FEATURE: Beneath the Sleeve: Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

FEATURE:

 

 

Beneath the Sleeve

Beastie Boys - Paul's Boutique

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THIS is a classic album…

IN THIS PHOTO: Adam Horovitz, Mike Diamond and Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys/PHOTO CREDIT: Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

that I have written about a few times before. Normally tied to a big anniverssary. Beneath the Sleeve is about exploring acclaimed albums and exploring its background and making. I am going to end with a couple of reviews for this mighty album. Paul’s Boutique is the second from the legendary Beastie Boys. Released on 25th July, 1989, it was produced by Beastie Boys and Dust Brothers. Unlike their 1986 debut, Licensed to Ill, Paul’s Boutique is a broader album. One that draws from more genres and has even more samples. This genius album was recorded over the course of two years at Matt Dike's apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles. Even though Paul’s Boutique was seen as a commercial failure compared to their debut, it is has come to be regarded as their true masterpiece. Their breakthrough. I think it is one of the best albums of all time. I am going to start out with some features about Paul’s Boutique. Apologies if there is repetition from previous features. I will come to a feature from last year. I am start out with this piece from Classic Album Sundays. It is fascinating to see the shift and evolution between their 1986 debut and Paul’s Boutique:

“This helped the band to receive massive airplay on college radio stations, but the record was also spun by jocks like Red Alert, Chuck Chillout, Mr. Magic and Marley Marl on New York City ‘black’ radio stations like WBLS and KISS FM. So the Beasties were getting major support from radio, but the press was a different story. The exceedingly high levels of sex, violence and decadence gave the trio a reputation of bratty frat boy rappers. Rolling Stone entitled their review ‘Three Idiots Create a Masterpiece’ and gave more credit to producer Rubin. Were the Beasties going to be a one-hit wonder?

There they hooked up with their old pal Matt Dike who introduced them to E.Z. Mike and Giz (later dubbed the Dust Brothers). They worked on a couple of tracks together and everything clicked so they ended up recording their entire sophomore effort with the team. The Beastie Boys wanted to make a more artistically mature album; an album with intelligence and creative depth. The Dust Brothers were known for their innovative use of sampling and Matt Dike for his production work with Tone Loc and Young MC so they were able to record with seasoned hip hop veterans in a fresh, new environment away from the player hating in the Big Apple.

They worked hard and the resulting Paul’s Boutique boasted a dense aural collage of 105 samples that drew from all kinds of music from jazz, soul, rap, funk, disco, prog, rock and punk. The publishing of the majority of tracks was cleared but luckily this was before the landmark lawsuit brought against Biz Markie by Gilbert O’Sullivan which subsequently changed the future of hip hop sampling. Instead, they spent about a $1/4 million in rights and licensing, an amount that would have skyrocketed even higher had it been released a few years later.

Lyrically the Beasties had also flipped the script. Their raps were as hilarious as ever, but this time they were witty. Even the notoriously brusque critic Robert Christgau gave them props for “bearing down on the cleverest rhymes in the biz” adding “the Beasties concentrate on tall tales rather than boasting or dissing. In their irresponsible, exemplary way they make fun of drug misuse, racism, assault, and other real vices fools might accuse them of.”

Paul’s Boutique gave the Beastie Boys the critical acclaim they desperately desired. Rolling Stone manoeuvred a U-turn and brazenly called it, “the Pet Sounds / The Dark Side of the Moon of hip hop.” But more importantly, it also earned the group respect with their peers and idols. Miles Davis claimed he never got tired of listening to it, and Public Enemy’s Chuck D even said, ‘The dirty secret among the Black hip hop community at the time of the release was that Paul’s Boutique had the best beats.” ‘Nuff said”.

Rather than a couple of straight reviews, I am instead going to get to features that praise the album but offer more insight. Before that, from last year, this feature highlights how Paul’s Boutique redefined Hip-Hop. A sleeper hit when it was released, it is this layered album that went on to be hailed as one of the cornerstones of the genre. Almost thirty-six years after its release, fans are still finding new things to appreciate. I don’t think there have been many albums that have the same ambition and palette:

“A lot of the tracks come from songs they’d planned to release to clubs as instrumentals,” Ad-Rock later told Clash magazine in the UK. “They were quite surprised when we said we wanted to rhyme on it, because they thought it was too dense.” The Brothers offered to strip the tracks to their bare beats, but the Beasties demurred and quickly got to work writing additional songs with their new collaborators.

Released on July 25, 1989, and named after a fictional clothing store, Paul’s Boutique (actually Lee’s Sportswear, located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side; the vinyl sleeve folded out to reveal a panoramic photo of the corner at Ludlow and Rivington Streets) initially confused punters looking for more of Licensed To Ill’s jock bravado. In the years since, however, it’s been rightly hailed as one of the cornerstones of hip-hop.

Gleefully racing through samples by everyone from The Beatles to Johnny Cash (the album has spawned entire websites devoted to tracing the sources, variously estimated at between 100 and 300 samples), Paul’s Boutique made clear exactly what was possible with hip-hop at a time when the number of lawsuits issued by disgruntled songwriters was on the rise. Though everyone involved is adamant that the samples were cleared, the $250,000 allegedly spent on doing so is nothing compared to today’s licensing fees. Just as soon as the Beasties and co opened the floodgates, they were pushed shut again. It would be impossible to make Paul’s Boutique today.

Matching the mind-boggling array of samples is Beastie Boys’ own stylistic range. “Hey Ladies” is a funky, self-satirizing cut that sees the trio at their most idiosyncratically seductive (“Step to the rhythm, step to the ride/I’ve got an open mind so why don’t you all get inside”), while “Shake Your Rump” is the great party-starting single that never was and Miami bass receives an outing on “Hello Brooklyn” (part of the closing 12-minute tour de force that is the nine-part “B-Boy Bouillabaisse” suite). Elsewhere, “5-Piece Chicken Dinner” is a raucous 20-second hoedown that dives headlong into “Looking Down The Barrel Of A Gun”: both a nod to Beastie Boys’ early incarnation as a punk outfit and a signpost towards future high point “Sabotage.”

On “Egg Man” the trio resurrected their frat persona, only to prove how far they’d come with a lyrical dexterity that replaces bullet shells with eggshells in a tale of dumbass street carnage. The track is exemplary of the “bulls__t tough-guy bravado” that Rolling Stone picked up on in a review that conceded it was nevertheless “clever and hilarious bulls__t”.

When ranking the 500 albums of all time, Rolling Stone placed Paul’s Boutique at 125. If anyone is fresh to this album or has not heard of Beastie Boys, then I would definitely encourage you to check out this album. Arriving in 1989, at a time when Hip-Hop was golden and saw legends like De La Soul and Public Enemy at their height, it is not a surprise that Beastie Boys had the inspiration and motivation to create a masterpiece. One that mixes samples with their incredible lyrics and explosive connection:

“Three years since their debut record, ‘Licenced To Ill’ (#192), the band had fallen out with that album’s producer, Rick Rubin, as well as his label, Def Jam. Critics had assumed the band was a one-hit-wonder and labelled their debut as frat Hip Hop. On this, the follow up record, the band, newly signed to Capitol Records, had drastically decided to change their sound. This album forged a new frontier in samplology. Produced by the Dust Brothers, the album features a total of 105 different songs sampled. They managed to weave a tapestry of sounds to completely create a collection of new songs. This is all before the brilliant rapping of Mike D, MCA and Ad-Rock.

On their debut, the band ran the risk of becoming a gimmick band, but with this album, they reinvented themselves to present a masterpiece of a record. This album is one big funky party from start to finish filled with so many music references and in-jokes, a book could be written on it alone. The album, that has been referenced as the ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’ of Hip Hop, samples two songs from that record on ‘The Sounds Of Science,’ as well as a track from The Beatles’ ‘White Album.’ The samples range from The Beatles to James Brown (what’s a Hip Hop record with out him?), The Eagles & The Band to The Ramones, The Commodores to Deep Purple. Artists that shouldn’t work together but do. It’s a testament to how well this album was executed. To be honest, I was a little disappointed when it finished. Last countdown was the first time I’d ever listened to this record and it immediately became one of my favourites. I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again, I strongly recommend the Beastie Boys documentary on Apple TV+. It’s beautiful and emotional and hilarious and brilliant”.

I am going to end with this review. The third inclusion in Beneath the Sleeve, I will look at a Pop classic for the next edition. At a time when it is hard to produce an album that has so many samples – because of copyright and expense -, Paul’s Boutique is almost a novelty. Something that could not be replicated today. It is a shame that it is so hard for artists to have access to samples without incurring a lot of barriers and costs:

“I have a confession to make that I’m not particularly proud of.  Sometimes I joke about it, but have never fully indulged in what caused the massive chasm in my listening repertoire. However, I feel that you and I have become close and I can trust you not to stone me in riotous judgement: I don’t listen to rap and hip-hop.

I grew up listening to classic rock and soul, so rap and hip hop culture was not something I’ve ever been familiar with. Recently, my brother fell into a “Golden Age West Coast Hip-Hop” phase and I caught the residual effects. We laughed at the absurdity — two white kids with Polish parents, having never stepped foot in Compton, rapping “today I didn’t even have to use my A.K.” in our apartment, eating the food our mom cooked for us.  Not only did I feel silly, but I felt like a faker.

So I did what I do best — descend into a Wikipedia k-hole that killed most of my Sunday afternoon. Among the lists of best hip-hop records was unanimously the Beastie Boys’ Paul’s Boutique. In a sweep of albums that meditate on inner-city gangs, killing cops, and drug use, how could one of the top albums come from three clownish white Jewish kids who reference Hunter S. Thompson and Fuzzy Navels?  Deemed one-hit wonders after their first album Licensed to Ill the Beastie Boys’ sophomore project Paul’s Boutique was written-off as too experimental and peaked at #24 on the charts. The record is chock-full of samples pulled from other hip-hop tracks and films. For instance, the first and last beats of “3-Minute Rule” are from Sly and the Family Stone’s “The Brave and the Strong” and the fourth track “Eggman” samples multiple times from Public Enemy.

Paul’s Boutique has grown to receive critical acclaim and is considered a landmark hip-hop album.  I have a theory that supports why I enjoy writing these throwback albums so much: the best way to discover new music is through your favorite artists’ influences. Paul’s Boutique is considered important, the way I presume, anyway, because it served as the catalyst for the trend of sampling songs in original pieces. The same way golden age hip-hop from L.A. sampled Jamaican dub music, funk soul, jazz poetry and call & response patterns from African-American religious services á la James Brown, the Beastie Boys packed dense allusions to their funk predecessors (Curtis Mayfield), black hip-hop counterparts (Public Enemy), and their hometown haunts (59 Chrystie Street).  I picked Paul’s Boutique because while I’m not an aficionado of hip-hop by any stretch of the imagination, this album transcends some of the biggest decades in American culture, the hardcore lifestyle of late 1980s South Central L.A., and three Jewish “hipster” kids from New York City. For those of you who are rap newbs like me, or even if you consider yourself fluent, it is imperative that you visit Paul’s Boutique.  Make sure you’re at a computer — you’ll be doing a lot of Googling”.

I shall leave things there. Not only a Hip-Hop classic, Paul’s Boutique is one of the best albums ever. In terms of its legacy, this album changed the genre. It changed how artists approached sampling and music videos. Paul’s Boutique’s experimental sound, witty lyrics and innovation moved Hip-Hop away from the Gangsta Rap scene of that time (1989 and the late-1980s). A pleasure to explore it for Beneath the Sleeve, anyone who has never heard this album needs to check it out…

STRAIGHT away.

FEATURE: The Needle and the Damage Undone: Why Generation Alpha’s Appreciation of Physical Music Is a Sign of Positivity

FEATURE:

 

The Needle and the Damage Undone

PHOTO CREDIT: Lisa from Pexels/Pexels

Why Generation Alpha’s Appreciation of Physical Music Is a Sign of Positivity

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WHEN reports and statistics…

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo By: Kaboompics.com/Pexels

come out regarding the growth of physical music and how formats like vinyl are rising in popularity, it is always cause for celebration! However, I guess there has to be a note of caution at times. Even if vinyl sales have increased, it is still expensive buying the format. It is not as accessible and inexpensive as digital music, so one wonders whether a lot of those who buy vinyl are still getting most of their music from sites like Spotify. I do feel that buying albums on vinyl is an activity that is more of a luxury. That you can only do a few times a year. Unless you have more disposable income, in which case you can do more often. However, it is good that record shops still exist and they are seeing more and more customers coming through their doors. Even if formats like cassette and C.D.s are doing well and still popular, the amount they sell are far lower than they were decades ago. A lot of people might not have a device to play a C.D. or cassette, so perhaps they are not as desirable as vinyl. Streaming is still a big part of many people’s lives, especially the younger generations. Even if you do not get the same listening experience and sound quality, there is something easier about accessing songs through streaming. You can get albums there and do not have to worry about physical storage or overspending. However, against the temptation of the digital world, Generation Alpha are investing in physical music. This article from The Line of Best Fit highlights a new study that provided promising and positive findings:

“From more than 2000 respondents, 46% of those born after 2010 say they're listening to CDs and vinyl, suggesting a generational shift back toward tangible music experiences.

The research, conducted by music manufacturing agency Key Production also revealed that more than half know how to use a CD player, with a smaller amount of familiarity with a record player; these are skills once thought to be fading with older generations.

While Generation Z has helped grow a resurgence in physical music sales in recent years, the latest findings suggest Gen Alpha is also playing a role. In 2024, the UK saw the first increase in two decades, a 1.4% rise in physical music, with vinyl sales continuing to grow and CD sales declining more slowly.

The survey also points to a shift in how families are approaching music and technology. 20% of parents say they prefer their children to listen to music on smartphones, with most favouring physical formats”.

PHOTO CREDIT: DS stories/Pexels

The survey does not necessarily say Generation Alpha are buying C.D. and vinyl. However, the way they are experiencing music is not as you’d expect. In a previous feature, I feared how young music fans would get their music. I grew up listening to cassettes, C.D.s and vinyl. I was listening to physical music and I balanced digital and physical at a point. At the moment, even though I listen mostly to digital music, I still prefer physical music and have a collection of C.D.s. I think, when I get my own place, that is very much the dream: to have room for physical music. It is encouraging that this trend has occurred. One would think that the modern age would see the youngest music listeners seeking out music through streaming. I did not expect that many young parents to have much of a C.D. and vinyl collection. I guess they would be in their forties perhaps. My sort of age. That would track. However, you do wonder if this will continue. Will the next generation keep up with physical music or will it go the other way? I do think there is a general appreciation of physical music. Generation Alpha connecting with their parents’ music and also growing up at a time when modern artists offer their albums through vinyl and C.D. There is a combination of encouragement from the parents for the children to listen to physical music and a natural curiosity. I think the price of vinyl might mean that the very young are not able to afford them. C.D.s are generally inexpensive, so that will probably be a first step for many young fans. They can then graduate to vinyl.

PHOTO CREDIT: Jorge Fakhouri Filho/Pexels

If C.D. sales are not as healthy as that of vinyl, I think that will change. Encouraging too that nearly half of those surveyed – Generation Alpha rather than their parents – know how to use a C.D. player. I guess they are not as common as they were. I think every house needs to have one. The possible slight decline in C.D. fortunes might mean the players will be less widespread than you’d hope. I think we need to address that as vinyl is not going to be affordable to very young listeners. That temptation to go back to streaming. However, the fact their parents have C.D.s means they have exposure. Also, that combination of Generation Z helping in the physical music revival and Generation Alpha continuing that. It is also good for artists. How new listeners will be buying music more. Many might argue it is only a minor triumph. How streaming still plays a massive role. That is true, though many would not have predicted a few years ago even that we would get findings like this. Further studies and polls would reflect what Key Production found. I do think that a reliance on streaming is damaging. I am guilty of it. Artists not being paid fairly. The algorithm employed mean we are fed a very narrow window of music. We get too used to getting too much music for very little. I know physical music is expensive, though we should all invest more in it. It is vital that we do not live to see a day when physical music dies. Vinyl sales news means that won’t happen, though you always worry that a young generation will favour streaming. This news that came along is a positive sign. The more they are around physical music and the more common it is, the more they will build up a collection and pass this on to their children. We cannot pass playlists and music libraries down the ages. We need to have albums on C.D., vinyl and cassette. Things are not as good as you’d hope regarding percentages and the way Generation Alpha are interacting with music, though it is very much a step in the right direction. We cannot predict how things will go decades from now, but let’s hope that physical music connects with and is played…

PHOTO CREDIT: cottonbro studio/Pexels

BY the next generation.

FEATURE: Misogyny, Misogynoir, Abuse, and Women Not Being Protected: A Crisis Moment for the Music Industry

FEATURE:

 

 

Misogyny, Misogynoir, Abuse, and Women Not Being Protected

IN THIS PHOTO: Sean Combs (Diddy) is charged with sex trafficking, racketeering and transportation to engage in prostitution. He is also facing a string of allegations in a series of lawsuits - including repeated assault and rape of his former girlfriend, Cassie Ventura

A Crisis Moment for the Music Industry

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I don’t really know…

IN THIS PHOTO: Smokey Robinson is under criminal investigation following four anonymous housekeepers’ claims, accusing him sexual battery, false imprisonment, negligence and gender violence

how to articulate my thoughts or have a focused plan for this feature. However, there is a sense of anger and disgust in me I felt like channelling into a piece. We are in a time when male musicians, once more, are making the news for the wrong reasons. Violence and sexual assault making music headlines once more. Smokey Robinson is under criminal investigation following sexual assault claims. Chris Brown – an abuser and notoriously violence man - has been charged with grievous bodily harm and will miss tour dates (you feel no sympathy for fans who pay money to support an artist who is so toxic and abusive!). These are not isolated incidents. It seems that every month throws up a new selection of men in the industry who have been accused of sexual assault or some form of violence. Whether that person has been accused of a few assaults or has been part of a much wider series of abuses, it is always shocking and angering! Why this keeps happening. Always feeling sympathy for the women affected. After the horrific details of R. Kelly’s coercion and transportation of women and girls in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity came to light, he was sentenced to thirty years in prison. Although many men accused of assault, rape, abuse or coercion do not get brought to justice or are imprisoned, it is good that R. Kelly felt the sting of justice being served! However, whilst the dust has not cleared on that, we are in the middle of another big trial of another high-profile male artist. The case of Diddy (Sean Combs). I am going to come to a couple of articles from The Guardian regrading this case the importance of Cassie Ventura. She has accused Combs of rape and years of abuse and assault. It is early in the trial, so there is a long way to until we (hopefully) see Combs found guilty and imprisoned.

I will end by writing why there is always this blackening of music and the industry by men. Why industry figures and even fans are not vocal enough when it comes to denounce the artist/figure, and why there does need to be changes. A new awakening. I am going to start out by highlight a recent post by activist, writer and author, Jess Davies (she also posted to Twitter):

“This week’s newsfeed has been a depressing reminder of how many people are willing to overlook, or excuse altogether, male violence towards women to support their fave celebrity.
With devastating reports from Cassie Ventura, Halle Bailey and Megan Thee Stallion of the violence they faced from famous men dominating the news cycle, many people shared their support for their abusers on social media. Posts included accusing the women of lying, of enjoying their trauma and of setting the men up. These narratives reflect the same old-tropes we see often in the media that are pushed by male influencers and streamers.
It’s in the parasocial relationships people create with celebrities that they believe they know a reported abuser whom they have never met, more than the victim themselves.
But while parasocial relationships play a part, misogyny and misogynoir plays a vital role in why many choose to side with abusive men over women survivors. Many simply do not care about women and value a song or a livestream over their right to safety.
While P.Diddy’s former ‘icon’ and a-list status could feed into parasocial ideals where fans have idolised him and refuse to believe he’s committed these awful crimes, do Tory Lanez or DDG really have 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 many super-fans who back them? Or is it simply the fact that they have been reported as abusers by women that has led people to support them, even if they’re not really fans themselves?
Another sad reminder of how many people- including the women who side with these men- simply hate women”.

Davies also reacted to the assault charges against Chris Brown and is someone who was among a score that reacted with shock and upset. Not just of the act itself but the worship and ignorance of some fans who defend artists and almost blame the victim. Halle Bailey has accused her ex DDG of physical and verbal abuse. Tony Lanez shot Megan Thee Stallion. Cases of misogynoir and hatred of women. Something that is sadly becoming more common and almost accepted. Fans that defend the artists or those who turn a blind eye. It is shocking and disgusting!

IN THIS PHOTO: Chris Brown/PHOTO CREDIT: Scott Roth/AP

Cassie Ventura is another victim of male violence, entitlement and misogyny – or misogynoir in this case. As this article from 14th May details, the accusations against Combs are horrifying. The brutality and abuse that Cassie Ventura and one of Combs’s employees faced! In this sex-trafficking and racketeering case, we are hearing heartbreaking and gut-wrenching testimony from Cassie Ventura:

“Singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura, a former girlfriend of Sean “Diddy” Combs and a key witness in the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering trial of the music mogul, returned to the witness stand in New York City on Wednesday morning and testified that Combs raped her, assaulted one of his employees, and detailed abuse she says occurred in their over decade-long relationship.

Ventura, who is eight and a half months pregnant, began her second day of testimony by revisiting the hotel surveillance footage of her 2016 assault by Combs. She said Combs was yelling at her and then threw a vase at her in the elevator lobby.

“I didn’t get hit. I remember it hitting the wall. He was yelling at me and threw it at me,” Ventura said, adding that Combs told her “that I wasn’t going to leave him there. That I couldn’t.”

The jury was then shown two photos of Ventura, that she says she took of herself after the hotel assault where she is seen with a swollen lip. She said she also had a black eye beneath her sunglasses.

The jury was also shown text messages between Combs and Ventura after the assault, where she told him “you’re sick for thinking it’s OK to do what you did to me” and told him that she “had a black eye”.

Ventura was asked again about the various escorts she says she was forced to hire, with Combs’s money, to take part in increasingly extreme sexual scenarios over marathon sessions Combs called “freak-offs” – she has named more than a dozen since her testimony began on Tuesday.

“That was just my job, really. It was expected of me,” she said. She told the court that if she said no to a freak-off or told Combs she didn’t want to do it, “it would be a problem, we’d end up fighting” adding that violence was “always a concern if we weren’t agreeing on something”.

In a 2016 text message shown in court, Combs is seen asking Ventura to have a “proper” freak-off without the use of ketamine. Combs claimed that a “successful” freak-off was only “when we remember”, while Ventura noted that she preferred ketamine during “freak-offs” because “it was very dissociative.”

Combs would often threaten to release the videos he had of Ventura taking part in the freak-offs, she said. She noted that on her birthday one year, Combs reminded her of the videos he had in his possession after she refused to leave her friends to go with him to a freak-off.

“I feared for my career, my family … It is horrible and disgusting, no one should do that to anyone,” she said. “It could ruin everything I worked for, make me look like a slut … I wasn’t supposed to be on those videos. I didn’t want to be in them.

“I felt trapped,” she told the court. “Whatever was going to not make him angry or threaten me I was going to do.”

Ventura testified that she would ask Combs to delete videos of freak-offs that were on his phone and that he would tell her he did. She would later see the videos still on his phone.

Ventura said she experienced persistent urinary tract infections due to the constant freak-offs. but was still forced to take part even when the pain was “horrible”.

After such sessions, Ventura said that she felt “empty” emotionally and “gross”. Sometimes, she said she would leave freak-offs if she felt “unsafe”, but would often return to the hotel room because Combs or one of his employees would find her and bring her back”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Cassandra (Cassie) Ventura

I want to bring in almost the entirety of another article from The Guardian that was written by U.S. journalist Tayo Bero. She wrote how Diddy/Sean Combs’s lawyers are claiming how there was ‘mutual abuse’ in the relationship of him and Cassie Ventura. A desperate, misogynistic and insane avenue that has been used and explored when other high-profile men have been accused of sexual abuse and assault, it shows how women are treated - and how there is always bias against them:

“In a statement to the judge, the defense attorney Marc Agnifilo said they plan to “take the position [that] there was mutual violence in their relationship”. Combs’s lawyers also describe Ventura, the prosecution’s star witness, as “strong” with “a nature of violence”, and “capable of starting physical confrontation”.

This is classic men’s rights fare, and now is a great time to remind everyone that mutual abuse isn’t a thing – and it is extremely dangerous to allow celebrities to normalize it.

Most experts in mental health and intimate partner violence agree that there is no such thing as mutual abuse, despite how popular the term has become. Experts note, in fact, that “it is impossible for both members of an unhealthy relationship to have equal power,” that “abusers might use the concept of mutual abuse to blame the people they abuse for their harmful behavior,” and that “victims of abuse may fight back, defend themselves, or attempt to regain a sense of control.”

It’s Amber Heard and Johnny Depp all over again, and it’s no surprise that Combs’s lawyers are deploying the same tactics, seeing how successful Depp’s lawyers were in painting Heard as a violent, unhinged person, and not a victim who was fighting for her life.

Ruth Glenn, the CEO of National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, told Rolling Stone during the Heard-Depp trial: “There is no such thing [as mutual abuse]. You have a primary aggressor and a primary victim … What could be happening is you have a survivor doing what they need to do to defend themselves,” she said. “But when you have clinicians framing it as ‘mutual abuse’, it’s very harmful.”

This demonization of female victims in order to absolve their male abusers works well in a society that already doesn’t believe women, and conveniently refuses to acknowledge how trauma and a tremendous imbalance of power can force them to stay in those violent relationships.

Aside from this unconscionable defence, I’ve also been trying to figure out what to do with all the horrific testimony we’re hearing, the inevitable spectacle that this has become, and the bravery of Combs’s alleged victims who are testifying. 

We’ve heard that Combs had Ventura urinated on, forced her to have sex for days with no sleep including while on her period, forced her to have sex with escorts while he watched and recorded, made her carry his guns and beat her at the slightest provocation. I’m not exaggerating when I say the stuff coming out of this trial is some of the most gruesome and horrifying I have ever heard. But Ventura’s bravery in speaking up, in reliving this alleged trauma not just for herself but on behalf of possible victims whose stories may never see the light of day, means that we have a moral obligation to not look away. As the society that made Combs the mogul that he is and enabled him to amass the resources that have now in effect formed a shield around him, it is our job to bear witness in this moment.

Victims of abuse – especially of alleged abusers this powerful – rarely see full justice through the courts. Bill Cosby walks free today, Harvey Weinstein is getting another trial and Amber Heard continues to endure harassment from Depp fans while he gets to walk in Rihanna’s fashion show and book new projects. And if Combs should somehow walk away from all this, then it’s crucial for us to listen to his accusers, for their testimonies to be on public record, and for him to no longer have access, at the very least, to the social and cultural capital that helped allow his alleged behaviour to thrive.

Importantly, this moment also exposes the foundations of systematic abuse. This level of abuse requires a network of enablers, silent witnesses, wilful collaborators, paid professionals and disempowered victims in order to be possible. And as more details emerge in this trial, confronting these stories head on means confronting the culture that allowed for them to begin with.

The game is rigged against women and always has been. We tell women to report crimes and then either don’t believe them, or say they were violent too when they do. And when they don’t report, we question why they stayed in a relationship and tell them that they wanted the abuse.

It’s a shame that society is so bad at protecting women. But knowing what exactly abuse can look like – in all of its twisted, barbaric shapes – and being able to accurately name it is essential to our survival, and more important now than ever”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Halle Bailey/PHOTO CREDIT: Kayla James for The New York Times 

It is truly horrifying that we are continuingly hearing about cases of men in the music industry being accused of rape, assault and abuse! Many might say it is only a few men and most are decent. However, it is always men. As Tayo Bero wrote, things are stacked against women. They are either not believed or subjected to abuse and misogyny. Men like Chris Brown still able to perform and make a living despite being convicted of crimes and accused of others. The fact is we will probably be spared jail and will make money and continue to tour when he is released from custody in Salford. You know that will happen. One hopes that Diddy will get decades in prison. However, before that happens, victims like Cassie Ventura are disbelieved and subjected to intense scrutiny. Claims that she was also abusive. Smokey Robinson accused of abuse and assault. One feels the case might be waived away or charges will be dropped. These are not the only cases over the past week weeks of men in the music disgracing the industry. Fans that defend these artists showing a real ugly side. Women coming out of this worst. In terms of how little support they are given and how they are often seen as to blame. As I said, I cannot really articulate this sense of anger and disgust so many people feel. I just had to put something down! I am not sure what the solution is and how the music industry can react. However, with this desperate need for #MeToo or a huge reckoning, artists like Diddy should be cancelled.

IN THIS PHOTO: Megan Thee Stallion

I mean their music taken off streaming services, never played and they need to lose any management, sponsorship, privilege or right they had! The same goes for Chris Brown and Smokey Robinson and any other artist in the spotlight. It is not good enough that they are accused and then allowed to thrive still. Though R. Kelly’s imprisonment is an example of justice being served – though his sentence feels fair too light -, we keep seeing cases of sexual abuse, assault, trafficking and racketeering. Women like Cassie Ventura, Halle Bailey, Megan Thee Stallion speaking out. It is an urgent and desperate moment where something needs to be done. There needs to be action, outage and protest. A reckoning! Women given a lot more support, respect and protection. The industry needs to come down with an iron foot! It is a moment when collective action needs to happen so that we do not keep seeing this pattern unfold. Of men in the industry darkening music’s name. Of women having to recount disturbing details and subjected to abuse. Greater punishment of these men. Consequences that should shake the industry! We are past the point of return when it comes to overlooking it or not taking things that seriously. It is a crisis point where we ask

WHERE do we go from here?!

FEATURE: Feminist Icons: Gloria Steinem

FEATURE:

 

 

Feminist Icons

PHOTO CREDIT: Caitlin Ochs for The New York Times

Gloria Steinem

__________

THIS feature is about…

IN THIS PHOTO: Amy Yip, Gloria Steinem, and Saad Amer at Steinem’s Upper East Side apartment for her ninety-first birthday in March (West Coast-based gallery ILY2 gathered influential creative women together at the feminist icon’s apartment)/PHOTO CREDIT: Mike Vitelli/BFA.com

celebrating and spotlighting iconic feminists whose words and work have and continue to inspire. So far, I have discussed amazing women like Michelle Obama, Caitlin Moran and Yara Shahidi. Today, one of the most influential and notable feminists who has ever lived, Gloria Steinem, is in my thoughts. Steinem emerged as a recognised leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late-1960s and early-1970s. I am going to come to some fairly recent interviews with Gloria Steinem. Before that, I am going to get to some biography about a hugely important feminist figure. Someone whose has had an incredible career and life:

“From her humble Ohio childhood, Gloria Steinem grew up to become an acclaimed journalist, trailblazing feminist, and one of the most visible, passionate leaders and spokeswomen of the women’s rights movement in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

Steinem was born on March 25, 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, the second child and daughter of Leo and Ruth Steinem. Her father worked as a traveling salesman. In 1944, her parents divorced, leaving a young Steinem to take care of her mentally ill mother in Toledo. After graduating high school, her sister came to care for their mother, and Steinem attended Smith College in Massachusetts where she studied government. She graduated magna cum laude in 1956 and earned the Chester Bowles Fellowship, which enabled her to spend two years studying and researching in India. Her time abroad inspired an interest in grassroots activism, which would later manifest itself in her work with the women’s liberation movement and the Equal Rights Amendment.

Steinem started her professional career as a journalist in New York, writing freelance pieces for various publications. Getting plumb assignments was tough for women in the late 1950s and 1960s, when men ran the newsrooms and women were largely relegated to secretarial and behind-the-scenes research roles. Steinem’s early articles tended to be for what was then called “the women’s pages,” lifestyle or service features about such female-centered or fashion topics as nylon stockings. Steinem once recalled that, “When I suggested political stories to The New York Times Sunday Magazine, my editor just said something like, ‘I don’t think of you that way.’”

Undeterred, Steinem pushed on, seeking more substantial social and political reporting assignments. She gained national attention in 1963 when Show magazine hired her to go undercover to report on the working conditions at Hugh Hefner’s Playboy Club. While Steinem’s expose—“I Was a Playboy Bunny”—revealed the not-so-glamorous, sexist, and underpaid life of the bunny/waitresses, Steinem struggled to be taken seriously as a journalist after this assignment. She worked hard to make a name for herself, and in 1968, she helped found New York magazine, where she became an editor and political writer.

At New York magazine, Steinem reported on political campaigns and progressive social issues, including the women’s liberation movement. In fact, Steinem first spoke publicly in 1969 at a speak-out event to legalize abortion in New York State, where she shared the story of the abortion she had overseas when she was 22 years old. The event proved life-changing, sparking Steinem’s feminism and engagement with the women’s movement. She attended and spoke at numerous protests and demonstrations, and her strong intellect and good looks made her an in-demand media guest and movement spokesperson.

In 1970, feminist activists staged a take-over of Ladies Home Journal, arguing that the magazine only offered articles on housekeeping but failed to cover women’s rights and the women’s movement. Steinem soon realized the value of a women’s movement magazine, and joined forces with journalists Patricia Carbine and Letty Cottin Pogrebin to found Ms. Magazine. It debuted in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine. In 1972, Ms. became an independent, regular circulation magazine. Steinem remained an editor and writer for the magazine for the next fifteen years and continues in an emeritus capacity to the present.

Steinem’s life has been dedicated to the cause of women’s rights, as she led marches and toured the country as an in-demand speaker. In 1972, Steinem and feminists such as Congresswoman Bella Abzug, Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, and feminist Betty Friedan formed the National Women’s Political Caucus. It continues to support gender equality and to ensure the election of more pro-equality women to public office. Other organizations Steinem has co-founded in her vast career include the Women’s Action Alliance (1971), which promotes non-sexist, multi-racial children’s education; the Women’s Media Center (2004) to promote positive images of women in media; Voters for Choice (1977), a prochoice political action committee; and the Ms. Foundation for Women. In the 1990s, she helped establish Take Our Daughters to Work Day, the first national effort to empower young girls to learn about career opportunities.

In 2000, at age 66, the long single Steinem married for the first time in a Cherokee ceremony in Oklahoma. Her husband, entrepreneur and activist David Bale, sadly died of lymphoma four years later.

An award-winning and prolific writer, Steinem has authored several books, including a biography on Marilyn Monroe, and the best-selling My Life on the Road. Her work has also been published and reprinted in numerous anthologies and textbooks. In 2013, President Barack Obama presented her with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor. In her honor, in 2017, Rutgers University created The Gloria Steinem Endowed Chair in Media, Culture, and Feminist Studies”.

I am going to end with a bit of discussion around her books. You can visit her official website, where there is a wealth of information and links. Looking on her website, I was not aware of the invaluable and wonderful Gloiria’s Foundation:

“Honoring the lifelong work of feminist icon Gloria Steinem, Gloria’s Foundation is dedicated to advancing the feminist movement. Our immediate goal is to preserve and maintain Gloria’s iconic three-story Manhattan apartment—a historic hub of activism, creativity, and community.

As Gloria herself said:

“My apartment isn’t just a home; it’s a political center. It’s where people have come to feel safe, and I hope it can continue as a sanctuary for the feminist movement.”

Since 1968, this beloved brownstone has housed feminist leaders, thinkers, and organizers. From the birth of Ms. Magazine to grassroots meetings that shaped the feminist movement, this space is more than a home—it’s a cornerstone of feminist history. Our mission is to preserve this legacy for future generations, safeguarding both the space and its role in advancing feminist causes”.

I would urge everyone to check out Gloria Steinem’s written work. An icon, activist and inspiring leader who has been this catalyst for change. Living in America now under the leadership of Donald Trump, I do wonder what she thinks. As someone who fights for women’s body autonomy and rights, it must be a frustrating and scary time for her. Women have fewer rights now than they did decades ago. The first interview I want to come to is related to Marianne Schnall’s book, What Will It Take to Make A Woman President?: Conversations About Women, Leadership and Power. Endorsed by Beyoncé – who said it is a book that will make you become a better leader –, Gloria Steinem contributed an essay. As the book was published in 2013, the U.S. has taken a step back in terms of female representation in its highest office. However, I think there are some interesting observations from Gloria Steinem and Marianne Schnall:

“Marianne Schnall: Why do you think it is that we have not yet had a woman president?

Gloria Steinem: One reason is that women weren’t citizens from 1776 through the constitutional amendment [in 1920]. We were possessions, like tables and chairs. So there was not the opportunity [for women] to own property, to have the right to one’s own earnings, to have the right to your own children. You could be forcibly returned to a violent husband. You were property, literally, like a thing. And the laws of slavery were modeled on the laws affecting wives, so that takes care of the long time through the 1920s [laughs].

And since then, we have been overcoming legal barriers. For instance, women couldn’t sit on juries, law schools didn’t accept women, or accepted a small percentage of women when I was growing up. When I would have gone to law school, Harvard accepted no women and Columbia accepted 5 percent. So those are just symbolic areas, but they’re illustrative, real, powerful barriers.

There are also what are called cultural barriers, but I’m not sure we should call them cultural, because it seems to me what affects men is called political and what affects women is called cultural. So the idea that only women could raise children meant that also when this wave of feminism began in the seventies and we began to try to elect women, there were two frequent questions of women candidates. One: If you don’t have children, why not? And two: If you do have children, why aren’t you home with them?

The deeper problem is that we are still raised as children, mainly by women, so we associate female authority with childhood. We, as women, have our own example to go by, so sometimes we change—although there are also women who don’t think that female authority is appropriate to public life. But it’s more likely to be men, and I think we saw it in the response to Hillary in 2008 when big, grown-up, otherwise adult television commentators were saying things like, “I cross my legs when I see her. She reminds me of my first wife, standing outside alimony court.” People who would not ever say such things, normally, were saying them about Hillary, because, I would guess, deep down they felt regressed by a powerful woman. The last time they saw one they were six years old.

“It’s important for the whole country that we are able to choose from all of our talent, otherwise we lower our standards.”

MS: What a conundrum for women, though. Because if women who are confident or ambitious or powerful or in positions of leadership are seen as unlikable, how can women be accepted and respected as leaders?

GS: You do it anyway. You just go forward, and you end up changing the image eventually, and you may take a lot of punishment along the way. But I do think that now we could elect a woman as president, because of the bravery of a lot of women, especially Hillary. But Shirley Chisholm also took the WHITE MALE ONLY sign off of the White House door all by herself. 

MS: I feel like this whole conversation sometimes gets reframed incorrectly as a men versus women conversation, that it’s some type of competition. Why would electing a woman as president be important?

GS: It’s important because we need the talent of the whole country, not just a small percentage of it. Once at Ms. Magazine we tried to figure out the talent pool from which we were choosing presidents. First you eliminated half the country, the females. Then you eliminated by class, race—because obviously Obama had not yet been elected. Anyway, we ended up with 6 percent. So it’s important for the whole country that we are able to choose from all of our talent, otherwise we lower our standards.

Secondly, gender is still a social force, so it’s still probably true, not always, but probably true that women are somewhat less likely to choose an aggressive solution and more likely to choose a conciliatory one. Not that a conciliatory one is always right, but it’s just that it tends to be the least present in public life….

Men are made to feel that they have to earn their masculinity and to sometimes get into an extreme cult of masculinity that requires control and violence. Cesar Chavez used to say, “We want to rescue the executioner from being the executioner, as well as the victim from being the victim.”

MS: Sometimes I think we’re talking not in literal gender terms, but conceptually, where sometimes feminine values like cooperation and care and empathy and compassion are seen as soft or weak, rather than part of the full circle of human qualities.

GS: But that’s just because masculinity is perceived as superior, necessary, inevitable, conquering, winning—all those things.

MS: When I interviewed Michael Kimmel, he said that it is really important to make sure that this conversation is not anti-men—that men not only lately are being there to support women, they understand why it would be helpful to the world to have more women in these positions, but also to free themselves.

GS: I’ve forgotten who said, “The woman a man most fears is the woman inside himself.”

MS: I feel like Obama does have what you might call more “feminine” traits, in terms of being conciliatory and showing how important family is to him—

GS: I think we ought to forget about talking about masculine and feminine altogether; we should talk about humans.

MS: There are many other countries who have already elected female heads of state, and the United States is ninetieth in the world in terms of women in national legislatures. What do these other countries know that we don’t, and why is the United States lagging so far behind?

GS: There are a variety of reasons and they all function in different ways. One is there’s more power in this country. It’s still the dominant power in the world, so there’s more competition for these jobs. One is that we are multi-racial, and racism always increases sexism because you have to maintain control of women and reproduction in order to maintain racial difference. So one-race countries, generally speaking, as the Scandinavian example, for instance, have slightly less motivation to remain sexist.

Another is that we are big and decentralized, so social reform has to take place fifty times, whereas in France or Sweden or Finland it only takes place once in the national legislature”.

It is a shame there has not been another portrayal of her life and work. Something from the last few years. A modern-day film or T.V. series where she is the centre of the piece or part of an ensemble. The feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s and being right at the heart of things. There was a 2020 film, The Glorias, that Steinem was not a fan of. There was a T.V. series in 2020, Mrs. America, that found more favourable reviews, though I am not entirely sure whether Gloria Steinem was a big fan of that. She was portrayed in that series by Rose Byrne (who was exceptional). I think it was a more even portrait than The Glorias and got a better reaction. It would be interesting if there was a film that took a lead from Mrs. America where Gloria Steinem consulted. Cate Blanchett was exceptional as Phyllis Schlafly in Mrs America. I wanted to take from The Guardian’s review of the series:

“There’s a common and familiar theme of principles versus practicality in these stories. Byrne, in particular, is excellent as Steinem, the media darling of independent womanhood grappling with her role as a leader who instinctively attracts publicity. Aduba’s Chisholm, the first black woman to run for president in 1972, is a deep well of unfathomable confidence and frustration at the compromises made for progress. Margo Martindale takes no prisoners as Representative Bella Abzug, an organizer of the National Women’s Political Caucus, and Elizabeth Banks pinch-hits as Jill Ruckelshaus, a Republican feminist alarmed by the rise of Schlafly’s far-right strain in her party. Feminist-focusing moments speak to contemporary struggles at coalition building, such as how a space like Steinem’s Ms Magazine is less amenable to black feminists like editor Margaret Sloan (Bria Henderson) than its utopian vision admits.

And punch for punch there’s Schlafly, the focus of the first episode and, for lack of a better term, humanized anti-hero of the show’s feminist vision. Mrs America takes pains to color in the black-and-white dichotomy – Schlafly and her Eagle Forum bad, feminists good – with which most viewers will probably enter. In Washington, Schlafly is cut off from her missile strategy spiel by a congressman who wants her to take notes; the men continue without her as she fetches a pen. She comes home to her husband Fred (John Slattery) weary; he wants to have sex, she doesn’t. Guess who wins out”.

Tied to the release of The Glorias in 2020, Gloria Steinem took questions from twenty-five formidable fans and friends. This was from Interview Magazine. I am not including all of the twenty-five questions, though there are six that really caught my eye so I want to bring them in now. It is interesting what Steinem says in her answers:

“JULIANNE MOORE: I am so impressed and inspired by your patience and tolerance, and how thoughtfully you have instigated change. Which female leader have you found most inspiring, and why?

STEINEM: The problem is that most people won’t know the female leaders I tend to find inspiring. I’m thinking, for instance, of Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay from India. She was a great leader of the independence movement and of the women’s movement, and just incredibly foresighted. But there are different ways of leading. I think of Alice Walker, because she is so true in her writing that she helps everyone who reads her—or knows her, or knows anything about her—be true to themselves.

AMANDLA STENBERG: How does your practice transmute as the language of gender expands?

STEINEM: Oh, language can easily go beyond gender. We just have to rethink and abandon labels. We can refer to somebody by their name without saying, or having to say, where they come from, or what gender or race they are, but by the fact that they are a unique human being named Dorothy or Vladimir. I also think that COVID-19 has helped us go beyond adjectives, because the pandemic doesn’t recognize, and is not limited by, race or class or gender or nationality. I think it’s helping us realize that we are all human.

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON: As a Member of Congress, I would appreciate your advice on which of many issues Congress should flag for attention next year because of its importance or because the issue is most achievable in the short run.

STEINEM: First, I trust you to know the answer to this question better than I do. You are way more knowledgeable about the art of the possible, especially in Congress. If we look at the most basic issue, in the sense that it is the first step in hierarchy, it is controlling women’s bodies as the means of reproduction, which is redoubled if there is racism, because then there’s far more motive to decide what groups increase and what groups don’t. The first step in every hierarchy I’ve ever witnessed or read about is patriarchy. It is about controlling women’s bodies, since we happen to have one thing that men do not: wombs. So I would say that the first step toward true democracy is for everyone, men and women, to have decision-making power over our own bodies. If we focus on that, all else will follow.

IN THIS PHOTO: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez/PHOTO CREDIT:  David Pexton/The New Yorker

JOY REID: With the Equal Rights Amendment so close to having enough states ratify it, but with women having made so many advances since the days when you launched Ms. magazine, what, in your view, would materially change for women if the ERA became a constitutional amendment?

STEINEM: Everything. To be present in the Constitution would make an enormous difference. So much would change if sex discrimination rose to that level. Also, we would join every other democracy in the world that includes women in its Constitution.

ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ: How have you seen the role of intersectionality in feminism evolve over the years? It seems as though in this moment, many people are revisiting the work of feminists like yourself, Angela Davis, Dolores Huerta, and the Combahee River Collective. How does this moment compare to the beginning of your career?

STEINEM: I agree that we’re rediscovering the beginnings of this wave of feminism, and they were always intersectional. I learned feminism mostly from Black women. I learned organizing from Dolores Huerta. Of course there are divisions in the movement, but the problem is less the divisions than the blindness and inadequacy of history. There was an assumption on the part of journalists—and newspapers are the first draft of history—that the Women’s Movement was white, and the Civil Rights movement was male, and therefore women of color, Black women especially, were not well recorded in either.

SHARON STONE: How have you dealt with the straight male need to control you by not only diminishing your accomplishments but by intentionally choosing to not respond to your emotional needs because they were threatened by your independence?

STEINEM: I left. I left and found another man”.

There is one more interview I want to get to before wrapping up. It is another from 2020 and this if from The New York Times Magazine. Again, inspired by The Glorias – though they note how Gloria Steinem has been portrayed on stage and screen a few times recently -, it makes me wonder whether there will be any new shows or films where we see Gloria Steinem portrayed once more:

“In just the past two years, Gloria Steinem has had her life dramatized three times. First onstage in New York in “Gloria: A Life”; then on television in FX’s much-discussed “Mrs. America”; and finally in the director Julie Taymor’s upcoming decades-spanning film, “The Glorias,” in which America’s best-known feminist activist is portrayed by, among others, Alicia Vikander and Julianne Moore. And while her own story may have reached depiction-in-prestige-entertainment phase, Steinem, who is 86, is fully aware that both her work and the country’s work remain unfinished. “The progress we’ve made is not sufficient,” she says. “But there is an advantage to being old. I have a role to play in the movement by saying, ‘Here’s when it was worse.’”

You’ve spent countless amounts of time doing in-person activism and political organizing. But even though there has been so much energy around protests this year, activism, like everything else, has over time been shifting toward the digital world. Has the ship sailed as far as activists’ prioritizing physical over online communication? I think the ship has never sailed.

I guess “the ship has sailed” is a strange expression. The ship staying in port doesn’t really sound better. [Expletive] the ship. I’m swimming.

Steinem and the activist Dorothy Pitman Hughes in a 1971 photograph taken for Esquire magazine. Dan Wynn Archive and Farmani Group

Spoken like a true optimist, and I imagine that optimism is necessary when you devote your life to activism. Given that you’ve done that, how do you wrap your head around this moment, which in so many ways is one of regress? For example, no matter what happens in November, because of the way different courts have been stacked, there could still be huge rollbacks in abortion rights, birth control, voting rights. We’ve paid, as movements, more attention to Washington than to state legislatures, and we see the penalty for that. Tactically we could have done better. But we are at a point of a backlash because we are winning. The most dangerous time is after a victory — eight years of Obama and moving forward and the fact that now most Americans agree with what social-justice movements have been saying. But what that means is that 40 percent of the country feels deprived of their position in an old hierarchy, and they’re in full backlash.

What are you looking at beyond public-opinion polls when you say “we’re winning”? I’m mainly thinking about public-opinion polls, which are the most general measure we have. The issues that were once the concerns only of social-justice movements, whether it was female equality or gay marriage, have journeyed from being the concern of an insurgent movement to being a majority view. That heartens me. I understand that it doesn’t have a positive impact on the people who don’t agree, but it is a fact.

What do you think it is about you that has allowed you to have an impact? I know that in the early days people used to lazily point to your attractiveness as an explanation for the attention you got, but what deeper qualities helped you become a leader? I don’t understand it. I thought I understood in the beginning because I realized that as a journalist I had written articles about the movement, and so I would be asked to speak about it. But I really don’t know. I suppose it’s partly because I’m a full-time movement worker, which most people can’t be because they have another profession. That probably makes a difference. It’s also partly that no one can fire me. Most people don’t have that freedom. Maybe that plays a role. If I had to pick one reason, it’s because I have a sense of humor. That’s crucial. It allows you to laugh at yourself and say when you’re wrong. One of the things that Native American culture understands and we probably don’t is that laughter is the only emotion you can’t compel. You can’t make anybody laugh unless they want to. I suspect that the people who last the longest, who continue to be trustworthy, are people with a sense of humor.

You’ve seen a lot of political and ideological trends come and go. Are there contemporary attitudes or ideas that belong to younger activists — or even the political left generally — which you’ve found challenging to understand? I did sign a recent statement about cancel culture. I was — and am — concerned about what seems to me a function of being on the web too much and focusing on words more than actions. You’re saying exactly the right thing or not, and people are responding with hostility instead of an invitation. Instead of being against a specific act or statement or article, you’re against the person who said it, and that makes no sense to me because that ends the conversation. If you care about having the conversation, surely you want to try in a humane way to convince the other person, not do away with them.

People have tried to cancel you before. What have you learned about the best way to mitigate those kinds of attacks? It’s important to learn from criticism. We all [expletive] up. If and when the criticism bears no resemblance to reality, then we have to move forward and understand it comes with the territory. Part of what may seem unfamiliar to some people is because we’ve been raised with this patriarchal, racist idea of normalcy. Those of us who are not obeying those past ideas may seem to be unnatural.

Did you follow all the hubbub around that cancel-culture letter you signed? I was asked to sign the letter, and I signed it. I believed in the letter, so I thought, Fine. I didn’t read any of the response because I knew that it was going to be mixed. But if someone has a problem with it, then start another letter. There should be lots of letters. The most painful criticism or attacks come from people who share your values, not people who don’t share your values. If Trump spoke well of me, I would shoot myself.

Have you ever met the president? It’s interesting you ask that. I did, a very long time ago. I was raising money for something, as usual, and I went to see him. He was sitting on the other side of the desk, and he praised me to the skies in a way that made me know he didn’t have a clue who I was. Then he gave me a very small check.”

Even though the interviews I included are from five years ago, Gloria Steinem remains active and very busy. I would love to see her writing celebrated and made the centre of an exhibition. Something in London to honour her. Whether an exhibition or something else. There is this excellent article about Steinem’s underrated book, The Beach. When Steinem turns ninety-one in March, Glamour noted how “Steinem has proven that women can not only care deeply about the way they dress, but use clothing as a powerful force for change”. There is this article that covered Steinem’s recent birthday and how she used that occasion to mix activism and art (“West Coast-based gallery ILY2 gathered influential creative women together at the feminist icon’s Upper East Side apartment”).

IN THIS PHOTO: Gloria Steinem in 1979/PHOTO CREDIT: Sara Krulwich/The New York Times

I want to close with some recent writing from Gloria Steinem. She wrote an article for Harper’s Bazaar in January. As part of their series where they celebrate adventure at all ages and highlight the importance of taking risks and pushing boundaries, they spoke with Steinem. She wrote how we all need to “embrace an 'on-the-road' mindset”:

“For me, it wasn’t that I was making a decision for the distant future – or at least, at the time I didn’t think it was. It was just day-by-day or year-by-year decisions which turned out to be the whole future. I had been drawn to women who were leading their own lives, and being with them gave me a bigger sense of what was possible. That’s not to say that children spell the end of adventure for their parents. I may not have my own children, but I have them in my life, and they seem to have a sense of adventure that sometimes grown-ups have lost. Just asking children what they think, what they want to do, what they hope for their future can help restore our own sense of adventure.

Over my own long life, I have also learned that not everyone is a nomad. In fact, many people prefer to stay mostly at or at least close to home. It’s also true that it’s less safe for a woman to go on the road than it is for a man, yet at the same time, home remains the least safe place for women. I have long had my own permanent home in New York, a city I love, and more and more I am enjoying staying put. I have lived more than 50 years on two floors of brownstone, in rooms that have witnessed lives before mine, and will know others after I am gone.

Since we’re communal animals, it helps to find at least one other person who shares our hopes and ideas for the future. For me, that used to be externally, on the road. Now, it’s more and more who comes to visit – after all, we are social animals. In fact, being deprived of human companionship is one of the worst punishments of all. Whether we are related by blood or by ideas on distant sides of the world, whether we have been divided by species, war, religion, race or class, we are all co-passengers on Spaceship Earth.

"Adventure means attempting something new, something where the goal or even ending is not clear"

Age hasn’t stopped me from living the way I want – in fact, perhaps, it is the opposite. The prescription of the ‘feminine’ role is mostly for the central years of life. It’s why women are said to be more free before we are 10 or after we are 50 or 60. We can appreciate that freedom, and try to bring it into the central years of life. Adventure means attempting something new, something where the goal or even ending is not clear. That’s an important way of staying open and not being the prisoner of our predictions. Stay open to the moment, even if it goes beyond your plan. Let possibilities become realities”.

I am going to stop there. I have tried to cram a lot in (there are videos like this, this, and this that you should watch). However, when it comes to feminist icons, there are few as important, prominent and inspiring than Gloria Steinem. She is nine years shy of her one-hundredth birthday, and you know that she will continue to campaign, write and influence. We do hope that she can comment on America post-Trump and the Republicans. Maybe she will live to see a woman become President in the U.S., though one wonders whether that will ever happen. Having inspiring and changed the life of countless women, there is no doubting Gloria Steinem’s key place in history. I hope that I have managed to do her…

JUSTICE here.

FEATURE: Some Say That Knowledge Is Something That You Never Have: Can You Ever Know Everything About Kate Bush?

FEATURE:

 

 

Some Say That Knowledge Is Something That You Never Have

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush performing in London in 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: Adrian Boot/urbanimage.tv 

Can You Ever Know Everything About Kate Bush?

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THERE is no real hierarchy…

when it comes to Kate Bush and who knows the most. There are experts out there I would definitely defer to and know have this deep knowledge of Kate Bush. I think, no matter how much of your life you spend studying Kate Bush, you will always learn something new. I have spoken about this before. How there is going to be information or facts that pass you by. One of the reasons for reviving this topic is my own knowledge. Whether I know as much as I thought or should. I know I write about Kate Bush all of the time and a lot of people do come to me. Maybe it is memory or the inability to retain everything. I recently was involved in filming for part of a French documentary about Kate Bush. I was able to speak a bit about Kate Bush at East Wickham Farm and how the nature and environment around influenced her. Why it was important. However, there were some things that I did not know and a few questions asked where I could not recall the answer right away – and had to look them up later. Including David Gilmour and whether Kate Bush visited his studio before 1975 (she did). This is information that I did know but seemed to blank at the time. Also, there are some things I have written that I have been corrected about. I guess this is only natural. Like when did Kate Bush really write The Man with the Child in His Eyes. A few facts about her songs and dates in her career. There are fan accounts on Twitter that I am constantly amazed by. Daily Kate Bush is a young Kate Bush fan who posts information and insight. Stuff about various songs and moments in her career. Some stuff that I did not know or forgot.

Not that I should know everything or am the leading authority on Kate Bush – as I am not! I suppose it is about pragmatism and the fact that nobody really can truly get to the heart of Kate Bush. However, I have been wondering whether my knowledge base is as wide and deep as it should be. When I post features, it is good that people share them and get something out of them. However, the fact that I learn so much from other people makes me wonder whether I have done enough or know enough. It may sound ridiculous. However, when I see a fact or something posted I did not know, I often ask myself how that passed me by! I have read pretty much every book about Kate Bush. I have tried to retain as much as possible from that. I do a lot of research on various websites. I do wonder whether there are avenues and corners that I have not navigated, as every day I get to learn something new. I do know that there are many who will always know more about Kate Bush than me, but I kind of feel like I need a refresher course or there needs to be this new website or resource where we can add information and share stuff. Rather than dwell on it or wonder whether I have done enough, it is all about learning and collaboration. It is always impressive that there are fans younger than me who know so much about Kate Bush!. Learning from them. Whether it is an account like Daily Kate Bush or another fan account, that dedication and commitment is to be applauded. I don’t think Kate Bush is discussed as much as she should be. In terms of people writing about her and there being this wider discussion. I guess she has not released new music in a long time, though she is an artist who continues to influence artists. There still being this perception of her and a certain narrative that has not shifted since her career began.

I am going to wrap things up in a little bit. I think my aim going forward is to explore Kate Bush more. Ask fans where they get their information from. Learning as much as I can so that I can not only write more features and expand my knowledge. It is also good to chat with these fans and get to know them better. There is this great community that dedicate so much of their life to Kate Bush. Perhaps it does come down to memory and fallibility. Not being able to recall things not the same as not knowing them. It does motivate me to think about Kate Bush in a new way. I think I have been reading the same books and not really going deeper. Maybe dong some collaborative features in the future. Using my platform to diversify. I don’t think I will ever do a regular podcast. What I mean is going beyond features. Maybe something a bit more interactive. It is has been both humbling and inspiring following Kate Bush fans and discovering things I did not know before. Rather than ask these people how they know various things about Kate Bush – as it is quite impressive and I need to do better myself -, I will take it as an opportunity build my knowledge base. It takes me back to that question as to whether we can ever know everything about Kate Bush. Even those who have written books about her must have those gaps. I clearly do when it comes to things. There is scope for new Kate Bush webpages. Where this rare or lesser-known information can go. A chance too to shout out to those superfans who are online and posting photos and facts about this iconic artist. Rather than see a ‘lack of knowledge’ about Kate Bush as a weakness or something to punish myself over, maybe it is…

A good thing.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Revisited: Jalen Ngonda

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight: Revisited

Jalen Ngonda

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BACK in 2023…

was the first time that I featured the terrific Jalen Ngonda. I included him in my Spotlight feature in 2023. The U.S.-born, U.K.-based artist is someone I have been a fan of for a while now. One of the most sensational voices out there. Reminiscent of some of the Soul greats, his music instantly leaves an impression. Even though there has not been that many singles put out in the past year, this is a period where Ngonda is putting out new stuff and this is his next phase. In the middle of a tour right now, go and see him perform live if you can. I am not sure whether there is a new album coming this year. His 2023 debut, Come Around and Love Me, won acclaim and showcased this brilliant young talent who is going to be around for years to come. I want to start out with a 2024 interview from The Independent, where we get an introduction to an artist who already has played Glastonbury and released a debut album that has seen him compared to some true greats:

“A gorgeous collection of sepia-toned soul, R&B, rock and doo-wop, it’s the perfect vehicle for his extraordinary vocals. Reminiscent of Marvin Gaye or Smokey Robinson, it’s smooth and supple, sliding across buttery melodies and lifting to a mellifluous falsetto. Songs such as “If You Don’t Want My Love” are backed by jangly guitars and shuffling percussion; “What a Difference She Made” – a romantic ode to “a girl with curly hair… and rainbow flares” – pairs celestial harmonies with sunshine-bright piano notes.

Born and raised in the Washington, DC suburb of Wheaton, Ngonda relocated to Liverpool in 2014 to study at the Institute for Performing Arts and has lived there since. The move was something of a culture shock initially, but it wasn’t long before he was calling the city home. “I love the people, I love the Scouse-ness… it’s also the perfect-sized city, where you don’t feel too trapped but it’s not overwhelming, either,” he says. Its thriving music scene and rich history (think The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers, and The La’s) are obvious draws: “Liverpool is the ideal place for me and has been for the past 10 years.”

When we speak, though, he’s back in Maryland visiting family, in the same neighbourhood where he went to school and jumped fences to get to a friend’s house. He describes it as an “average American” suburb, albeit one of the more diverse parts of Maryland. “There’s a big Latino population, African Americans, Jewish… there are lots of different cultures, music, food,” he says. “I felt lucky growing up here.”

It was there that he discovered his love of Motown, aged 11, listening to his father’s record collection. From the moment Ngonda heard the opening guitar licks and strolling bass of “My Girl” by The Temptations, he was hooked. “It revamped my mind, and I became an instant nerd,” he says now, adding with a laugh, “Well, I was already a nerd, but a bigger nerd.” Ngonda would beg his parents to take him to the mall to buy more Motown CDs. They scrimped and saved for his first guitar, a Fender Squier, and he taught himself how to play while singing along to his favourite tunes.

Still, Ngonda didn’t think of himself as a singer. “I wouldn’t dare to sing with someone in the house because I just felt too embarrassed,” he says. It’s not hard to believe – Ngonda is far from a showy performer and veers into self-deprecation when talking about his own music.

“When I sang, it was because I loved the song, or if I was in the choir at church,” he says. Ngonda played the drums at church when he was 15; a year later, he was playing the organ in different churches around town. It was only after his mum caught him singing to The Supremes that he entered a school talent show where he belted Stevie Wonder’s triumphant “Uptight (Everything’s Alright)” and “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” by The Temptations. He danced, he sang, he did the splits.

“I shocked everybody,” he recalls, laughing at the memory. “Including my classmates, who had no idea I was even musical.” Newly confident, he joined a few bands in high school and started to write his music; he’s now working on the follow-up to Come Around and Love Me.

Ngonda arrived at his parents’ house from New York, where he was working on yet more songwriting. I wonder if being back in the US has heightened his awareness of the looming election; Ngonda says you can see Capitol Hill from certain buildings in his hometown.

“There’s always an atmosphere in America,” he says, with an air of resignation. “Whatever happens [in the election], America is going to be America. I think you have to go to a deeper place if you really want to change things – you’ve got to start in your own town.” I tell him his comments echo those made by pop singer Chappell Roan, who instead of endorsing a presidential candidate encouraged fans to use their “critical thinking skills” and “vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city”.

“People are so focused on what’s going on in DC, but they’re not worried about what’s going on in their local community. It starts there,” Ngonda says before stopping himself, “– but that’s a whole other conversation.”

To date, his songs have steered clear of politics, in keeping with the era of music he emulates. “[Most of the] songs from that time were love songs,” he says. “It’s the most human thing to talk about.” This is not to say he’ll only ever write love songs: “That’s just where I’m at, and I don’t want to force myself to write something I can’t feel”.

I am going to get to a more recent chat with Jalen Ngonda soon. First, if you have not heard his latest single, Just As Long as We’re Together, then give it a listen. One of his best records to date. I know we will hear more from Ngonda as the year goes on. Before getting back to another interview, DIY spotlighted the newest release from the fabulous Jalen Ngonda:

“Modern soul powerhouse Jalen Ngonda has shared new single ‘Just As Long As We’re Together’ - a smooth, heartfelt number that was brought to life when he took a trip back to his hometown of Wheaton, Maryland, to visit his family.

Setting his striking, Motown-esque vocals against a backdrop of sumptuous, sunny instrumentation, ‘Just As Long As We’re Together’ acts as a follow up to Jalen’s 2023 debut album ‘Come Around And Love Me’, and lands just as he concludes his sold-out tour of the UK at London’s Roundhouse this evening.

But if you didn’t manage to nab tickets this time, never fear - he’ll be back on the road for a run of festivals and support slots this Summer, before headlining another batch of UK venues in the Autumn. Check out Jalen’s full upcoming live schedule and hear his new single for yourself down below”.

Jalen Ngonda has also been championed by Elton John. Someone with an eye for spotting the best new talent, it all bodes well for an artist who built his fanbase and is growing his sound. I will be interested to see what his second studio album sounds like. Before getting to a new interview, there is one from CLASH from last year that you need to check out. I have selected a few sections from it:

“Debut album ‘Come Around And Love’ reflects those instruments, but it feels totally natural. This isn’t a time capsule – it’s the document of his experiences, marked by each passing day. “Also, I’m signed to Daptone – and they love that music,” he points out. “Maybe if I hadn’t signed to them it would sound like something else. But when you strip it down, my songs aren’t all that different to other songs coming out right now – they all talk about love, sadness, the heat of the summertime.”

The timeless nature of truly gifted songwriting is something he aspires to. A great song can make an impact on lives in other decades, creating points of connection that transcend the barriers of time and place. “That’s the whole point,” he says. “You get great songs from any decade, any century. Look at the jazz standards from the 30s, and how they’ve lasted. I think the 60s just had certain technological advances, and people were hearing that for the first time. And there was so much change – from songwriting to instruments to Civil Rights and the Vietnam War. There was so much happening at once. And because of that those songs will be remembered for a long time, possibly for centuries – the same way we remember Beethoven and Mozart.”

Jalen Ngonda is part of a new wave of soul artists who are breaking out of their niche. The streaming numbers for groups like Thee Sacred Souls are astonishing, and Jalen is following suit – the new soul generation are going global, gaining a huge audience in the process. “It’s a combination of many things. I guess it came out on a label that’s popular – Daptone is a pretty looked-at label in the soul world. But it’s maybe a combination of me playing, social media, and it’s just exposure, really. It’s down to exposure. I’m one of millions of artists who are putting music out – it’s down to who you work with, your team. If everyone works hard at once then things happen. And my duty is to write the catchiest stuff possible. I always intend to write something catchy, and for people to relate to it. Lord knows why things happen… but I’m very grateful. And it inspires me to keep doing it.”

CLASH caught Jalen Ngonda’s KOKO set, and it was an inspiring evening of soulful communion. For the American-born star, the connection he gets from live performance means everything. “It’s a good feeling. I put my bag at the door, and it’s all about the music. It’s an hour and 15 of pure humanness. Everyone’s together, we’re all looking in one direction. We’re intertwined. It’s a good feeling to be onstage, sharing music. When you look out and catch someone’s eye, and they sigh to a lyric, it shows that we’re all human, we’re all together, experiencing the same thing.”

His story is still continuing. Take recent single ‘Here To Stay’ – already a staple of his live sets, and sought-after by DJs itching to play his music to soul clubs. “It’s three months old to the audience but it’s five years old to me,” he laughs. “I wrote it back in 2019 with my dear friend Adam Kay. It was the second song we wrote together. It began as a backing track – we wrote the instrumentation first. He’d pick up the bass, I’d play guitar… we’d get chord progressions together. We built the track up, and we experimented with different melodies. I wrote the lyrics like two days later – I’d been listening to a lot of Smokey Robinson, Mary Wells type stuff. It’s got this low rider, sweet soul feel. I had those sounds in mind, and that’s what came out”.

I am going to end with an interview from Liverpool Echo from earlier in the year. Jalen Ngonda’s new home, it seemed like the city called to him. I discovered him back in 2023 and knew then that he would be a huge name. Someone with a long career ahead. That seems to be the case. This is an artist that you need to follow closely. An artist who, decades from now, will be mentioned as one of the true greats:

“Jalen's sound means comparisons with these legendary acts are inevitable, but describing him in simplistic terms as a 1960s throwback is doing his story a disservice, as his journey and his music are entirely his own. Although, on a surface level, the musician sounds like a product of those famed American soul cities such as Detroit, Chicago or Atlanta, it was actually in Liverpool where he found his voice and blossomed into one of the most contemporary voices in modern soul.

The Come Around and Love Me singer spoke to the ECHO in an exclusive interview about how he went from growing up in a small town, just north of Washington DC, to moving to Liverpool and selling out shows all over the world. He explained the turning point came when he was aged 19 and watched a documentary about a prestigious New York performing arts school as he plotted the next steps of how to turn his music dream into a reality.

However, it was another school across the Atlantic which captured his attention when the programme first made him aware of LIPA. He said: "It sparked interest. At the time, I was trying to go to school in either New York, Chicago, LA or Atlanta. I wasn't thinking about going to Liverpool or the UK.

"But when they mentioned the school, it just ticked a lot of boxes. I just looked it up on the internet and I was like, 'Man, this looks cool'."

Jalen reached out to the school, founded by Sir Paul McCartney, for information on how to enrol and was encouraged by its response. He told the ECHO: "They emailed and said, 'We went and checked your music out on SoundCloud. We were very impressed and highly recommend you apply.' I just picked up on that sign. That was the only time any institution had hit me up and said you should apply. I just went from there and things fell into place."

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Jalen grew up in Wheaton, Maryland and had hardly travelled outside his home state throughout his life. However, nothing was going to stand in his way of pursuing his dreams as he landed his place at LIPA and resolved to make the 3,500 mile trip to move to Liverpool.

Jalen's local community came together to make his dreams possible as his family and church united to raise the funds for a one way ticket from Maryland to Merseyside in 2014. Although the idea of uprooting your life to move to another continent aged 20 would be daunting for most, the singer saw the odyssey as a necessary step to fulfil his potential.

He told the ECHO: "The only thing I was worried about was if I wasn't going to make it. The worry I had was the doubt. No one in my area ever left, so I thought I was probably just going to be another dude that's not going to leave my area. The idea of moving to the UK felt so far fetched.

"I thought I don't know how that's going to happen, but I hope it does. I would have bad dreams of being told, 'Sorry son, you're not going to Liverpool."

Fortunately Jalen's nightmare didn't come to fruition and he made the long journey to Liverpool, by way of two culture shocks, with stopovers in Dublin and then the Isle of Man. He laughed: "I was like where the hell am I? All in a good way. I was excited".

However, he felt in more familiar surroundings the moment he arrived at John Lennon Airport as he explained: "When you fly to Liverpool airport, and you go [back into the city centre] through Garston, Smithdown and Wavertree, all that just looked like Philly or DC. Rowhouses and corner shops made me think this is just like Baltimore. This is just like home.

"Don't get me wrong, I didn't grow up in a city. I grew up in the suburbs of DC. When I went to places like the Wirral, I thought now this is like where I grew up." He joked: "I'm a wool equivalent when it comes to DC."

Before he travelled to Liverpool, Jalen already had a strong knowledge of the Merseybeat sound and he was thrilled to find a city and a culture more aligned with his musical tastes. He added: "Growing up, I was open about listening to Motown.

"Me, at 13, would get bullied for listening to my grandma's music. And that made me feel very insecure at times. When I moved to Liverpool, I remember I put on My Guy by Mary Wells [at a party] and then everyone in the room was singing along,.

"If I go out, I went to places like Heebie Jeebies and L'ago and they got The Kinks playing. I'm like, 'Is this the 60s?' This is my dream come true. That played a big part in it becoming my home."

This was world's apart from where he grew up when listening to soul and Motown went against the norm for kids his age. He said: "I feel like there was a pressure of 'Why aren't you at football?' or, 'Why aren't you at wrestling practice?' Or it was like you should rap or sing gospel music.

"I thought how about I just do soul or do what I want to do? Something changed once I moved to Liverpool and I think it was with my self esteem."

Doing what he wants has been a formula for success for Jalen as he is now looking forward to playing a hometown gig in the city so close to his heart, with a sold out show in the O2 Academy scheduled for March 12. He said: "It's always nice to play where you consider home. Because you get to go back to your gaff after the gig and you don't have to deal with any hotels.

"More importantly, it's good to play in front of people who I live amongst. Liverpool has played a very important part in my life since I was 20 years old. I may have grown up in Maryland, but I feel like a Scouser inside."

Selling out shows has now become customary for Jalen as you're unable to get a ticket for his new tour, which has just been in Australia and will be stopping off in locations such as Amsterdam, Los Angeles and Texas this year. In addition to a legion of fans, Jalen has won over a number of celebrity supporters such as Elton John and Snoop Dogg, who shared a clip of himself on social media listening to Jalen's 2023 hit, Just Like You Used To.

When he saw the Drop It Like It Hot rapper's video, Jalen said: "I didn't pinch myself. I slapped myself. I was like, 'Nah, this can't even be real.'" However, the success has not gone to Jalen's head as the love for music ignited when he first listened to his nan's soul records still burns brighter than ever, more than a decade after it prompted him to move across the Atlantic.

He said: "I have a drive. I'm never satisfied. I'm always wanting to accomplish more, not in a power sense. I don't care about the wealth side of it, I just know that I'll be very depressed if I ever run out of ideas and run out of things to write about. That has been the core reason why I'm still active and I'm still here".

I will leave things there. Go and seek out Jalen Ngonda. I wanted to revisit his work because he is someone who is growing in popularity but there are some who do not know about him. Busy on tour and with new music on the horizon, there is a lot of justified excitement around Ngonda. A scintillating live performer who is a future headliner, go and follow him and check out his music. He is going places. When you listen to his voice and immerse yourself in his music you realise that there is…

NOBODY like him.

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Follow Jalen Ngonda

Official:

https://www.jngonda.com/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/jalen_ngonda/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2kEDso93O2hDgCbnuiSkkZ?si=QHcPBEgrSKSWsDX1BH_sIA

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCy0K2V1duAqq7K8mDJA5C0g

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/officialjalenngonda/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: The Best of Late-‘90s and '00s R&B

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Toni Braxton/PHOTO CREDIT: FHM

The Best of Late-‘90s and '00s R&B

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MAYBE I have covered this…

IN THIS PHOTO: Usher

a while back, but I have been listening to a lot to R&B from the end of the 1990s and into the '00s. Most from the early part of that decade. It is a sound that we do not really have now. Rather than this being a nostalgia blast, it is instead a look back at a period of music where we got the most amazing R&B. Some of the tightest, sexiest, catchiest and smoothest jams. A really exciting alternative to a lot of the more commercial and huge Pop and other genres that were around then. I think there are some artists today who nod back to it but, as that R&B flavour of the end of the 1990s and the 2000s was so rich and has endured to this day, artists should incorporate more. Perhaps there will be a revival or updating of that sound. In any case, going back twenty-five years or so, I have combined some terrific R&B slices from the late-'90s/'00s. Maybe I have left out some obvious ones so, if there should be a song in there missing then let me know. I hope that this 1990s/2000s R&B mix gives you…

A real lift.

FEATURE: Spotlight: The Molotovs

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

The Molotovs

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AN amazing…

sibling duo whose debut single, More More More, announced them as ones to watch, this is a rare occasion where I am spotlighting a new act that are pretty much on the ground floor. The spectacular The Molotovs. Because of that lack of other music, there is very little music to put in the feature. Instead, there will be photographs and stuff from social media for the most part. The duo have some great dates coming up. The Molotovs was the name of a three-piece group that I don’t think are around anymore. However, the name has been adopted by Mathew and Issey Cartlidge. In fact, the duo were a three-piece a while ago, but they streamlined and have started this new era. I am going to come on to a couple of recent interviews with a duo that are getting a lot of electricity and excitement around them. Make sure you follow them and see them live if you can. I am starting out with selections from a NOTION feature from earlier in the year where The Molotovs picked ten records from their collection that mean a lot to them. Issey’s choices are the first two; Mathew’s are the second two:

“'Flag Day' by The Housemartins

“I’ve been obsessed with Paul Heaton’s oeuvre ever since being introduced to The Housemartins, The Beautiful South and his solo work. ‘Flag Day’ is a testament to Heaton’s writing ability, taking on such a nuanced topic such as performative activism and delivering such an eloquent attack on its superficiality. “Too many Florence Nightingales, not enough Robin Hoods,” must be one of the greatest opening lines. I love Heaton’s soaring, open vocals and how they build into a belting call for arms, underscored by his barely suppressed anger, bubbling under the track. Can’t wait to see him live on the 10th!

'Devil Gate Drive' by Suzi Quatro

It’s a shame I’ve come to Suzi Quatro’s music so late. I heard this track recently on a 1975 compilation album I picked up for 50p from a local charity shop. It features songs from Roger Daltry, Stealers Wheel and The Faces. It wouldn’t be right not to mention another female bassist on the list, and Suzi Quatro is the prototypal figure. Inspiring to hear such powerful, confident vocals from a female artist.

'What Do I Get?' by The Buzzcocks

I first discovered this song whilst going through The Buzzcocks’ John Peel session. The frantic drumming, slashing guitars, and Pete Shelly’s androgynous voice seemed really unique to me. Pete Shelly keeps the gender of his subjects anonymous in his writing which I think sets him apart from other songwriters.

'Running On The Spot' by The Jam

I chose this song primarily because of the lyrics, although I really like the descending bass line and riff over the top. It shows Weller being critical towards the apathetic attitude of his generation: “We’re just the next generation of emotionally crippled.” To me it shows how good a writer he is on a social commentator level, and how observant he can be in his songs. It’s something I admire as a songwriter”.

The group’s new single, Today’s Gonna Be Our Day, is available on 7” from 20th June. The duo have opened for the Sex Pistols, sold out a U.K. headline tour, and shut down Soho with their pop-up performance. It is evident that, even this early, they are the real deal! A duo that have the foundations to be future legends. I will end with a couple of new interviews with them. Ending with one from Rolling Stone UK. Before that, I want to drop in some of The Molotovs’ interview with Goldmine from March:

“In December of last year, the London-based band The Molotovs signed a recording deal with the independent U.K. label Marshall Records. Last month, they released their debut single. “More More More” is a terrific two-minute blast of punky power pop that brings to mind The Jam circa 1977 and Green Day circa 1994 with a dash of The Who circa 1966 thrown in for good measure. Mathew Cartlidge’s strong lead vocal is supported by his own slash-and-burn guitar work, the nimble bass playing of his sister Issey Cartlidge and thrashing drums. The single has generated good buzz, has sold well and has received airplay on U.K. rock radio stations such as Radio X and BBC Radio 6 Music.

The single’s B-side is a punked-up live cover of David Bowie’s “Suffragette City” that was recorded in London. While Bowie’s original is very well known and is a staple of classic rock radio, The Molotovs deliver a rip-roaring, fast and furious take on it that makes their version stand out very much as its own thing.

The digital version of the single includes a third track, a live version of “More More More” that was recorded in London.

Goldmine recently did a video call with the Cartlidge siblings to discuss the single and all of their other adventures that have happened over the past month. That conversation can be read below.

GOLDMINE: You made your American live debut at South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, Texas last month. What was your experience like there?

MATHEW CARTLIDGE: It was great! Hot first of all, but good. We had really responsive crowd interaction. It was our first time ever in the States, so we didn’t know what we’d be getting. But we went down really well, surprisingly. I had a good time. We had great crowds, a lot of people there. It was a really positive experience. And it was nice to be a part of that festival as well.

ISSEY CARTLIDGE: Yeah, we did three shows, up and down the iconic Sixth and Seventh Streets of Austin. So, they’ve got tons of venues all up and down those streets. We had a great time. Straight off the plane and our first gig was at 1 a.m. that night. So, we had to quickly brush off the jet leg and straight into the venue. And then, the second gig was at Mohawk. It was all very long hair, big beards, not our usual well-dressed, tailored audience. So, we didn’t know how we’d go down. But they surprisingly took to us pretty well. We were well received, so I hope we’ll be back sometime soon.

GM: Are there plans to return to North America for more live dates this year?

MC: Nothing that’s set in stone yet. But we’d like to.

IC: We’ve heard whispers. But nothing concrete.

GM: Your debut single, “More More More,” was released on March 21st. Why was the decision taken to go with “More More More” instead of another of your original songs as the first single?

MC: Well, apart from that we thought it was really good single quality and it’s a great pop song, and we thought it would do really well. We just like the song in general. We’ve had it for ages. It’s sort of a staple of our gigs, really. And it’s something that the crowd have always been singing back to us and always have responded positively to. So, it seemed really fitting to have it as the first single.

GM: The B-side of the single is your punky live cover of David Bowie’s “Suffragette City.” What kind of reaction does that get when you play it live?

IC: Mathew and I kind of have this ricochet vocal line throughout the whole thing. The instrumental break gives us a chance to kind of flesh it out with guitar and Mathew jumps about and leaps, and I’ll be swinging my hair around and what not. Everything that I can swing, I will swing. That one always gets a really good reaction from the crowd. We do a segue from our original “Newsflash” into “Suffragette City.” It’s quite intense for the audience. Our version of “Suffragette City” is kind of an incendiary take on it.

GM: The day after the release of the single, you performed an outdoor gig outside Sister Ray Records on London’s Berwick Street. It was reportedly quite a raucous scene, with a large crowd there to see you perform. What did that mean to you to perform before that enthusiastic crowd and do a signing session afterward in the record shop?

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MC: It was really exciting. It was really cool that a lot of people who hadn’t seen us and were just passing by stopped to watch. We were on for about half an hour. And they came and bought the record. So, that was really cool that people liked it so much that they went into the shop and spent their money on our debut single. We’re not exactly a band with a track record. It was really exciting. We had never done anything like that before.

IC: It was like democratizing our live performance and bringing it to the people in the street. To see the whole of Berwick Street flooded with the audience was just amazing.

GM: Did you need a permit for that gig?

MC: Probably. But we didn’t have one.

GM: So, it was a guerrilla gig?

MC: Yeah.

IC: Yes, it was.

GM: On March 24th, you played one of the biggest gigs of your career so far when you supported the reunited Sex Pistols (Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock) with vocalist Frank Carter at London’s Royal Albert Hall as part of the weeklong slate of shows for the benefit of the U.K. charity Teenage Cancer Trust. Did you get that gig through having previously supported Paul Cook’s band The Professionals? And what was the experience like for both of you to perform in such a historic and legendary concert venue?

MC: It was great! Watching the videos of it, you realize how cool that is. But in the moment, you’re f—king nervous, get your head down and just get the gig done. You don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it. Just so nervous.

IC: We’ve had a long history of sort of being on the sidelines of the Sex Pistols, kind of being in their periphery.

GM: Your first official music video, which was for “More More More,” was released on March 25th, the day after the Royal Albert Hall show. Why was Hamburg chosen for the video shoot location?

MC: Because the guys that directed it are German. But they’re from Berlin. They gave us the option of doing it in Hamburg. And also, we liked The Beatles’ connection. The Reeperbahn and that sort of thing. The locations that were picked for the shoot were really good. Having never been to Hamburg before, now we know our way about.

GM: As we are doing this Q&A, you’re currently on a brief break from your first U.K. headline tour. How are things going on the tour so far?

IC: It’s been sold out. Most of the rest of the tour has been sold out.

MC: I think there’s only one date on the tour that isn’t.

IC: It looks like it’s going to be a really good thing for us. We’ve done 500 performances together over the past four years, so we’re always lusting to get back on the road. It suits us perfectly to be going up and down our home country, seeing the U.K. again.

MC: It reinforces our reputation as a good live act. We’re rounding it all off in a couple of weeks with a London gig at the Scala, which is our biggest headline gig to date. It’s 800 capacity. I was told this morning that it’s only 30 tickets away from being sold out”.

A scintillating duo who are still in their teens, their music and style is a modern Mod revival. Well, their attire anyhow! Their music mixes in a bit more, though it is clear that they are reintroducing and repurposing an older genre with a retro touch, some personal insight and authentic feel of Mod’s foundations. Having already supported Sex Pistols and Blondie, they have this impressive C.V. that is going to grow and get stronger in the years to come. Exciting to think about what they have achieved so far. Rolling Stone UK spoke with The Molotovs in April. Ahead of the release of a new single later this month, there will be fresh new chats with the awesome duo of Mathew and Issey Cartlidge. I know they are working on an album, so more music from that will come out. I am sure those who are catching The Molotovs live are getting sneak peaks of some of these songs:

“It’s interesting when you’re so young but your sound and certainly your image seems rooted in the Mod Revival. How did you first fall in love with the genre?

Mathew: It’s interesting because when the band started I wasn’t into it, but it all came from my dad seeing me getting into music and showing me the stuff he liked. The Jam, Small Faces and even stuff like The Kinks, XTC and The Specials. But I’d extend the British music of the 2000s in there too, like The Libertines and Arctic Monkeys. I love all that stuff.

Issey: Taste is always hereditary as well, so it’s come from what we’ve heard at home and our dad saw The Jam four times back in the day so he’s a lifelong fan.

How do you manage to bridge that generational gap with your fans? I imagine there’s a lot of older music lovers who like the sounds you’re bringing across, but how do you bring that to a younger generation?

Mathew: I think it’s all really new and exciting to them because it’s something they’ve never heard before. It’s a bit like kids discovering The Beatles, only that we are a young new band bringing through those sounds.

Issey: Last year we started these youth benefits show in Wimbledon and they were super accessible because we realised that our peers couldn’t get into venues because they were just too young. We moved on to Bush Hall and did a benefit there too. We’ve always tried to cater for people who our like minded in our age.

You released your debut single ‘More More More’ last month. Why did you want that to be the first taste of The Molotovs, and what’s next after that?

Mathew: I wrote it a few years ago and through doing that and through doing so many gigs, it’s become a staple of our gigs, you know, that song’s become a bit of a chant and we thought it was a great first single. We’ve had it for a while and it was the perfect thing for people to catch on to before you give them something to kind of bigger to chew on.

I’m working on the album at the moment to release at the end of this year. And a lot of the time we’re trying to capture our live energy of everything from the 60s to 80s. All the best records and the best bands recorded live.

Given the fact that you’ve got such a distinctive look and are doing something quite different, have you faced any backlash online or IRL?

Mathew: All the time, being told you’re fucking Poundshop Weller and everything like that. But I don’t care because it’s always wankers with zero followers and numbers at the the end of their name. It’s usually some old gammon on the internet or some failed musician having a go at young kids for just trying to start something. You just think is that all you’ve got to do with your time? At the end of the day I’ve got influences and I’m not gonna hide them. Noel Gallagher’s ripped off everyone under the sun and everyone tries to take something from somewhere else…

Issey: Guitar music is dominated by male musicians too and having a female element in there with myself allows us to put something different in our records”.

I am going to end things there. Go and seek out this incredible duo. My spotlighting is possibly the least impressive they have had so far, yet I was compelled to add my name to the list of those who have already championed this fierce new act. With touches of everyone from Green Day to Paul Weller to Blondie in their mix, you can feel The Molotovs burning a trail for years and years. Doing some massive headline spots at major festivals. Even after one single, they have announced themselves as an act to cherish and celebrate! Make sure you do. Go and add this magnificent duo to…

YOUR playlist.

___________

Follow The Molotovs

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Spotify:

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FEATURE: One for the Record Collection! Essential June Releases

FEATURE:

 

 

One for the Record Collection!

IN THIS PHOTO: HAIM/PHOTO CREDIT: Morgan Maher for i-d

Essential June Releases

__________

THIS month…

IN THIS PHOTO: Addison Rae/PHOTO CREDIT: Ellen Von Unwerth for Elle

is a busy one for new albums, so I will waste as little time as possible getting to them. Quite a few to cover off and spotlight. There are five incredible albums out on 6th June that you may want to invest in. I am starting out with Cynthia Erivo’s I Forgive You. Many might not have known that the incredible actor has an album coming out. I would advise everyone to pre-order it, as it is going to be an eclectic and powerful statement from a huge talent. I am looking forward to hearing what she provides us on her hugely anticipated new album:

“Allow Cynthia Erivo to reintroduce herself. The multifaceted Grammy®, Emmy®, and Tony® Award- winner and 3x Academy Award® nominated actress, singer, author, and producer bares her soul on her sophomore album I Forgive You.

Tenderly blending the sounds of pop, R&B, folk, Britpop, yodeling, wailing, and gospel, Cynthia leaps headfirst into a bold new chapter of her artistry. Impassioned and warm, heartbreaking and vulnerable, I Forgive You is a soft testimony, a haunting plea to be witnessed with an open heart.

With each track on I Forgive You, Cynthia hopes “that people see the human in me. When you're in the public eye, people forget that you are human because they see you as an entity, but not actually flesh and bone, just like everybody else.”

The music, her story, is a braised reminder that we’re all just flesh and bone. The good and the bad – and everything in between – make up the stories of our lives, and Cynthia Erivo is a sight to behold”.

Another album out on 6th June that is worth your time and money is Addison Rae’s Addison. Many people might have heard of the artist but not really dived into her work. It is a debut album that I have been looking forward to. Having followed her career for a while now, this album is going to be terrific. There are not that many details available about it. I would encourage people to pre-order the album. I am going to bring in a bit of an interview from Elle from April. Whilst some might think of her as purely a TikTok star, Rae is definitely a Pop star. One with the talent and drive to go all the way:

“Making the transition from social media to pop stardom was always going to be an uphill battle. In March of 2021, she released the squeaky-clean track “Obsessed”—“I’m obsessed with me-e-e as much as you”—which was widely panned by critics. It was a blow to her nascent music career, and she considered giving up on the idea altogether. But eventually, she went back into the studio to work on more songs, which were unceremoniously leaked online the following year. She has said she has no idea how the songs got out, and was crushed, but then something amazing happened: The tracks became sleeper hits online. Charli XCX even contacted her to feature on the song “2 Die 4.”

Her creative team on the debut album includes songwriter-producer duo Luka Kloser and Elvira Anderfjärd of MXM studios, the publishing company founded by Grammy-winning Swedish songwriter Max Martin, who is also one of modern pop’s biggest queen-makers. Their first song together became Rae’s first Billboard Hot 100 hit, 2024’s “Diet Pepsi.” The method to their magic, say the duo, is girl talk. “Half of these songs are just picking up our conversations about life,” Anderfjärd says. “It’s us giggling—we’re like, ‘No way we can say that.’ And then we’re like, ‘Just do it!’ ”

Arca, the Venezuelan producer and musician, says over email that Rae is “fluent in the language of connecting with the collective through pop. But she also embraces the darker, more textural, experimental and avant-garde transgressions that pop allows—just as much as she loves its euphoric, luminous side.” Arca remixed Rae’s 2024 single “Aquamarine” by stripping it down to its sultry vocal tracks, then adorned them with a spectral echo of a dembow rhythm. This became what they eventually dubbed “Arcamarine.” “I feel an almost sisterly urge to be there for her, without expecting anything in return, just because of the bravery she’s shown,” Arca adds. “To fly in the face of judgment, to be bold enough to experiment, play, and build.”

When it comes to the music she wants to create, Rae’s not so much married to a genre, but to the level of joie de vivre she can articulate in a song. “Growing up as a dancer was such a natural transition into that sound,” Rae says. “I was interested in how that music made you feel, and how it made your body move. I think music is mind control—it opens up this portal of energy.”

She devises her dance moves with creative consultant Lexee Smith, whom she flagged down at a party two years ago. “It was like, bestie at first sight,” says Smith, who’s often seen undulating and contorting in edgy poses with Rae on social media. She also helps Rae conceptualize her visuals, down to the edits of her music videos—they practice meditating on a vision to make it come to life. “When we first met, Addison was showing me moodboards for the album,” Smith says. “She is the Pinterest queen. Now everything has come true. It’s so weird. It keeps happening. We’re like little fairies.”

Rae’s hit “High Fashion” began with a Pinterest post that made her laugh: “It was like, ‘Fuck cocaine—let’s get high on fashion!’” she recalls. “It was like, ‘I don’t need your drugs.’ As in, ‘I don’t need this person’s addictive energy in my life, I’d rather have high fashion,’” Rae explains. She shot the video for the song in her home state of Louisiana. “It was really important for me to film in Louisiana, because I feel like it’s a reflection of the way I felt growing up and then moving to L.A.—you know, the Wizard of Oz of it all,” Rae says. “I just felt like a fish out of water, in a way. But I always knew I wanted to be famous, to be a movie star, to be a singer—to just be a performer. That was always something I wanted—the glamour and the fashion. It’s almost like I’m convincing myself in this song, like, ‘No, I don’t want this—I want the fashion, I want the childhood dreams, I want that life. Don’t forget, don’t fall in love—you’d rather get these dreams accomplished”.

Three more from 6th June before moving on. The next one I want to recommend is Little Simz’s Lotus. A new Little Simz album is always a wonderful thing. Her upcoming release will sit alongside her absolute best. This is going to be one of the most acclaimed and celebration albums of the year. You will not want to miss out on it. If you need some more details before pre-ordering, than here is what you need to know:

“Little Simz is a boundary-breaking musician and cultural curator, recognised as one of the UK’s most captivating and visionary artists. A multi-award winner - collecting Brit Awards, Mobos, and an Ivor Novello - across mixtapes, EPs, and five critically acclaimed albums, Simz’s music documents her story, her journey, her becoming - and in turn, her generation.

Little Simz returns with her 6th Lotus.. The record marks an exciting new chapter in her artistic journey, drawing from an expansive palette of musical influences including punk, jazz, afrobeat and more. True to form, Simz continues to push boundaries and defy genre constraints, creating a sound that's both innovative and distinctly her own”.

6th June is one where three potential best-of-2025 albums are released. The next one is Marina’s Princess of Power. The moniker of Marina Diamandis, her sixth studio album is shaping up to be a gem that you will want to add to your collection! Go and pre-order the album. Again, precious little is written about it. I am grabbing from Wikipedia when it comes to the themes and sounds of the upcoming Princess of Power:

“Butterfly", the following track and lead single morphs into a house-infused chamber pop song that is later identified as "an after-hours dancefloor anthem." The lyricism of the record finds Marina exploring spiritual rebirth and personal growth, which cross-references its biological process of metamorphosis for the insect of the same name. "Cuntissimo" was described as a dreamy electro and techno-pop melodic track that draws inspiration from various women who embodied strength and independence as they are "enjoying their lives without judgment." Marina reflects the central theme for the song is pleasure as she believes women have been denied from it due to patriarchal pressures and now is against from its societal constraints.

"Cupid's Girl", the fifth track is a strong and empowered synth-pop song with fewer elements highlighting new rave and darkwave. This songwriting opens with commentary based on playful or seductive romance which displays "[Marina's] self-awareness and yearning, singing about love's complexities with both humor and depth”.

An album that so many people are looking forward to, Pulp bring us More on 6th June. You will want to pre-order it. There was such a buzz and moment of excitement when Pulp announced they had a new album recorded. Many did not think we would ever hear that news! Now that it is a matter of days away, ensure that you order a copy. It is going to be one of the biggest albums of this year:

“This is the first Pulp album since We Love Life in 2001. Yes: the first Pulp album for almost 24 years.

How did that happen?

Well: when we started touring again in 2023, we practiced a new song called “Hymn of the North” during soundchecks and eventually played it at the end of our second night at Sheffield Arena. This seemed to open the floodgates: we came up with the rest of the songs on this album during the first half of 2024. A couple are revivals of ideas from last century. The music for one song was written by Richard Hawley. The music for another was written by Jason Buckle. The Eno family sing backing vocals on a song. There are string arrangements written by Richard Jones and played by the Elysian Collective.

The album was recorded over 3 weeks by James Ford in Walthamstow, London, starting on November 18th, 2024. This is the shortest amount of time a Pulp album has ever taken to record. It was obviously ready to happen.

These are the facts.

We hope you enjoy the music. It was written and performed by four human beings from the North of England, aided and abetted by five other human beings from various locations in the British Isles. No A.I. was involved during the process.

This album is dedicated to Steve Mackey.

This is the best that we can do.

Thanks for listening”.

There are a couple of albums from 13th June that I think are worthy of spotlighting. AJ Tracey’s Don’t Die Before You’re Dead is worth pre-ordering. I am acquainted with his music but I am aware that some might not be. This is going to be an incredible album. I think that this album is going to be really intriguing. Well worth exploring. If you need some more details then Rough Trade have it covered:

“Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, the anticipated new third album from AJ Tracey, via his own label, Revenge Records. The record, which has been in the making for over three years, marks a major moment in AJ’s career—his return from a self-imposed hiatus and a reaffirmation of his place at the pinnacle of UK music. AJ Tracey stands as one of the most influential voices in the UK music scene. His commitment to artistic innovation and authenticity has garnered him a dedicated global fanbase.

With a title as bold as Don’t Die Before You’re Dead, the album delves into themes of ambition, resilience, and living life to the fullest—core values that have defined AJ’s journey from Ladbroke Grove to the top of the UK rap scene.  It’s a matured sound from the West London-hailing creative, and lyrically, a moment for AJ to show his growth and development over his career.

It's a body of work that not only showcases his evolution as an artist but also continues to push the boundaries of UK music. The album features last year’s viral hit ‘Joga Bonito’ and ‘Crush’ featuring Jorja Smith, which swiftly climbed the UK charts. The track, a nostalgic ode to young love and British culture, reintroduced AJ’s signature genre-blurring style and further cemented his status as a pioneering force in UK rap. AJ Tracey has numerous Brit Award nominations, a prime-time performance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, and a catalogue of chart-topping hits under his belt. His triple-platinum single Ladbroke Grove became the top-selling independent single of 2019, and his versatility has been showcased in collaborations with the likes of Jorja Smith, Stormzy, Headie One, and Aitch.  Known for his relentless innovation and ability to shape UK music culture, AJ Tracey continues to define what it means to be an independent artist at the highest level”.

Out on 13th June, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard release Phantom Island. Not a band to slack off or leave too much time between albums, this is evolution and step forwards from the Australian crew. I would encourage people to pre-order the tremendous Phantom Island. Here is some more information about the new album from one of the most prolific bands ever:

“The roots of the album can be traced back to the group’s show at the Hollywood Bowl in June 2023. King Gizzard met some members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic backstage who urged them to take part in an annual series where the orchestra plays alongside rock and pop acts.

The results of the sessions that yielded that 2024's Aria-nominated Flight b741 also yielded ten further songs that didn’t quite fit the Flight b741 vibe, and which, Mackenzie says, “were harder to finish. Musically, they needed a little more time and space and thought.” Quickly, the group’s collective mind leapt to the LA Philharmonic.

“The songs felt like they needed this other energy and colour, that we needed to splash some different paint on the canvas,” Mackenzie says. He reached out to friend, British historical keyboardist, conductor and arranger Chad Kelly. “He brings this wealth of musical awareness to his chameleon-like arrangements," Mackenzie says. “We come from such different worlds – he plays Mozart and Bach and uses the same harpsichords they did, and tunes them the exact same way. But he's obsessed with microtonal music, too, and all this nerdy stuff like me.”

There’s a wiser, more mature, more sensitive Gizz at play here, questioning their place within the universe, their responsibilities, the ties that bind. “When I was younger, I was just interested in freaking people out,” admits Mackenzie, “but as I get older, I'm much more interested in connecting with people”.

Six more albums to cover before rounding things off. Let’s move to 20th June. There are some great albums out this week. Another album that will sit alongside the best of this year is HAIM’s I quit. The American sibling group are always incredible. I think that their new album is going to be one you will be foolish to miss out on. Here is where you can pre-order the album. Another sublime release from Danielle, Alana and Este:

“Haim's new 15-track album, I quit, was written primarily by Haim and Rostam Batmanglij, with production by Batmanglij and Danielle Haim.  The album radiates the raw energy of seasoned performers whose deep reverence for classic rock shapes songs that are built for live performance.

The album features previously released album tracks “Relationships” and “Everybody’s trying to figure me out,” which were both met with critical praise.  Pitchfork noted  “what’s that sound? Is it the first song of the summer?” while Vulture raved, “Haim is back… they’re not taking anything too seriously except for the quality of what they put out into the world,” and Stereogum hailed it as, “a return to the sleek genre-hybrid sounds of classic Haim.”

I quit is the first new album since the band’s 2020 album Women In Music, Pt. III, which earned them a Brit Award for International Group. Women In Music, Pt. III received two Grammy Award nominations, including the prestigious “Album of the Year” recognition. With this nomination, HAIM became the first all-female rock group to be included in the Grammy’s top category”.

Three more from 20th June I want to cover off. The first is Loyle Carner’s hopefully !. You can pre-order the album here. I want to bring in part of an interview that Loyle Carner was involved with from April. Billboard chatted about how hitting thirty and fatherhood affected and shaped his fourth studio album. Another remarkable work from the London rapper. One of our best and most essential voices:

“hopefully ! is something of a departure for Carner. More in tune with his love for alternative and indie music, his hip-hop stylings make way for inspiration by Irish rockers Fontaines D.C., cult star Mk.gee, Big Thief, Idles and more. The band he assembled for hugo’s live shows followed him into the studio to bring new textures to his compositions.

“It’s a lot of pressure to step out singularly as a rapper. And I’m not even, like, a ‘rapper.’ I just make music, and people like to put me in that box,” he says. “I loved the anonymity of being in a band. I wanted to be around when the magic is happening and to not just be sent a beat after all the fun parts had already happened. I wanted to move away from the words being all that I can contribute.”

Carner’s pen is still mighty, but in a different way. Since his earliest releases, his words have been what has carried him forward and provided renewed inspiration. On 2019’s “Still,” which he described as his “favourite-ever song” during its performance at the Royal Albert Hall, he speaks about his insecurities with a disarming honesty. The rhyming couplets on hugo’s “Nobody Knows (Ladas Road)” and “Homerton” show remarkable dexterity. He knows when to build tension, but also when to let the words breathe. It’s a skill he learned from his poet heroes like Agard and the late, great Benjamin Zephaniah, the man Carner was named after.

PHOTO CREDIT: Lily Brown

As his family has grown, Carner’s techniques and influences have changed. He describes his son as his muse, and his presence is felt throughout the album. hopefully !’s artwork features a snap of Carner and his son, with colorful scrawls and additions only a child can make with such purpose. His voice babbles away throughout the record and his mischievous personality shines. Words could not contain the emotions Carner feels toward him, so the songs became looser, less literal but still emotionally resonant, and with a greater focus on capturing his son’s “melodic” personality in his songwriting structures.

On one album highlight, Carner speaks of the transition of becoming a father and notes that he’s “falling asleep in a chair I used to write in.” Later, he speaks directly to his son, saying, “You give me hope in humankind.” He has learned to embrace sonic imperfections and to capture a feeling, letting broad brushstrokes stand proudly. There’s a childlike wonder to the rawness of these songs; from snatches of phrases to choruses that linger in your head long after music has ended.

“If you try and color around something or touch it up… you always f–k it up,” Carner says. “That’s what I love about my son’s paintings. It might even be just one line across the page, but the simplicity of how he works and moves on. That’s how I feel now.”

Carner used the opportunity to embrace his role as a producer-curator. “As a rapper, the insecurity is that I don’t have any musical talent or whatever, so I’m like, ‘F–k, I better fill every gap so people know that I was there, too.’ But now I don’t mind people hearing a song and I’m barely on it, because I’m so across from everything else [in the creative process].”

He sings much of what’s on hopefully !; singing with his son on his bike, in the car and at home encouraged him to let his voice shine. “He never says, ‘Dad you’re way out of tune,’ even if I know that I am.” Here, Carner’s voice has an intimate quality, like he’s caught singing under his breath without a thought as to who might hear it.

He adds: “It’s fearless, but I’m not embarrassed about it and I don’t care because that’s the truth of how I felt. It’s that kind of bravery to me that is a reflection of what it was like to be a man. This living, breathing, feeling, flawed, emotional person that is willing to turn over heavy stones and be accountable for failing”.

The penultimate album from 20th June I would encourage people to seek out is U.S. Girls’ Scratch It. You can pre-order the album here. U.S. Girls is an artist I have known about for years and followed. I have heard a bit from her upcoming album. It is sounding amazing. Even if you have not heard her music before, I would say it is something you need to do. A tremendous songwriter and distinct lyrical voice. Scratch’s title suggests something back to basics. Creating something from scratch but keeping it relaxed and simple. That sounds like the experience that led to the album’s creation and finalisation:

“Toronto-based producer, film composer, and author Meg Remy announces a new U.S. Girls album, Scratch It.

Co-written with Edwin de Goeji, ‘Bookends’ is the heart of Scratch It. The sprawling ballad pays tribute to Remy’s late friend and former Power Trip frontman Riley Gale, through the lens of Remy’s own reading of John Carey’s Eyewitness To History, a historical collection of 300+ eyewitness accounts spanning twenty-four centuries. In consuming these first-hand accounts of human history, she began to ponder the thought, “there is not a hierarchy to suffering, and death is the great equaliser.”

Remy was asked to play a festival in Hot Springs, Arkansas — over one thousand miles away from her Toronto home —  it was instinct that led her to enlist guitarist friend Dillon Watson (D. Watusi, Savoy Motel, Jack Name) to assemble a one-time Nashville-based band for the occasion. The performance went so well that she decided to ride that energy right back to where the impromptu band had initially rehearsed, in Music City itself, kickstarting the journey toward Scratch It.

In just ten days, Remy and the band — Watson on guitar, Jack Lawrence (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, Loretta Lynn) on bass, Domo Donoho on drums, and both Jo Schornikow and Tina Norwood on keys, as well as harmonica legend Charlie McCoy (Elvis, Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison) — recorded Scratch It live off the floor with minimal overdubs, mixed to tape. Closeness and ease emanate from this core band with Remy’s singular voice sparkling on top of every tune, the most relaxed it has ever been.

Scratch It weaves together country, gospel, garage rock, soul, disco, folk balladry, and more, with Remy’s masterful songwriting threaded throughout. Her choice to discard the computer-based production of previous albums in favour of two-inch tape serves the songs well, introducing an element of sonic shapeshifting expected from an artist nearly twenty years into making records. If instinct was an instrument, Remy would be a virtuoso. Scratch It and see”.

Actually, I think I am going to wrap up with two albums from 27th June and that will be enough. Released through Bella Union, BC Camplight’s A Sober Conversation is an album that everyone needs to hear. Because he is such a compelling artist whose music is instantly memorable and incredible. The lyrics that dig deep. In terms of their honesty and humour. The way he delivers his songs. The alter ego of Brian Christinzio, if you do not know about this remarkable artist, then please do some reading. Here is where you can pre-order his latest album:

“Every BC Camplight album has a backstory every bit as compelling as its music.

A Sober Conversation is no different, as virtuoso songwriter and pianist Brian Christinzio documents the last two years of his life, finally confronting a shocking childhood trauma while embracing sobriety, to create his bravest and most revealing record. It's an enthralling, sometimes haunting quasi- concept record marked by ruthless tragic- comedic purging and sublime, intricate melody, knitting lyrical screenplays to dazzling arrangements.

It is BC Camplight at the height of his remarkable powers”.

Maybe this year’s most anticipated album is Lorde’s Virgin. Do make sure you go and pre-order this album. One of the world’s biggest artists, there has been so much talk around the album. I cannot wait to hear what Lorde has been up to and what inspires her newest work. Rather than provide information about the album in general, there is an article from Variety, where they reacted to a recent Rolling Stone interview with Lorde. One where gender fluidity and identity was touched on:

“Lorde has discussed her gender identity in a new in-depth Rolling Stone interview with Brittany Spanos.

In the story, Spanos reveals that the lyrics to the opening track of Lorde’s upcoming album “Virgin” include “Some days I’m a woman / Some days I’m a man,” and inquires how the words reflect her personal life.

“I ask her how she identifies now, what it means and what’s changed,” Spanos writes. “'[Chappell Roan] asked me this,’ Lorde recalls. The pair have become close friends over the past year. ‘She was like, “So, are you nonbinary now?” And I was like, “I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.” I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up.'”

“Though Lorde still calls herself a cis woman and her pronouns remain unchanged, she describes herself as ‘in the middle gender-­wise,’ a person more comfortable with the fluidity of her expression,” the story reads. “In some ways, she feels like her teenage self again, back when her friends were mostly boys and there was a looseness in how she dressed and acted.”

Lorde also points to one specific exchange with “Virgin” producer and writer Jim-E Stack which inspired much of her thought process around gender and how it influenced her music”.

If you need other suggestions regarding albums out this month, then this website is pretty handy. I have highlighted those that I think are particularly impressive and must-own - though people will have their own thoughts. I do hope that the above is of some guidance and use. Plenty of variety in there! Some terrific albums from this month that…

YOU’LL want to own.

FEATURE: Spotlight: Shanti Celeste

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Shanti Celeste

__________

THIS is a bit of…

PHOTO CREDIT: Helena Bermejo

a change for Spotlight, as I am featuring someone primally known for their D.J. work. However, this is someone who is also an artist. A creator. Shanti Celeste released her album, Romance, on 16th May. It is one I would urge people to seek out: “Shanti Celeste has long been revered for her radiant and infectious sound in a vibrant blend of house and techno. Romance takes this signature style to new heights, exploring the depth of romantic and platonic relationships that permeates the record with a pop-infused sheen. With her vocals placed front and center for the first time, Celeste weaves a sonic tapestry that is as introspective as it is euphoric; it’s a love letter to romance, but also an ode to the transformative power of opening your heart”. Before moving to some interviews with Shanti Celeste, it is worth knowing that this Chilean-born D.J. has been making big waves in the Electronic music scene. The sense of excitement and energy she brings to dance floors is sensational. Blending House and Techno to create something euphoric, hypnotising and crowd-uniting. Even though this D.J. and artist has been around for a while, there are a few reasons why I wanted to feature her. For a start, Romance is one of the best albums of this year. One that warrants spotlight of its own. Also, incredible female D.J.s are not given the props and attention they deserve. There is still inequality when it comes to exposure and pay. Also, she is an incredible talent that people should know about. I will end with a review for Romance. Before that, there are two recent interviews I am going to introduce. Romance is an album that you need to commit yourself to. I have built up Shanti Celeste who is someone putting out banging music that creates sweat and fever. However, Romance is full of this wonderful ambience and beauty. A piece of work that has a summer feel to it but there are so many shades and layers. Fascinating stories and this sound that will keep you coming back. I am going to take quite a lot from this DJ interview from April. They were invited into the home of Shanti Celeste. It is a deep and illuminating conversation where Romance is explored. A record where her vocals are at the centre. Annie Parker was invited to meet Shanti Celeste where the DJ. and artist chatted about “formative times in Chile, Cumbria and Bristol, dealing with imposter syndrome and toxic narratives, and channeling positivity in her creative process”:

“Shanti Celeste was born in El Cajón de Maipo — a luscious valley in the foothills of the Chilean Andes — to hippie parents who let her “be and do whatever I wanted”. When Shanti was 10 her mother remarried, and two years later the family moved to Kent’s Bank, a Cumbrian village where over 99% of its 1,200 inhabitants were White British. Even if she didn’t quite understand it, Shanti was immediately made aware of her difference. Fellow pupils would purposefully mistake her for her South African classmate, and were outraged by the customs she’d unwittingly imported from her home country. “One of my earliest memories is arriving at that school and trying to greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek” — she’s able to laugh about it now — “everyone was like, ‘Urgh, you weirdo!’”

Nowadays, it’s in these moments of distance from British culture that Shanti finds it easiest to relate to her Chilean heritage. “There are times when I do feel quite British,” she admits. “The more time I spend living in the UK, the more I lose sight of the big differences between the two cultures. But I regain that knowledge whenever I go back to Chile. It’s just a warmness, an immediate friendliness; people spend a lot of time together. In the UK, everything feels a bit colder and more independent. I think being overly polite can actually sometimes create distance between yourself and others.”

Shanti goes back every year to visit family in Santiago and El Manzano, or for a stop on a South American tour. The gigs she’s played there are some of her favourite ever, made particularly special by the presence of supportive family members in the crowd. “I only get to see them once or twice a year, so it’s always really emotional. Plus those parties are always such a vibe. Everyone always dances so hard.”

Despite inevitable teething issues, pre-teen Shanti took the UK move in her stride. Within a couple of years she was in a shed, hiding from her friend’s parents and smoking weed to a suitably insolent soundtrack of Los Angeleno punk rock outfits The Distillers, Rancid, Green Day and Blink-182. When her teenage angst later culminated in a “metal, goth moment”, it was up to a union between her MP3 player and the usual suspects — Slipknot, Murderdolls, System Of A Down — to provide an outlet.

Shanti’s first experiences with dance music were as poignant as they come. Imagine the rush of your first underage night out and combine it with the sense-assaulting environment of a free party. Sixteen-year-old Shanti would hitch a lift from older friends to local village, Troutbeck, where a quarry site would receive a second pummeling from jungle, D&B and speed garage blasting from DIY sound systems. The perfect teenage cocktail of adrenaline, irreverence and escapism (probably some Glen’s vodka too) left a starry-eyed Shanti utterly restless.

Her friends fuelled her newfound obsession. They’d already begun building their record collections and encouraged Shanti to try mixing at hang-outs. When Claude VonStroke released the timeless minimal B-side ‘Who’s Afraid Of Detroit?’ in 2006, it was time for Shanti to use the money she’d earned at a summer café job to place a Juno order of her own. She spent the next year travelling to friends’ university towns, using a fake ID to see Iration Steppas and Benny Page at Leeds’ SUBDUB, or Booka Shade and Sasha at the Warehouse Project in Manchester. Returning home, she’d channel her residual energy on the decks (two Technics 1210s and a Denon mixer she bought from a friend for £500), and by the time she moved out a year later, she was ready for her first gig.

Her move to Bristol — fateful as it would prove to be — was totally serendipitous. Rejected from Falmouth University, she packed up her acrylics and headed for the University of the West of England to study Illustration. But her days there were numbered; Shanti quickly grew tired of having to rationalise her drawings. “You had to be very conceptual, and I just lost interest. My tutors would ask me, ‘Why a tangerine?’ and I wouldn’t be able to explain it. I just wanted to paint. I wanted to draw silly things and not have to justify why.”

Nowadays, as Queen Tangerine, Shanti paints gleeful scenes of moonlit soirées for party hat-adorned monkey nuts and “galactic forest sunrise raves” for hedonistic caterpillars. It’s precisely by having fun with it, that she creates her best work. “I can only really create from a positive feeling,” she explains. “I’m not good at channeling sadness into art, I need immediate vibes. That’s also why I try not to set any expectations. If I think about something too much or have a fixed idea of how I want it to be, I’m just setting myself up for disappointment. Those kinds of feelings destroy my creative flow.”

Shanti acknowledges that what she’s saying might seem ironic: throughout our conversation she frequently refers to herself as an overthinker and speaks forthrightly on how anxiety affects her life. But, in reality, it all makes perfect sense. When she gets caught in spirals of over-analysing, creating music and painting are her much-needed respite. That’s why for it to work, it has to be a totally intuitive process. “I try to paint things that look pretty to me, or make sounds that satisfy me in some way, so I can immediately tell if something’s not going to be a vibe.”

The burgeoning craze for Hessle’s hybridised, sound system-inflected UK techno coincided with a spike in ’90s US house reissues. Back then, being a house music fan set you apart from the majority of Bristol’s dance music scene, who had their heads down, skanking in half-time. Their shared love for the likes of Kerri Chandler, Masters At Work and Mood II Swing made Shanti and Chris kindred spirits, and Shanti became one of the first Idle Hands employees when Chris opened his own record shop in 2011.

“I remember saying, ‘You don’t even have to pay me! I’ll just make tea or sweep the floor!’” Shanti laughs. “I just desperately wanted to be in that space.” But working alongside Chris, Livity Sound mainstay Kowton, and Happy Skull co-honcho Sean Kelly allowed Shanti’s imposter syndrome to creep in. “Buying records is one thing, but working in a shop is a whole other. I had no confidence writing descriptions. I would always second guess myself and ask Chris to check them,” she muses.

One thing Shanti was sure of, though, was what she liked, and when it came to recommending records, she came into her own. Deep Medi signee and Bandulu Records co-founder Kahn would regularly visit the shop to replenish his dubstep and grime collection. “I remember once I decided to try and sell him some techno,” Shanti smirks. “I played him a Shed record and he was like, ‘You know what? I fuck with this’. I was like, get in!”

It was around this time that Chris gave her the push she needed to begin making her own music. After a 10-week Logic course and plenty of practice in a studio hired out by the father of fellow Bristol DJ, Danielle, Shanti’s debut EP was ready for pressing. In 2013, ‘Need Your Lovin’ (Baby)’ marked the fifth release on brstl, the label she was working on alongside Chris and fellow house music stalwart, Rhythmic Theory. Its two slinky deep house tracks both have extended play times, while Thelma Houston vocal samples and classic organ sounds add to their timeless appeal.

One of Shanti’s most recent singles came out in 2024 on Peach Discs and London’s Method 808. ‘Ice Cream Dream Boy’ is more pumping than it is slinky. Its raised BPM, deep grooving bassline and jacking percussion conjure Jeremy Sylvester before anything to come out of golden-era Chicago. A captivating vocal hook — her own this time — rejoices in the woozy ecstasy of falling in love with her partner. It’s an all-out anthem, and a culmination of the unique style she’s been honing for the past few years.

‘Cutie’ — the title track of her 2022 Hessle Audio EP (a “career milestone”) — is Shanti’s catchiest to date. Its giddy drums and bubble-wrapped organ melody lend it a suggestive tone, like giving a playful wink. Though markedly different in style, the essence of these tracks — euphoric, carefree — is consistent with the music she put out 12 years ago. Maybe that’s why Shanti still identifies with her early releases so much. “Making music is a journey,” she asserts. “Every release I’ve done is an expression of where I was at that particular moment — I think that deserves to be celebrated.”

She condemns the puritanical culture that poisons dance music discourse and devalues work made digitally. “In my experience, men — and I’m sorry, but it is men — can really over-intellectualise the creative process. Splice exists for a reason, OK? Presets exist for a reason. If you think music is only proper or legitimate if it’s entirely analogue, then you need to check your fucking privilege. Synths cost money and it takes time to learn how to use them.”

When it comes to music, Shanti has never been afraid to ask for help. She attributes a large part of her early musical development to the regular tutelage of charitable Bristol friends like Sam Binga, Hodge, Pinch and Kowton. “I probably became a really annoying person to be around,” she laughs. “I was just constantly asking questions or for feedback.” Nowadays, it’s a practice she encourages amongst the artists she and Gramrcy sign to Peach Discs. Nonetheless, Shanti’s courage never extended as far as full-blown collaboration — an inhibition cut from the same cloth as before. “As a woman, I had something to prove. I’d internalised the belief that I had to do everything myself.”

"When dance music producers make pop music, people always seem to have something to say about it, or you’re expected to do it under another alias. It’s bullshit. Why aren’t we allowed to evolve?"

During the pandemic, a break from DJ gigs gave Shanti time to listen to the likes of Alice Coltrane, Qendresa, Cleo Sol and Tems. The more she indulged in home listening — the moments for which are scarce when she’s digging for dance music — the more she recognised the collaboration at the heart of these musical styles. This penny-drop moment was the impetus she needed; Shanti was promptly on the phone to songwriter Shivum Sharma for help with lyrics, pianist Hal Sutherland for advanced chord work, and dance music polymath Omar McCutcheon (AKA Batu). “Omar taught me how to add little bits of ‘ear candy’” — she revels in the newly acquired term — “interesting little noises here and there, without oversaturating it.”

‘Romance’ is a manifesto for doing you, regardless of the impediments you’ll encounter along the way. By flouting toxic narratives, occasionally indulging in trends and working to overcome her own insecurities, Shanti has managed to keep sight of exactly why she’s here. Her success is a testament to what can come from sticking to your principles, and in Shanti’s case, that means prioritising joy over everything. When we go to visit Chris Farrell in the newly reopened Idle Hands shop, he corroborates just that: “I’ve always been surrounded by blokes who love to talk about music, really analyse and ruminate on it. Meeting Shanti reminded me that having fun and dancing together is really what this is all about.”

“A dancefloor should be collaborative,” she says. “My job isn’t performing for you, it’s to enable the fun times that we share together. You can build a whole community around that experience”.

Many might primarily know Shanti Celeste as being a D.J. Someone playing music but not singing on it or creating music of her own. She is a successful recording artist, though Romance is a moment where she is very much at the front. I am moving on to an interview from Rolling Stone UK from last month. If her D.J. work is this more enthralled and dance floor-conquering sound, there is something different about her music. As Celeste says in this interview, she would love to start a band of her own. A new phase in this evolving and exciting career:

“While her own vocals and lyrics have been sprinkled across Shanti Celeste songs for the past ten years, the journey to foregrounding them like this has been a long and difficult one. “I’ve never really written songs before,” she says. “I had a theme of romance and of me falling in love, but what that looks like in terms of actual lyrics being written was so abstract to me.”

The songs were also being written for a world where exclusionary purism – especially with regards to gender – continues to thrive in the electronic music world. Celeste says: “There are always people in dance music who are bitter or something. I’m an artist, and I want to evolve –  I don’t just want to be making house music for the rest of my life without pushing myself in in any way. I mean, I probably will be making house music for the rest of my life, but it’s probably going to have some vocals in it. Why wouldn’t I evolve?”

Though house music forms a portion of Romance, its most interesting and surprising moments come from when Celeste moves away from the thud of a bass drum and higher tempo. Opening track ‘Butterflies’ revolves around a bongo rhythm and soulful lyrics sung in Spanish, while ‘Light as a Feather’ is a slow and slippery ode to R&B.

The first hints of this change came back in lockdown, when Celeste was finally able to spend her time listening to music without her work hat on, deciding whether any given song would work for her to play in a club environment. Instead, she spent her days listening to NTS Radio, making playlists on Spotify and buying music on Bandcamp, with music ranging from soul and R&B to new wave, post-punk and beyond.

“That’s why I wrote the album,” she affirms. “I wasn’t listening to house music at all.” Though playing and consuming house remains Celeste’s enduring love, this period of time – and the album it inspired – has triggered a move towards different sounds and styles, songs built around their lyrics, and a different outlook on the future.

“Everything has to be so singular in electronic music, and you have to stick to whatever you’re doing,” she says. “That really applies to you as a producer. For me as a woman, I’ve always felt like I’ve had to do everything myself. I’ve done it all myself, until very recently, where I actually started to get someone else to mix my tracks, because I just hate it. I did it really well for 10 years, but the last three years, I’ve just been like, ‘I’m just not going to do it anymore, because I don’t really have anything to prove’.”

This realisation and freedom brought collaboration to the fore on Romance, something Celeste had rejected in the past for fear of not being taken seriously. Now, it’s something she wants to take further in the future. “I would love to be in a band,” she says. “Get someone playing keys, guitar, bass, and actually make some fucking music. I just think that would be so sick. I’m looking for a band! Put it in there – it’s an advert!”

This release from the restrictions that had previously dogged her stretches beyond Romance and into every part of Celeste’s creative live in 2025. The other day, she recalls gleefully, she dropped Tim Deluxe’s dance behemoth ‘It Just Won’t Do’ in a set after seeing a video of Fatboy Slim playing it to 250,000 people at his legendary Brighton Beach show in 2002. “It’s made me less afraid of just playing a pop banger every now and again,” she smiles, revelling in the limitless future that now stretches in front of her. “I want to write loads of really sick vocal house bangers, basically.”

Most immediately for Celeste though is the wish to create her first purpose-built studio in Bristol. “I feel like I’ve got to the point where I’m bored of my process, and because I have this new, exciting thing that I know that I can do – singing on my songs – I want to make my studio more exciting for that purpose,” she says, before pausing and laughing. “And so I can start my band!”

Romance is an album that everyone should get. I only recently – to my shame! – discovered Shanti Celeste. A simply awesome talent whose latest album is among the best of this year in my opinion, I am interested to see what she does next. Whether she tours with a band and records more albums. How her D.J. sets change and shift. If there is going to be a move in other musical directions. I will end with a review of Romance from The Guardian:

“No one could accuse Shanti Celeste of being a dance producer who indulges in lofty conceptualising about their music. Not for her, the album that represents the soundtrack to a film that hasn’t been made yet, or a sci-fi-influenced cosmic opera, or a globe-spanning travelogue inspired by the peripatetic lifestyle of a DJ. Her acclaimed 2019 debut album was called Tangerine, a title she chose because she “really like[s] fruit”. A journalist who gamely attempted to press further, inquiring about the images conjured in her mind while creating the music, was told: “Moments on the dancefloor.”

Tangerine featured ambient interludes and the sound of Celeste playing the kalimba in the living room of her father’s home in Chile (she moved to the UK with her mother as a child). But its signature sound was the author’s own, in which the subtlety and depth of classic US house productions by Moodymann, Masters at Work and Mood II Swing was melded with a giddy, rave-y euphoria and rhythms that proceeded at pacy tempos more common to techno. Called upon to come up with a term to describe it, she offered the admirably prosaic “fast house”. There’s something very telling about the fact that her career – first as a DJ, then a club promoter, record label boss and ultimately an artist – flourished after she quit university, irked that tutors on her illustration course kept asking her what her work meant: “I wouldn’t be able to explain it. I just wanted to paint.”

Whether you view all this as a failure of imagination or an admirably unpretentious approach to a genre of music never much improved by grandiose statements of intent is up to you. Either way, it hasn’t impeded Celeste’s progress, nor is it something she’s sought to change. Six years on – a lengthy gap, punctuated by a handful of singles and a string of remixes for Orbital, Caribou and Ruf Dug, among others – her straightforwardness is still much in evidence. Tangerine’s follow-up is called Romance, the reasons for which are swiftly apparent: “This is a romance – take heed, because I’m lost without you,” runs one lyric. “I’m thinking about you more than ever,” offers another.

That said, the presence of lyrics indicates that it’s a noticeably different album from its predecessor. The influence of revered US dance producers remains – the bassline of Note to Self could have fallen off a vintage Chicago house track – but only three of its tracks feature four-to-the-floor beats. For the most part, Romance proceeds at a far more leisurely pace: its key rhythmic sound isn’t an insistent kick drum, but the clatter of percussion vaguely evocative of Celeste’s Latin American roots, proceeding as unhurried as an R&B slow jam. More striking still are the vocals. An intermittent feature of her releases since the early 2010s, here they’re front and centre throughout. Her music has always been marked by a strong melodic sense, but the tunes are noticeably brighter, their pop-leaning qualities accentuated by the airiness of her voice. Even the house-fuelled Unwind, or Thinking About You, on which the vocals are a little more smeared, feel less obviously focused on the dancefloor than on melody, as if they’re waiting for a club-leaning remix.

Regardless of the beat behind them, the results are disarmingly charming. Too drowsy and blurred to function as straightforward pop-R&B – the songs largely eschew verses and choruses in favour of a more scattered, mood-building approach – and too obviously sunlit to soundtrack the curtains-drawn post-club comedown, a lot of Romance exists in an appealing space of its own. Light As a Feather or Note to Self are more interested in circling back on themselves than going anywhere, but that scarcely seems to matter: they’re pretty inviting, the atmosphere languid and hazy with warmth. The poppiest thing here, Softie, is tempered by intermittent bursts of dubby echo that overwhelm the vocal, the next phrase drowned out by the aftershocks of its predecessor: it’s a small touch, but it’s also evidence of an artist interested in doing what they want.

Romance could obviously work as a kind of ambient soundtrack, floating around somewhere in the background of a summer’s afternoon, but it’s probably best experienced by fully immersing yourself, prone and headphones on. Whichever you opt for, it’s an experience beguiling enough to explain its author’s disinclination to explain herself: as with Shanti Celeste’s most acute club tracks, it speaks for itself”.

If you have never heard of Shanti Celeste then go and check her out. A queen D.J. and this amazing artist, it is going to be thrilling seeing what the next chapter is. Romance is a wonderful album that I feel warrants more attention and love. Do yourself a favour and connect with…

THE majestic Shanti Celeste.

______________

Follow Shanti Celeste

PHOTO CREDIT: Helena Bermejo

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/shanticeleste/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/discover/shanti-celeste

Bandcamp:

https://shanticeleste.bandcamp.com/

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/3CkM2290WOa2ESzhlu5mzM?si=azS9QoyiQJK3vTqd7J0h3Q

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkFxsFJNu7PD9vHhVL0QBjw

FEATURE: Something in the AIR: Fifty Years of Kate Bush’s Visit to a Legendary London Studio

FEATURE:

 

 

Something in the AIR

 IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Mirrorpix

Fifty Years of Kate Bush’s Visit to a Legendary London Studio

__________

THIS is an important…

anniversary feature regarding Kate Bush. Next month, it will be fifty years since she went to AIR Studios in London and worked alongside David Gilmour where she recorded three songs. Two of those appeared unchanged on her debut album, 1978’s The Kick Inside. I am going to come to some timeline first of all before moving on. It is important to get some context and lead-up. I did not know that there was a period just before 1975 where Kate Bush doubted that she would go into music. That seems far-fetched now, though 1974 was a year when decisions had to be made. Let’s take a look at the years before 1975. When Bush’s demos were handed to David Gilmour by Ricky Hopper. He was a friend of the Bush family, specifically Kate Bush’s brother, John. I can imagine the sense of excitement and hope Bush would have had. These distinct and lo-fi recordings being handed to the Pink Floyd legend. This timeline gives us a real sense of how Bush developed, and the importance of the years between 1972 and 1975:

“1972

At the suggestion of Kate's family, Ricky Hopper, a friend with music business connections, tries to place "demo tapes" of Kate's songs with a record company, with a publishing deal in mind. At this stage Kate considers herself more of a writer than a singer. These original tapes have over thirty songs on each. [An unfortunate wording, since it may mean that there was one collection of thirty songs which was duplicated, and of which one copy was sent to each publisher; or that there were actually several different thirty-song collections.] All the major companies are approached. None accepts. Kate's songs are described as "morbid", "boring" and "uncommercial".

Kate feels that she cannot pursue a career in music and considers the alternatives: psychiatry or social work.

Unable to help further, Ricky Hopper makes contact with Dave Gilmour of Pink Floyd, whom he knew at Cambridge University. Gilmour, who at this time is spotting for talent that he can assist, is persuaded to listen to the demos and then to hear Kate perform. He is impressed, and agrees to help.

1973

Kate records at Gilmour's home studio. The backing band is comprised of Gilmour himself on guitar, and Peter Perrier and Pat Martin of Unicorn on drums and bass, respectively. The songs recorded at this stage include Passing Through Air (later to surface on the b-side of the 1980 single Army Dreamers) and a song now known as Maybe.

[Again, a bit more detail would have been welcome here. There is no mention of how many songs were recorded during these recording sessions. Incidentally, an excerpt of this version of the so-called Maybe, which presumably first appeared on Kate's original demos, was played by Kate during a radio programme called Personal Call. It should not be confused with the presumably more professional version of the recording which was made the following year (see below) but which has never been heard by fans.]

The new demos are again circulated to record companies with no result.

1974

With no progress in her musical ambitions, Kate seriously considers a career in psychiatry.

Kate takes her "O Level" examination and obtains ten "Pass" grades, with best results in English, music and Latin.

1975

Gilmour decides that the only way to interest the record companies in Kate's talent is to make a short three-song demo to full professional standards. He puts up the money.

June 1975

Kate goes into Air Studios in London's West End, with Gilmour as producer, Andrew Powell as arranger, Geoff Emerick as engineer. The three songs recorded are Saxophone Song (also known at this stage as Berlin), The Man With the Child in His Eyes, and a song which fans refer to as Maybe”.

That gap between 1974 and 1975. This feeling that no progress had been made. It would have been such a shame if Kate Bush had abandoned music and instead gone into the world of work. However, it is crucial that David Gilmour saw something in her and put up the money for professional recording. I am not sure how many record labels would have signed her based on those demos. However, when you listen to what was recorded at AIR Studios in June 1975, it would have been a fool that turned down Kate Bush! It is interesting the songs selected to be recorded at AIR Studios. Berlin, as it was known, is a song that does not get talked about too much. One of the lesser-discussed tracks from The Kick Inside, it is a beautiful performance from Bush. The Man with the Child in His Eyes is an obvious standout.

I do wonder what the demo of that sounded like. In terms of how things started out and what it would become. What was created at AIR Studios in June 1975 is this stirring and gorgeous performance where Bush was backed by an orchestra. These strings that give The Man with the Child in His Eyes shiver and grandeur. Maybe is a track that must have seemed like a potential hit. In terms of the history of the song (“Humming’ is a song written by Kate Bush. It was recorded as a demo, presumably in 1973. Also known as ‘Maybe’, the song was not released officially, but part of it was played during a radio interview in 1979 with Kate present. In 2018, the track was finally released as part of the Remastered box set, on the album The Other Side 2. The song has been interpreted to be a tribute to David Bowie, after he abruptly announced the ‘retirement’ of his alter ego Ziggy Stardust at the Hammersmith Odeon on 3 July 1973”), there was perhaps more personal importance than there was a feeling the song would be an album inclusion. The trio of songs recorded at AIR Studios in June 1975 was quite eclectic. I love how the two that feature on The Kick Inside remained unchanged. That what we hear on the 1978 album was recorded in 1975. In terms of importance, there are few anniversaries as big as when Kate Bush recorded at AIR Studios. I am not sure the exact date when she recorded there. I have searched around but cannot see a suite that provided the date. However, we do know that it was June 1975. Next month, there will be this celebration from fans. Wider than that, I do not know how many people know about Bush and her recorded at AIIR Studios. It was the most significant event in her career to that date. It was a turning point. In 1974, when there was no progress and Bush and her family might have discussed other options away from music. In June 1975, this magic was created and that changed everything. Let’s take a look at the two years afterwards

“July 1975

Kate takes her "mock A Level" examinations.

While Pink Floyd are at Abbey Road Studios recording Wish You Were Here, Gilmour plays the three-track demo to Bob Mercer, then General Manager of EMI's pop division. Mercer is impressed and negotiations are opened.

The deal takes some time to conclude. It is much discussed at meetings between Kate, her family, Gilmour and EMI.

1976

Kate gets a small inheritance, and decides to leave school to concentrate on preparing herself for a career in music. She buys an old honky-tonk piano for 200 Pounds and begins screeching into existence her unmistakable voice.

[This statement implies that the twenty-two demo-recordings which are now circulating among fans date from no earlier than 1976. I do not know what the basis is for Peter's assumption, however.]

The EMI deal begins to take shape. A publishing contract is settled first.

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in March 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Mirrorpix

March 1976

Kate takes her driving test and fails.

July 1976

Kate finally settles a recording deal with EMI. The contract is for four years, with options at the end of the second and third year. Kate receives a 3,000-Pound advance [and 500 Pounds for publication rights]. EMI are content for Kate to take time to write songs, sharpen her lyrics, train her voice and generally have time to "grow up".

Kate pursues her dancing, first at the Elephant and Castle, South London. But after seeing Lindsay Kemp perform in Flowers, she attends his classes at the Dance Centre in Covent Garden. After Kemp goes to Australia, Kate trains with Arlene Phillips, choreographer of Hot Gossip. [It is probably at this time that Kate's association with Gary Hurst and Stewart Avon-Arnold, her longtime dancing partners, begins.]

August 1976

Kate takes her driving test again and passes.

1977

During the first year of the contract Kate makes two further demo tapes. [Very possibly these include the twenty-two recordings now making the rounds among fans.] She resists EMI's attempts to "commercialize" her songs. She pursues her dancing. She moves away from home and into a flat in a house owned by her father in Lewisham, Southeast London, with her brothers as neighbours”.

I can imagine that blend of emotions Kate Bush felt when she travelled to AIR Studios fifty years ago. As a sixteen-year-old, this would have been a major step for her. Going into this studio in the centre of London and being around modern technology and professionals. She had some exposure before that, though this was something very different. Her recordings there might have been a bit nervous and hampered but that sense of occasion and pressure. However, when you listen to them, they are so assured and complete. No sense of hesitation or inexperience. If Maybe (or Humming) did not really have a bigger life after AIR Studios, two of the songs she laid down made it into The Kick Inside. Producer Andrew Powell did not feel like Bush had to re-record the song when she stepped back into AIR Studios in 1977 to record her debut album. David Gilmour being this key to Bush’s career. Next month, we mark fifty years of a seismic moment. Kate Bush coming into AIR Studios. Two songs from her debut album were recorded. Another great song that is a favourite among some fans. Some underappreciate how significant the AIR recordings were. To me, it is one of the most important events in her career. There is definitely…

NO maybe about it!

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Selections from the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1985

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: Wham! in 1985

Selections from the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles of 1985

__________

I wanted to…

IN THIS PHOTO: Madonna in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: Francesco Scavullo

drift back forty years and think about all the incredible songs that were making the charts in 1985. A mixtape with the best tracks of that fabulous year, many are still played a lot to this day. I know that many people readying this were not born then or were very young, but it is a nice trip down memory lane for those who were around – or, like me, were very small but heard these songs later. If you want a glimpse into which tracks were getting a lot of love back in 1985, then you need to check this assortment out. Including classics from a Pop queen, legendary bands and iconic solo artists, it is a wonderful cocktail of sounds. A simply wonderful time for music, it has been great researching the songs that were in the Billboard chart back then. Some have aged very well, whilst others might sound a tad dated – but are still pretty fabulous. Forty years later, and these songs are still fantastic in my book. I hope that those reading this…

IN THIS PHOTO: Whitney Houston in 1985

FEEL the same way.

FEATURE: Modern-Day Queens: Kate Nash

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern-Day Queens

PHOTO CREDIT: Alice Baxley for The Line of Best Fit

Kate Nash

__________

IN thinking about…

PHOTO CREDIT: Alice Baxley

Kate Nash, there are a number of reasons why I want to include her in this Modern-Day Queens. Even though she has not released a new single for a little while, she is one of our best artists. Her huge debut album, Made of Bricks, was released in 2007. Reaching number one in the U.K., it featured perhaps Nash’s most played and popular single: the phenomenal Foundations. Her most recent album, 2024’s 9 Sad Symphonies, is one I would recommend everyone check out. Not only do I want to celebrate this amazing human. The Harrow-born role model is one of our most recognisable artist. There are some interviews that I want to bring down. Starting out with a couple from last year. A working-class artist who has lost money on tours and has spoken out about how other artists are losing so much touring and it is a blight on the industry – she spoke to Adam Buxton recently and discussed the issue -, Nash chatted with the BBC about how she is making more money from being on OnlyFans than she is touring:

“Singer Kate Nash says she thinks she will make more money from selling photos of her bottom on OnlyFans than she will from her concerts, after joining the platform because it's "a really difficult time for artists to tour".

Under the slogan "Butts for tour buses", the musician announced on Thursday that her OnlyFans income will subsidise her shows because "touring makes losses not profits".

"I also think it's bit of a punk protest as a woman to take control of my body and sell it to be able to fund my passion project, which is actually my 18-year career," she explained.

"I want to highlight that, and I want people to talk about it, and I want people to know the truth about what what's happening in the music business."

Nash, who has just finished a three-week US tour, started her UK dates in Glasgow on Thursday, and will then move on to Europe. Her date at London's Koko is sold out.

"I'm losing money from those tours," she told BBC News.

"The only way I could find to make a profit on the tour - you're either going, hopefully I sell enough T-shirts to cover the debt, or you cut people's wages, or you fire band and crew, or you travel dangerously."

She wasn't willing to cut corners or the quality of her shows, she said. "So that leaves me in a position where I'm not profiting from tours. So is this a job, or is it a passion project?"

She also said it was "an important time for women to take control and to feel empowered", and that she often posted photos of her posterior anyway.

The pictures she's posted on OnlyFans so far are revealing but not explicit.

"I think the arse is the perfect combination of comedy and sexuality," she said.

"I actually like bums. I think they're just quite great. I think it's funny. I enjoy taking pictures of my bum. Always been a bit of a flasher. So I'm going to enjoy doing it, and I'm already putting it online anyway.

"I'm going to probably make more money doing that than the music over the next three months”.

Kate Nash is so inspiring and important because she is raising issues in the industry. Around touring and how artists are losing money. The struggle that working-class artists face. How important grassroots venues are. At a time when venues are closing, Nash is speaking out and took a campaign to the road. In this interview with NME from last year, Nash talked about an important campaign and how the Government needs to realise, now, a career in music for many is a dream rather than a reality:

“Kate Nash has spoken to NME about her ‘Butts For Tour Buses’ campaign, the online row with The Lottery Winners – and why things need to change for artists now to avoid “collapse”.

Nash recently made headlines when she launched her ‘Butts for Tour Buses’ campaign, which saw her join OnlyFans to protest the music industry and help raise money for her UK and European tour.

The singer-songwriter and GLOW actor then took her “bum on the back of a fire truck” protest to the London offices of Live Nation and Spotify as well as the Houses of Parliament to highlight the challenges facing artists arguing: “The industry is in crisis, the music industry has failed artists, and is completely unsustainable, and my arse is shining a light on that.”

This comes as the UK government recently backed the call for a ticket levy on arena gigs and above to feed the grassroots, with small venues in a perilous situation and artists struggling more than ever to make ends meet with the odds stacked against them. A deadline has since been set for March for the music industry to react in a meaningful way to the levy, before the government will be forced to step in and act. With the dialogue increasing in recent years, it appears to be coming to a point of real reckoning now.

“It’s exploding now because of my bum! No, I’m joking,” Nash told NME. “A lot of work has been done over the last five years by people in government, Tom Gray, Broken Record, Sam Duckworth, Music Venue Trust – they’ve been working on this with proper activism at a political level. The reason it’s tipping over is because we’re almost at collapse. It can only go on to be something we all complain about behind the scenes for so long until you start to see it crumble.”

She continued: “The reality is that touring is making losses, not profit. The grassroots is in absolute crisis. Venues are closing, festivals are being cancelled. People are thinking, ‘What’s the point in starting a band?’ and ‘How can I as an artist carry on?’

“Because of the massive inflation that everyone is experiencing outside of music, so many artists are asking themselves, ‘Is this just a hobby or a passion project?’ ‘Am I going to cross the threshold or is it time for something to get done on a governmental level?’”

The conversation around her campaign took an unexpected turn when The Lottery Winners’ Thom Rylance tweeted that Nash shouldn’t try to represent working class musicians, as well as criticising her background as a former pupil of the BRIT School, mistakenly labelling it a fee-paying establishment.

“I didn’t really understand that,” Nash told NME. “What’s the argument about the BRIT School? It’s a free performing arts school. An important message to get out there is that the BRIT School is for everyone. You don’t have to pay to go there. If you heard and got confused, don’t be discouraged from applying. Free performing arts access to young people is so important”.

Before coming to some interviews from this year, I want to bring in an interview from The Line of Best Fit from last summer. They spoke with Kate Nash around the release of 9 Sad Symphonies. Following terrible times and exploitation from labels in the past, she reflected on being on a new label – the iconic Kill Rock Stars. Nash also looked back fondly on her earliest work:

“ Sad Symphonies is Nash’s first album since 2018’s Yesterday Was Forever, which she funded through Kickstarter. She never intended to have such a large gap between albums – after shooting a season of Netflix’s GLOW, she was ready to write another album, and then COVID-19 shut everything down.

Did the pandemic end up influencing the album? “Maybe it did,” Nash ponders. “There’s a lot of depression in the album; a loss of spark. It was a moment in life to relearn how to value yourself without the thing you do, because our jobs define a lot of our lives, especially with what I do. Not being able to do it was a weird feeling. How do you keep yourself feeling positive? It did make you have to go back to [thinking] what is the purpose of life? When it gets taken away it was like, well, who am I without this?”

This existential reflection comes through in the record; it’s a bit slower than Nash’s previous work, perhaps more melancholic in places. During the time between albums, Nash also released a number of singles herself. Three of them – ’Misery’, ‘Horsie’, and ‘Wasteman’ – are on 9 Sad Symphonies’s tracklist.

“I wasn’t signed [at the time],” Nash explains, “I was just distributing songs that I wanted to push forward. I put it out there that I didn’t have a label and realised I was ready for one again, but I wasn't sure who the right partner was.”

So she went out to find the right fit, which turned out to be Kill Rock Stars, an independent label based in the Pacific Northwest that’s heavily associated with Riot grrrl and has boasted the likes of Bikini Kill, Sleater-Kinney and Gossip over the years.

It was through TikTok (which Nash began to take seriously after it partnered with the BRIT Awards to allow people to vote through the platform) that she found the label. Though she's not a fan of labels telling their artists to try and make music with TikTok virality in mind, she finds it beneficial in terms of making herself and her music more familiar to a younger demographic.

It’s been almost 17 years since she released her debut album, Made of Bricks, which she describes as being “like my child.” Many of the people on TikTok coming across Nash, now 36, weren’t even born then, but through the app they’ve become fans. There are certainly parallels between this and the way in which Nash and many of her contemporaries - Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen among them - gained popularity through sites such as Myspace in the mid-2000s.

“I feel like I need to explain who I am and to talk about my story, and it's funny because every time I do that, people are like, ‘You don't need to explain who you are,’ and I'm like ‘I do, because every time I do, it gets more views and it reaches people,’” she laughs.

Nash actually toured Made of Bricks for its tenth anniversary in 2017, something she describes as “very healing” due to the negative associations she’d attached to the album.

 “When I was coming out in 2007, older men in journalism would be like, ‘Oh, silly little teenage girl writing in her fucking diary, how boring. We want men who talk about real things like being drunk and girls,” she remarks dryly. “But I’m talking about being drunk and boys. Like, what?”

Though her past critics might not have been ideal, Nash does describe her fans as "the best in the world", and it’s clear that she loves seeing such a wide variety of people at her shows. If you were a teenager when Nash first stormed onto the charts, you’d be in your early thirties by now. Many fans from this generation (and beyond) still remain, but there are teenagers too.

Some of the biggest stars on the planet right now are young women who blew up at a similar age to Nash – take Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo, now 22 and 21 respectively. But Nash isn’t sure whether or not she sees herself as a role model for younger artists coming through, as much as she’s a huge fan of artists in their twenties, such as Connie Constance and Joy Crookes.

She waxes lyrical about the former – “I fucking love Connie, she’s one of my favourites” – who recently opened for her. “When I found out she was a fan of me, I was like, ‘I can’t believe this,’” she says, “The kids that grew up listening to me are that cool, because she’s so fucking cool to me.”

Meanwhile, Crookes even emulated Nash’s haircut as a child. “She sent me this photo, trying to get my haircut. She used to draw me! These are the coolest artists around. So I feel very honoured to be of any sort of inspiration. They’re amazing”.

I am going to finish I think with just one interview from this year (rather than two). Recently, Kate Nash spoke with Viva! about veganism, capitalism and the commodification of mortality. It is a fascinating interview that reveals new sides and layers to an incredible artist. Someone who should be talked about more:

“Beyond music, she gained recognition for her role as Rhonda ‘Britannica ’Richardson in the Netflix series GLOW. An advocate for women’s empowerment, Nash champions breaking stereotypes in the entertainment industry – and she’s also a committed vegan and animal rights supporter!

It’s hard not to admire Kate Nash as beneath her catchy tunes and bold lyrics lies a woman constantly challenging the insidious forces of modern life. Her stance on veganism, for example – rooted in something deep and complex: anxiety. We live in a world fraught with uncertainty, the dread of environmental destruction and mass exploitation which can push us into making radical lifestyle changes – like choosing to remove all animal products from our diet. For Nash, veganism isn’t just a diet, it’s an act of defiance against a system that thrives on cruelty and commodification.

“I was vegetarian for about eight years,” Nash tells me, leaning in with the kind of unfiltered honesty that makes her music resonate so deeply. “That was because I had a bunny rabbit called Fluffy and she was connected to my OCD and anxiety issues… I made a deal with the universe: if I do this, then this won’t happen.” Fluffy the bunny unwittingly became a totem of Nash’s fraught relationship with control. The decision to become vegetarian wasn’t just an ethical choice, it was a form of personal exorcism: “I started thinking, ‘if I don’t eat animals, then she’ll be okay.’”

But it didn’t stop there. A pivotal turning point arrived in the shape of the film Okja. For those unfamiliar, Okja is a satirical dystopia about factory farming and a genetically modified super-pig called Okja, destined for slaughter, whose bond with the young girl who raised her sets off a cross-continental rescue mission. It’s a masterpiece of moral ambiguity and capitalism’s grim handshake with consumerism. “I’d avoided all the documentaries about cruelty and mass farming,” Nash says, “then I watched Okja and I guess I was in a vulnerable place. That final scene really struck me… After that, I just thought, ‘I don’t want to be part of this destruction.’” The film ends with Mija and Okja metaphorically disappearing into the sunset back to their tiny Korean farm.

It was easy to trace the thought processes in Nash’s journey from vegetarian to vegan as she continued to peel back layers of her own ethical engagement. “My mum grew up on a farm so I understand farming roots. There’s this idea that once, humans killed animals out of necessity and the animals were sacred. Now it’s just insane cruelty on a massive scale. I didn’t want to participate in that anymore.”

It’s the ethical quandary many of us avoid, even as we devour documentaries and climate reports from the comfort of our sofas. Nash sees veganism as a clean break – not just from eating animals but from a system that commodifies life in every form. “What I like about being vegan is that it’s a very easy way to do something good. It’s like a political statement,” she explains.

“I don’t think where we’ve got to is okay. I think it’s so unethical and cruel and it’s not even food at this point.”

If the way Nash describes meat-eating sounds a bit like the dystopian nightmare of Okja, that’s because, to her, it is. “I can’t always guarantee I’m not participating in cruelty unless I remove myself from it altogether. I don’t live near a farm; I don’t have friends who can hand me eggs from chickens they’ve looked after properly. So I just stepped out.”

And here’s the uncomfortable bit for omnivores, who like to tell themselves that ethics are too complicated to untangle – an argument Nash knows too well. “We’ve mass-produced everything. Carrots originally weren’t even orange, they were purple! Something to do with the Protestants… but basically, it’s all been manipulated, and we’re so far from nature that it’s not just about eating animals anymore, it’s about the entire system of how we’re living.”

She pauses, clearly aware of how deep the rabbit hole of ethical living goes. “I think we’ve pushed capitalism to the max. There are food banks in supermarkets but they throw food away at the end of the day. What are we doing?” It’s not just the absurdity of the system that bothers Nash but the sheer helplessness one feels when trying to rebel against it.

This piece was originally published in Viva!life, our exclusive quarterly magazine for Viva! members. Viva!life features editorials on our latest campaigns and investigations, exclusive celebrity interviews, ethical businesses, health news, plant-based cookery, and vegan trends.

By joining Viva! for as little as £1.50 a month, you will get Viva!life magazine delivered straight to your door four times a year, so you can be the first to read our new features — as well as lots of other great benefits!

Which brings us to the vegan industrial complex, because yes, that’s a thing now too. “There’s so much positivity around vegan products,” she acknowledges, “but the vegan community needs to be a little more critical. Mass-produced food – whether it’s meat or vegan – isn’t good for us. If you don’t learn to cook from scratch, you’re just buying into another processed-food industry. It feels like capitalism is taking advantage of people being vegan and are just pumping out crap”.

For those who maybe heard Kate Nash back in 2007 or only really check out the big songs, there is so much more to her. An advocate for working-class artists, the plight of grassroots venues and making the industry better. Her OnlyFans account gives her some power and control. Inspiring other artists and women. Someone who is a definite force for good. An incredible spokesperson, actor, musician and voice in the industry, Kate Nash was straight at the front of my mind when I was looking around for the next incredible female artist in Modern-Day Queens. I am not sure what is next for Nash. There will be more music and touring, though I think she will continue to speak out against the perils in music and how artists are struggling. Venues disappearing and tours not earning artists money – many losing a lot of money. If Kate Nash is not there already, make sure that she is…

ON your radar.

_____________

Follow Kate Nash

Official:

https://www.katenash.com/

TikTok:

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

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/katenash

Twitter:

https://x.com/katenash

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5vBKu1igxFo6g1sHADkIdg?si=fyhOiTGqSDyiD3ojkrdWfg

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG9T1dyFJdppmUHGf5WNe6Q?sub_confirmation=1

FEATURE: Spotlight: bdrmm

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Stewart Baxter

bdrmm

__________

THERE are going to be…

lots of positives in this feature, so I have to start by putting in a negative. As much as I love their music, I really do not like the name bdrmm. Although it is distinct, it is one of those names that you have to spell or pronounce – and I am not sure how that would come out. In spite of the name, the music made by this incredible band is worth spotlighting! I am going to get to some interviews with bdrmm. The band - Ryan Smith (vocals, guitar, synthesizer), Jordan Smith (vocals, bass, synthesizer), Joe Vickers (guitar, bass) and Conor Murray (drums) – released their third studio album, Microtonic, in February. This feature is about spotlighting brand-new artists and also ones that have been around for a while but are not known to all. Five years after bdrmm’s debut album was released, there are still people that are not aware of their brilliance. I am going to end with a review for Microtonic. First, a few interviews. Starting out with one from 2024. The band have some great dates coming up. I guess there will be festival bookings announced fairly soon. Let’s start out with an interview from The Quietus. They note how many fans were surprised by the Dance move and direction on their new record. How Mictrotonic is more upbeat or positive than their previous albums:

“If you listen to Microtonic, much of its music doesn’t sound nearly as tormented as a nightmarish pandemic record should. In fact, there’s a lot of instrumental beauty to lose yourself in, set against the intensity of its lyrics; the contemplative arpeggios in the title track, the acidic, dancefloor-ready melodies in ‘Clarkycat’ and Ryan’s soaring vocals on lead single ‘John On The Ceiling’, for instance. It was David Lynch’s Eraserhead, the singer says, which inspired this odd tonal juxtaposition: “That film is full of unease, but there is such beauty in it. The story is beautiful, but the way it goes about itself makes you feel uneasy, it really did something to me.” Microtonic, then, was written with plenty of “off-kilter moments: like you don’t really know what’s coming next, it can go from beauty to fucking dread.”

That approach is best demonstrated on ‘Infinity Peaking’, which was written at Ryan’s girlfriends’ house in Malaga whilst listening to Four Tet’s ‘Unspoken’. It was an unusually idyllic setting.“The first place I’d ever written a track that wasn’t in a dingy bedroom,” he laughs. “I was sat looking at the mountains in Malaga where the sun was shining. Like… what the fuck? I was in a really good place, but what came out obviously was quite the juxtaposition of being in such a beautiful environment but feeling these uncomfortable feelings.”

Perhaps it’s the openness and emotional safety that dance music afforded Ryan which allowed him to expose more of his vulnerabilities on Microtonic. Ryan’s written about his mental health struggles before on the last two records – in ways that were sometimes misinterpreted by listeners: “People thought ‘Be Careful’ was a political record, I was literally just talking about me nearly sniffing too much”. But there’s an unmistakable assuredness on Microtonic, one which sees Ryan not only adopt a more commanding tone throughout, but also a straightforward honesty about his mental health struggles: “Forgiving myself one more time, again,” he sings on ‘Infinity Peaking’. “Staring out at the world I have created. So lost, so lost…”

“The first two records were very much me talking about my mental health, but that’s completely masked [on those albums] by the amount of horror that seems to be going on in the world,” he says. “It’s inescapable because it just kind of goes into your head, so that’s the confidence to be able to talk about those more important, deeper values and the confidence within the songwriting.”

Lockdown split the band apart, as it did many. After spending days on end with each other, they found themselves living in different places, and the change in lifestyle was difficult to adjust to: “I think I can say for all of us that it impacted us in many different ways,” Jordan asserts.

When I ask Ryan what lockdown was like for him, he grimaces. “Fucking hell,” he begins. “Well, I was living in a basement in Leeds. I feel like a lot of people took that time to get sober, and I definitely went the opposite way. Being able to stay at home and do whatever you wanted to do – which was unfortunately for me, a lot of drugs and a lot of drink – I feel like I’ve come out of that a different person just because of the impact that’s had on me.

“I do feel like I come back to that lockdown quite a bit, but it’s just because it’s tattooed on my memory,” he continues. “I don’t think the world is the same – anxiety is fucking air now. It seems like it’s on edge. I don’t know if that’s just me because I’ve come out of this lockdown with a mental disorder or the world has shifted because everyone was in their own heads for two years.”

That paranoia has inspired the urgency palpable in Microtonic, whether in its lyrics or the stark sprechgesang Ryan adopts on tracks like ‘Snares’: “When you want to address something which is more or less the fucking nightmare world that we live in, you want to tell people that it’s alright. It’s fucking bleak, but within these little pockets of your own people, you can find that happiness within this bleakness.”

Really, that’s the most intriguing aspect about Microtonic. It might be slightly corny to say, but the record is imbued with an affirmation of friendship; of mates reconnecting through music after being separated by the pandemic. I bring up how much I enjoy the lyrical directness on ‘Snares’, and Jordan chimes in: “It’s interesting, because it’s one of the tunes where we’ve all listened to it and thought it was great, and then when we’ve talked to each other about what we liked about it, it’s completely different,” he says”.

I am going to move on to an interesting interview from The Line of Best Fit from February. Even though there is gloom and something heavier in Microtonic, there is still a lot of fun and light. The band seem more settled, even though it is a turbulent and horrible time. I know they are played on a few radio stations, though I feel they warrant wider appreciation and investigation:

“On Microtonic, bdrmm have used the endless possibilities of electronica to rework the quintessential yearning that has always underpinned their sound. “Lake Disappointment” is a more rave-friendly track with distorting, whirling bass that would sit snugly on a Joy Division album, and album opener “goit” starts out in the dance realm too before it spirals into acidy undertones accompanied by a searing sense of dread, with these more expansive textures of ambient and IDM pervading most of the album. Syd Minskey-Sargeant of Working Men’s Club offers grim lyrics of “mortality / spasms / terror / death / there’s nothing left” to bring the topic of dystopia into sharp focus immediately – something that never relents.

Standout tracks “John on the Ceiling” and “Snares” both use harsher, industrial sounds to emphasise the dreariness of Smith’s conscience. On the former, synth gushes filter through his fixations on “thinking of the / ways to escape / what’s said and done,” and on the latter, he uses spoken word to understand “the jarred clarity of our identities” post-pandemic.

But Smith and Vickers both feel “The Noose” best captures the album’s message: that the world we live in isn’t real anymore. “That was written from insomnia,” Smith explains, sharing how he used a loop pedal to produce the song’s intense mechanical whirring sound. “That’s how we are nowadays: anything that sounds fucking rubbish, we’re like, ‘let’s get that on the album!’”

PHOTO CREDIT: Stewart Baxter

To get into the songwriting zone, Smith dedicated himself to an unusual routine of waking at 5am to watch a different David Lynch film every morning, something he said did the album a world of good. The late director’s film Eraserhead inspired “Clarkycat”, for example, and Smith quips, “obviously that did well for my mental health!” He adds: “It was kind of like Aphex Twin doing his acid dreams, waking up and just writing straight away – I just thought it would be a good way to get into the mindset of all the themes.”

Despite all the pessimism, dystopia, and rooster-call alarm clocks, Microtonic found the band happier than they had ever been while making an album. “Surrounding the doom of the lyricism, the recording process was the best we’ve ever had,” Smith says. “It was so much fun and everything went quite easy. There was no negative energy, no pressure, and it was such a happy time – but just ironic that it came out as quite dark.”

Sticking with long-time producer Alex Greaves contributed to this comfort, too, with Smith calling him a fifth member, while Vickers appreciates his honesty throughout the process: “He was never afraid to tell us when something was shit and sucked, which was quite difficult to hear sometimes, but it’s really healthy and pushes you to be better.” Smith looks back to their origin story with Greaves, when “he’d come over to mine and Jordan’s, just listen to music, write demos, get twatted, and our tastes have developed as his have too.”

That last point is apparent as you move through their music over time, too, with obvious touchpoints such as Ride and Radiohead giving way to Floating Points, Portishead, and Massive Attack. It was gigging with electronic producer Daniel Avery that helped bdrmm understand how to expand their shoegaze sound; working with him and having him remix a track was on their pie-in-the-sky wishlist as big fans of the British DJ’s album Drone Logic.

“And then when it happened [on “Port”], it was like, fucking hell, we must be onto something!” Smith says. “He’s got a big interest in shoegaze, and looking through his playlists you’d have some obscure IDM track followed by Cocteau Twins. That was where the electronic shoegaze melded over. If you can listen to both, you can write both.”

Despite steadily establishing themselves over the past five years, bdrmm are still deeply grounded to their northern roots in Hull, with Smith sharing how he feels it’s the “biggest respect” to be associated with their beloved New Adelphi Club, a storied 200-cap venue where they still play, joining alumni such as Green Day, Oasis, and Radiohead. Similarly, Vickers says that starting out on the Sonic Cathedral before moving to independent label Rock Action “suits our character, being from Hull.”

“Being on a major label would be lovely and I don’t think anyone needs more money than we do,” Smith jokes, “but I wouldn’t change it for the world because you get to do what you want and work with like-minded people.” He notes, by way of example, how this has helped his brother and fellow bandmate Jordan Smith use his creative vision for the band’s overall aesthetic. “He is fucking unbelievable. To see his artistic talent grow and match the vibe – that first album cover is a packet of quavers on a scanner, so he’s a genius.” It’s this freedom and space to grow that has helped bdrmm build their confidence to evolve their music quite early on into their existence. “The biggest thing is just the confidence within us to feel like we can try new things,” says Smith.

“Just as a collective, we’re all much more comfortable in each other. We’ve all grown up and can tell each other how we feel, rather than getting absolutely fucked and fighting each other. We all appreciate the fact we get to do it as none of us are in it for the money, so we all purely do it for the love of actually making music and getting to play it live.”

We can take comfort from the fact that bdrmm still know how to find their niche and spread joy through their music to both themselves and to everyone else – even while its doom-and-gloom overtones echo the terrifyingly satirical world we’re all living in”.

Before getting to a review of Microtonic – an album that could be in the frame for a Mercury Prize this year -, I want to come to another interview. Another from February, CLASH spoke with bdrmm about their sonic evolution and what their latest album delivers. Maybe I should have led with this interview, but I did want to quote from the start of CLASH’s spotlight. It caught my eye:

“Less than five years ago, bdrmm stood at the forefront of a shoegaze renaissance. Drenching their strums in distortion, the Yorkshire-born band took influence from 1980s goths and 1990s alt-rockers to create their own sound, equal parts dark and dreamy. They put out their debut record with Sonic Cathedral and entranced audiences in bedrooms and festival fields alike with hypnotic melodies and pedalboards packed tight. But there was always something else brewing beneath the shoegaze-tinted surface.

bdrmm were never quite content with being a straight-forward guitar band. It’s a classification that they began to kick away from on their sophomore record, 2023’s ‘I Don’t Know’. Those moody guitars and distinctive vocals that characterised their debut still remained, as did those continual nods to Thom Yorke – both as Radiohead frontman and solo producer – but the group looked to broaden the scope of shoegaze with atmospheric electronica and pulsing beats. ‘I Don’t Know’ acted as a bridging point between the band’s fuzzy, bedroom-borne roots and something more synth-driven.

In the words of their trusted producer Alex Greaves, bdrmm are now on the verge of releasing the album that they’ve always been threatening to make. ‘Microtonic’, the group’s third full-length offering, is the purest execution of their sonic vision so far. Through spoken word segments, skittish drum beats, and dreary dystopian lyrics, Bdrmm foray into more cinematic territory, expanding their ‘90s influences to include the likes of Massive Attack, Portishead and Trent Reznor. And although ‘Microtonic’ sits in a completely new realm, perhaps more suited to drip down walls of an underground club than The New Adelphi, it’s no less dense or mesmerising than the band’s early work.

“This record feels like what you guys have been building to,” Greaves comments as we settle into Studio 2 at The Nave, cuppas in hand but soon to be forgotten in favour of conversation, “but I don’t think it’s as much of a departure from what you’ve done before as some people might think. To me, it still has all the hallmarks of a bdrmm record. It’s headphone music. It’s immersive.” 

He’s addressing brothers-turned-bandmates Ryan and Jordan Smith, who have been familiar faces around The Nave for years now. Bdrmm have recorded all of their records so far in this converted church situated on the outskirts of Leeds, and Greaves has been present for each one. As a result, their relationship is far closer than you might usually expect for a band and producer, and, fortunately, their tastes have grown in alignment too.

“We were into the same music when we made album one, and we’re still into the same music now,” Greaves explains, “the idea of making a much more electronic record with these guys was something that I thought they would do and should do.” Although Greaves and the band were on the same page about the idea of pushing into more electronic territory, the vision for ‘Microtonic’ wasn’t always quite so concrete.

bdrmm came to The Nave with just a trio of ideas, but enough confidence that they were a solid base to spawn a full album. “The last record,” Jordan explains, “everyone’s influences and ideas were so scattered. It came together well in the end, but it felt unfocused. When we started this record, it felt like everyone was on the same page with what we were listening to and what we wanted the record to sound like. It felt that there was less hesitance.”

This newfound confidence to experiment seems to have stemmed from a few places: the coherence of the band’s increasingly electronic influences, the quality of their at- home recording, and the liberating return to writing in bedrooms. “The way that we’ve started working more recently has become so divorced from the way that we’re used to working,” Jordan continues. “We used to just get into a practice room and write with guitars. Now, we all live in different cities, it’s going more electronic and we have the opportunity to work at home with decent gear.”

“Nobody had played it in a room together before it came here,” Greaves adds, “no songs on the record were made that way.”

As bdrmm shrugged off their concerns about how tracks might translate to a live setting, ‘Microtonic’ would become their most experimental endeavour yet. “There was so much restriction from album one to album two,” Ryan comments, “Now, we can just do whatever we want and then we can learn how to do it live.” “Worry about that later,” Greaves reassures him, “And also it’s not my problem”.

I am finishing off with a review of Microtonic. It did get a load of reviews. There were one or two mixed ones. Though there were a load of really positive ones. However, it is clearly one of the best albums of the year. One that takes bdrmm’s music to new places and connects with a different audience. It is also one that their loyal fans love. God Is in the TV Zine provided their say in a glowing review of Microtonic:

“bdrmm are a fine example of what can happen to a band over a few albums. With their early singles and (almost) self-titled debut Bedroom, they were a fine example of shoegaze, dreampop…call it what you will. By the time of their second album, I Don’t Know, they were signed to Mogwai’s own Rock Action label, and they’d brought in both ambient and electronica elements to their sound. The album reached no.51 in the UK album charts; I believe, in time to come, this will actually be a rather lowly placing for this fine band.

Meanwhile, here we are, two years later and the trajectory is still very much on the up. Within the first thirty seconds of opening track ‘goit’ (yes, all lower case!) with its beautifully gloomy European dance sounds, it’s clear that bdrmm have definitely shifted up a gear or two in making records. This is a track for both the feet and the head, and ‘John On The Ceiling’ takes over almost before ‘goit‘ finished. In fact, it’s only on the third track ‘Infinity Peaking’ that there’s a sense of the shoegaze bdrmm of old, and this crops up again on the explosive title track and ‘Sat In The Heat.’

Yet cleverly, this all feels like a rather smooth flow, rather than being too much of a jump to take in just in the place of one listen. By the time the album reaches the excellent closer, the magnificent melancholia of ‘The Noose,’ it’s clear that this is an album to be played again. There’s always been a risk (possibly beginning in the CD era, and exacerbated as downloading and streaming came in) of people cherry-picking from albums; this is Exhibit A in way this practice should be avoided if at all possible.

Microtonic is not only the best album the band have made but is also likely to be the band’s commercial breakthrough. It certainly deserves to be. (The band and public should expect greater press coverage, bigger venues and higher spots in festival bills from now on.) While in some ways it takes the very different early 1990s rave and shoegazing scenes as starting points, (think both of the first two Orbital and Slowdive albums) this end result feels fresh and exciting. The opportunity for remixers to take these tracks to new places is also there for the taking. It will be interesting to see where bdrmm go next”.

Many will already be avid fans of bdrmm. Some might not know who they are or have heard a song or two. In any case, go and connect with the great Northern band. Antony Szmierek recently waxed lyrical about this band and their new album when he was on BBC Radio 6 Music last weekend. I love how bdrmm have sort of led a bit of a Shoegaze revival. A sound that I love and think is being revived and adapted by artists at the moment. Few do it as well as bdrmm. They are well worth investing in. It is clear that they have a really…

LONG future ahead.

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Follow bdrmm

Official:

https://bdrmm.co.uk/

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/smellybdrmm/

Twitter:

https://x.com/smellybdrmm

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Cx5LnF4WNJIn9SSqyeq9C?si=tu-lZHSJTgSam0-LxQI2pg

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUy7jm7twHLwt0MtiNNV-5g

Facebook:

https://en-gb.facebook.com/smellybdrmm/

FEATURE: The Digital Mixtape: Songs from Concept Albums

FEATURE:

 

 

The Digital Mixtape

IN THIS PHOTO: The Beatles in 1967 ahead of their Our World performance/PHOTO CREDIT: David Magnus

Songs from Concept Albums

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A couple of amazing things…

PHOTO CREDIT: Photo By: Kaboompics.com/Pexels

happened on 4th June, 1967. Paul McCartney and George Harrison of The Beatles saw Jimi Hendrix headline a concert at the Saville Theatre in London. It was a day of celebration for The Beatles as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band began its twenty-three-week run at number one on the U.K. album chart. It is hardly surprising. An album that completely captured the mood and tone of the summer of ’67 – Summer of Love and this psychedelic age -, it is a monumental work that is often cited as the best album by The Beatles. Even though it would not be in my top three of theirs, it is perhaps one of the most influential albums ever released. Because 4th June marks fifty-eight years since Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band started its near-six-month run at the summit of the album chart in the U.K., I wanted to use that as a jumping off point in a mixtape featuring cuts from concept albums. In spite of the fact Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is an album many argue is not a concept is – it is because The Beatles said it is! -, you cannot deny how historic and important the album is. Below is a collection of brilliant songs from some eclectic and notable concept albums. We still have them released today, though they are not as common (or at least talked about). Quite hard to pull off and impress critics. However, when the album is done right, the results…

CAN be spellbinding.

FEATURE: Groovelines: Nancy Sinatra – These Boots Are Made for Walkin’

FEATURE:

 

 

Groovelines

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BECAUSE the iconic…

Nancy Sinatra turns eighty-five on 8th June. I want to feature her best-loved song for this Groovelines. These Boots Were Made for Walkin’ was released in December 1965 and was a huge chart success. It reached number one in the U.S. and U.K. Written and produced by Lee Hazelwood (who collaborated with Sinatra through the 1960s and 1970s), it has been much covered. I am going to get to some features about this song. Ones that examine its meaning, background and impact. I am starting out with a feature from Medium. They explore Nancy Sinatra’s signature song:

“In the mid-1960s, Nancy Sinatra was trying to follow in her very famous father’s musical footsteps and make a name for herself as a recording artist. It didn’t go especially well at first…but then “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” hit number one in both the US and the UK. Overnight, if briefly, her fame eclipsed even that of Frank himself.

“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” was written by Lee Hazlewood, who also recorded a series of duets with Nancy Sinatra, including the somewhat risque (for the day) “Did You Ever” which hinted at all sorts of things but didn’t spell any of them out clearly enough to trouble the radio censors.

Lee Hazlewood also produced Nancy Sinatra’s other big hit, “Something Stupid”, a duet with her dad Frank. This also hit the top of the charts in the UK and US and to this day is the only father-daughter collaboration to hit the top of the charts. (Probably just as well…although I like the song, given the lyrics, the father-daughter combo on “Something Stupid” is vaguely un-nerving…)

“These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” tells the tale of someone who’s had enough. She’s clearly been putting up with the bad behaviour of a partner or lover for some time…doing her best to forgive and forget.

But then yet another incident comes along. Maybe some big blow-up, more likely something minor, but the last straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Then it all comes out…

You keep saying you’ve got something for me
Something you call love but confess
You’ve been a-messin’ where you shouldn’t ‘ve been a-messin’
And now someone else is getting all your best

I’m not sure there’s an easy way back from that, but Nancy Sinatra piles the pressure on in a verse I really love…it might not be the best use of formal English, but as a way for person at the end of their tether to get a point across, this is genius…

You keep lyin’ when you oughta be truthin’
You keep losing when you oughta not bet
You keep samin’ when you oughta be changin’
Now what’s right is right but you ain’t been right yet

I think we all know people like that. Almost whatever decision they make, somehow they get themselves into even deeper trouble than they were already. The harder they try, the further they fall.

Some of them have supportive and long-suffering friends, partners and families…often much more supportive and longer-suffering than anyone has a right to expect”.

I am eager to highlight a feature from American Songwriter. Repeating a little of what came before, they discussed the meaning of an iconic track. One of the greatest and most important songs of the 1960s. The second single from her debut 1966 album, Boots – an album largely of covers -, there are few songs as recognisable and cool as These Boots Are Made for Walkin’. It is one that is still widely played today:

“The Meaning

Right as the foreboding acoustic and chromatic bass begin, you know you’re in trouble. The mood of the song, even as it just begins, puts you on your heels.

Written by country star Lee Hazelwood, “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’” was first made into a hit by Nancy Sinatra (daughter of singer, Frank Sinatra). It hit the charts on January 22, 1966 after a release in December of 1965, and peaked at No. 1 in the U.S. and U.K. Since the song’s release it has been covered by others, from Billy Ray Cyrus and Megadeth to Jessica Simpson.

While the song was made famous by Nancy, Hazlewood said the writing of the tune was inspired by a line Frank said in the comedy western, 4 for Texas, in 1963. The line was, “They tell me them boots ain’t built for walkin’.”

In the song, the boots are made for walking. They’re made for walking out on no good, cheating men and they’re good, furthermore, for walking on their hearts before the head out the door. The track appeared on Nancy’s 1966 album, Boots. It was a follow-up to her popular tune, “So Long, Babe.”

Writing the song, Hazlewood wanted to record it himself. He even said that “it’s not really a girl’s song.” But Nancy talked him out of it, saying, “Coming from a guy, it was harsh and abusive, but was perfect for a little girl to sing.” Hazlewood, perhaps receiving an offer he couldn’t refuse, eventually agreed.

Sings Nancy to her no-good cheating boyfriend:

You keep sayin’ you’ve got somethin’ for me
Somethin’ you call love but confess
You’ve been a’messin’ where you shouldn’t ‘ve been a’messin’
And now someone else is getting all your best

These boots are made for walkin’
And that’s just what they’ll do
One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you

The Recording

The music for the song is just as impactful as the substance and performance from Nancy.

It was good largely because it was performed by the Los Angeles corps known as the Wrecking Crew. Chuck Berghofer played double bass and that now famous chromatic descent.

In a bit of controversy, Wrecking Crew drummer Hal Blaine says he played drums on the song but the contract shows he was not present in the session. Donald “Richie” Frost is credited with playing the drum kit.

The recording session took place on November 19, 1965 at United Western Recorders in Hollywood, California. It also produced the songs, “Foursome” and “The City Never Sleeps at Night”.

I am going to end with a feature from Stereogum. The delivery and performance is not what you would expect when you read the lyrics for These Boots Are Made for Walkin’. Nearly sixty years after its release, you can hear how many female artists have been inspired by the song. Stereogum argue how Lee Hazelwood and Nancy Sinatra never really reached the genius heights again. A song that is almost perfect:

“These Boots Are Made For Walkin'” is a total pop-music miracle, an endlessly replayable evisceration of some asshole guy who’s been messin’ where he shouldn’t have been messin’. There’s no firepower in Sinatra’s vocal; she’s talking as much as she’s singing. But she’s got her father’s gift for timing and his ability to broadcast huge levels of personality through quick little asides. Nancy’s sneery “ha!” might be the best moment on a song that’s full of great moments. She sounds tough and playful and bored, all at once. She’s too cool to be properly pissed off at the guy who’s cheated. Instead, she’s having fun with him the way a cat has fun with a mouse. He’s barely worth her energy. The song works as a laconic seizure of power, a purred threat.

The arrangement, meanwhile, is so simple and intuitive that it’s almost hard to hear how weird it is. Sinatra and Strange recorded the song with the Wrecking Crew, of course, and all the musicians play with the sort of confidence that can only come from playing on a huge percentage of the era’s hits. That descending bassline, right after Sinatra sings the chorus, is joining in the mockery, while the twangy acoustic guitar adds to the strut. But my favorite part is the horn arrangement, which keeps shifting throughout the song — quiet during the first verse, minimal Southern-soul fanfares during the second, big riffs during the third, a joyously stabby explosion on the fade-out. The end of the song is where Sinatra stops sing to the guy and instead talks to the boots, like they were people: “Are ya ready, boots? Start walkin’!” And the horns become the boots, going into hard-strut mode. I fucking love it. I love everything about it.

Over the next few years, Sinatra and Hazlewood kept recording together, finding this glorious form of hybridized drug-pop. “Some Velvet Morning” and “Sand” and “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” are all dizzy, head-blown masterpieces. Eventually, Hazlewood moved to Sweden and recorded a bunch of unheard solo albums that later became cult favorites, while Sinatra kept recording and acting and showing up in unexpected places: posing for Playboy in 1995, when she was 54, or collaborating with Morrissey and Jarvis Cocker and Sonic Youth in 2004. Both of them had amazing careers, but neither of them ever recaptured the slick, breezy glory of “These Boots Are Made For Walkin'” again. To their enormous credit, neither of them even seemed that interested in trying.

GRADE: 10/10”.

I am going to end things there. One of the defining songs of the 1960s, These Boots Are Made for Walkin’ is impossibly cool and brilliant. Because Nancy Sinatra turns eighty-five on 8th June, I want do a double celebration. Highlight this amazing song. Also mark a big birthday for Sinatra. Someone whose voice and musical persona is like no one else’s! For those who maybe have not heard the track in a while, make sure that you…

PUT it on now.

FEATURE: Spotlight: f5ve

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

f5ve

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NOT to confuse people…

PHOTO CREDIT: Crystalline Structures Studio

when it comes to that name, this f5ve put the number five in the name. The boyband Five do not. Their worlds are very different. The one I am focusing on are a group (a girl group) shaking up the world of J-Pop. F5ve formed in 2022. The group consists of Sayaka, Kaede, Ruri, Miyuu, and Rui, with BloodPop serving as their executive producer. They released their astonishing debut album, SEQUENCE 01, on 5th May. Although I am not a fan of their name – it leaves them vulnerable if one of the members leave or they are depleted at any point -, though I am a fan of their music. We do not hear a lot of J-Pop in the U.K. Perhaps we hear more K-Pop. I think that a group like f5ve are here to stay and will fully infiltrate British music and radio. Certain stations will play them, though I feel like there will be new attention very soon. I am going to get to some 2025 features and interview soon. I will end with a review for SEQUENCE 01. I am going to start off with a 2024 introduction from Gay Times:

“If you’re looking for a new pop girl group to sink your teeth into, look no further – f5ve is the band for you. Made up of J-pop veterans Sayaka, Kaede, Miyuu, Ruri and Rui, the fierce fivesome first debuted in 2023 with their single ‘Firetruck.’ Earlier this year, the “inter-dimensional dream agents from Tokyo” underwent a transformation, switching their stage name from the Sailor Moon-inspired SG5 (Sailor Guardians 5) to f5ve (pronounced fi-vee). Since kicking off their new era, the talented group has honed their craft and released singles that rebuke self-doubt, explore the complexities of love, and embrace the power of womanhood. (They’ve since been co-signed by major artists such as Bloodpop, Rosalía, A.G. Cook and more.)

On 10 September, f5ve showcased another side of their artistry with the release of their Underground REMIXS EP. On the five-track genre-bending project, the ladies teamed up with TeddyLoid, DJ CHARI, STARKIDS, Doss, and art collective YAGI EXHIBITION, who brought to life dynamic reimaginings of the titular single. Amid their steady rise within the pop music sphere, GAY TIMES spoke to f5ve about their musical beginnings, their dedicated LGBTQIA+ fans within the hi-5 fandom, their goals as a new girl group on the scene, and more. Read the full interview below!

All of your songs so far have been a huge hit with fans. ‘Lettuce’ has over three million views on YouTube, which is major!  What is like for you all to see this massive response right out of the gate?

KAEDE: I still can’t believe this happened and very happy to see the response in so many different languages. Every time I look into socials I was like, ‘Wow! There’s hi-5 in this country!?’

SAYAKA: I was a little worried because we had been silent for more than a year since our last work,  but I was happy to see that so many people were waiting for us.

MIYUU: I didn’t expect this at all. The team is working very hard, but seeing so many people listening to f5ve’s music and reacting for us every time [we] release something is something we’ve never experienced before, even though we’ve been around for a long time, so we’re simply happy! Thank you always, my besties.

RURI: It’s still unbelievable! I really can’t believe that most of the comments are from overseas. It still feels like a dream.

RUI: I’m very happy and I believe that the music that BloodPop creates for f5ve is music that should reach many fans!

For those who are unfamiliar with you, can you tell us a little bit about how f5ve came to fruition?

SAYAKA: KAEDE, MIYUU, RURI and I are former E-girls members, and RUI, who is now in iScream, are joining forces with the Grammy-winning producer, BloodPop.

KAEDE: I think we are creating a new genre that is unique in the way f5ve can only express.

MIYUU: We are a group of five women based in Tokyo. Many call us “five”, but the correct pronunciation is “fi-vee”! Each of us is a multi-dimensional dream agent utilizing our arsenal of optimism, confidence, brilliance, and female empowerment. And I represent fantasy.

RURI: We debuted with ‘Firetruck’ under the name of SG5, and we were reborn as f5ve, followed by releases of ‘Lettuce’ and ‘Underground’. We will not be talking about the rebrand because… no.

RUI: f5ve is the woman of every girl’s dreams. f5ve brings you confidence.

The music industry is currently lacking in mainstream girl groups that are topping the charts on a similar level to Destiny’s Child, TLC, Spice Girls, Pussycat Dolls, and Little  Mix. Do you hope to change that?

KAEDE: I don’t think there has ever been a Japanese girl group at the top of the international music industry, so I hope we can be the first group to do so. It’s a long road to get there, and it has been very challenging so far, but we work every day to be our best and represent Japan.

SAYAKA: I want to be a Japanese person on the world stage.

MIYUU: We are influenced by many popular and smaller artists from all over the world. I think many people are tired of the same thing being presented over and over with girl groups. Hopefully, we can bring something new, authentic and real.

RURI: The world is finally ready for us.

RUI: We don’t want to be limited by charts, categories or streaming. We want to create amazing art that stands the test of time. That is more important than anything else.

Historically, girl groups have always attracted a lot of fans within the LGBTQIA+  community. Have you noticed that support?

KAEDE: Of course, yes. There were a lot of comments [and phrases] that I didn’t understand at first, so I asked the team about it and they told me, ‘It’s used a lot by the LGBTQIA+ community.’ They’ve always supported us with a high level of enthusiasm, and I really appreciate that.

SAYAKA: I’m happy that so many people have commented, spread the word, and are constantly cheering us. I think gay people like us because we love being ourselves.

MIYUU: Every time we release, the LGBTQIA+ community acts and spreads the word. Not just about our music, but the existence of f5ve to more people. So, I think more and more people are getting to know f5ve. It’s all about you, besties. Thank you for your support.

RURI: Of course, I always feel the support and love of our fans! I’m encouraged by a lot of comments on socials. I learned words like “mother,” “diva,” and “ate.”

RUI: [The LGBTQIA+ community’s] support and love are truly encouraging. I’m also checking all the reactions on social media! Thank you so much.

And what do your LGBTQIA+ fans mean to you?

KAEDE: They are incredibly supportive, and it seems like they are most of our fans. Everyone is so welcoming and beautiful and unique. We will protect you.

SAYAKA: They are an important and encouraging presence for us. The community has so much energy, so we are very happy to receive their support and want to show our support in return.

RURI: We will not be here today [without the support of the LGBTQIA+ community], and I can’t imagine not having their support. You are an existence that must be with us; our dreams won’t come true without you. We will always be together.

RUI:  Thank you for finding f5ve. Thank you for lots of love and rainbows! Love you all so much. “Mother!”.

There are some great recent interviews that were published around the release of SEQUENCE 01. When speaking with DAZED, f5ve talked about busting stereotypes and reaching a new global audience. For anyone reticent about exploring J-Pop or not used to it, I would say you can embrace them. You will not be disappointed at all! I have recently discovered them and it is clear that we need to celebrate this new wave of international girl groups. There is not the same strong wave that we had in the 1990s and early-2000s:

“Do you have any favorite tracks on the album?

Miyuu: My favorite song is ‘Jump’. The melody is very dreamy, I feel like I’m in a fantasy world listening to it, and [it reminds me that], when things get hard, your friends are always there for you. It makes me feel encouraged.

Rui: Mine is ‘Magic Clock’. When I listen to it, it makes me happy and reminds me of the members, bringing back fond memories. I feel my heart beating fast.

Sayaka: My favorite is ‘Sugar Free Venom’. It reminds me of Habushu, a traditional sake from Okinawa that has a [real] snake inside the bottle. When I listen to it, I feel empowered and strong.

Kaede: I love this song, too. Also, ‘Sugar Free Venom’ will have a big feature later this year...

Rui: I have a little hint. It reminds me of the 2020s music scene.

Kaede: [singing] ‘Don’t stop, make it pop, DJ, blow my speakers up…’ [laughs].

Alright, your PR told me not to mention who the featured artist is yet, but since you gave such a big hint, I’ll keep it that way. What are some new things you learned while making this album? Or new things that you discovered about yourselves?

Rui: We had a chance to decide on our own [singing] parts. It was the first time this happened to us, and we grew a lot from this experience. I also appreciate that the whole team and BloodPop helped us decide on these things.

Miyuu: During recording, keeping up with the speed of creating new songs every minute, every hour, every day was very challenging. But at the same time, the biggest takeaway for me was understanding both the strengths and weaknesses of my voice.

Kaede: It was my first time singing, and Sayaka and Miyuu as well. In our previous group [Happiness], we were performers, so we just had to focus on dancing. This time, all the experiences were fresh and challenging for us. I didn’t know about my strengths, for example, but during the recording, staff members and the girls complimented my airy voice. It made me realise a new side of myself.

Since you have been in the field for over a decade, what changes have you noticed in J-pop and its global perception?

Miyuu: So far, J-pop and K-pop have both been seen as ‘just Asian music’. So, J-pop didn't get much global recognition, especially since Japan has focused on the domestic market. With social media, it’s way easier to access music worldwide, and more people started noticing the difference between J-pop and K-pop. This culture has really changed how we discover and appreciate music.

Ruri: I didn’t know that international fans knew Japanese music, but now with f5ve, I know that many of them love Japanese culture and J-pop.

Kaede: We got so many comments in different languages, like English, Korean, Spanish, Chinese. Since social media has gotten way bigger, a lot of people from foreign countries have a chance to listen to our music now. Seeing international comments is refreshing to us.

You are already challenging a lot in J-pop by approaching themes like LGBTQ+ support and breaking beauty stereotypes. Do you think it’s important nowadays to focus on that?

Kaede: Of course! We have friends that come from the LGBTQ+ community, and we love them. We want to support them.

Rui: Yes, we want to take away any negative feelings related to them around the world.

How do you balance bringing humour to your songs while wanting to be taken seriously as a group?

Rui: I think everyone has their own image of f5ve, and we’re happy with that. Being ourselves and embracing each member’s unique personality is what makes f5ve special. Our social media is full of humor, so when we perform, it may look cool and confident, but offstage, we are very natural and always laughing. We play around with each other a lot.

When you look into the future, like ten years from now, what personal achievements or milestones would make you proud of yourselves?

Kaede: My ideal is to become a unique and one-of-a-kind artist. I want to keep going and stay [beside] my fans. I want to give positive energy to them.

Miyuu: I want to be someone who stays true to my expression, and to become my own biggest fan. Then, I want to show my fans that loving yourself is something wonderful.

Kaede: We want to go on tour and meet hi-5 [f5ve fans] all over the world, too. We want to be big pop stars. Hopefully”.

The group have some incredible dates ahead. They play New York on 27th June. There are two more interviews I want to bring in before ending with a review for SEQUENCE 01. I am going to bring in an interview with Billboard. F5ve reflected on the universal appeal of their genre-blending music and cheeky online presence. They have really great personalities and they have this incredible chemistry. I think that f5ve are going to be releasing many more albums and will tour in the U.K. soon enough:

“Are there other ways you feel like your on-stage personas differ from who you are in real life?

Kaede: I’m a totally different person. On stage, I have confidence and I can be more…slayish?

Miyuu: It’s kind of the same for me. Off stage, I’m not outgoing, and I can be pretty shy. But when I perform, it’s like “Look at me, look at me.” [Laughs]

One of f5ve’s goals is to “eradicate self-doubt,” but we all have moments of insecurity. How do you overcome that yourselves?

Rui: We have a lot of practice being on stage and shooting. f5ve is the best team, so I always trust the members, trust the staff and trust myself. And I can be natural, be positive.

Kaede: We compliment each other before we go on stage, always.

Miyuu: “You look so cute. You look so pretty. You look so gorgeous.”

Rui: “Beauty! Sexy!”

What compliment would you give to the person sitting next to you right now?

Kaede: Miyuu is our number one face expression queen.

Miyuu: Sayaka is one of the smallest members, but the way she performs and her aura make you feel otherwise.

Sayaka: Rui is a true idol. She has perfect expressions and is always on point on stage.

Rui: Ruri has… face card. Always beautiful. I’m also addicted to Ruri’s powerful voice. And she is so kind.

Ruri: Kaede is the sunshine of the group. She’s always talking to people, always communicating.

In the music video for “Magic Clock,” there were child dancers who played younger versions of you. Some of you have been in the entertainment industry since you were around their age, so did you have any advice for them?

Rui: They were so nervous during the music video shoot, so we were always by their side. [We told them,] “You are so cute, your dancing is so amazing. Please have confidence.” We gained power from them. I think that situation was my dream come true. I was so happy.

Why was it a dream come true?

Rui: I was a student at [Japanese entertainment training school] EXPG starting at a young age, and during that time, I looked up to E-girls and all the LDH groups.

Besides Kesha, who features on “Sugar-Free Venom,” which artists do you hope to collaborate with in the future?

Rui: I want to collaborate with Addison Rae someday. I love her music videos and her vibes. I’m a huge fan.

Sayaka: I want to collaborate with Tyla.

Miyuu: I love Doja Cat. [Her music embodies] woman empowerment, which is why it matches us.

Kaede: I want to collaborate with Justin Bieber. I’ve been a huge fan of his since I was a junior high school student. He was my first celebrity crush. [Laughs.] I love his voice, I love his music.

Ruri: Taylor Swift. I recently listened to The Tortured Poets Department, and that got me into her.

You also worked with producers like A. G. Cook and Count Baldor on SEQUENCE 01. Who would you love to have write or produce a song for f5ve in the future?

Rui: Of course, I want to create more music with BloodPop, but I want to collaborate with Zedd.

Kaede: I want to collaborate with ASOBISYSTEM in Japan. We saw ATARASHII GAKKO!’s show in LA, so I hope ASOBISYSTEM or Nakata Yasutaka creates our music with ATARASHII GAKKO!

The video for “Underground” had Dekotora trucks and Para Para. What other elements of Japanese culture do you want to share with the world?

Kaede: Natsumatsuri is a summer festival in Japan, and when I was a kid, I practiced and played traditional drums in the festival. So, one day, I want to show you my drum skills in our songs. I can surprise people abroad with that.

Rui: I want to wear a kimono or yukata in a music video or a live show.

The J-pop industry used to be pretty much exclusively interested in the Japanese market, but now we’re starting to see that open up. Why do you think that is?

Miyuu: Lately, I’ve been feeling that the international reception of J-pop is starting to shift. In the past, there weren’t many chances for people to get exposed to J-pop, so the Japanese music industry mainly focused on the domestic market, as you said. But I believe digital culture has played a huge role in introducing J-pop to a global audience.

How does f5ve plan to reach that audience?

Rui: Being natural and being ourselves. Just having fun with our music, loving our music. And each other.

Miyuu: Social media is a very important tool for us. It’s a space where we can really connect with our fans and make them feel close to us. We react to a lot of comments, responding to what fans are curious about. Some people say our account seems unofficial, in the best way. And there’s no other group that has done it like this before. I think that’s what makes people so interested in us.

Since you brought up social media, who is the most online in f5ve?

Miyuu: Rui’s always on her phone, taking selfies.

Kaede: During lunch, during dinner…

Rui: I love searching for TikTok trends.

What would everyone’s weapon be?

Rui: Noodle slasher! I eat noodles every day.

Kaede: My big voice.

Miyuu: Lipstick sword, because I love makeup.

Sayaka: Bomb. [Members laugh.] I always say something awkward in conversations and it’s like a bomb.

Ruri: My long hair, like a whip.

Is there a world tour in the works?

Kaede: There isn’t a date decided yet, but we’re planning.

Rui: Soon!

Kaede: Yes, coming soon”.

I am moving to a interview from NME. A group whose humour and creative chaos mixes with authenticity and inclusiveness, their creative and music vision is bold and original. I would encourage everyone to check out the amazing f5ve. The fact they are getting buzz in the U.K. means they will be with us pretty soon I am sure:

“In an era where pop success often hinges on being a perfectly timed meme, that unseriousness is its own kind of savvy. f5ve lean into it with flair, poking fun at themselves, hijacking viral trends, and singing lyrics with a bizarre bite. Take this one from debut single ‘Lettuce’: “You eat a lot of lettuce, but you’re toxic.” Or in ‘UFO’, where Japanese gacha games meet girl power: “She plays so good she’s an alien.” It’s offbeat, a little absurd and proof that humour hones rather than undercuts their edge.

“I just want people to enjoy it, especially in Japan,” Kaede says. “When you don’t fit into the usual standards, people see it as strange. It takes time to be accepted. But if we keep doing what we truly believe is good, people will relate. And that leads to recognition.”

There’s more than just punchlines beneath f5ve’s chaos. Their music blends irony with intensity: ‘Underground’, a breakneck, synth-heavy track about burnout, pulses like a Para Para club hit, a type of Japanese dance music popularised in the ’80s and ’90s – fast, flashy, and slightly frayed. It made NME’s list of the best songs of 2024; the group landed on the NME 100, our list of emerging artists to watch, just months later.

If f5ve’s music feels like it’s from another planet – glitchy textures, dream-pop swells, sharp electronic detours – that’s by design. Their debut album ‘Sequence 01’, which was released on Monday (May 5), was recorded between Tokyo and Los Angeles with their genre-bending executive producer BloodPop [Lady Gaga, Madonna]. Despite its futuristic sheen, the three-year process started with simple conversation.

“When we started recording, we talked a lot,” Kaede recalls. “We’d share the music we liked.” They cited artists like Taylor Swift, Tate McRae, YOASOBI, Perfume, Justin Bieber, and Hikaru Utada, the defining voice of contemporary J-pop. “From those conversations, BloodPop made our songs,” she adds. “He always included our ideas.” That openness shaped the project’s sound. “It wasn’t like he gave us a finished track,” Miyuu says. “We built it together.”

That collaborative spirit helped them create something immersive: an emotional isekai, or alternate dimension, where each track feels like a new episode of a TV show – or a door to a new world. “We talked about anime with BloodPop,” says Kaede, “and how it blends genres and tells different stories from one moment to the next.”

And so the album came together as a vivid, genre-blurring experience. There’s ‘Jump’, an effervescent, high-BPM track bursting with hope. “It’s really personal,” Kaede says. “The lyrics are about us, about our dream to become big artists.” Then there’s ‘UFO’, which fizzes with confidence. “That one gives me power,” says Rui. “The sound lifts me to another level.” And ‘Sugar Free Venom’, a jagged anthem featuring Kesha, sharpens their sound into something louder, glossier, and more unfiltered – pop with teeth.

The group describe the album as “dream time travel”, a phrase that gestures at both sonic nostalgia and emotional reinvention. For Miyuu, it’s empowering escapism: “The real world can feel negative. I struggle with confidence, and sometimes I don’t know what’s right. But through this dream world we created, I’m fulfilling my wish to be more confident in my choices.” She calls f5ve “interdimensional dream agents” helping listeners find their own missions. “Our visuals and music videos aren’t just for show,” she adds. “They’re portals – places where you can feel your own dream coming alive”.

I am going to end with a review for SEQUENCE 01. CLASH shared their thoughts on a debut that is camp, chaotic, irresistible and inter-dimensional. This might fly under the radar but it deserves a lot more focus. If you do not know about this incredible group then check them out now. Follow them on social media and listen to their album. They are going to be a huge act very soon. Their music is infectious and among the best out there. We do need to shine more of a spotlight on J-Pop:

“At first glance, f5ve feels like a high-concept J-pop fantasy: five women from Tokyo calling themselves “inter-dimensional dream agents” on a mission to destroy self-doubt and bad vibes.

But behind the glitter and otherworldly branding is serious finesse. Sayaka, Kaede, Miyuu and Ruri cut their teeth in E-girls and Happiness, two of Japan’s most iconic girl groups under LDH. Youngest member Rui brings fresh energy from her time in iScream and DELUXE COLORS!, rounding out a lineup with over a decade of combined experience.

Originally debuting as SG5 in 2022 with a Sailor Moon-inspired concept, the group rebranded as f5ve in 2024, embracing a more self-defined vision, and ‘SEQUENCE 01’ is their next bold statement.

Executive produced by BloodPop (Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber) with key contributions from A.G. Cook and Hudson Mohawke, the album blends J-pop and hyperpop – and the results are a chaotic, confident debut that’s genreless on purpose, glittering with subcultural references and full of emotional depth.

The album opens in-world. ‘initiate sequence 01’ is a brief ambient piece filled with footsteps – an invitation to step into f5ve’s realm. Then, we’re dropped into ‘Underground’ – a pounding hyperpop anthem and high-BPM chaos with emotional undercurrents: lyrics about collapsing from overwork, hiding tears, and longing to escape the pressures of daily life clash beautifully with the euphoric beat.

Co-produced by BloodPop and A.G. Cook, ‘Magic Clock’ mixes glitchy synths with a soft, retro core. The lyrics reflect on nights out, fleeting memories, and the quiet desire to rewind time – but it never gets overly sentimental. Instead, it uses repetition and crisp vocal delivery to mimic the ticking, looping feel of a clock itself. A strong contender for the position of best track in the album.

By contrast, ‘UFO’ is sharper and flashier. Built around a claw machine metaphor and arcade imagery, it’s about confidence, control, and knowing exactly what you’re doing. The chorus is made for looping (“She plays so good, she’s an alien”), and while the structure is the mainstream pop formula we are used to, the execution is tight.

‘Firetruck’ is the album’s most sonically aggressive moment, pulling influence from internet rap and noise-pop. The production is intentionally abrasive, filled with distorted textures, unpredictable drops, and chaotic vocal layering. Lyrically, it plays with heat and danger as metaphors for attraction, all while staying playful in tone. It’s bold and doesn’t aim for subtlety, which may divide listeners.

Luckily, the bounce returns immediately. ‘Lettuce’ is cheeky, light-hearted, and built around the iconic line: “You eat a lotta lettuce, but you’re toxic.” It’s deceptively smart, a goofy metaphor about a guy who looks clean but acts messy. The production is playful, full of cartoon bloops and whistles, and the vocal delivery is sharp.

‘Sugar Free Venom’ featuring Kesha is an instant standout. It’s trap-pop with claws: club-ready, chaotic, and proudly defiant. Kesha sounds right at home over the punchy beat, and the lyrics – about financial independence, fake friends, and kitchen renovations – are absurd in the best way.

Then there’s ‘Television’, a mid-tempo runway track with a cold, monotone delivery. “Look at me, not your television,” they sing, calling out distraction and emotional detachment. With metallic beats and a steady pulse, it’s one of the sleekest moments on the record.

‘Bow Chicka Wow Wow’ sounds like the theme song to a chaotic ’90s comedy series party scene. It’s glossy and theatrical, complete with thunder sound effects and whipped cream metaphors. But as over-the-top as it is, the song and its layered vocals never lose control.

‘Jump’ is cleaner and more earnest than the rest of the album. It’s J-pop at its dreamiest — all light harmonies, uplifting lyrics, and sparkly production. The verses paint whimsical images (a tower ten times taller than Tokyo Tower, partying with angels), and build an emotional grounding point after the glitchy, high-speed peaks.

Closing track ‘リア女 (Real Girl)’ wraps the album on a smart, layered note. It’s built around the idea of identity – being lost in a crowd, performing sameness, and trying to be seen for who you really are. The production is light and bouncy, but the lyrics are sharp, even when playful: “Find the real girl among a hundred dolls”.

8/10”.

I am going to leave things there. For those who are reading this and have never heard f5ve, go and check out interviews with them. Watch their music videos and listen to SEQUENCE 01. They are most definitely going to go a very long way! When it comes to the sensational f5ve, it is very clear that…

NOBODY can stop them.

____________

Follow f5ve

PHOTO CREDIT: Charlotte Rutherford

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/f5ve_official/

TikTok:

https://www.tiktok.com/@f5veofficial

Twitter:

https://x.com/f5ve_official

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCV1YxS0AVPOrx_HDj9Pgt8Q

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6aiCF0pornq0j11wvKG4dy?si=U_ooC5pUTk2sKC_obd6A6A

FEATURE: The Painter’s Link: Imagining an Immersive Kate Bush Art Experience

FEATURE:

 

 

The Painter’s Link

IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush circa 1980/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush

Imagining an Immersive Kate Bush Art Experience

__________

I got this idea…

IN THIS PHOTO: Inside Frameless – Immersive Art Experience

when recently visiting Frameless in London. It is the ultimate immersive art experience. Located near Marble Arch Tube, you are in this building where there are several galleries. Instead of merely looking at paintings, they are projected onto the walls, ceiling and the floor. Some galleries feature paintings that come alive and interact. Others pieced together gradually. You feel like have stepped inside the frames. It is a fascinating idea and I would recommend anyone – regardless of whether you are an art lover or not – to visit. The galleries in Frameless are Beyond Reality, Colour in Motion, The World Around Us and The Art of Abstraction. My favourite was The World Around us, which featured paintings by Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn and Rachel Ruysch. It is captivating experience that makes these sublime works of art more cinematic and tangible. Like you are stepping into the imagination of the artist. It struck me that this has not really been done beyond art. Well, not in music at least. With A.I. being a bit conversation point in terms of artists’ rights and intellectual property – with A.I. threatening their music and rights -, this would be something different. Using technology to relevant artists and their music rather than steal or threaten. Being in that space and watching artwork come to life all around me and other people was a wonderful moment. In features past about Kate Bush, I have talked about possibly bringing Hounds of Love’s The Ninth Wave to life. Bringing it to the screen and adapting it. Maybe a photography exhibition. Something multimedia. However, coming away from Frameless seemed to combine a Kate Bush film, live performance and immersive experience.

In terms of bringing her work to life, there could be this gallery dedicated to Hounds of Love. Singles such as Hounds of Love and Cloudbusting being translated into a Frameless-style experience. Maybe they would replicate the look of the music video but it would mean you get these stunning visuals and this immersive experience all around. The Ninth Wave is where it comes to life. For those who never saw Bush perform it during her 2014 Before the Dawn residency, this would be a new adaptation. A way of bringing us in and around the ocean. Get to see Bush’s heroine fight for survival. Maybe a gallery of section that would visualise 1979’s The Tour of Life. Taking audio from a set and including sounds from the audience as we get a representation of Kate Bush performing these magical numbers. Or perhaps Before the Dawn. It would not be possible to have all of her albums in their own gallery, but we have Aerial and A Sky of Honey that would be breathtaking. Another suite she performed during Before the Dawn. Maybe early singles from Wuthering Heights (1978’s The Kick Inside) to later ones such as The Sensual World (from 1989’s album of the same name). Maybe thematic. Love and passion in one gallery. The darker and more cinematic in another. Situated in London, and maybe able to take over a space similar to Frameless – only a bigger building I feel -, I think it would be a great way that keeps Kate Bush’s music evolving. Bringing it alive to a whole new generation. The weather and water. The macabre and scary. The panoramic and scenic. Keeping the original music, this would not be an A.I. version of Kate Bush. Instead, something similar to a painting. Something in that style.

There might never be another Kate Bush live show. Maybe no more music videos featuring her. perhaps no new video or one that reimagines an older song. It would not necessarily have to be tied to an anniversary. However, in 2028, that is when Kate Bush’s debut album, The Kick Inside, turns fifty. I know that is nearly three years away from that anniversary. However, in terms of visualising something and getting it ready, it may take that long. It would be an expensive project to complete. However, in terms of popularity and how it could get people flocking in, it would definitely be a big success. I am aware that it is a big commitment to a single artist. Even The Beatles or David Bowie has not got anything like that. An exhibition that immerses listeners in their music. You feel it is overdue for The Beatles. Even Madonna. However, when it comes to Kate Bush, I feel she very much thinks like an artist. Hearing colours and seeing sounds. The relationship between words and music like few other artists. How her songs, in some ways, feel like works of art. Of films. And yet, only a portion have been brought to film. Never really realised in this immersive and panoramic way. I did not go to Before the Dawn. However brilliant the visuals and production, it was not quite what you would get from something like Frameless. In terms of downsides. I guess Kate Bush would be wary of technology adapting her music and visuals. However, this is not A.I. stealing music. Maybe some feel it is quite niche or a gamble doing something this big for one artist. Perhaps not as worthy of others. That is fair enough. That said, I feel that Kate Bush’s brilliance and vision would be perfectly suited to the same sort of experience that Frameless offers to works of art. Maybe it would open up discussion about visualising music and using technology in a positive way. Going beyond music videos and concerts. Imagining Kate Bush’s music reimagined and transformed in an immersive art experience would be…

SOMETHING spectacular.

FEATURE: Modern-Day Queens: Blondshell

FEATURE:

 

 

Modern-Day Queens

 

Blondshell

__________

THIS incredible artist…

PHOTO CREDIT: Daniel Topete

born Sabrina Teitelbaum is one of the finest of her generation. This feature is all about Blondshell. I am going to end with a review of her new album, If You Asked for a Picture. Her second studio album, following on from 2023’s acclaimed Blondshell, is from someone that everyone should know. Even though she is a hugely popular artist, there are some that do not know about her. There are some great new interviews with her that I want to bring in. I would advise people check this feature that is about Blondshell’s favourite songs. I am going to start out with some interviews before getting to a review of her new album. NME were among those who have spoken with the phenomenal Blondshell. Her new album is among this year’s best:

“Her second album, ‘If You Asked For A Picture’, which also takes its name from ‘Dogfish’, doesn’t give all of Teitelbaum, but it doesn’t hold back either. Rather, it seeks to delve into the often-unexplored “grey areas” that exist between the drama – the constant hum of pain that persists behind even the most mundane moments of life.

When NME meet Teitelbaum a month prior to its release, she’s relaxed, energised from the lottery win of landing in London from Los Angeles during its rare few faux-spring days – a brief splintering of sunshine before the freezing rain resumes for a little while longer. She’ll head to Paris in two days and, almost in preparation, she’s been thumbing through a copy of Simone De Beauvoir’s The Woman Destroyed while lounging around the capital’s parks. “I like to read books that are in the setting I’m in,” she says. “And I’m always reading books by women and listening to classic storytellers who are women, because I think that there’s a complexity there.”

That same complexity, though, is frequently subject to misunderstanding – an experience Teitelbaum is all too familiar with. When her first album came out, swathes of the press heralded it as a masterclass in “female rage”. This, in part, came from the thread of anger that ran through it – ‘Salad’, for example, saw her daydream about murdering a man who assaulted her best friend. Yet Teitelbaum admits feeling “mixed” about those suggesting the entire LP was drenched in wrath. “It was a really angry record, and I am a woman, so it isn’t wrong. But sometimes it’s like, ‘OK, you’re flattening my existence into just being about this one piece’.

“I think I feel pretty masculine as a person, and my relationship with gender has been somewhat complicated. On the first album, I wanted to show people who I was for the first time, and so it was important for me to really hit you over the head with it so that you understood who I am and how I feel inside,” she explains. “With this album, I realised that the idea I had that softness would cancel out my masculinity isn’t true. Not every moment of my life is spent being angry.”

This time, the masculine energy crops up in the sonic influences instead, something she deems as “heavier, dirtier guitar tones” from the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Strokes – the latter of whom she admires for their consistency. “I like the fact they didn’t ever really change it up,” she explains. It’s a contrast to the pressure to constantly reinvent or ‘rebrand’, imposed upon female artists today. “I think that men have been allowed to have certain aesthetic things that haven’t really been available to solo female artists. I leaned on those aesthetics for confidence in a way, in a studio space.”

It manifests in the album’s sludgier moments: the jagged, alt-rock guitar riffs and forceful, grungy basslines that introduce elements of more traditional rock than the indie undertones of her debut. Yet, it’s underpinned by a striking vulnerability – “little moments of fresh air”, as she puts it.

‘What’s Fair’, for example, is a harrowingly accurate portrait of the push-and-pull of a mother-daughter relationship, while ‘Two Times’ offers slightly insecure musings on a real-life love, one devoid of the drama of the rom-coms Teitelbaum was raised on. “How bad does it have to hurt to count? Does it have to hurt at all?” she drawls over a pensive acoustic guitar, alternating between the compulsion of a pure, safe love and the trepidation of surrendering to somebody else entirely.

It recalls a canon of love songs that herald simple domesticity as their muse – the sweet sheen of Graham Nash’s Joni Mitchell-dedicated ‘Our House’, and Paul McCartney’s swooning ‘My Love’, which fixates on still being able to find sustenance from bare kitchen cupboards over grander gestures of romance. Teitelbaum’s take, though, instils a little more horror, with contentment occasionally splintered by an anxious inner monologue of: “Is this all there is?”, before once again succumbing to sweetness.

Another recurring theme comes in her exploration of body image. On closer ‘Model Rockets’, she laments, “I got big and pigeonholed”, a reflection on being treated differently depending on her weight. ‘Event of a Fire’, meanwhile, sees her admit: “Part of me still sits at home in a panic over 15 pounds.”

“[On the album] there’s a lot of unspoken stuff that I lived with when I was younger, that I couldn’t say,” the 27-year-old explains, reflecting on growing up in the ’00s, where gossip magazines slapped grainy photos of celebrity cellulite on front pages and shamed anyone who couldn’t fit into a size zero. “That had a huge impact on me, the women in my family, my friends… everybody. I don’t know anybody who escaped that. But at the same time, even though everybody is thinking about it, you suffer it silently.”

When the pink-hued tsunami of fourth-wave feminism crashed into pop culture in the 2010s, a body positivity movement emerged in tow, just in time for Teitelbaum’s teenage years. Suddenly, there was an emphasis on self-love, and it was quickly adopted by fashion and beauty brands that had spent the prior decade shilling self-hatred alongside the same products they now marketed with inclusivity.

“I hope people feel relieved when they listen to this”

For Teitelbaum, the sudden whiplash-inducing shift had a profound impact. “There was suddenly this pressure to accept yourself, but nobody was telling you how to do that,” she says. “All that stuff comes out in the music because it’s a safe place to talk about it”.

I am going to move to an interesting interview from The Forty-Five. If someone people doubt her Rock artist credentials, she is undoubtably one. One of the best of modern times. Someone who is going to be releasing spellbinding albums for years to come. I hope that she gets festival headline slots soon as it is the sort of platform that she deserves (and has earned):

“If You Asked For A Picture’ takes this snapshot of Teitelbaum, now aged 27, and widens the lens. ‘What’s Fair’ is a frequently devastating look at the parental relationship she readily describes as “a blatant, in-your-face, fucked-up situation”. “What’s a fair assessment of the job that you did / Do you ever even regret it?” goes its chorus. ‘Toy’, meanwhile, lands like a self-lacerating conveyor belt of troubles, with nods to antidepressants, low libido and body image struggles.

There is – very evidently – a lot of trauma and unpacking going on throughout Blondshell’s second record. But Teitelbaum is also vehemently opposed to the idea of having to seek out drama, or live in perpetual angst, for the sake of her art. “People have told me my entire life – and I don’t think people say this to men – that you have to basically be miserable to write,” she says. “Even when you learn that something’s not true, in your core you still feel it. So that was harder for me [to overcome] than the actual finding of subject matter.”

Sober now for five years and in the second half of her twenties, her priorities are “solid”. “It’s so laughable the idea that being 27 is ‘older’, but I feel more grown up,” she says. “When I turned 27 I was like, ‘Oh shit, this feels different. I don’t feel like a kid.’” But, as with many things she’s had to learn to deal with as a woman playing guitar in an increasing spotlight, you can be the most strong, confident, objectively successful version of yourself, and the outside world will still want to offer its two pence.

For Teitelbaum, it’s meant taking a vastly different approach to the way she goes about her songwriting and the way she goes about its public-facing accoutrements. Lyrically, she says, nothing is off the table. “There are things I want to save for myself, that I just don’t feel are other people’s business, but I don’t have that filter with the music,” she notes. “I wouldn’t be able to write at all if I thought about people listening to it.” When it comes to engaging with the online world, however, her face drops almost instantly.

“I get a feeling when I’ve been on social media too long that’s like a spiritual nausea where I’m just like, feeling sick inside…” she laughs. “My soul feels bad. It feels stale inside. Everybody has something to say, and the form of misogyny I’ve felt my whole life is a different form now that I am a musician in a professional sense. It’s a different brand of misogyny and I am not really willing to subject myself to that.

“For me, it’s like: ‘Why are you wearing a suit? You’re trying to be a man’,” she narrates. “Women and queer people in different genres face different flavours of homophobia and misogyny. Pop is more of a classic form, like body criticisms and criticisms of your life and relationships, and in rock and alternative music there’s a lot of, ‘Why are you trying to be a man? This is our space and our air that you’re trying to breathe’. You’re trying to sit in our seat at our table and you’re not allowed to. So not being in the comment sections will be very important for my health and my soul”.

Before getting to a review, I am going to move to an interview from Billboard. Among other things. Blondshell reveals how If You Asked for a Picture is an autobiographical work. It is one where we get to learn a lot from. A revealing portrait of an extraordinary songwriter. For anyone who has not listened to Blondshell, I would advise you to investigate. There are a few sections of the Billboard interview that I want to bring in:

“You’ve said this album is about asking questions of yourself. What state of mind were you in when you wrote these songs?

The first songs on the album are the first songs that I wrote for the album, so I wanted it to feel like picking up where I left off. I wasn’t intentionally feeling like, oh, I want to ask questions in the songs. It was after the fact that I thought, I guess I was asking more questions than making declarative statements. On the first album. I felt, if I’m going to record and put out music, I must be a thousand percent sure about what I’m saying. By nature of being a little bit more confident [this time], I was able to be like no, I don’t have to know one hundred percent. I can ask, is this relationship working? Is this how I want to live my life? All these different things that were coming up.

You’ve established a recognizable sound, and yet, on this album, that sound is more expansive.

Yeah, I did not want to have some huge departure. I needed to think of it as another 12 songs. But there were things [on the last album] where I thought, I would have done that differently. For example, I’m a huge background vocals person. That’s my favorite part of Fleetwood Mac and all these records that I really love. I love how it’s a whole landscape. Before we even started, I knew I wanted that to be a massive part of the record. I also wanted there to be more textures. Last time, we had a couple of textures on the record that helped define that album. I wanted those, but I also wanted new ones.

Were you inspired by any artists you were listening to in the lead-up to writing and recording?

It’s always what I happen to be listening to around that time. I was listening to a lot of R.E.M. Obviously, they’re this celebrated rock band, but it’s really about the songwriting. They’re comfortable having these big, fun, rock songs — but also “Everybody Hurts.” So, I felt I had more permission to do the big rock band thing and ballads, too.

The lyrics on both of your albums paint very personal scenarios. How autobiographical are your songs?

Like 99.9% is autobiographical, and it’s often about people that I love.

So, “23’s a Baby,” is about someone you know having a baby at a very young age?

Kind of. There’s also conceptual stuff that comes up.

You’re being metaphorical as well.

Yeah, that happens, but the only way that I can write is to write about stuff that I feel the biggest feelings about. I wouldn’t personally feel that way if I were able to just pull it out of the air. It all has to come from somewhere.

One of the things that I love about your music is that you use unusual words in your lyrics, like “docket” and “assessment,” “sepsis” and “Sertraline.” Are you aiming for that literary quality?

No. I never think, “Oh, is this how I want to say this?” The way that I write is so stream-of-consciousness — it’s just stuff that comes to mind. It’s as if I were talking to you, but I’m saying things that I wouldn’t feel comfortable saying to you or my friends or my family. They’re unspoken things — concerns that I have never voiced, or the things I’m embarrassed by, or the feelings I’ve never felt comfortable saying to somebody. It’s just done in a really conversational way.

So, it’s easier for you to say things in a song that you wouldn’t say person-to-person?

For sure.

Man, that is brave.

Yeah — and then it sucks, because everyone ends up hearing it. It’s the stuff I wouldn’t have said to my family or somebody I’m dating or somebody I used to date, or my friend who I’m not friends with anymore. It’s stuff that I wouldn’t have said, because it’s harsh or it’s embarrassing or whatever, and then they end up hearing it. That’s the hardest part of the whole thing. In a way, I have to pretend that’s not happening.

So, you’re not thinking about what the reaction might be?

Yeah. Also, I’m friends with a lot of musicians., and everybody knows that’s how it goes.

Speaking of literary influences, I was wondering if your line about “steely danification” in “Toy” is a reference to William Burroughs or the band.

It’s a reference to the band. I love Steely Dan.

There’s a recurring theme in your songs, such as “Docket” and on this album, “Two Times,” about being ambivalent about a relationship. In “Two Times,” you sing, “Once you get me, I get bored.” Do you struggle with that?

If you haven’t historically had the healthiest relationships, being in a healthy relationship can feel like, “What’s going on? What’s missing?” I also think that every form of media tells people that the valuable quality of a relationship is the conflict. Every movie I saw growing up, every TV show I watched growing up, songs — everything — relationships [revolve around] a problem. So, if your relationship is pretty absent of problems, you’re like, “What’s wrong here? We’re supposed to be fighting and then making up. What if we’re not fighting that much? Do we just not care? Is this a tepid kind of situation?” I have struggled with that”.

I am going to end with a review from When the Whistle Blows. A magnificent and compelling album from start to finish, If You Asked for a Picture is something everyone needs to listen to. This feature is about celebrating the finest women in music. Those who are leading the way and releasing the best work. Blondshell is definitely up there with the very best of them:

“Sabrina Teitelbaum aka Blondshell, has released her sophomore album and it’s every bit as thrilling and wonderful as her self-titled debut, which came out in 2023 and impressed me so much that I knew I would continue to follow her career, and what a smart decision that was from me, because her follow-up album is sensational.

The album’s title comes from a poem titled Dogfish, by iconic poet Mary Oliver, and it resonated with Teitelbaum. This album is also very much about giving us snippets into her life and mind.

While the two records are similar in sound and style, If You Asked For A Picture is more introspective and interior. It opens with the track Thumbtack, which is a wonderful acoustic led song with vivid imagery and memorable lines, much like all Blondshell songs. “You’re a thumbtack in my side/A dog bite/You distract/From what’s worse so I will let you/Keep a ball chain on my leg” She sings during the chorus, which is definitely one that stays with you.

My personal highlight from the album is a track titled T&A. it was released as a single earlier in the year, and a definite contender for one of the best singles released this year. The guitar work throughout the track is spectacular, and loud as hell, which is exactly why it works so well. Her voice is clear and concise; the production is clean and crispy. “Letting him in, why don’t the good ones love me? Watching him fall/Watching him go right in front of me”Teitelbaum sings in the chorus. It’s one that I imagine will be incredible live, perfect for concerts and festivals. It’s very tongue-in-cheek and almost funny at times, too, as is the rest of the record. One of my favourite things about Blondshell as an artist is the fact that when you’re listening to her songs, you occasionally do a double take with your ears, but in the best way. Artists that have courage to say what they truly want are so deeply important to the industry, now and forever.

Another wonderful song is Arms, which follows T&A. it’s moody, atmospheric and sassy, with hints of grunge. “I don’t wanna be your mom/But you’re not strong enough” she opens the song boldly. It seems to be a song for girls everywhere, and a warning not to try to save and fix people. “Oh well, you’re not gonna save him, save him, save him.” She sings together with stunning backing vocals.

Certainly, one of the most candid songs on the album is What’s Fair, also a single, about a mother-daughter relationship that appears to be a little estranged. Sonically, it’s pacy and up-tempo, but lyrically it’s actually quite sad at times, and talks about a mother that is over-critical. “What’s fair? What’s a fair assessment of the job you did? Do you ever even regret it?” It feels like new territory, musically.

Following that is another single, Two Times, which is a fantastic modern love song. It’s almost like a stream of consciousness, but again, it’s very honest and candid. “I’ll come back if you put me down two times/You try hard to make me yours/But once you get me, I get bored/I’ll come back if you put me down two times” Teitelbaum sings somewhat leisurely. Her vocals truly shine on this track, and it really shows how vocally talented she is.

A running theme on the album is growing up, or looking back at your younger days and ruminating, especially on tracks such as Event of a Fire and 23’s a Baby.  On the latter, Teitelbaum said: ‘The song is partially about being in your twenties and feeling like you’re supposed to know everything (your parents even had kids around that age!) yet you’re truly in the weeds trying to figure out who you are. I wanted it to have a bit of a nursery rhyme feel. It’s a heavy subject so it was important to have fun when we made it.’

And it’s a lot of fun to listen to. If You Asked For A Picture is a deeply candid and confident record, but it doesn’t shy away from asking important questions”.

I am going to leave things there. A sensational artist who I have admired since her 2023 eponymous debut, If You Asked for a Picture is another masterful work from Blondshell. I think that she is going to be an artist putting out world-class albums for many years. A name that we will be hearing about…

FOR decades more.

___________

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FEATURE: Spotlight: Amelia Moore

FEATURE:

 

 

Spotlight

Amelia Moore

__________

I am going to start out…

with an interview from CLASH from late last year. It was with the sensational Amelia Moore. Before I get to that, I want to introduce people to this artist and give them a sense of her background and how she progressed. Bring us up to 2021. Even though she has been on the scene a little while, I think the past year or so has seen her ascend to new heights. Let’s get to some biography first:

“Singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Amelia Moore creates the kind of visionary alt-pop that both defies all expecation and feels immediately essential. In a whirlwind journey she describes as “homeschool to Hollywood,” the 21-year-old Georgia native got her start singing in the church choir as a little kid, followed her dreams to Los Angeles at age 18, and soon attracted a massive following on the strength of her bold but vulnerable songwriting (a feat that includes gaining over 50,000 followers on Spotify before she’d even officially released a song). True to her TikTok and Instagram handle (@icryatwork), the 21-year-old artist approaches all her music with a fierce commitment to total emotional transparency—an irresistible counterpart to her kaleidoscopic and endlessly unpredictable sound.

Originally from Lawrenceville (a town outside Atlanta), Moore grew up in a conservative Christian household and first discovered her natural musicality by singing in the choir and taking up violin at age five. But despite her immense talent on the violin, she felt compelled to expand her horizons. “From a really young age I felt creatively trapped and knew I wanted to write my own music, so I quit violin and taught myself piano on a cheap little Casio keyboard,” she says. Also a worship leader at her church, Moore began writing her own songs at age 13 and within two years joined an Atlanta-based artist development training program to sharpen her vocal and performance skills. When her parents refused to pay for the program (“I remember them telling me, ‘Maybe music can be a hobby, and you can be pharmaceutical sales rep instead,’” she recalls), Moore got a job at a fast-food chain and raised the money on her own. “It completely changed my life—from then on I believed in myself 1,000 percent,” she says.

After graduating from high school at 16, Moore kept on writing songs and ventured into producing for other artists, then enrolled at Belmont University in Nashville. “It was the craziest culture shock I’ve ever experienced in my life,” she says. “I went from being so sheltered to being surrounded by kids who are all drinking, partying, hooking up, and pretty quickly I started questioning everything I was raised to believe.” As she broke out of her shell and adjusted to life on campus, Moore continued collaborating remotely with her longtime friend Austin Sanders (aka ASTN, a Florida-bred singer/songwriter), and soon began heading to L.A. for co-writing sessions. During her first trip, she crossed paths with up-and-coming producer Pink Slip and instantly felt a potent creative chemistry, striking up a collaboration that endures to this day. Halfway through her sophomore year, Moore dropped out of Belmont and moved to L.A. on her own—then found herself frightfully adrift when the pandemic hit just two months later. “Any opportunity I’d had to play shows or put a project together fell apart so fast,” she says. “Like so many other people, everything I’d been working toward was swept out from under my feet.” Determined to move forward, Moore immersed herself in writing and refining her vision for her debut project, and eventually began sharing her songs on TikTok. Within the very first week of posting her original material, she’d amassed over 100,000 followers drawn to her unaffected yet magnetic presence and fearlessly honest perspective—a turn of events that ultimately led to her signing with Capitol Records in fall 2021”.

Before moving to some more recent interviews, I am going to get to the CLASH interview. Her amazing E.P., he’s just not that into you!, was released last July and is a remarkable listen. For anyone who has not heard of Amelia Moore then I would advise you to start there:

“A force on fire setting the industry ablaze, Amelia Moore has made it her business to claim her rightful reign.

Marrying indie pop and R&B, Moore’s glass-shattering vocals combined with soul-centered songwriting have lent to an infectious catalog that tells every girl who has been brave enough to pursue love’s story. Her instrumentals are as colourful as her hair neon orange hair, a blaring outside concealing a decadent inside. “see through,” the breakthrough single off her 2024 ‘he’s just not that into you!’ EP, has earned her nearly four million streams on Spotify alone, recruiting new and pleasantly surprised fans from every corner of every genre.

CLASH caught up with the songwriter following her electrifying Camp Flog Gnaw set to explore her journey from a homeschooled, conservative upbringing in Georgia to becoming R&B’s most promising.

Who were you listening to growing up that really informed the way that you relate to R&B right now?

It’s actually so funny because I grew up so sheltered, literally homeschooled and conservative. I wasn’t listening to any dope R&B or pop artists at all growing up. I remember Justin Timberlake’s ’20/20 Experience’ album being the first secular album my mom played. I’ve had to do a lot of learning and teaching myself since I moved away from home. But early on, Justin Bieber was a really big one for me. ‘Journals’, oh my god. I love the ‘Changes’ album too. I’ve always been an Ari girl, a Mariah girl, an Usher girl.

Being that you had to discover so much music on your own time, do you feel like you’re playing catching up now?

For sure. I’m trying to think of somebody new. I mean, I definitely wasn’t early to the Chappell Roan shit at all. But once I found the album, I was like, “Oh, duh. Duh. For sure. Where have I been?” I love her so much. She’s so cool.

Speaking to reinventing yourself outside of a confined upbringing, how was the emotional process moving from Georgia to Los Angeles?

I feel like I’m just now finding my footing. Like I have a foundation here. It was really crazy, though. And thank god I had a little stepping stone in between Atlanta and here. I went to Belmont for, like, a year and a half in Nashville. That was also a culture shock. I was in class with people who were hitting their vape and drinking, and I genuinely did not think that people did that stuff. So that made it easier than coming to LA right way. I just have really good people around me who have really good heads on their shoulders, and thank God I didn’t get caught up in any nonsense.

Within that, does faith still play a role in your life or did you have to redefine your relationship to it?

Kind of, but definitely not as much as it used to, because of the crazy people that I grew up around. They really ruined the God shit for me, which is so unfortunate. I do still think about it often, and I think eventually I’ll come back around to it, because it was such a big part of growing up and it shaped me a lot. But as of right now, I’m just on a vibe. I’m thankful for being here, and when people ask me why I have an R&B sound and I didn’t listen to R&B growing up, I literally say “It’s God.”

Your spirit was supposed to be doing what you’re doing. You’re an authentic expression of true self, musically and physically. When you went orange, what happened emotionally? What happened physiologically?

I was obsessed immediately. It just felt so right. I remember FaceTiming my mom and her seeing it and starting to cry. She hated it at first but she’s obsessed now. I don’t know why I chose orange. Before I dyed my hair, it was, like, the only colour that I was wearing. I was wearing all orange all the time, it was so tacky and gaudy. Looking back, it was, like, not very cute at all. Then I was like, “Oh, my hair is orange now. I don’t have to revolve my wardrobe around this one colour.”  I was walking around looking like Vector from Despicable Me.

The crossover makes so much sense. He’s produced some of the most iconic R&B records of all time and you’re giving the genre such a breath of fresh air while maintaining its roots, which is truly just storytelling love and heartbreak. As someone so blatantly honest in their work, is it more difficult write songs about things that haven’t happened versus telling your own stories?

Every song that I’ve ever put out is autobiographical. I definitely find it harder to make up a story. I love feeling connected to my songs, every single word, every single lyric. If I’m crying in the studio on my birthday, that’s a lyric in “love me or leave me alone,” like, that literally is happening. I love writing for other artists and helping them tell their stories too, but for my music, it’s me. It’s my life. It’s my truth. Everything is real.

What’s next for Amelia Moore? Are you working on anything or are you just basking?

It’s been very exciting to see ‘see through’ get some love, because I love that song so much. I think it’s the coolest one on there, so for people to be hearing it and fucking with it, it’s really exciting. I’m working on a little Part 2 for ‘he’s just not that into you’! I’m trying to get a remix out before the year’s over. I’m assembling some really dope girls that I’m all fans of. Hopefully, getting on another tour soon. I have all the ideas for my first album and I’m ready to start writing that also.

I feel like there’s so much weight on a debut. Are you going into it excited, or are you carrying that burden?

I think a little bit of both. Because I want it to be as intentional as some of my favourite albums are, from the cover art to the live show to the rollout. I really wanna take my time with it because I want it to be great, but I have all the ideas. I’m just excited to execute them.

I think it’s gonna it’s gonna come together so naturally, you’ve already built such a solid foundation for yourself and people are rocking with you. Last but not least, being that this is the 10 year anniversary for Camp Flog Gnaw, what’s your favorite Tyler era?

Oh my god. Well, I think the one we’re in now is definitely his most iconic. I’m so happy that an album from a rapper this vulnerable is as big as it is. That’s so important to me. So either this one or ‘Igor’”.

I am going to end with another interview but I will get to one now from Women in Pop from last month. They spoke to Amelia Moore about her latest single, fuck, marry, kill. Ahead of the release of her new mixtape, he’s still just not that into you! That was released on 9th May, and I would advise anyone new to Amelia Moore to check it out. I am publishing this feature the day before its release, so I will be listening to it from tomorrow. I am new to her music but can fully understand why there has been so much interest around her. A truly original artist:

“She has since signed with major label Republic and last month released the new single ‘fuck, marry, kill’. A gentle, swaying song that has an almost dreamy, soul sound with an at times jaw droppingly impressive vocal performance from Moore. Like much of her music, it explores the torments and joys of relationships and love as her partner drives her to distraction but she can’t stop loving them: ‘You ruin my life / But still give me butterflies…I wanna fuck, marry, kill you / All at the same damn time.’

“I knew I had to make my own unique story,” Moore says. “Singing funny, specific, modern lyrics over a song that feels classic and beautiful is something I had never done before.”

The song is the first taste from her upcoming new mixtape, he’s still just not that into you! which will be released on 9 May and features a song written with one of Moore’s heroes, Julia Michaels. Moore will play a number of headline shows across the US and Europe to launch the mixtape, tickets on sale now

“It’s bouncy, fun, lighthearted, vulnerable, and funny,” she says of her new music. “Songwriting has always been a safe space for me to say anything and everything I need to get off of my chest. The more specific and vulnerable I am, the more my fans relate to my songs. I’m excited for this new era.”

With her songs attracting streams in the millions, Moore is quickly becoming one of music’s hottest rising stars. Her music is connective, warm, vulnerable, sometimes confronting but always an immersive experience. Now is the right time to introduce yourself to her discography, and we recently sat down with her to chat all about her career.

Hi, Amelia, thank you for your time. I want to jump straight in and talk about your beginnings in music. You were raised in theatre, tell me about that.

Yeah, I love theatre so much still, I thought I was going to be a Broadway girl when I was a lot younger. I fell in love with performing when I was around 11, I was Annie in my church's production of Annie, and in that moment, I was like, ‘This is it. I'm gonna grow up and move to New York and be a Broadway star’. I was in a couple of different theatre production companies, but I didn't really understand what it meant to be an artist, and over time f started asking myself questions: I could continue to do plays and be on stage and be somebody else and sing someone else's songs, or I could be on stage and be myself and write my own stuff. That's how I steered away from theatre and into figuring out what an artist was. But theatre will always be my first love for performing.

I think that's lovely. As a songwriter, how do you feel playing those roles and singing other people's songs and really completely embodying them has complimented or informed the way you write?

I think a lot of the songwriting that I do, and that I enjoy the most from my favourite artists, are the super conversational storytelling type of songs that you would see in a musical. One of the things I love, I think my favourite thing actually, about musicals still today is that when a character is singing a song, it's either pushing the story forward or you're learning something about the character and that's something that I like to keep in mind in my songwriting. I feel like that is one of the main things that has informed what I do now. But now with the music that I'm making for a future project I am playing a lot with the background vocals kind of being in the third person, talking about me in the third person, which I think is really fun. I'm trying to watch more musicals and go see more plays now to get more inspiration.

You’ve got this very beautiful old R&B vibe, but with your signature, high drama vocals. There's something equally theatrical in the way that you're writing these lyrics and in your voice. Who were your vocal sheroes growing up?

It's crazy, because I grew up really home schooled and sheltered and wasn't really allowed to listen to that much secular music as a kid. I really don't know where it came from. At a young age, maybe it was the theatre. I was listening to a lot of big and dramatic vocals in the plays that I was a part of, but I really started to find my own taste and inspiration when I was a teenager. Ariana Grande has been a really big vocal inspiration for me for forever, and now I look up to artists like her and Raye, Victoria Monét, Jazmine Sullivan. My favourite singers are R&B singers. So it's always important to show off my vocal any chance that I can get! When we're writing a song, I'm always thinking about how I can show off and give a little wink to all of my favourite singers.

Your music sits in this beautiful sphere of something that's very familiar and then something that's very unfamiliar. Possibly the bit that's unfamiliar is the delivery and the edge and the sharpness when it's paired with this kind of cushion of sound. If you could sum up, what your writing style and the kind of music you want to create, is that what it is? The softness in the edge?

One of my favourite songwriters ever, my musical icon since I was 15, is Julia Michaels, and I've been lucky enough to work with her recently, and we have a song that we've written together that's coming out very soon. She really shaped me into a style of songwriter that is really conversational and honest. One of the questions I find myself asking when I'm stuck on a line is, how would I just say this in a conversation with somebody? How would I just say this in a sentence? And nine times out of ten, that is how the line needs to be delivered. So I think my songwriting is a combination of what I feel is most conversational and what you would say in a sentence, with a challenging melody or riff that I can show off a little bit like I was saying before. ‘fuck, marry, kill’ is a great example of that, and also a song like ‘see through’ that I had on my last project last year. A little conversational with a little drama. I like the drama word we've been saying today!

Is there one favourite lyric that is the most conversational thing you’ve written and just hammers every time you hear it?

There's a bunch of lyrics in this song ‘easy’ that came out last year on my last project. I can't even believe that I am saying this type of stuff on my songs, knowing that my parents listen to them. I think it's so iconic. It’s ‘First time was a doozy, bleeding on the duvet / I was freaking out, thought you'd be freaking out / But we just pulled the sheets off, put a towel down / You know how to woo me / You know how to woo, okay / You know how to, okay’

It's just a thought process, I'm thinking through what happened. Oh, my goodness, it actually happened. Wow. There’s a sense of humour in my lyrics, too, which is something that I really enjoy. My first project, teaching a robot to love, was so heavy and emotional, and I was going through a lot of big emotions and heartbreak at the time, but recently, I've been so excited about the music that has came out this past year, and what I'm about to get ready to roll out, because it's so much more light hearted and not taken as seriously. I think that is so much more of a reflection of what my personality is actually like. I'm excited for my fans to continue to get to know me through lyrics like that”.

I am going to end with this interview that was published earlier this month. By the time you read this, Amelia Moore’s mixtape will be out and gathering acclaim and praise. If you do not know this artist or are quite new then I would encourage you to listen to her. Such a promising talent that is going to be moving her way through the industry. Her music sounds like nobody else’s. It has captivated so many fans already:

“If there’s a mission statement to this new Amelia Moore era, it’s “fuck, marry, kill,” the EP’s lead single and viral lightning bolt of a track that dropped in March. Set to lush vintage R&B instrumentals, the song builds to a deranged-yet-relatable chorus: *“I wanna fuck, marry, kill you / All at the same damn time.”* It’s the kind of hook that begs to be screamed at a festival. Which is convenient, since Moore’s festival bookings are stacking up fast.

Another major highlight of her upcoming project? A feature from none other than Teezo Touchdown on the woozy, genre-bending track “spelling bee.” The song is quirky, hypnotic, and full of that bedroom pop realness, and Teezo’s verse fits perfectly in the chaos. “Teezo was on my dream list,” Moore says. “He gets it. The humor, the drama, the sexiness — he makes things feel larger than life, and that’s exactly what this song needed.”

“spelling bee” plays like a twisted love letter and a playground taunt at the same time. packed with clever wordplay, swoony melodies, and just enough weirdness to make it unmistakably Moore. It’s also a sign that she’s no longer just a rising voice in alt-pop; she’s becoming a magnet for some of the most creative collaborators in the scene.

Raised in Georgia and now based in LA, Moore’s musical background blends classical training, church choir discipline, and full-throttle musical theater energy. That dramatic sensibility shows up in her music, not just in the production, but in the perspective shifts and inner-monologue background vocals that have become a signature of hers. She doesn’t just sing her songs; she stages them.

Her lyrics are diary-level specific – unafraid to reference towels on the bed, breakdowns in grocery store parking lots, or, famously, the mortifying details of her first time in the track “easy.” It’s no wonder she caught the attention of Julia Michaels, the pop songwriting powerhouse behind hits for Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. The two collaborated on tracks for the new EP – a full-circle moment for Moore, who credits Michaels with shaping her own confessional, conversational lyricism. “Julia was the blueprint for me,” she says. “Working with her didn’t just elevate my writing. It gave me the confidence to be even weirder, even more me.”

She made her Camp Flog Gnaw debut in 2024, delivering a set that was as explosive as it was theatrical. “It was my ‘holy shit, this is real’ moment,” she says. “I had girls in the front row sobbing, laughing, shouting the lyrics ,it was everything I ever wanted.” Now, she’s slated for Outside Lands 2025, where she’s expecting a bigger stage, louder crowd, and, in her words – “even more girlies ready to cry, flirt, and yell.”

Despite her “he’s still just not that into you mixtape release shows” late this month at Los Angeles’ The Echo on May 27 and New York’s Baby’s All Right on May 29, Moore still describes herself as in the “pre-ascension phase” — a moment where the fanbase is cult-like, the growth is organic, and every show feels like a celebration of survival. But with this new project, she’s stepping into the spotlight like she was born for it.

She’s not trying to be TikTok’s next sad girl, she’s carving out something entirely her own: a self-aware, high-drama, hook-laced universe where heartbreak is both the wound and the weapon. “I’ve always had a lot of feelings,” she says. “This time, I’m just having more fun showing them”.

Go and check out Amelia Moore. She is someone I am going to follow for years as I know she will be a massive success story. What she has put out so far is phenomenal. Even if many consider her a rising artist at the moment, it will not be too long before she is…

A major name.

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Follow Amelia Moore

Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/icryatwork/

TikTok:

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

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/artist/61shKG2hWuRTW2PEAPk7fo?si=iLb0Y3IDQJm5iG9MsuHE4Q

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPRv_TmVA0_bTWNALshcoCA