INTERVIEW: Prima Hera

INTERVIEW:

 

Prima Hera

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EVEN though this year…

is the first where Prima Hera has released singles and is really starting to get noticed, I think that you can already tell that she is primed for big things. The moniker of the remarkable Stef Williamson, I have been speaking with her about her brilliant new single, Michigan, what it was like receiving such acclaim for her debut single, Sidecar, how she feels about the upcoming gig at Tesla Studios in Sheffield on 14th April, and where that unique moniker came from. A wonderful artist whose first couple of singles point at someone who has this very distinct sound, but she also has this range and nuance that means every song ventures into new lyrical and sonic territory – and they keep you coming back for more! It is wonderful discovering more about Prima Hera. Someone whose name is being lauded and highlighted by the media and radio. You really need to get behind…

THIS extraordinary artist.

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

It’s been good thanks. I have been busy with everything surrounding the new single release.

Your new single is Michigan. Can you tell us how it came about and what inspired it?

It’s a song I wrote last summer. I was booked in for studio time to record Sidecar and another song. Michigan came to me very last minute, about a week before the session. It was a scramble to get it all ready, but I really wanted to record it. The inspiration is your classic tale of unrequited love. I love a miserable song and I love a road song; songs like Thunder Road and I Drove All Night. I think the idea of driving long distance, especially in the contemplative silence of the night, is so romantic. The protagonist in the song is definitely the hopeless romantic type, but I got to thinking ‘what would it be like if the person you were driving for wasn’t really that bothered about seeing you?’.

You have had a successful start to 2023 so far. Looking back, what are your personal highlights?

The actual releasing of a song was a personal highlight for me. I have written so many songs over the last five years that I didn’t release, so I was pleased to actually get something out there. The response was so much more than I had hoped for too - it meant a lot to me that people wanted to write about it and play it on their radio shows.

I am interesting in discovering when music came into your life. Can you remember which artists and albums were early favourites?

It feels like music has been an important part of my life forever. My older brothers are both excellent songwriters, so there was always music going on around me when I was little. I wanted to do the same as them, so I would write girl group songs and make my friends sing them and do dance routines with me at primary school haha. When I started getting into Alternative music, I loved Nirvana in particular - I listened to Nevermind on repeat. Then Punk-y stuff like Rancid’s And Out Come the Wolves, and Descendents’ Milo Goes to College.

“Becoming a parent made me reflect a lot on what kind of person I want to be - I want my son to feel that you can pursue the things you’re passionate about”.

After writing for many years, you released music as Prima Hera. What inspired you to do so, and where does that moniker come from?

It was really the birth of my son. I had been toying with releasing music for a number of years since my old band came to an end, but I always backed out because I felt the songs weren’t good enough. Becoming a parent made me reflect a lot on what kind of person I want to be - I want my son to feel that you can pursue the things you’re passionate about.

The name comes from the Greek goddess Hera. Greek mythology holds that she made the Milky Way with her breast milk, which I thought was a powerful idea.

Readers of Tom Robinson’s (BBC Radio 6 Music) blog voted your debut single, Sidecar, as a favourite of theirs. How did that make you feel?

Tom Robinson’s Fresh on the Net is an amazing platform where any artist can upload a track and it will be heard by moderators and listeners. Listeners then vote on their favourites. I felt so honoured that Sidecar was chosen in the top ten tracks that week. It was my first single, so I had no idea how it would be received. It gave me a lot of confidence in the music I’m currently creating.

“I am recording two singles in May which I’m really excited about, because I feel like I’ve been writing some of my best work recently”.

Being based in Sheffield, what is the local scene like in terms of rising artists?

It feels sometimes like Sheffield gets missed a little bit in terms of touring artists, but we have a really great scene of local artists. I think in particular there is a wealth of amazing women in Sheffield, like Before Breakfast, Teah Lewis, Seedling, and Luxury Goods.

Might we hear more music later in the year? Is there an E.P. in the works?

You will definitely hear more music later this year. I am recording two singles in May which I’m really excited about, because I feel like I’ve been writing some of my best work recently. An E.P is a little further off for me at the moment, but I’m hoping to write and record one next year.

You are playing Tesla Studios in Sheffield on 14th April. Are there any other dates approaching, and which venue would be your dream if you had the choice?

The Tesla gig is the only one in my plans at the moment, so if you want to see me you best come along. I’m a little bit of a recluse when it comes to gigs - I like to think it gives me an air of mystery like Kate Bush haha.

Oooh a dream venue, that’s a good question. I once accidentally overheard Elton John playing at the Roman Colosseum in the centre of Verona - that would be pretty nice. A little closer to home, I’d love to play Nottingham Rescue Rooms. I never played there when I was in a band in Nottingham and I feel like I have unfinished business!

Finally, and for being a good sport, you can choose any song you like (from another artist) to play and I will include it here.

Oh wow, just one? That’s cruel! I absolutely love Looking for the Right Things by A.O. Gerber. The way the track builds is perfection, so let’s go with that.

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INTERVIEW: Nathalie Miranda

INTERVIEW:

  

Nathalie Miranda

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AN artist I have known for a while…

I have been speaking with Nathalie Miranda about her upcoming single, Echoes. An artist and songwriter with a distinct and memorable voice, I loved last year’s Back to Life. It seems that her forthcoming single (out on 14th April) is going to be among her most effecting, personal and memorable. I was curious to find out more about the song, what her musical tastes were growing up, and what we might expect going forward. If you have not checked out Nathalie Miranda, then follow her on the social media links below and prepare yourself for Echoes – a song sure to get a lot of love and airplay. It is great getting to know better an artist who is among the most distinct out there. Someone impossible to pigeonhole and define. There is a lot for her to look forward to. I am most definitely…

EXCITED to hear what comes next.

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Hi Nathalie. How are you? How had your week been?

Hi Sam! It’s been a busy week for sure - setting the promotional wheels in motion in time for my new release, Echoes. Today is my only free day!

Looking back at 2022, what would you say your personal highlights were?

I feel very fulfilled when I look back at 2022. I released my '80s-inspired song, Is This Love, which is something I’ve wanted to do for many years. In the summer, I released my first Greek release, Hilia Simadia. Being Greek-Cypriot is something I’m incredibly proud of, and writing and recording in Greek was a whole different experience. Finally, in September, I released Back to Life, which was all about self-acceptance and really reflected what was going on in my own life at the time.

“If I could go back in time and talk to younger Nathalie, I would tell her “You’re going to be ok, but you must believe in yourself and be proud of who you are”.

I understand you have a new track coming out. What can you tell us about it?

Yes. Echoes is the most personal song I’ve ever written. It’s about forgiving my younger self for everything I didn’t do for her, if that makes sense. It’s almost like I’ve come full circle, and now I’m an adult, I can really look back on the way I thought about myself and the way I treated myself. I have always struggled with self-confidence and self-image, which I think is something many people experience when they’re growing up. For me, it was detrimental to my development in many ways. If I could go back in time and talk to younger Nathalie, I would tell her “You’re going to be ok, but you must believe in yourself and be proud of who you are”. So, it’s very much about forgiveness and reflection.

How would you say your sound and direction has changed since your earliest work came out?

I would say that right now, I’m surer of the direction in which I want to go with each release. My first release was the Bulletproof E.P. in 2017, which consisted of three very random songs! I was very keen to release music, and so I rushed the process greatly. Since 2020, particularly from Catch-22 onwards, all my songs are crafted with a particular direction and sound in mind. I enjoy experimenting with genre and sound, and even though it’s not favoured by the industry, I intend to continue doing just that.

Songs such as Back to Life saw you receiving love and attention from the press and radio. How important is it to get this backing and exposure?

As much as artists don’t like to get involved with the business side of music, it is extremely important to give your art the exposure that it deserves so that it can connect with as many people as possible. The market is so incredibly saturated right now, and without that support or promotion from press and radio, it’s so much harder to reach a wider audience.

“Similarly, I didn’t really know who Queen were at the time, but I knew how I felt when I heard Freddie Mercury’s voice.  He is my biggest inspiration”.

Take me back to the start. When did music come in your life and which artists and albums struck you at a young age?

Music has always been part of my life. My mum would always be playing a variety of records at home, from Whitney (Houston) to Queen to Julio Iglesias, so I definitely have many influences. I remember hearing Prince’s album, Diamonds and Pearls, as I had an older cousin who was obsessed with him. I didn’t understand the subject matter as I was so young, but once I heard his music I was hooked. Similarly, I didn’t really know who Queen were at the time, but I knew how I felt when I heard Freddie Mercury’s voice.  He is my biggest inspiration. I also remember hearing Madonna’s Erotica album (another one of my mum’s purchases!) and I thought it was very experimental for its time.

Looking ahead, might there be an E.P. or album coming at some point? What do you hope to achieve this year with your music?

At the moment, I prefer releasing singles. It gives me the freedom to evolve as an artist with each release, both in genre, image, and subject matter. My plans for 2023 include releasing my first Spanish song, and later in the year my first Christmas song, which I wrote when I was 19! I’ve also started working on another Greek song so, yes, there is plenty going on!

I know a lot of people will want to see you live. Where might we be able to catch you later in the year?

I have a couple of live gigs scheduled so far. More to be confirmed. They are all in London, so the best place to check is my website, where you can find all the info.

Aside from yourself, there are a lot of great rising artists to watch out for. Who else would you recommend we check out?

Definitely check out my good friends WALWIN, and also Izzy T.

Finally, and for being a good sport, you can select any song (from another artist) and I will play it here.

Oh, that’s a hard decision! I’m going to say Gett Off by Prince. Just off the top of my head!

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FEATURE: (Far) Left of the Middle: What Significance Does It Make Who an Artist Like Mae Muller Supports Politically?

FEATURE:

 

 

(Far) Left of the Middle

IN THIS PHOTO: Mae Muller (who is representing the U.K. in Liverpool for Eurovision next month) in London on Tuesday, 14th March, 2023/PHOTO CREDIT: Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

 

What Significance Does It Make Who an Artist Like Mae Muller Supports Politically?

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EVEN if it is a bit of a hissy and outrage…

 PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

from the right-wing press and the most gammon-coloured and hateful on Twitter, the fact that our Eurovision hopeful this year, Mae Muller, has taken a shot at the current government made me think about musicians and political stances. In the U.S. in the past, artists such as Taylor Swift have held back or been judged for sharing political opinions. I still think there is a bit of a caution from labels about how explicit and ‘honest’ artists can be when it comes to voicing their disgust. We all know major and compassionate artists like Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish detest the Republicans and are democratic. In this country, we know which artists are more in line with the Conservatives and would support them. We are seeing a wave of young and engaged young artists coming through who naturally are appalled at what is happening in the country and have this platform. It is important than their views are not suppressed and controlled. That said, as this article from GB News explains, it can lead to hyperbole and vitriol from the right-wing press:

“Britain's Eurovision entrant is a Left-wing activist who hates Boris Johnson, it has emerged as the BBC is accused of having a lack of “common sense” for choosing her to represent the UK.

Mae Muller, who is set to perform her track I Wrote A Song next month, made the comments as Johnson was receiving medical treatment for the virus.

In a series of tweets, Muller also branded the Conservative Party “racist and elitist”, campaigned for Jeremy Corbyn and said “I hate this country” in a row over free school meals.

The 25-year-old, who grew in popularity on TikTok, was chosen by BBC bosses in partnership with management company TaP Music in the hope that she could win the contest on May 13.

While former Prime Minister Johnson remained in intensive care for a third day at St Thomas’ Hospital in London on April 8, 2020, Muller wrote a tweet saying: “Unpopular opinion but I do not feel sorry for Boris Johnson.

“Yes, he is human, yes, he has kids, but so do 100s of other people who have actually died due to Tory policies. Taking up a bed in intensive care but you’re not on a ventilator and in ‘high spirits’? Nah mate.”

In a second tweet, she said: “The same nurses you praise in your speeches are the same nurses you chose to cut all their benefits, and cheered while doing it.

“The same nurses that can’t even afford protective wear, and are literally dying because of you. Boris does not have my sympathy and never will.”

The previous night saw Downing Street describe Johnson as “stable” and “in good spirits” as it was confirmed that he did not have pneumonia and was not on a ventilator – but would remain in intensive care “for close monitoring”.

Ahead of the 2019 general election, the singer tweeted “f— the Tories” as she backed Jeremy Corbyn.

Adding: “Please register to vote today! And when you do vote please vote Labour! We have the power to take these racist elitists down so let’s do it!”

After Johnson won the election, she tweeted again saying: “f— Boris”, and when he tested positive for Covid she quoted his previous comments about shaking hands with Covid patients to say: “LOL life comes at you fast Boris.”

Lee Anderson, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, criticised the Eurovision entrant's “vile Left-wing slurs” and accused the BBC of a lack of “common sense” for choosing her to represent the UK”.

It doesn’t need to be written or said out loud, but Mae Muller does not hate the U.K. The opposite is true! The fact she is so appalled by the Conservatives and former Prime Minister Boris Johnson is because of what they did to the country and how they were responsible of so many deaths during the pandemic. She is entitled to her views. Every sensible-minded person in the country feels as passionately. When the news articles were reported online and the right-wing press were up in arms, people responded by saying that most people in the country felt the same as Muller! It was not like she was a radical that was attacking a beloved government. She was merely using her voice to say what most of us feel! It is not surprising that the anti-woke and ass-kissers to the Tories would go after Muller and feel it is sick that someone representing the country in Eurovision would trash our country and bring about this shame. It is a storm in a teacup, but it brings to mind two questions. For one, nothing of what she said was an attack on the country or anything that would bring her good name into disrepute. In fact, it is brave to say such things when she is a major artist! She has a massive fanbase, and there is always the risk there could be backlash or judgement. An artist setting an example and inspiring so many young people, should music and politics be kept separate? I don’t think that has ever been the case and, even in an age where labels are very nervous about commercial depreciation and social media attacks, artists should be free to express themselves.

There is the flipside when it comes to those artists on the right that say what they want to. They will get called out on social media and in the press…but isn’t that a double standard? I think there is a big different between someone like Muller upset and angry at a government who inarguably damaged the country and were a disgrace, to someone displaying bigoted, racist, sexist, or inflammatory language designed to stir hate and division. Mae Muller voiced out because she felt distressed and bereft by the government. It is not a P.R. stunt or a way to draw attention to her ahead of Eurovision. Another question is why Muller’s opinions should be of such concern. As many rightly pointed out, she is taking part on a music competition and not storming the government or engaged in politics! The right-wing press have sort of conflated the fact that she is representing the U.K. in Eurovision with being this ambassador of morality and promoting the brilliance of the U.K. There is a lot to love about this country, but the government most definitely is not one of them! She is not slating the country or doing us any disservice in any way. I think it will get her more respect from people here, in addition to those around Europe! Whilst it shouldn’t be of any concern to the vile and hopeless right-wing journalists, I do think that artists like Muller should never be fearful when it comes to speaking out. At such a terrible time for the country, music especially is a powerful force was activation, awareness, and good.

 IMAGE CREDIT: freepik

There are very few political songs in the Pop mainstream, and I would like to think Mae Muller would explore and focus her anger into songs that point the finger at political ineptitude and villainy. Many might say that is not her role and the Pop mainstream is not political, but this is a genre that should be evolving and more openly reflecting the anger of many. If those on TikTok and Instagram who expect something a bit lighter and more conventional might balk at first, limiting or defining artists and making them hold back is wrong. I do fear there are certain conversations that take place that advise artists such as Muller not to be so inflammatory and, well, right in her music! It is great that she has made her feelings clear, as they are very much in line with what a majority of the country feels. I also feel that is a Rock artist or a male act took a shot at Boris Johnson and the Conservatives, then they would not be labelled as vile and a disgrace. There would not be the same sort of rapture and claws from the right of the press and political spectrum. Mae Muller, like so so many of us, are far-left. That is her position and her choice. I feel the vast overreaction displayed by some in the press should raise some conversations. Muller is taking part in Eurovision - so why they had to step in and get all offended is beyond me! It is an artist voicing her opinions. What have they got to be afraid an appalled about?! I think that she will give a nod and inspiration to other Pop artists who feel as fed up and angered as she is. Whilst hateful language against communities, races, genders and people based on hate and bigotry should be banned and called out, someone pointing out very obvious points about a corrupt and terrible government regime is not the same. It is something that should happen more. I hope that this does also not take away from the fact that Mae Muller is representing the U.K. in Eurovision in May. She is going to do us…

VERY proud.

FEATURE: Revisiting... Tori Amos - Ocean to Ocean

FEATURE:

 

 

Revisiting…

  

Tori Amos - Ocean to Ocean

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I wanted to look back…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Desmond Murray

at a terrific Tori Amos album from 2021 that is worth re-exploring. Whilst it received great reviews and got some airplay, you do not hear songs from the album played too much. If Amos is featured, you get the classic tracks from albums of the '90s. I wanted to shine a light on the marvellous Ocean to Ocean. Released on 29th October, 2021, Tori Amos produced one of her best albums of her career with stellar songs such as Speaking with Trees and Metal Wood Water. A top forty album in the U.K. and many other countries, it is well worth a spin. I am going to get to a couple of positive reviews for the incredible Ocean to Ocean. Before that, this interview with Amos in promotion of the album is really interesting:

“Throughout her iconic catalog, Tori Amos has often pulled inspiration from traveling – be that her frequent trips to Florida, or other travels around America and the rest of the globe. But like everyone else, the last two years have seen the inimitable artist restricted to one location. For her, that was the wild nature of Cornwall, where she lives with her husband and collaborator Mark Hawley, and its cliffs, shoreline, and greenery took on the role of muse in the place of new scenery.

The results are Ocean To Ocean, Amos’ 16th studio album, and a record of great beauty that works through the loss of her mother Mary with the help of the natural world. She summons her spirit on the spellbinding “Speaking With Trees,” while the gentle piano ripples of “Flowers Burn To Gold” find her searching: “Where are you?/I scan the skies/Voices in the breeze/I scan the sea.”

The contents of Ocean To Ocean weren’t necessarily always the shape the musician saw her first album in four years taking. She had been working on a different set of songs before it, but at the start of 2021 grew disillusioned with them and started again, returning to the soil to plant new seeds that would eventually grow and bloom into a personal and poetic ode to pain, family and the world around us.

The third lockdown in the UK was when ‘Ocean To Ocean’ started coming together, but that time also put you in a despondent place. What was it about that lockdown that took you to that place?

[Everything going on for so long] was one aspect. I think [also] the horror show of American democracy hanging by a thread with some elected officials just not wanting to respect the law. Whatever side you’re on, I really don’t like a crappy loser. It’s really not very interesting to me because I’ve been on the side where the candidate I voted for lost, but I’ve accepted it, that that’s the will of the people because that’s what democracy is. There’s no wiggle room there. You respect the constitution or you don’t – it can’t be rules for when you lose and rules for when you win. What kind of world is that?

You were working on a different album before ‘Ocean To Ocean’ that you scrapped because the 2020 election and events of January 6 made you feel like you’d become a different person. How did those events impact you?

There was so much that some of us believed was on the line. I remember talking to Sarah Kendzior and Andrea Chalupa [from the podcast Gaslit Nation] and they’re very informed experts in their field. One of them made it clear to me at a certain point when people were going on about these two older male candidates, and she said to me, “Let’s be very clear. We are not voting for one old man against another. We are voting for a system of government. That’s what we’re doing.”

After the events of not just January 6th and the insurrection, but how some of our leaders responded to that and did not stand up for America’s democratic values, but their own self-interest – I just put my hands up and I said, “Right, I’ve done what I can now. I can’t look at this for one more day.”

I didn’t like where I was going. I said, “Now I need to go into a world that people want to walk into because they’re tired of that. They’ve had enough of the disparity because the energy is so squalid.” I just felt like I needed to have a bath every time I picked up a paper or every time I was listening in on the issues.

I had to just let go and surrender that other album. I don’t know if it’ll have a life. I have no idea. But I needed the silence and I needed to get out in Mother Nature because she wasn’t in lockdown and she was regenerating. She was moving from winter to spring. That’s when I just said, “I want to reflect what you’re doing, Earth Mother.”

How did Cornwell influence this new album?

Cornwall is its own ancient thing. Sometimes the cliffs seem harsh but beautiful. But there’s a strength there. I felt protected walking out on those cliffs and seeing the force that the land holds and its interaction with the water, the ocean, and the rocks. Then coming inland a bit, how the trees are shaped with the gales. And it just became very, almost like its own story of, “Tori, you can choose to, be part of this story and you’re welcome to watch and engage with it.

Then it will shift your frequency and your energy and it will change the music, but you have to do it. And you have to be willing to admit where you are. It’s OK to admit that you’ve been in the muck. Just be honest about it. Because if you’re honest about it and write it from that place, you can write yourself out of that place”.

I am a big fan of Tori Amos, and I am fascinated not only by her consistency, but how every album has its own skin, personality, and story. Ocean to Ocean is definitely one of her very best releases. When speaking with SPIN, she elaborated more on the influences and inspirations behind the album. If you have not heard it yourself, I would recommend spending some time today and listening through. It is incredibly rewarding and will linger in the mind:

“SPIN: What was the inspiration for your album?

Tori Amos:I think that third lockdown here. I don’t know if the Americans really realized how severe it was here, but it happened after Christmas. It happened in early January. For London, it happened before Christmas, but we were down in Cornwall when they started locking the country down by different counties, but then everybody got thrown into this severe state. Hand on my heart, to try and be fair about this, I think hubby and I did pretty well on the first one with Tash and her boyfriend, Oliver, who thought he was coming for two weeks and stayed for five months.

Which song came first?

I think “Metal Water Wood” came first, and it acknowledged where I was with being fire and useless as a fire creature. It was just not working for me. The message from the muses was: Be like Bruce Lee, be like water. You need to then not do things like you’ve always done them, in that what you thought might work for you, what energy you thought would bring you to a place of a different frequency. I didn’t like where my energy was. I was like “I don’t want to be in that place of negativity and anger and destructiveness or victimhood.”

That was the beginning, and nature called me outside. Even though it was winter and cold, but once I got out there and started watching how nature was just, I don’t know, going through her cycles and paying attention and listening to it, I started to feel different things, and it started to shift my energy. The song started to say, “You have a choice to make, T. What energy feel do you want to be in? You need to sonically create it and step into it, and we will help you do it, but you have to make that choice.”

Was it a difficult process to go through?

I wish [my daughter] Tash were on the call. [laughs] She would tell you that there was a moment when she’s like, “I need my mom back. What do we need to do to do this?” She said, “Look, I’ve got you as my audience, so you’re going to get to watch my favorite documentary.” What was hard was getting out of that chair. I think I got to a place of emotional paralysis, because, again, we’d marketed the book (Resistance, released in 2020), we’d done a Christmas EP through the first lockdown and we did a virtual book tour from the studio we were working in that way, not playing live. We were doing all these things.

The messy part, that’s always the tough bit, and it’s not very glamorous or gracious, it’s when it’s the messy bit. I think before the beauty, for me anyway, comes the mess because you have to sit in the depression, in the sadness, in the grief, in the loss of– If you talk to, and I’m sure you have, to live musicians who couldn’t go out and play and to people whose lives are on the theatre stage, it was a very different reality for us.

I tried shaming myself out of it. That didn’t work. That’s why the music said, “You got to write. Start from on your knees. Write about it.” By writing about it, that will shift and then you’ll need to write about something else and another song will come and take your hands.” Another one did, and this is how the process kept drawing me outside to nature, to the cliff, to the water, to showing me. It was very humbling because the Cornish coast, yes, it’s beautiful, but it’s ferocious, ancient, and powerful. It’s like it’s a creature.

You use the word ancient, and I feel like there’s so much of that in the music here. There’s an innate history. Do you agree?

I hope so because I started revisiting Cornish mythology, not just Cornish, but the whole area. I think that had a big influence because it’s the longest that I haven’t been to the United States in my whole life. It’s the longest that I’ve been in one place in my whole life.

Once I pulled my head out of staring at my navel and realized, “Okay, what’s around you?” Hearing other people’s stories…a treasure trove of letters got sent to me through somebody who comes to the show. I got letters from all over the world about what people were going through. They just sensed that maybe I needed to share that. Normally, when I’m on tour, people bring me their letters and they share with me what their experience has been. That’s how then music becomes collaborative and the shows are collaborative.

While I was immersing myself with Cornwall and Cornish mythology in the angst of the land, and its power and being, again, humbled by it and realizing, “Okay, how do I approach this? I need to really ask permission of the land to show me her secrets.” I got stories from people all over the world, and these stories, Liza, what’s important, for the most part, people were having to come to terms with something. Everyone was pretty much challenged out of, I don’t know, 100 letters. Maybe two were going, “I’m an introvert. I’m winning. Can this last forever?”

Most of them were…somebody worked on the front line, now trying to dealing with testing, and trying to help people and what they were having to go through on a daily basis in their hazmat suit getting sadder, getting cursed at. It was just taking on board what people face.

It was such a transformative time for you.

That’s right. It was, “Okay, if you want your life to change, then just change it, but you’ve got to start from the inside.” It’s so cliché, I know, and we know”.

I will come to some reviews for Tori Amos’ sixteenth and most recent album. This is what AllMusic noted when they reviewed an album from one of music’s finest songwriters and most memorable voices. Since her 1992 debut album, Little Earthquakes, Tori Amos has produced such incredible and enduring music:

“For many, the early 2020s was a course-shifting season of change, when a global pandemic and sociopolitical upheaval cast a shadow over much of life. It was no different for singer/songwriter Tori Amos, who, during one of England's many lockdowns, penned an entire album that she later scrapped for being too divisive. In its place, she started fresh, shifting focus and processing grief with her 16th album Ocean to Ocean. As she declares on "Metal Water Wood," "It has been a brutal year." Against this backdrop, Amos does what she does best: turning personal trauma into a universal experience, carrying both herself and listeners out of the darkness with sights set on renewal. Despite the bittersweet emotions and the still-lingering uncertainty at the time of release, Ocean to Ocean comforts like a warm hug, benefitting from a sumptuous depth of layered production that is at once soulful and satisfying. From the outset, a familiar team -- husband/guitarist Mark Hawley, daughter/backing vocalist Tash, drummer Matt Chamberlain, bassist Jon Evans, and orchestral maestro John Philip Shenale -- joins Amos as she whips up a storm of sound and emotion with her trademark piano and vocal sorcery.

Diving headlong into the album's main themes on "Speaking with Trees," Amos addresses the death of her mother, Mary Ellen, crying, "I cannot let you go" as she copes with the devastating loss. Mary Ellen's memory is also alive on "Flowers Burn to Gold," a heartbreaking piano ballad that dwells beside "Toast" and "Mary's Eyes" as one of Amos' biggest tearjerkers. Emotions flow on the tender "Swim to New York State," a sentimental declaration of love and recognition to a loyal partner that swells atop a grand string section and cinematic horns. Turning her focus outward, she revisits common themes such as religious hypocrisy and misogyny (on the smoky fire-and-brimstone "Devil's Bane"), while calling out "those who don't give a goddamn" about the climate crisis on the turbulent title track. Amos later brings "Me and a Gun" full circle with "29 Years," this time tackling trauma and the devastation it can cause by reconciling the past through reflection and rebuilding. Some much-needed mirth appears on the highlight "Spies," which rides Evans' bouncing bass and Shenale's stabbing strings like a propulsive late-era Radiohead tune filtered through a quirky Beatles lens. Named after the mischievous entities who protect us from the bad dreams, "thieving meanies," and "scary men," it's an antidote for unsure and fearful times that's destined to become a fan favorite. Closing on "Birthday Baby" -- a self-empowering tango that recalls the cinematic flourish of Abnormally Attracted to Sin -- Amos sings, "This year, you survived through it all," a testament to endurance and emerging from the gloom. Like Native Invader before it, Ocean to Ocean is a late-era standout for Amos, who reaches through the dark cloud of collective grief to be that supportive presence for listeners, healing with familiar touches and a timely message”.

Let’s finish off with a review from The Line of Best Fit. Not only is there a lot of love for Amos from her native America (she was born in North Carolina), but because she lives in the U.K., there is this huge support and affection from fans and the media here. I can’t wait to see what she delivers for her seventeenth studio album:

“Amos’s newest LP, Ocean to Ocean, arrives four years after it’s predecessor Native Insider. In that time, the world has changed beyond recognition and Amos, like the rest of us, has been forced to battle with trauma resulting from the pandemic and ensuing isolation - but has also had to deal with the personal trauma of losing both her mother and best friend in 2019. The emotional centrepiece of this album - lead single “Speaking With Trees” - explores both simultaneously; referencing the ashes of Amos’s mother, which she hid in a treehouse in Florida (and was unable to visit during lockdown). Like her best songs, it features mystical lyricism alongside left-field arrangements and instrumentation (most notably an addictive guitar lick during the pre-chorus). However, it’s most affecting moment occurs in the song’s most sincere, wounded line: “Don’t be surprised / I cannot let you go”.

Much of Ocean to Ocean opts for this style of forthright song-writing, over the surreal world-building that has traditionally defined her work. Album highlight “Swim To New York State” deals with the aftermath of a friend moving away; capturing the pain of rootlessness but also the enduring beauty of a relationship that transcends physical distance. Amos cycles through all the places she’d like to go to with the person in question (“There’s a rockpool we can dive in”, “meet at that cafe”), but ultimately comes to peace with the separation (“I had to face / Life just wasn’t the same”). The song captures the same mixture of heart-break and resilience that made her early work so captivating.

But whereas Amos’s early work felt unmoored by time, Ocean to Ocean feels like it could only have been made now; “I know, dear, it has been a brutal year” she sings on “Metal Water Wood”; the album’s most explicit reference to the pandemic. “29 years”, as it’s title suggests, seems to reference the 29 years between her debut album and now. Meanwhile, the title track offers the most politically charged and unmistakably of-our-time statement. “Ocean to Ocean” demonstrates, once again, why Amos is such a powerful writer; “There are those who don’t give a Goddamn / That we’re near mass extinction” she sings at one point, referencing the role of uncaring elites in the current climate crisis. But, within the course of one line, she expands her sights: “There are those who never give a Goddamn for anything they are breaking”. What was just seconds ago a relatively straightforward examination of the climate crisis, has now turned into a takedown of all of society’s breakers; all the way from the rich and powerful inflicting environmental destruction to all the exploitative men (who have long been the subject of her songs) who think they can violate women in pursuit of their own desires.

Ocean to Ocean ends up being Amos’s best album in recent memory for the way it manages to combine the strengths of her early music while incorporating newfound restraint and perspective. Even if there’s nothing here as utterly devastating as “Me & A Gun”, or as piercing as “God”, it’s a joy that Amos can at once be as mystifying and inscrutable as ever (singing of “anonymous” hippopotamus and, aardvarks on the London Underground on “Spies”) while finding newfound comfort and understanding on tracks like “Speaking With Trees”. 29 years on from Little Earthquakes, Amos remains an unrivaled talent, capable of discussing and dissecting the very best and worst elements of humanity without ever collapsing under the heaviness of such themes”.

An amazing album from 2021 that was very well-received and celebrated. I don’t think that it is as known and played as it should be. There are so many good tracks on it. Even if you are not a diehard Tori Amos fan, it is well worth exploring. It is a typically astonishing album from…

THIS music icon.

TRACK REVIEW: Iraina Mancini – Cannonball

TRACK REVIEW:

  

Iraina Mancini – Cannonball

 

 

9.8/10

 

 Cannonball is released on 5th April. Pre-save the single here:

https://orcd.co/imcannonball

WRITTEN BY:

Iraina Mancini/Simon Dine

PRODUCED BY:

Sunglasses for Jaws

ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION:

Erol Alkan

LABEL:

Needle Mythology

_________

I want to start out by saying…

that you need to go and see Iraina Mancini live at The Social (34 Little Portland Street, London, W1W 7JD) on 4th April (Tuesday). Here is ticket information. You can also find out more here. She is one of the finest artists emerging right now. I am going to come to a review of her upcoming single, Cannonball. As anyone who reads this blog knows, my favourite song of last year was Mancini’s Undo the Blue. She also released a French-language version of that song, but I think it is the ‘original’ that I come back to more often. Actually, the French version is not random. In terms of her musical tastes and loves, French artists and music is very important to Mancini. An artist who seems like she would have fitted perfectly into he 1960s and 1970s, Mancini’s music does evoke something cinematic, romantic, and beguiling. One thing (among many) that I loved about Undo the Blue is the video. I have also said how it would be good to have a short film featuring tracks from Mancini. A bit of a thread or a concept where she acts as well as has her songs playing. I think that the visual side of things is very important to Mancini. Connecting the messages and meanings into her songs to videos that bring them to life, but they also add layers and possibilities. I have put her social media links at the bottom of this review so that you can follow her, but I have also put links to her YouTube and Spotify, so that you can listen to what she has produced so far. Prior to getting to her forthcoming album, here is biography about the spectacular Iraina Mancini:

“Iraina Mancini has been writing her own songs and fronting bands from a young age. Whilst on the road with these bands, she began digging into the vaults of Northern Soul, Funk, Rhythm and Blues, 60’s Garage and Disco’s rich musical history. Inspired by and building on her father’s 45’s that she had enthused over as a child, she began her passion to DJ and bring back the spirit of these often forgotten but golden musical era’s to dance floors across the globe.

 Iraina has travelled the world DJ’ing and hosting at major film and fashion events such as Cannes Lion, NME Awards, Toronto Film Festival, and key music festivals; Glastonbury, Wilderness, Secret Garden Party, Bestival and for iconic brands such as GQ, Dunhill, Swarovski, Temperley, Film4 and Pretty Green.

Iraina also presents her own popular cult radio show every month on the legendary Soho Radio in London, where she teases a taster of her live DJ sets, interviews her favourite bands and serves up a music history lesson and homage to her love of Northern Soul, Funk, vintage R&B, Ska and Garage Rock. Recent guests on the show have included Lee Fields, YAK, PP Arnold, Ecca Vandall, Mike Chapman (Blondie, The Knack), Garret Shider (Parliament, Funkadelic), Babyshambles and Daddy Long Legs.

Inspired by the music she collects and DJ’s, a new solo project has started to form. Collaborating and writing with a stable of the UK’s most talented musicians & producers, Iraina has now put together her live band and is hitting the road in 2023. Her sound is influenced by her favourite music from the 60’s and 70s, French Pop, Psychedelia, Soul, Ye-Ye Girls, Serg Gainsbourg and vintage cinema.

Muse to influential fashion designers, brands and artists due to her striking vintage style and inspired by Francoise Hardy, Bridgette Bardot and Jane Birkin, Iraina is the contemporary reflection of an iconic retro era that can be re-discovered and celebrated through her style and music”.

Not only is Iraina Mancini a wonderful songwriter and singer. She is a broadcaster and D.J. You can catch her shows on Soho Radio. So passionate about the music she plays, you get '60s and '70s French Psychedelic, cinematic sounds, and vintage gold. You can tune in on Thursday between two and four p.m. She might still be a little tired from her headline show on Tuesday, but there will be an extra spring in her step that is for sure! Mancini will get a lot of love when she takes to the stage at The Social on Tuesday evening. If you can’t get to see her, then keep an eye on her social channels, as I know she will have other headline shows soon. Not only are there other spaces in London that would embrace her with open arms, but I can also easily see her doing gigs in Paris. The American market seems readymade for Mancini. Getting ahead of myself, but there are spaces around New York, California, and other parts of the U.S. where she would be perfect for. She has also recently completed her debut album. I got sent a copy (as I hope to review it nearer the time and interview her), and I can attest to the fact that it is full of pearls. Pete Paphides runs Needle Mythology – the label Mancini is signed to; Cannonball is the debut single on the label -, and he said that every single song on the album could be a single. Sort of like Michael Jackson’s Thriller! Maybe like Shania Twain’s Come on Over in terms of the immense quality and radio-friendly of the album. I know which track I would love to see released next as a single, but Mancini and Needle Mythology have an embarrassment of riches to choose from! The as-yet-unnamed album is going to really captivate people. I am not going to give any spoilers (appropriate, as it is very cinematic and has songs that seem like scenes and chapters), but it is going to get four and five-star reviews across the board. Under the Needle Mythology stable, Mancini is in wonderful hands; ones which will ensure her music is heard around the world!

I am going to get to the review of Cannonball…and then I will end up with a bit about Mancini, her gig at The Social, and what the future holds. Prior to that, I think there will be people new to her and where she has come from. An amazing artist and D.J., there is a musical connection in the family. The legendary Geoffrey MacCormack (a.k.a. Warren Peace) was a friend of the late David Bowie. He performed and recorded with him, so that alone is amazing to know! I know that Mancini is very proud of her dad, and I can only imagine what her house was like growing up in terms of the music and the fact her dad had this special bond with one of the most important musicians ever. MacCormack recently put out the book, David Bowie: Rock ’n’ Roll with Me, that I would recommend everyone gets a copy of. Anyway, I will come to that a bit more in conclusion. The first interview I want to source takes us to back to 2020. In fact, it was published as the pandemic was being announced and the world was changing. Iona Debrage chatted with the sensational and stunning Iraina Mancini:

“How did you cme into doing what you are doing?

I have always had a passion for music, I grew up in a very musical family so it was a part of my daily life listening to old records and going along to the studio with my dad. I naturally started writing my own songs and learnt to play the piano. I also used to record songs from the radio onto tapes and record over the speaking parts with my own chat..Early training for my adult life! 

Can you describe a beautiful moment that has happened to yo?

My dad sung backing vocals and wrote with David Bowie from Aladdin Sane through to Station to Station. Last year he and I were asked to sing guest vocals on Golden Years the record he was originally on with Earl Slick at the Islington Academy ..That was a bit of a moment for me.

How have you seen the music industry evolve since you started out, and where do you see it going?

The music industry has changed so much, I can barely keep up! Its amazing how easily you can push your art out into the world with Spotify, Youtube and all the social media platforms available anyone in the world can listen to your music .. Gone is the time of ‘waiting’ for a record deal, you can have complete control of what you put out. You can make music videos on iPhones, film live sets and stream online and interact instantly with your fans. Its a lot more work but ultimately more satisfying and authentic.

Which three records are you unable to live without?

That is such a difficult question! But if I had to pick 3 records that I never get bored of they would be.

  1. Barrett Strong – Money (thats what I want)

  2. Space Oddity – David Bowie

  3. Bonnie and Clyde – Serge Gainsboug

What do you consider to be music’s golden age?

Im totally stuck in the past. For me the golden age was late sixties early seventies”.

I am keen to get down to some reviewing, but there is another interview I want to highlight quickly. I would urge everyone to go and check out other interviews Iraina Mancini has been involved with - not only as the subject, but also as the interviewer. As someone who knows the industry and has seen things from ‘the other side of the camera’ as it were, she has this knowledge and skillset that few other artists do. Blowout Magazine caught up with Mancini around the release of her single, Do It (You Stole the Rhythm). That was back in 2021. Starting to break through and establish herself as an artist to watch closely, we got further insight into a rarefied and unique talent:

“What inspires you?

Im really inspired by music from the 60s/70s, psychedelia, Ye'-Ye' Girls, Serge Gainsbourg and Vintage film. I love the sound and style in this period of time, I find it so effortlessly cool and cinematic.

How has it been working on your music during these strange (covid) times?

I have used the time I have had during lockdowns to really focus on my songwriting. Its given me a much slower pace of life which has totally freed up my mind.

Whats next ?

I am recording the next single at the moment, im excited to finish it off. Its really beautiful and one of my favourite songs I have ever written. I am also preparing for a show in December at The Lexington in Kings Cross, there are still tickets available through the website direct. Im playing alongside His Lordship and DJ Sunday Girl who are both brilliant so really excited”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Erica Bergsmeds

Let’s move to Cannonball. It comes out on Tuesday (4th April), which is the same day Mancini take to the stage at The Social in London. It is undoubtedly going to be one of the biggest days of her career so far. An artist that has been supported by BBC Radio 6 Music, I know that Cannonball will effortless slide (or shout that be fire?!) its way onto the playlist. I think that it will be on the A-list in a couple of weeks. Not to be confused with or conflated with Damien Rice’s song of the same name, Cannonball, according to Mancini, is about meeting someone and being knocked for six. Having that cannonball-sized impact on the chest and body! A song that is among the finest gems on her debut album, I will talk about the upcoming video very soon. The opening to Cannonball readily and instantly evokes the sentiments and story of the song. If Mancini was writing from a personal perspective – where she was stuck by someone and had that heart-swell and breathless reaction -, then the composition summons up those emotions. I actually got hints of The Beatles’ Revolver (1966). There is that '60s Psychedelia, together with some hypnotic. I detect a bit of And Your Bird Can Sing, She Said She Said, I Want to Tell You and Tomorrow Never Knows in the blend (and that is the highest compliment I can pay!). Mancini’s vocal and emotional range is incredible. On Undo the Blue, it was dreamy and French-inspired. There was a romance, haziness, and dream-like quality. Here, we get something punchier and direct. I guess every listener will have their own image of a music video when they hear the song, but I am not surprised that Mancini was influenced by Sabotage and French thrillers of the 1960s and '70s. Her heart is exploding and banging and she is on the run. Whether she is fleeing and escaping with a sweetheart or trying to run from the overwhelming heat and storm of these new feelings, you are physically pulled into the song. Its insistence and potency is magnetic and moving!

Cannonball has this lullaby quality where it swings and sways. Mancini switches between impassioned calls and declarations and conversion. I love the way that she brings talk-singing into her music. It gives her songs a more layered and personal touch. You wonder who she is speaking to and asking to run with her. Whereas Noel Gallagher wrote about a cannonball in a very illogical and weird way for Oasis’ Champagne Supernova back in the ‘90s (on 1995’s (What's the Story) Morning Glory?), Iraina Mancini uses the image and object in a beautiful and new way. She does not want to fall and hit the ground, but the cannonball also refers to the fact she feels like she has been hit by one. That vulnerability of being heavy and falling aimlessly, coupled with the psychological and almost physical intense feeling of experiencing fresh admiration and seduction. The composition is so busy without ever being crowded. Backed with some wonderful production (by Sunglasses for Jaws and Erol Alkan (additional production), you come back to Cannonball time and time again! Co-written with Simon Dine, the headiness of the song is bewitching. You get scents and smells of the sunshine, open road, and city air. You envisage this image of two people new to one another but compelled to take a leap and adventure. I always set my mind in a cross between 1960s/1970s French cinema (films like Pierrot le Fou, Vivre sa vie (in a positive way), and Le Cercle Rouge) spliced with Woody Allen’s films (oddly, Annie Hall comes to mind) . It is such a headrush and mind-enticing brew that buckles the knees. One is helpless but to resist the French-inspired sway and time signature that you get from the composition. In the sense that I get images of Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg. I can also see this song being sung in French…and, actually, it would be intriguing not only hearing a remix of this, but also maybe a male vocalist providing a duet or backing. I am not sure whether any of the songs on Mancini’s debut album, feature other voices, but I could see a lover’s voice making its way into Cannonball.

I hope Mancini will forgive The Beatles/Revolver nods – their exploration of cinema and French sounds is not talked about, but it is something that comes up in their work -, but I get that kaleidoscopic and psychedelic combination they perfected in the mid-'60s. Reminiscent of the times, one also gets  views of Soho in the '60s and that magic time - when the people walking the streets would have been so cool. Soho is still cool now, but just think of the fashions of the time! Props to the band as well, as the percussion is relentless. It patters and pummels like the rain, but you get the boom of a cannonball/a heat on fire, and there is some scorching guitar work. Both modern and vintage, the band are so tight and interconnected. The chemistry is amazing. I am not sure which studio the song was recorded out of (maybe AIR Studios in Lyndhurst?), but I feel like there was an intimacy; maybe a studio quite fashionable and suitable for the song – perhaps with Mancini recording her vocals and the musicians layering their parts over her. It will be interesting to see how that song comes to life on Tuesday at The Social and who plays alongside her (I have not seen Mancini play live before). Pete Paphides was not wrong when he said every song on Mancini’s recently-mastered album could be a single! They are all very different but equally intriguing and memorable. I have spun Cannonball multiple times, and I come back for different reasons. You have that composition. I have said it reminds me of songs from The Beatles’ Revolver, and I closed my eyes and imagine Mancini walking towards Abbey Road Studios with Paul McCartney back in the heyday of The Beatles (something that could actually happen one day).

I come back for the production alone, which ensures the vocals are high in the mix, but everything is balanced so that you do not lose an ounce of the instruments and what they are doing. The song switches in terms of pace. One moment, you get a raw and intense vocal, and then it goes to chatting and something softer. Cannonball twists and turns, but it has that focus that means you very much follow the heroine and picture the scenes. There are a couple of particularly good record shops round the corner from where I work in Soho. One is Phonica Records, and the other is Sounds of the Universe. Maybe Iraina Mancini’s debut album will appear there in August!? I also wonder if Cannonball will come out as a 7”, as I would just love the buy the single and have it in my hands - as, sadly, gone as the days of the C.D. single. What we have seen of the video so far looks absolutely must-see and incredible! Iraina Mancini, I think, has delivered a song even more amazing than Undo the Blue – and that was my favourite song of last year! Cannonball is undoubtedly my favourite song of this year so far. And I very much doubt it will be beaten. She is unstoppably and unbelievably brilliant, and I absolutely love her music beyond words. I love her.

I have expended a lot of words about a single, but it is a lot more than that. Iraina Mancini has a headline show at The Social on Tuesday. Go if you can get a ticket if they are still available, but just keep your eyes peeled and follow this wonderful human. Her debut album comes out in August. More details will be revealed in time. It is the kind of album that would be perfect on vinyl, and I know Mancini would have been very happy with the mastered album, as it is going to be such a cinematic, evocative, and wonderful listening experience. I cannot wait to see a photo of Mancini with the final album in its sleeve on vinyl. That image will be one of the most emotion-filled you will see! I love Cannonball so, so much. I have heard the rest of the album. I am already going to say it is going to be my favourite of 2023! Not to get too far ahead of myself, but I would not be shocked if it got shortlisted for the Mercury Prize next year – such is its quality and worthiness. I cannot wait to see the full video for Cannonball. There looks to be French cinema and 1960s and '70s touches but, taking to heart Beastie Boys’ iconic video (directed by Spike Jonze) for Sabotage – from their fourth studio album, Ill Communication (which turns twenty-nine in May –, you are going to get a lot of fun and silliness in the mix! On the video tip, I also think that Mancini was born for the cinema and acting. Something I mooted when I included her in my Spotlight feature a while back, she is someone I can see appearing on T.V. dramas and comedies. Film roles would not be out the question, such is that sense of allure, energy, mystique, and power that she projects. A wonderful D.J. and broadcaster, Mancini is also a sensational artist. She will enjoy a long career. I think Mancini will definitely play France and the U.S., but I know her music will take her to nations as far-flung as Australia. She should prepare herself for a very busy, itinerant, and successful career. From the humble and character-filled studios at Soho Radio, Mancini will soon conquer the world! Go and stream Cannonball on Tuesday and check out the video. When a pre-order link is available, go and get her debut album. She is someone who deserves…

SO much love and admiration.

_____________

Follow Iraina Mancini

FEATURE: Talk About the Passion: R.E.M.’s Murmur at Forty

FEATURE:

 

 

Talk About the Passion

 

R.E.M.’s Murmur at Forty

_________

A very important…

 IN THIS PHOTO: R.E.M. in 1983/PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Walter

anniversary is happening soon. On 12th April, R.E.M.’s debut studio album, Murmur, is forty. The legendary band from Athens, Georgia began work on the album back in December 1982. The I.R.S. label paired R.E.M. with producer Stephen Hague. The sessions did not go too well. More technical and keener on the band doing multiple takes, R.E.M. asked if they could resume producing alongside Mitch Easter. He produced their debut E.P., Chronic Town. I.R.S. agreed a sort of try-out/trial session between R.E.M. and Easter. They travelled to North Carolina, where they recorded with Easter and his producing partner, Don Dixon. They worked on the song, Pilgrimage. After I.R.S. heard that recording, they allowed R.E.M. to work with Easter and Dixon. The producers were quite hands-off with the band. Following the bad recording experience with Stephen Hague, that approach yielded an album that is considered to be one of R.E.M.’s best. It is one of the truly great debut albums. Songs such as Radio Free Europe, Talk About the Passion and Perfect Circle are classics. I will bring in a couple of reviews for the legendary Murmur. Before that SLANT discussed the evolution of R.E.M. on their debut album, and how Murmur sat alongside other music released in 1983:

“With their first full-length release, Murmur, R.E.M. dumped the trademark jangle-pop of their lo-fi debut EP, Chronic Town, for much bleaker themes. Singer Michael Stipe took on a more cerebral socio-political stance, his distant tone casting an elusive cloud over the album’s cultural criticism. The opening line of “Laughing” (“Laocoon and her two sons/Pressured storm tried to move/No other more emotion bound/Martyred, misconstrued”) is an early indication that Murmur’s pleasures aren’t of the simple kind—its gloomy maxims about pilgrimage, spiritual sacrifice and lost time are smartly humorous and satirical.

“Talk About The Passion” finds Stipe at his most compassionate, describing a struggle to overcome despair with lyrics that are at once empathetic and pessimistic (“Empty prayer, empty mouths, talk about the passion”).

At the time, most of the folksy songs on Murmur didn’t fit within pop radio’s limitations—these were songs to be listened to, not just danced to. Despite its urgent, Chronic Town-like guitar licks and clickety-clack percussion, “Radio Free Europe,” the album’s only toe-tapper, offers up some of the most playful yet pointed political sarcasm of the band’s career. Inspired by the Radio Free Europe radio station (funded by the U.S. to promote institutional values to countries behind the Iron Curtain), Stipe’s propaganda-hating self-rule is passionate, pointed and biting without sacrificing the rhyme and ingenuity of his lyrics: “Beside defying media too fast/Instead of pushing palaces to fall/Put that, put that, put that before all/That this isn’t fortunate at all”.

One of the most distinct and notable elements of Murmur is how it does not fit in with everything around it. By 1983, there were some many synthesised and plastic sounds. Along came a band that were doing something genuinely different. Sounding more natural and original than almost anyone on the scene, it is no wonder Murmur made an impact and was so well-regarded upon its release. Retrospective reviews have been hugely positive. This is what CLASH wrote in their feature about Murmur in 2013. They looked at the album’s impact on its thirtieth anniversary:

“R.E.M. was undoubtedly one of the first American bands to take the underground to the mainstream. At a time when popular music seemed destined to be awash with lustrous and synthetic production, they formed one of several pockets of bands across the country attempting to provide an aural antidote.

And, after the type of relentless touring that is almost nostalgic within today’s music culture, they triumphed. With the release of their debut album, ‘Murmur’, they created a blueprint that opened the doors to a new wave of equally deserved acts acquiring wider audiences.

After an incompatible demo session with the established producer Stephen Hague, the band reverted back to Mitch Easter, alongside his friend and co-producer Don Dixon, who had worked on their earlier ‘Chronic Town’ EP.

The result of their efforts was a record free of constraints. Peter Buck’s rhythmic guitar is stripped of cliché and conventions, intertwining with Mike Mills’ melodic baselines, and punctuated by Bill Berry’s drum beats. It is not surprising to hear that much of ‘Murmur’ was recorded first take.

Whilst its sound would go on to inspire the likes of Nirvana and Radiohead, ‘Murmur’ is something of an anti-rock record. It took elements of folk and country and added pop sensibilities to create a sound that was unique yet highly accessible to those who heard it. Above all else, it is the carefully crafted subtleties within it that have made it such a highly referenced influence of such acts.

Easter and Dixon experimented with unusual recording methods, which created an air of mystery to the album’s sound. The curious buzzing sound that introduces ‘Radio Free Europe’ was achieved by filtering Mike Mills’ bass through a noise gate, whilst the intermittent dull thud on ‘We Walk’ was a slowed-down recording of Bill Berry playing pool.

This atmosphere was accentuated by Michael Stipe’s indistinct vocals. The songs’ lyrics are often indecipherable, yet his unique style still manages to capture the listener’s attention at the right moments, as demonstrated on the exclaimed delivery of ‘Catapult’. Nothing heard on ‘Murmur’ happened by accident.

Upon returning home, there was a joint consensus of positivity. “I can remember thinking, ‘God, I can’t wait until everyone hears this’,” recalled Peter Buck some years later. “It was so different – it didn’t sound like us live, and it didn’t sound like anyth­ing else that was coming out.”

Thankfully, both public and critics agreed, and upon its release, ‘Murmur’ went on to overshadow its more established competition. This lo-fi, low budget debut topped Rolling Stone’s Album of the Year poll, succeeding over the expensive production of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. R.E.M. was catapulted into the public eye and continually evolved during a career that spanned almost three decades.

After all this time, their debut stills holds the intrigue and excitement it had all those years ago. At a time when sound can often be secondary to image, ‘Murmur’ is a testament to the success of originality in music”.

I would recommend great articles like this. They give insight and background to a classic. I am going to end with a review from Pitchfork. In 2008, for the twenty-fifth anniversary of Murmur, a Deluxe Edition was released. Although R.E.M. sadly broke up in 2011, I hope the band members recall their debut fondly. It is one of the best albums of the ‘80s, and a remarkable debut from a band who would release a few classics through their career:

“There's a historical component to Murmur that often gets lost: In 1983, R.E.M. sounded unique. No bands were combining these particular influences in this particular way, which made this debut sound not only new but even subversive: a sharp reimagining of rock tropes. Twenty-five years and 14 albums later, our familiarity with R.E.M. means that Murmur has lost some of what made it revolutionary upon release. Fortunately, rather than collecting obligatory bonus tracks and outtakes-- most of which would have overlapped with Dead Letter Office-- the set includes a second disc documenting a show in Toronto from July 1983, just after the album's release. It marks the first time a full R.E.M. show has been released on CD (LIVE, from 2007, was culled from two nights in Dublin), and judging by the intensity with which the band run through old and then-new songs, it could have held its own as a separate release.

It's startling to hear some of these songs stripped down to their four basic elements, with no keyboard or guitar overdubs. Likewise, it's a bit odd to hear only polite applause after "7 Chinese Brothers", which would appear on Reckoning a year later, and surprising to hear people scream for "Boxcars" and a cover of the Velvet Underground's "There She Goes Again" (which they play) and especially "Shaking Through" (which they don't). Live, Stipe deploys an even wider arsenal of vocal tics: vamping on "Just a Touch", growling the chorus of "Talk About the Passion", and sing-speaking through a jaw-dropping "9-9", all while Mills' backing vocals soar overheard and Buck's guitar chimes reliably on every song. Because they were known primarily as a live band, and because they built their identity as such when the industry avenues of promotion failed them, this live disc, much like the remaster, goes a long way toward re-creating for listeners the context in which R.E.M. introduced themselves and making these familiar songs once again excitingly unfamiliar”.

A sensational and impactful debut album from the much missed and beloved R.E.M., Murmur is forty on 12th April. I know there will be celebrations and articles written about it closer to the time. I wanted to get in there and highlight a brilliant work. Their 1983 debut is a supreme, smart, memorable, enigmatic, powerful, and compelling album from…

THE Athens group.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: This Is Her… Then and Now: The Very Best of Jennifer Lopez

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

  

This Is Her… Then and Now: The Very Best of Jennifer Lopez

_________

I included Jennifer Lopez’s…

This Is Me… Then in Second Spin last year. That 2002 album was celebrating its twentieth anniversary. Perhaps her best-loved album, it was still one that I felt passed people by and was not played as much now. Interestingly, Lopez releases This Is Me… Now in July. The lyrics are very confessional, and she will talk about her love life and relationships. Lopez is setting the record straight, as people have perceptions about who she has been dating, what she is about, and all these rumours. Lopez is in a point where she wants to address that. I have not featured Lopez since then and, in fact, not much at all through the years. As she has a long-awaited album out soon, I wanted to compile a playlist featuring the best cuts from the New York-born legend. There are the hits and some album deeper cuts. Even if her more modern albums have not received a great deal of love and critical respect, they have sold very well. She is one of the most influential and popular artists in the world. Maybe critics are looking for the sort of ready hits and excitement that she produced on her first few albums. That said, even then they were not fully behind her and in support. It is baffling that a run as strong as (her debut) On the 6, J.Lo and This Is Me… Then did not get more acclaim considering, between them, they gave us hits such as If You Had My Love, Let’s Get Loud, Love Don’t Cost a Thing, Ain’t It Funny and Jenny from the Block!

The albums were huge commercial successes and it showed the gulf between the public’s love and the slightly less enthused critics. I hope that Lopez’s albums get re-evaluated, as they are incredible. I am going to end with a career-spanning playlist of Jennifer Lopez classics and deeper cuts. Before getting to that, AllMusic provide a biography of the actor and artist who has been responsible for some of the most recognisable tracks of the late-’90s and early-’00s:

“Actress, singer, dancer, producer, and businesswoman, Jennifer Lopez parlayed her Golden Globe-nominated portrayal of tragic Latin pop icon Selena in the 1997 biopic into pop culture superstardom, including forging a career as an influential pop star in her own right. Establishing a confident, sensual style, her first single, 1999's "If You Had My Love," went all the way to number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Just two years later, Lopez became the first woman to hit number one on the album chart and at the box office in the same week, with her second album, J.Lo, and her lead role opposite Matthew McConaughey in The Wedding Planner. In 2001, she launched the long-running clothing line J.Lo by Jennifer Lopez and received her second Grammy nomination in the dance recording category. The year 2002 brought the number one hit "All I Have" featuring LL Cool J, and her first fragrance, Glow, became a top-seller. While continuing to land occasional lead roles on the silver screen, she became a fixture in the Top Ten with albums including the Spanish-language Como Ama una Mujer (2007) and her seventh full-length, Love? (2011). In the meantime, on TV, the onetime In Living Color dancer co-created the reality series DanceLife, and in 2011 she began a multi-season stint as a judge on Fox's American Idol. Lopez issued another Top Ten studio album, A.K.A., in 2014 before leaving American Idol in 2016 to star in the NBC crime drama Shades of Blue (2016-2018). In 2020, Lopez received her first Golden Globe nomination in 22 years, for her portrayal of Ramona in the previous year's Hustlers, a film that she also co-produced. She combined her passions with 2022's Marry Me, a romantic comedy for which she starred and provided the soundtrack alongside co-star Maluma.

Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York, on July 24, 1969. After starting out in musical theater as a child, she made her film debut at age 16 in the little-seen My Little Girl, but she was later tapped to become one of the dancing "Fly Girls" on the television sketch comedy series In Living Color. A recurring role on the TV drama Second Chances followed before Lopez was thrust into the limelight co-starring with Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson in the 1995 feature film Money Train. Smaller roles in pictures including My Family/Mi Familia, Jack, and Blood and Wine followed before she landed the title role in 1997's Selena, portraying the slain Tejano singer. The resulting acclaim for Selena included a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Co-starring opposite George Clooney in 1998's acclaimed Out of Sight, Lopez became the highest-paid Latina actress in Hollywood history. The following summer, she returned to her musical roots with her debut pop album, On the 6, scoring a major hit with the single "If You Had My Love."

Lopez didn't waste time perfecting a sophomore effort, the appropriately titled J.Lo, which was issued in early 2001. The following year, Lopez released J to tha L-O!: The Remixes and This Is Me...Then, which spawned another hit single, "Jenny from the Block." The album reached number two on the Billboard 200. Although her high-profile romance with Ben Affleck created more headlines than her recording career, her follow-up, 2005's Rebirth -- released just after she married singer Marc Anthony -- debuted at number two on U.S. album chart. The Spanish-language album Como Ama una Mujer followed in 2007, peaking at number ten on the Billboard 200 while remaining at the top of the Latin chart for seven consecutive weeks. In October of that same year, Lopez put out a more "traditional" pop album, Brave, followed by an accompanying tour. It peaked at number 12. Love?, another pop album, was released in April 2011, a few months after Lopez debuted alongside Randy Jackson and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler as one of the judges on American Idol.

Love? proved Lopez's biggest hit in years, no doubt benefiting from her role as an Idol judge. Lopez stayed for two seasons, leaving after the 2012 season. Just as the news of her departure arrived, so too did news of her divorce from Marc Anthony. Her first hits collection, Dance Again...The Hits, appeared in July 2012 and entered the Billboard album chart at number 20.

Lopez returned to American Idol for its 13th season in January 2014. During its run, she started to tease her new album, releasing its first single, "I Luh Ya Papi," in March; it peaked at 77 on the Hot 100 and seven on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart. After the season wrapped, she released her eighth album, A.K.A., which was also her first record for the Capitol label. In 2015, she voiced a character in the animated feature film Home, and also contributed the single "Feel the Light" to the movie's soundtrack. Lopez kicked off an extended live concert residency at the AXIS at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas in January of 2016. That same month, she premiered in the role of NYPD detective Harlee Santos on the NBC series Shades of Blue.

Several months later, she marked a return to Epic Records after a six-year absence from the label with the release of the single "Ain't Your Mama." Lopez also premiered the song with a live performance on the finale of the 15th season of American Idol. In July 2017, she released the single "Ni Tú Ni Yo," which was co-written and executive produced by ex-husband Marc Anthony. "Amor, Amor, Amor," featuring Wisin, followed that November, and a bilingual single titled "Dinero," featuring DJ Khaled and Cardi B, arrived in May 2018. Shades of Blue aired its final episode that August. "Limitless," her contribution to the soundtrack of romantic comedy Second Act, followed later in the year. She also co-produced and starred in the film.

In 2019, Lopez appeared in the independent crime-comedy Hustlers, portraying strip-club dancer Ramona. It led to best-supporting actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild, and the Independent Spirit Awards. In September 2020, she released two songs with Colombian singer Maluma, "Pa' Ti" and "Lonely," both of which were later included on the soundtrack to Lopez's 2021 romantic-comedy film Marry Me. She also released the solo track "On My Way" as a single from the film. Later that year, she teamed up with rising Puerto Rican star Rauw Alejandro for the single "Cambia el Paso”.

Ahead of the release of her ninth studio album, This Is Me... Now, I wanted to look back at the career of Jennifer Lopez and assemble some of her best music. Nearly twenty-four years after her debut was released, there is still this huge demand for and love of her music. As you will hear from the cuts in the playlist, Lopez has had…

SUCH a varied career.

FEATURE: Sprechgesang Durch Technik: Why Is Talk-Singing Becoming More Prevalent?

FEATURE:

 

 

Sprechgesang Durch Technik

IN THIS PHOTO: Wet Leg have harnessed and personalised talk-singing, as evidenced throughout their award-nominated eponymous 2022 debut album/PHOTO CREDIT: Terna Jogo for Rolling Stone UK

 

Why Is Talk-Singing Becoming More Prevalent?

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IT is not a new thing in music…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Artist and D.J. Gemma Bradley’s 2023 documentary for The Cultural Frontline asked why more and more guitar bands are speaking rather than singing - a phenomenon that is seemingly growing and expanding

but, maybe as part of diversifying and evolving genres, there is a definitely rise in talk-singing. The Germans call it Sprechgesang. For decades, we have heard songs where there are spoken lines or verses. I don’t think that there has been a particular revolution in that sense. One can definitely feel it becoming more popular and integrated into music. Maybe genres like Rock, Indie, and Pop have been quite homogenous and defined in past years. As we are seeing more artists push boundaries and find new ways to communicate with the audience, it is no surprise that many artists are mixing singing with speaking. It is not uncommon to find solo artists doing this, but bands especially (including duos) are employing speak-singing. I was compelled by a documentary from earlier in the year from musician Gemma Bradley. She asks why guitar bands are speaking instead of singing. I am quite torn over it, and I have theories as to why a lot of Rock bands especially are bringing talk-singing into things. I want to start with a couple of features that provide some background and context to this phenomenon. In 2019, The Guardian asked the question as to why many of the best bands preferred talking rather than singing:

‘It feels like acting,” says Florence Shaw, frontwoman – not singer – of the London indie band Dry Cleaning. “Speaking your lyrics is acting, more than singing is. Everyone knows what it sounds like in a person’s voice when they are irritated, or when they are in love. The voice changes, and it doesn’t whack you in the face – it can be quite subtle and creep up on you more.”

If you spend any time in small British venues, it is likely you have noticed there are quite a few bands like Dry Cleaning around at the moment – bands that don’t employ a singer so much as someone who declaims their words, and that are getting noticed. Do Nothing and Black Country, New Road have been winning admirers; Talk Show have been signed by Felix White, late of the Maccabees, to his Yala! Records label; Sinead O’Brien’s new single is on Chess Club, the label that brought the world Mumford & Sons, MØ, Wolf Alice, Sundara Karma and more.

It is not a complete surprise that all these artists are operating in that part of the musical spectrum marked, broadly, as post-punk. The late 70s and early 80s were when sprechgesang – literally, “spoken singing” – flourished as a means of expression, in part because of the embrace of musical limitations, in part because it was a clear point of difference from traditional rock music, and in part because it was ideal for conveying the scorn, sarcasm and disgust that performers such as John Lydon and Mark E Smith dealt in.

Smith, especially, is an inspiration for O’Brien, even if her style – poetic and allusive, with an often flowing and melodic backing – is more akin to early Patti Smith (she even started in the same way as the latter, reciting poetry to the accompaniment of a guitar). “Mark E Smith showed it’s not about perfection,” O’Brien says. “Every piece I ever listen to by the Fall can sound like a whole different mood board on another day. It completely transforms, and I’m stopped in my tracks.”

That sense of confrontation Lydon and Smith brought remains important to many of these new groups. They are all still playing small rooms, where eye contact is unavoidable, and there is something uniquely discomfiting about being singled out from a crowd to be spoken at by someone on a stage.

“There are people, understandably, who are cringed out by spoken-word stuff,” says Isaac Wood of Black Country, New Road. “It’s too direct. They think it’s like an open mic slam poetry night or something. But if you are in any way inclined towards it, it is less easy to ignore, because there are conversational elements to it. It’s more direct.” Like Dry Cleaning, whose breakthrough track was about Meghan Markle, Wood’s lyrical references to Kendall Jenner and Kanye West make him feel all the more immediate.

“They hate it,” says Do Nothing’s Chris Bailey of his own audiences. “They feel super-weird and wrong. A lot of the time I’ll stare one person down, and usually they just look away. If I’m playing a character, it makes it feel like theatre. Breaking the fourth wall always makes people uncomfortable.”

“I love being able to stand a metre away from someone and just stare at them,” says Talk Show’s Harrison Swann. “It’s really visceral and the most real thing you can get. You can’t shy away or hide behind a melody. It’s great as a performer; it’s really immediate.”

Unsurprisingly, sprechgesang did not come about as a means to enable scratchy indie bands to make their audiences feel uncomfortable. It was first used by Arnold Schoenberg in 1912, when he set 21 poems by Albert Giraud to music as Pierrot Lunaire. (Strictly, what he was doing, and what these bands are doing, was sprechstimme – which emphasises speech above melody – but outside classical music, the two terms are all but interchangeable, and sprechgesang is the one that has stuck.) Brecht and Weill developed it further, but it was never more than a novelty in rock until the post-punk years (you might make an argument that Bob Dylan deals in it, or you might say he isn’t a very good singer)”.

Whilst artists throughout music history have used talk-singing, I think what is remarkable about the last few years it the variety of genres that is exploring it. In terms of newer acts coming through, the likes of Wet Leg, Dry Cleaning, and Black Country, New Road cover a vast array of sounds and territories. I think it will be something that becomes even more common in the coming years. The Ringer investigated why Sprechgesang was very much in vogue:

“Yet the present state of talk-singing (or “Sprechgesang”—yes, there is a German word for this) is anything but a monolith. Consider the vast array of talk-singing styles on display in the early 2020s. If Shaw sounds ever calm and collected, her peers in the London-based groups Squid and Black Country, New Road sound agitated and distrubed, like Mark E. Smith on steroids, delivering feverish punk monologues coated with rage at the collapsing world around them. (The great eight-minute finale of Squid’s album Bright Green Field, for instance, finds singer Ollie Judge ranting and raving about political propaganda—“Pamphlets through my door / And pamphlets on my floor!”—with mounting hysteria.)

“The more melodic the songs were, the less excited we were about what we were writing. Then, as we tried things that were less melodic and more spoken, we just got more and more excited about what we were doing.” —Greg Katz, lead singer of Cheekface

Contrast that with the flirty, winking monotone favored by English duo Wet Leg on their debut single “Chaise Longue,” in which singer Rhian Teasdale cheekily quotes Mean Girls and repeats the phrase “chaise longue” 46 times without breaking a sweat. The ferociously addictive single became an unlikely success: By late September, “Chaise Longue” had amassed nearly 3 million streams on Spotify (The Ringer’s parent company) alone, and Wet Leg announced their first U.S. shows despite having only two songs.

Across the pond, more laid-back, stylized talk-singing approaches have flourished among indie acts like Sneaks (a.k.a. musician Eva Moolchan), whose four albums revel in minimalist post-punk mantras, and the band French Vanilla, whose records French Vanilla and How Am I Not Myself? draw links between the iconic, exaggerated Sprechgesang of early B-52s and the present-day queer-punk scene.

Meanwhile, Greg Katz, the lead singer of indie-rock group Cheekface, channels his anxieties into a dorkier, more conversational mode of talk-singing on 2021’s excellent Emphatically No., employing an untrained voice that evokes everyone from Jonathan Richman (whose stock has risen so much lately that he’s being impersonated at festivals!) to Cake. A typical Cheekface song finds Katz talking his way through the verses, riffing on subjects like climate collapse (“Original Composition”) and smartphone addiction (“Got my old phone replaced / Now I do nothing faster than I did yesterday,” he quips in “Wedding Guests”), before breaking into a singable chorus. He never sounds as cool or detached as, say, Florence Shaw. He sounds like a funny, self-deprecating friend cracking jokes to ward off despair.

Like many talk-singers, Katz has no formal vocal training. He embraced the style more or less by accident. When he and bandmate Amanda Tannen began writing songs together in 2017, they tried various approaches. “The more melodic the songs were, the less excited we were about what we were writing,” Katz says. “Then, as we tried things that were less melodic and more spoken, we just got more and more excited about what we were doing.”

In Katz’s view, his vocal style conveys the jittery emotional landscape of Cheekface’s music as much as the lyrics themselves. “You can tell when your friends get overwhelmed because they start talking so fast, right?” Katz says. “You’re like, ‘Whoa, slow down. You’re tripping.’ And I think that’s something you can do if you’re not concerned about keeping the cadence of the melody the same from line to line and verse to verse. What is the polar opposite of that? It’s a Max Martin song, where he would rather the words have less meaning and the melodies stay symmetrical.”

Yet in recent months, even the upper echelons of pop royalty have dabbled in Sprechgesang. Billie Eilish sexy-mumbles her way through the bleary-eyed Happier Than Ever highlight “Oxytocin,” doing her best Madonna-circa-Erotica impression, while St. Vincent affects a saucier beat-rap delivery in her comeback single “Pay Your Way in Pain.” Back in April, Mick Jagger delivered a rather lackluster brand of shout-singing on his Dave Grohl–assisted lockdown anthem “Eazy Sleazy,” which is disappointing, considering Jagger gave us one of the all-time great, sex-obsessed Sprechgesang performances on 1978’s “Shattered.”

Even Olivia Rodrigo, the newly anointed Gen Z pop queen, unleashes a caustic mode of talk-singing on her song “Brutal”: “I’m not cool, and I’m not smart / And I can’t even parallel park,” Rodrigo snarls, as though she’s too consumed by teen angst to conform to melodic orthodoxy. Curiously, Rodrigo’s song nicks a guitar lick from “Pump It Up” by Elvis Costello, which, by Costello’s own admission, borrowed heavily from Bob Dylan’s talk-singing landmark “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” which, in turn, took influence from the fast-talking proto-rap of Chuck Berry’s 1956 single “Too Much Monkey Business.” How about that: a talk-singing lineage that directly links Gen Z all the way back to the Greatest Generation”.

One would say that an increased number of groups and new artists would lead to a rise in talk-singing. This is true, but I don’t think it is a mere numbers game. I am a little divided over the phenomenon. I am someone traditionally who prefers singing as the best way to articulate a message and capture me. I do think a talk-singing can be a little weary and ruin the momentum of a song. On the other hand, artists can bring more nuance and personality to songs. I feel a greater range of dynamics and emotions can be deployed through talk-singing. Also, for many Rock acts who might have a more political edge, providing speech can be more impactful and clearer (in terms of vocal clarity) compared to singing. I do not like songs that are mostly talk-singing, but having Wet Leg have shown how effecting and interesting music with a more conversational edge can be. I guess speaking can seem a more direct link to the fans and lyrics. Singing can sometimes be unintelligibility, so there is that desire to be understand. Rock is a genre that is seeing more talk-singing. This might beg the question whether the genre is transforming into something different. We do still have guitar bands who write huge and raucous songs, but I think the sound and culture of Rock has transformed quite notably over the past decade. Regardless of age, even Indie heroes such as Arctic Monkeys are far removed from how they sounded on their 2006 debut, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not. Lead Alex Turner has this interesting mix of singing and speaking. More Lounge and Orchestral than their early work, maybe they have lead a bit of a revolution.

The fact is that every artist has a different reason for talk-singing. I am not sure which song or artist started the trend, but we are talking many decades ago now. Whether people err more towards a more traditional approach of Rock songs largely comprising singing, or they are pretty open to talk-singing, it is definitely becoming more prominent. I do think it is a way for artists to distinguish themselves and get their natural accents and voices heard. It also provides something more cinematic, dramatic and even comic. It adds layers and depths to genres like Rock, and certain spoken lines can come across more powerfully, naturally or engaging than if they were sung. I would recommend people listen to Gemma Bradley’s excellent documentary from earlier in the year, where bands like Squid are put under the spotlight:

“Fontaines D.C., Dry Cleaning and Yard Act, as well as solo artists including Billy Nomates and Sinead O’Brien are just some of the acts using speech prominently in their music. It is not just vocal performance that has been commented on - many emerging bands have been described as having a ‘post-punk’ guitar music style and lyrics rich in social commentary.

Musician and broadcaster Gemma Bradley meets bands and vocalists to find out more about this exciting music trend and why.

James Smith, songwriter and vocalist of English band Yard Act explains why he was attracted to what he describes as ‘spoken word, politically forward’ guitar music. He reflects on the power of vocal performance and how the Covid pandemic affected his song writing.

Irish vocalist Sinead O’Brien performs on stage with a guitarist and drummer and works in poetry as well as music. She meets Gemma backstage before a gig to discuss how versatile and impactful speech in music can be.

Fionn Reilly from Belfast band Enola Gay explains to Gemma what inspires his energetic performance style, vocal delivery and the band’s song lyrics.

Gemma also visits the prolific and much sought-after producer Dan Carey at his London studio. He has worked with many guitar bands that use speech in their music including Fontaines D.C., Squid, Wet Leg and black midi, and describes the freedom available for artists unconstrained by the parameters of singing”.

I am a big fan of many of the artists included in the Gemma Bradley documentary. Whether they use talk-singing to bring poetry into music or something that builds dialogue and conversation into the mix, it is clearly providing very popular and enduring! These are artists with a rich catalogue that is setting them aside. As I say, there is a delicate balance where too much talk-singing (Dry Cleaning for instance) can prove a bit samey and unappealing to those who do like at least a bit of singing. That said, bands like Dry Cleaning are almost creating a sub-genre or sound that has a very growing fanbase. That is a good thing. New acts like Wet Leg are adding their own stamp to Sprechgesang. As it shows no signs of slowing, it will be fascinating to see…

WHERE it leads.

INTERVIEW: Jen Dixon

INTERVIEW:

PHOTO CREDIT: Francis Fitzgerald



Jen Dixon

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WHEN it comes to interviews…

I do not get to speak with many artists from the North of England. Teeside’’s Jen Dixon is a terrific artist whose previous singles like Save Me (2022) and Pretty Face (2021) are extraordinary and got me invested into her music. With a new E.P., Less Than a Feeling, out in June, it is an exciting time for the extraordinary songwriter. She is getting a lot of love right now, and rightly so too! I have been speaking with Dixon about that forthcoming E.P., why the Teesside music scene is growing and what defines it, and what is coming next from her. With a new single, Over You, out on 7th April, people really do need to tune into the music of Jen Dixon. Go and pre-order her magnificent E.P. and get to experience a bright and original artist who has…

A very bright future ahead.

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Hi Jen. How are you? How had your week been?

Hey! Good, thanks. Busy doing lots of promo. Doing the day job, and of course spending time with the dogs and chickens.

Over You is your upcoming new single. What can you tell us about the song and its inspiration?

The song was actually one of the first I wrote back in the first lockdown. It’s about a journey and new beginnings; coming out of difficult times to discover that life can suddenly change for the better. I’m hoping it’s catchy and people get it stuck in their heads! There’s also a little rap (if you can call it that!) in this one similar to my previous single, Which Way Is Down?.

You must be excited that your debut E.P. is out soon. What has the writing process been like, and what can you reveal about the themes explored throughout?

It’s been a LONG process. I wanted it to be right. So it’s a collection of songs written since 2020. In the early days, some of the songs just didn’t fit with what I was doing, But as I progressed as a writer and a person, I felt it was now the right time to get them out there! They were all written and recorded by me in my bedroom studio, then mixed by Lisa Murphy and mastered by Pete Maher. I think there’s a few themes, all personal to me and my journey - who I’ve met, what I’ve experienced. That’s all I’m saying!

“Loving the obvious bands like Foo Fighters, Paramore and RHCP (Red Hot Chili Peppers), but also engaging with artists like Phil Collins and The Police”

What kind of sounds are explored on the E.P.? Is it you solo for the most part, or are there are a lot of other musicians in the mix?

It’s basically all me. I record all the different instruments myself but did have a couple of guitarists feature on a couple of songs because they’re much better than me! My first instrument is drums, so I normally record that then add in bass, synths, guitars, piano, vocals, harmonies… the list goes on! I love layers.

How did you get interested in music? Were there particular artists and albums that struck you at a young age?

I started playing drums at age 11, played drums at college and did sound engineering at uni. But I didn’t actually start singing and writing until the COVID lockdown. I guess growing up I was a bit sheltered with music - mostly my dad playing Elvis -, but I do remember a Stray Cats vinyl being on repeat! When I went to college, I explored much more. Loving the obvious bands like Foo Fighters, Paramore and RHCP (Red Hot Chili Peppers), but also engaging with artists like Phil Collins and The Police.

 I think some of the best and most interesting talent comes from the north of the U.K. There is so much attention still on London. What do you think it is about areas like Teesside, Yorkshire and Greater Manchester that produces such original artists?

That’s a big question! I’m not so sure about Yorkshire and Manchester, but I know Teesside’s music scene is buzzing and has been for a long time. Maybe it’s an economy thing? People need an outlet when things look bleak? I know on Teesside the steel industry etc. closing was a big blow. There’s a lack of funding in schools for music; high unemployment rate. But maybe it’s something that just grown, so having venues/festivals to promote the original artists is so important. It’s really worrying that so many of our grassroots venues have closed recently.

Your music has been getting love and attention from the press and radio station. As an unsigned artist, how important is it to get this backing and exposure?

It’s really important! I remember Tom Robinson saying that radio isn’t an end goal, it’s part of the journey - and he wasn’t wrong. In the early days, it doesn’t really make much different to streaming figures etc., but getting your name heard and getting a team behind you of supporters is such a good feeling. Without management or a label, I’m doing everything alone. So I appreciate every person that supports, listens, and shares. It’s amazing.

“It’s hard to get onto the local festivals because there’s so much talent, so the fact that I’ve been chosen for the line-up is the dream”

I think a lot of people would love to see you live. Are there dates coming later in the year in promotion of your debut E.P.?

First up is Stockton Calling! Awesome local festival. There’s also another to announce later in the year. I’m working on doing something nearer the E.P. launch, but I definitely want to do an end-of-the-year gig and get as many people as possible down!

I know you are announced for Stockton Calling in April. How are you feeling about that?

Great! It’s hard to get onto the local festivals because there’s so much talent, so the fact that I’ve been chosen for the line-up is the dream. I just hope people actually come and see me and the band play on the day!

You are one of the most exciting and promising young artists coming through, but are there any other emerging artists you would recommend we check out?

Soooooo many. Ladies first: SILVI is an awesome Scottish talent. I can’t wait to see her at Stockton Calling! Also, if you want something a bit different then Amelia Coburn is a Folk-y singer songwriter that is making waves. Fellas: I saw the Citylightz lads last year and they’re a bundle of energy! Sugar Roulette are a good local band that should be checked out too.

Finally, and for being a good sport, you can select any song (from another artist) and I will play it here.

I’m going to go for the new single by Docksuns - Real Thing.

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Follow Jen Dixon

FEATURE: With the Beatle… Why Paul McCartney’s 1964: Eyes of the Storm Is a Must for Every Fan of the Band

FEATURE:

 

 

With the Beatle…

IMAGE CREDIT: Paul McCartney/Allen Lane

 

Why Paul McCartney’s 1964: Eyes of the Storm Is a Must for Every Fan of the Band

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IT seems…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney/Allen Lane

that there is always something to talk about when it comes to Paul McCartney and The Beatles. The legend celebrated his eightieth birthday last year, and I remember, when researching, thinking how much he has achieved through the decades! One would think that, as the genius gets older, that there would be less to enjoy and find. That is never the case with Macca. Whether he brings out a book of lyrics, a children’s book, or simply posts onto Twitter, we are always aware of this beloved colossus! I was wondering what treats we would get from McCartney in 2023. I am sure he will appear in a documentary or interviews later in the year, and we all hope there is going to be a follow-up to 2020’s McCartney III. I think that we will get some material later in the year. Before any of that, there is something interesting from the archives. I often wonder about The Beatles and photos. Paul’s late wife Linda was a photographer. The Beatles were involved with press photos, but what about journaling their everyday lives? Obviously, as it was the ‘60s, it was not as convenient and easy to take a lot of photos as it is now. It seems that Paul McCartney had his own camera and spent time at the height of Beatlemania taking some interesting shots. They are going on display at the National Portrait Gallery:

“An unprecedented exhibition, revealing – for the first time – extraordinary photographs taken by Paul McCartney.

In this show, we focus on portraits captured by McCartney, using his own camera, between December 1963 and February 1964 – a time when The Beatles were transitioning from a British sensation to a global phenomenon. These never-before-seen images offer a uniquely personal perspective on what it was like to be a ‘Beatle’ at the start of ‘Beatlemania’ – and adjusting from playing gigs on Liverpool stages, to performing to 73 million Americans on The Ed Sullivan Show. At a time when so many camera lenses were on the band, it is Paul McCartney’s which tells the truest story of a band creating cultural history – in one of its most exciting chapters”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles’ John Lennon and George Harrison/PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney/Allen Lane

There is something very evocative and cool looking at some of the images that will appear. In black-and-white, you get this very authentic and vintage look from the point of view from a man who was experiencing something that nobody else had and ever will again! The Beatlemania time must have been a swell of excitement, exhaustion, and nerves! Not knowing what it meant or where it would head, McCartney could not have had much downtime or chance to get away. I imagine that late-1963 period as being so full-on and crowded. Constant Intrusion and endless performances, getting these candid photos from a man who was changing Pop music forever, we also get a book with so many fascinting shots. I would advise anyone who even has a passing interest in The Beatles to pre-order it (it is available on 13th June - five days before McCartney’s eighty-first birthday):

“Capturing the moment when the sixties truly began, this stunning volume of recently rediscovered photographs - boasting must-read commentary from Sir Paul McCartney - chronicles the whirlwind months from the end of 1963 to the beginning of 1964 when Beatlemania erupted, with an immediacy, vividness and authenticity unmatched by any previous works on the era.

Photographs and Reflections by Paul McCartney

'Millions of eyes were suddenly upon us, creating a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life.'

IN THIS PHOTO: Paul McCartney during his Got Back tour of 2022/PHOTO CREDIT: MJ Kim

In 2020, an extraordinary trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by Paul McCartney on a 35mm camera was re-discovered in his archive. They intimately record the months towards the end of 1963 and beginning of 1964 when Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band's first visit to the USA, they became the most famous people on the planet. The photographs are McCartney's personal record of this explosive time, when he was, as he puts it, in the 'Eyes of the Storm'.

1964: Eyes of the Storm presents 275 of McCartney's photographs from the six cities of these intense, legendary months - Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami - and many never-before-seen portraits of John, George and Ringo. In his Foreword and Introductions to these city portfolios, McCartney remembers 'what else can you call it - pandemonium' and conveys his impressions of Britain and America in 1964 - the moment when the culture changed and the Sixties really began.

1964: Eyes of the Storm includes:

- Six city portfolios - Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami - and a Coda on the later months of 1964 - featuring 275 of Paul McCartney's photographs and his candid reflections on them

- A Foreword by Paul McCartney

- Beatleland, an Introduction by Harvard historian and New Yorker essayist Jill Lepore

- A Preface by Nicholas Cullinan, Director of the National Portrait Gallery, London, and Another Lens, an essay by Senior Curator Rosie Broadley”.

There have been quite a few Paul McCartney/The Beatles-related books from the last few years. Some would say this is inessential or money-grabbing. Rather than this being McCartney looking through his old photos and archives and putting this out knowing that the book will sell big, it is actually vital and beautiful insight into days in the life of a member the greatest band ever. It is called 1964: Eyes of the Storm. That sense of thrill and absolute spectacle will be put alongside more intimate and goofy photos. Beatlemania is one of the most fascinating periods in musical history. I think that there will be a lot of new Beatles converts following the Peter Jackson documentary-film, The Beatles: Get Back, from 2021. I am going to wrap up in a minute but, in this article we get a quite from McCartney himself about why he is making these photos public:

“Both collections will be titled 1964: Eyes of the Storm, both are due out in June and both will compile 275 photos taken as the band toured through Liverpool, London, Paris, New York, D.C. and Miami. McCartney himself wrote the book's foreword, as well as notes reflecting on the shots he took — which include portraits of bandmates John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.

The archive's title alludes to the massive attention the band received, as Beatlemania took hold — as McCartney asks in his foreword, "What else can you call it [but] pandemonium?" — and the four musicians experienced life-changing upheaval. The three never-before-seen photos on this page capture not only that overwhelming change, but also moments of quiet contemplation.

PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney/Allen Lane

"Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time," McCartney writes in 1964: Eyes of the Storm. "This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back. Here was my own record of our first huge trip, a photographic journal of The Beatles in six cities, beginning in Liverpool and London, followed by Paris (where John and I had been ordinary hitchhikers three years before), and then what we regarded as the big time, our first visit as a group to America”.

I think that this is going to be one of the most interesting and essential Beatles releases. It  takes us back almost sixty years to a time that not only when Pop was changing and growing, but the world around it was also transforming. In the U.S. on 22nd November, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There was unrest across America. In 1964 Britain, Top of the Pops first aired on 1st January. Radio Caroline started on 28th March, and Labour’s Harold Wilson became Prime Minister later in the year. It was a changeable, turbulent, and exciting time, and Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were right in the middle of it. How strange it must have been for these young men to be in such a weird and wonderful position. It makes Paul McCartney’s upcoming photobook (and exhibition) a must for…

IN THIS PHOTO: "The crowds chasing us in A Hard Day's Night were based on moments like this," McCartney writes. "Taken out of the back of our car on West Fifty-Eighth, crossing the Avenue of the Americas"/PHOTO CREDIT: Paul McCartney/Allen Lane

ALL fans of The Beatles.

FEATURE: Forty Years of the Compact Disc: Could We See a New Physical Format for the Modern Age?

FEATURE:

 

 

Forty Years of the Compact Disc

PHOTO CREDIT: Jorge Fakhouri Filho/Pexels

 

Could We See a New Physical Format for the Modern Age?

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THE compact disc…

 PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

has been in our music world for forty years. Introduced in November 1982 in Japan, and in March 1983 in Europe, I wanted to mark forty years of its life here (in Europe) by thinking about its huge impact and legacy. I think that the compact disc was the last sustainable physical format. The cassette and vinyl came about before. Whereas cassettes are still used, as I have said before, they are hardly ever played. People don’t really have boomboxes or a devices they would have had in the ‘90s. It seems like many buy them to support artists. I do wonder where people play cassettes. I have also said how it would be awesome to revive the Sony Walkman and actually have a portable device one could play the cassettes on. I have always liked them, but I get that people feel they are pretty unstable in terms of durability. Whereas you get the dreaded unspooling and the tape being stuck in the machine, you also have to wind and rewind manually to skip between tracks. The vinyl has its advantages. You get this big and tactile product that you put on and enjoy. It is not portable obviously…and vinyl is still expensive. People deride the compact disc now, as a lot of the packaging used to house albums is plastic. Many feel C.D.s are too fragile and scratch easily. Also, like the cassette, where do people play compact discs?! I have a player in my car, but many do not now.

PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

Smartphones mean people hook that up in their car. Maybe people have stereos with a compact disc tray(s), but sales have steadily declined. Vinyl is the leading physical format, and that lacks a certain portability and sociability. In the sense people don’t swap vinyl in the way cassettes and C.D.s once were. The reason why the fortieth anniversary of the compact disc is so important is that it was the way that I properly discovered music. My parents’ vinyl was part of the house but it not widely played. I did do cassettes for a while when I was very young, and I do have very fond memories of playing albums in an old boombox that I got. Compact discs were a different league. I bought singles and albums, and there was a lot of swapping in the playground. The thrill of buying compact discs and taking them in. The feel of the casing and reading the inset you got too. I collected them too, and I have a vast array from across the years. They are memories and physical connections to past times. I am not against streaming and digital music, but it is convenient and inexpensive. I don’t think that sharing playlists and songs in this form is going to be as effective as physical forms. What do young music lovers do when it comes to having that same sort of connection and experience as I did when I was young?

 IMAGE CREDIT: freepik

It is not just a concern about young listeners. It is a pleasure to listen to music in physical formats. Streaming is great but, with criticism regarding how much artists receive and very slow progress, people are embracing vinyl more than compact discs and cassettes. The format is expensive and very much for a time and place. One is unlikely to have vinyl shared in playground and workplaces. There is a romance and wonder to listening to vinyl and that whole listening experience. What do you do when you not only want to enjoy something more compact and cheaper, but it also need to be environmentally conscious and ensures artists receive payment. Also, I miss singles being available to purchase physically. It may seem oldskool, but the fortieth anniversary of the compact disc has made me wonder whether we could have a new physical format. The fairly short-lived MiniDisc (MD) came out in 1992, but that did not really have the same impact as C.D.s, cassettes, and vinyl. With there not really being a popular, easily accessible, and inexpensive physical format out there, I fear so many will miss out. There is already an awareness when it comes to younger listeners not knowing certain artists and songs. If streaming is their main source of discovery, the way algorithms work mean they are being fed limits and music that is crafted for them. There is a clear demand for physical music today.

 PHOTO CREDIT: halayalex via freepik

I am not sure what the solution is, but I would like to think physical singles could be reignited (with artists more compelled to do B-sides), alongside physical albums on a new format. Something more durable than cassettes, it would be a cross between a compact disc and a MiniDisc. You need a device which is sturdy, well-designed, and compact, and you need the physical cartridge/product to be sized so that it is not too cumbersome. I love the old C.D. cases you got, but you would need to make the thing in a form other than plastic. Same goes with casing. I guess that is where the first challenge comes in. Also, it would need to be so that albums cost about the same as they do on C.D. Of course, if they could be priced the same as cassettes – which are slightly cheaper in general -, then that would take care of another issue. Not only would a new generation both be able to swap music like we did years back, in a physical and more sociable way. There would be this sense of preservation and posterity. I revisit and rediscover older music because I have the C.D.s, vinyl, or cassettes still. I am not going through playlists and being ignited and reminded in the same way. Also, as a way of passing music down, maybe there is not the same nostalgia and beauty of a cassette, vinyl, or compact disc, but there is physical archive and connection. That is so important. Being able to produce albums ethically and sustainably so they are durable, between £10-£12 (singles maybe £2-£3), and they are small enough to fit inside cases or a bag.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Yuri Manei/Pexels

Some might argue why we need an additional physical format, but I feel compact discs, in spite of enduring for forty years, are less popular and seen as old-fashionable by some. I love cassettes and would recommend them, but they have design flaws and limitations. There are no devices to play them on and, if they were, would people buy it at such a high price? Something sleek that would mix digital interactivity with the physical product and capabilities would combine the best of the digital and physical. Perhaps the device itself would be upwards of £100 but, as many would spend them on a record player, the investment is sound. It would be less problematic than the Sony Discman (which used to skip C.D.s if you so much as moved with it!), and it would enable new generations to bond with physical music in a very real way. I am not sure how practical and easy it would be to press old and new albums onto this format, but I would definitely buy more older and new albums if there was a format that was more affordable than vinyl (and one I could walk around with). It provides nostalgia and modernity at the same time. Using a material other than plastic and ensuring people could afford the device and albums/singles. I would hate to think that, in years to come, the only physical format we have is vinyl. It is a marvellous thing, but it really is for sitting at home. I think it is something for doing solo. Digital music has opened so many horizons and possibilities for so many people. I can understand why some physical formats are dwindling, but it needs to be kept alive. Having music that you can hold in your hands and play is…

 PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

SUCH a precious thing.

FEATURE: Fight for Your Rights: Is Strict and Expensive Music Licensing Hindering Filmmaking?

FEATURE:

 

 

Fight for Your Rights

PHOTO CREDIT: Ashutosh Sonwani/Pexels

 

Is Strict and Expensive Music Licensing Hindering Filmmaking?

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SOME of the best…

 PHOTO CREDIT: starline via freepik

and most iconic film moments involve music. Whether it is a song played in a scene or something on the soundtrack, we all have those standouts scenes that were aided and lifted by music. Filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino are synonymous with their incorporation of music into films. Creating wonderful and eclectic soundtracks. I think the music can identify and define a film as much as anything else. More and more, I am reading about how various songs and artists were intended to be used in a film but they were not. Usually it comes down to one of two things. Either they could not get the permission to use that music, or the cost was just far too much. Artists, labels, and estates can charge hundred of thousands of pounds/dollars for a single song. As most films do not have a budget big enough to pay exorbitant amounts for music, less expensive options have to be considered. Here are some guidelines and clarifications when it comes to using music in films:

“To celebrate our Board Member matching campaign–which, your donation (and impact!) will be doubled through our Board Members and Friends Matching Challenge, available through this Thursday, September 29–we’re reposting our retrospective series The Fi Hall Of Fame featuring refreshed, expanded and updated versions of most popular blogs of all time. Special thanks to the original author of this piece, Lorena Alvarado.

Filmmakers often feel so attached to a song that it becomes a crucial and indispensable element of their story. A scene, or even an entire film, can revolve around a single piece of music. What many directors don’t realize is that the process of clearing that song can be very difficult and expensive. Brooke Wentz, the music supervisor behind Kings Point, Bully and Bill Cunningham New York cleared up some of the confusion and little-known realities of music licensing during a recent Film Independent education event.

PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

The most important thing to know is that there are two rights to every song. There is the person who wrote the song (who holds the publisher rights, aka “sync” rights) and the person who recorded it (who holds the “master” rights). To use this piece of music you need permission from both entities. You can listen to a song like “All Along the Watchtower” by Jimi Hendrix, but you may not know that the writer is Bob Dylan. To determine who owns the rights to songs, the websites ascap.com and bmi.com are extremely helpful.

Once you’ve determined who owns the publishing and the master, you must contact them separately and ask for permission to use the song. This can get tricky when there are a lot of songwriters involved. Katy Perry’s song “California Gurls,” for instance, has five publishers. Therefore, if you wanted to clear this tune you would need approval from all five of the writers and on top of that you would need approval from Katy Perry. If one of them says no, then unfortunately you can’t use the song.

Here are Wentz’s top six secrets for music licensing:

For festival rights, most songs can be cleared at around $500 per side.

Meaning $500 for the publishers, $500 for the master. If you don’t have enough money in your budget to pay for all the rights up front, you can clear only the film festival rights and add an option to get all media rights up to two years later.

The fee is the same regardless of the duration of the cue.

If you use a song for five seconds or two minutes, it will cost you the same amount of money. The only exception to this is if the song is used over beginning or end credits.

PHOTO CREDIT: Karolina Grabowska/Pexels

The rate for a piece of music is negotiable!

Most filmmakers don’t know that they can offer a lower price, or if the artist likes the subject matter of the film, they might offer a better rate.

If you think a song is in the public domain, double check.

“I had a client who thought ‘My Sweet Lord’ was in the public domain,” Wentz explained. “I said ‘Nope, I’m pretty sure that’s a George Harrison song.’”

No response does not mean an approval.

It might be frustrating if they are not getting back to you, but you have to keep pushing. If you do not clear the rights for a song, you could receive a “cease and desist” letter from the rights holder which could incur fees.

PHOTO CREDIT: Stephan Müller/Pexels

If you’re doing a music doc, make sure you can secure the rights.

If the estate or the artist is not on board you will not be able to use the music. Many deceased musicians’ rights are owned by their spouse or ex-spouse—or both. Certain songs might never be clearable just because of inner conflicts that have nothing to do with you or your movie.

Filmmakers can get charged higher fees because they don’t know the numbers. That’s why it’s useful to have someone that knows about clearance to be the middleman. Brooke Wentz’s company, The Rights Workshop, helps filmmakers secure the appropriate rights for any budget.

Brooke recently worked on a film that got distribution at a festival and needed to expand the rights. She was shocked to discover that the director had licensed the songs himself and got charged five times what the fees should have been. Ouch!

Here some other stuff you should know:

Sync vs. Master agreements.

There are several different types of music-licensing agreements, but the two primary ones to worry about are sync and masteruse agreements– these agreements deal with pre-existing songs and sound recordings, not ones specifically composed for your film.

Sync refers to the actual composition/song—melody, lyrics and arrangement – as synchronized in timed relation with a motion picture. In almost all cases, a sync agreement is required in order to use a song in a film.

Take the example of U2’s cover of “Helter Skelter.” A filmmaker wishing to use this specific recording of the song will need first to seek a sync agreement from the copyright holder to the original Beatles composition in addition to a master recording agreement from U2’s record label”.

Maybe this is coming back to my own frustrations but, as someone currently working on a film concept where music is all over it, the logistics, realities, and expenses are daunting! I can appreciate how artists and labels want to ensure that the music being used in a film is paid for. A lot of films do really well at the box office, so it is only right that those that contribute music towards it get some of that cut. Most films do not have a huge budget to play with. So many films I see use snippets of songs or feature lesser-known artists. It can be good when smaller acts are featured, but I see similarities between getting rights to use music in films and getting clearance from artists to sample their music in original songs. There, it can be really expensive or problematic getting permission. I have said how this is hindering great music and the chance to use older songs and introduce them to the new generation. The same relates to film. A lot of the best film soundtracks ever are not packed with huge hits and well-known acts, but I don’t think there should be a price structure or the sort of restrictions there. Whether you are using a song by Madonna or a smaller band, I feel the costs should be based on the box office takings rather than this expensive and unreasonable price. Artists can choose not to have their songs used in films, and that is very much their decision. If they are fine with someone using their music, why can it be so expensive to use songs?

It is no exaggeration to say that hundred of thousands of pounds/dollars can be asked to use a song. As I said earlier, some of the most powerful and memorable moments in cinema have been supported by a great song. A musical drop that adds new life to something. An extra character or fresh emotion, I wonder whether there does need to be revision when it comes to pricing and permissions. Filmmaking is expensive and a challenge at the best of times, but also you cannot be expected to use a bunch of songs and pay a little amount. If you are putting together a film that wants to boast a great soundtrack featuring some classic artists, then costs will be incurred. There does seem to be this unreasonable gulf between relatively unknown artists and what they would charge, and the bigger acts. By doing a deal where a cut of the box office can be paid to artists (in addition to a smaller, flat fee), that would ensure that filmmakers could use music – and artists can set terms when it comes to how comfortable they are with its placement -, but they would also pay more to them if the film took a really big amount. From the start, when you are thinking about a soundtrack, having to really limit your ambitions and imagination is a real shame. I am in that boat at the moment, and it is quite a stressful thing! Music is such a universal and important aspect of life and culture. It can be arresting, emotion-changing and iconic when used in films. It can take a scene or shot to…

A who new level.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Pharrell Williams at Fifty: A Pioneering Producer

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

 

Pharrell Williams at Fifty: A Pioneering Producer

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THERE is no doubting the fact…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Erik Ian

that Pharrell Williams is a legendary and pioneering producer. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the production duo The Neptunes in the early 1990s. They have produced for so many different artists. Their C.V. is staggering! As Williams turns fifty on 5th April, I am ending this feature with a playlist of songs he has had a production hand in. In January 2020, The Neptunes were announced to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame as a part of the 2020 class. A remarkably influential and respected producer, songwriter, and artist, some of the greatest records ever released have been produced/co-produced by Williams. Before getting to that playlist, AllMusic give us some biography avbout the iconic producer:

“Along with fellow Virginians Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and Neptunes partner Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams has played a crucial role in the progression of post-new jack swing R&B and rap, and consequently pop. Williams actually got his start during the tail-end of the new jack era as the co-writer of Wreckx-N-Effect's number two 1992 pop hit "Rump Shaker," but he and Hugo truly distinguished themselves six years later as producers of Mase's "Lookin' at Me" and Noreaga's "Superthug," crossover hits that showcased the duo's uniquely chunky and choppy sound. Williams and Hugo built on this momentum throughout the 2000s, scoring hits that included Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" (2002), Jay-Z's "Excuse Me Miss" (2003), Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" (2004), and Ludacris' "Money Maker" (2006), all the while keeping their extracurricular genre-blind group N.E.R.D. afloat. After numerous accolades for the Neptunes, including a Grammy for Producer of the Year in 2004 and a Producer of the Decade acknowledgment from Billboard, the charismatic Williams remained a force in mainstream music as a producer, songwriter, tough-talking rapper, and falsetto-equipped singer. Working less frequently with Hugo, he added to his list of colorful hits songbook with Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" (2013), Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" (2013), and Kendrick Lamar's "Alright" (2015). Williams likewise prospered with intermittent solo material, highlighted by the Top Five albums In My Mind (2006) and G I R L (2014), and the number one pop hit "Happy" (2013). After Williams co-produced the Academy Award-nominated Hidden Figures, and contributed music for the film's soundtrack, he and Hugo reactivated N.E.R.D. with "Lemon" (2017), the group's first Top 40 hit. Following collaborations with Migos, Camila Cabello, and the Carters, he joined with Tyler, The Creator and 21 Savage for 2022's "Cash In Cash Out."

Pharrell Williams forged a long-term friendship and musical partnership with Chad Hugo while in seventh grade band camp. Among the Virginia Beach natives' aspirant peers in high school were Timothy "Timbaland" Mosley and Melvin "Magoo" Barcliff, with whom Williams recorded as S.B.I. (Surrounded by Idiots), but as the fledgling Neptunes, Williams and Hugo, joined by Shay Haley and Mike Etheridge, caught the attention of Teddy Riley. The new jack swing architect sponsored a talent show at Princess Anne High School, across the street from his Virginia Beach recording studio, and was impressed enough by the Neptunes' performance to sign the young musicians to a development deal. While producing his brother Markell's group, Wreckx-N-Effect, Riley enlisted Williams to co-write "Rump Shaker," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 at the end of 1992. The following year, Williams could be heard calling out SWV's name throughout that group's Riley-produced "Human Nature" remix of "Right Here." Together and separately, Williams and Hugo acquitted themselves the next few years with work for Riley's Blackstreet, as well as SWV and Total. In 1996, the latter two groups were the first acts to release material crediting the Neptunes, by then the collaborative songwriting and production alias of Williams and Hugo.

The Neptunes left their first indelible marks in 1998. Mase's "Lookin' at Me," featuring Puff Daddy, became Williams and Hugo's first Top Ten pop hit that September, and Noreaga's "Superthug" -- with Williams also providing the amusing intro and a secondary vocal -- hit number 36 that October. The duo soon became among the most prolific, revered, and successful producers in commercial R&B, rap, and pop. Their sound, appealingly plastic-sounding with beats that could be replicated with a pair of fists pounding on a cafeteria table, became as identifiable and as mimicked as that of Timbaland and Missy Elliott, who had entered the mainstream a few years earlier. Among the Neptunes' most creative and popular productions during this early run were Ol' Dirty Bastard's "Got Your Money" (1999), Kelis' "Caught Out There" (1999), Jay-Z's "I Just Wanna Love U" (2000), Britney Spears' "I'm a Slave 4 U" (2001), Nelly's "Hot in Here" (2002), Clipse's "Grindin'" (2002), and Justin Timberlake's "Rock Your Body" (2003). The last of that bunch led to a Grammy award in the category of Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. As the Neptunes continued to take on commissioned work, Williams' voice became increasingly familiar. He was now more likely to provide the chorus and the background vocals of the same song, in addition to appearing in the accompanying video. Meanwhile, Williams, Hugo, and Shay Haley instituted N.E.R.D., an outlet for hybrids of rock, rap, soul, and funk that didn't conform with any particular radio format. In Search Of..., the debut N.E.R.D. album, was originally released in Europe in 2001, but when it arrived in the U.S. the following year, much of its electronic components had been replaced with live instrumentation, affirming Williams' and Hugo's desire to evade creative restrictions.

Although In Search Of... wasn't met with the same level of success as most of the synchronous Neptunes productions, the album enabled Williams to extend his reach as a frontperson, and cleared a path to his first solo single in 2003. Produced with Hugo and featuring Jay-Z, "Frontin'" built anticipation for The Neptunes Present...Clones, a compilation of all-new tracks from artists produced by Williams and Hugo, released on their Interscope-affiliated Star Trak label. The track sent the parent album to the top of the Billboard 200 and eventually reached number five on the Hot 100, thus maintaining the duo's momentum up to the release of N.E.R.D.'s second album, Fly or Die, in 2004. Neptunes' highlights across the remainder of that year and throughout 2005 included Snoop Dogg's "Drop It Like It's Hot" and Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl," both of which topped the Hot 100. After a number of delays, Williams' first solo album, In My Mind, arrived in 2006. Produced by Williams alone, it featured appearances from several of his previous collaborators and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart.

Williams didn't release another solo album for eight years, but his name, as well as that of the Neptunes, continued to be of high value. Successful collaborations with the likes of Mariah Carey ("Say Somethin'"), Beyoncé ("Green Light"), Jay-Z ("I Know"), Solange ("I Decided"), and Madonna ("Give It 2 Me") continued through the latter half of the 2000s. There was a handful of Grammy nominations, as well as a win for Ludacris' "Money Maker," which took the Best Rap Song award for 2006. N.E.R.D. remained an occasional diversion with 2008's Seeing Sounds in 2010's Nothing, the latter released the same year as the animated comedy Despicable Me, for which Williams provided soundtrack material and co-composed the score. During 2011 and 2012, Williams produced material for dozens of projects, most notably Kendrick Lamar's Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City and Frank Ocean's Channel Orange, two of the era's landmark albums.

The roll continued through 2013 and 2014. "Blurred Lines," a number one pop hit for Robin Thicke, involved Williams as producer, co-songwriter, and featured artist. Williams co-wrote and fronted "Get Lucky" and "Lose Yourself to Dance," two songs from Daft Punk's chart-topping Random Access Memories. The soundtrack for Despicable Me 2 contained several Williams songs, led by the worldwide smash hit "Happy," a ubiquitous soul-pop throwback for which Williams conceived a 24-hour music video. When the nominees for the 2013 Grammy Awards were announced, Williams' name appeared in seven categories. At the ceremony the following January, "Get Lucky" won Record of the Year and Random Access Memories won Album of the Year. Williams also took the award for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical. Two months later, signed as a solo artist to Columbia, home of Daft Punk, Williams released his second album, G I R L. It reached number two on the Billboard 200, by which time "Happy" had achieved yet more success, becoming one of the top-selling digital singles of all time with sales of more than five million. In addition, Williams continued hit-making as a featured artist and producer with singles such as Future's "Move That Dope," Alicia Keys' "It's On Again," and Ed Sheeran's "Sing," and he joined the television singing competition The Voice as a judge.

Williams was as busy and relevant as ever during the latter half of the 2010s. Among his biggest hits during this period were Kendrick Lamar's Grammy-winning "Alright," Missy Elliott's Top Ten R&B/hip-hop return "WTF (Where They From)," and Camila Cabello's number one pop hit "Havana." He also contributed to high-profile albums by Alicia Keys, Frank Ocean, Little Big Town, Calvin Harris, SZA, Janelle Monáe, and Justin Timberlake, as well as Beyoncé and Jay-Z's duo recording as the Carters. Williams' Hollywood connections concurrently deepened with musical contributions to The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Paddington, and SpongeBob Squarepants: Sponge Out of Water, the last of which featured new N.E.R.D. material. For Hidden Figures, Williams not only contributed original music for the soundtrack and Golden Globe-nominated score but co-produced the film, itself an Academy Awards nominee for 2016's Best Picture. In 2017, Williams reunited with the Despicable Me team for the third installment in the series, and made a full return with Hugo and Haley as N.E.R.D., who scored their first Top 40 pop hit with the rowdy Rihanna collaboration "Lemon," and released their fifth album, NO ONE EVER REALLY DIES. He continued to work actively with other artists, writing and producer Migos' 2018 hit, "Stir Fry," and working again with the Carters on their single, "Apeshit." He landed his own hit that same year with "Sangria Wine," a collaboration with Camila Cabello. In June 2019, Williams contributed the track "Letter to My Godfather" to the Clarence Avant documentary The Black Godfather. Another soundtrack song, "Just a Cloud Away," arrived in 2022 as part of Despicable Me 2, after which Williams released the song "Cash In Cash Out," featuring Tyler, The Creator and 21 Savage”.

I am going to round it off now. There are so many terrific and hugely successful songs that were produced by Pharrell Williams. A visionary and one of the most trusted names in the industry, below are songs that have the Williams…

GOLD touch.

FEATURE: Serial Successes: Never Been a Cornflake Girl? Following Kate Bush’s ‘Stranger Things Revival’, Are Other Artists Going to Follow Suit?

FEATURE:

 

 

Serial Successes: Never Been a Cornflake Girl?

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing Hounds of Love’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: United Archives/Alamy 

 

Following Kate Bush’s ‘Stranger Things Revival’, Are Other Artists Going to Follow Suit?

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I have written about this before…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Tori Amos in 1994

but there are definite advantages to Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) being played on Stranger Things last year. That Netflix series included the Hounds of Love song in a powerful scene with one of the central characters, Max. A song that literally saved their life, the track that was originally a single in 1985 reached number one in the U.K. and many countries around the world. Most of the impact is good. The original single went to three in the U.K., so it was sort of righted in 2022 when it deservedly got to number one in the U.K. Many who had not heard of Kate Bush found her music, and sales for Hounds of Love increased. Also, it brought Kate Bush back into the spotlight. She updated her website and provided messages and thanks to fans. She even gave her first full audio interview in six years when she spoke with Woman’s Hour. If it had not been for Stranger Things that would not have happened. So, in all, it had a very positive effect. I think a few worrying things came out of the Stranger Things inclusion. If Kate Bush finally became better known in the U.S., I wonder whether it is down to big T.V. series to awaken people and actually make them conscious of an artist that has been around for decades. The show also got a lot of credit from the press for ‘reviving’ Kate Bush. Like she was obsolete and needed that oxygen.

The fact is that actually Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is one of her best-known songs. Prior to 2022, it was played widely on radio. Maybe a new generation found the track this way, but it was troubling that they were not already aware. It makes me wonder whether her music is rare on U.S. radio and why here so many missed out on her. Is it the case vinyl and physical music is not passed down? In an age of streaming, are we relying on younger listeners to discover music this way rather than inherit it from their parents? I also think that is sort of undermines a successful and self-made career when you hear terms like ‘the Kate Bush effect’. This assumption that she, now, will influence other T.V. shows to feature an artist or band that might not be known to all that get a new lease because of a prime spot in an episode. I guess, if it creates more awareness of an artist or song then that is a good thing. Things like Stranger Things comes along does create this laziness and ignorance from the press. I recently wrote about how the press still refers to Kate Bush as the ‘Stranger Things/Running Up That Hill singer’. Is she only known for that one song?! Maybe Wuthering Heights gets thrown in there, but many see her now as this famous artist from the T.V. show, rather than the producer and songwriter who has been around for over forty-five years!

I will not rant any more. You have to focus on the good aspects and the fact Kate Bush is being talked about. That is a good thing. The Netflix series Wednesday featured The Cramps in a prominent scene where Jenna Ortega’s Wednesday (Addams) dances to Goo Goo Muck. I am not sure that song and band will have the same sort of revival ands success Kate Bush enjoyed, as they are a bit more niche and less commercial in that sense. I do think that more and more, we are going to see T.V. shows framing powerful and wonderful scenes with iconic and big songs. This is not a new phenomenon, but the success and revival of a classic song can bring attention and popularity to that T.V. series. An artist that gets compared to Kate Bush a lot of Tori Amos. As this Australian article asks, will the T.V. series Yellowjackets help give Amos the same sort of boom and attention as was afforded Kate Bush last year?

“Popular Showtime/Paramount+ series Yellowjackets has returned, with the season 2 opener premiering last Friday. The show came back with a bang, featuring music by Papa Roach (Last Resort), Sharon Van Etten (Seventeen), and the Tori Amos classic, Cornflake Girl.

Cornflake Girl was originally released in January 1994, with Amos' groundbreaking second album, Under The Pink, coming out a few weeks later. Cornflake Girl debuted at #19 in Australia, while the album hit #5 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

With Yellowjackets' increasing popularity, can Amos experience the same chart success as Kate Bush, years into their careers, with an older song? Well, with music supervisor Nora Felder on board, it very well might be possible.

Felder worked on Stranger Things season 4 and was a big reason why the show’s use of the Kate Bush number, Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God), found massive popularity on the charts.

Kate Bush first charted in Australia in April of 1978 with her debut single, Wuthering Heights, which logged three weeks at the top of the Kent/AMR charts from 22 May 1978 until 5 June, holding for three weeks at #1. 44 years and one week later, she landed her second chart-topping song in Australia, albeit with a 1985-issued single.

In a new interview with Variety, Felder outlined the fascinating multi-layered richness of Amos’ music, particularly her songwriting, as the reasoning behind featuring her music on Yellowjackets.

“When I first heard Cornflake Girl, my take on its core meaning was that it deals primarily with betrayals between women,” Felder said.

“The lyrics in connection with the ending of the first episode felt like a befitting underlying message. Cornflake Girl adds to the anticipation of things to come with these rich, multilayered and downright compelling female characters, our Yellowjackets.”

Tori Amos isn’t the only artist representing the 90s on Yellowjackets: when the trailer for season 2 dropped, it was soundtracked by Florence + The Machine’s take on Just A Girl by No Doubt.

Just A Girl has never sounded so creepy - the soft isolated piano definitely helps - but it’s perfect for a thriller television series about people who do what they must to survive, including resorting to cannibalism.

“I’m such a huge fan of Yellowjackets and this era of music, and this song especially had a huge impact on me growing up, so I was thrilled to be asked to interpret it in a ‘deeply unsettling’ way for the show,” Florence Welch commented in a press release.

“We tried to really add some horror elements to this iconic song to fit the tone of the show. And as someone whose first musical love was pop-punk and Gwen Stefani, it was a dream job”.

Both Florence Welch and Tori Amos are featured in Yellowjackets. It does worry me that this article asks whether Tori Amos will be ‘the next Kate Bush’. That is problematic for various reasons. Amos has always been compared with Bush. The former has her own identity and sound, and the latter probably is tired of hearing the comparisons made - and I am not sure whether Bush even listens to Amos’ music. I know it is meant will Amos have the same success, but it is another case of a T.V. show platforming a song and artist that people should already know about. I love Tori Amos, so I do hope that Cornflake Girl gets a new release and storms the charts. From the genius Under the Pink album, it would be great if a new generation bought that. The inspiration for the song came from a long-time friend of Amos’. They were discussing female genital mutilation in Africa, particularly how a close female family member would betray the victim by performing the procedure. ‘Cornflake girls’ was a term that Amos heard used when girls would betray and hurt close friends. Cornflake Girl’s lyrics where Amos says she is not a cornflake girl but a raisin girl. That is to do with cereal, and the fact that raisins are rarer and harder to find than cornflakes. Even if boxes of Cornflakes cereals did get released with Amos’ face on them, the 1994 single has deeper meaning. It got inside the top ten in the U.S. and U.K., but it did not reach the top spot. Like Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), it does deserves to be number one and enjoyed by a new generation.

The eighth track on Under the Pink, that album did get to number one in the U.K. in 1994. Even though Tori Amos is American, it only charted at twelve. It seems a shame that her own country did not embrace the album the way the U.K. did! Amos now lives over here, but I would like to see Under the Pink get a new release and storm the charts. It is clear that T.V. shows have this power and influence. At a time when streaming dominates and we can scroll through songs, featuring a single song in a visual scene has this potency and pull. I wish all the best for Tori Amos, and it is good that important and popular T.V. shows are choosing to show love to older songs rather than feature someone brand-new or trending. It is about the quality and importance of the track and not how many streams it has and whether it is ‘cool’ or ‘relevant’. Tori Amos is still putting out albums, and we all hope that Kate Bush releases another album. She is someone who is continuing to influence artists in so many ways. Stranger Things did help in getting people talking about her. That is a good thing. So long as people then explore the rest of the catalogue, as radio stations still stubbornly spin Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) in preference to anything else. It is a narrow focus and it risk an artist as important as Kate Bush being defined by a single song. Tori Amos’ Cornflake Girl will get this boost. I hope that people who discover her through Paramount+ and Yellowjackets also dig her catalogue and albums such as Under the Pink. It is evident that much influence can come from a great T.V. show. If a scene is judged just right and features a wonderful song, the overall effect can be mesmeric and seismic! Whether featuring Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) or Tori Amos’ Cornflake Girl, it does prove…

THE power of the medium.

FEATURE: Rather Than Critics Aiming to ÷ and −, They = a Huge +: Why Ed Sheeran’s Recent Comments Are Insulting and Myopic

FEATURE:

 

 

Rather Than Critics Aiming to ÷ and −, They = a Huge +:

IMAGE CREDIT: rawpixel.com

 

Why Ed Sheeran’s Recent Comments Are Insulting and Myopic

_________

THIS is a debate…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Ed Sheeran/PHOTO CREDIT: Liz Collins for Rolling Stone

that I have seen raging for a while now. Ever since the dawn, growth and dominance of streaming services in fact. I think the digitisation of music has not completely dominated our tastes and how we discover music, but I do feel that it has taken something away from the music industry. Whilst music journalism can never die and will always be needed, many have argued why we need critics and album reviews at a time when people can stream albums and decide for themselves. The latest high-profile artist to do this is the incredibly privileged and successful Ed Sheeran. You will not get rising artists coming out and wondering why we need album reviews, as that would be career suicide! To be fair, Sheeran might already have set himself up for a beating ahead of the release of his fifth studio album, -. That is an ironically-titled album, as I think that there will be a lot of negativity around him and the album after what he has just said in an interview. Before going on, Rolling Stone provided snippets of that in-depth interview with him in this article. They highlighted what he said about reviews:

“Sheeran doesn’t see the point of music critics in the age of streaming.

“Why do you need to read a review? Listen to it. It’s freely available!  Make up your own mind. I would never read an album review and go, ‘I’m not gonna listen to that now”.

There is a lot to unpick when it comes to that comment. Ironically, Sheeran would not be quite as far ahead as he is without the press and reviews. Although his music has courted some mediocre reviews (which is perfectly fitting), then he has got more than his fair share of praise! So many people have bought his albums because of reviews. Whether it is a review from Rolling Stone – who I do not think will be queuing to give a positive review to his next album! – to smaller publications, there are several reasons why he should not complain. Even though he has millions in the bank and can rely on his hordes of fans (is there a collective name for Ed Sheeran fans?!) to stream the sh*t out of his music and make him lots of money, he seems to suggest that quality control is not that important. He can put out anything on his new album and it will earn him a bundle. Seemingly not concerned with reviews and whether people approve of his music, that seems myopic! In his case, reviews are less for his ego and self-validation and more a guide as to what makes an album great and what can be improved on. In terms of constructive feedback, it can be very useful for an artist. If there is a consensus regarding songs that do not work or production weaknesses for instance, they can then take that and bring it to their next album. Also, it is not about inflating or criticising. Sheeran’s publicity team have used big reviews to sell his tours and albums! If people did not review his album, then that is a huge slice of publicity gone. That would decrease sales and reach. It is not about someone giving their opinions on an album, as much as it is a way of making others aware of his mere existence.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Pew Nguyen/Pexels

It is perfectly well for Sheeran to question he validity and relevance of reviews in a streaming age. He can coast by on his fame and reputation but, as I say, part of the reason he is known is because of album reviews. If – does get trashed and critics decide to show their displeasure with him basically calling them redundant and time wasters, then that will definitely not bode well if he plans on releasing any albums after that! I like Sheeran as a human, and he is someone very easy to like. I can’t for a second say I like or have time for any of his songs, but I would not review his album just to kick it and rag on the man! Looking through the archives, there have been some very lovely things said about his music. That lack of gratitude and appreciation he has shown by making that comment (above) shows a slight contempt and disrespect for journalists. His view that album reviews can naturally be replaced by some wisdom of crowds streaming thing is nonsense. For a start, as far as I can tell, there are no comments sections when you stream on Spotify. You can leave YouTube comments, but there is not an ‘album reviews club/section’ on Spotify where listeners can give their interpretation. There is a natural bias towards people streaming your album…and I doubt that Sheeran would even read comments left on Spotify about his album. It is not a practical or necessary step when you have trained and experienced journalists who are giving invaluable and perceptive interpretations of your album. Deeper, more rounded, and useful than any brief and probably positively-skewed comments you’d get online, how can he equate music criticism to the impersonal, wordless, and subjective takes on streaming?!

 PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

Fine if an artist does not read reviews or like them. That is their prerogative. It can be nerve-wracking reading reviews, but they have to appreciate that people find them very instructive and useful. Also, there are many reasons why even major artists should appreciate album reviews. Not only does it tell them what people think and gives them validation. You also get that direct and personal feedback. Artists do not release album merely for sales and for people to listen and not give their thoughts. Music criticism provides takes on songs and important feedback. Those coming through can feel so uplifted and nourished by a positive response to a work that they have spent so much time putting together. Rather than compiling positive tweets and wading through notifications, they get this physical/digital review that they can keep and reference. Reviews help album sales and can give a huge boost to an artist. Also, as is true now as it was when I was a child, this is a chance to decide which albums you want to buy. People stream an album when it comes out, so you sort of go in blindly. I admit that it is handy to stream an album so I can then decide whether I want to buy it. Reviews also literally make people aware of an album. I have discovered so many great artists through reviews – which I would not have otherwise got through streaming. Sites like Spotify do not promote albums that I like and give me custom articles, links and emails that alert me to forthcoming albums. It is a largely unfiltered and huge universe that is easy to get lost in and miss so much! Reviews allow you to sit down and read what others have to say about an album. You can then make an informed decision and decide if you want to buy that album.

 PHOTO CREDIT: benzoix via freepik

Of course, reviews are subjective. But I also buy albums based on the strength of reviews and then see if I agree with what has been said. Streaming is so impersonal and detached! You are not getting that sense of the time and passion it takes to review albums, spend time with them and then offer thoughts. There is that sense of posterity too. You have an archive of words written about an album so that artists and future generations alike can use for reference. It is great for an artist to read their own reviews and look back on them years from now. The ephemeral and transitory nature of streaming is useless when it comes to noting the qualities, nuances and worth of an album. It is simply there for listening and easy accessibility. It is not or could never replace music journalism. I am sure that Ed Sheeran has read reviews of his albums in the past, so it seems hypocritical he wants to risk critics putting down their pens. That won’t happen of course! People will review -, and I am sure that it will get a lot of positive reviews from websites and magazines. Does Sheeran not care about this or think it is useful?! It will be for people new to his music that want to get a sense of history and context. It is also something I am sure his label and P.R. will use in adverts and promotion – those four and five-star reviews and standout quotes! You going to get that sort of love and insight from streaming? Of course not! I fell in love with music and the pleasure of buying albums by reading reviews and getting excited by a journalist’s opinions about something awesome arriving. Also, you can avoid certain albums if there is this universal apathy. Nothing has changed since then. As a critic and journalist, I want to show an artist what I think of their album and why I like it. It can literally make people aware an artist exists, and I like to think the artist will find strength in my words. Compel them to keep going and make music! They need to know how their work is being perceived, and it that connection and interaction that vital for fans, journalists, and artists alike…

 PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

Remove all of that and rely on the (let’s be fair) generic and rather pithy comments you’d get online, and that is not really a substitute. I am sure there are lots of people who do not read reviews and stream albums they want to listen to. I think that reviews also compel people to buy the physical product. I’d hate to think people are ignoring the press and streaming an album and then not buying it. It is also not the case that a young generation does not look to reviews or the music press. The growth and success of long-running websites and publications show that there is such a big demand for reviews still. Look at the interactions and click rate on reviewed from everyone like NME, The Line of Best Fit, Rolling Stone or The Guardian, and it is evident people are reading reviews and getting a lot from them! Ed Sheeran has named all of his five albums so far after mathematic symbols. If he feels that albums reviews are more negative and divisive than a plus, then he has to appreciate that so many of his millions of fans found his music and bought it solely based on music reviews. I am sure it will not matter a jot, but there are so many people who will sit down and review – ahead of 5th May. If he doesn’t care about reviews, so many others will! Music journalists also use reviews to promote their work and get employment. Strip that away, and you are depriving some very talented people of exposure and opportunities – and, in the process, many artists do not get that feedback and critique. It doesn’t matter. Music criticism and journalism will always exist, and I am sure that it will outlive and outrank streaming services when it comes to its value regarding albums’ value and depth. With so many terrific artists coming through right now, album reviews are more important than ever. By isolating and expanding on albums and spotlighting artists, it is a useful discovery service. You also get to know more about an artist, the album’s creation and why various songs resonate (or do not). This is something that is so precious and needed. When it comes to Ed Sheeran’s short-sighted, slightly disrespectful, and cavalier attitudes towards music criticism vs. streaming, let’s hope that his words do not come back and…

BITE him on the arse.

FEATURE: A Modest But Memorable Debut Album: Prince’s For You at Forty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

A Modest But Memorable Debut Album

 

Prince’s For You at Forty-Five

_________

THERE are a couple of features…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Prince in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: PhotoFest

I am writing ahead of the anniversary of Prince’s death on 21st April. Then, before his sixty-fifth birthday in June, I am going to publish a few other feature. I did want to write a feature about his debut album, For You, as it turns forty-five on 7th April. Whilst not ranked alongside his most celebrated albums, this was the future master and genius entering the scene. Many might not have heard of Prince in April 1978, and this was him taking his first steps. Only nineteen when the album was released, For You is a fascinating album that he would soon follow with some of his most confident and complete work. I think 1980’s Dirty Mind (his third studio album) was his first masterpiece. A couple of years before, Prince unveiled For You. Even if many reviews feel there are few highlights and there are no glimmers of the genius that would come soon enough, I do feel it is important marking forty-five years of For You. As Prince is no longer with us, it is crucial to celebrate the debut. Prince produced For You, where friend and producer David Rivkin provided support. Recorded between September 1977 and February 1978, the basic tracks took three months to come together at Record Plant in California. Whilst we would have to wait a couple of years before Prince blossomed into this clear star and pioneer, he was keen to exert control and have his say from the start. Someone who was always made to produce his own music, Prince took care of pretty much everything on For You. Maybe his material was not as sharp and interesting as it would become, but the fact he produced and played all the instruments on For You is amazing!

Tommy Vicari was chosen as executive producer, but Prince distanced himself from him. It wasn’t a relationship or support he seemed to want or need. It must have been frustrating for Warner Bros. It does seem that there was a fractious relationship between Prince and Vicari during recording, where it seems Prince was not respectful or accommodating at all. Even if it does create a bit of a black mark, I wonder how different For You would have sounded if Vicari had had more control or direction. Maybe it was more business and financial advice Vicari was offering, as the total project cost $170,500 - three times the original budget. Prince worked himself ragged, and he said at the end how he was exhausted and drained. Maybe keen to get the debut album sounding as he hoped and what was in his mind. The sort of perfectionist tendencies he would display on his future albums. An ambitious and exacting artist right from the start, I think For You does benefit from his work rate and passion. Even  if the supernatural genius he would showcase soon is absent from For You, I love the fact this was a solo album in almost every sense. Prince did relax and allow other musicians in on future albums, but his solo album is very much his blueprint and thing. Billboard examined and discussed For You in 2018 on its fortieth anniversary:

“Nearly every early feature done on the Kid as a rising prodigy in late-’70s Minneapolis implored you to recognize his genius. They declared him the “teen-age virtuoso” in headlines and described him as the “young black wizard from the Twin Cities” in opening paragraphs.

Like most praise directed at him over his decades of acclaim, it wasn’t hyperbole: Prince taught himself how to play piano, guitar, drums, and bass by the time he was 14. That unassailable will to realize his divine gifts was in effect before he left high school.

Of course, Prince’s genius soon got recognized. Studio owner and producer Chris Moon discovered Prince’s seamless versatility when the future legend was with his high school band Champagne. The two laid down some demos and gave them to ad man-turned-manager Owen Husney, who quickly wanted to know who “they” were, only to be astounded when Moon told him the act was not a “they,” but “one 17-year-old kid.” Warner Bros. would end up with the wunderkind, after offering him $180,000 for three albums and creative control. Stage set and bag secured, Prince’s debut album For You dropped on April 7, 1978 with the signature credit: “Produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince.”

At first glance, For You is an inauspicious start for an artist with so much talent. Prince spent nearly all of that $180,000 on the project, and told Musician in 1983 that he became a “physical wreck” for an album that peaked at just No. 163 on the Billboard 200 (seven months after its release), and offered only one No. 92-peaking Hot 100 hit, in the sweet and flirtatious funk number “Soft and Wet.” Four decades later, For You is still the only Prince Warner Bros. album released in earnest that hasn’t achieved RIAA certification. (Prince pulled 1987’s The Black Album shortly before its release after declaring it “evil” and barely promoted 1996’s Chaos and Disorder in the midst of his split from Warner Bros.

This isn’t an instance where a gem gets belatedly discovered under a wellspring of more obvious classics: For You is the work of a musical virtuoso, but not an innovative mind. The rigor applied to its recording appear to confound Prince’s efforts, hemming him in rather than delivering a sense of progression. Instead of a coherent statement, we get a collection of songs that are approximations of what an afro’d up ‘70s hit should sound like. “Soft and Wet” doesn’t feel like novelty because of the obvious sexual theme; the bubbling synth that resolves the hook is too tidy, and one of Prince’s big lessons was that eroticism is anything but.

For You’s first full song, “In Love,” does contain a hint of Prince’s spontaneous bent — he reaches the back of his throat with just enough passion to convince you you’re in for a good time — but the energy peters into a low plateau after “Soft and Wet” follows it. Besides the standard yearning acoustic entries “Crazy You” and “So Blue,” For You mainly revolves around a mixture of funk and disco hallmarks. There are elements of the Minneapolis Sound (a concoction of R&B, pop-synths, and hair products) Prince would popularize through the ‘80s, but they feel exhibitionist because they don’t quite cohere.

The worst offender is instrumental outro that takes up the back half of the six-and-half-minute “Just As Long As We’re Together,” a bass-driven groove that’s just too thin for extra improvisational ingredients — the synth line that pops up in the middle of it feels like an aggressively imposed detour. The guitar soloing that became an essential part of Prince’s myth never really fits either: the performance on “My Love Is Forever” was too glam to make it into the Reagan era, and even the slight distortion on closer “I’m Yours” feels too hardcore for an album this glossy.

For You peaked at No. 21 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart dated Oct. 14, 1978, a listing featuring artists blazing trails Prince was just starting to tread: Funkadelic’s One Nation Under a Groove (No. 2) was a funk-rock odyssey led by the genre’s greatest conceptualizer, George Clinton; disco queer icon Sylvester’s Step II (No. 8) featured the androgynous voice that liberated many on the dance floor; Queen of Disco Donna Summer was still regal on her live album, Live and More (No. 10). Each of those acts carried their own unmistakable signatures, something a 20-year-old Prince lacked, despite his outstanding musicianship. Even the falsetto that writhed and shimmied on his later essentials “Kiss” and “Adore” started out merely as a pleasant accoutrement on its debut.

Despite its tepid reputation, For You recharted, like a majority of Prince’s Warner Bros. catalog, when the world gathered in his memory following his death — even reaching a new peak of No. 138 in May 2016. Looking back, if you squint a bit, you can see shards of what would become peak Prince’s makeup. To follow the progression through For You, his self-titled 1979 follow-up, and his sin-filled first classic, 1980’s Dirty Mind, is to hear him pull together that chart-conquering sound in real time: The stadium-rock sensibility that appealed to mainstream audience becomes inextricable from the sacrosanct treatment of R&B and funk that rooted him in black culture. Dirty Mind presented these elements in a lean package, while his subsequent ‘80s highlights (1999, Purple Rain, Parade, Sign ‘O’ the Times) took them skyward.

But more importantly, For You alludes to the central dichotomy of Prince’s art: He’s singing about sensuality in an album dedicated to God. At the core of his ‘80s prime is the idea that orgasms and spiritual transcendence can be presented in the same breath; note how Purple Rain’s “Darling Nikki” starts with a masturbating woman and ends with a literal mini-sermon played in reverse. It’s a transgressive idea for many — how many Prince trademarks aren’t? — but it gave his talents focus. For You begins with an a capella gospel chorus composed of Prince’s multi-tracked voice, hinting that he’d ultimately marry those ideas instead of playing it safe. Ultimately, the skeletal For You serves as a well-heeded reference point that reminds us when we’re talking about the legacy of Prince, we speak of both stunning musicianship and a singular worldview”.

A remarkable artist who many did not know what to make of in 1978 when headlines broke, For You is a promising is unessential Prince album that showcased his musical virtuosity and production talent. It would not be long until he favoured the world with the masterful Controversy in 1980. Even in 1978, there was this originality and extraordinary allure. As For You is forty-five on 7th April, I wanted to write about it. We sadly mark seven years of Prince’s passing later this month. It is tragic that he is not around to see how his music continues to move people. How many people in 1978 would have imagined what this teenage musician would produce and how…

HE would change the world!

FEATURE: Revisiting… Ellie Goulding – Brightest Blue

FEATURE:

 

 

Revisiting…

 

Ellie Goulding – Brightest Blue

_________

THIS is relevant to a feature…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Madison Phipps

that I wrote recently. Stating how BBC Radio 1 have stopped playing certain female artists over the age of thirty. One of them is Ellie Goulding. A hugely popular and relevant artist, her solo material does not feature on the playlists at BBC Radio 1. As she has a new album, Higher Than Heaven, coming out on 7th April, you’d think her music would be in demand at the station. It is a horrible policy that seems to apply to female artists only! I wanted to highlight her previous studio album, Brightest Blue, for this Revisiting… A great album that arrived on 17th July, 2020, this was released during the pandemic. A hard time to promote an album, it was a treat for fans. Full of really great songs, Brightest Blue reached number one in the U.K. and twenty-nine in America. A commercially successful album, there were some mixed reviews among the positive ones. I wanted to highlight the positive reviews, but I will start off with some interviews. Originally scheduled for 5th June, 2020, Brightest Blue’s release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Entertainment Weekly featured an interview with Goulding to promote one of the best albums of her career so far:

“In 2019, while visiting a New York City museum, Ellie Goulding stumbled into a room immersed in blue light and landed on the title for her new project — quite literally out of the blue. "I was transfixed," the English singer, 33, tells EW. "The exhibition had this feeling of bittersweet melancholy, where you've accepted sadness and are ready to illuminate it in a helpful way."

Side 1 of Brightest Blue — the singer's first album since 2015's Delirium— mirrors that sensibility, with songs like "Power" and "How Deep Is Too Deep" tackling self-discovery and romantic disillusionment. The record's opening track, aptly titled "Start" and featuring singer serpentwithfeet, delves further into the experience of post-breakup life. The collaboration came after Goulding first heard serpentwithfeet's "otherworldly, beautifully moving voice" on a Björk collaboration, which, she says, "sent shivers down [her] spine." She promptly asked the Baltimore-born artist to perform at her wedding. "She kept making sure I was taken care of on her wedding day," he says, laughing. "We smoothly transitioned from there to working on music together." When Goulding invited him onto "Start," she already had the foundation in place. For his verse, serpent wanted to add "something bold." "Her lyrics spelled out, 'I'm not this feeble person. I have a lot of will and might,' and I wanted to respond to that," he says.

"I think it's just been a journey of figuring out who I am really," says Goulding of the A side's overall theme.  "I spent the last however many years touring and I think I put my discovery on hold. I discovered more about myself as a performer, but not necessarily as a person. I've realized how much I've changed over the years, physically and mentally. I tried to unravel that. There's a couple of songs where I'm still talking about finding that perfect person and being disillusioned by love — that's still my favorite kind of writing. I love writing about heartbreak; any kind of injustice that happens in love and between two people is always interesting to me. All these songs were part of this discovery of myself, learning to love myself a bit more, respect myself and not need anyone else. I think that was really important to me."

The record's flip side, dubbed "EG.0," introduces Goulding's rebellious and fearless alter ego. "I get to play this super confident girl who leaves parties because she doesn't like anyone, and deals with egotistical guys who think they're the one," she says. "It's just fun. It's a very different side of me, but one that I wanted to include because it shows that that's still a big part of who I am." Regardless of the album side or character in play, Goulding has one goal for Brightest Blue. "I want my music to be hopeful," she says. "I want to help people through my music. It's incredible knowing that you could be that needed support for someone." Perfect timing, Ellie”.

I love Brightest Blue. It is an album that existing fans and new converts can appreciate. When speaking with Rolling Stone, Goulding discussed the writing process and some of the collaborators she worked with on her fourth studio album (and her first since 2015’s excellent Delirium). I would urge anyone who has not heard the album to give it a listen, as there is some of Ellie Goulding’s best material on it:

“Ellie Goulding doesn’t mind not knowing exactly who she is yet. She’s still learning, and she’s okay with that. “I think I will never know, and I think that’s just how I am,” she says with a shrug, sipping on champagne in front of a crowd of fans at a Grammy Museum event held in Los Angeles.

It’s been over a decade since Goulding became a household name in the U.S. with her massive single “Lights.” In the years since, the British songwriter has released four albums and been streamed billions of times, thanks to hits like “Love Me Like You Do.” Now, she’s about to drop her fifth album Higher Than Heaven on April 7.

At 36, she’s lived a million lives and has sung about them. She’s proud of the work that she’s done and isn’t afraid to look back at her lengthy career’s highs, like playing right before LCD Soundsystem at Coachella in 2016, and the lows (she remembers feeling like she was going into “survival mode” when she’d visit male-dominated studios as a young artist.) But with her new album, Goulding decided to skip the introspection and instead make music that made her want to dance. After months in the studio, she made her freest album yet.

“In the best possible way, this album wasn’t taken from personal experiences. And it was such a relief to not sit in the studio going through all the things that happened to me and affected me. Because I feel things very deeply,” she says. “I got to just explore other things about myself… Right now, I just want to dance. I just want to sing, I just want to smile.”

This album process was a lot different from the last one. You mentioned before that you still didn’t know who you were with Brightest Blue. Have you finally found who Ellie Goulding truly is?

No, and I think I will never know, and I think that’s just how I am. We’re always striving to figure out who we are and figure things out through writing and through music… So no, I don’t think I do. But I’m happy in that place. I’m happy being in a place of curiosity and exploration.

I’m always searching for that. I definitely know myself a lot better now than the person I was when I was 20 years old signing a record deal and a publishing deal, suddenly thrust onto television in the UK, normalizing it. I’m meant to be doing this. But actually, my brain saying, “No you’re not. This is just mental. You can’t just go from university to suddenly just being on television, walking out my house being photographed. That’s not normal.” I didn’t ever really have a chance to process that. So the lead-up to Brightest Blue, I wandered around New York by myself for hours just thinking about everything that happened to me.

At least in that way, I feel like I’ve gotten to know myself a bit better. Maybe at some point I’ll know, but right now I don’t know what’s going on and I’m happy with that.

Finding yourself is a lifelong process. This new album just shows a very joyous and fun you though, which is very exciting.

There’s certainly something about becoming a mom that does make you explore yourself as a woman, even sexuality and all those things. I do feel like before I had Arthur — this sounds really strange, but I didn’t feel necessarily womanly. I just felt like a human that was going on stage and performing and I didn’t necessarily feel feminine or masculine. And then when you have a kid, there was something that just gets injected into you that suddenly you’re just this kind of power.

You just take this to another level of being a woman, realizing that you’ve just done this insane thing and then given birth to another human. That’s wild. Before that, I didn’t necessarily feel that kind of pull. And then on this album, I feel like there was a new kind of confidence there, in being a woman and sensuality.

Let’s talk about the songwriting process for this new album. Who were some of those main collaborators on this new album and why did you choose them for this record?

It was kind of by default. From these sessions, we’ve built a really amazing bond by accident. The first time I worked with Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wells, the producer, I just remember being like, “This is not working.” It was very rare for me to go into the studio and feel a weird vibe, but there was something not right and I couldn’t figure it out. But something told me to go back the next day.  And then the day after, that’s when Tom Mann came in. We made “Cure for Love” and “Like a Saviour.” So many other songs were written in those sessions and it was just that one person was missing. Sometimes it takes three or four people to create this amazing dynamic to write a song. That was it. They made me feel so comfortable.

You mention being in survival mode early in your career. What would you say to that young Ellie who was just starting off in really trying to make it?

I’d say everything’s going to be fine. I was a worrier. I always have been. It’s where my anxiety comes from. I wish I had maybe someone around me that was just there to make me feel protected. But at the same time, I wrote some of the best songs of my career in those days. And I remember my first album with my friend Finn, who called himself Starsmith back then, we wrote it in his bedroom and it was just so carefree.

There was no agenda, there was no trying to please a record label, trying to make a song that fits into a certain genre. We were just so free. And I’d be playing guitar, we’d be recording all these harmonies. I slightly miss those days. But I’d like to re-find that kind of innocence now where I don’t feel like I’m trying to please anyone or trying to fit into a box. I’ve heard in the studio a few times recently, “Oh, that would be a TikTok trend.” And I’m like, “Okay.” But that stuff should just happen. You shouldn’t think about that, I don’t think, personally”.

I am going to wrap up with a couple of reviews. The Line of Best Fit noted how heartfelt Brightest Blue is. Ellie Goulding married in 2019 and became a mother in 2021. It is no wonder that the first album after these events is more personal and has this heartfelt nature to it. It will be interesting to see how Higher Than Heaven, her upcoming album, differs in terms of its sounds and lyrical themes:

“Releasing, or featuring on, no less than fifteen singles in that time, while still managing to maintain her role as a UN Environment Ambassador amongst other charity work, it’s obviously been a busy five years.

A handful of these more recent singles have made it to Brightest Blue, Goulding’s latest album, and a record of two distinct parts; "Brightest Blue" and "EG.0", the latter of which is formed exclusively by these singles. Five collaborations with the likes of Diplo (“Close to Me”) and blackbear (“Worry About Me”) that offer up a bolder, brasher side of Goulding.

The first half of the record however, showcases a softer, more introspective side, more akin to the tracks on her debut than recent material. It’s arguably here where Brightest Blue is at its most arresting. “Power” for instance, throbs with an understated edge of danger, before blossoming forth into a chorus of pure pop perfection. “Bleach” on the other hand is sparsely arranged at first, though builds and mounts, retaining a sense of warmth thanks to its subtle guitar and washes of synth and strings.

Elsewhere, the likes of “Cyan”, “Wine Drunk” and “Overture” are more like vignettes than established songs. This is something which not only adds to the record’s nuance and idiosyncrasy, but its depth and maturity also. And it is a mature record, one which not only explores every facet of Goulding’s emotions, from her most vulnerable to most resilient, but accepts them as well.

Overall Brightest Blue musically shares much in common with Goulding’s previous work, and as such will do little to win over any naysayers. That said, established fans will be able to both appreciate, and relish in, the nuance and maturity she displays here. Indeed, Goulding has consistently proven she’s at her best when she resists the allure of chart-topping collaborations, in favour of the idiosyncratic pop on which she first made her name. Brightest Blue is no different. While the final handful of tracks certainly have their appeal, especially when taken on their own individual merit, it’s the first part of Brightest Blue that feels the most rounded, most accomplished. In short, it feels like Ellie Goulding at her most honest, and her most heartfelt”.

I want to finish off with a review from AllMusic. Maybe known primarily for Pop songs and a certain sound, Brightest Blue is a deeper and more emotional listen at times. It is a shift in focus and dynamic from an artist always evolving her sound and remaining fresh. I think that Higher Than Heaven will be a very different album compared to that of Brightest Blue:

“Coming off her expertly produced pop extravaganza Delirium, English singer/songwriter Ellie Goulding was exhausted and jaded. After a pair of deeply intimate releases that preceded it, that 2015 set brought her international mainstream success but sacrificed her voice. Five years later, Goulding returned with her fourth album, Brightest Blue, a powerful reclamation of self that recaptures the simplicity of her debut and the vulnerability of Halcyon. A double album of sorts, the primary statement has growth and maturity at its core. Atop production that incorporates lush R&B textures and atmospheric electronics, Goulding unloads half-a-decade of personal catharsis onto these tracks, finding comfort in her own skin on the hypnotic "Ode to Myself," coming to grips with time and her decade as a stealthy hitmaker in the music business on the powerful piano-backed "Woman," and ultimately finding peace on the rousing orchestral closer "Brightest Blue." Meanwhile, on the minimalist dance bop "Tide," she channels the xx and Frou Frou while celebrating the thrills of new love. Her admiration of Imogen Heap continues with the woozy interlude "Wine Drunk," which adopts similar vocal distortion as she opines on a bad relationship ("Bleach" and "How Deep Is Too Deep" further detail that pain and heartbreak). Additional highlights on this ethereal journey include the neon synth-dream pop of "Power" -- which interpolates Dua Lipa's "Be the One" to great effect -- and the show-stopping "Love I'm Given," a rapturous dose of soul that pushes Goulding's vocals to new limits as a gospel choir backs her cries. On a second disc dubbed "EG.0," Goulding -- still aware of her position as a pop star -- cannily provides a batch of radio-friendly fare for fans in need of a quick dose of serotonin, tacking on collaborations with blackbear, Lauv, Diplo, Swae Lee, and Juice WRLD. The separation is smart, providing extra tidbits for anyone in search of "Delirium Ellie" while locking its focus on the impact of the substance found on the more rewarding main album. Brightest Blue's main disc is Goulding's deepest emotional journey yet, a triumph of empowerment and self-discovery”.

A terrific album from 2020 that should be played and heard more, I wanted to follow from my feature about BBC Radio 1 by highlighting an album from an artist who should still be a regular on their playlists. Brightest Blue is proof of her quality and relevance - and that will be cemented and underlined when Higher Than Heaven is released on 7th April. It is another fantastic release from…

ONE of our best artists.

FEATURE: For Kate Bush at Sixty-Five... A Lionheart at Forty-Five Podcast

FEATURE:

 

 

For Kate Bush at Sixty-Five…

  

A Lionheart at Forty-Five Podcast

_________

ON 30th July…

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

the Kate Bush fan community will celebrate her sixty-fifth birthday. It is an opportunity for people to come together to show their love and respect for an absolute icon. I was initially planning to do a full week or special events and projects to mark that birthday. That would include a live show where famous and new fans come together to discuss her music. I still think that a tribute album should be brought out. Not connected with her sixty-fifth birthday, it would be a chance for artists to add their stamp to a Kate Bush song. I know that Bush does not like a huge fuss made about her. Maybe going too hard on her sixty-fifth birthday would make her uncomfortable. I know she will mark the occasion privately, and there are sure to be new articles and features to celebrate too. So much love will be shown online but, when it comes to celebrating Kate Bush, maybe things should be pared down. Instead, I am thinking ahead to 13th November. I know it is a way off but, in lieu of a bigger birthday present in July, a podcast about one of her lesser-appreciated albums would be better. Among the underrated Kate Bush albums (of which there are a few), Lionheart always struggles to get that much appreciation. I would place it about fifth or sixth (out of ten studio albums). Although it is ten tracks, you get a lot of quality and memorable moments from her second studio album!

Finding a positive review for the album is quite tough. In fact, finding anything written or said about the album is rare! I know I have written about Lionheart a lot, but that is because it does not get the respect it deserves. Seen as one of her weakest albums when it comes to rankings, I would definitely not place it last at all. Of course, given the quality of her music, placing an album last would not mean it was bad! Rather, that it was not as incredible as the others in her catalogue. Bush was not happy with the album, as she felt that it was rushed and not her best work. She assisted production with Andrew Powell (who produced her 1978 debut, The Kick Inside), but she wasn’t given sufficient time to write new material and create an album that was an evolution from The Kick Inside. EMI wanted another album to follow the successful The Kick Inside. As Bush was a unique and exciting artist who captured worldwide attention, that desire to keep the ball rolling and ensure more success was a bit overzealous and unwise from the record company. Bush wouldn’t have wanted this after such a hectic 1978. Lionheart was released on 13th November, 1978. This was six months after her debut! It did get to number six in the U.K. one of its singles, Wow, ranks alongside the very best from Bush. Recorded entirely at Super Bear Studios in Berre-les-Alpes on the French Riviera, it was he only time she recorded an album outside of the U.K. Bush would take The Tour of Life around Europe in 1979 - but this was a rare occasion where she was making music in another country.

Having travelled so much in 1978 to promote The Kick Inside, she would have wanted to stick in the U.K. and record somewhere like AIR Studios (where The Kick Inside was recorded). Perhaps designed to give her a nicer backdrop and some scenic views, the good weather and fresh air couldn’t have been too bad! There were some struggles. Bush wanted to take her own band to record the album, and she was in a position where some music was laid down with her band (including Brian Bath). They were replaced by musicians who played on The Kick Inside. This tussle between keeping the same musicians from the successful debut, and Bush wanting to use her musicians because she felt like she had earned that, it was unfortunate. The awkwardness of one band departing and the other coming in – in fact, there was a period when Bush’s guys were in France without anything to do whilst the other musicians were settling in -, and this sort of weird meeting at the airport where musicians were coming in and out and passing by one another. That transfer and awkward interaction where everyone had to make nice couldn’t have been great for Bush. Regardless, I think Lionheart is very strong because it retains a lot of the strengths and incredible performances from The Kick Inside, but there are new sounds and directions to be found. When Bush co-produced (with Jon Kelly) Never for Ever in 1980, she got the chance to right ‘wrongs’ and use her own musicians and take creative control.

This is something that began the year before with The Tour of Life. Of the ten tracks, only Symphony in Blue, Full House and Coffee Homeground were new tracks. The rest  had been reworked by Bush in preparation for the recording. Songs that she had and could have used for The Kick Inside. She has said that she felt the album was good, but she was not happy with it. Maybe it was Bush herself who reckoned she was too inexperienced to produce the album herself, but she did assist with Lionheart. You can sense her production influence coming through. Most reviews for Lionheart are about 5/10 or two/three-stars. It has never really got a lot of love. This is what Drowned in Sound wrote about Lionheart back in 2018:

“One of the funny things about The Before Time when you had to buy music to listen to it is that ropey critical reputations could really put you off ever listing to certain records, even by artists you loved. It took me years to get around to Lionheart. And you know, sure, it’s the weakest Kate Bush record but that doesn’t make it bad. If anything the fact it’s routinely dismissed as a rushed follow up to The Kick Inside means it doesn’t have the pressure to compete with the stronger later records. The luminous ‘Wow’ is obviously the best and most memorable song, but seriously, check out those elaborately layered vocals on opener ‘Symphony in Blue’. The songwriting is a bit hazy compared to the laser-definition of later albums, but musically and texturally it’s a really beautiful record - the only Kate Bush album that is content to be pretty and not ask you to commit to it, and there’s something to be said for that, I think. (7)”.

I don’t think there is a weak track on Lionheart. Wow, Symphony in Blue and Kashka from Baghdad are highlights, but Hammer Horror, Coffee Homeground and Full House are great. I do feel that there should be more done to celebrate Kate Bush’s second studio album. She would bring the songs to life through The Tour of Life. I think a podcast would do justice to an album that is very important. There is a lot to discuss when it comes to context. In terms of that it followed quickly on the heels of The Kick Inside and was part of a hugely busy year. I think The Tour of Life was a response to the sense of dissatisfaction she might have felt when recording Lionheart. Although Bush gave her everything to the album, she would have liked more time and creative freedom. Her international tour of 1979 was the first opportunity to take the reins and stage her songs in her own way. Each of the ten tracks are very different, and there are some parallels to The Kick Inside. I think there is greater lyrical and musical breadth on Lionheart. The French setting is also fascinating, and you can imagine times where Bush and the band were on downtime and hanging by the pool and chilling. It would have still been an exciting time for the teenager! Knowing that she had this fanbase and commercial pull would definitely have put her mind at ease. You never know whether a debut album will resonate. The Kick Inside definitely made a mark! Rather than doing a lot for Bush’s sixty-fifth birthday on 30th July, maybe planning a Lionheart podcast would be better. Inviting guests to share their thoughts on the album. Showing praise and long-overdue affection for a truly great album. Even if Bush was unsatisfied with the final results, she shouldn’t have been! 1978’s Lionheart is…

A wonderful thing.


FEATURE: Spotlight: Léa Sen

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

  

Léa Sen

_________

AN incredible artist…

that everyone should follow and listen to, Léa Sen is going to go far. On 21st April, she releases the highly anticipated E.P., You of Now, Pt. 2. It follows on from Pt. 1 from last year. That was a sublime and memorable E.P. that announced Léa Sen as a major force in the music world. I think the second instalment will confirm that. It makes me wonder whether an album is the next step for the London artist. Before getting to some interviews and more details regarding the E.P., here is some more information about a wonderful artist who is primed to release an E.P. that I feel will rank alongside the very best of this year:

“23 year old guitarist, singer-songwriter, producer and mixer Léa Sen has today shared her new single “Luv Him (about u)” taken from her upcoming EP ‘You Of Now, Pt. 2′ - due out 21 April via Partisan.

STREAM  ”LUV HIM (ABOUT U) HERE || WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
PRE-ORDER/SAVE ‘YOU OF NOW, PT. 2′ HERE

“Luv Him (about u)“ premiered on Apple Music 1 with Matt Wilkinson this afternoon and is the follow up to previous single “Dragonfly ʚĭɞ“ which premiered with Mary Anne Hobbs on BBC Radio 6 Music, and picked up press support from the likes of The FADER, Crack Magazine, Notion, The Line Of Best Fit and more.

‘You Of Now, Pt. 2‘ - a record that runs through themes as heavy as they are relatable: quarrel with self, contradictions, feelings of desire and more – is the follow up to Léa Sen’s acclaimed debut EP ‘You Of Now, Pt. 1‘ which arrived last year on Partisan. Entirely written, produced, mixed and engineered by Léa Sen, the EP explores experiences that are deeply real: the unsavoury parts of life and of her own mind.

 “Luv Him (about u)”  is a masterclass in restraint, driven by lilting vocals and a heartsick atmosphere to explore toxic relationships based on lust and pleasure.  Commenting on the single, and its accompanying video by “Dragonfly ʚĭɞ’”collaborators Constantine//Spence, Léa Sen says: “”Luv Him (about u)” is about the desire for a relationship to be something it could never be. Pretending that you love someone more than you actually do (or not at all). Sometimes when everything including your own emotions are contradicting themselves, pleasure (or pain) is so simple and straightforward that it’s all you can hold onto.”

Born in Cergy, near Paris, but now based in London, Léa Sen has quickly established herself as one of the capital’s most in-demand talents with gossamer vocal features and work with Joy Orbison, Oscar Jerome, Wu-Lu, and Vegyn amongst others. While her solo work references everything from Bon Iver’s electronic timbre and folk guitars to Sampha’s impressionistic lyricism. Last year Léa also supported Nilüfer Yanya on her international tour and performed at Pitchfork London festival.

Signing to Partisan Records in 2022, Léa Sen has seen a stellar rise suggestive of a talent far beyond her years. Her introspection and vocal talent has seen her find critical acclaim with the likes of The FADER, The Guardian, Crack Magazine, Dummy, Notion (their January 2023 Off The Record artist), The Independent and more. The artist has received radio support on BBC 6Music, Radio 1, 1Xtra and Apple Music 1, and a nomination as an AIM Award One To Watch in association with BBC Introducing.

Above all else, ‘You Of Now, Pt. 2‘ is a record that asks us to reject polishing and embrace the freedom that comes with vulnerability, in the way Léa Sen has herself. “I want people to feel like they’re not crazy,” she says. “We’re all going through it, and it doesn’t mean that you’re not worthy or you’re inadequate. And also maybe a reminder to myself”.

I adore the music of Léa Sen, so I am really ready and excited to see what we will get from You of Now, Pt. 2. Make sure you check out this E.P. and follow someone who I think is going to be a major name soon enough. Her official website offers more details about why the new E.P. from Léa Sen is going to be so special  and what makes her music stand out and stay in the mind:

“On her forthcoming EP You Of Now, Pt. 2, Léa Sen runs through themes as heavy as they are relatable: quarrel with the self, contradictions, feelings of desire, and more. This new batch of deeply complex and resilient tracks showcase Sen’s extensive sonic palette as a guitarist, singer-songwriter, producer and mixer.

Often with little more than a few chords gently placed with atmospheric restraint amongst pulsing synths, Sen communicates the peace that comes with knowing that it's ok to not be perfect. Highlights like “Dragonfly ʚĭɞ” and “Luv Him (about u)” explore experiences that are deeply real, confronting head-on the unsavory parts of life and of her own mind. “On this EP, I was just a bit more honest with myself about who I am, and how flawed I am. But no matter how flawed I am, I still care for myself.” she says.

You Of Now, Pt. 2 follows last year’s ‘You of Now, Pt 1,’ which earned critical acclaim from FADER, The Guardian, Crack Magazine, Dummy, Notion, The Independent and more. Sen has received radio support on BBC 6Music, Radio 1, 1Xtra and Apple Music 1, and a nomination as an AIM Award One To Watch in association with BBC Introducing”.

There is no doubting the fact that Léa Sen is an artist on the rise. With so much competition and choice out there, it is easy to miss incredible music. It is important, therefore, that people ensure that this is an artist that does not pass you by. CRACK spoke with Léa Sen last year. It is amazing to see the progress she has made, since her tentative first steps into music were not that long ago. Léa Sen is a natural talent that is blossoming. It is fascinating finding out more about another jewel in the London music scene:

“The French-Martinican singer, songwriter and producer had only recently moved to London when she landed the gig in 2020. After relocating in 2019, she began to tentatively share music online – songs like the understated folk of houseonahill and the shiver-inducing avant-R&B of Letter to Anyone. Soon she struck up friendships with like-minded producers Vegyn, Wu-Lu and Kwake Bass. Less than a year later, she was standing in the booth across from one of the UK’s best-loved electronic artists. “I remember being in there making the track and just thinking, ‘this is my dream, I’m literally living my dream right now,’” she enthuses, speaking over Zoom from her current home in Brixton.

Inspired to make music by her record-producing – who also play instruments including the saxophone and piano – Sen was given a guitar on her 15th birthday, and has “never looked back”. She has been playing “pretty much every day” since and, over the past five years or so, has attained an impressive level of musicianship while also making creative use of analogue effects. Gesturing towards the table of gear behind her, I ask her to acquaint me with her stash of pedals, which gleam away in the background like treasure.

Combining her devotion to jazz musicians like Becca Stevens with her love of Ariana Grande, Lianne La Havas and folkies like Nick Drake, Sen folds a grab-bag of influences into her own songwriting, which is rhythmic and deeply emotional. Her self-released debut single Locked In arrived in April 2020 – fusing shimmering synths and guitar to a hypnotic, slow-burning groove – with double single, Sand Radio/Brother, following in July that year.

Her debut EP, You of Now Pt. 1, out this spring, imbues deft guitar playing with a soulful touch and smart flashes of electronica. The first single, the Joni Mitchell-referencing I Feel Like I’m Blue, tips its hat to trip hop while the rest of the record sees her in reflective mood as she performs soulful yet sweet-natured and slightly off-kilter indie-folk. Lyrically, she fully lays her cards on the table and embraces heart-swelling vulnerability.

Sen wrote the EP back when she was feeling “a little depressed”. After weathering a number of changes in recent years – from moving countries and shedding friends to ending a romantic relationship, which partly inspired the release – she turned to music as a cathartic way of readying herself for a new chapter. “I needed to let go of a lot of people and things,” she explains, describing the record as empowering. “I made a lot of mistakes before I moved to London and now I need to learn from them with the new people I’m meeting and the new situations I’m in.” As such, her songwriting becomes a tool through which she is able to trap the various emotional stages of her life in amber”.

With a new E.P. less than a month away, there will be people new to Léa Sen that are listening back and also looking ahead to that release. I am going to finish off in a second. Before rounding up, there is another great interview from last year. With that debut E.P. out, there was a lot of interest around Léa Sen. DORK fired some questions at a wonderful artist. I have selected a few questions that stood out. I was particularly interested in what Léa Sen said when asked about how she got into music and what sparked that love:

“When did you first realise you wanted to make music? Did you have a musical upbringing?

I’m not sure it happened in one moment, really. I can’t tell you why but when I got a guitar on my 15th birthday, I made a clear decision that that was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. No plan B. It’s probably 15 years of built-up frustrated love for music that turned into a commitment. There was a lot of music around. I would steal my brothers’ mp3 players and get lost in their playlists – from Dwele to Miles Davis to some Naruto soundtrack.

What do you most enjoy writing songs about? Are there any themes you’re repeatedly drawn to?

Not any particular themes. As I grow, heal and transform my sense of self, the music and lyrics follow… Always changing. We’ll see if I still sing about the same things in 40 years.

What’s your favourite thing about being a musician?

Aw man, ahaha there’s no one thing, but I appreciate the flexibility it gives me in life these days. But it also means I don’t really take holidays and such for now.

What would you most like to achieve during your music career?

Keeping music and sound a priority over career, money, reputation etc”.

If you have not heard the music of Léa Sen, then go and follow her and ensure you get You of Now, Pt. 2 when it is out on 21st April. I do hope that there are tour dates lined up soon. It is going to be a busy and exciting rest of 2023 for her. Even if her career is still in its early stages, there is no doubting that You of Now, Pt. 2 will spotlight and highlight this incredible artist that is going to be around for years ago. There are few out there…

LIKE the amazing Léa Sen.

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Follow Léa Sen

FEATURE: ‘The 30 Club’: Why Sexist Ageism on the BBC Radio 1 Playlist Is Especially Worrying and Regressive

FEATURE:

 

 

‘The 30 Club’

IN THIS PHOTO: Rita Ora (who is thirty-two) is among several female artists not being playlisted by BBC Radio 1 anymore 

 

Why Sexist Ageism on the BBC Radio 1 Playlist Is Especially Worrying and Regressive

_________

TUCKED away and something…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Ellie Goulding

that a social media friend of mine posted, there is something rotten happening at BBC Radio 1. I am sure that this also applies to other big stations who have a ‘younger demographic’, but it is worrying when radio stations impose age limits. Whereas BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 6 Music do not limit when it comes to age and which artists are played in that sense, why is BBC Radio 1 so beholden to being ‘trendy’, ‘cool’ and ‘young’? It is a station who has broadcasters over the age of thirty, and there are male artists played on BBC Radio 1 that are over thirty. Even if this does not apply to all female artists, there are some big and popular names who have passed the age of thirty who are no longer being played. The Birmingham Mail reports more:

“BBC Radio 1 deemed some female singers "too old" for listeners, according to reports. BBC Radio 1 has stopped playing the likes of Katy Perry and Rita Ora, The Mirror says.

Ellie Goulding, Shakira and Pink have also been snubbed by Radio One and left off the A, B and C playlists. An industry source last night told the newspaper: “The Radio 1 senior executive team try to justify their discrimination against any female artist over 30 by attributing their behaviour to their audiences’ taste.

“In fact, the audience is far less discriminatory – that’s supported by Spotify and Apple data. For an institution like Radio 1, which holds such power in determining chart success, it’s not acceptable to have such bias. They’ll cite female artists they play, but many feature on male artists’ records, like Bebe Rexha and David Guetta, or Ellie Goulding and Calvin Harris. It’s forcing women in their 30s to feature on records they wouldn’t ordinarily do to ensure Radio 1 coverage”.

There will be people jumping in that are precise when it comes to accusations. Maybe the labels of Rita Ora and Ellie Goulding no longer want to be played by BBC Radio 1 or have come to some sort of agreement. They are not fresh artists, but they are incredibly popular and relevant. Also, are artists like Harry Styles going to slip from the schedule even though he has been a major artists for a long time?! I would expect more female artists have been ignored and pushed aside. Years ago, Madonna came out and slammed ageist stations. I doubt her music will be played on BBC Radio 1 anymore, even though she is one of the most influential artists ever – but, at sixty-four, it is way past the age of thirty! I can’t understand why female artists would be deemed too old compared to men. How does that logic work?! Male artists like Ed Sheeran are sure to still be in the mix but, at thirty-six, Ellie Goulding is seen as irrelevant. Before people jump in, I am trying to find out whether artists like Rita Ora are being snubbed for a reason. Ellie Goulding is about to release her album, Higher Than Heaven, on 7th April. At a mere thirty-two, Rita Ora is apparently too old and past it to appeal to the BBC Radio 1 audience! There is a third studio album coming this year.

Both of these women are priming new albums and would be perfect to put on the playlists. I can appreciate there is a wave of brilliant rising female artists emerging such as DYLAN, FLO, Caity Baser, and Cat Burns. But there is more than enough room for other women. Why can a station like BBC Radio 6 Music play female artists of all ages, but BBC Radio 1 reject women over thirty!? They say age is only a number, and that it doesn’t matter how old you are. When it comes to music, relevance and appeal should be ageless. Why is an artist who is twenty-nine much more meaningful and marketable than someone is, say, thirty-one?! Also, what message does that send to young women coming through. Can you work at a station like BBC Radio 1 if you are past thirty?! Even if they have staff older than that, it seems strange that their ageism applies to the music played only. Many would say that BBC Radio 1 is a station that tries to reflect changing tastes, the most current music for a younger audience. That is fair. A lot of the playlist and artists are very much primed at the TikTok generation. There is nothing wrong with a station that focuses on younger artists. Having that as your entire business model and mantra is insane. And, as I have said, why are male artists over thirty not consigned to the bin?!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Dua Lipa

If you are running a station and playing artists who are all under thirty, how do you explain male artists over the age of thirty on the playlist? I can appreciate how it literally isn’t the case that all female artists over thirty are relegated from the playlists. It is a worrying development that artists who are still very current and vibrant are somehow seen as too old or insignificant. BBC Radio 1 does not even deal solely with artists who are brand-new. You can be a twenty-nine-year-old female artist who has produced a few albums and still played, but there is this magic cut-off. I predict that other artists will soon find themselves exiled. It is heartbreaking to think that someone like Dua Lipa, who is currently twenty-seven, might be no longer favoured at BBC Radio 1 after all that she had done. Taylor Swift is thirty-three and still played at BBC Radio 1, but you suspect that her days may be numbered. It is insulting to these artists who have given so much and rely on radio playlists for exposure. BBC Radio 1 has plenty of room for artists over thirty. I don’t think there are any reports coming out of male artists over that age not being playlisted. Why then are women being targeted?! No matter what way you spin and rationalise, the simple fact is that woman have always been and are definitely now given an expiration date. It is not only BBC Radio 1. They are not seen as fashionable or sexy if they are over thirty.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kylie Minogue

Music should not have any barriers or prejudices when it comes to age and, as sexism and gender imbalances rages still, ageism is another discriminatory practise that is hugely damaging. How depressing for a young artist like Little Simz for example worrying she may subject to ageism next year (she is currently twenty-nine). I am not sure it even applies to Pop music, but it does seem like Pop artists especially are subject to ageism. If course, women in all genres will share their experiences. Pop has always had an age issue. One cannot say that ageism doesn’t exist anymore. It blatantly and unashamedly does! It is so unfair on women in music. Festivals like Glastonbury have blamed pipeline issues for there being no female headliners. Labels are not signing women or promoting them properly. Young female artists are not being given opportunities so, when it comes to hustle and being noticed, they rely on huge stations like BBC Radio 1. If there is this ’30 Club’ where they are almost killed off shockingly young and tragically, how the hell do we solve a pipeline problem?! I will wrap up in a minute. There are loads of articles online discussing ageism in music and how everyone from Madonna to Sheryl Crow have spoken out against it. Even Kylie Minogue has. The whole industry has a sexist ageism issue, and what is being done to correct this? I want to source an article that Adam Cherian wrote for Afterglow in 2021. He writes how stars and successful female artists are getting younger and younger. Whilst he looks at forty as being an age where many women are being wiped off playlists, it is a huge middle finger to these amazing artists. It is distributing that, a) thirty is seen as too old or not cool enough for a young listening audience and, b) that relevance and appeal is being judged on age and not the quality of the music:

“On Aug. 21, 2000, Madonna released one of the biggest hits of her career. “Music” is a bombastic dance-pop track that hit number one on the Billboard hot 100 charts by early September that same year, making it Madonna’s 12th and, currently, final No. 1 on the chart. At the turn of the century, Madonna was still one of the biggest artists in the industry. But even though she was on top of the world, this chart-topping achievement was impressive for a different reason: At the time, Madonna was 42 years old, making her part of the exclusive club of women over 40 with a Billboard number one hit.

The glaring lack of women over 40 snagging No. 1 hits is unsurprising. At the time, “Music” was the fifth No. 1 hit from a woman over 40. This would only be topped in 2016, with Sia’s “Cheap Thrills” finally breaking the dry-spell. Then, years later, came Mariah Carey with her smash hit “All I Want for Christmas is You.” 2019  was the last time ’til date that a woman over 40 has taken that coveted No. 1 spot. Some women in music today have been able to beat this and continue to create, however. Beyonce, for example, continues to lead the way for women in music, at her stunning age of 40. The fact that only seven women were able to make No. 1 hits is commendable on their parts. That being said, how low that number is is concerning, and begs the question: Why is it so difficult for women to gain recognition once they get well into adulthood?

The music industry — specifically pop music — has historically been ageist. Ageism is defined as the prejudice against a person on the basis of their age. When discussing how the music industry contributes to this system of oppression, the cultural attitudes towards people of a certain age are revealed. For example, the fact that it is perfectly acceptable for record labels to not sign talented artists on the basis that they are “unrelatable” and “too old,” shows that many people find this type of discrimination acceptable. Madonna is a perfect example of this phenomenon: She went from being one of the biggest female artists in the world to failing to chart her most recent album, Madame X. In a 2016 speech at the Billboard Women in Music Awards, she called out the industry on its “relentless abuse” of mature women trying to succeed in this musical landscape.

The discussion of ageism in the music industry must be intersectional, however, as it is clear that men are not held to the same standard. Just this year, the super-duo Silk Sonic debuted and blew up the charts with hits like “Leave the Door Open” and “Skate.” Both members — Anderson Paak. and Bruno Mars — are in their late 30s. In contrast, the older a woman in the industry becomes, the closer critics will look at their appearance, art, and overall personality. Even worse, women have to compete with the inevitable new crop of girls that will rise in pop music. A classic example of this is Christina Aguilera’s 2010 album Bionic. Reviewers of this album berated Aguilera for daring to make songs about sex saying that it was getting “old,” and went as far as comparing it to her older work. The most glaring way in which reviewers showed their ageist ways was the insistence on comparing Aguilera to then-newcomer Lady Gaga. Bionic tanked, and though Aguilera would go on to have some success in the 2010s, she has not been able to replicate the success of her older material.

This combination of age and gender discrimination may seem superficial when talking about celebrities. However, the way in which pop culture seems to show this intersection of people has influence on everyday people. In a survey conducted by Forbes and Out-Wit Inc., 80% of women in the workplace have experienced some form of gendered ageism. Older women often feel ignored, with younger colleagues taking precedence over them. So even if it may seem humorous to see wealthy celebrities complain about their woes, there are real-world consequences for not making older women visible in the industry.

Ageism not only affects maturing women, but actually has grave consequences for younger artists as well. The debuting pop stars of today are becoming younger and younger. Olivia Rodrigo, for example, debuted her serious music career at the age of 17 in January earlier this year. Showcasing young talent is nothing new, however, and has been seen by the likes of many stars, such as Britney Spears. This reveals an underlying obsession with youth that the music industry seems to have. Think of Billie Eilish, who debuted at the young age of 13, and has recounted in interviews the abuse she has received as a minor within the industry. Not only was she facing that abuse, but was also receiving disturbing attention by predatorial men waiting for her to turn 18. Young girls in the industry are constantly being brought up and often groomed within the industry, not for their talents, but for their relatability and looks.

Women within the industry have accepted for decades the mistreatment they will inevitably face. Gendered ageism is only one aspect of this inequity, but it is a prevalent trend nonetheless. Ultimately, though, there needs to be more accountability on the industry itself for deliberately edging out the veteran women within it. Audiences as well need to change their attitudes towards women and age for the art of women to be taken seriously”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Harry Styles regularly features on BBC Radio 1’s playlists and, even though he is twenty-nine, his place on the playlists is going to be secure for years to come

It is hugely concerning reading about BBC Radio 1. This is not a new thing. If in the past women past forty were being moved down the dial and could no longer dance alongside younger artists, the bar is being lowered even further! Thirty is seen as an upper age limit for no logical reason. Listeners are not calling for women over thirty to be slowly taken away from the BBC Radio 1 playlists. It very much seems to be driven by management and controllers. If a previous BBC Radio 1 favourite like Charli XCX was to discover that she had to rely on other stations to promote her music, in spite of the fact she is immensely popular and one of the greatest artists of her generation, then is anyone safe?! Charli XCX is thirty now, so you do fear her next studio album might not make it to the playlist as Sucker (2014) did. This is the same artist who is, arguably, even better now than she was back in 2014. The idiotic lack of logic is mind-boggling! Ageism is a problem that mostly applies to women. There is an inherent ideal of desirability. If they look young and sexy, then that is what listeners and trendy stations want. If they get beyond thirty or forty, then they may not be as attractive. It is flabbergasting! It needs to stop! The latest news around ageism striking and affecting brilliant female artists should compel change and discussion. BBC Radio 1’s latest move and discrimination is…

SO angering and sickening.