The eighth track Waking the Witch is a chilling piece of textured sound. So you have to find your own place, and you’ve got to get the best equipment in there that you can afford!” Shortly after building her studio, Bush told MTV that “when you work experimentally it actually becomes prohibitive because it costs money to work in a commercial studio. Bush used her home studio as an instrument when creating this side’s seven-song suite. Under Ice is a dramatic and scene-setting piece that features multi-layered vocals, building to a climax that never comes. His flowing, moving bass is the key element of this track, which also features a lovely matching piano/vocal melody, unusual distant whistling and a curious backward phasing effect. The track features the kinetic, fretless bass of Eberhard Weber, who collaborated with Bush on preceding album The Dreaming. The opening three tracks’ joyous mania makes way for a more contemplative air as Bush lyrically reflects on the protective relationship between a mother and son – despite the son’s wrongdoings (murder?) he knows that his mother will always protect him. Mother Stands for Comfort distinctly shifts the tone. And Now For Something Completely Different… The simplistic guitar riff that kicks in towards the song’s conclusion serves as a secondary hook before Bush’s gospel chorus of multi-tracked vocals rounds off the song in an unexpected way. The Big Sky is dominated by a funky, bouncy bass guitar, multi-tracked vocals and what is essentially a singular hook that is repeated throughout the song. The song’s synth-pad base is countered by a folk-y, repetitive string section that serves to fuel the paper-thin tension evoked by Bush’s singing. Very soon Bush once again demonstrates her powerful vocal range, and even though a fascinating musical tapestry is created here it is this vocal that is impossible to ignore. Hounds of Love kicks off with the sampled phrase “It’s in the trees, it’s coming!” (taken from horror movie Night of the Demon) before exploding into a gorgeous synth-underbed, pulsing with a big drum sound. “Take your shoes off, and throoow them in a lake!’’ Bush then impetuously commands, elongating with a compelling growl the word ‘throw’ on this, the album’s title track. Multi-tracked vocals compete and bolster the lush melody. All the while Bush’s dramatic and emotive vocals take centre stage. Electric guitar plays its part too, peppering itself through the latter half of the track in little mini-furious fuzzy freak-outs. The musical landscape is defined by the instantly familiar skittish synth riff and insistent drum machine beat. Opening track Running up That Hill was one of a handful of tracks written by Bush on piano, and is a song sweeping with majesty, yearning and power. I think in a way that’s what I’ve been waiting for.” Run To The Hills Talking to Electronic Music Maker in 1982 Bush said that what attracted her to the Fairlight was “its ability to create very human, animal, emotional sounds that don’t actually sound like a machine. The Fairlight CMI (which stands for Computer Music Instrument) was a key tool in the realisation of Hounds of Love. The first, more mainstream-friendly side being subtitled ‘Hounds of Love’ while the second side consisted of more impressionistic music and was subtitled ‘The Ninth Wave’ – the title of a poem by one of her towering literary influences: Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Perhaps taking inspiration from David Bowie’s Berlin trilogy, Bush conceptually divided the record into two distinct halves. Over the next few years she gained a sizeable following with a series of increasingly experimental and musically diverse records, reaching glorious heights with her 1985 masterwork Hounds of Love. Plucked from relative obscurity by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, Bush released her suitably proggy breakthrough smash Wuthering Heights and resulting LP The Kick Inside in 1978. When Kate Bush first materialised out of the ether in the latter half of the 70s the popular music world was more than a little perplexed. Running up That Hill (A Deal With God) 2. Producer Kate Bush – Produced at Wickham Farm Home Studio –
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |