all kinds of chemicals and Methedrine was one of them. We were wrong to have written about a speed dealer. They weren’t the nicest people. The guy you bought your hash from was usually just a head, but a speed dealer – like a coke or heroin dealer – was only interested in getting your money. It was quite different. They weren’t your friends.”

Just two months down the line from Here Comes The Nice, The Small Faces delivered one of the Summer Of Love’s defining statements, a psychedelically-inclined slice of quintessentially English whimsicality, characterised by a phasing effect courtesy of Olympic Studios engineer George Chkiantz. With a melody Marriott lifted straight from the hymn God Be In My Head, it concerned a nettle-swathed, rail-side bombsite in Ilford called Itchycoo Park.

Having delivered the East End Good Vibrations, The Small Faces prepared to record the Cockney Sgt. Pepper. But first there was the small matter of an Australian package tour (alongside The Who and Paul Jones) to take care of.

“[The Australian press] gave me hell from the very beginning, because I’d just been busted,” Mac continues, “I was on my way to Athens for a holiday but never got further than Heathrow. As I was showing my passport they smelt the hash on me, searched and busted me. As soon as we landed in Australia we had a press conference, so we’re all lined up in front of the television cameras and the first guy goes: ‘Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, Ian McLagan… you’re the drug addict right?’”

Controversy continued to plague the tour to its conclusion. “On our way to New Zealand we had to stop off in Sydney. You couldn’t drink on internal flights back then, but one of Paul Jones’ Australian backing band passed a bottle around and the police were called. We weren’t even drinking but they arrested and held us in the first-class lounge where a waitress came straight up to us and said: ‘What would you like to drink?’

"So we drank. The police arrested us as soon as we arrived in New Zealand, but we ended up having a great time. Steve had his 21st birthday party; Keith [Moon] wrecked his room; it was business as usual.”

Some of the material eventually included on their seminal Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake was already in the can by this point, but not enough for an entire album. So in the spring of ’68 The Small Faces hired cabin cruisers and took to the River Thames to write some more.

“We found a camaraderie we hadn’t had before; I was even allowed to be involved in the writing. Long Agos And Worlds Apart was only my second song. It was all about being high. My first song was Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire and that was all about… being high. I think I only had two modes at the time, one was being high and being awake, and the other was being high and being asleep.”

So what, other than the very liberal usage of a cocktail of psychoactive substances, was driving this period of unprecedented creativity? According to McLagan, not the influence of the then blossoming American West Coast psych scene, that’s for sure.

“Most of the music that came out of San Francisco at that time gave me a bad trip,” asserts McLagan. “I thought it was wet; hopeless frankly. It seemed like they’d forgotten the groove, the soul. It was totally boring; we had nothing in common with those guys apart from the drugs.”

There’s no escaping the fact that Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake defines a uniquely Small Faces brand of psychedelia. Above all, it’s very mod, and very English. The cover (a round tobacco tin mock-up), lyrical imagery and subject matter are all symptomatic of the Edwardian nostalgia so prevalent in London as mod went psychedelic. While iconic boutique Granny Takes A Trip dressed the era, Ogdens’… provided its soundtrack: a seamless collage of hallucinogenic blues shouting, pop-art ingenuity, agrarian folk whimsy and music hall chirpiness”.

I am going to wrap up with a review for Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake. I am aware that many people might not have heard the album or know about Small Faces. This is what AllMusic noted about the 1968 album in their review:

“There was no shortage of good psychedelic albums emerging from England in 1967-1968, but Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake is special even within their ranks. The Small Faces had already shown a surprising adaptability to psychedelia with the single "Itchycoo Park" and much of their other 1967 output, but Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake pretty much ripped the envelope. British bands had an unusual approach to psychedelia from the get-go, often preferring to assume different musical "personae" on their albums, either feigning actual "roles" in the context of a variety show (as on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album), or simply as storytellers in the manner of the Pretty Things on S.F. Sorrow, or actor/performers as on the Who's Tommy. The Small Faces tried a little bit of all of these approaches on Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, but they never softened their sound. Side one's material, in particular, would not have been out of place on any other Small Faces release -- "Afterglow (Of Your Love)" and "Rene" both have a pounding beat from Kenny Jones, and Ian McLagan's surging organ drives the former while his economical piano accompaniment embellishes the latter; and Steve Marriott's crunching guitar highlights "Song of a Baker."

Marriott singing has him assuming two distinct "roles," neither unfamiliar -- the Cockney upstart on "Rene" and "Lazy Sunday," and the diminutive soul shouter on "Afterglow (Of Your Love)" and "Song of a Baker." Some of side two's production is more elaborate, with overdubbed harps and light orchestration here and there, and an array of more ambitious songs, all linked by a narration by comic dialect expert Stanley Unwin, about a character called "Happiness Stan." The core of the sound, however, is found in the pounding "Rollin' Over," which became a highlight of the group's stage act during its final days -- the song seems lean and mean with a mix in which Ronnie Lane's bass is louder than the overdubbed horns. Even "Mad John," which derives from folk influences, has a refreshingly muscular sound on its acoustic instruments. Overall, this was the ballsiest-sounding piece of full-length psychedelia to come out of England, and it rode the number one spot on the U.K. charts for six weeks in 1968, though not without some controversy surrounding advertisements by Immediate Records that parodied the Lord's Prayer. Still, Ogdens' was the group's crowning achievement -- it had even been Marriott's hope to do a stage presentation of Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, though a television special might've been more in order”.

Although it did not do too well in the U.S., Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake did get to number one on the UK Record Retailer LPs Chart. Still a unique and extraordinary album to this day, I would advise anyone to go and get this on vinyl. As I always say, if you cannot afford to, then stream the album and enjoy it that way. I wanted to show my appreciation and fondness for an album that…

TURNS fifty-five next year.