FEATURE: The Mother/This Woman’s Work: How a Recent Jennifer Lopez-Fronted Film Has Put a Kate Bush Classic Back in the Spotlight

FEATURE:

 

 

The Mother/This Woman’s Work

How a Recent Jennifer Lopez-Fronted Film Has Put a Kate Bush Classic Back in the Spotlight

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THERE has been a lot of recent development…

in the Kate Bush world. Unfortunately, a couple of members of a couple of musicians who played with her in the past have died - Seán Keane and John Giblin. The latter played with Bush during her live residency, Before the Dawn. It is always tragic and heartbreaking when a musician associated with Kate Bush dies, as you think of them when hearing the music and their part. Aside from some sad news, there has been some success and recognition. Maybe it will not have the same sort of impact as Stranger Things created when they used Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), but a recent film starring Jennifer Lopez has created new success and popularity for one of Kate Bush’s best songs. This Woman's Work has had a huge surge in popularity on iTunes charts after it was used for the Netflix film, The Mother. Bush’s song is played over the closing moments of the film. On 15th May, it was the second-most searched for song in the U.S. on the Shazam app. That is quite an achievement! I guess there is something quite appropriate about that song featuring in a song called The Mother. Even if This Woman’s Work is about the father of a newborn having to grow up and face responsibility as it breaches and things look bleak, there is that sense of protection and having to deal with an uncomfortable situation. In The Mother, Jennifer Lopez’s titular character gives birth to a girl prematurely in a hospital. The girl is given to foster parents, but she is kidnapped. Lopez’s Mother then tracks down the kidnappers and reunites the girl with her foster parents.

You do get this new meaning from This Woman’s’ Work. If people have always thought of that song as being about the mother and the fear she experiences, it is more about the father having an awakening and being dealt a big blow. I do like when songs are used in films, as you can get them out to more people, and you can get fresh layers from it. For The Mother, there is this powerful ending that is quite touching. Even if The Mother has received mixed reviews, the fact that it has Kate Bush’s classic at the end is another sign that her music is getting recognition beyond the U.K. It is the second big U.S. nod in fairly recent succession. I am not sure how long the momentum will last, but it is unlikely that we will see this song released as a single again and shoot to the top of the charts. Originally, This Woman’s Work featured in a film. She’s Having a Baby was released in 1988. That John Hughes film used Kate Bush’s song to emotional effect. Bush then included it on The Sensual World the following year. The song was released as a single on 20th November, 1989, where it got to twenty-five in the U.K.. It has charted since, in 2005, 2008, 2012, 2014, 2021, and 2022. I think that, given the recent resurgence and celebration Bush has received, maybe The Sensual World could crack the top ten. Compared to Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), it is slightly more sombre and challenging listen. More emotive and downbeat, it is also very beautiful and stirring! When it comes to charting songs, I feel more spirited and upbeat tracks tend to fare better. Even so, it would be great to think that This Woman’s Work would get a new lease of life off of the back of its inclusion in The Mother.

Even though Bush is selective when it comes to where her songs are used in film and T.V., she has given permission in the past. Film such as Palm Springs have benefited. Look at T.V. shows like The Simpsons, Happy Valley, The Handmaid’s Tale, and Ashes to Ashes. U.S. series GLOW even used Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) – although it didn’t really lead to a big push and worldwide chart success in the same way as Stranger Things’ usage did. I think, given all the success in 2022, more filmmakers will approach Bush to use her songs. She will have standards but, as she has seen how her music can reach new generations this many years later, perhaps we will see it happen more. Every time a film like The Mother uses Kate Bush’s music, it makes people more aware of that song – and, in turn, the album it is from gets recognition. Whereas most of the time people use singles and well-known Kate Bush songs, you cannot rule against deeper cuts being featured. Regardless, it is great news that This Woman’s Work is back at the forefront. With award nominations and chart recognition happening, it means that Bush is speaking to young listeners and showing how relevant she is. I think we will see other Bush classics on the small and big screen soon. It is marvellous that we get to still talk about her amazing catalogue this many years later! The fact that material released decades ago is finding new lease and meaning. Long may it continue! Go and see The Mother if you can and, obviously, stick around to hear This Woman’s Work feature at the end! You never know. Maybe The Sensual World will get increased sales and get back into the charts. As we all guess whether Kate Bush will release another album soon, it is very clear that her existing music…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1989/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

IS hugely popular.

FEATURE: Prince at Sixty-Five: The Five Essential Albums from the Much-Missed Genius

FEATURE:

 

 

Prince at Sixty-Five

IN THIS PHOTO: Prince during the Sign o’ the Times era (1987)/PHOTO CREDIT: Jeff Katz/The Prince Estate 

The Five Essential Albums from the Much-Missed Genius

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ONE of the greatest tragedies…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Prince performing during the 1984 Purple Rain Tour/PHOTO CREDIT: Richard E. Aaron

the music world has ever witnessed is when Prince died unexpectedly aged fifty-seven on 21st April, 2016. It was an enormous shock to say goodbye prematurely to a musician whose genius and legacy is unlike anyone else’s. Born on 7th June, 1958, I wanted to do a run of features (maybe five or six) that explore his music and what he gave to the world. I did a few recently when marking the seventh anniversary of his death. To start with, I want to highlight the five essential, must-buy albums from someone who released thirty-nine in his lifetime. Because of his famous Vault, we are getting all this unreleased material. That very much keeps his memory and music alive. Before getting to that, I have pulled some information from Wikipedia relating to Prince’s incredible success. In future features, I might look at underrated albums, the man behind the moniker, in addition to the ways in which he changed culture and society forever:

“After signing with Arista Records in 1998, Prince reverted to his original name in 2000. Over the next decade, six of his albums entered the U.S. top 10 charts. In April 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was a prolific musician who released 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased material left in a custom-built bank vault underneath his home after his death, including fully completed albums and over 50 finished music videos. He also released songs under multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made popular after being covered by other musicians, most notably "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor and "Manic Monday" by the Bangles. Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. Released posthumously, his demo albums Piano and a Microphone 1983 (2018) and Originals (2019) both received critical acclaim.

Prince sold over 100 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted twice into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022”.

To start off with a remembrance and celebration ahead of Prince’s sixty-fifth birthday on 7th June, below are five albums from the master that everyone should own. A few might be quite obvious if you know his work, but there are one or two surprises that are thrown into the mix. If you are new to Prince’s work, or you need a reminder of his peerless brilliance, then below are albums that…

YOU really to need to hear.

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1999

Release Date: 27th October, 1982

Label: Warner Bros.

Producer: Prince

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/prince/1999-deluxe

Standout Tracks: Little Red Corvette/Delirious/Lady Cab Driver

Review:

“1999 is a sprawling double album (“D.M.S.R.” was cut from initial CD pressings to make it fit on a single disc) on which Prince indulged his curiosity in new technology, but what’s remarkable about it is how tightly-wound it feels, even on the more far-flung jams. “Something in the Water (Does Not Compute)” is claustrophobic and tense, Prince’s pleas to a lover who’s left him behind made even more frantic by the cacophony of digital sounds ricocheting around the mix. (It’s the song that probably brings Prince’s admitted influence of Blade Runner to mind the most.) “Lady Cab Driver” unfolds like a movie playing on fast-forward in Prince’s dirty mind, with a request for a “ride” turning into a bit of slap-and-tickle play before fading back to reality—as evidenced by scritching guitars and the reprise of the song’s feather-light hook.

Then there’s “Delirious,” one of Prince’s most unbridled offerings, its wheezing keyboards sounding like a mind left alone to whirl, propelled by a dizzyingly upbeat drum track and Prince’s half-sneeze vocals. The one-two punch of that track and the Erotic City staycation “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” is enough to drive even the most buttoned-up listener to their own personal brink—one that arrives even before Prince murmurs, “I’m not sayin’ this just 2 be nasty/I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of your mouth/Can U relate?” Well. When U put it like that…

It’s not all fun and sex games, of course; even though “1999” makes the idea of impending apocalypse alluring, the planet still goes kablooey when all is said and done. The piano ballad “Free” presents Prince in tender mode, smearing the personal and political together as he sings “Be glad that u r free/Free 2 change your mind.” The music grows increasingly stirring, with militaristic drums and fiercely slapped bass fighting for supremacy as Prince sings of creeping clamp-downs. And “All the Critics Love U in New York” takes the self-regard exhibited by the city and its more pretentious inhabitants and mashes it into a ball. But those forays into the wider world only give the more pleasure-minded tracks on 1999 more urgency and lightness.

Prince played with different toys on 1999—new synths, new sexual frontiers, new paranoias. He bent them to his will, though, and this 11-song opus was the result. Balancing synth-funk explorations that would reverberate through radio playlists’ ensuing years, taut pop construction, genre-bending, and the proto-nuclear fallout of lust, 1999 still sounds like a landmark release in 2016; Prince’s singular vision and willingness to indulge his curiosities just enough created an apocalypse-anticipating album that, perhaps paradoxically, was built to last for decades and even centuries to come” – Pitchfork

Key Cut: 1999

Purple Rain (As Prince and The Revolution)

Release Date: 25th June, 1984

Label: Warner Bros.

Producer: Prince and The Revolution

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/prince-and-the-revolution/purple-rain-lp

Standout Tracks: When Doves Cry/I Would Die 4 U/Purple Rain

Review:

“Prince designed Purple Rain as the project that would make him a superstar, and, surprisingly, that is exactly what happened. Simultaneously more focused and ambitious than any of his previous records, Purple Rain finds Prince consolidating his funk and R&B roots while moving boldly into pop, rock, and heavy metal with nine superbly crafted songs. Even its best-known songs don't tread conventional territory: the bass-less "When Doves Cry" is an eerie, spare neo-psychedelic masterpiece; "Let's Go Crazy" is a furious blend of metallic guitars, Stonesy riffs, and a hard funk backbeat; the anthemic title track is a majestic ballad filled with brilliant guitar flourishes. Although Prince's songwriting is at a peak, the presence of the Revolution pulls the music into sharper focus, giving it a tougher, more aggressive edge. And, with the guidance of Wendy and Lisa, Prince pushed heavily into psychedelia, adding swirling strings to the dreamy "Take Me With U" and the hard rock of "Baby I'm a Star." Even with all of his new, but uncompromising, forays into pop, Prince hasn't abandoned funk, and the robotic jam of "Computer Blue" and the menacing grind of "Darling Nikki" are among his finest songs. Taken together, all of the stylistic experiments add up to a stunning statement of purpose that remains one of the most exciting rock & roll albums ever recorded” – AllMusic

Key Cut: Let’s Go Crazy

Sign o’ the Times

Release Date: 30th March, 1987

Labels: Paisley Park/Warner Bros.

Producer: Prince

Buy: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/prince/sign-o-the-times-remastered

Standout Tracks: Housequake/U Got the Look/If I Was Your Girlfriend

Review:

“Part of Prince’s drive was that he was keenly aware that hip-hop was rising up and shifting the sound of music. Rap was entering its “golden age,” and its mix of gritty storytelling and dope beats had to be reckoned with. (Michael Jackson would release Bad, his own answer to hip-hop, six months later.) So the title cut, with Prince’s commentary on the issues of the day (“a big disease with a little name,” mentions of crack and gang violence) and minimalist Run-DMC-styled production, made clear that Prince had his ear to the street. The song functions as Prince’s version of “The Message,” and, as crazy as that sounds, it works.

Prince wasn’t just wrestling with fresh energy from the streets on Sign o’ the Times, but with the twin pillars of carnality and spirituality that had defined his career and that of black popular music for decades. For this Minneapolis native, it wasn’t so much a battle between sin and salvation, as it was how the warring desires could become one, synthesized through innovative arrangements, seductive yet fraught lyrics, and that remarkable voice.

“Forever in My Life,” for example, has the sincere melody of early Sly and the Family Stone. It sounds ready made for optimistic sing-a-longs. At first, you think it’s a simple love song, but there’s a devotional quality (“You are my savior/You are my life”) that makes it a chant of piety. At the same time, songs like “Hot Thing” and “It” are aggressively sexual, but in the context of the electronic, oddly-pitched sounds around the words, they seem more like the search for human connection and transcendence rather than a roll in the hay.

The album’s two ballads, “Slow Love” (co-written by singer-songwriter Carol Davis) and “Adore,” are both showcases for Prince’s vocal prowess. The man was an encyclopedia of vocal styles, able to croon like a 1950s pop star on the nostalgic “Slow Love” and do ’60s soul style on “Adore.” Though equally adept at showy vocal riffs and screaming in tune, Prince’s lower, cooler register seems to express his truest self.

Prince’s ability to move between genres made him a unique musical chameleon with Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney his only peers at the highest levels of pop. While he was often compared to Wonder, especially early in his career, it’s the ex-Beatle who seemed to have the most enduring influence. McCartney’s story-song sketches on The White Album helped define his career. For Prince, they were just one of many tools. His whimsical profiles of an odd elementary school classmate (“Starfish & Coffee”) and a quirky lover with the name of a celebrated New Yorker writer (“The Ballad of Dorothy Parker”) are lovely stories supported by surreal sounds and beats, suggesting you are on psychedelic journey through Prince’s memories.

Sign o’ the Times is difficult to grapple with because there’s so much going on in each track. The up-tempo “Play in the Sunshine” drops in jazz fusion riffs and choral voices just when you think its winding down. “The Cross” starts as a mournful song of devotion to Christ with acoustic guitar and sitar before exploding into a huge rock anthem with military drums and fuzz guitar. “Play in the Sunshine” opens with the sound of kids at play, becomes a rockabilly song, transitions midway into a guitar showcase, and then, with a marimba, a different drum pattern, and cleverly arranged backing voices, it ends a musical world away from where it began.

“Housequake” is, perhaps, the most obvious songs on the album, a funk jam that would have been a hit single if he’d allowed it to be released as such. But the care of the track’s construction belies any shallow analysis. It starts with a cartoony voice (maybe a Camille reference), a synthesized drum heavy with echo, then adds bass, keyboard stabs, and rhythm guitar. The synth drum and snare drum merge while there’s a double-beat on the kick. Live horns come it and the bass line moves as there’s both a synth bass keyboard and a live bass doing playing different lines. Various backing vocals float in and out with Prince doing his James Brown impersonation as singer/MC. Compared to the simple loops of your average club banger, “Housequake” is a symphony of syncopation. The beat moves even as it grooves” – Pitchfork

Key Cut: Sign o’ the Times

[Love Symbol] (As Prince and The New Power Generation)

Release Date: 13th October, 1992

Labels: Paisley Park/Warner Bros.

Producer: Prince and The New Power Generation

Buy: https://www.discogs.com/sell/release/619546?ev=rb

Standout Tracks: Sexy MF/The Morning Papers/7

Review:

“To backtrack a little, Love Symbol's strength lies in this comedic romance and its sleaze. The moments that are the strongest are definitely the album's more subdued moments. One of Prince's strongest skills as an artist, or rather more as a producer, was that in his prime, he very much underproduced his music and it really jumps out at you on early highlights like "The Morning Papers." A slow ballad that makes prominent use of piano and brass motifs and is one of the best examples of romance that you just can't take seriously. Detailing rather charmingly a scandalous forbidden love brewing between Prince's character in the story (named Prince, as the opener will have let you know) and a young maiden (who I take to be Mayte Garcia's character). The even more subdued and sensual "Sweet Baby," is a very different side to Prince's music, a reassuring slowdance with beautiful shimmering synthesisers, subtle piano and a soft performance from Prince really goes to show that Love Symbol is a jack of all trades, even a master of a couple of them.

The album has strengths outside of its charming more sensitive numbers, the anthemic "7" manages to make a very strong initial impression despite not really giving itself much to work with outside of the repeated chorus, which uses the same musical progression as the verses. While "7" in theory should collapse under its length considering how repetitive it is once you click that the verses and the choruses are pretty much identical outside of the Prince's vocal melody and phrasing, but interestingly enough it seems to be one of the songs that lends itself best to repeated listens. A number of the album's more hot-blooded club tracks, such as the aforementioned opener "My Name is Prince" and the succeeding track "Sexy M.F." are infectiously catchy. Albeit, these comically sexual dance anthems, particularly the ridiculous "The Continental", which I dare you to listen to with a straight face, essentially serve to make the fact that Love Symbol is supposedly a concept album virtually impossible to take seriously.

Love Symbol's weaknesses lie more or less in a couple of songs that just didn't need to be on the album, rather than any incoherence in the album's various musical adventures. The track that was inserted onto the album at the last minute "I Wanna Melt With U", which resulted in Prince having to cull most of the segues, absolutely does not justify this decision. It's an endorphin driven funk jam, designed to grind to, which as mentioned several times earlier, Love Symbol is not lacking in. While head and shoulders above possessing the most banal lyrics on the album, it also comes complete with a very aesthetically displeasing electronic sample reminiscent of a wet fart (listen to the song and you'll know I'm not kidding). There's also the bizarre "3 Chains O' Gold," which begins like a cheesy 80s stadium rock anthem and slowly morphs into an incoherent mess of ideas, suddenly going from a ballad not too dissimilar to the ones from earlier, back to a stadium rock track and then through a couple of Queen-type pseudo-opera sections.

A few duds from a 75 minute album, where Prince was working with a brand new backing bands and considering his lack of consistency on releases of similar length in the past (1999, Graffiti Bridge) is not surprising. With any pretense that Love Symbol is a perfect album out of your mind, it's far easier to anticipate what it has to offer and what it delivers. Featuring some of Prince's most spectacular vocal performances, from the acrobatic closer "The Sacrifice of Victor," the controlled, calm and collected "Sweet Baby" and the falsetto madness at the end of "Love 2 the 9's" that would put plenty of divas to shame, while there's not a lot to take seriously, there sure is an awful lot to be impressed by and plenty to enjoy.

Potentially one of Prince's most underrated releases, there's just something… charming, about Love Symbol's quirky presentation and its baffling lack of sincerity as a serious idea. Its uniqueness within Prince's discography, despite more or less musically being a natural development of previous outings and it's goofy themes make this album a seriously good time. It's rather hard to describe the sensations that this album gives off and in that sense it couldn't have a more fitting title. It could give it names, I could call it "quasi-romantic" I could say that aspects of it make it feel "spiritual" I can refer to it as being sensual, but in the same way you can think of this album as being called "Love Symbol" or "O(+>", it's actually just an unpronounceable symbol and at the end of the day there are a number of things you could call it. But the main thing is, despite its initial impression, there's something really intriguing about it and it works, you can't tell whether or not you should be thinking, not thinking at all or some weird combination of the two” – Sputnikmusic

Key Cut: My Name Is Prince

The Gold Experience (As ‘Love Symbol’)

Release Date: 26th September, 1995

Labels: Warner Bros./NPG

Producer: Prince

Pre-order: https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/product/prince/the-gold-experience

Standout Tracks: We March/I Hate U/Gold

Review:

“Prince changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in 1993, but it wasn't until 1995 that he actually released a record credited to that symbol. During those two years, he released a greatest-hits collection, an official version of his much-bootlegged Black Album, and a final Prince album, the lackluster Come. Throughout 1994, he pressured Warner to release another album, The Gold Experience, but the company refused and he staged a public protest in the media, calling himself a slave to the label. By the summer of 1995, the artist and the company had made amends and the record was released in the fall. In a way, The Gold Experience lives up to the manufactured hype created while it languished on the shelf. More of a creative rebirth than a change in direction, the record finds Prince and the New Power Generation running through a typically dazzling array of musical styles, subtly twisting new sounds out of familiar forms. Much like The Love Symbol Album, it follows a loose concept, interweaving a variety of pop, funk, rock, soul, and jazz styles into a vague story. Song for song, The Gold Experience is slightly stronger than its predecessor, as Prince's melodies are more immediate, especially on the Philly soul tribute "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" and the pure pop of "Dolphin." Also, the band's performance is lively and confident, bringing an effortless virtuosity to funk workouts ("P Control"), and fuzzed-out rockers ("Endorphinmachine"), as well as ballads like "Eye Hate U." The Gold Experience is somewhat weighed down by interludes that attempt to further the story but wind up interrupting the flow of the music, yet that doesn't stop the album from being Prince's most satisfying effort since Sign O' the Times” – AllMusic

Key Cut: The Most Beautiful Girl in the World

FEATURE: She Will Not Be Silenced: The Rebirth, Revelations and Renaissance of Kesha’s Gag Order

FEATURE:

 

 

She Will Not Be Silenced

The Rebirth, Revelations and Renaissance of Kesha’s Gag Order

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ONE of this year’s most anticipated albums…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Vincent Haycock

comes out tomorrow (19th May). We all know Kesha (previously Ke$ha). A brilliant artist who is preparing to release her fifth studio album, her sound has undergone quite a transformation. Early albums such as 2010’s Animal (her debut) and 2012’s Warrior were more synonymous with Auto-Tune and vocoders. Lyrically, she explored ex-lovers, partying and excess. Maybe something genuine from a very young artist, you can feel a real maturation and awakening on her recent material. Letting her natural (and excellent) voice come to the forefront without it being digitised, disguised and distilled, her lyrics have also dug deeper and seem more genuine to where she is now. 2020’s High Road was her previous album. As executive producer, she worked alongside some excellent collaborators to reveal one of her best albums to that point. Whilst there was some kindness and positivity when it came to her addressing her partying past, there was also some reality check – there was danger and a sense of recklessness at times. I am glad that we are about to receive another Kesha album. One reason why Gag Order is such an important album is that this is Kesha speaking freely and personally. If the title refers to legalities and restrictions about what she can say, the album is about death, control, and the battle for truth. Her most intimate and honest album yet, the anxieties she (and so many) experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic all goes into this very stirring and different album. Many won’t recognise the artist we hear in 2023 compared to the one in 2010. I know that is a thirteen-year period, but there is a stark difference in terms of the sound and feel of the albums. I do like Kesha’s earliest work, but here we find an artist reborn and entering a new phase of her career.

I have a particular admiration and respect for Kesha (Kesha Sebert). Her past has been extremely hard and filed with obstacles. She checked into a rehabilitation centre in 2014 and began work on her third studio album, Rainbow. She dropped the ‘Ke$ha’ name for her birthname of ‘Kesha’. In June 2014, Kesha claimed a seat as an expert in the American television singing competition Rising Star, alongside Brad Paisley and Ludacris. In October 2014, Kesha sued producer Dr. Luke for sexual assault and battery, sexual harassment, gender violence, emotional abuse, and violation of California business practices which had occurred over ten years working together. This lawsuit ran for a year before Kesha sought a preliminary injunction to release her from Kemosabe Records. On 19th February, 2016, New York Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich ruled against this request (I am paraphrasing from Wikipedia). Gag Order seems to be Kesha addressing the past (both recent and longer), but also looking ahead. I want to bring in a couple of recent interviews before round up. The Guardian spoke with Kesha earlier this month. They sub-headlined the interview by saying that this former party girl had been in limbo about speaking out against her former producer, Dr. Luke. A sense of catharsis comes through in her new album:

“In April 2020, months after the release of her fourth album, High Road, Kesha had a “beautiful and terrifying” spiritual awakening. Having spent the early lockdown months paralysed by anxiety and consumed by the weight of both personal and global trauma, she suddenly felt “overwhelmed by so many things I hadn’t taken the time to stop and think about”. One night, after weeks of looking for answers, she started hearing “what some might call God, what some might call your higher consciousness” via a two-hour-long, completely sober encounter she initially mistook for a psychotic break.

“I woke up in the morning and called all my healthcare workers and explained what happened, and they all said: ‘Oh that’s a spiritual awakening, congratulations.’” She shakes her head. “I was like: ‘What the fuck are you talking about? You’re saying what I’ve been doing therapy for, and meditating for, and searching for, was to have an incredibly surreal, terrifying, nearly psychedelic experience?’ They were all, like: ‘Yep, that’s the goal.’”

That night inspired Eat the Acid, the deeply hallucinatory, minor-key lead single from her Rick Rubin-produced fifth album, Gag Order. “I searched for answers all my life / Dead in the dark, I saw the light,” she sings over wheezing synths and a distant bass rumble that eventually breaks like a clap of thunder. It heralds an album quite unlike anything the 36-year-old LA-native, born Kesha Rose Sebert, has released before. “With this album I actually got to get really intimate and expose the sides of myself that I’m not the most proud of,” she says, shuffling for a comfy spot on her bed, her laptop wobbling as she lays down on her side. “The ones that I want to never talk about, that I never want to share with the greater public. The ones that are more scary, and more vulnerable, and more insecure. I share a lot of ugly emotions on this album.”

Having blazed a trail through the pop cosmos in late 2009 via messy, hedonistic banger Tik Tok, all smeared glitter, sexual liberation and talk of brushing her teeth “with a bottle of Jack”, Kesha (or Ke$ha as she was then) was the perfect soundtrack for a disfranchised generation pepped up on post-recession nihilism. Critics hated her while her fiercely loyal fans, or Animals, connected to her outsider spirit, and the hits – all of them made with Pink and Katy Perry producer Dr Luke – kept coming. Then, in 2014, the party stopped: Kesha dropped the dollar sign from her name and checked herself into rehab for an eating disorder. Later that year she filed a lawsuit against Dr Luke (real name Lukasz Gottwald), claiming he had sexually and emotionally abused her over a 10-year period. In 2016, Kesha’s case was dismissed, and Gottwald – who has always denied the allegations – sued for defamation.

Creatively, Kesha was left in limbo. Still signed to Gottwald’s label, Kemosabe Records, an imprint of Sony, she eventually released her third album, the rockier, more inward-looking Rainbow in 2017. Muzzled in interviews for fear of jeopardising her ongoing legal case, she managed to hint at her emotional state on the album’s lead single, Praying. “When I’m finished, they won’t even know your name,” she sings at one point. But Kesha’s early, defining songs were pushed through a default filter that read as “fun and numb”, a sound she felt compelled to return to on 2020’s muddled High Road, with its partial reclamation of her party girl persona.

In stark contrast, the tellingly titled Gag Order – a plain-speaking, minimal record that touches on death, depression, emotional exploitation, control, hope and a battle for the truth – sheds so many layers that only the core remains. “I realised that I, almost to the point of toxic positivity, was trying to really amplify that [playful] side of my personality,” she says, utilising, as she does throughout our interview, the language of therapy and self-help teachings. “I was doing a disservice to the whole of my being. As the woman who wrote Tik Tok and ‘the party don’t start until I walk in’, I didn’t think anyone needed or wanted that side of my psyche. I also realised that there’s an element of people-pleasing in just trying to give people what they want from me.”

Kesha credits the zen-like Rubin for creating an environment where she felt comfortable enough to reveal herself emotionally. “After a decade of feeling like I’d become a caricature of myself in some ways, he was like: ‘I really want to know what’s going on deep inside of you,’” she says. “So he just made this super cosy space where instead of thinking about what other people want, or what other people expect, or what’s going to make other people happy, it was about what truly needs to be excavated from inside of me”.

I am going to finish with an interview from Rolling Stone. With Rick Rubin executive producing alongside Kesha, you have this artist taking control. She also worked closely with a legendary producer who helped bring a new sound and direction to her music. It seemed that there was a distinct turning point for Kesha in terms of her music. Rainbow (2017) was an album where we saw that shift from the party girl and someone living life to the full (which was sometimes unwise), to a human who was realising what risks and damages can occur from those choices:

“At the time, she didn’t think the song would ever see the light of day, but in the end, that track became the genesis of her fifth studio album, Gag Order, out on May 19. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, a fellow Pisces who bonded with Kesha over the spirituality that she’d tapped into while not dropping acid.

“I feel like I’m giving birth to the most intimate thing I’ve ever created,” the singer says, sounding as jittery as a high school student at her first recital. It’s a stark contrast to the Ke$ha of 2012, who cheekily extolled the virtues of the “lady-wang” to Rolling Stone (sample sentence: “My lady-wang is becoming increasingly moist by the minute”). Gone is the bravado, the “fuck it” attitude; Kesha is laying it all bare, and she seems genuinely nervous about the world seeing this side of her. “I really dug into some of my uglier emotions and sides of myself that are less fun,” she adds. “It’s scary being vulnerable. The fact that I have compiled an entire record of these emotions, of anger, of insecurity, of anxiety, of grief, of pain, of regret, all of that is so nerve-racking — but it’s also so healing.”

You probably think you know Kesha by now. Whether it’s Ke$ha, the 22-year-old who boasted about brushing her teeth with a bottle of Jack back in 2009, or Kesha at 30, who ostensibly grew up and found herself on 2017’s Rainbow, which came a few years after she checked into a treatment center for mental-health issues and an eating disorder. Thirty-six-year-old Kesha is yet another evolution — which makes sense, because as she says, her twenties were “strange and interesting,” while her thirties have been about self-exploration. “I wrote ‘TiK ToK,’ and ‘the party don’t start ’til I walk in,’ so I almost felt like I was becoming a caricature of this toxic positivity,” she says. “We live in a culture where I feel like we always show our best side. But Rick Rubin created the most beautiful, safe space for me to really dive into these emotions.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Magdalena Wosinska

While Rainbow and its follow-up, 2020’s High Road, feature both introspective songs and tracks perfect for getting amped before going out, Gag Order is a true about-face. There’s not much to dance to here, but there’s plenty to chew on. “Living in My Head,” which Kesha says she wrote in the middle of another panic attack, is a painful listen in the tradition of John Lennon’s “Cold Turkey.” “Every time I listen to ‘Living in My Head’ I just want to curl up in a ball and hide,” she says.

Then there’s “Eat the Acid,” which she and Rubin wrote over Zoom early on in the pandemic, her vocals lagging behind the music like her hero Captain Beefheart yelling the lyrics to Trout Mask Replica through the glass of the recording booth. Rubin chose that take — which she recorded on her phone next to her cats’ litter box — for the album. Although they’d go on to record most of the album in professional studios, Rubin kept a lot of Kesha’s iPhone scratch vocals in the mix. “Rick Rubin has access to the nicest microphones known to mankind,” she says. “But the purity and genuine nature of just recording something with what you are holding in your hand on the fly, in the moment, it just captures the magic that was not re-creatable.”

“Fine Line,” which she’s teased on social media, comes the closest to addressing her current legal predicament, which, of course, is echoed in the title of the album. “I feel as if there has been an implied gag order for a very long time now,” she says. “With my ongoing litigation hanging over my head, I have not been able to speak freely because I know everything I say is scrutinized.” Kesha first filed suit against her producer and label owner Dr. Luke in 2014, alleging an extended period of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse and attempting to extricate herself from her contract. Luke, real name Lukasz Gottwald, countersued that same year, vehemently denying all her allegations and claiming that the singer had defamed him. A judge dismissed Kesha’s claims in 2016, largely on the grounds that they were too old, but Luke’s defamation suit continues to this day, despite several appeals. That case is set to go to trial this summer.

Kesha’s anger is palpable in “Fine Line,” in which she rants at “all the doctors and lawyers [who] cut the tongue out of my mouth,” culminating with the line: “But hey, look at all the money we made off me.” It’s a striking statement, given that this reportedly could be the last record in her contract with Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records. It’s also a way for her to get a word in edgewise before the trial. (Prior to the interview, RS was instructed not to ask Kesha about the trial since the case is still pending, and her team could not confirm the current status of her contract.)

There’s a lot of fight on this record, with Kesha comparing herself to a demon on more than one track — notably on “Only Love Can Save Us Now,” which kicks off with the most Ke$ha line on the record: “Tell a bitch I can’t jump this Evel Knievel.” It’s also got its share of pain and loss: She wrote “Too Far Gone,” she reveals, after ending her secret engagement to a boyfriend she won’t name, who she says is still a friend.

She says the bittersweet love song “All I Need Is You” is not about her ex, as you might expect, but Mr. Peeps, who almost died in 2022. “I had to go into ninja mode and find medication and learn how to inject him,” she says. “I wrote that song in the middle of him being really sick. It is about loving myself, and it’s also a love song to my highest form of consciousness and to some sort of God. But the seed of that song is about Mr. Peeps, the true love of my life.”

Spirituality has always been a constant in Kesha’s music, even in her wilder Warrior days. But on Gag Order, it’s woven into the fabric of every song. The late Be Here Now author and guru Ram Dass gets a whole interlude (an ex gave her a copy of the book while she was in rehab), Indian philosopher Osho is sampled on “All I Need Is You,” and Oberon Zell, an 80-year-old wizard she met while making her podcast Kesha and the Creepies, appears on the last song, “Happy,” proclaiming: “Sometimes, you think you’re doing the magic, and sometimes you realize the magic is doing you”.

I would recommend people check out Gag Order, and you can pre-order the vinyl ahead of its release in June. If there was a sense of Kesha losing control or having it taken from her in the past, Gag Order sees the Los-Angeles born songwriter…

TAKING it back.

FEATURE: Spotlight: HotWax

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

HotWax

_________

SIGNED to Marathon Artists…

PHOTO CREDIT: Alice Denny for NME

the mighty HotWax are one of the most exciting young bands coming through. They have recently got a huge nod of acclaim from the likes of NME. I have known about their music for quite a while (here is an interesting interview from a couple of years back) but, until relatively recent, there wasn’t a lot in the way of interviews. Now that a few have come up, I wanted to present and spotlight the phenomenal HotWax. Here is what you need to know about one of the most promising acts of the moment:

“Raw punk powerhouse HotWax are ripping up the template and ripping up stages across the UK. With a handful of self released tracks, and barely out of school, Tallulah Sim-Savage (vocals and guitar), Lola Sam (bass) and Alfie Sayers (drums) are already confirmed to share festival stages with Queens of the Stone Age, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes this summer and their rarified live energy and sound has already won them the support of Nova Twins, Wolf Alice and Jack Saunders. Forging post-punk, grunge and alternative rock, HotWax have created a sound that is both unique and familiar, from the expressive, explosive snarl of vocalists like Karen O and Courtney Love, to the youthful, irreverent zest of Wet Leg, and the unruly, down-low guitar sound peddled by grunge greats Nirvana and Mudhoney. HotWax will be taking their show on the road throughout 2023 with a mini tour in March then supporting Pearl Hearts across UK and Europe in May. This summer they’ll be appearing on high-profile bills including London’s All Points East (alongside The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs), as well as releasing their first EP ‘A Thousand Times’, a blistering hit of searing riff-led rock. HotWax harness the firepower of the grunge pioneers, with great songwriting and musicianship, they possess the imaginative brilliance to stake out a new landscape in guitar music”.

A lot of articles and interviews are declaring HotWax and the hottest new band around. Proclaiming their brilliance and originality, it does seem that we are seeing a very special trio emerge. This is what Maximum Volume Music  wrote about HotWax back in March:

“Raw punk powerhouse HotWax are ripping up the template and ripping up stages across the UK. With a handful of self released tracks, and barely out of school, Tallulah Sim-Savage (vocals and guitar), Lola Sam (bass) and Alfie Sayers (drums) are already confirmed to share festival stages with Queens of the Stone Age, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes this summer and their rarified live energy and sound has already won them the support of Nova Twins, Wolf Alice and Jack Saunders.

Forging post-punk, grunge and alternative rock, HotWax have created a sound that is both unique and familiar, from the expressive, explosive snarl of vocalists like Karen O and Courtney Love, to the youthful, irreverent zest of Wet Leg, and the unruly, down-low guitar sound peddled by grunge greats Nirvana and Mudhoney.

HotWax have been building their stagecraft since their early teens, delivering high-energy and dynamic live performances with a powerhouse of a rhythm section, bass lines that twist and turn, and superfuzz guitar. Having cut their teeth locally in Hastings, and later in Brighton’s punkier scene, HotWax’s earliest incarnations began when Tallulah and Lola were 12, both from musical families they were thrown together to form a band so they could take part in a competition in their hometown.

Fast forward to 2023 and they’re a fully formed trio with huge riffs and dynamite lyrics that pull from Tallulah and Lola’s relationship and their own experiences and thoughts about guilt, love, contraception, global warming, teenage years and womanhood. Tallulah and Lola hope to be known first and foremost as musicians who “love playing live”. Tallulah explains, “I can’t think of anything that makes us feel more excited. I really really change. I completely feel like a different person.”

HotWax will be taking their show on the road throughout 2023 with a mini tour in March then supporting Pearl Hearts across UK and Europe in May. This summer they’ll be appearing on high-profile bills including London’s All Points East (alongside The Strokes and Yeah Yeah Yeahs), as well as releasing their first EP ‘A Thousand Times’, a blistering hit of searing riff-led rock.

HotWax harness the firepower of the grunge pioneers, with great songwriting and musicianship, they possess the imaginative brilliance to stake out a new landscape in guitar music”.

The group’s E.P., A Thousands Times, is out on Friday (19th May), and I will get to a review soon. You can buy it here. I would suggest that you flow HotWax on social media. In readiness for the E.P. being huge and crowds wanting to see them live, HotWax are touring the U.K. In terms of dates - 19th May – Bristol, The Lanes (Pearl Harts tour); 20th May – Hastings, Printworks (support from Snayx and Borough Council DJ set); 1st June – Manchester, 33 Oldham St (Alien Chicks support); 2nd July – Newport, Rebel Fest; 7th July – Madrid, Mad Cool Festival; 22nd July – Hackney, Visions Festival; 25th August – London, All Points East Festival; 9th September – Torquay, Burn It Down Festival – they are pretty busy, and more will be added soon I know – as HotWax are one of the best and most sought after live acts in the country right now. It is amazing that the same question comes up on numerous artists: Are HotWax the hottest new band right now? There is slightly different wording maybe but, rather than declare that they are, there is that query. Of course, most are firmly asserting that HotWax are something very special! I am going to come to that NME interview in a bit. Before that, an article from The Independent observed how there is this new resurgence of quiet-loud songs inspired by groups such as Hole, Pixies, and Nirvana. Maybe a nod back to Rock and Grunge brilliance of the 1980s and 1990s, a young wave of groups are clearly finding flexibility, meaning and truth in a sound and dynamic that is compelling media and listeners alike:

“Courtney Love’s voice vaulted rasping and raw from the speakers and, for an instant, Tallulah Sim-Savage forgot she was breathing. “My mind was blown that a woman was singing that sort of music,” says Sim-Savage, frontwoman of up-and-coming indie band HotWax.

The singer and guitarist was just 11 when her mother introduced her to Love’s group, Hole, and their angst-packed 1994 album, Live Through This. Released in the shadow of the suicide of Love’s husband, Kurt Cobain, the record was a pile-driving mix of trauma and rage. That blend of quiet and loud had a life-changing effect on Sim-Savage, growing up in Hastings, East Sussex, and, seven years later, as she and her bandmates prepare to release their effervescent, punchy debut EP, A Thousand Times, she remains devoted to the 1990s indie aesthetic.

A Thousand Times is a zinging calling card from a trio just out of school – their GCSEs were interrupted by Covid – and going places in a hurry. It also marks HotWax as part of a wider movement of Gen Zers who have fallen hard for that classic early 1990s indie template of detonating hooks and whispered verses – a formula pioneered, from the late 1980s onwards, by underdogs such as Pixies and then turned into a commercial steamroller in the following decade by Nirvana.

It is an ever-expanding club. Alongside HotWax, there are American artists such as Soccer Mommy, Beach Bunny and Snail Mail – and, with her new LP, Blondshell’s Sabrina Teitelbaum, who also name-checks Courtney Love as an influence”.

Last month, NME’s Sophie Williams  caught up with HotWax. With a sub-headline that reads, “The Hastings-via-Brighton trio's electric debut EP encapsulates their journey from early, DIY gigs to supporting The Strokes”, this is a trio that are going to be headlining festivals soon. I do like the fact that we have these bands with real grit, power and potency. With inventive and fresh riffs blending old-skool Grunge/Indie with something of the moment, HotWax are going to go far! Tallulah Sim-Savage, Lola Sam, and Alfie Sayers sat down with NME:

“Unfurling their origin story in conversation with NME, HotWax are like live wires off stage too, exuding a frenzied blend of mild anxiety and excitement as they talk over each other. When we broach their upcoming slot at The Strokes’ All Point East show in London this August, all three members rush to speak in wide-eyed bursts. “We almost feel guilty for being on the lineup poster,” says Sayers, laughing. “But equally, we want to relish the challenge: we’re currently unknown, and need to prove ourselves.”

Sayers has been drumming before he learned his times tables, having been taught by a childminder at a young age. Sim-Savage and Sam, meanwhile, are childhood friends who have always had a firm grasp on their narrative. Before they met Sayers at music college in Brighton, they grew up in tandem, plotting local gigs, analysing YouTube videos of their heroes Karen O and Starcrawler’s Arrow de Wilde, and immersing themselves in Hastings’ tight-knit creative scene. “We literally had each other, and no one else,” affirms Sim-Savage.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alice Denny

Their bond would soon strengthen in the face of adversity; the pair were bullied in high school and had food thrown at them during lunch breaks, but continued to focus on pursuing their dreams as soon as they finished their studies. Today, they radiate an inseparable, sisterly dynamic, often directing their answers to each other rather than NME. “Many people leave school with nothing, but we knew we had something really special with our band,” Sim-Savage says. “We just needed to work out how we were going to get out there.”

The fact that HotWax have never really had a plan – only a lot of vim and dedication – has been written into their own folklore. At college, they bonded over a shared resentment for the hyper-critical nature of their classmates, many of whom had learned their instruments via a more traditional musical education. “You can’t be taught something that you know you want to do in your own way,” says Sayers. “There’s no way we could have followed their critiques and what they had to say about what we’re doing.”

Fed up with the “narrow-minded environment” of her bass guitar course, Sam eventually quit her degree and encouraged her bandmates to start channeling their frustrations and nonconformist spirit into their songs. “I don’t have anything else in my life besides music,” she says with a trace of pride, flicking her orange-red hair behind her. “So, when we started the band, we made a commitment to each other. It’s amazing that we are willing to give up our lives so that we can work together.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Alice Denny

It’s clear, then, that HotWax have taken their friendship and set it to music. The resulting ‘A Thousand Times’ EP feels perfectly attuned to the conflicting uncertainties of young adulthood, all skittish, fierce, Wolf Alice-style guitar breakdowns and growled vocals that are immediate without being repetitive. The entire EP was written before they landed a deal with Marathon Artists [Pond, Lava La Rue], and there’s a delicious, no-pressure energy to it; before they began songwriting sessions, they’d already fostered an informal network of local promoters and industry heads off the back of their incendiary live show.

Yet HotWax’s ascent has been so fast and steep, that whenever Sim-Savage tries to describe it, she circles back to the same mantra: this is a band built solely on self-belief, and they’ve had to learn how to unlock the uber-confident, extroverted performers deep within them in order to survive. “I used to be so shy, but now, when I see someone in the crowd that looks like they aren’t interested, I’ll make sure that I look right into their eyes. I want them to listen”, she says, allowing a smirk to slowly curl across her face. “And for them to feel uncomfortable”.

I am going to wrap up soon. There are going to be a lot of reviews out there for HotWax’s A Thousand Times. It is the best debut E.P. of the year, and proof that all the hype and buzz around the band is warranted and hardly an exaggeration! Being so young and with their bets years ahead, they have the potential, stamina and legs to be one of the major bands of their generation. This is what Louder Than War wrote when they sat down to investigation the five-track beast that is A Thousand Times:

“HotWax finally release their first EP and it’s a five song romp of modern grunge that is surely the best debut of the year reckons Wayne AF Carey…

Just to bore you from the start… LTW discovered this band way before the so called big boys got their hands on them. With a little help from my friends (Beatles shit quote there) Evil Blizzard, I was nudged into the direction of this: Stay Cool. Boss man John Robb was a little slow on the uptake but caught up here. But it’s not about us. It’s about the best new band around and we have a little review.

Fuck me! This is a twat to the ears from the start! A proper grunge attack from the opener Treasure which has what it says on the tin. A massive riff with sensual vocals that drag you in. It’s got some of best drumming and riffs I’ve heard for a while. A fuck off unit I’ve not heard for a while. Think Throwing Muses, Hole and a massive crunch of arena rock that could shit all over you’ve heard. Accomplished musicianship from a band that are slaying it. All I Want is a psychedelic grunge romp that kicks you in the nether regions like a horses hoof with a fury that commands attention.

Mother has the dirtiest mental riff I’ve heard for a while with a sleazy bass line and some tight as fuck drums from the elusive Alfie crunching throughout. Lola and Tallulah are an immense two piece that are going to wreck your heads with their mental minds that meld into the best thing I’ve heard for ages. Check out that enticing guitar riff in the middle of the song! Huge as fuck! They make Hole sound like the fucking Carpenters! A Thousand Times is amazing. One of my favourite albums ever is The Real Ramona and this could have slotted in as a highlight. A beautiful slice of grunge that sounds elephantine massive!

Last track Rip It Out is a slow groover that turns into a proper Riot Grrll number that goes ape shit with a skill that most bands can’t match. A massive grunge assault that fucks up everything you can listen to on your daily boring commute”.

This is only the start of things for HotWax. With a wonderful and highly anticipated E.P. about to come out, they will be looking ahead. They have some great live dates in the diary. I am sure that they will push forward and already have foundations for a debut album. Rightly hailed as one of the hottest and most important bands coming through, do go and follow HotWax. I hope that this exciting and exceptionally talented trio’s light…

BURNS bright for years.

__________

Follow HotWax

 Official:

https://www.hotwaxofficial.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/hotwaxbandd/

TikTok:

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

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/hotwaxbandd

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/237mvWGlQNJJhc9b8pSawZ?si=nyKrpp8lSpStOVIKJ1gSRQ

Bandcamp:

https://hotwax2.bandcamp.com/

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@hotwaxband

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/hotwaxbandd

FEATURE: The Age of Reckoning: Why Radio Stations Who Target Younger Audiences Need to Spotlight ‘Older’ Female Artists

FEATURE:

 

 

The Age of Reckoning

PHOTO CREDIT: George Milton/Pexels

Why Radio Stations Who Target Younger Audiences Need to Spotlight ‘Older’ Female Artists

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I have said before…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna/PHOTO CREDIT: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

how ridiculous it is that there are radio stations that have age demographics and limits when it comes to their playlists. I can understand how the presenters on a station might be younger or older: so that listeners can identify more readily. Even that seems a bit much. Whilst a station can have younger-sounding music, that does not necessarily mean that the artist is going to be younger. It does seem that there are age barriers and especial ageism against women on some stations. I have said before how BBC Radio 1 has ignored and cast aside some female artists from its playlists because they are over thirty-five. I am not sure if that is a specific case, or there is a limit on how many female artists over the age of thirty-five are on their playlists. I know a station like BBC Radio 1 does not deliberately exclude women over the age of thirty-five. They have Beyoncé on their playlist at the moment – and she is forty-one. That said, it is not often that you get that many female artists over thirty-five/forty. There is still that attraction to younger artists. One might say that is because these are upcoming artists and, because of that, they will be younger. It is good that Nicki Minaj is on the playlist too. There are legends mixing with the new generation. It shows that there is still relevance and a place for female artists.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kylie Minogue

Whilst I would admit that any accusations of widespread ageism can be refuted by looking at weekly playlists, I still think there is not enough flexibility when it comes to certain artists and age. I would like to think that Rita Ora – an artist who reported was taken off BBC Radio 1’s playlist a while ago because of her age -, would be back on the playlists when she releases new music. She is only thirty-two, in fact. With a new album, You & I, out soon, one hopes that a hugely relevant artist is going to be on there. I was surprised that Ellie Goulding, who is on the BBC Radio 1’s A List as a featured act alongside Calvin Harris on Miracle is not there in her own right as a solo artist! It makes me wonder whether stations are reluctant to play certain artists of a particular age (she is thirty-six). Maybe they feel that spots should be given to more rising acts. It does seem to be an issue that afflicts more female artists than male. Goulding’s new album, Higher Than Heaven, is perfect for a station like BBC Radio 1. So too is Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want to Turn Into You. Kylie Minogue has a new album out in September called TENSION. A legend and highly influential artist who has inspired so many younger artists, I hope that she makes her way onto BBC Radio 1’s playlist. Same goes for Jessie Ware. Is there still this element of ‘cool’ and ‘relevance’ when it comes to selecting which artists to play? Stations do have a problem with gender balance in general and, for women, there s still this danger that their music will only be played on certain stations once they pass thirty/thirty-five/forty.

I have huge admiration for artists like RAYE, Mimi Webb, and Taylor Swift! Maybe thirty is too young an age to write off many female artists, but you would like to think that thirty-five is not seen as a little ‘past it’ or ‘old’. I do wonder why particular female artists who are producing such brilliant, fresh and exciting music do not appear much on playlists of stations with a younger demographic. I think there is still this assumption that playlists need to have this age cut-off. Giving spotlight to rising artists is vital but, when it comes to legends and older artists who are still so contemporary, there are definitely those being excluded. It does not only apply to female artists, but there is ageism skewed against them. I have chosen BBC Radio 1 (who I love) as an example. I am not going to highlight them as a scapegoat or sole offender. I recently wrote how figures from a report in 2022 showed that there was gender inequality across majors stations. There are small signs of improvement, but there is still a way to go. Not only are women in music having to fight harder than men. Women over thirty-five have such a hard getting onto playlists widely. This idea that, when you get to a certain age, that you can only be played on a particular station is nonsense. I know Madonna is releasing new music later in the year (or next). Would she, someone who has inspired countless artists, be denied access onto stations’ playlists with a ‘younger’ vibe?!

 IN THIS PHOTO: Mimi Webb

It has come back to my mind, because I some of the very best albums of the past couple of years have been created by women thirty-five or over. I do think there is still this hang-up and confusion when it comes to what younger audiences really want. For a start, I don’t think stations should really specifically aim for an age demographic. There is particular pressure and scrutiny on women over a certain age – that applies to every sector and side of modern life. If an artist has enormous commercial appeal, then maybe things are a little different. Even if a station targets, say, 18–24-year-olds, it is clear that the music cannot stick to such narrow confines. Even if it does not apply literally with every female artist, it is clear that there are more than a few that are not considered for inclusion because of age. I don’t hold that the reason is more to do with commercial appeal or ‘relevance’. It seems like a subject measure that, in many cases, is not true! Findings soon will show whether major stations have done any better when it comes to gender and balance. Whereas we are not going to see equality across all stations, one hopes things are improved since last year! How about age? It is an irrelevant number that should not apply to musical relevance and significance. As we can hear from some of the music coming out, older female artists are delivering incredible uplifting, fresh, fascinating and original music that needs to be heard by as wide an audience as possible.

It is also true that, if asked, many listeners to ‘younger’ radio stations would welcome a wider spread when it comes to age. There does need to be reform and reconsideration. It keeps circling back to this thing of importance and relevant. Why is it the case that a female artist is perhaps past their best or not commercial enough when they are at a certain stage or age?! Even if the songs they are making are as captivating and cool as anything from an artist in their twenties/early-thirties. I do look through radio playlists regularly, and you still get these patterns. I guess we are never going to prove that stations are removing certain female artists because of their age, but it is clear that there is very little consideration given to women – on particular stations and not all of them – when they are over forty. Let’s hope the new music Kylie Minogue is teasing gets onto the A List at BBC Radio 1. Same goes for the brilliant Rita Ora. I would love to see more Jessie Ware music make it onto playlists. Beyoncé  is a rare example of a female artist over forty who is still being played on a mainstream station with a younger demographic. Although I cannot sweep across every station and say that ageism is rife, one cannot naively say that it does not apply at all! Of course there are stations that have age limits and restrictions when it comes to artists featured. There are once-loved artists who are taken off playlists as they are seen as a little out of step or ‘softer’ – that the music they produce now is not as interesting and energetic as the stuff they used to put out! So many listeners are being denied this incredible music by women who have inspired those that are currently on the playlist. Age should not be an issue when it comes to playlist. The only consideration should be the quality of the song and whether the listenership would enjoy it! Whereas the fear of ageism and being seen as irrelevant when you get past thirty-five or forty does apply to some men, unfortunately it is something that applies to…

ALL women.

FEATURE: Neonlicht: Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine at Forty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

Neonlicht

Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine at Forty-Five

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A hugely influential album…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kraftwerk performing live in 1978

and the seventh from the German band Kraftwerk, The Man-Machine is forty-five on 19th May. Whereas most groups start to wane or fade by the time they get to a seventh album, The Man-Machine was a refinement of their more mechanical style. Incorporating something more danceable into the mix, you can see how it inspired New Wave artists that came through in the late-1970s and 1980s. Even though it was not a massive commercial success upon its release, The Man-Machine has since gone on to be regarded as among the best albums ever.  Renowned and celebrated for its incredible tracks such as The Model and The Robots, I would advise people to get the album on vinyl. I shall come onto some features and reviews that spotlight an album that will turn forty-five on 19th May. This is what Rough Trade said about the majestic and stunning The Man-Machine:

“A bold new look, sound and concept for Kraftwerk. Over supple processed rhythms which predate the rise of European techno and trance, they address automation and alienation, space travel and engineering, The seductive allure of urban landscapes and the vacant glamour of celebrity. Clipped and funky, The Robots adds another dimension to Kraftwerk's ultra-dry sense of humour. Behind its intoxicating melodic pulse, The Model is a highly prophetic satire on the beauty industry, so ahead of its time that it only becomes a UK chart-topper by accident three years later. And Neon Lights is Kraftwerk's most achingly romantic song to date, a sci-fi lullaby for cities at twilight. Pure magic”.

Whilst researching, I was keen to discover the story behind Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine. Classic Album Sundays provided incredible insight and an amazing background to an album that, whilst divisive in 1978, was recognised as a cultural milestone. It is hard to say just how important The Man-Machine is. If you have not heard the album before, then you really need to spend some time with it:

“With a disco hit under their belt and wider popular recognition, the stage was now set for The Man-Machine, an album that would further refine their stripped-down synth-funk and that would become their most dance-able album yet.

The album was released at the peak of disco, and Euro-disco in particular was pushing the genre into more electronic territory and claiming a large slice of the American dance charts. French producer Cerrone had topped charts with the dance floor hit ‘Supernature’ in 1977. And the same year over in Munich, Italian producer Giorgio Moroder basically invented the trademark euro-disco sound when he produced ‘I Feel Love’ featuring a young American singer named Donna Summer.

So even if the pulsing beats that define The Man-Machine were an anomaly to the rock fans and critics who had been following Kraftwerk’s motorik beat in their Krautrock manifestation, the new synth-funk rhythms were more recognisable to the dancers who flocked to dancefloors worldwide every weekend.

The album opens with ‘The Robots’ which could be seen as their trademark song. It opens with the lines, ‘I am your servant, I am your worker’ spoken/sung in Russian and then the lyrics switch to German with ‘Now we are full of energy. We are the Robots, we work automatically, now we want to dance mechanic.’ At their concert, the song was often be performed by robots and is probably one of their most concise expressions of their obsession of the fusion with man and technology.

‘Spacelab’ is the only Kraftwerk song that deals with space exploration. In 1973 NASA launched their Skylab into the earth’s orbit and the European Space Agency commenced their own Spacelab project the following year (with their first mission taking place in 1981). In Kraftwerk’s 2018 performance in Stuttgart, they had a live link to the International Space Station which allowed German astronaut and Kraftwerk fan Alexander Gerst to speak directly to the concert audience declaring the ISS is a man-machine, the most complex and valuable machine humankind has ever built.

‘Metropolis’ refers to the 1927 German Expressionist science fiction film by Fritz Lang. It was set in a futuristic urban dystopia. As the eeriest song on the album, sometimes even menacing, perhaps this is Kraftwerk making a statement that used unethically, technology could also be humanity’s demise. As Kraftwerk were not into discussing their intentions behind songs, we will never know for sure.

‘The Model’ became their biggest hit, in fact it reached number one in the UK four years later as the B-Side to ‘Computer Love’ and the song most directly responsible for influencing the synth-pop of the 80’s. It refers to models, or in this case women who adapt the role of an artificial person, a mannequin, standing immovable whilst being photographed.

Both ‘The Robots’ and ‘The Model’ like the previous album’s ‘Showroom Dummies’ examines the idea of authenticity versus inauthenticity; human vs object; real vs artifice. In fact, this is the lens through which Kraftwerk’s efforts are also assessed: this is music made by computers and performed by robots – is that real? Is that human? Rather than give us answers, Kraftwerk are happy to pose the questions, and in the process they often take the mick out of themselves almost in a self-deprecating way.

Visuals became increasingly important through Kraftwerk’s life. Artist Emil Schult began his ‘artistic cooperation’ with the band in 1972 and contributed to lyrics and designed many of their album covers which became integral to the Kraftwerk concept and mystique. The Man-Machine album cover was designed by Karl Klefisch and was based on the work by Russian suprematist El Lissitzky.

He popularized the geometric and limited colour art form that sought to move away from the world of natural forms and subjects in order to access “the supremacy of pure feeling’ and spirituality. The back cover image is an adaptation of a graphic from Lissitzky’s children’s book called About Two Squares: A Suprematist Tale of Two Squares in Six Constructions.

When it was released in 1978, ‘The Man-Machine’ opinions were divided but critics were quick to notice this was a cultural milestone. Jon Savage noted in Sounds it was “probably the most completely, clearly realised conception, packaging and presentation of a particular mood since the first Ramones album”.

In Record Mirror, Tim Lott viewed it as more intellectually stimulating rather than emotive: “Their roots in technology are blatant in the six titles — ‘The Robots’, ‘Spacelab’, ‘Metropolis’, ‘The Modal’, ‘Neon Lights’, ‘The Man-Machine’. All are objects, things; nothing that is human. They are a compelling music unit, an obsessive beat machine that touches the scientific/mathematic parts of the brain without producing confusion in others”.

Danceable, sophisticated and elegant, there is nothing else quite like The Man-Machine. Although Kraftwerk albums like 1977’s Trans-Europe Express are seen as out-and-out masterpieces, I think that there is a lot to be said for the brilliance and impact of The Man-Machine. It is such an extraordinary and immersive listening experience. Far Out Magazine discussed how the album helped define the 1980s in a feature from last year:

“The Man-Machine was intended as a concept album of sorts. The sparse, tampered vocal content is enveloped by synthesised instrumentals that bring rhythm to the cold diligent sounds of the German industrial machine. The opening track, ‘Das Robots’, begins with strange noises as if sampled from a sci-fi movie before it lurches into a flow fit for Peter Crouch. The vocals are brought in later with an emotionless tone and tireless uniformity as they proclaim, “we are the robots”.

Of the 36-minute album’s three singles, ‘Das Model’ was the most successful. The UK version of the track, ‘The Model’, was released in 1981 and thanks to protracted airtime on radio stations, it reached number one by February 1982. The track has a sound that at once sounds so intrinsically of the 1980s, yet it was originally recorded in 1978. This observation serves as a testament to the influential grip Kraftwerk had on 1980s pop music.

The album brings a sonic onslaught of industrial noise swept into pleasing patterns that are varied enough that they don’t become grating. The highly influential single ‘Neon Lights’ brings an essential balance to the record with its slower tempo and less tampered vocals that tell a story of a modern-day night out in the city. ‘Neon Lights’ was famously covered by OMD for their 1991 album Sugar Tax.

The German electro pioneers’ singular impact can be distinctly seen and heard in the performances of subsequent acts such as David Bowie, Gary Numan, Visage, OMD, Ultravox, Depeche Mode and The Human League. As Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore once said: “For anyone of our generation involved in electronic music, Kraftwerk were the godfathers”.

The band’s ongoing influence to this day has been remarkable. While we may have migrated from the heavy-handed sci-fi style that Kraftwerk virtually invented, modern acts from Aphex Twin to LCD Soundsystem still frequently cite the German godfathers as a major influence. Of course, The Man-Machine can’t be given sole credit for Kraftwerk’s enduring force in popular music, but it was the album that showed musicians of the 80s synth wave how to apply their electronic innovation to highly accessible and danceable material”.

I am going to finish up with a couple of reviews. This is what the BBC had to say about a classic when they sat down with The Man-Machine back in 2009. I don’t think that it has lost any of its importance and power forty-five years after it was released. Everybody needs to set some time away and lose themselves inside Kraftwerk’s magical and entrancing world:

“The opening passage of The Man Machine, released in 1978, is a very particular vision of the future. It's the chatter of servo-motors, the slow whine of monorails, of control signals manipulating remote machines. It's the sound of abstracted production. Over six tracks and 36 minutes, Kraftwerk thoroughly and succinctly explore the impact of technology upon humanity. It's their defining theme and one which makes the group arguably the most important in the canon of popular music.

Opening track The Robots is a remarkably confident statement which sounds contemporary more than 30 years later. It's difficult to imagine a world before the synthetic sounds essayed here became so influential. The words themselves are a manifesto: “we're full of energy / we're dancing mechanic". Kraftwerk embrace the repetition inherent in dance music and equate it with the automation of industry.

Spacelab and Metropolis are instrumentals full of pathos and wonder. Their references to science fiction made fact and Fritz Lang’s vision of a future dystopia highlight cultural references that provide extra context for the album’s themes. The Model became a UK number one on its reissue in 1981 and as a result is probably the group’s best-known song. It identifies an object of desire, a female counterpart for the man machine.

Neon Lights may be Kraftwerk’s most beautiful composition. It’s a hymn to the unintended beauty of modern life whose synthesizer melodies evoke the neon glow of the city. Once again the music is utterly consistent with the lyrical subject. The album ends with its title track echoing and haunted, gliding effortlessly into a future that is now well on its way to arriving.

The Man Machine is remarkable for its consistency, elegance and absolute deliberation. It’s made all the more powerful by the marriage of Karl Klefisch’s El Lissitzky-quoting design and the group’s appearance as minor variations on a single theme. The remastering and inclusion of previously unavailable photography make this reissue the definitive edition”.

In 2020, Audioxide asked André Dack, Frederick O'Brien, and Andrew Bridge to provide their thoughts on The Man-Machine. I was not really aware of just how far and wide the influence of Kraftwerk and their seventh studio album reached. It is still changing and informing music. In revisiting it for this feature, it sounds remarkably fresh and new – even though it was released forty-five years ago. Kudos to Ralf Hütter, Florian Schneider, Karl Bartos, and Wolfgang Flür (and to the exceptional production work from Hütter and Schneider):

“André

For us electronica enthusiasts, we owe almost everything to Kraftwerk. From Gary Numan to Aphex Twin, my love of music made from electronics is largely due to these genius Germans. Going back to one of their most celebrated works, The Man-Machine, has been a wholesome experience. Arrangements here, at least in comparison to other Kraftwerk records, are made for easy listening. The rhythms are more danceable, and the song structures are surprisingly accessible. The impact this record had on synth-pop artists is palpable; not just the likes of Depeche Mode, but more modern artists such as Hot Chip. The Man-Machine is one of those timeless records. You'd not bat an eye lid if it was the soundtrack to Stranger Things. It's quite simply staggering that this was released in 1978.

Kraftwerk are usually defined by robotic qualities, but The Man-Machine instead ventures into the realms of humanity. The mechanical aspects are softened by glorious melodies; wonderful refrains that could only ever come from a human being. The instrumental climax that occurs half-way through “The Model” is pure bliss, and it remains one of the most iconic and gratifying musical motifs ever. In contrast, the monotonous German vocals are the least alluring aspect of the record. Aside from “The Model”, I'm not convinced The Man-Machine would be any less of an album if it was purely instrumental. “Neon Lights” is a curious attempt at a sci-fi pop epic, and whilst it remains an enjoyable listen, the toneless vocals don't exactly lend the required inflection for those wonderful washes of synthesisers. It probably doesn't need to last for nine minutes, either.

Minor mishaps don't make The Man-Machine any less of a classic. I just think we've since seen bigger and better records. I very much doubt The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, or even Squarepusher would sound the same today without Kraftwerk setting such solid foundations, similarly those artists who incorporate electronica into other contemporary genres, such as New Order, Nine Inch Nails, and Radiohead. It'd be remiss of me to tribute these successes purely to Kraftwerk – especially when the history of electronic music goes way back to beyond 1900 - but the way the group incorporates electronics into conventional music is nothing less than a revelation. Rest in peace to founding member Florian Schneider, to whom we owe an awful lot. A true pioneer”.

On 19th May, the mesmeric and monumental The Man-Machine turns forty-five. A classic that has influenced so many different artists and sounds, I would rank this album alongside Kraftwerk’s very best. There are those who have not heard The Man-Machine. As it has a big anniversary coming up, I would advise time aside to listen. Since its 1978 release, so many incredible and passionate reviews have been written about it.  Spin this wonderful album, and you will be…

MOVED and transported.

FEATURE: And Focus on the Day That’s Been… Kate Bush’s The Man with the Child in His Eyes at Forty-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

And Focus on the Day That’s Been…

Kate Bush’s The Man with the Child in His Eyes at Forty-Five

_________

WHEN thinking about what I should focus on…

when it comes to Kate Bush, I was looking through singles and albums that have anniversaries coming up. One that I could not let go by was the forty-fifth anniversary of The Man with the Child in His Eyes. That song was released as the second single from her 1978 debut album, The Kick Inside. Released on 26th May, 1978, it reached six in the U.K. It even reached eighty-five in the US Billboard Pop Singles chart in 1979 – which is more successful than her debut single, Wuthering Heights. There is a lot to unpack and explore when it comes to one of Bush’s most beautiful and mature songs. And it is a mature song. Made all the more extraordinary when we remember that she wrote it when she was thirteen! Most people her age would struggle to write half-decent poetry. Kate Bush managed to write a song that is among the most stunning ever recorded. I often wonder what sparked her interest or switched her brain on to the idea of the song. Whether it was a concentrated effort to write a song or she was struck by a rare inspiration and followed that path! It is an amazing song that is often ranked alongside her best work ever. When you see magazines and websites ranking the best Kate Bush songs/singles ever, The Man with the Child in His Eyes always places very high – on a few occasions, it has been placed at the top spot too. It is a wonderful work that I wanted to rightly celebrate and spotlight. I shall come to another thought I had in a second.

It is interesting hearing the story behind The Man with the Child in His Eyes. The Kate Bush Encyclopedia compiled interviews where Bush talked about the story behind the song. This being Kate Bush, her inspirations and thought process is very different to any other artist out there:

“The inspiration for 'The Man With the Child in His Eyes' was really just a particular thing that happened when I went to the piano. The piano just started speaking to me. It was a theory that I had had for a while that I just observed in most of the men that I know: the fact that they just are little boys inside and how wonderful it is that they manage to retain this magic. I, myself, am attracted to older men, I guess, but I think that's the same with every female. I think it's a very natural, basic instinct that you look continually for your father for the rest of your life, as do men continually look for their mother in the women that they meet. I don't think we're all aware of it, but I think it is basically true. You look for that security that the opposite sex in your parenthood gave you as a child. (Self Portrait, 1978)

I just noticed that men retain a capacity to enjoy childish games throughout their lives, and women don't seem to be able to do that. ('Bird In The Bush', Ritz (UK), September 1978)”.

I have not read many features where individual songs from Kate Bush are dissected. You get album features and bits about tracks such as Wuthering Heights and Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God), but there have not been too many features revolving around The Man with the Child in His Eyes. That is a shame, for it is one of those songs that, once heard, can never be forgotten. Before coming to a more detailed piece, Song Stories Matter discussed The Man with the Child in His Eyes earlier this year. There is a very relevant aspect to the song. Kate Bush is nominated for an Ivor Novello award this year. Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God) is nominated for Most Performed Song. It is amazing but hardly surprising that The Man with the Child in His Eyes won an Ivor in 1979:

“The Meaning of the Song

“The Man with The Child in His Eyes” is a song about a relationship between a young girl and an older man. In an interview with Music Talk in 1978 Kate Bush said: She sees this man as an all-consuming figure. He’s wise, yet he retains a certain innocent quality. The song tells how his eyes give away his “inner light”. He’s a very real character to the girl, but nobody else knows whether he really exists.

The song originated when Kate Bush observed that most men were still a child at heart, which explains the title of the song. Bush considered this childish innocence a delightful and magical quality. Because of these qualities, the young girl in the song is capable of communicating with this older man.

The song left fans wondering who this mysterious older man was. In 2010, Steve Blacknell told the Daily Mail that he was “The Man with the Child in His Eyes”. Blacknell and Bush were first lovers in the spring of 1975. Due to Kate Bush’s musical endeavors, the two drifted apart. But Blacknell heard from those around Bush that he was in fact “The Man with the Child in His Eyes”.

This story, however, doesn’t make a lot of sense. Given the fact that Kate Bush wrote this song aged 13 (in 1972), the song could never be about Steve Blacknell. After all, the two fell in love in 1975, 3 years after the song was written. We do know Bush gave the handwritten lyrics of the song to Blacknell, because he offered it for sale in 2010. It is more likely to believe Blacknell gave extra meaning to the song, rather than being the inspiration behind it.

Kate Bush herself never spoke about who “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” is. For the better, because the mysterious aura of the song is part of its beauty.

The Song’s Legacy

“The Man with the Child in His Eyes” was released as a single in 1978. It is accompanied by a simplistic music video, which alternates between Kate Bush sitting cross-legged on the floor, and close-ups of her face. The song was a hit in the UK, reaching number 6 on the UK singles chart. The was also a small hit in the US, where the song reached number 85 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song received an Ivor Novello Award in 1979 for “Outstanding British Lyric”.

 PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankowitz

I am going to wrap up with a feature from Dreams of Orgonon. Christine Kelley goes into detail. She is one of the best writers on Kate Bush, and her blog has dived deep into Bush’s work through the years. Bush wrote the song aged thirteen. This was one or two songs that appear on The Kick Inside – the other is The Saxophone Song – that was recorded before the rest of the album. In June 1975, Bush went to AIR Studios in London (where the album was recorded) for a recording session overseen by David Gilmour (who was instrumental in getting her signed and known). The version we hear on The Kick Inside is the one the then-sixteen-year-old recorded. Gilmour saw something in the track and wanted it released. You only need to listen for a few seconds to be transported somewhere magic:

“The answer presents itself immediately—most young artists in the Seventies didn’t write their own hits, and their hits were rarely so good. The only other UK hit single written by an under-18 female artist by the time of “Child” that I can find is “Terry,” an a lugubrious piece of grimdark pop from 1964 by 16-year-old Twinkle. Apart than that, young singers didn’t (and probably weren’t permitted to) write their own songs. The lack of songwriting royalties certainly didn’t hurt precocious young stars—Helen Shapiro recorded hits without writing them, and Little Jimmy Osmond hit number 1 at the age of nine with the agonizing “Long Haired Lover from Liverpool.” Picking on these young artists who sang some micromanaged mediocre hits four to five decades ago would be petty at best and mean-spirited at worst, so we’ll eschew that, but all this shows just how odd “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” was. It was as far from micromanaged as possible. Its inception and recording predate its public release by about three years, and Kate was mostly left to her own devices while creating it (her family helped her procure business deals that would basically allow her to do whatever she wanted creatively)

So what we’re given with “Child” is that ever-so-rare thing in pop music: a young person’s vision of the world, undiluted by executive interference. In it Kate sings about a strange, wonderful man, older than herself but with an adolescent spirit that’s not unlike hers. The song is somewhat impenetrable, like any artistic work by a young person beginning to navigate the world, and it’s accessible and applicable and gorgeous. It’s rare for artists to pull this off successfully so early on, which may account for the limited amount of in-depth analysis on “Child”—Ron Moy finds little to say on the song in his book Kate Bush and Hounds of Love, and Deborah M. Withers’ classic Bushology text Adventures in Kate Bush and Theory skips the song altogether (frankly the best reading of the song hails from this Tumblr post). The most useful critical take comes from Graeme Thomson’s seminal biography Under the Ivy:

“[Kate] is surely unique among female songwriters in that her canon contains not a single song that puts down, castigates, or generally gives men the brush off. She has never been feminist in the bluntest sense — she wants to preserve and embrace the differences between the sexes and understand the male of the species. Many songs display a desire to experience fully what it is to be a man; she invests them with power,  beauty, and a kind of mystical attraction which is incredibly generous.”

It’s rare to find guts like that in a song by an older artist, which is perhaps why this song doesn’t work when sung by older artists. When Hue and Cry sing it, it’s too dour, and even Dusty Springfield doesn’t imbibe it with a new life. Kate sang it for the last time in 1979, when she plays the song for the last time on a BBC Christmas special. It’s a strong performance—Kate’s haunting and soulful voice had significantly evolved across four years, and it lends the song a fitting maturity. There’s a sense that this is the end of its tenure, that this is as far as it can go. It’s hard to imagine a hypothetical 80s Kate Bush concert where “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” would fit in a setlist alongside “Breathing,” “Suspended in Gaffa,” or even “The Big Sky,” which is an older adult’s song about being a child. It belongs to a moment. Kate may have already grown beyond it when it was released as a single after “Wuthering Heights.” It’s a 1975 song that detonated as a 1978 one. “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” is likely the last Cathy song, but maybe also the first Kate Bush song. It dwells in a liminal space on its own. “The Man with the Child in His Eyes” as a popular song was at a distance from its inception where its creation was a relatively distant memory. Art is a snapshot of a moment. Sometimes its creative gestation periods last a while. Kate Bush has mastered the slow burn. She didn’t hastily release this song—she set it free”.

An award-winning and much-lauded single from the spectacular Kate Bush, The Man with the Child in His Eyes turns forty-five on 26th May. Whilst we may never discover who the eponymous man was in the song, it is clear that Bush, aged thirteen, had this remarkably mature and keen mind. In an age (1978) when peers her age were releasing music that was far less advanced and deep, here is this song that we are still unpicking forty-fiver years later. Almost symphonic in its modesty, beauty and grace, I was eager to pay my respects to…

A work of genius.

FEATURE: Station to Station: Jess Iszatt (Magic Chilled, BBC)

FEATURE:

 

 

Station to Station

Jess Iszatt (Magic Chilled, BBC)

_________

THERE is no doubting the fact…

that Jess Iszatt is one of the best broadcasters in the country. An incredibly passionate and amazing talent who is also one of the best interviewers in radio, she is someone I predict a huge future for. At the moment, you can hear her on Magic Chilled (It's #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek and the theme this year is anxiety, she hosts the perfect show to keep you chilled. I suffer from anxiety hugely, and the music she plays is very soothing and useful), and BBC Music Introducing (on BBC Radio London). She also presents Radio 1 Relax at the weekend. For someone so young, she has accomplished so much already. A motivational speaker and host of The Record Club, this is someone who is going to win a load of awards and success. A D.J. at London Spirit, the amazing Jess Iszatt is someone everyone should know. Such a professional, warm, incredibly personable, funny and compelling voice, it is no wonder that she is in such high demand! You can follow her on Twitter, and Facebook. You can also find her on TikTok. I cannot find an official website but, with such a broad and exciting portfolio, I wonder if that will come in the future. One of the busiest people in radio and music, I can well see her being in broadcasting for decades more. She will definitely get a flagship and huge show on BBC Radio 1 soon. A dedicated and fervent champion of new music, I wonder if there is a Spotify playlist of her favourite new artists. Iszatt definitely has a terrific sense of which artists are going to make a big splash! I will try and drop a few videos/podcasts in here, just to give you an example of why Iszatt is so respected and exceptional. Go and listen to her amazing programmes - as each offers something different in terms of her talent and personality.

Not that she has much space in her diary, but Iszatt is a talent I can see translating to T.V. soon. I have always argued that we need a new music T.V. show. One that can readily sit alongside Later… with Jools Holland. I could see Jess Iszatt and maybe Clara Amfo hosting that. The BBC has tried to launch an alternative a while back but, with a great concept and something fresh but eclectic in nature, it could be something that has legs and lasts for years. She is incredible natural in front of a camera, and her experience and clear passion is a big reason people would tune in and watch a music T.V. show. I think that Jess Iszatt is someone who should be a career-spanning interview. Someone filming an interview with her. She has interviewed plenty of artists, but there are so many people who would love to know more about her. Undoubtedly she is influencing others thinking of getting into broadcasting. I will come to an interview soon. Before that, here is some background and biography about one of the country’s broadcasting queens:

“Exciting new talent Jess Iszatt is the presenter and producer of the BBC Music Introducing show every Saturday night 8pm-10pm on BBC Radio London, showcasing the best undiscovered and under the radar musicians from London. Jess also presents weekdays 4-8pm on Magic Chilled, playing fresh, laid-back hits from the 90’s, 00’s and present.

She prides herself as a tastemaker at the forefront of the new music scene in the UK, and has strong links with AIM (the Association of Independent Music), presenting for their annual awards 3 years running.

For BBC Radio 1 she can also be heard covering frequently for Jack Saunders Future Artists Show on as well as having hosted their Chillest Show for the most recent Christmas Presenter search. Jess has also covered the BBC Introducing Mixtape with Tom Robinson (BBC 6 Music) and has featured on Jamz Supernova’s Tuesday night specialist show (BBC Radio 1Xtra) and Radio 1’s Introducing show. She was nominated for Best New Talent at the Frank Gillard Awards 2021, for local BBC Radio.

Jess has presented for The Hook, one of the largest media groups online for entertainment, viral videos and news, interviewing Hollywood stars such as James Franco and his brother Dave Franco, Scarlett Johansson, Queen Latifah and Jada Pinkett Smith.

Relishing her passion for music, Jess often DJs at festivals and events.

Outside of music, she regularly hosts the short film night: Shorts on Tap, supporting emerging London film makers, and plays hockey competitively for Broxbourne hockey club, and is often found out on the London gig scene.

Jess graduated with a 2:1 BA Honours degree in Psychology, Sociology & Media and Communications from the University of Newcastle, and has previously worked at BBC Three Counties Radio, BBC Essex, Secret Garden Party, MEATtransMISSION radio, Rinse FM, Capital North East, ITV Tyne Tees and Spark FM”.

Unlike artists, broadcasters are mainly stationery. In the sense they work from particular studios and do not travel a great deal. As  D.J., Jess Iszatt has ventured fairly far and wide, but I can also see her broadcasting in America in the future too. She strikes me as someone who could get a footing in the U.S. and syndicate there. She is an exciting and enormously promising broadcaster who is essential listening! I want to reference a Headliner Magazine interview. They spoke to Iszatt about her role with BBC Introducing London and how it felt to be at the forefront of championing the best new music around:

“Jess Iszatt started out working on student radio stations, and has now made a real name for herself as producer/presenter of BBC Introducing London. We chat about her route into the business, the importance of BBC Introducing as an initiative, and some of her musical highlights to date.

What was it that drew you to BBC Introducing and why?

Well, my initial steps into radio were uni radio experiences - Newcastle Student Radio, followed by leaving uni and thinking ‘what do I now?’ Then I joined Sunderland’s Uni Radio, Spark FM. My knowledge of music back then was basically just The Killers, Busted, and Avril Lavigne, so when it came to presenting, they decided it was best to put me on the new music show, ‘Spark Undiscovered’, which is where I was given my first taster of discovering new music! Grass roots up. Fast forward to the next year, I moved home to Hertfordshire and, just like aspiring musicians, I joined the ranks of BBC Music Introducing (back then just known as BBC Introducing – not quite such a mouthful) in Beds, Herts and Bucks as a volunteer on the show at BBC Three Counties Radio.

In answer to your question though, the reason I stuck with the ‘new music route’ - as vague as that sounds - was mainly because it was so much more exciting to meet these emerging musicians, just as passionate as I was, all in the same boat together learning about the industry and the world of music at the same time. It was cool and exciting to meet these talented artists who are so grateful, and genuinely happy to be where they are at. And it was cool to be in a position to help that, and say we genuinely heard them first.

@jjiszatt Heartworms. Media Giant. carina. Dan Whitlam. Who's your new fave? #newmusic #london #music #radio @Dan Whitlam @Heartworms ♬ original sound - Jess Iszatt

Why do you think BBC Intro is so beneficial to up and coming artists?

I think it is so great because it allows artists a way to get their music heard by a platform that can make a difference. It means that an artist with nothing other than pure talent can make a real relationship with people just as passionate as they are about getting their music out there! It provides opportunities, completely free of cost, such as radio play at a local level, a route through to national airplay on BBC Radio 6 Music, Radio 1, 1Xtra, Radio 2, Asian Network, interviews, live sessions, sessions at Maida Vale, recording sessions at Abbey Road studios, the chance to play at stages and festivals across the UK (such as our monthly gig at the Lexington, and festivals like Reading and Leeds, Glastonbury, Latitude, The Long Road, plus loads more) and also across the world as well - for example, New York Jazz Festival, SXSW, and Reeperbahn. Not to mention the backing of your local show! True fans of your music, regardless of how many or how little followers or Spotify plays you have.

Are there any plans underway in development of BBC Intro?

I think the main initiative across the country is to get more female voices on air aiming for a 50:50 split. Thankfully at BBC Music Introducing in London, this is not an issue at all! We have some wicked female musicians and guests on our show! Not to mention our team is mostly female behind the scenes as well.

PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

If you could have any other role at BBC Introducing what would it be?

[Laughs] If you had asked me that a couple of months ago, I would have said to present the show – I now have the pleasure of my dream job… plus I get to produce the show as well. I am not a control freak, promise!

How and why is it that BBC Intro stays at the forefront of new music?

Well I guess that is up to us making sure we attract the best new music, and be the best at our jobs. The new musicians coming through have so many avenues of getting their music out there these days, we have to ask why they would want to send their music to us, and why it is worth their time and effort. The job role is just to play music on our show - we are proactive in going to gigs, organising sessions, educating ourselves on the local scene, inviting in guests who are not just music makers, but people who work in the industry to provide advice, we make sure all genres and styles of music get played, and we adapt the show where necessary!”.

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I am going to round it off there I think. Maybe I have got ahead of myself regarding the predictions and career trajectory of Jess Iszatt! She does inspire that sort of imagination and praise. Iszatt represents London hard…but this is someone whose potential and promise is worldwide. One of the key voices across the BBC and Magic Chilled, she is a phenomenal D.J. and tastemaker (and motivational speaker). I am a big fan of her work with The Record Club – and she recently interviewed the phenomenal Jessie Ware -, and I think that there is going to be this very long and bright future for Iszatt. She clearly adored what she does. Whether she is spinning some much-needed weekend chill vibes or showcasing some phenomenal new artists (I have discovered many a new favourite through her shows), this is someone that is a jewel in British broadcasting. Check out her shows and follow her on social media. If she is not on your radar already, do make sure that she is soon enough! It may be relatively early days for Jess Iszatt, but you can guarantee that she will be a huge name…

SOONER rather than later.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Pull Up to the Bumper: The Iconic Grace Jones at Seventy-Five

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: AnOther

Pull Up to the Bumper: The Iconic Grace Jones at Seventy-Five

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I wanted to celebrate…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Bettmann

the upcoming seventy-fifth birthday of the tremendous Grace Jones. An iconic model, artist, and actor, she is someone who has influenced so many others in the music industry. Her seventy-fifth birthday is on 19th May. Fans will celebrate her incredible legacy and talent. She has released quite a few albums, but her best-known and most-acclaimed is 1981’s Nightclubbing. Last year, Jones curated the Meltdown Festival. You can catch her on 8th June at Hampton Court Palace. Journalist and writer Paul Morley provides some words about the inimitable and legendary Grace Jones:

“Grace Jones as singer, actress, author, traveller, artist and revolutionist has been a shape-shifting trouble-making meta-presence in the entertainment universe since her emergence as a model in New York City and Paris in the early 1970s.

Relishing the dangerous possibilities of late 1970s New York, her highly provocative often riotous shows in downtown lofts and nightclubs saw her crowned as Disco Queen with attitude and celebrated as an ultimate Gay Icon. Grace became one of the most audacious and unforgettable characters to emerge from the legendary Studio 54 nightclub in Manhattan, creating pioneering disco classics such as ‘I Need a Man’ and the enduring ‘La vie en rose.’  She was a pivotal streetwise part of a community of iconoclastic artists that included Andy Warhol and Keith Haring.  Her adventurous visual work as subject, image and collaborator with conceptual artist/designer Jean-Paul Goude achieved mythic status. And no-one wore the surreal clothes of Issey Miyake quite like Grace Jones.

It was an experimental rule breaking New York time when writers became artists, artists became filmmakers, actors became dancers and poets became musicians. Prowling at the centre of it all,  Grace Jones became Grace Jones, time and time again.

In 1980s, craving new territory, Grace escaped a crowded and degraded disco scene, pursuing her more extreme theatrical interests. Her music also broke free, inspired by maverick impresario Chris Blackwell of her label Island Records, using his newly built Compass Point studios in Nassau to put Grace at the vivid centre of a new kind of mysterious, eruptive soul music. This radiant dream and bass Grace Jones sound blended house, reggae, new wave, R&B and electronica into a timeless, influential hybrid showcased on three majestic albums, Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing and Living My Life. Songs by Iggy Pop, Roxy Music, Chrissie Hynde, Joy Division, The Normal and Sting were interpreted as deviant modern standards, and highly charged original songs like ‘Pull Up to The Bumper’ and ‘My Jamaican Guy’ became instant classics.

Post-Compass Point music in the 1980s with supreme pop producers Trevor Horn and Nile Rogers introduced transcendent Grace anthems ‘Slave to the Rhythm’ and ‘I’m Not Perfect’. She ended the 20th century as Bond villain, screen vampire, post-modern celebrity, international scandal, wild, all-seeing comedian, and transformative avant-garde pop star, and Grace kept coming in the 21st Century.

The 2008 Hurricane album and her 2014 New York Times best-selling memoir I’ll Never Write My Memoirs dived deep into her extraordinary life and mind – both looked forward as she looked back at how she rejects her strict religious up-bringing in Jamaica, drops out and drops acid in hippie communes with Timothy Leary, hunts for adventure, lives to perform, answers to no-one and invents her own holy and hedonistic form of futuristic show business.

In 2022, still seeming to be no age at all, occupying her own mutant time and space, she curated the famous Meltdown festival at London’s Southbank Centre and materialised as stand out headliner on the all-star cross-genre Beyonce album Renaissance, supernaturally generating some permanent attention on ‘Move.’ As the New York Times says, by inviting Grace into her world to swap histories and combine imaginative energy, Beyonce acknowledges Grace’s ‘bounteous musical might’ and confirms how ‘pop music has been tattooed with Jones’s influence for 45 years”.

To celebrate the approaching seventy-fifth birthday of Grace Jones, I have compiled a playlist of her singles and deeper cuts. One of the music industry’s most important figures, she has influenced the likes of Annie Lennox, and Nile Rodgers. To mark that, below are some wonderful songs from…

A music queen.

FEATURE: Flow, Rhyme, and Style: A Modern Film About the Birth and Rise of Hip-Hop

FEATURE:

 

 

Flow, Rhyme, and Style

IN THIS PHOTO DJ Kool Herc, who is considered to have invented Hip-Hop (the origins of Hip-Hop can be traced back to 11th August, 1973, at Cindy Campbell’s back to school party at 1520 Sedgwick Avenue in the Bronx)/PHOTO CREDIT: DJ Kool Herc for Vanity Fair via Huck

A Modern Film About the Birth and Rise of Hip-Hop

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I will do other features…

around the approaching fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop. That happens in August. There have been many films through the years about Hip-Hop. Whether it is 1983’s Wild Style, or the 1997 documentary-film, Rhyme & Reason, there has been representation and exploration of the genre. The birth of Hip-Hop might sound quite modest, but it started a revolution. Here is some background regarding how Hip-Hop got its start:

“DJ Kool Herc is credited with throwing the switch at an August 1973 dance bash. He spun the same record on twin turntables, toggling between them to isolate and extend percussion breaks—the most danceable sections of a song. It was a technique that filled the floor with dancers who had spent days and weeks polishing their moves. 

The effect that night was electric, and soon other DJs in the Bronx were trying to outdo Herc. It was a code that has flowed through Hip Hop ever since: 1) Use skills and whatever resources are available to create something new and cool; 2) Emulate and imitate the genius of others but inject personal style until the freshness glows. Competition was, and remains, a prime motivator in the Hip Hop realm.

Like a powerful star, this dance-party scene quickly drew other art forms into its orbit. A growing movement of hopeful poets, visual artists, and urban philosophers added their visions and voices by whatever means available. They got the word out about what was happening in their neighborhoods—neighborhoods much of mainstream, middle-class America was doing its best to ignore or run down. Hip Hop kept coming, kept pushing, kept playing until that was no longer possible.

Today, some Hip Hop scholars fold as many as six elements into Hip Hop culture. They include:

• DJing—the artistic handling of beats and music

• MCing, aka rapping—putting spoken-word poetry to a beat

• Breaking—Hip Hop’s dance form

• Writing—the painting of highly stylized graffiti

• Theater and literature—combining Hip Hop elements and themes in drama, poetry, and stories

• Knowledge of self—the moral, social, and spiritual principles that inform and inspire Hip Hop ways of being.

From its work-with-what-you-got epicenter in the Bronx, Hip Hop has rolled outward to become a multibillion-dollar business. Its sounds, styles, and fashions are now in play around the world. DJs spin turntables in Sao Paulo, Brazil. MCs rap Arabic in the clubs of Qatar. B-boys and b-girls bust baby freezes in Finland. Graffiti rises on the Great Wall of China. Young poets slam poetry in D.C.”.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Viola Davis/PHOTO CREDIT: Dario Calmese for Vanity Fair

I don’t think there have been many recent films around the birth and rise of Hip-Hop. There are some great Hip-Hop documentaries. The BBC produced a documentary about how Hip-Hop changed the world. In the same way it would be good to see a modern film that harks back to the golden days of Disco or Studio 54 in New York – 54 was released in 1998, but it received mixed reviews -, it would be great to see something that goes back to August 1973, and then maybe looks forward at youths or aspiring Hip-Hop artists. Maybe focusing on the queens of the genre or Hip-Hop D.J.s, it could be based in New York or Los Angeles. I have been particularly struck by the recent film, AIR. It may sound random, but there is a lot in the film – The film is based on true events about the origin of Air Jordan, a basketball shoeline, of which a Nike employee seeks to strike a business deal with rookie player Michael Jordan – that struck me. For a start, the always-incredible Viola Davis appears in AIR. She is someone I love as an actor, and it would be terrific to have her in a new film. One about the foundations and growth of Hip-Hop. She brings so much to each role, and it would be amazing having her on board. Of course, this feature is a suggestion to have this sort of film made, so I won’t be writing or directing it. It is the passion you feel through AIR that drew me in. That desire to achieve something almost impossible. I kind of feel that with Hip-Hop. Taking something quite small and building this incredible and burgeoning new type of music.

I don’t think there has been anything like this before. Most Hip-Hop films have been about a particular period (a single year or few months), or they have looked at specific artists from the scene. I am interesting in the roots. As Hip-Hop is fifty in the summer, it is fascinating to sort of visit that time and, from there, build this story around how Hip-Hop changed the world. Maybe using actors to portray real Hip-Hop artists, there would be a central storyline. Maybe bringing together troubled teens in New York in 1973. I am interested in how Hip-Hop captured something and arrived at a time when there were communities in America lost, abandoned and neglected. When reviewing Fight the Power: How Hip-Hop Changed the World, this is what Jack Searle wrote for The Guardian:

“The 1970s began with The Last Poets and Gil Scott-Heron prefacing hip-hop by talking, not singing, about black power on records with “revolution” in the title. Fight the Power’s fine roster of contributors – KRS-One, Grandmaster Caz, Melle Mel, Darryl McDaniels of Run-DMC, and indeed Abiodun Oyewole of The Last Poets – recall a decade in which black consciousness continued to rise, boosted by Shirley Chisholm’s run for the presidency in 1972 under the slogan “unbought and unbossed”, and in reaction less to overt state violence and more to administrative oppression. The documentary cites the phrase “a period of benign neglect”, used by one of Richard Nixon’s advisers in a January 1970 memo to the president and taken here as summing up the period when, with social programmes persistently underfunded and the South Bronx bisected by a new expressway that seemed designed to hasten urban decay, richer New Yorkers fled the city’s astronomical crime rates and left the poor black and Hispanic folk to it.

Fight the Power’s central observation is that hip-hop comes from a community that has been abandoned. The New York police, no longer minded to intervene in poor neighbourhoods, happily allowed hundreds of working-class youths to attend block parties, at which a generation that hadn’t had the money to buy or learn to play instruments made a new kind of music by setting up two turntables, so that a funky horn motif from one record could be segued into a tight drum break from another. The documentary makes the point that one of hip-hop’s most important influences wasn’t musical: at the end of the 70s, no effort was made to stop graffiti covering every inch of the New York subway, so spray-painted slogans and art became an ocean of protest and propaganda, impenetrable to some observers but vital as a form of expression for artists and activists with no other outlet.

Graffiti was, in other words, exactly what hip-hop lyrics would soon become, and was one of the four phenomena – along with rap, breakdance and DJing – brought together by DJ Kool Herc, credited here as hip-hop’s great pioneer. Then, as the 80s began, Ronald Reagan campaigned for the presidency by visiting the Bronx – we see him verbally jousting with angry residents in the rubble – and promising more federal aid, before gaining power and instead beginning the further systematic redistribution of wealth from poor to rich. Conditions are now perfect for a fierce new genre of music to take hold, as Chuck D explains: “Hip-hop is creativity and activity that comes out of the black neighbourhood when everything has been stripped away”.

The documentaries and films that have come before are great, but I have not really seen a film that takes us back to that moment in August 1973 when DJ Kool Herc started a revolution. It would be about telling his story and recognising him. Also a chance to show how Hip-Hop transformed the cultural landscape; see portrayed some of the leaders and innovators who made the genre what it is. In 1973, a fuse was lit. Hip-Hop started and burned a fire that gave voice to those previously forgotten or silenced. Over five decades, Hip-Hop has changed the world. It is a fire that is…

BURNING bright to this day.

FEATURE: Don’t Like Me? The Mixture of Struggle and Fulfilment from New Mothers in Music

FEATURE:

 

 

Don’t Like Me?

IN THIS PHOTO: U.S. rapper Rico Nasty in 2020 (she gave birth to her son, Cameron, while in her senior year of high school, and she explained how there is this mixture of fulfilment and struggle balancing music and motherhood)/PHOTO CREDIT: Myles Loftin for The New York Times

The Mixture of Struggle and Fulfilment from New Mothers in Music

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I owe a massive tip of the hat…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Charlotte Adigéry and Bolis Pupul/PHOTO CREDIT: Garry Jones via The Line of Best Fit

to Allison Hussey, who recently wrote a feature for Pitchfork about the struggles new mothers in music face. I write about this subject a while back, when thinking about the difficulty of female artists especially balancing parenthood and touring. With little to no childcare and that new responsibility, it can often be an impossibility balancing the two worlds. Also, when sufficient time has passed, it is not necessarily a case of them slipping into this old routine like things had not changed. There is transition. Physical and emotional changes post-pregnancy can be quite noticeable. The fulfilment and sense of pride from becoming as mother is an obvious reason why the risks and struggles are worth it. So many artists can draw inspiration from a new child, and it can provide a stability and sense of directional focus that was previously lacking. I don’t think music should be an industry where women are weighing up whether to have a child because they feel like, if they do, then that will cost them too much. As Hussey uncovers in her article, speaking to female musicians, you get this sense that the industry is image obsessed to the point where mothers are seen as maybe far less bankable and sexy than bright and fresh young artists:

“The image-obsessed world of entertainment has been exceptionally grievous in minimizing the demands of motherhood, with children long considered “career killers.” While that perception has changed over the years—just look at Beyoncé and Cardi B’s wildly successful (and joyously explicit) work since they had kids—many modern musician moms still experience undue pressure amid an industry that’s always in search of the shiny new thing. “It’s ingrained in the back of our heads that we have some kind of shelf life, and if you’re not fuckable, no one’s going to want to see you perform or hear what you have to say,” says the country singer-songwriter Margo Price, who has two children. “We objectify young women and youth, and then set them out to pasture.”

The electro-pop singer, songwriter, and producer Charlotte Adigéry remembers signing a record contract in December 2020, on the same day she found out she was pregnant. The coincidental revelation clouded her with doubt, and she considered terminating the pregnancy. “I didn’t think that the music industry would support it or even be interested in what I had to say after becoming a mother,” she says. Adigéry ultimately had her son the following year, and her pregnant belly curves outward on the cover of her breakout 2022 album with multi-instrumentalist Bolis Pupul, Topical Dancer. “For the first time, I really learned to love my body, and I wanted to celebrate that,” she says of the black-and-white image.

Price had her own reservations about her second pregnancy. Nearly a decade earlier, one of her twin boys died in infancy as the result of a rare genetic heart condition, leaving her awash in grief. When she unexpectedly found herself pregnant again in 2018, Price wasn’t sure if she was ready for another baby. Early in her pregnancy, Price says she talked to country legend Loretta Lynn’s daughter, Patsy, pressing for answers: Did she resent her mom for being gone all the time on tour? Was she still angry? Patsy reassured her, and not long after, Loretta called her directly to say, “I just think you should have as many babies as you want.”

This reassurance held particular weight for Price, who idolized the late singer of songs like 1971’s “One’s on the Way” (which ends with Loretta quipping, “Oh gee, I hope it ain’t twins again”) and 1975’s “The Pill,” an ode to birth control and women’s freedom. Price delivers a stark pro-choice ballad on her latest album with “Lydia,” where she describes a down-and-out pregnant woman contemplating her future in a clinic. “Make a decision, it’s yours,” she sings.

Many of the challenges that women in the music industry face echo broader fights against inequity, such as the struggles for paid maternal leave and universal healthcare in the United States. “If something isn’t good for your average musician, it’s not good for your average mother musician,” notes Meg Remy, a Torontonian who was lucky enough to not bring home a five-figure hospital bill along with her two babies thanks to Canada’s universal healthcare system.

The general lack of paid leave contributes to many women—including touring musicians—working through physical discomfort and other health risks all the way up to their due date. Corin Tucker had a rude awakening while carrying her first child during a tour with her band Sleater-Kinney in the early 2000s. “I was pretty young, and there was this feminist mentality of like, ‘Women can do anything, it doesn’t matter if you’re pregnant,’” she says. “But it was pretty horrible. I was so sick and exhausted. I would just sleep in the van all day, play the show, and drag myself to the hotel.”

There’s no paid maternity leave for the vast majority of musicians, which can leave new mothers with precious little downtime. Raquel Berrios got pregnant unexpectedly around the same time that she had begun making dreamy electro-pop with her partner, Luis Alfredo Del Valle, as Buscabulla. She gave birth to her daughter at home in New York in 2013, on the same day she listened to the masters to Buscabulla’s debut EP for the first time. As Buscabulla picked up momentum, Berrios found her burgeoning music career growing inextricably alongside her baby.

IN THIS PHOTO: Raquel Berrios (Buscabulla)/PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Newton

“The first three years were really, really hard,” she says. “It took a toll on me.” There were times when she felt that she was living a “triple life”: going to the full-time day job that gave her family financial stability and health insurance, playing shows at night, mothering most of the hours in between. On some occasions, she’d go to breastfeed her daughter in the morning only to find the baby dusted with glitter and makeup that had rubbed off during a post-show feeding. Meanwhile, Berrios’ health was taking a serious hit from the long-term pressure, creating issues with allergies and digestion that dragged on for about eight years”.

Rico Nasty has been raising her son on her own for most of her music career, with stints of assistance from her divorced parents. She gave birth when she was 18; her baby’s father died of a severe asthma attack during her pregnancy. Being a single parent has had a significant impact on her music: Would-be collaborators had to be flexible with remote work long before it became a norm. Part of the rebellious streak that courses through her music comes from, as she puts it, “being young and having everyone tell you that your life was over because you’ve made such a life-changing ‘mistake.’” That doubt helped steel Rico’s resolve, and she released her first major-label studio album, Nightmare Vacation, in 2020.

But there’s no such thing as free childcare, really, and Rico found that having her parents in rotation at her home was not always relaxing. Last year, she was able to hire a nanny for the first time, and she says she’s never going back. “I was literally burning myself out for years,” she says. “It’s a whole new ballgame”.

There are a couple of other features I want to reference to sort of back up this point that the music industry is not as accommodating and flexible to new mothers as it should. Whereas there are many powerful and inspiring female artists who have children and can return to work and there is not too much loss or massive accommodations needed, there are many more women who are finding they have very little support. Rolling Stone’s Laura Lane looked deeper into this issue in 2021:

“The music industry is not set up for motherhood.

Across occupations, a general “motherhood penalty” — a social phenomenon describing how mothers are perceived to be less committed or competent than working fathers, leading to disadvantages in pay and advancement — is widely documented. Across the board, researchers have found, women seem to be hit with a 4 percent pay cut per child while men receive a 6 percent bump. A 2019 study found that 21 percent of working moms are nervous to tell their bosses they are pregnant. Per a rather blunt summary of the gendered penalty from the New York Times: “One of the worst career moves a woman can make is to have children.”

While it’s difficult to calculate the financial losses for female artists who have kids, the music business’s fast-fluctuating and project-driven nature means that the motherhood penalty can be especially swift and severe.

“Everyone works so hard and it’s so rare to have the kind of momentum and income that you need to equal the amount of effort that goes into making a career in music viable, so for me to introduce another complication — ” says Lynn, pausing to take a breath, “I had a lot of guilt around it and I still do.”

IN THIS PHOTO: Oh Land (Nanna Øland Fabricius)/PHOTO CREDIT: Shervin Lainez for Elle

Whether female artists bring children on the road, ask friends or family watch kids at home, pause their careers, or choose not to have children for the sake of their careers, the decisions in every circumstance are difficult and require endless resilience. This is partly due to the nature of the work, living and dying by erratic tour schedules and unstructured work hours — but it doesn’t help that the vast majority of contemporary record executives, tour managers, or other decision-makers of artist careers are male. Artists from varying backgrounds, success, genre and recognizability agree that there is little support in the industry for female musicians who become mothers.

When Danish musician Oh Land got pregnant five years ago with her first son, Svend, she, like Lynn, worried how it would change her image within the industry. The “youth-focused” music industry can feel totally at odds with parenthood or the idea of mothers, she says: “So I was definitely scared that people will be like, ‘Oh, now she’s done.’” Oh Land toured up until week 38 of her pregnancy. “My pregnancy was very, very easy the first time,” says Oh Land, whose son would kick her belly when she got off stage because he was so accustomed to the noise and movement. “And I think because the pregnancy was so easy it kind of gave me a little bit of a false impression of what it is to be a parent.”

After having their child, she and her then-husband, artist Eske Kath, moved from Brooklyn back home to Copenhagen, largely because Denmark offers tremendously more institutional support to parents. “I don’t need to talk too much about the American healthcare system and all that,” says Oh Land. “Also, being an independent musician where you don’t have a nine to five job, you have to make your own existence every day… It was very hard in the beginning and very overwhelming because I wasn’t prepared on how full-on it was to become a parent for the first time. It takes over your world like it’s a tsunami.” Oh Land is currently a judge on the Danish X Factor and her most recent album, Family Tree, chronicles her family journey”.

Ray Sang wrote for gal-dem in 2021. She also looked at how the industry is not set up to accommodate and support new mothers. Also, that idea that pregnant female artists or mothers are not marketable and they have passed their time. In an industry that is still ageist and places so much stock in promoting young and ‘trendy’ female artists, there is that lack of respect and value placed towards maternity and women with children in music. I think more conversation has opened up incentive and some small changes since 2021 but, as Pitchfork have shown, there is still a long way to go. Are many women going to avoid having children because they feel like their star will wane or they will be pushed aside when they return to their career? Can women realistically go on tour and record like they did before having children? There are artists like Beyonce or Cardi B who have had children and determinedly have continued strong with their career arc trending upwards, that is not to say this is a common experience:

“Speaking to 20 women working across the UK industry, it became clear many of the challenges mothers in music face are structural and will require a complete overhaul of the systems that have lost their ability to function adequately – or, as with every other industry dominated by men, systems that were never built to accommodate women in the first place. These include – but are not limited to – the cost of childcare, low pay in the industry (particularly for artists) and setting realistic expectations around touring and working hours.

Some artists have successfully been able to find workarounds as singer-songwriter Cilla Rae explains, “I remember asking Rebecca Ferguson, ‘how do you manage going on tour and having kids at the same time when they’re all of school age?’ And she just said that she schedules all her tours around half-term and brings a nanny with her.” But this course of action is only viable for those who have the financial means to do so, not everyone.

IN THIS PHOTO: Satnam Galsian/PHOTO CREDIT: Nathan Robinson

Then there are the actual attitudes and views held towards mothers themselves. In addition to adverse feelings towards pregnancy in the industry, there is a tendency to believe that, due to the inability to be always readily available, mothers who work in music are somehow less dedicated to the cause.

But why is this? For artists, motherhood and responsibility isn’t looked upon as marketable, especially for those who already have children. Singer Alika shares that she was told “men have to want to fuck you and women have to want to be like you”. Women in the industry – especially Black women and women of colour – are sold the idea that they need to be sex symbols to sell their records, and anything that deviates from that mould is less than desirable. Across my conversations, it becomes clear that the music industry perception is that becoming a mother suddenly means you can no longer like hip-hop, relate to an under-25 audience or leave your child at home to go and work; ideas that are laughable at best.

As a result, many mothers in the industry are not afforded the privilege of being themselves, with many subsequently hiding the fact that they have children.

Structural changes may take a while to happen, but there’s no reason why a shift in attitude cannot begin now. Women shouldn’t have to base such life-changing decisions around work schedules, yet when talking to gal-dem, several interviewees mentioned women who had ended up having to leave the music industry to focus on raising their children; though understandably no one wanted to give names.

While the decision to do so is admirable, it’s likely that also seeing women do the opposite and balancing both would normalise the idea that women can in fact have successful careers in the music industry whilst being parents. Lead vocalist of Kinaara, Satnam Galsian says, “Mainstream representation would show that it’s possible; the potential impact of which shouldn’t be underestimated.” Visibility is absolutely key. People need to see others successfully balancing being a mother and working within the industry reflected back at them enough to know that, if they are then in that position, the support and lack of judgement exists for them to do the same”.

I was struck by Allison Hussey’s longform feature for Pitchfork. Titled ‘The Invisible Work of Mothers in Music’, it spotlights Sharon Van Etten, Rico Nasty, Corin Tucker, who say how new motherhood can make touring even tougher. At a time when so many artists are either pushing too hard on the road or they are suffering mental-health issues, there does need to be more protection in general across the live sector. Do we discuss women and the fact that women are becoming mothers but are having to make huge sacrifices. Maybe only touring or recording at certain times – so that they can be at home with their children -, or it is a case that they hold off having children until their career has reached a certain point. The Pitchfork feature does have that hopeful message: there is huge fulfilment in becoming a mother, which can inspire new work. The art is always a driving force. That energy and catharsis from music. The industry needs to make it easier for women to become mothers and continue their careers knowing they are supported and appreciated. Let’s hope that we…

WILL see some changes soon.

FEATURE: Second Spin: Missy Elliott - The Cookbook

FEATURE:

 

 

Second Spin

Missy Elliott - The Cookbook

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THERE are a couple of reasons…

why I am featuring Missy Elliott’s The Cookbook in this feature. For one, we found out earlier in the month that she has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She is the first female Hip-Hop artists to receive that honour. It is a bit shameful that it has taken this long for the organisation to recognise Elliott and female Hip-Hop artists, but it is good that she has been acknowledged. Also, The Cookbook is her most recent album. Released on 4th July, 2005, let us hope that it is not her final album! I think that it is underrated. It did get some positive reviews, but there were some that were more mixed. The Cookbook has a different vibe and feel to albums that we associate with Missy Elliott like her 1997 debut, Supa Dupa Fly, or 1999’s Da Real World. The Cookbook got its title due to the fact Elliott feels that no two records of hers is the same. Each one is made in a different kitchen with different ingredients. The eclectic nature of the album can also be applied to ingredients. The black-and-white cover of Elliott in a 1920s jukejoint is her bringing music to its roots. This elemental approach results in one of her very best albums. I feel that it is one that people need to give a second spin. I am going to bring in a couple of reviews for The Cookbook.

AllMusic were among those who gave The Cookbook a positive review. The sixth and most recent album from the Queen of Rap, we all hope that she puts out some new material soon. She appeared on the FLO single, Fly Girl, back in March. I am sure that we will hear more from her soon:

“Critics and fans were praising Missy Elliott and Timbaland so much during 2002-2003 that the hottest production combo in hip-hop may have started believing that a great production is synonomous with a great song. This Is Not a Test!, her first major mistake, featured cutting-edge tracks in abundance, but virtually nothing in the way of heavyweight material. Its follow-up, The Cookbook, brings the focus back to Missy the rapper and songwriter, wisely (in most cases) leaving the productions to a more varied cast than any of her previous records. Ironically though, Elliott herself produced the lead single, "Lose Control," giving it a tight electro feel (courtesy of some vintage '80s samples from Cybotron and Hot Streak). It's only the first nod to the type of old-school party jam that Elliott does better than ever here; "We Run This" resurrects the "Apache" break and a classic Sugarhill Gang track for one of the best club tunes of the year, Rich Harrison gives a bright, brassy production to another party song, "Can't Stop," and "Irresistible Delicious" featuring Slick Rick sounds at least 15 years removed from contemporary rap (yes, that's a good thing).

In a few spots The Cookbook isn't too far removed from This Is Not a Test! -- Elliott forces a few rhymes, plays to type with her themes, and uses those outside producers to follow trends in hip-hop (she could have easily accompanied a 12-track record of her usual solid material with a watered-down "New Sounds in Hip-Hop & R&B EP" that would kick off with the syrupy Houston retread "Click Clack," the Neptunes' tired "On & On," and the bland pop-idol duet "My Man" featuring Fantasia). What's different here is how relaxed Elliott is, how willing she seems to simply go with what comes naturally and sounds best. "My Struggles" isn't the myopic confessional suggested by the title, but an East Coast all-stars jam that features one of her best raps ever and deftly switches in midstream to allow Mary J. Blige to reprise her "What's the 411?" classic (to say nothing of Grand Puba's verse). And the final track, "Bad Man," sees one of the most welcome collaborations seen in rap for some time, as Elliott joins dancehall heroes M.I.A. and Vybz Kartel (plus a drumline from Atlanta A&T)”.

I am going to round off with a review from The Guardian. Even if there are some weaker or questionable moments on The Cookbook, it is very much business as usual from a legendary artist who is always evolving. I hope that people who have not heard this album check it out, as it is full of incredible moments and astonishing songs:

“Elsewhere, however, The Cookbook is a convincing return to form. The ballads Elliott takes charge of are too bizarre to be boring: for reasons known only to herself she punctuates Remember When's lachrymose lyrics and electric piano with wildly inappropriate shrieks, whoops and triumphant cries of "yes!" The Neptunes-produced On and On is a sexy racket featuring military drums, electronic buzzing and a bizarre effect somewhere between a record scratching and a submarine's sonar ping. We Run This and Can't Stop - the latter the work of Crazy in Love producer Rich Harrison - are both unreasonably exciting, wrapping ferocious old funk horns around futuristic beats. Sampling Cybotron's 1982 proto-techno classic Clear, Lose Control shows Elliott's ongoing willingness to search further than any other hip-hop artist for inspiration. House and techno are still inexorably entwined with gay culture in the US: most rappers would eschew them out of sheer prejudice.

Most thrilling of all is Irresistible Delicious, a collaboration with veteran rapper "Slick Rick" Rogers, last heard enlivening an album by coffee table trip-hoppers Morcheeba with a guest rap that cheerily suggested fat women should be murdered. He has met his match here. Elliott twists his two most famously offensive tracks to her own ends - stealing the riff from Lick the Balls and subverting the lyrics of Treat Her Like a Prostitute - then mimics his distinctive sly, sing-song delivery to perform a rap so sexually predatory that even Rogers sounds a bit disconcerted at its close. "Uh-huh," he interjects, but he sounds like he's anxiously crossing his legs as he does it. And well he might: back on top, sounding as unique and startling and formidable as ever, Missy Elliott is clearly not a woman to be messed with”.

After her long-overdue induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, new eyes and fans will be led to her incredible music. A Hip-Hop pioneer and one of the most important artists who has ever lived, long may her music inspire! It would be a shame to think that 2005’s The Cookbook is the last album we will get from Missy Elliott. Let’s hope not. It is one of her more underrated releases, so I do hope that people approach it. I think that Elliott’s sixth studio album is…

WELL worth a deeper listen.

FEATURE: One for the Record Collection! Essential June Releases

FEATURE:

 

 

One for the Record Collection!

IN THIS PHOTO: Jenny Lewis

Essential June Releases

_________

FLIPPING ahead to June…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Foo Fighters (including their late drummer, Taylor Hawkins, far left)/PHOTO CREDIT: Danny Clinch

and I can see a lot of terrific albums approaching on the horizon. I wanted to bring them up so that people can pre-order and look forward. There are a fair few to get through, so I shall start with great albums due on 2nd June. This week and the next (9th June) are especially packed. Starting with 2nd June, and there are a few albums that you will want to pre-order. The first is from Baxter Dury, in the form of I Thought I Was Better Than You. A masterful and poetic lyricist with a truly distinct voice, go and get your copy of this gem:

“Musician, writer and Renaissance man Baxter Dury returns with a brand new album, I Thought I Was Better Than You, his seventh studio album and is produced by Paul White, celebrated for his work in Golden Rules and with the likes of Charlie XCX and Danny Brown. Hotly-tipped new singer-songwriters Eska and JGrrey feature in addition to Baxter’s regular vocalist Madeline Hart.

I Thought I Was Better Than You marks a new era for Baxter, and with this new era comes a new character. “Faux- confrontational,” Baxter calls him. Here, not only is he recounting his childhood, but he’s also reckoning with it. Instead of just swinging at his past blindfolded with a baseball bat, he talks openly about the toxic cocktail of being born into unfortunately fortunate circumstances, with a persuasive surname but no structure or sense of responsibility with which reap the rewards of it. “Really, it’s about being trapped in an awkward place between something you’re actually quite good at, and somebody else’s success.” That ‘somebody else’ being his dad, Ian Dury. As one of the album centrepieces – Shadow – agonisingly puts it: “But no one will get over that you’re someone’s son/Even though you want to be like Frank Ocean/But you don’t sound like him, you sound just like Ian.”

The record also serves as a kind of extension to Baxter’s 2021 book, Chaise Lounge, in which he winningly recounted the story of his unique childhood. Not only does he expand the language of the book, using words to paint disconnected images rather than to string sentences (a kind of cockney hieroglyphics), but he often revisits moments within the book. Characters like ‘Tricksy’ re-appear in ‘Aylesbury Boy’ and ‘Pale White Nissan’, for example, but mainly it’s the abstracted tales of a young Baxter, troubled and in trouble, a victim of circumstance, straddling between a world of ‘Fuck you Leon…/ You stole the sunglasses and I got busted’ and a desire for ‘Porridge in the morning and be normal’”.

Another treat out on 2nd June is from Bully. The now-solo project of guitarist and singer Alicia Bognanno, this Nashville-born artist is someone everyone should look out for. Lucky for You is an album that you will want to pre-order. If you need some more information about an album I feel will sit alongside the very best of 2023, then Rough Trade have it covered:

“Lucky For You is Bully’s most close-to-the-bone album yet. It’s an album that’s searing and unmistakably marked by its creator’s experiences, while still retaining the massive sound that Alicia Bognanno has become known for over the last decade. Her fourth album draws from personal pain and the universal struggle that is existing, learning, and moving on - and it’s all soundtracked by Bognanno’s rock-solid melodic sensibilities and a widescreen sound that’s impossible to pin down when it comes to the textures explored. These ten songs are simply the most irresistible Bognanno’s put to tape yet, making Lucky For You her greatest triumph to date in a career already packed with them.

Work on Lucky For You began last year, when Bognanno brought some in-progress demos to producer J.T. Daly in his Nashville studio to see if they could strike creative kismet. “Authenticity is always on my mind, without even knowing it,” she explains while discussing their recording process together. “It was great with J.T., because I could tell he was a genuine fan who wanted to emphasize what’s actually good about my writing instead of changing it. I could tell how much he cared about the project, and it meant alot to me.” The album came together over the course of seven months, the longest gestation process for a Bully record to date, but that time allowed inspiration to emerge in new ways.

The result is a kaleidoscopic rock record spanning punk’s grit, the crunchy bliss of shoegaze, explosive Britpop, and the type of classic anthems Bully has been known for. Lucky For You’s thematic focus zooms in on grief and loss: The record is largely inspired by Bognanno’s dog and best friend Mezzi passing away, at a time when her life already felt as if in metamorphosis. The oceanic first single “Days Move Slow” was written shortly after Mezzi’s passing, reflecting the persistence of Bognanno’s incisive wit in the face of adversity. “There was nothing I could do except sit down and write it, and it felt so good.” And then there’s the passionate opening track “All I Do,” which kicks in the door with huge riffs atop her lyrical reflections on three years of sobriety. “Once I stopped drinking, I felt like I was still haunted by mistakes and things that had happened when I was drinking, and it’s still taking me a long time to forget about that while existing in this house. How do I shed the skin from a path I’ve moved on from?”

In that vein, Lucky For You is a document of perseverance in the face of the big and the small stuff. “I’m so overly emotional and sensitive, it’s a blessing and a curse” she says with a laugh, but there’s no downside to her expressions of vulnerability on this record; it’s the latest bit of evidence that nothing can hold Bognanno back”.

One of the most anticipated and emotional albums of the year is coming from Foo Fighters. Out on 2nd June, But Here We Are’s title says it all. Recovering and moving on following the death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins last year, there is going to be a mix of catharsis ands remembrance. Powerful, revealing and open, this is an album that you will want to pre-order if you can. The eleventh album from Foo Fighters is going to be their most important to date:

“But Here We Are is the new album from Foo Fighters, and marks the band's return after a year of staggering losses, personal introspection and bittersweet remembrances. A brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters have endured recently, But Here We Are is a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family. Courageous, damaged and unflinchingly authentic, the album opens with “Rescued,” the first of 10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.

But Here We Are is in nearly equal measure the 11th Foo Fighters album and the first chapter of the band’s new life. Sonically channeling the naiveté of Foo Fighters’ 1995 debut, informed by decades of maturity and depth, But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life”.

Go and pre-order Body Type’s upcoming album, Expired Candy. The Australian band are among my favourites, so this is going to be one that you will not want to miss out on. Some might not have heard the band, but I would urge you to pre-order their album and dive in:

“Your new favourite Australian underground gems, Body Type are back with their hotly anticipated second album Expired Candy via Poison City Records. Body Type assert there's no time like the present and reveal Expired Candy is filled with hope, love, and danger, dancing with delicious uncertainty. In pursuit of joy they dreamed up songs about mothers, sisters, dogs, nans; family tantrums, forward motion, falling in love, platonic or romantic, with someone or self.

Following recent national tours supporting Fontaines D.C and the Pixies, the first peek of Expired Candy arrived with ‘Miss The World’. Born out of their time during COVID, 'Miss the World' is a pummelling lament, concerned with citizens’ unquestioning compliance and the ascent of tyrants, told through pre-teen anarchists, bichon frises, and a drum beat based on a Gwen Stefani song. Acting less as a commentary on the pandemic but rather the realisations, both personal and collective that occurred during that time.  ‘Miss The World’ is the first taste of new music from the band since the release of their independently released, Australian Music Prize-nominated debut album Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising. Featuring tracks like 'Buoyancy' ‘The Charm’ and 'Sex and Rage', the 11-track record is a sharp, and invigorating listen packed with gentle contemplation and righteous fury”.

There are a few more I want to come to before getting to 9th June. The first of the remaining three I will spotlight fully is from Lanterns on the Lake. Versions of Us is out on 2nd June. It is the fifth album from the Mercury-nominated band. You will definitely want to pre-order it:

“Tyneside’s Lanterns on the Lake release their much-anticipated album, Versions of Us. This self-produced fifth studio album follows 2020’s Mercury nominated Spook the Herd. Its nine songs are existential meditations examining life’s possibilities, facing the hand we’ve been dealt and the question of whether we can change our individual and collective destinies.

Singer and songwriter Hazel Wilde has no doubt that motherhood fundamentally shifted her perspective. “Writing songs requires a certain level of self-indulgence, and songwriters can be prone to dwelling on themselves,” she says. “Motherhood made me aware at having a different stake in the world. I’ve got to believe that there’s a better way and an alternative future to the one we’ve been hurtling towards. I’ve also got to believe that I could be better as a person, too.”


Mixed by the band’s guitarist Paul Gregory, in the bedroom of his home in North Shields, there is a sense of time and place that runs deep throughout this record.

Given some of its themes, a biting irony is found in an entire previous version of the record being discarded. Mental health struggles and personal problems in the band had a big impact on how the initial version took shape. “Despite trying everything we could to make it work we reached the point where we just had to stop” Wilde explains. Drummer Ol Ketteringham parted ways with the band, something Wilde says was “heartbreakingly difficult as we were and still are extremely close”. 

The band scrapped nearly a year’s worth of work, regressing to song demos with just Wilde performing with a single instrument as they began again with Radiohead’s Philip Selway joining the album sessions on drums. “Philip brought an energy to the songs that reignited our belief in them,” says Wilde. “Within a few weeks we had a whole other version of the album and things felt very different,” Wilde continues. “We had changed the destiny of the record.”

It’s a heartening idea. Despite the difficulties in its genesis, Versions of Us is the most empowering album yet from the band. In exploring whether we can change fate or are doomed to repeat the same mistakes in life, this powerful collection of songs ultimately alights on hope”.

Also well worth investigation is Sophie Ellis-Bextor’ HANA. The legendary artist – who has brought to much joy with her Kitchen Discos - is going to deliver a stunning album. there is not a great deal of information online about the album yet. It is bound to be terrific and full of life, so do make sure you pre-order a copy. Ellis-Bextor is one of our very best artists, and I feel that HANA is going to be among her best releases. She always brings something very special indeed.

“Sophie Ellis-Bextor releases her seventh studio album Hana via Cooking Vinyl.

A pensive and spirited track with a euphoric chorus, ‘Breaking The Circle’ is the first introduction to Sophie’s new album She says; “Breaking The Circle is inspired by those late-night moments you have, where you question everything and feel a buzz of adrenaline about what tomorrow might bring. It’s urgent and dramatic and optimistic… the perfect introduction to the new album”.

The final album that I want to expand upon is The Aces’ I’ve Loved You For So Long. I think The Aces are one of the most underrated bands out there. The American outfit release their latest album on 2nd June, and I would encourage everyone to grab a copy. Go and pre-order an album that is going to be among the most essential of the year:

“Provo Utah's The Aces release their latest studio album I've Loved You For So Long via Red Bull Records. The 11-track album produced by Keith Varon. In the years since The Aces released their Billboard& MRc/Luminate Top 10 charting, and acclaimed second album, Under My Influence, in 2020, the band has been on a journey of self-discovery. Faced with the realities of a global pandemic, sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez (lead vocals/guitar and drums, respectively), Katie Henderson (lead guitar/vocals), and McKenna Petty (bass) used quarantine as a time to reflect, confronting personal mental health issues as well as processing experiences they’d had growing up together in Provo, Utah, as part of the Mormon church. When The Aces returned to the studio, their vision — and the honesty and trust between them — felt stronger than ever. The result of this growth period is I’ve Loved You For So Long, the band’s third studio album - a sparkling indie-rock record that’s by far their most personal and self-assured work to date. Written and executive-produced by the group (along with Keith Varon, the sole producer / collaborator on the project), the album is like time-traveling through their most intimate moments. From tracks that ruminate on mental health and self-sabotage to searing anthems about love, longing, and heartbreak, I’ve Love You For So Long is a record that’ll work its way into your head and heart — and will have you singing along all the way through”.

Let’s move to 9th June, as there are a few that I want to cover off. One of this year’s absolutely best and most anticipated comes out this week. I think that Janelle Monáe’s The Age of Pleasure is one that you will want to pre-order. I was going to embed the video for its second single, Lipstick Love (following Float), here, but it is age restricted by YouTube (I have included the Spotify version). The always remarkable Monáe is preparing her fourth studio album. It is just over five years since Computer Blues came out, so it is nice to have another album on the horizon. Here is a quote about the album:

“As we enter into The Age Of Pleasure, “Lipstick Lover” is our freeassmothafucka anthem inspired by f.a.m. for f.a.m. This is our oasis made with love, rooted in self acceptance, throbbing in self discovery, and signed with cherry red kisses from me to you. ”- Janelle Monáe”.

Before moving onto the next album from 9th June that you need to have in your sights, therfe is some further information and insight about The Age of Pleasure from Wikipedia. I am really looking forward to seeing what comes from a new and exciting Janelle Monáe:

“In an interview with Zane Lowe, Monáe explained that the songs "were written from such an honest space" and she hoped listeners "feel that when they listen to the music", as she feels she has "had an opportunity to evolve and grow and to tap into the things that bring [her] pleasure". Monáe worked on the songs and played them at parties, including her Met Gala after-party, to see how her friends would respond to the music, and told Lowe that her thought process was, "If the songs can't work at the party, they're not going on the album". She explained that she wanted the album to be "so specific to this Pan-African crowd who are my friends. I want it to be a love letter to the diaspora. And if they fuck with it, it's good. I'm great”.

The next is Christine and the Queens’ PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE. This is one that you will definitely want to pre-order. Rough Trade provide us with details of a jewel that you need to add to your collection. I am definitely going to add this to my collection:

“PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE is written, performed and produced by Christine and the Queens, with co-production by Mike Dean (Lana Del Rey, Beyonce) and guest appearances from 070 Shake and Madonna. Chris explains: “This new record is the second part of an operatic gesture that also encompassed 2022’s Redcar Les Adorables Etoiles. Taking inspiration from the glorious dramaturgy of Tony Kushner’s iconic play, Angels in America, Redcar felt colourful and absurd like Prior sent to his insane dream-space. The follow-up PARANOÏA, ANGELS, TRUE LOVE is a key towards heart-opening transformation, a prayer towards the self - the one that breathes through all the loves it is made of. Prior’s real agony in 'Angels in America' is a deep, painful becoming, a shedding of all waters and memories, that then allows angels to immerse deep too, and offer back profound, narrative-altering love - a rest in true love”.

There are some other great albums out on 9th June you can check out, but the next one I want to spotlight is Dream Wife’s Social Lubrication. In a busy month for great music, the new release from the London trio is one to get excited about. Go and pre-order an album that is sure to deliver gold:

“The return of Dream Wife is a moment worth savouring, with the band in electrifying form with an entirely self-written and self-produced third album. The only outside influence being the heavyweight mixing duo of Alan Moulder (Nine Inch Nails, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, Depeche Mode) and Caesar Edmunds (Wet Leg, Beach House). The incendiary and riotous record finds the trio once again tackling big subjects in their trademark unapologetic manner where, with the band being adept at merging the political with the playful, vital statements are hidden within hot and heavy anthems about making out, having fun and staying curious.

Social Lubrication, in the bands words, is “Hyper lusty rock and roll with a political punch, exploring the alchemy of attraction, the lust for life, embracing community and calling out the patriarchy. With a heathy dose of playfulness and fun thrown in”.

There are four more due on 9th June that I want to shout out. Jayda G’s Guy is released through Nina Tune. Go and pre-order this album. There is so much to admire about Jayda G as an artist and human being. She is another artist that everyone should have in their sights. Such a wonderous and spellbinding talent, this will all come to the fore through Guy:

“Jayda G, the Grammy-nominated writer, producer, DJ, environmental toxicologist, campaigner and broadcaster, returns with her new full length album Guy. Co-produced with Jack Peñate (who has previously worked with the likes of Sault, David Byrne and Adele), with contributions from Lisa-Kaindé Diaz (of Ibeyi), Ed Thomas (Stormzy, Nia Archives, Jorja Smith) and more.

Guy brings Jayda’s own voice and words more prominently into focus than ever before, across 13 tracks that draw on her House, Disco, RnB and Soul roots while emphasizing her pop songwriting sensibilities, interspersed with archival recordings of her late father, the eponymous William Richard Guy”.

An album you will definitely need to check out is Jenny Lewis’ Joy'All. Boasting a magnificent cover, go and pre-order your copy of an album that has an interesting backstory. Lewis is another one of these artists that everyone needs to know about and follow. Her upcoming release is set to be among her very best. Here are some more details:

“Joy’All, the fifth solo album from Jenny Lewis and follow up to 2019’s critically acclaimed On The Line (Warner Records) finds the singer-songwriter embarking on a new era in a new town—and on a new label, as she joins the iconic roster of Blue Note / Capitol Records.

“I started writing some of these songs on the road, pre-pandemic... and then put them aside as the world shut down, and then from my home in Nashville in early 2021, I joined a week-long virtual songwriting workshop with a handful of amazing artists, hosted by Beck. The challenge was to write one song every day for seven days, with guidelines from Beck. The guidelines would be prompts like ‘write a song with 1-4-5 chord progression,’ ‘write a song with only cliches,’ or ‘write in free form style.’ The first song I submitted to the group was ‘Puppy and a Truck.’” As the days progressed, the assignments kept coming in and Jenny ended up writing a good portion of Joy’All.

While Joy’All pulls from a bounty of sonic inspiration–from soul to 90’s R&B, as well as country and classic singer-songwriter records the album’s rich and intimate, live sound is the hallmark of eight-time Grammy winning producer Dave Cobb (John Prine, Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell), whom Jenny met by chance while visiting Lucius at the Historic RCA Studio A in Nashville. A natural kinship developed between the two, and with her arsenal of songs that she had demoed on her iPhone ready to roll, Jenny texted Dave and asked him to produce her new album.

Joy’All is a beacon of enlightenment that could only come from embracing life, taking the good with the bad; it’s a ten-song overture that invites the listener to find their own path to joy”.

The penultimate album due on 9th June is Jonny Greenwood & Dudu Tassa’s Jarak Qaribak. This is another album where there is not a great deal of background information or any real insight, but I confident about recommending it. It is going to be an engrossing and beautiful album that you will want to pre-order. You will know Jonny Greenwood through Radiohead, but many might not know about Dudu Tassa. Their partnership is a magnificent one. Greenwood is an exceptional and innovative composer. Tassa is a brilliant producer that deserves a lot of investigation and fondness:

“Celebrated singer, musician and producer Dudu Tassa teams up with award-winning composer and guitarist Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead, The Smile) for a new album Jarak Qaribak (Arabic for ‘Your Friend Is Your Neighbour’), bringing together vocalists and musicians from throughout the Middle East for a very special album of cross-border collaborations”.

With another four or five albums I need to highlight that arrive in June, I will get there after This Is the Kit’s Careful of Your Keepers. One that you need to pre-order, this is going to be another one of the must-hears of the year. I love This Is the Kit, and I am really looking forwarding to discovering what Careful of Your Keepers has to offer up:

“This Is The Kit, the group led by Paris-based bandleader Kate Stables, today announced the band’s new album Careful of Your Keepers –produced by Gruff Rhys (Super Furry Animals)–will be released on June 9th, 2023, via Rough Trade Records. The album’s propulsive yet introspective lead single “Inside Outside” finds Stables as magnetic as ever, joined once again by her stalwart band of Rozi Plain(bass/vocals), Neil Smith (guitar), and Jamie Whitby-Coles (drums), and accented by a cascading horn quartet arrangement by Jesse Vernon.

Careful Of Your Keepers is daring and soft, cutting and warm–a wild feat of complexity and combined dispositions. There’s a shared language of the band’s family experience that is as audible as ever in these recordings, which boast beautiful instrumental performances that still leave the nuanced space required for Stables’ vocals to live at the forefront. “The album was nearly called Goodbye Bite. And in a way it still is,” says Stables. “I went for Careful of Your Keepers in the end. It’s one of my favourite songs on the album, a song that for me holds the general feeling of the album as a whole. The fragility of things. Of situations. Of relationships. Of humans. What we do to look after each other and ourselves. The passing of time and what that does to us, and how we live our lives going forward.”

Guiding the ship through changing seas is producer Rhys. Stables described his role as being a “tonesetter,” watchful and attentive to the band dynamics while making sure to always follow a hunch for where a new sound could find its place in the recording. “I’ve always loved the idea of working with him somehow, and when this album started getting planned, I realized that maybe this was my chance to reach out and see if he was up for working together,” Stables explains. “And he was! As if that wasn’t enough, he was also up for doing a bit of singing on the record, which totally blew my mind and made my year. His way with harmony and melody and the tone and quality of his voice is a totally killer combo.”

“They are so ridiculously talented–and every member is a great producer in their own right–so it was just a matter of trying to capture the magic they make when playing live together,” Rhys says of the recording process. “Their playing is by default so thoughtful and complimentary in terms of respect to each other’s parts and to the integrity of the songs themselves that it creates a beautiful foundation of often cosmic interplay that’s always in aid of Kate’s voice and vision as a songwriter”.

There are two albums from 16th June that I want to mention. The first is Django Django’s Off Planet. A remarkable band, this is going to be an expansive album that you will want to pre-order. The twenty-one-track release is shaping up to be one that you will not want to miss out on. Rough Trade provide a little bit of background when it comes to Django Django’s forthcoming album:

“Entitled Off Planet, the 5th studio album from Django Django is a 21 track album. Originally destined to be four experimental EPs but quickly transformed into an album proper when they realised the potential of the recording session,  Off Planet features some of the most exciting and dynamic music Django Django have ever produced.  Harking back to their more experimental and electronic roots, the album also features exciting guest appearances from Self Esteem, Jack Penate, Toya Delazy and others”.

The second 16th June-due album for you is Maisie Peters’ The Good Witch. One of our most impressive rising artists, Peter is someone who will have a very long career ahead. Set to be a truly terrific and fascinating album, make sure that you pre-order your copy. I wonder whether The Good Witch will also come out on cassette:

“After a year of scheming and crafting, building and destroying, Maisie Peters releases her brand new album The Good Witch, arriving via Gingerbread Man Records / Asylum. Recently heralded by vulnerable lead single, ‘Body Better’, Maisie’s second studio album The Good Witch, is the official follow-up to her No. 2 BRIT Breakthrough certified debut, ‘You Signed Up For This’, and in many ways the older, wise and scorned counterpart.

Exhibiting a newfound confidence, sharper storytelling and greater artistic ambition, Maisie created The Good Witch across London, Suffolk, Stockholm, Bergen and LA, alongside the likes of, Oscar Görres (Taylor Swift, Troye Sivan), Two Inch Punch (Sam Smith, Jessie Ware), Matias Tellez (girl in red), Brad Ellis (Jorja Smith, Little Mix), Joe Rubel (Ed Sheeran, Tom Grennan) and Elvira Anderfjärd (Tove Lo, Katy Perry)”.

Actually, before going on, one of the year’s biggest comes out on 16th June. Queens of the Stone Age’s In Times New Roman… is their eighth. They have shared the lead single, Emotion Sickness, and it seems like this is going to be among their best work. Make sure you pre-order this album:

“Queens of the Stone Age release their long-awaited 8th studio album, In Times New Roman... on Matador. 

In Times New Roman... is raw, at times brutal and not recommended for the faint of heart. And yet, it’s perhaps the most beautiful and definitely the most rewarding album in their epic discography. Founder Joshua Homme's most acerbic lyrics to date are buoyed by the instantly identifiable QOTSA sonic signature, expanded and embellished with new and unprecedented twists in virtually every song. With In Times New Roman… we see that sometimes one needs to look beneath scars and scabs to see beauty, and sometimes the scabs and scars are the beauty. 

Feeling a bit out of place, and having difficulty finding music they could relate to, the members of QOTSA did as they are wont to do:  In Times New Roman… is the sound of a band creating the music its own members want to hear, while giving the rest of us a sonic forum in which to congregate. “The world’s gonna end in a month or two," sings Homme, begging the question: What do you want to do to with the time you’ve got left? Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Fertita, Michael Shuman and Jon Theodore may not be able to save us, but they’re giving us a place to ride it out. 

In Times New Roman… was recorded and mixed at Homme’s own Pink Duck (RIP), with additional recording at Shangri-La. The album was produced by Queens of the Stone Age and mixed by Mark Rankin. Artwork and double LP gatefold packaging designed by long time collaborator Boneface”.

Moving ahead, and I think I will end with a couple of albums from 20th June. I am writing this on 3rd May so, between now and June, other albums might be announced. Something could come out of the blue, so keep your eyes peeled! I want to suggest people pre-order. The Japanese House’s In the End It Always Does. Here is what you need to know:

“The Japanese House releases her second studio album In the End It Always Does. Featuring recent single ‘Boyhood’, much of the album lives in the contradictory: beginnings and endings, obsession and mundanity, falling in love and falling apart. Another standout is ‘Sad to Breathe’, an upbeat sounding heartbreaker co-produced by TJH’s Amber Bain with The 1975’s George Daniel and Chloe Kraemer accompanied by a beautiful live alternate version of the track directed by Sheila Johansson which sees Amber and her extended live band strip the track back to its bare bones. “I wrote Sad To Breathe some time ago, it’s one of the oldest songs on the record.” tells Amber. “It was very different back then; it’s gone from being solely electronic to what it is now, mostly live/ acoustic instrumentation. It’s about that desperate feeling when someone leaves you and the disbelief that they could. It’s funny you could have those kind of insane dramatic thoughts, that feel so real at the time, but can by some miracle look back in fondness to your entire life being ruined. It all circles back around.” Four years after her widely celebrated debut Good at Falling, this album sees Bain lean even further into the pop realm–with help from Matty Healy and George Daniel from The 1975, Katie Gavin from Muna and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon among others. Bain credits Gavin especially with injecting her with creative energy and inspiration throughout. The album also sees Bain work alongside producer and engineer Chloe Kraemer (Rex Orange County, Lava La Rue, Glass Animals), an experience she describes as “life changing” due to the unspoken, shared understanding between marginalised genders in a creative space. “I’d never worked with a woman or queer person [in that way] before,” Bain says. “It’s nice to have someone who completely understands your standpoint and shared experience. Also, I say ‘she’ in every song... so it’s important that someone understands that”.

I am going to end with is Olivia Dean and Messy. Rough Trade says it is out on 23rd June, but Dean’s official website says 30th. In any case, you will want to pre-order this album, as Olivia Dean is an amazing artist. Someone who is also going to enjoy many more years in the industry:

“Fast rising UK soul-pop star Olivia Dean releases her long-awaited debut album Messy. Featuring the singles ‘Danger’ and ‘UFO’, Messy cements Dean as one of the most original and versatile voices in UK pop. Crafting classic yet conversational hooks with genre-fluid tinges, she’s honed a way of exploring universal themes of love, loss and everything in between with razor-sharp but open-hearted storytelling. Of her debut album, Olivia shares, “Going into making the record, I'd just done this ‘Growth’ project. And for ages, I was like, well, my debut album needs to be what I've grown into, I need to have the answer. And that really confused me for a while. Then I realised, I'm always going to be growing. So this doesn't have to be a destination, it's just where I’m at now”.

There is bound to be another few albums announced for June before the month arrives, but those above I would recommend to everyone. From Sophie Ellis-Bextor to Foo Fighters, right the way along to The Japanese House, there is an array of interesting album that should suit any taste. If you are looking for suggestions for which June albums are worth saving up for, then I hope that the above…

HAS been of some assistance.

FEATURE: Pigs in the House, a Wolf at the Door: Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief at Twenty

FEATURE:

 

 

Pigs in the House, a Wolf at the Door

Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief at Twenty

_________

I am coming in early…

marking the anniversary of Radiohead’s most underrated album. Hail to the Thief is the sixth studio album from the Oxford band. Released on 9th June, 2003, I wonder whether a twentieth anniversary will come out. I feel that there were a lot of positive reviews for Hail to the Thief in 2003, but there were others who did not bond with it. In 2000, Radiohead released Kid A. That remains one of their most important albums. The year after, Amnesiac came out. With songs from that album recorded during the same sessions as Kid A, it did not get the same sort of celebration. Even if there were a load of positive reviews, I think people do not really speak about Hail to the Thief as one of the classics. To me, it is right up there with the likes of The Bends, OK Computer and In Rainbows. I have been listening back to the album and I wonder whether there will be anything announced ahead of its twentieth anniversary next month. A Special Collectors Edition did come out in 2009, but it would be good to think that an anniversary edition could be announced. Producer with their long-term collaborator Nigel Godrich, Hail to the Thief contains some of Radiohead’s best work. In fact, the best song of their career is in there. I don’t think anything tops There, There! If one can look at some of the political messages and anger on the album as reference to what was happening in the U.K. prior to 2003, then you could also think about America. Whether Thom Yoke was aiming his lyrics at those in the House of Commons or the U.S. President, George W. Bush, that is up to the listener. Songs that documented the unfolding war on terror and the surrounding political discourse, Hail to the Thief was one of the most political releases of Radiohead’s career to that point. Maybe that is why some were not instantly enamoured of the album.

Although Hail to the Thief is quite a dark and eerie album, it feature some truly beautiful moments. Sail to the Moon (subtitled Brush the Cobwebs Out of the Sky) is a paen to York’s young son. I love the fact that the songs all had alternate names. Like titles of books. 2 + 2 = 5 (The Lukewarm) and Sit Down Stand Up (Snakes & Ladders) precedes Sail to the Moon, and it is one of the band’s strongest opening two songs. Where I End and You Begin is one of their great deep cuts; The Gloaming points back to the sort of sound and experimentation on Kid A and Amnesiac, whilst A Punchup at a Wedding is full of vivid imagery and incredible groove. Ending with A Wolf at the Door (It Girl. Rag Doll), Hail to the Thief sticks in the memory. At fourteen tracks, maybe there are one or two songs that could have been cut – though I think everything earns its place. I know that the band might disagree. Thom Yorke has said how he would like to edit things down. Maybe there was this anger that meant the band had to get everything out. Wanting to be experimental but also accessible, perhaps that meant songs such as There, There sat alongside The Gloaming and Myxomatosis. I want to come to a couple of features before ending with some reviews.

In June 2018, Albumism marked fifteen years of a Radiohead album that remains vital is divisive. I think that Hail to the Thief deserves more love than it has been afforded by some (the band included. If you have not heard the album, then go and spend some time with it:

“Tracks like album opener “2+2=5” are charged with angst, paranoia, and amps dialed all the way up. With callouts to 1984 Doublethink, Dante’s Inferno and even Chicken Little, “2+2=5” is a rollicking post-election diatribe on the way that the world is spinning off kilter. As Yorke warns, “You have not been paying attention” in the chorus, the song acts as a rebellious wake up call to a sleeping populace. It’s all steam ahead as the band blast their way through the short 3-minute runtime, packing the song with energy and bluster.

The album is a fever dream that shape shifts with each passing bar. Songs like “Sit Down. Stand Up” and “The Gloaming” are haunting and dark, whilst songs like “Sail to the Moon,” “I Will,” “Scatterbrain” and “A Punchup at a Wedding” offer softer moments and allow a little bit of light in.

The album’s most exciting moments are when the band is at its most experimental. Tracks like “Myxomatosis” with its shuffling off-beat groove, the merging of man and machine on “Backdrifts,” and the two minds of “Where I End And You Begin” all demonstrate why Radiohead are vital listening to anyone interested in the deconstruction of songwriting.

That’s not to say that the album is without its moments of sublime songcraft. Standouts like “There There” and “Go To Sleep” exemplify the band’s ability to write blissful musical journeys.

Perhaps overly long, the album does occasionally suffer from too many ideas squeezed into its fourteen tracks and misses the mark from time to time. In fact, after its release, Thom Yorke famously posted his preferred sequencing of the album cutting it down to a solid 10-track outing. It might be a hard road to tread, and it can feel at times like it's a little unfocused, but 15 years on, Hail to the Thief remains a journey worth taking”.

I want to move onto a fascinating and perceptive feature from The Mancunion. Daniel Galloway wrote that, whilst some of the songs and themes can be heavy and terrifying, there are as snapshot and documentation of our childhoods and youth. A time when things were pretty scary and intense, Hail to the Thief has relevance today:

“Hail to the Thief  is stated by the members of Radiohead to be their least favourite project, to them feeling clunky and unedited. However, this album’s subject matter, execution, and blend of styles culminated to become a beautiful interpretation of the modern world, that is more relevant than ever. After 20 years, what relevance does this project have today?

This album is drenched in fear and uncertainty, directly reflective of the surrounding world at the turn of the millennium. Over 14 songs, rich harmonic and melodic work festers into a furious breakdown of anger and helplessness that overtakes any individual in a world lurching towards ever darker crevasses. From outbursts of fury in ‘2 + 2 = 5’, to the raw vulnerability of ‘I Will’, or the final awakening in ‘A Wolf at the Door’, Hail to the Thief charts the growing insignificance of the individual.

Musically, this album reflects on the rocky styles of earlier Radiohead, yet we feel the abstract dystopia of Radiohead’s Kid A and Amnesiac remain. Modular synths, drum machines, and digitally altered guitars are presented as permanent, nagging doubts and fears to the arrangements of piano, percussion, guitar, and vocal parts.

‘2 + 2 = 5’ opens the album, with a nod to Orwell’s 1984, the themes of political control, and the futility of resistance, are already as plain as day. Screams of “Paying Attention” during the breakdown create a sudden draw to this album that reveals the severity of the situation at hand. The juxtaposition between the drum machine underlay, while guitars soar overhead is reflective of a fundamental change in the world, a feeling of dystopia that lurks ever-present. These themes are furthered by the programmed march of “Backdrifts”, that hints at the Western world’s slide away from democracy and liberty at the time of the War on Terror.

There is also a vulnerability and humanity to this album. ‘Sail to the Moon’ is emotionally straining and evocative, as haunting piano accompanies lyrics that contemplate the unfortunate fate of humanity if nothing changes. This is also reflected in ‘I Will’, a song about the Gulf war, in which the anger of the lyrical content is allowed to shine through the simplicity of guitar, and beautiful, yet tense, vocal harmonies. Having recently become a father at the time of recording, Yorke’s deep-rooted fears about what awaited humanity come to the fore here, and become a touchstone for us all to reflect on what we want the future to hold.

Despite the abstract nature of many of the themes already touched upon, the end of the album brings the listener back down to earth. In three-and-a-half minutes we hear the true fury of Yorke come to fruition, with references to contemporary political events, dystopian fiction, and the ignorance of privileged upper classes. Selway’s drumming ranges from a subdued, rhythmic pattern to the beating of the crash cymbals and snare runs that follow the call to action that this song is. Layers of strings, synths, and guitar parts build to a swell that really makes you stand to attention as we are told all that we need to know about the world in which we live.

Going to Los Angeles and recording the album in two weeks, this project was a departure from the agonising process of Kid A and Amnesiac, a burst of creativity that is heavily reflected in the album through a great impetus and urgency to shout its message as loud as possible.

Overall, at the heart of this album, is fear; the logical consequence of these existential issues. As climate change threatens to drown us, starve us or boil us, as war and extremism grow in places we never expected to see them again, as the fundamental values we took for granted become undermined, Yorke’s lullabies, written to his son, inspired by the childlike innocence of Bagpuss, may be all the hope we can cling on to. Maybe our presidents will find right from wrong, but if not, we will need that Ark.

Yet, this is not to fall into the nihilistic trope that surrounds Radiohead. This album is particularly poignant for young people today as it encapsulates the world we have grown up in. The fear of the millennium had gone from the esoteric and mysterious unknown of Kid A, to the sadistic beauty of the 21st century. By encapsulating the feelings that have surrounded us, I find this work a tool for introspection, to reflect on these issues and question them”.

As I said, most of the reviews for Hail to the Thief have been positive. Whilst there is a lot of the personal in there, strangely I see Radiohead’s sixth album as being American. Recorded there, one feels Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Colin Greenwood, Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway talking aim at the White House and President. For sure, there was also some anger aimed at Tony Blair. Two years after the terrorist attacks in the U.S., Hail to the Thief felt relevant, sobering, and vital! It still does twenty years later. This is what Rolling Stone observed in their review from 2003:

“Radiohead’s Hail To the Thief is a product of its moment: recorded in late 2002, during the American and British governments’ slow, inevitable march to Iraq, of which lead singer Thom Yorke was an outspoken opponent. Hail is filled with images of monstrous, Orwellian force from which there is no escape. On “Sit down. Stand up,” Yorke assumes the voice of Big Brother, giving rote, meaningless orders — “Sit down/Stand up” — over and over. With equal parts whine and sneer, he says, “We can wipe you out anytime.” Radiohead have always been paranoid and pessimistic, but thanks to recent history, people who used to seem paranoid now seem prudent.

Hail begins with “2+2=5,” a brooding indictment of an apathetic public; the title is pulled directly from George Orwell’s 1984. While the world was being ruined, Yorke says, you were at home, allowing yourself to believe the lies. Now it’s too late. In a precious falsetto a boy might use in church, he sings, “It’s the devil’s way now/There is no way out.” But a moment later he’s manic, screaming, “Because you have not been paying attention!” Yorke then meditates on the words paying attention, repeating them until he sounds like he’s shaking with rage as he sings.

Despite the anger and bitterness, Hail to the Thief is more musically inviting than Radiohead’s last two outings. The album’s fourteen tracks — particularly the percussive, mesmerizing “There There” — are more tuneful and song-focused than 2000’s Kid A or 2001’s Amnesiac. Electronic textures still abound amid the guitars and piano — there’s still synth-y sonic schmutz and squiggles that seem like data transmitted from another plane of sound. But there are so many delicious melodies here, so much that’s both soothing and twisted and catchy, so much to sing along with, even if our prognosis is grim.

Consider “Myxomatosis,” definitely the best song ever about a diseased mongrel cat. The feline protagonist has just returned from outside and has possibly had sex, but now he’s confused, and he stammers against a tense heartbeat drum, “I don’t know why I feel so tongue-tied.” Thanks to the funky fuzzed-out guitar, somehow the name of the disgusting five-syllable rabbit disease flows from Yorke’s lips like poetry.

“A Punch-up at a Wedding” is a soulful, melancholy groove anchored by a snarling bass line and Yorke’s efficiency with lyrics. The imagery is so clear that the song becomes a short story. You can hear the family, dysfunctional beyond repair, hurling leftover anger at one another after perhaps the worst moment of their collective life: “You had to piss on our parade/You had to shred our bigday.” And yet the beautiful piano chords and Yorke yelling, “It’s a drunken punch-up at a wedding!” make it difficult not to sing along.

Hail‘s final song, “A Wolf at the Door,” asserts the impossibility of escaping your demons. “I keep the wolf from the door,” Yorke sings, “But he calls me up/Calls me on the phone/Tells me all the ways that he’s gonna mess me up.” It’s sad, dark, witty and hilarious all at once. Yorke has no answer for the wolf but to try and coo himself to peace. And the rest of us have Radiohead to help us get through”.

I will end with a review from Pitchfork. Not ones to often hand out big scores and glowing reviews, they were definitely impressed and moved by Radiohead’s Hail to the Thief. As this epic album turns twenty on 9th June, I wanted to spend some time with it. There is so much eclecticism and range through Hail to the Thief when it comes to sounds and lyrics. Such a rewarding and fascinating listen:

“We Suck Young Blood" returns to the piano mode the band has explored increasingly since Kid A, a sort of drunken New Orleans death dirge that embodies its vampiric title, creeping along at a measured, sickly pace punctuated only by languid, distanced handclaps. The approach pays off hugely, as Yorke's gorgeous, metallic whinny embraces the stumbling progression with harmony after harmony, and moments of depressed, gentle wistfulness.

Along with "Backdrifts", "The Gloaming" exposes the band's potential future. Simple, looping glitches and obstinate digital blurts dash all expectations, remaining resolutely compact, borrowing huge synthetic reverb plates such that Yorke can sing over his own voice. It's arguably academic in its basic composition-- a theoretical dare-- but "The Gloaming" is one of few risks on this relatively sociable record, a wink to the more studious members of their audience.

Which is where the advance single "There There" picks up, embodying the unification of Radiohead's recently mixed aims. Jonny wants to play with analog synths, Ed and Colin want to bash guitars, Thom wants to change music forever, and they finally meet up in this terrifically strange, yet structurally straightforward anthem. "There There" builds on more universal lyrics, soaring harmonies and a thundering crescendo the band wisely trimmed from its concert length (it originally began after Yorke's midpoint scream). Yorke said he wept uncontrollably when he heard the first mix of it, and the unmastered MP3s of Hail to the Thief which leaked in March support his professed reaction: Unlike the rest of the album, "There There" is essentially unchanged.

Possibly even more inspiring (and enduring) are "Myxomatosis" and "A Wolf at the Door", two of the last tracks on the album. The former is a buzzing prog redux of OK Computer's "Airbag" that shows how the simplicity Radiohead strive for can work wonders with tempo; drums fall all over the track until Thom winds up a layered, head-spinning (intoxicated?) verse that spills the rhythm onto the floor. It's a dizzying stereo-panned stomp, and one of Hail to the Thief's finest moments.

As usual, Radiohead save a masterstroke for the closing slot: "A Wolf at the Door" continues in the peculiarly Slavic jazz-blues mode first explored in Amnesiac's Russo-Bayou parlor waltz "Life in a Glasshouse". But "A Wolf at the Door" is more thorough, refined and consequently potent-- almost slick-- in comparison with its drunken, ephemeral predecessor. It's here, at the end of things, that Yorke most openly deals with the impact of his physical assault three years ago and his still-maddening fears of role-playing traps in society and relationships (nicely summarized in a quick nod to Bryan Forbes' terrifying The Stepford Wives). Evil is out there-- he's suffered its wrath-- and like a terrified Chechnyan matriarch, he relies on tangible protection from the fuckers and future come to ransom his child.

For its moments of gravity and excellence, Hail to the Thief is an arrow, pointing toward the clearly darker, more frenetic territory the band have up to now only poked at curiously. Experimentation fueled the creativity that gave us Kid A and Amnesiac, but that's old hat to Radiohead, who are trying-- and largely succeeding-- in their efforts to shape pop music into as boundless and possible a medium as it should be. Without succumbing to dilettantism, they continue to absorb and refract simpler posits from the underground, ideas that are usually satisfied to wallow in their mere novelty. The syncretic mania of Radiohead continues unabated, and though Hail to the Thief will likely fade into their catalog as a slight placeholder once their promissory transformation is complete, most of us will long cherish the view from this bridge”.

One of Radiohead’s best and most important albums, I wonder if the band members will mark Hail to the Thief’s twentieth anniversary next month. Maybe they still feel it is bloated - though an anniversary release could trim the tracks down and have a new disc or vinyl with demos and tracks that didn’t make the cut. At under an hour, and with very few tracks lasting that long, I feel Hail to the Thief is an easy enough listen when it comes to length. It is wonderfully sequenced and produced, and there is some world-class songwriting and performances throughout. A very different album to 2001’s Amnesic, Radiohead would follow Hail to the Thief with 2007’s In Rainbows. Again, a very different album, this was more about love and the personal. It goes to show that, when it comes to Radiohead, you could…

NEVER quite predict them!

FEATURE: In the Frame: Phoebe Fox

FEATURE:

 

 

In the Frame

 IN THIS PHOTO: Phoebe Fox

Phoebe Fox

_________

I am not sure how many…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Holly Humberstone/ALL PHOTOS: Phoebe Fox

of these features I will do, but I wanted to celebrate some wonderful music photographers. To be fair, I am a huge fan of two womxn in the industry who I wanted to spend some more time with. In an upcoming feature, I will celebrate the work of Pooneh Ghana. Today, I am putting into focus the magnificent Phoebe Fox. One of the best and most talented music photographers there is, I have been thinking about the industry at large. The pandemic halted live performances so, for photographers, that was also a really challenging thing. It was a lot harder to photograph musicians when there was social distancing and no live events going on. Even if you specialise in portraits and do not photograph live music, it was still a scary time. Many have argued how music videos are far less relevant now than they ever was. I am not sure how much they are heralded now, but I am still a big fan of the medium – and I may well explore the best music videos of the year at a later date. The importance of videos and how they connect to the song. You will never replace or diminish that. The same goes with photography. You will always need music photographers, but I think some say it is quite easy and intuitive. Like anyone can rock up and be one. Whilst it may be an industry everyone can enter and pick up; a truly inspiring and notable music photographer is someone who goes far beyond capturing a shot.

 IN THIS PHOTO: Bree Runway

There is a lot of talent needed to be able to get the composition right. To create a shot that catches the eye and is original. Whereas a live shot might be about the instancy of capturing a perfect moment on stage, there is a different set of disciplines needed when it comes to posed/press photos. I am not sure which is hardest, but music photographers often have to switch between the two. The adrenaline and nerves of getting that awesome live shot, compared to the thought and planning required to pull of this wonderful portrait or a band or artist. I am including a few shots from Phoebe Fox throughout this feature. If you want to follow where, then you can go to her Instagram, Twitter, and you can see many of her photos here. She is someone who can capture these phenomenal live shots, but she also takes amazing portraits. I think she can easily move into music video direction. Fox has examples of moving image, but I feel she could step into filmmaking in general. Maybe becoming a film director too. Somebody whose work is very distinct yet broad, she is one of the finest in the business. Fox has been awarded campaigns with, among others, Vevo, and Cartier. She does festival and press shots, and she has photographed the likes of Bree Runway, Arlo Parks, HAIM, Madison Beer, Maggie Rogers, and Sigrid. Fox is someone who wants her subjects to be relaxed and not feel like their privacy is being invaded. To make them feel at ease and get that natural shot – where the artists are comfortable and at ease.

@bbcradio1 what it’s like to shoot photos backstage at #bigweekend with @Phoebe Fox ♬ original sound - BBC Radio 1

Before round things off, there is an interview that I want to drop in. Actually, there are a couple. I will start with a 2020 interview between University for the Creative Arts and Phoebe Fox. It is clear that she was born to do. The passion she puts into her work really shows. Some of the most striking and memorable music photography has come from Fox:

“The road to success isn’t always linear — sometimes it takes a leap of faith, a bit of luck, knowing the right people and having a lot of initiative. Someone who knows all about that is UCA graduate Phoebe Fox, who switched degree courses, collaborated with students on other degrees, networked throughout the industry and worked photography jobs in the middle of her studies to achieve her dreams.

Today, she’s travelling the world and touring with some of the hottest musical acts — from The Amazons to Anne Marie — to capture their most important moments, from preparing backstage to performing in front of thousands.

We caught up with Phoebe to find out how she became a photographer to the stars.

Did you always set out to do the job you do, or did it happen by chance?

Since the start of high school, my focus was definitely on photography, but I didn't have a clear idea of which area to specialise in. I went to the BRIT School for sixth form and became friends with a bunch of music students. That pushed me towards portraiture, but I didn’t consider music photography as an option itself until I’d networked enough to see the work opportunities.

Back then, there wasn’t the large online music photography community that there is now. After joining Music Marketing and Promotion, I spent three years balancing touring, festivals, shows and portraits with university commitments and deadlines. There’s no way I would have been able to do that without the support and flexibility given to me by the UCA lecturers. By the end of those three years, I handed in the final major project, went home to pack and got straight on a tour bus for a six-week run with Anne Marie.

IN THIS PHOTO: Anne-Marie

When you’re photographing someone in the public eye, how do you work with them to create that perfect shot?

How you photograph someone changes with every job, obviously some people hate having their photo taken and you just adapt to that. I always make sure that the person being photographed feels understood and respected.

There’s a line between getting a great personal shot and invading someone’s privacy.

You have to find where that line is and learn how they want to be perceived, then use your own creative eye to capture it.

What are your ambitions for the future? And who is the dream artist or band you’d most like to model for you?

Honestly, I don’t have set ambitions — just to keep growing as a creative, getting better as a photographer and finding more ways to have fun with work. The absolute dream would be to shoot for Avril Lavigne: the icon”.

This is another great interview you should check out - but I am going to round off with an interview from Buzzkill Magazine. Talking to her during the pandemic, it must have been stressful and strange time for Fox. They asked her about the first camera that she picked up, and whether there was gender equality when it came to music photography; whether womxn were getting the same opportunities and platform:

“Did you always want to be a photographer or did it just happen?

I always wanted to be a photographer, what I didn’t know was what I wanted to specialise in, that part just happened.

What was the first camera you ever picked up? Do you still use it?

A family digital point and shoot haha, I wish it was way cooler than that like an old film camera passed down or something but it wasn’t. I’d just go for a walk around the block and take photos of flowers or whatever. It’s in a cupboard and kept for sentiment but definitely not being used.

What is your current go to equipment?

If there’s no time pressure then a medium format, Mamiya RZ67 and a reflector, if there is then a 35mm or my digital.

You’ve gone onto photographing some of the biggest and most exciting names in British music. What’s been one of the most unreal experiences you’ve had so far?

I honestly find every UK festival unreal, just bumping into extremely talented people and being able to chat as well as document them is something I’ll never take for granted. It's places where the pressure levels are lowered like that that you enjoy everything more.

IN THIS PHOTO: Matt Healy (The 1975)

What does photography mean to you?

Capturing and documenting the way you view something, that you can't explain to others by using words.

What is the one thing you wish you knew when you started taking environment?

Single point focusing .

What do you think is the most difficult thing about being a music photographer?

You can’t replay a moment to shoot it again, you have your shot and that’s it.

What drives your determination and ambition when it comes to your creativity when taking photos?

My love for a song or artist, it’s another way of being a fan with the ability to express that collaboratively.

IN THIS PHOTO: Maggie Rogers

Do you believe that traveling has helped you discover your style at all?

100% but more so, I think having less time because you’re travelling forces you to make decisions faster and when you do get the time, you know how you want to practice or need to figure out in order to develop.

There’s so many new bands/artists popping up right now! If you could photograph any of them who would it be?

Gonna have to name a bunch, there’s a band called Sorry who’s album 925 I listen to constantly. They’re based in London and I just think everything they do is so slick and creative. They have a real dark spark.

Katy J Pearson, based in Bristol, has this like Florence and the Machine meets Stevie Nicks voice and writes timeless, beautiful music, I really recommend her album Return which came out last year.

I’m obsessed with this band from Copenhagen called Iceage right now, they’ve been around for like 10 years creating their legacy and have released a few singles recently, with an album on the way.

And Phoebe Bridgers, not only for her discography of instant classics and perfect self aware emo branding (that would be really fun to express through photography), but because I’m a big Elliott Smith fan and she knows some real obscure info.

IN THIS PHOTO: Arlo Parks

What bands/artists are you currently listening to right now?

How long can this list be? haha!

Aside the ones I just mentioned, Arlo Parks, Phoebe Green, Hand Habits, Grace Carter, Yard Act, Do Nothing, Sunglasses For Jaws, Shame, Fontaines DC, Holly Humberstone, Beabadoobee, Malady. SO MANY MORE.

What is your ultimate goal as a music photographer?

To document the people I admire and understand them more. I’d love to be able to make a book someday.

Do you feel as time goes by there’s more of a female presence in music photography?

100%, when I started the ratios were very different to what they are in a photo pit now, I think there’s been a lot of progression in making womxn feel safer at live shows in particular, but there’s still a long way to go.

What advice would you give someone who wants to start music photography?

Learn how to use your camera in your own time, when you feel comfortable with your equipment then dive in and learn the rest as you go. As long as you know what you’re doing in your role, the rest you’ll pick up”.

A phenomenal photography who is inspiring so many people (and young womxn coming through who want to get into music photography), there is nobody in the industry quite like Phoebe Fox. One of the very best out there, the London-based photographer is someone to watch very closely. I think, as years go by, her portfolio will grow even larger and more impressive! Perhaps she will direct and think about film and that side of things. It seems that music is where her heart is – and that comes out in every shot that she takes. Her photographs are ones that always…

STAY in the memory.

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Incredible R&B Jams

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

PHOTO CREDIT: freepik

Incredible R&B Jams

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I have been getting more…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Donell Jones

into older R&B tracks, as I am seeking something that is missing from modern music. Whether it is that sense of cool or a groove that you do not really get nowadays, I have been spinning songs by Donell Jones (ft. Lisa ‘Left Eye’ Lopes), Toni Braxton, Destiny's Child, and Aaliyah. There is a swagger and smoothness that is so intoxicating. I know many of the songs in my playlist might trip into other genres, but we can tie them to R&B and associate them with the genre. If you need some hip-moving and great songs to get you in a better mood, then the tracks in my playlist should do the job! I am excited to get these songs out there, as they showcase why R&B is such a magnificent and legendary genre. It has changed since the '90s and '00s, but you have a raft of incredible artists putting their stamp on R&B. The cuts below are cool, sexy, sassy, energetic, slinky, and guaranteed to…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Destiny’s Child (Kelly Rowland, Beyoncé, and Michelle Williams)

MOVE the body.

FEATURE: If the Red Shoe Doesn’t Fit… Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut at Twelve: Why She Might Have Selected the Songs She Did

FEATURE:

 

 

If the Red Shoe Doesn’t Fit…

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in a promotional photo for 2011’s Director’s Cut/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut at Twelve: Why She Might Have Selected the Songs She Did

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ONE interesting thing…

about Kate Bush’s Director’s Cut is the songs Kate Bush selected to rework. The reason behind Director’s Cut is because Bush wanted to rework and update songs from The Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993). Because of the production sound or they felt too tinny and unnatural, she stripped them down and recorded them with her deeper voice. Released on 16th May, 2011, Director’s Cut did get positive reviews, although it split a lot of fans – those pleased that she reworked these songs, and there were others who felt that the album is unessential. She gave radio interviews to Mark Radcliffe, and to Ken Bruce, and there were some online interviews. I think that, in spite of some really positive reviews, you do not hear songs from Director’s Cut on the radio. I have already written an anniversary feature. I spotlighted the album’s many strengths, and explored what the general reaction was. I can understand why some were not keen on the album. Maybe thinking it was not new or necessary, I do reckon people need to listen again, as it brings to the spotlight some songs that had been ignored or not heard. Thanks to the Kate Bush Encylopedia for providing this interview snippet where Bush revealed the intention of Director’s Cut:

“For some time I have felt that I wanted to revisit tracks from these two albums and that they could benefit from having new life breathed into them. Lots of work had gone into the two original albums and now these songs have another layer of work woven into their fabric. I think of this as a new album. (Sean Michaels, 'Kate Bush reveals guest lyricist on new album - James Joyce'. The Guardian (UK), 5 April 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2015)”.

I wonder how Bush decided which of the tracks form The Sensual World and The Red Shoes needed to be re-recorded. There are twenty-three tracks between the original two albums – Bush recorded eleven tracks for Director’s Cut. I always feel like The Sensual World was great in terms of the production and sound. Only four songs from The Sensual World were selected for re-examination. Even so, I think the selections are the most interesting and divisive. Director’s Cut opens with The Sensual World’s title track, only it was renamed Flower of the Mountain. As we know, Bush originally wanted to use Molly Bloom’s soliloquy from James Joyce’s Ulysses for the song, but she was denied permission. I think the novel was out of copyright by the time she approached the estate, but they said ‘yes’ anyone (give a read to this article if you want to know about the background and history of the soliloquy). That sense of being able to record the song with lyrics she had always wanted must have been the catalyst for Director’s Cut. Perhaps Bush knew the Joyce permission would give her access to the text, so she may have felt like other songs could now be reworked. Deeper Understanding and This Woman’s Work are interesting selections. I think that the former was one of the missteps in terms of inclusion; the other was one of the most interesting and appropriate. This Woman’s Work’s lyrics seem very apt. In the original song, Bush sings from an expectant father’s perspective where he rues things he should have said and did when the life of his unborn child seems in danger. Bush explained how the father was childish to this point and, when something mature and real was before him, he had to grow up. Maybe that sense of reconfiguration and maturation is a reason why Bush wanted to sing that classic song with a deeper and more mature voice. Perhaps given it new gravitas and dimensions. Rather then Deeper Understanding being the video and single from Director’s Cut, I think This Woman’s Work would have been a better choice – and Bush would have directed a less divisive  music video.

The tracklisting of Director’s Cut consists of Flower of the Mountain, Song of Solomon, Lily, Deeper Understanding, The Red Shoes, This Woman's Work, Moments of Pleasure, Never Be Mine, Top of the City, And So Is Love and Rubberband Girl. Aside from the fact it would have been good to get some more interviews from Bush about Director’s Cut – she had a new album, 50 Words for Snow, that was released six months after Director’s Cut, so you can forgive her keeping her powder dry! -, the sequencing is a little odd. Rubberband Girl seems like it should be higher in the mix, whereas Top of the City could have been the final track. This Woman’s Work should have been a bit lower down the listing in my view. Deeper Understanding seemed like an error. The original is perfect and prescient – Bush discussing the way computers were dominating lives in 1989 was positively psychic when we think about today -, so the reworking in 2011 lost a lot of meaning and purpose. It just seemed like a way of Bush to react to the dominance of social media and the way we stare at our phones, but it could have best been done with a new track. Before thinking about The Red Shoes, I wonder why more songs from The Sensual World were not selected. I love the 1989 album, but I wonder why it was only a few songs that she felt were not quite right. Lesser-known cuts like The Fog or Love and Anger could have been given a reworking and introduced them to a new audience. I love This Woman’s Work and Deeper Understanding in their original place though, as they were singles, I can appreciate why Bush wanted to update and reconsider these tracks.

In terms of songs from The Sensual World where either the production or vocal could have been slightly improved or changed, I would say Rocket’s Tail would have been apt for new light and recording. Expanding Director’s Cut to twelve tracks might have been a bit flabby – but a director’s cut of a movie is often longer than the cinematic release -, though I would be fascinated to see what Bush would have done. Maybe happier with The Sensual World, she wanted an older/more mature vocal for the devastating and touching This Woman’s Work; a chance to use Joyce’s Ulysses text on Flowers of the Mountain; re-recording Deeper Understanding as her prophecy about computer obsession had come to fruition. I think Never Be Mine is a song from The Sensual World people overlooked or didn’t discuss much – in spite of it being fantastic and worthy. By re-recording it for her 2011 album, it brought it to the spotlight. That was a great decision! She adds something new to the Director’s Cut version. Making an underappreciated song even stronger! If the final three tracks of Director’s Cut are songs that originally appeared on The Red Shoes, she did arrange The Sensual World’s re-versioned songs so that they were not in a clump together. Bush’s instincts as a producer in 2011 were just as strong and keen as they were when she made those two brilliant albums!

Seven of the twelve tracks from The Red Shoes made their way back into the studio for Director’s Cut. Like The Sensual World, I can see why Bush decided to rework certain songs from The Red Shoes. She always disliked Rubberband Girl – as she felt it was throwaway and a silly Pop song -, so she gave it a slower and more Rolling Stones vibe. Lesser-appreciated songs like The Sensual World’s Never Be Mine were repped from The Red Shoes by Song of Solomon and Top of the City. Even if Top of the City sounds improved, I am not sure she could have been that dissatisfied with the original versions. Maybe songs that were not discussed when The Red Shoes came out in 1993 – and have barely been played on radio since -, they were reconsidered and feel like new songs. Two highlights of Director’s Cut in my view. There are also a couple of controversial or dubious choices. If Deeper Understanding seemed like it should have been left and was not improved in 2011, one could also argue that with The Red Shoes. I think the original is a bright, bold and hypnotic track that could not be bettered in any way. The Director’s Cut version is similar in many ways – the vocals are the new element – but it loses a lot of the fizz from the original. I should have said that most of the tracks on Director’s Cut are complete re-records. All the lead vocals on Director's Cut and some of the backing vocals have been entirely re-recorded, with some of the songs transposed to a lower key to accommodate Bush's matured voice. The drum tracks have been reconceived and re-recorded. A few of the tracks featuring Steve Gadd. Bassist Danny Thompson appears. Mica Paris provides backing vocals. Three songs were completely re-recorded: This Woman's Work, Rubberband Girl and Moments of Pleasure. The first was re-recorded in full because of Bush being older and wanting to give the song a sense of new lease and interpretation. Rubberband Girl because she was displeased with everything on the 1993 version I feel. Whereas Moments of Pleasure could have been that Deeper Understanding moment of taking a song that was perfect and re-working it and denting it slightly, I think she got it right here.

Like This Woman’s Work, perhaps stripping out and then completely rebuilding Moments of Pleasure gives it a whole new dimension. Originally sung by a woman in her thirties about a changing period in her life – her mother died on 14th February, 1992, so Bush knew that she was ill and maybe not long for the world (she wrote Moments of Pleasure before her mother died); her long relationship with Del Palmer was cracking, and Bush was exhausted and getting tired with music to an extent -, the newer version had this new relevance. I found this from the Kate Bush Encylopedia. They provided interview archives where Bush discussed both versions:

“I think the problem is that during [the recording of] that album there were a lot of unhappy things going on in my life, but when the songs were written none of that had really happened yet. I think a lot of people presume that particularly that song was written after my mother had died for instance, which wasn't so at all. There's a line in there that mentions a phrase that she used to say, 'every old sock meets an old shoe', and when I recorded it and played it to her she just thought it was hilarious! She couldn't stop laughing, she just thought it was so funny that I'd put it into this song. So I don't see it as a sad song. I think there's a sort of reflective quality, but I guess I think of it more as a celebration of life. (Interview with Ken Bruce, BBC Radio 2, 9 May 2011)

I wasn't really quite sure how "Moments of Pleasure" was going to come together, so I just sat down and tried to play it again-- I hadn't played it for about 20 years. I immediately wanted to get a sense of the fact that it was more of a narrative now than the original version; getting rid of the chorus sections somehow made it more of a narrative than a straightforward song. (Ryan Dombai, 'Kate Bush: The elusive art-rock originator on her time-travelling new LP, Director's Cut'. Pitchfork, May 16, 2011)”

To finish off, it makes me think about The Red Shoes and, as Bush wanted to re-record seven of its songs, then was she completely happy with the rest. Kudos to her for not touching the supreme Eat the Music…but two songs were begging for the treatment Director’s Cut gave to the other songs. Apologies if I repeat myself from other features, but I love The Red Shoes. I feel it is among Bush’s least appreciated and understood albums. It is far stronger than many give it credit for. The idea behind Director’s Cut was to redo songs that she was not happy with first time. If one could not see why she re-recorded The Red Shoe’s title track or even Lily (which is marvellous in 1993), then why not Big Stripey Lie and Why Should I Love You? The former is an excellent song (where Bush plays electric guitar on record for the first time), but it could have benefited from a new version that is less Grunge-like and maybe has a Blues/Soul take. It is a fascinating song that barely anyone knows. One that Bush probably didn’t think too much of when it was finished. Surely that was viable for new inspection! The most glaring omission from Director’s Cut is Why Should I Love You? As Prince added so much to that song (the demo is vastly different from the album version), so maybe Bush felt it was disrespectful to him by re-recording it. As that song is so layered, busy and unfocused, taking it apart and giving it more room to breathe would have seem too good to miss!

I am not sure why she didn’t do that, but it seems like an opportunity missed. I hope that The Red Shoes gets love ahead of its thirtieth anniversary in November but, as Director’s Cut is twelve on 16th May, I wanted to use this feature to try and figure out why she selected the songs she did from The Sensual World and The Red Shoes for it – and why she left others on the cutting room floor. Even if it did get a lot of positive reviews in 2011, I see many fans and reviews that are more tepid and questioning – as to what purpose the album serves and whether there are any superior versions compared to the originals (one can argue there are three or four where that is the case). Whatever you think, do spend time with a rare album. This was Kate Bush looking back – something she had done much of before. Did recording Director’s Cut (a forty-two-year-old Bush had more depth and gravel in her voice as she did when she was in her early/mid-thirties) and seeing people appreciate these vocals and new versions inspire her to get back on stage for Before the Dawn in 2014 (thanks to Donna Rees for planting that seed). It definitely cleared a path for a new album (2011’s 50 Words for Snow), and it showed that these songs had potential and promise that may not have been apparent decades before. If she was taken some classics and giving them a modern lick of paint, you can applaud that dare and sense of determination – even if it did split some fans as to what the benefits and points were. I think that everyone needs to spend time with the…

SIMPLY wonderful Director’s Cut.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Lauren Daigle

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Lauren Daigle

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AS her fourth studio album…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jeremy Cowart

is out today (12th May), Lauren Daigle should be very proud! Her eponymous album follows 2018’s Look Up Child. Recording her first album with a major label (Atlantic), it will draw division. As a Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) artist, there is something about independence and staying true to faith and God. It is a passionate fanbase, but one that is quite divisive and critical when artists break from the traditional. Lauren Daigle is the first album of non-faith-based love songs. Whereas the music is ruminations on the modern world, fans will interpret the tracks to be personal. There is a certain rigidity when it comes to what Christin artists can do. Maybe seen as selling out or corrupt if they cross into Pop or sign to a major label, there is going to be a mixture of applause and backlash regarding the new album. It is a shame. If it will polarise some of the fans, it will bring Daigle’s work more into the mainstream. Releasing her most personal and best album to date, I wanted to shine a spotlight on the biggest artist in CCM. She is someone who has faced some bad press in the past. On 7th November, 2020, Daigle performed as part of Sean Feucht's Let Us Worship tour protesting COVID-19 restrictions. This drew criticism from New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell, including requesting that Dick Clark Productions not book her to perform for its annual New Year's Eve television special, New Year's Rockin' Eve (which has included segments broadcast from New Orleans). Whilst it is hard to be a true Christian and a major artist – as certain views and stances might draw criticism and judgement -, Daigle deserves a lot of praise and love.

Her music is definitely worth seeking out. I am going to pull in a few interviews with the incredible Lauren Daigle. The Louisiana-born artist is someone that you should look out for. You do not need to be a Christian or interested in the genre to appreciate what she is putting out. Lauren Daigle is an album that is broader and more accessible than her previous work – which, in itself, was amazing and worth digging out. The Guardian spoke with Daigle this month. It is clear that she has had quite a hard past and road to prominence:

“When Daigle was 15, she contracted cytomegalovirus, an enervating condition that required her to complete her education at home. First a creative outlet, singing soon became a religious calling – she has described having prophetic visions of “stages and tour buses” while a teenager. After competing in the audition rounds of American Idol, she signed to the CCM label Centricity Music in 2013. Two years later her debut album, How Can It Be, topped the Christian charts. Her 2018 album, Look Up Child, was a blockbuster hit, reaching No 3 on the mainstream US albums chart.

But her popularity was contingent on a Christian audience who were not always as forgiving as they ought to be. “The microscope of people always looking at your life, feeling people will take your best intentions and turn them on you, and doing that in the public eye – that’s a lot,” she says. Attempting to immunise herself from criticism, Daigle kept her private life hidden to the point that she became a self-professed control freak – until the panic attack. “I learned that if I’m going to constantly keep myself contained then I am going to combust.”

PHOTO CREDIT: PR

There’s more than a glimpse of the personal in her new album: Waiting celebrates holding out for a romantic relationship. Being single as a famous Christian doesn’t make dating easy – Daigle can’t do dating apps, and she’s only willing to be set up by trustworthy close friends. “People will shame you for it, judge you for it, make you think you’re being too picky,” said Daigle. “But being patient, that type of longing, I think is really fruitful.”

She finds it “shocking” that Trump is still in the headlines – “it’s wild that there’s this gravitational pull to constantly talk about him” – in a way that suggests a certain naivety. The 45th president’s legacy remains encoded in the country’s current legislative agenda: what about the near-total ban on abortion that went into effect in Louisiana last year, with no exceptions even for rape or incest? “I have no idea, I’m terrible,” says Daigle. “I know that we have a Democrat governor but I don’t know where our abortion laws are in Louisiana.”

There can’t be many thirtysomething women who can afford to remain similarly uninformed. Her US representative steps in to change the subject. But the repeated message of Daigle’s album is to keep listening to other points of view. “It’s a tricky line that we’re walking,” she sings on the gothic Don’t Believe Them. “We got so many people talking, and nobody thinks that they’re wrong”.

Before getting to a great interview from The New York Times, I want to bring in another terrific interview. This one is from The Tennessean. In terms of the lyrics and sounds explored through her self-titled album, this is going to be one you will not want to miss. Lauren Daigle is a distinct and original artist that very much has her own aesthetic and sound. Make sure that you check her out:

“Instead, her forthcoming self-titled album digs into a world where kalaidacospic folk tunes, jazz grooves and R&B influence — anchored by Daigle's rich voice and tales of faith — take center stage. As she eyes an arena tour and major label debut, the next chapter for Daigle may prove that "You Say" was only the first stop on a creative climb fueled by freewheeling artistry.

But for the new album, she simply focused on making good songs, period. Part one of the self-titled release is out May 12 via Atlantic Records/Centricity Music.

"I needed to have a little distance between all the noise," Daigle said. "Ironically, I didn't know we would all experience a pandemic at the same time. That isolation was actually really good for me. I got to sit and learn what are the things I actually want to communicate on this record.

"Who am I? And how do I write from that place? ... What's the thing that's the truest to me? What's the purest? What's the most authentic? Instead of coming off the inflammation and the excitement of the previous season, it's giving the most recent revelation, versus riding the buzz of what was before."

The 'heart' of self-titled

"This might be the wrong thing to say," Daigle said behind a bright smile on a warm weekday afternoon in April. Sitting in a music management office on the edge of Nashville's Hillsboro Village neighborhood, wearing an outfit doused in a rainbow of colors and matching accessories to-boot, she continued: "But people always say, with the success of ["You Say"], with the success of "Look Up Child," did you feel pressure going into this? And it is so funny, I'm so one-track minded. ... I was genuinely hyper-focused on what we were working on."

Alongside Elizondo, she enlisted a cohort of co-writers and collaborators who make hitmaking look pretty easy. The album includes co-writes with Natalie Hemby — a tenured Nashville hitmaker and Highwaywomen member who's worked with Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves and Lady Gaga — and Jon Green, a London and Nashville-based writer who's penned tunes for Little Big Town and Linkin Park.

After writing sessions, Daigle and her band cut most of the album live on the floor in Elizondo's studio, she said.

"All these other people have worked on records that've gone way bigger than 'You Say,'" Daigle said. "For them, seeing their ease and their approach to this, like, 'Come on, let's just make more music.' It was the epicenter — the heart — behind how we tracked everything."

Self-titled songwriting

Songs on part one of Daigle's self-titled project take listeners on a sonic hop-scotch, from the soft-touch 1960s pop on "Waiting" to feel-good jam "These Are The Days," introspective ballad "To Know Me," R&B-infused "New" and the roots-inspired standout "St. Ferdinand."

She sings nuanced stories — sometimes pulling from a longtime fascination with creating fictional backstories from passersby. On "New," Daigle teams a real-life story of addition recovery with ubiquitous scene-setting and storybuilding.

She sings, "You say you used to hang around Diablo's every night/ Tryin' to fit with the crowd/ Makin' bets and pickin' fights/ But that was your story before me ... 'Cause old habits die, when you wanna live/ I don't see the old you, I just see the new."

These storytelling elements feel "new and different compared to some of the other records I've been part of," she said.

And on "St. Ferdinand," Daigle co-wrote a blissful folk nod to New Orleans born out of a newfound appreciation of Nashville's country-folk scene. After years in Music City, she found herself brought to tears one night after hearing Holly Williams — grandaughter of Hank Williams — sing "Waiting On June," a seven-minute song about her maternal grandparents that left Daigle in tears”.

I am going to finish with an interview from The New York Times. More than any genre, I think Christina/CCM artists have that difficulty when it comes to broadening out. Daigle might be seen as backing away from her faith, diluting her music, or betraying her roots. She is someone who, as a person, is Christian…but she is growing in popularity and it is confining in terms of themes. She wants to expand her songwriting. It is a shame that there are some who will judge her harshly:

“She wrote some songs with Shane McAnally, a Nashville hitmaker who is gay. And because the themes on her album are less faith-based than in the past, she knows some will count what’s referred to in the CCM world as JPMs (mentions of Jesus Per Minute) and find the music too worldly.

“I’ve seen people ask, ‘Is Lauren Daigle even a Christian anymore?,’” she said. “At this point, it’s to be expected, so it doesn’t bother me.”

In a radio interview after the DeGeneres fracas, Daigle summed up her view of Scripture. Anyone who expected her to shun gay people had “completely missed the heart of God,” she said. “Be who Christ was to everyone as well.” This brought more opprobrium, including a Christian Post column that scoffed, “Lauren, dear sister in Christ, you failed this test.”

Does Daigle, who identifies as nondenominational, feel that Christ’s messages have been widely corrupted? “Oh, absolutely. I have seen people use what He said to promote an agenda and keep people controlled. You have a lot of power if you’re telling someone their eternal destiny.”

Grant, a friend, praised Daigle’s “lovely” voice, adding that “the dynamics of her own life give her a deep compassion for other people.” As for the criticisms Daigle has faced, “My response is, God is good, people are a mess — all of us.”

PHOTO CREDIT: Olivia Crumm for The New York Times

“Dealing with post-Covid symptoms paired with the animosity that plagued our nation brought me to one of the lowest points of my life,” Daigle said. “I had to do a deep dive on who I was.”Credit...Olivia Crumm for The New York Times

Christian rock began in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when it was known as “Jesus Music,” a grass-roots movement led by longhaired hippie outsiders. It gradually built its own infrastructure of record stores, media, festivals and radio stations. Major labels took notice, and began to buy up Christian labels or start imprints of their own.

The first schism came over the Amy Grant generation of crossover artists who played songs that could be interpreted as devout or romantic, a middle ground known derisively in some CCM circles as the “Jesus is my boyfriend” or the “God or a girl” phenomenon. But Daigle’s crossover, close observers say, was different.

“Lauren represented a new type of stardom on unapologetically confessional terms,” said Joshua Kalin Busman, an assistant professor of music history at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke. “She left no ambiguity in her music and spoke transparently about her personal relationship to God.”

As a child, Daigle dismissed Christian music as cheesy. She was raised in a religious home that welcomed secular music, as long as there “weren’t F-bombs every five seconds,” she said. She got in trouble a lot at school, for cheating or talking too much. She believes she has ADHD, and also mentions “some OCD” and a few episodes of depression.

As her interest in music grew, she cleaned her church choir director’s bathroom in exchange for singing lessons. But she also became ill, with symptoms that included extreme fatigue, jaundice and worsening vision. She eventually learned she had cytomegalovirus, a chronic illness, and began home-schooling using a syllabus and a set of VHS tapes as her guide: “That was the season that changed the trajectory of my life.”

She started reading the Bible and had visions of herself as a music star. “I could literally see stages and tour buses. I said, ‘God, are you showing me this, or am I losing my mind?’ I think it was God, because everything I saw has come to pass”.

A wonderful artist who is going to continue to release albums and grow in popularity, I hope that she has some U.K. dates in the future. At the moment, there are only U.S. dates in the diary but, as her music gets international traction, that will change! As she is now a major-label artist and getting press in the U.K., there will be people here who want to see her play far and wide. Lauren Daigle is a great album that deserves positivity and praise – although she is going to court some despondency, flack and approbation from a more hardcore or strict Christian community. Her loyal fans embrace and follow her more Pop-based direction, but it is a pity that Daigle always has this shadow or disappointment from some. A magnificent talent who you should know about, go and follow…

THE brilliant Lauren Daigle.

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Follow Lauren Daigle

 Official:

https://www.laurendaigle.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/lauren_daigle/

TikTok:

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

Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Lauren_Daigle

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/40LHVA5BTQp9RxHOQ9JPYj

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPJFvbf8tNE9-_aYgeXfdKA

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/laurendaiglemusic/

FEATURE: Revisiting... Remi Wolf - Juno

FEATURE:

 

 

Revisiting...

Remi Wolf - Juno

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ONE of the best albums of 2021…

 PHOTO CREDIT: Jessie Morgan for NME

and undoubtedly one of the finest debut albums, Remi Wolf’s Juno is an aural delight. So colourful, original and bursting with brilliance, it got plenty of great reviews when it was released. Since it was released on 15th October, 2021, I wonder how many people still discuss it. You occasionally hear songs from it on the radio, but Juno warrants more wider appreciation and focus. I will come to two very positive reviews for the album in a minute. First, I want to highlight some interviews. NOTION chatted with Wolf about “her dreams of getting rained on at Glastonbury, the electricity of the New York City music scene, recording her songs in Simlish, and her mental struggles during the pandemic”:

“So, you’re allergic to dogs. How long have you had Juno for – I’m assuming he’s hypoallergenic?

He’s not. I’ve had him since, like, the first week of Covid. So, beginning of 2020. He’s been with my parents for the past two months because I’ve been touring, and they love him so it’s an easy little trade-off. And I’m going back on the road again in like five days, so he stayed with them because they’re all the way up in the Bay Area and I’m working a lot right now. Hopefully I’ll see him really soon. I am allergic to him; it’s kind of a bummer. I kind of just power through it. He’s a beautiful baby.

And were you always going to name the album after him?

No. It was kind of all formulated during the middle of the album process. We kind of got to the end of the album and I was like, ‘damn, what am I gonna name this?’ and Juno was like, there, the whole time. He was with me for every single song I wrote on this record. His name was always in my head. I was screaming his name over and over. And then I just decided that I was gonna name it “Juno”.

You’ve mentioned in a few of your interviews that you’re a perfectionist, yet your music has been described as sort of “hippie chaotic”. How do you find perfectionism in chaos? Or how would you define it?

First of all, I don’t think the perfectionism thing is a good thing. I think it’s something that holds me back a lot of the time. But also, I just hear specific things and I know how I want things to sound and maybe to other people what I hear is chaotic but to me it’s very organised. It’s like a very organised chaos in my head. There’s a certain point within the song creation process when I have a very clear vision in terms of how I want it to sound. I’ll run myself crazy trying to get that. You never really quite nail it, at all. My brain goes a little nuts. I see and hear it and I try to get that into the song and into the computer as quickly as possible. It’s not chaotic in my brain. My brain moves really quickly. The musical ideas and the lyrics and what I’m trying to talk about in my head is very organised. In my head it’s all makin’ sense! 

Do you think the tension and isolation of recording during the pandemic helped to birth or hinder Juno?

Definitely birth. I mean, it was horrible. Isolation was awful. I was really, super depressed and super existential which luckily, I was able to channel into something. I’m so much happier being out of isolation right now, it’s insane. When we were all in it, it was hard to attribute the bad feelings and the spinout. For me, it was hard to attribute it to the quarantine, I was like – what’s wrong with me? Why am I not able to feel OK when everybody online is so fucking positive? Everybody was on this weird toxic positive health shit. It felt like I was doing something wrong because I felt so bad. But now that I’m out, it was all quarantine. We’re not built to live like that as humans, we need contact – we need to go outside and experience things. So yeah, I think it was great for my art – horrible for me personally. It got bad online. People were a little preach-y. It was hard to wake up and do anything or get anything done. I felt so defeated.

Are you already working on your next album? Can you tell us anything about it?

I’m putting together a Deluxe album right now which will have some new tunes. I’m working on a lot of music right now. Who knows how it’s all going to formulate? I’m pumped. I’m trying to find myself again with my writing. I’m shooting my shot at a lot of different stuff and I’m working with a lot of different people and I’m trying to re-figure out what feels good to me. I’m in my experimental phase of life. A lot of fun to be had and so many things to learn. This whole year, I’m touring in a bunch of places I’ve never been before in my life. I’m going into waters I’ve never been in. I think it’s gonna be a big learning year for me”.

Charmingly, whilst spending a day decorating cakes in London (as you do!), DAZED caught up with Remi Wolf. She talked about the ups and downs of growing up, music-making, and her time in rehab. It is more insight into an artist who created a simply magnificent debut album in 2021 with Juno:

“The original record, Juno, was largely written over the pandemic. “I didn’t really have the typical sit and stew for two years,” she says; instead, the musician dove head-first into her work after a meteoric rise to fame. In February, she signed her first record deal with Island Records and Virgin EMI Records; in April, she released the funky soul-pop banger “Photo ID” which immediately went viral on TikTok; and in June, she dropped her second EP I’m Allergic to Dogs and wrote Juno’s first two tracks. “In the height of COVID lockdown and fear… my career was a career all (of) the sudden,” she wrote on Twitter. At the same time – after recognising that she had a drinking problem – she checked herself into rehab for four months, got sober, and moved back to LA to finish the record.

PHOTO CREDIT: Hannah Bertolino

“It’s a very transitional album,” Wolf tells me, explaining how all the thoughts, feelings, and inner turmoils that were going on at that time are reflected in the music. “The songs are just pure depictions of my life changing in real time… everything went into (it).” In fact, the record’s opening track “Liquor Store” – which depicts the pop star’s fear of abandonment and dependencies on alcohol through colourful harmonies and groovy guitar licks – was written and recorded with friend and co-producer Jared Solomon (Solomonophonic) mid-way through experiencing a mental health episode linked to her newfound sobriety.

“The beginning of the day I wrote ‘Liquor Store’ were some of the worst, most necessary hours I had ever lived through,” Wolf wrote in a series of journal entry-style graphics posted on social media, commemorating the song’s first birthday by providing candid context behind its lyrics and resources for those struggling with addiction, themselves. “It was that day that I really started to understand on a deeper level the healing power that music had on me and how much I need it.” In the next two days, Wolf and Jared wrote three more Juno tracks – “Anthony Kiedis”, “wyd”, and “Grumpy Old Man” – injecting the same explosive, pent-up energy used to create “Liquor Store” into each song”.

I shall round it off with a couple of reviews. Critics were hugely positive of this amazing album. Juno is definitely one of the best albums from 2021. Remi Wolf is a spectacular talent who I can’t wait to hear what she does on her second album (there has been no announcement yet). This is what DORK noted in their review:

“Generally, new artists will still be trying to establish who they are. The confidence of getting over those early bars might persuade them it’s okay to put more of themselves forwards. Open up creatively. Maybe even get a bit weird. With her debut album ‘Juno’, Remi is leaving nothing out. Sass, swagger and a choice bit of swearing, it’s not just her music that’s an absolute riot.

Opening track ‘Liquor Store’ sets the scene perfectly. Bold, bright and brash, it throws around ‘motherfuckers’ like good cuss words are on buy one get two free. From the word go, Remi’s here for an infectiously good time. ‘wyd’ hip-shakes like a beachfront tango after a round of fruity cocktails, while ‘Guerrilla’ fizzes like popping candy. There’s no step off the gas, no boring pause for breath.

It’s this always on neon-glare that sets Remi Wolf apart from her peers. Gen Z’s pop troupe is packed with potential future icons. They’re vocal, vibrant and unconcerned with putting it all on the table – but nobody else does it with quite the same panache. Even when sticking closer to the group – take ‘Volkiano’’s hi-fi pop middle section, for example – there’s still a twinkle in the eye that suggests it won’t be long until we’re back cursing like sailors and making anyone with earshot blush beetroot red. Like that friend that always makes everyone else feel great, Remi Wolf is the seretonin shot 2021 needed. The next greatest pop star on the planet has arrived.

5/5”.

 

I’ll end with The Line of Best Fit’s take on the mighty Juno. It is an album that I loved when it came out in 2021. I still listen to it now, and I feel more people should too. It certainly warrants more time on radio stations’ schedules:

“A colourful kick to the face, there’s nothing junior about Remi Wolf’s debut album. Riding on the viral waves of TikTok, “Photo ID” brought the vibrant energy of Wolf to the masses. Now, Juno plays with the parameters of pop, combining traditional structures with experimental upbeat melodies and funk. 

Wolf’s debut veers into hyper indie. She toys with space as hi-hats echo on “Anthony Kiedis”. Proclaiming her love for the Red Hot Chilli Pepper lead singer as well as her family, her vocals are completely encapsulating. The production is super tight and creativity seeps into the mix with funky licks of guitar and infectious drums. The alt vibe rears its head again on “Buttermilk” which floats along as easily as an old Vampire Weekend B-side. The record’s more gentle closing tracks may not be as energetic but aren’t any less danceable. In any case, they highlight the honest streak that is prevalent in the more relaxed tracks.

Juno’s playfulness defines Wolf’s first record. Parallels can be drawn between Wolf and Doja Cat whose take on pop has consisted of balancing honest real life experiences with fun buoyant music. Soundbytes bring a smile to your face as dolphins’ chatter, superheroes throw punches and camera shutters click. Wolf doesn’t shy away from humour especially in her lyrics. Comparing a fight to being in the ring with Conor McGregor on “Front Tooth” and including a kid’s monologue of being kidnapped on “Quiet on Set” is surreal but these moments make Juno shine. 

The scope of Juno is massive. She takes on a Texan persona on one verse followed by a space cowboy on “Grumpy Old Man”. Charli XCX-inspired auto tune sneakily slips in on ‘Sally’ and “Quiet on Set” could fit right in with MTV’s coverage of R&B classics like Missy Elliot and Ludacris. Dub bass grinds up against slink synths and shows Wolf’s versatility. Charistmatically stepping onto the scene with an unmistakable presence in an era of reclaiming confidence is not an easy feat but Remi Wolf has delivered a debut that is powered by a true liveliness to be fun and real”. 

I wanted to return to Juno for this Revisiting…, as it is an album that I really love and has so much terrific moments. Quiet on Set was one of my favourite songs of 2021. A song that hits you when you listen to it and does not let go! It is swaggering and cool. Even ending with some baby-like vocal impressions (I wonder whether Wolf was inspired by Prince’s 1999, as the track ends with a similar sound). If you have not discovered Juno, take some time out and give this magnificent album…

A fresh spin.

FEATURE: “There Really Is a Lot in Vegetables!” When Kate Bush Met Delia Smith

FEATURE:

 

 

“There Really Is a Lot in Vegetables!”

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush at East Wickham Farm appearing on an edition of Delia Smith’s Cookery Course in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: BBC

When Kate Bush Met Delia Smith

_________

I allude to and featured…

this interview when I discussed Kate Bush and her vegetarianism back in 2020. One reason why I was compelled to explore her vegetarianism is because, very early in her career, she spoke with the iconic Delia Smith. I want to reintroduce (reheat?) this incredible meeting. This is going to be a fairly short feature, but there are a few reasons as to why I wanted to return to this interview. It happens a lot more now but, back in 1980 (when the interview was broadcast), you wouldn’t often have got big artists specifically talking about things not related to music and promotion. Not least their diet and cooking. It seems rather ordinary now but, at a time in her career when she was being interviewed by so many different people around the world and was in this whirlwind of record, promotion, and everything else that comes with the industry, this seems like a pleasant and much-needed departure. For the Delia Smith's Cookery Course show, Kate Bush was relaxed and spoke passionately and personally about something important to her. Before carrying on, the Kate Bush Encyclopedia provide a little more details about the programme, and what Bush spoke to Smith about:

“A series of TV programmes, accompanied by 3 volumes of books, in which Delia Smith describes all sorts of cooking. In an episode broadcast on 29 February 1980 she was joined by Kate Bush in an item filmed at East Wickham Farm. In it, she describes the task of cooking rice ('You just add it to salt water, really'),  adding Marmite to vegetables and discussing the benefits of leaving apple skins in a Waldorf Salad and explaining how to eat seeds. Kate makes a touching case for vegetarianism, concluding: 'I hope people will think about it, because there really is a lot in vegetables!”.

Although the broadcast was in 1980, the visit to Bush’s East Wickham Farm home seems to have taken place in 1979. It looks like the weather was quite pleasant, so I am thinking that it was maybe around the summer. In any case, I wanted to expand a bit more on this and the 1979 tour Bush undertook. Without repeating too much of what I published in 2020, it is interesting that Bush dedicated herself to vegetarianism as a child and spoke about it. Many might not consider it but, when it comes to her health and outlook on life, vegetarianism is important. Bush’s outlook when it comes to people is very positive and curious, but she also cares deeply about the planet and environment. Someone who loves the natural world and has this huge appreciation for animals, it is no surprise that she would want to speak with Delia Smith. I think that the show showed a side of Bush many did not know about. Still portrayed by the media as a sex symbol or someone who was kooky and weird, this added something to the perception about. Emerging more as a serious artist with that wider conscientiousness, it is clear that this was a very serious young woman who was not as easily defined the media made out. I do love the interview with Delia Smith. In that idyllic and calm setting, Bush not only widened the conversation on vegetarianism  - big musicians like Paul McCartney was a vegetarian by that point, but there were not too many -, but she also showed different sides and elements of her personality. It almost revealed more than a standard interview!

One of the interview highlights of Kate Bush’s career, I have been thinking about her time with Delia Smith. In 1979, probably shortly after Bush returned from tour, she was discussing a diet and lifestyle that no doubt contributed to her amazing performances through The Tour of Life. There is a documentary around that tour where the menu and food was actually discussed. I love how Bush was very dedicated when it comes to her vegetarianism. I think that one reason why she was such a compelling dancer and performer is because of that. Given her thew good health and nutrients needed, I do often wonder whether her career and tour would have been the same if she was not a vegetarian. In any case, I love the Delia Smith chat, as it stands out as this moment where Kate Bush literally said how there is a lot in vegetables. Her compassion is infectious. As I said, 1979 and 1980 was a time in her career when there was very little rest and Bush was still below what many critics considered to be her best. After two studio albums and a tour, she was working on a third album. Taking some time out to do a rather unconventional interview that perhaps meant more to her than any other recent one, this is such a fascinating and unique part of Bush’s career. Always such a compelling and arresting interviewee, let’s hope that we…

HEAR from her again soon.