Recent French KT interview

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The following is a translation of an interview printed
in the French music magazine Guitares et Claviers, February
1986, pp. 56-60, 119, 121. The interview was conducted by
Yves Bigot and translated by Andrew Marvick. It should be
remembered that the interview was originally conducted in
English, probably not fluent, then translated into French,
and now finally, back into English, so do not interpret
Kate's replies as verbatim quotations. Furthermore, inaccuracies
-- and stupidities -- on the part of Monsieus Bigot have been
retained in translation.

PART ONE

Once again the young Englishwoman is crossing the continents.*
* -- In French this expression has a figurative as well as a
literal meaning. The expression means, roughly, "making a great
change," or "at leaps and bounds". -- * This time, she's telling
strange love stories, set to even more finely chiseled music. To
find out more about her and her album, Yves Bigot interviewed
Kate Bush between two airplanes.*  * -- This interview was therefore
conducted following Kate's return from North America, between
November 25th or so and November 29th.

At exactly the age of twenty-seven, Kate Bush is an accomplished
artist. Born into a family of doctors of the London area, she was
practicing dance before she discovered that she was a musician
like her brothers. Discovered byDavid Gilmour (of Pink Floyd)
when she was still no more than sixteen, she astounded the whole
of Europe at the beginning of 1978 with "Wuthering Heights", a
bewitching song which she interpreted in an astounding voice,
half-mouse, half-cat. The United Kingdom's little darling, she
ate up the air-waves ("Man With the Child in his Eyes",
"Wow", "Breathing", "Babooshka", "Army Dreamers") and demonstrated
an excellence on stage, where her talents as a ballet dancer
and actress enabled her to incarnate a variety of characters
without ever giving a false impression. Highly aware of her
image and of the public impression her career makes, she was
one of the first to use a video as a promotion vehicle. In
1981, with the confidence of a Joni Mitchell, she decided to
take complete charge of her destiny, and, already responsible
for every aspect of her life-style, took equal control of her
music in producing The Dreaming, a ground-breaking and adventurous
album in the style of the third Peter Gabriel. "Sat In Your Lap"
brought her the success she needed in order to continue, but the
tour that had been planned did not materialize. One had to wait
until last autumn to hear talk of Kate Bush again -- and what
talk! Even if Hounds of Love is not the cut gem that its predecessor
was, it has generated a far greater success, and "Running Up That
Hill", number one throughout Europe, is opening the doors of America
for the first time...

Y.B.: More than three years between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love,
      that's a lot. Were you trying to break Randy Newman's record
      for laziness, or what?
K.B.: It seems a long time, but I didn't need all of it just to
      record the new album! After The Dreaming, I decided to
      re-organize my life, and that took me a certain amount of
      time. I left the city and moved into the country, I
      started taking intensive dance courses again. Then I
      had to build and equip my own recording studio, at my home;
      it was only after all this that I was able to compose and
      put on tape what has become my new album. Eighteen months
      of off-and-on work, all the same, between the first song
      and the final pressing.
Y.B.: Where does this absolute desire to control everything
      come from?
K.B.: Production was a logical extension of my desire to make
      sure that my songs sounded exactly as I heard them. When
      you write something, you want it to be in a style that
      is the most precise, the most complete, the closest to
      your original idea as possible. Each element that goes
      into the track affects it for better or worse. I discovered
      that in involving myself in the process of following up
      on my music, it was necessary to become the producer,
      which, today, is only one supplementary aspect of my
      job as author-composer.
Y.B.:I presume that the invention of the Fairlight and the
      development of automatic consoles helped your
      apprenticeship as producer.
K.B.: Technology is a valuable aid for me. The Fairlight is,
      for me, a marvelous invention which has allowed me to
      greatly develop my capacities as arranger and composer.
      Electronic drums have changed my life as well. After that,
      it was natural to have my own studio, so as to be able
      to work naturally, in tranquility, in proximity to the
      origins of my songs.
Y.B.: You own your own Fairlight?
K.B.: Now, yes. At the time of the last album, I worried whether
      it was worth the expense, because they're incredibly
      expensive. But since buying it, I congratulate myself
      every day.
Y.B.: You're not kidding! Your last two albums seem almost
      submerged under the characteristics of the Fairlight!
K.B.: It was the sound and style that I've wanted since the
      beginning. But in those days I had neither the tools
      nor the capacity to express myself as I wanted. Little
      by little I feel more satisfied, more free, happier.
Y.B.: Peter Gabriel, the pioneer of the instrument, has visibly
      had a huge influence on your development. But one could
      say that something more exists between you, like a
      telepathic link. Do you disagree?
K.B.: It's difficult to say. Comparing me to him is a marvelous
      compliment, and certainly exaggerated. I greatly admire
      what he does; he's a brilliant artist. I think that people
      like him and me are similar because we are trying to do
      something new. The pop world does not enter into our
      pre-occupations. We are that kind of people. Peter, of
      course, but also David Bowie, who was incredibly innovative
      at a moment when it was needed, Bryan Ferry with Roxy Music,
      Brian Eno, who can't be honoured enough for what he's done.
      All are very important musicians, whose influence greatly
      exceeds their popularity, which lasts three minutes in the
      charts.
Y.B.: Well, you found a magic formula there, since "Running Up
      That Hill" is a worldwide success, your first hit in the
      United States, and since the album stayed at number one
      in England for a month.
K.B.: It's extraordinary. You can't imagined the pleasure that
      brings me, after having worked so hard, to see that the
      public receives this record so well.
Y.B.: Do you think of the public when you're in the studio?
K.B.: I think that one always writes a song for oneself. You
      let yourself be swept away from your environment and you
      listen to your "interior voices". The only censure consists
      in knowing what works and when. But ultimately, you're
      on the watch for the opinions of others: the musicians who
      come to play their parts, the engineers; you sense immediately
      if their interest is aroused, and maintained, when they hear
      what you're working on. Everything is public.
Y.B.: With regard to voices, yours never stops plunging lower and
      lower, with each album. It's true that, with "Wuthering
      Heights", you were taking the soprano part!
K.B.: In my first two albums, I had it in my head to sing only
      in my highest register. A whim, but it made people think
      that it was the only way I knew how to sing. However, when
      I was truly a little girl, I never sang in that way. Since
      then I've been trying to explore the possibilities of my
      larynx, to find that which best suits the piece. Furthermore,
      in growing older, the voice changes. I'd like to hope that
      it's changing for the better. In any case, I control my
      voice much better than formerly. Being the producer also
      allows me to devote more time and attention to the method
      in which I want my singing to sound. That's another source
      of progress.
END OF PART ONE