A new Finnish interview with Kate comes out tomorrow, featuring Kate on the cover of Nyt magazine. It’s the weekly magazine supplement that comes with every Friday edition of the biggest Finnish newspaper – Helsingin Sanomat. (with thanks to Pekka)
Category: 50 Words for Snow Page 11 of 12
The BBC have announced that Radio 2 will broadcast an interview with Kate at 7.00 pm on 6th December. The interview has been conducted by Jamie Cullum the Radio 2 presenter and multi-platinum pop-jazz singer-songwriter, and they will talk about the complex time signatures within Misty and their mutual love of Billie Holliday and Steely Dan.
John Doran has a bad night with his new child and tries not to fall asleep interviewing Kate over at The Quietus.
KB: … Are you knackered?
Yeah.
KB: Have you been up all night?
Yeah, I have.
KB: [laughs uproariously and good naturedly]
But these journalists are made of tough stuff, so he manages to keep his eyes open:
“Bush is without comparison and to compare others (whatever their gender) to her is simply facile … Kate Bush’s abilities as a songwriter just get better and better with age. The keen eye that saw a couple’s sex life writ large in their entwining clothes drying on a line in the breeze … is at evidently hard at work on every song here. She sees the erotic poetic potential in places other song writers wouldn’t dare look for it.
For most of the interview anyway …
KB: [laughing uproariously] Oh John! I’m so sorry! Are you OK? I have this image that you just want to go to sleep and not listen to me! Are you sure you’re OK?
Yeah! Yeah! I’m fine… this is just the way I sound. [flapping] I’m going to treat myself to a very large cup of coffee as soon as I put the phone down.
Priya Elan has published his initial reaction to Kate’s new album track by track on the NME Reviews Blog
“For anyone who has longed for Bush at her most elemental, just her and her piano, their wish is granted. Here we find Bush magically musing about the white stuff, over romantically elongated mood pieces … the theme that is deeply ingrained within the whole album – emotional partners finding each other through space, time and consequence …
Verdict: “A concept executed with grace, subtlety and just in time to soundtrack your Christmas. There’s a depth and gravitas here that slowly reveals itself over repeated listens“.
The subscriber’s edition of the December The Word is now out. The retail edition will be in the shops by the end of this week. The magazine has this wonderful cover featuring another new photo of Kate, an in-depth interview “The Mystery Dance” by Dorian Lynskey running over no less than five pages, and a full and very enthusiastic review of the album:
“Frozen precipitaion is merely the starting point … sonically a wintry companion to Aerial … It lifts your heart and transforms your soul … as surprising and individual as ever here …”
And here we are again. So very soon after Director’s Cut, the promotional push for another studio album from Kate is now well under way. The latest interview to support the release of 50 Words For Snow next month has been published in The Australian. In the interview with Iain Shedden, Kate talks about how her new album came about:
“It was something I had wanted to do for a few years…but it was more ideas rather than something concrete. I suppose it was rumbling around in the back of my head while I was doing Director’s Cut, but I couldn’t really get my head around it until I got Director’s Cut out of the way…I’d liked the idea of making a kind of wintry record for some time, but then it got honed down to the idea of focusing on snow…I think everyone loves snow unless you happen to be snowed in for months on end. It has a real magical quality about it. Obviously not all the songs are about snow, but there is that thread running through it…”
Kate says she doesn’t want anyone to mistake this for a “Christmas” album: “That is one concern I had when people heard the title and when they got to see the artwork on the cover . . . that they would think it was a Christmas album…people don’t seem to be saying that, which is great because it isn’t. If they did think that they’d be disappointed.”
Kate is thrilled by her guests on the album. On Stephen Fry, who features on the album’s title track, she tells The Australian: “What I was trying to do was find someone who had a great voice of authority. The idea of the song was that we would start off with straightforward words and then come up with completely ridiculous ones. That really tickles me because it’s meant to be fun.”
Kate also talks about Elton John’s performance on ‘Snowed in at Wheeler Street’: “I love his performance. He has a fantastic voice. If he had said no I don’t know who I would have asked, but luckily he said yes. I was really lucky that everyone I asked to be on the album agreed to do it.”
In Italy, the magazine XL has also published an interview with Kate, although we are still waiting for a translation. In one part of this interview Kate talks abut being flattered by being thought of as an influence on other female artists and also says that she has heard Lady Gaga’s music and thinks she’s great. Thanks to Louise and to rblazon for pointing these out.
Update: We now have a translation of the XL interview (thanks to Antonello!)
Billboard Magazine has reviewed Wild Man, calling the track “weird and whimiscal” and that it “makes for a wicked headphone atmosphere, with Dan McIntosh’s expressionistic digital guitar curlicues wandering around a crisp Steve Gadd kit and John Giblin bass.” Thanks to Greg Gilligan for the link.
Following the very nice four-star review from Pete Paphides in the current Mojo Magazine, we have news of two more. Q Magazine reviews the album in its forthcoming issue and awards it four stars. Victoria Segal writes: “Given her glacial work rate, it’s fitting that Kate Bush’s 10th album should be snow-themed…the follow-up to 2005’s Aerial is no jolly Christmas album…Bush’s husky vocals rise through an ominous piano fog, generating a silvery chill even as the lyrics of Snowflake, reminiscent of The Red Shoes’ Moments Of Pleasure, or Misty’s strange snowman love song, yearn for human warmth.” Elsewhere in the magazine Q recommends Misty as a track to download. Uncut, the other major UK monthly music magazine, also gives the album 4-stars and deems it “Album of the Month.” In the review, John Mulvey finds Misty “extraordinary” and Among Angels “beautifiul and glacial”. Snowflake and Lake Tahoe are described as “slow, long songs….the cumulative effect is remarkable”
Look out for the next edition of Mojo magazine. It should be out as early as next week. It will feature a brand new interview with Kate about 50 Words For Snow and the first actual review of the album! More at the Mojo website here.
EDIT: The review awards 50 Words for Snow four stars. Thanks to DecemberWillBeMagic, SkyVibes and Ian.
“At 53 the thrill of seeing the world transformed by a pearlescent icy blanket is not only intact; it’s the Narnian portal through which 50 Words for Snow beckons us …”
UPDATE: The review is illustrated with the following art by Lisa Evans. (Read more at her blog here.)
“To stick around for the conclusion is to realise that the spiritual source of these songs comes from a deeper place. ‘I can see angels around you’ she sings … sounding as delerious with love as only she can.”
Two stunning new promotional images of Kate have appeared on the Amazon site this evening!
Edit: Kate has now confirmed that the fur featured in these photos was synthetic. No yetis were harmed in the making of these shots. See also here and here.
A note about fur and photographs
From Kate… Hi there, We have recently taken some photos and I just want to pre-empt any concerns there might be as I’m sure most of you will feel the same way as I do about wearing real fur.
All the fur in these photos is synthetic.
Best wishes,
Kate
Despite what you may have heard on the radio, we have had confirmation from Fish People that there will not be a physical single release for Wild Man. You can however download it from all the usual places. See here
Update: Roundtable review now confirmed by Kate’s official site. Read more here. Also, Kate’s new single is Record of the Week on BBC Radio 2 next week, and on the BBC Radio 6Music B playlist for the week commencing Saturday 15th October.
The BBC singles review programme Roundtable hosted by Steve Lamacq is on Radio 6 Thursday 13th October at 18.00. It is highly likely that Kate’s new single Wild Man will be reviewed by the panel which will include Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien, DJ Huw Stephens & Slow Club’s Rebecca Taylor.
You too can comment by entering the Listener’s Roundtable. Log on via the BBC 6Music website and enter your opinion with a collection of other 6Music listeners, or via twitter with the hashtag #roundtable. This sort of feedback can really help – you can also email your thoughts on the track to BBC Radio 2 and to your local commercial radio station.
From Kate’s official site: On Monday 10th October Ken Bruce will be broadcasting the worldwide exclusive of Wild Man. A radio edit of Kate’s new single will be played on BBC Radio 2 (88-91FM) during Ken’s show just after 11am UK time. More at the BBC Radio 2 site here.
Wild Man is to be the lead single from the new album ’50 Words for Snow’. It will be released digitally world-wide at midnight on Tuesday October 11th. More at Kate’s official site here. There is no word yet on when the first airplay will be, but as soon as we hear we will let you know. We are guessing it will be early next week on BBC Radio 2…
Very exciting news tonight! Elton John and Andy Fairweather Low have been confirmed as guests on Kate’s new album ’50 Words for Snow’. The news comes as part of a press release announcing Kate’s signing to the ANTI- record label in the US. The label, which carries the slogan “real artists creating great recordings on their own terms”, is home to the likes of Tom Waits, Wilco, Neko Case, Billy Bragg, Beth Orton and Tricky. Kate is in very good company!
Other news from the announcement is that Stephen Fry will be performing on the album’s title track, and the album is described thus: “through a highly evocative musical and lyrical landscape this haunting album once again pushes the boundaries”. We also have our first lyrical fragment from the album: “I can feel him melting in my hands…”
The full ANTI- Records press release:
Kate Bush Signs to ANTI-, Releasing “50 Words For Snow” 11/21
“The most influential British female artist ever”. – NME
“The sheer quality of the songwriting makes every recent female artist who has been compared to Kate Bush look pretty wan by comparison” – The Guardian
“Kate Bush is the greatest living British artist in song” – Mojo
The legendary KATE BUSH releases a brand new studio album “50 Words For Snow” on Anti-Records on November 21.
The album features 7 new tracks set against a background of falling snow, with a total running time of 65 minutes; through a highly evocative musical and lyrical landscape this haunting album once again pushes the boundaries.
” I can feel him melting in my hands….”
“50 Words For Snow” is Kate’s second album release of 2011, following ‘Director’s Cut’ which was released in May to massive critical acclaim. The new album features a small number of special guest musicians including Elton John, Andy Fairweather Low and, on the title track, the British writer/broadcaster/raconteur Stephen Fry.
Andy Fairweather Low
Kate Bush has been cited as a huge influence on a range of artists from newcomers like Florence and the Machine and Feist to established artists like Tori Amos and Bjork; she has also been praised by figures as diverse as OutKast, Tricky and Sex Pistol/PIL legend John Lydon who said; “Kate Bush supplies me with all the clues and it’s up to me to put the answers together, and that surely is what we are all looking for”.
Writing about ‘Director’s Cut’ British rock weekly NME said; ‘Kate Bush is the most influential British female artist ever. No Kate Bush – no PJ Harvey, Cocteau Twins, Bjork, Tori Amos, Joanna Newsome, Goldfrapp, Bat for Lashes; its not only female solo artists either – Radiohead, Suede and Patrick Wolf are all fans whilst her distinct falsetto is evident in the output of Anthony and the Johnsons”.
More about ANTI- at their site here.
