FEATURE:
Pull Out the Pin
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush working hard in the studio in 1985/PHOTO CREDIT: John Carder Bush (from his book, KATE: Inside the Rainbow)
Kate Bush, the Producer
___________
I was looking through all features I have…
IN THIS PHOTO: Kate Bush in 1978/PHOTO CREDIT: Gered Mankkowitz
put out regarding Kate Bush, but I don’t think I have dedicated an entire one to her as a producer. Recently, BBC Radio 6 Music tweeted asking people who their favourite producer was. We can all name people like Sir George Martin, Quincy Jones, Tony Visconti or the well-known producers but, to me, Kate Bush must be seen as one of the greatest and most influential producers ever. I think many people associate her as being a singer and songwriter but, actually, I think her production work is as important as anything! Whilst Bush had a very limited production role on The Kick Inside, and Lionheart – none on the former and a slight role on the latter -, she began to become much more involved with production from her third album, Never for Ever, in 1980. Andrew Powell produced her first two albums wonderfully, but I think there was always a desire from Bush to be more involved putting songs together and calling the shots regarding the other musicians. As the artist, she would be able to give instructions to the musicians but, when it came to takes and getting things to sound like she wanted them then the majority of that would have been done by Powell. Bush has said in interviews how important it was for her to produce her own work and, so many years down the line, the thought or working with a producer would not have been welcomed - the fact that she might not have taken direction well.
I can see what she means regarding someone else moulding her music when, actually, she knows what she wants her songs to sound like – so it seems redundant having someone else leading her. 1979’s The Tour of Life was, in a sense, Bush’s biggest production role to that point, and I think the success and reception the tour received confirmed to her that she should produce - and one can feel her confidence and ambition growing! As I said before, it would not have been possible or reasonable for Bush to produce her debut album alone, as she was still very new to the music industry - and having more experienced hands putting the album together was something EMI would have been insistent about. I can see why Bush was eager to produce right from the start because, although she was in great hands, maybe the vision laid out on her first couple of albums was not as she saw it. From 1980, she was expanding her sound and producing these more experimental, layered and diverse songs. Maybe she was marketed and directed a certain way in the early days but, when she was allowed more reign, she transformed into a stunning producer! Bush did co-produce with Jon Kelly on Never for Ever, but I think a lot of the more original and unusual choices regarding sound and direction were hers. That is definitely true when she solo-produced 1982’s The Dreaming. The fact that the album is so rich and overflowing with texture is testament to her talent; in lesser hands, it could have been a disaster. With so many options and technology around her I think her production work on the album is amazing!
Even though Bush was working at different studios for that album and really did push herself to the physical and emotional limits, I think the fact so many did not know how to view and experience the album when it came out is testament to Bush’s endless fascination with the studio and how to use it o progress her work. Her production style is never too raw or polished and one does not get endless vocal layers and needless sound effects – that would happen a bit in The Red Shoes in 1993 but, for the most part, she strikes a great balance. I think the mark of a top producer is knowing when a track has had enough work done to and, in some cases, how little things can improve a song. I am not sure what the working procedure was like on Bush’s first two albums but, by all account, she was a delight to work with and would only need occasional prodding – a few occasions of Bush smoking weed and not being too focused have been revealed but, I think, that just adds to her coolness! She was definitely focused as a producer and, when working with musicians, she would do as many takes as required to get the sound right. If a particular musician did not give the right performance then she would change it. She was diplomatic and kind, but she was also uncompromising when it came to her vision! When reading about Bush and life in the studio, you get all these different sides.
Whereas a lot of producers would be quite hands-off with musicians and not interact too much, Bush was very communicative and hospitable. Whether it was getting tea and making sure people were fed or working through a song until everything clicked, it must have been a huge pleasure for musicians who got to work with her! Maybe at the start there was the impression from some of the musicians and people around her that she was slightly out of her water but, as she asked more questions and learned more about the process, Bush really stepped into her groove. 1985’s Hounds of Love saw her move from the city to the country and construct her own studio with modern equipment. There was resistance from EMI after The Dreaming’s relatively poor commercial performance - but Bush was determined to produce. The key that unlocked Hounds of Love’s success was changing her environment and really fulfilling a desire to unite home and work. Graeme Thomson notes in his biography, Under the Ivy: The Life & Work of Kate Bush, that, as early as Lionheart, Bush wanted to create a recording environment where she was less on the clock and she could have this homely environment where the comfort and lack of stress allowed her to excel as an artist and producer. I think, because things started to blossom from 1983, Bush could throw herself into work more without burning out.
Even though Bush’s musical path was less academic and more self-taught, she worked hard with musicians to explain what she wanted to hear; small kernels would blossom and there was this collaborative environment where magic happened. She added a further percussive layer to Jig of Life, and Charlie Morgan was handed a selection of Irish instruments. I love the fact that Bush was as accomplished and experimental a producer as anyone she worked with. Maybe inspired by her childhood and being surrounded by so much different music, she was using a range of instruments and creating music that was so bold, original and different to anything else! I think albums like Hounds of Love sounds so great is because Bush created this warm and inspiring atmosphere for her musicians and team – and that continued going forward. Even though, by the time of The Red Shoes in 1993, her sound was a little more compressed and not quite as warm as her earlier albums – due to changing technology and the more edgy sound of digital recording -, she was still creating these brilliant albums that sounded like nothing she released before.
Even though other musicians worked on her albums post-1993 she was working at home, and I think Bush was keen to have as few bodies in her studio and to keep things a bit simple. 2005’s Aerial is quite different in terms of the family/home dynamic – Bush became a mother in 1998 and would have to balance motherhood and music; she would record in bursts -; what resulted over the double album is immense. Her partner, Danny McIntosh, would pick up musicians and played guitar, whilst her trusty engineer, Del Palmer, was there setting up and organising the nuts and bolts. I think we underestimate and undervalue Bush’s legacy in terms of her production and how big a part of their success and legacy is down to her being behind the desk! It is amazing to think how much work she put into her albums from Never for Ever onwards in terms of writing, performing and producing! She is an amazingly likeable, intuitive, hard-working and inspirational producer who has influenced a legion of fans and fellow musicians. From her studio methods and eclectic approach to genre and various sounds through to her working methods in the studio, there is no domain where she is not queen! As a producer, I think that Kate Bush must rank as…
ONE of the best ever.