Thanks to Louise for sharing this: BBC Radio 2 continue to feature tracks from Director’s Cut all this week. For the first full play of Kate’s exuberant new take on The Red Shoes, from the Alex Lester show this morning, skip to 2 hours 30 minutes at the BBC iPlayer here. The stunning new version of This Woman’s Work, played on the Ken Bruce show, can be heard at 1 hour 55 minutes at the BBC iPlayer here.
The most relaxed interview with Kate yet, if that’s possible. She seems in such great form these days. Ken Bruce also premièred the new Moments of Pleasure (well, most of it) in this programme. If you haven’t heard it, you’re in for such a treat. (thanks again to Hammer Horror on the forum for the MP3) UPDATE: The BBC website review of Director’s Cut has been posted here. The review sees Kate as an “artist reborn” and calls Director’s Cut “a gorgeous body of work.”
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Hounds of Love, the acclaimed Kate Bush tribute band, are playing in Poole, UK tomorrow. More details at our featured artist’s gig guide here.
Del Palmer’s official Facebook page has just posted the following. Just like the Kate Bush Club magazine days. Looking forward to Del’s piece, and to seeing what Kate has in store for us on her official site!
Another interview tomorrow sees Nadine O’Regan talking to Kate in The Sunday Business Post. You may remember Nadine talking about having heard a playback of the album on Phantom FM here. The print edition hits Irish shops tomorrow and the online edition will be out 10am Monday morning. Update: highlights below, full article here.
“If people want to compare me to Greta Garbo, that’s fine by me,” she laughs. Nothing earth-shatteringly new in this interview, but it is a very nicely written, well-rounded overview of Kate’s career and another Director’s Cut interview that covers Joyce, her thoughts on live work and the pace of her output. The lyrics of Deeper Understanding are reproduced in a sidebar. Conducted over the phone, Kate apologised to Nadine for being late: “Nadine, I’m so sorry…it’s just been such a nutty day”. Meanwhile Nadine O’Regan comments “I marvel that she’s actually saying my name” O’Regan describes Kate as “warm, deeply likeable and even maternal.” The intensity of this current period for Kate is evident. “At the moment it’s just ridiculously busy” The article should be online tomorrow at the Sunday Business Post website. The same “Tibetan girl” photo is used in the article and, as with the Irish Times, it features on the front cover of the paper also. This photo seems to be credited to Trevor Leighton, not John Carder Bush but I’ll try to confirm that.
On Director’s Cut: “I think of it as a new record. It doesn’t feel to me like they come from two separate pieces of time”. On recording techniques: “With The Red Shoes, that was done at a time when digital equipment had suddenly come on the scene. Although there are advantages to working digitally, it doesn’t have the same warmth and fullness that analogue has – so for this record, we transferred any original performances that we were keeping back to analogue tape. I worked between analogue and Pro Tools – hopefully getting the best of both worlds: the warmth of analogue and the technical agility of Pro Tools. With This Woman’s Work and Moments of Pleasure, I just wanted to start from scratch. And take the key down a bit because my voice is lower now. And take away some of the elements that clutter it up a bit.” On losing her mum while making The Red Shoes: “It was (tough)….life has a way of throwing things at you. But I had written all the songs. And that was a blessing because just to carry on the recording after she died was not so difficult as if I had to be writing material.” On live performance: “It’s a fascinating art form. There’s a great spontaneity and vulnerability to it.”
It’s official. We’re being spoiled now. Here’s a preview of the interview that Ken Bruce has recorded for his BBC Radio 2 show at Kate’s house. It airs Monday 9th May, show starts from 9.30am. UPDATE: Second (slightly different) excerpt now posted below also. (thanks to Justinx for the sound files)
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[soundcloud url=”http://soundcloud.com/justinx-1/2nd-preview-kate-bush”]
Sinéad Gleeson’s interview feature with Kate has been published in today’s Ticket section of The Irish Times. You can read the interview at the Irish Times website here. Kate talks about the influence of Irish music in her work and what her son makes of her body of work. A lovely read!
Well, the excitement generated by yesterday’s truly special John Wilson interview with Kate (longer version here) has continued today with BBC Radio Bristol devoting a sizeable portion of their Afternoon Show with Anna King to Kate. As well as replaying parts of the Front Row interview, Anna chatted live to Dave Cross (of HomeGround Magazine) and to myself! If you want to hear what we had to say, the programme is now archived by the BBC here. (our bits are between 25mins 30secs and 35mins 30secs into the stream).
Listen to the FULL interview with Kate here. Thank you John Wilson!
John Wilson earlier tweeted: “Kate Bush folk – a longer version of last night’s @BBCFrontRowinterview coming online. Will let you know where to head v soon. Stay tuned!” Follow John on Twitter here.
Here’s a bit of an exclusive for you all. Dave Cross (yup, that guy who you see in the ‘About Us’ pics) has put together this nice feature on Kate and the new album for the UK gay magazine Boyz which is out tomorrow. You get to read it here first! Also find the bigger version of Paul Bowen’s accompanying illustration here.
Fantastic, heartwarming experience listening to Kate chatting to John Wilson on BBC Radio 4 this evening! It featured a very happy sounding (and very busy!) Kate, at her home, in the midst of recording sessions for her tenth studio album, plus some truly stirring tasters from Director’s Cut. If you missed it, or want to hear it again then here you go. Makes us very excited for not one, but two upcoming Kate Bush records! (with thanks to Hammer Horror on on our forum for the MP3)
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Also on BBC iPlayer
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BBC News report of tonights interview:
Update: Listen to interview excerpt here
Kate Bush has admitted that the length of time it takes her to release an album can be “extremely stressful”. Speaking to the BBC, the singer – whose last album, Aerial, came out in 2005 – said she had written new songs but did not know when they would be released. “It’s very frustrating the albums take as long as they do,” the 52-year-old told Radio 4’s Front Row. “I wish there weren’t such big gaps between them.”
As we wait for the Front Row programme this evening on BBC Radio 4, in which John Wilson chats to Kate at her home, you can hear a snippet of the interview along with (yes!) the opening to Kate’s new version of Never Be Mine at 1hr 59mins into the following stream: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b010v8rl/Today_04_05_2011/ (thanks again to Louise for the heads up)
A feature article in L’Express 2nd May:
“Rare and enigmatic, Kate Bush remains one of Britain’s most original artists and avant-garde of the past three decades. After six years of silence, she returned with Director’s Cut, an album, drawing on sources of two of her old albums, Sensual World (1989) and The Red Shoes (1993). The singer gave one of her rare interviews to L’Express Styles. Here are three good reasons to (re) discover…“