From Kate’s official site this evening:

A thank you from Kate

From Kate… I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has embraced  ’50 Words For Snow’ with such warmth and positivity. I am totally blown away by the response to the album and am so delighted with the chart position of No 5 today. Hooray!

Thanks to everyone who has contributed:  Del Palmer for all his really great work throughout the recording process and his input during the mixing. To Stephen Tayler for his invaluable work on the mixes and to Stanley Gabriel who assisted us. To all the wonderful musicians especially Steve Gadd for the incredible feel he has brought to the whole piece, to Danny for his beautiful guitars, to dearest Bertie for his fantastic performance and for all his enthusiasm, to Jonathan Tunick for his gorgeous orchestrations and to John Giblin, Danny Thompson and all the guests who have brought their special energies into the music. To everyone on the team who have done such a terrific job and most of all to all of you who take it into your homes and your hearts and make me feel so privileged to have my work received with such love.

Many thanks,
Kate x

Kate is premièring the second of three film segments from her new album at 7.30pm GMT at her official site. This is the first time that Kate has directed a stop-motion film. The film is titled ‘Mistraldespair‘ and she writes about the people and process behind the film at her site here. Each of the three films last about 2 and half minutes. We have already seen the film for Wild Man. Mistraldespair features part of the epic song, Misty. Enjoy!

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JoPFIWOONU[/youtube]

From Kate… I am delighted to announce the premiere of “Mistraldespair”, the 2nd visual piece. This accompanies a segment from the track ‘Misty’. It has been a very intense journey but I am really happy with the end result. It is a 2 and a half minute stop motion animation.

It has been created by the extremely talented Tommy Thompson. He has worked so hard and devotedly. Fantastic job!

As I’m sure you are aware, stop frame animation is a truly painstaking process, one that I feel has a purity and incredible beauty because of its organic nature.  I wanted to try and achieve something quite adult that involved a slow, sensual feel. Not something you often see in the usually more slap-stick approach to this medium.

There are some people I want to thank:  Andre Masters who created the lovely female puppet, Gary Cureton for his animation, Ben Perrot and Matt Curtis for their wonderful post production work, Paul Matchliss, Ben Cote, Hazel Pethig, Juan Carlos and Foad Shah.  Adam, Emily, the two Robs and Patrick at Deluxe.  Special thanks to Bertie and Dan.

I want to especially thank Mike Solinger, a brilliant producer and a total joy to work with.

I have never directed a stop motion animation before. It has been a fascinating and very rewarding experience.

Tommy Thompson is going to be a huge star!

I hope you like it.
Kate

Watch the short (repeated) loop of the film at Kate’s site here.

Just added to the 50 Words For Snow gallery at Kate’s site here. We’re really looking forward to seeing the upcoming visual pieces that these shots relate to.

This wraps up a week of streaming tracks on Kate’s site, featuring album artwork and flurries of snow. All set now for the UK release of 50 Words For Snow tomorrow. The album has received some of the very best reviews of Kate’s career, and we’re delighted for her.

Track 3 of the new album debuts on Kate’s official site. Watch Misty here this evening till 9pm GMT.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBV_wd-f9tg[/youtube]
On her official website Kate has announced the release of further promotional material for the new album:

Hi everyone,

Just to let you know that we are currently working on some short visual pieces to go with segments from 3 of the songs on 50 Words For Snow.  Each piece will run for about two and a half minutes.  We are having great fun creating them and they will be staggered in their release.

In our TV ad you will see clips from two of these pieces and images from the album booklet. The voice is that of the wonderful Mr Stephen Fry. We hope that you like the look of these visuals and that they serve as a preview of what is to come as well as letting people know that the album release is imminent.

Very best wishes,
Kate

Hurry over to Kate’s official site to see the animations and the TV ad!

From Kate’s official website:

“Hi there everyone,
I wanted to let you vinyl lovers know that unfortunately the 50 Words For Snow vinyl release will be a few days late everywhere except the UK.  This is because we had some pressing problems and so we were late getting them from the factory.  The good news is that they sound great now. The USA vinyl will be available in stores around the 25th Nov, Europe and the rest of the world will be released on the 28th – maybe a few days earlier in some places. I am sorry about this but you know that I always strive for quality even if there is a slight delay.  I hope you enjoy it when you get it!!
All the best,
Kate
p.s. The vinyl has obviously been on a low fibre diet as it has less wind!”

(Seán says: “That’s okay, Kate – the Aerial vinyl had more birds!”)

The stunning opening track from Kate’s new album, Snowflake, which features Kate’s son Bertie (Albert McIntosh) on lead vocals is streaming for just one hour only on Kate’s site tonight. Watch it here – now!

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.