Georgia Straight

[rhill@pnet01.cts.com (Ronald Hill)]

Kate Bush  "Hounds of Love" Has Her Running Up The Charts 
>From The Georgia Straight 
by Steve Newton 

        When Kate Bush was 15 years old she thought it would be nice [if] she
could get some of her songs published.  There was a friend of her family who
knew someone that was looking for talent to encourage and produce.  That
someone came and heard Kate's songs, and was intrigued enough to put up the
money need to master a few demo tapes.  Those masters were what got the career
of Kate Bush rolling... right up to her highly-acclaimed new album, Hounds Of
Love.  The certain someone who put the ball in motion was none other than
David Gilmour, famed guitarist for the seventies rock giants Pink Floyd. 
        "He was really responsible for me getting my recording contract with
EMI in the first place", says Kate, who called The Straight from Toronto
recently.  That contract has resulted in the release of five full-length LPs -
The Kick Inside (1977) [1978].  Lionheart ('78).  Never For Ever ('80).  The
Dreaming ('82) and Hounds ('85) - as well as two mini-albums, the live On
Stage and Kate Bush (both '83). 
        Strangely enough, upon first meeting Gilmour in '75, Bush had never
even heard any Pink Floyd music. 
        "I was not really aware of much contemporary rock music at that age. 
I had heard of them, but hadn't actually heard their music.  It wasn't until
later that I got to hear stuff like Dark Side Of The Moon.  And I just thought
that was superb - I mean they really did do some pretty profound stuff." 
        Gilmour was executive producer of The Kick Inside.  He also sang on
Pull Out The Pin from The Dreaming.  In fact, Kate Bush has been fortunate
enough to have fine musicians sitting in on all her records.  Aside from the
basic core of players that includes drummer Stuart Elliot, bassist Del Palmer,
and guitarist Alan Murphy, she's had help from synth whiz Larry Fast (Never
For Ever), bassist Eberhard Weber (The Dreaming) and guitarist John Williams
(Hounds Of Love).  Max Middleton, former Jeff Beck keyboardist, played
extensively on Never For Ever.  So where does she find such top-notch talent?
        "Well if I'm not a particular fan of them, then I'm either introduced
to them through fellow musicians, or people I know.  But quite often you hear
a piece of music and you really like what's happening there... so you just get
them in!"
        One piece of music that had a strong effect on Bush was Pink Floyd's
The Wall.  She liked it so much that she borrowed the helicopter effect from
that song to use on Waking the Witch, on of the more startling songs on Hounds
Of Love.  It begins with a curious vocal track that resembles a jumped-up
morse code. 
        "That's an effect that we managed to muck around with.  It was a very
experimental idea, a sort of trick really, that took us a long time to do.  I
wanted to give the impression on a very desperate attempt to communicate." 
        Another peculiar effect of the new record occurs at the start of the
title track.  A frightened mal voice cries "It's in the trees!  It's coming!" 
        "It's really the idea of someone being chased by something - which in
this case is love - but something that they're really scared of.  It's being
treated in an incredibly melodramatic way, you know, as if some great monster
is coming to get you." 
        The line comes from a 1956 black and white English horror movie, Night
of The Demon (also released as Curse Of The Demon).  As it turns out, Kate is
quite a fan of scary flicks.  On the liner notes of Hounds Of Love there's a
special thank to Werner Herzog. 
        "There's a piece of music in Hello Earth that a choir sings.  I heard
that originally in a film of his called Nosferatu (a vampire movie).  It's
such a beautiful piece of traditional music, that I just had to use it, so we
rearranged it for voices." 
        On Hello Earth an instrument called the bouzouki is used, and
throughout Hounds instruments such as the balalaika and dijeridu are put into
play.  Kate seems to thrive on sounds that are found far off the beaten path
of ordinary pop.
        I think you're always looking for little piece of gold amongst the
rubbish - on every level.  Lyrically, musically, and soundwise.
        "The dijeridu I first used on the last album.  There's a man called
Rolf Harris, who's an incredible dijeridu player.  And I"d written a track on
the last album about aborigines (The Dreaming) and asked him to come in and
play it."
        On her new album, the dijeridu is played by Kate's brother Paddy Bush.
 He uses it on The Big Sky and Jig Of Life, and also plays violin and fujare
on The Morning Fog.
        "Paddy has really been quite involved in all my albums.  And Jon
(Bush, another brother) hasn't really played as much, but he's been involved
in vocal things, particularly on this album.  He's a novel writer as well, and
a photographer."
        Brother Jon is actually the one responsible for the striking
photography on the cover and inside sleeve of Hounds Of Love.  The cover shot
depicts a seductive Kate cuddling in a purple bed with two German hunting
dogs.  On the back cover Kate is shown partially submerged in a weedy pond. 
There is a method to her madness. 
        "Since the album is like two completely different albums, and we gave
each side a title, we thought it would be nice if it almost had two front
covers.  Each picture is sort of depicting a side, you know."
        Side One is entitled "Hounds Of Love," and Side Two "The Ninth Wave." 
The first side kicks off with the hit single Running Up That Hill and carries
on with four more individual tunes, while "The Ninth Wave" is a concept side,
it's seven songs combining to tell one story.
        "Even though the first side wasn't conceptual, all the songs are
linked by the fact that they're about relationships of some kind.  They're all
love songs, really."
        Bush says she has a fascination for the psychology of people. 
"Everybody does really."  Running Up That Hill resulted from that keen
interest in the way people think about each other. 
        "It's the idea of people actually making a deal with God, you know, to
just swap place with each other, and understand what it is like from the other
person's point of view.
        "It's about trying to bring people together even more.  You always
understand something better once you've experienced it."
        Kate Bush isn't too certain about where her musical career will take
her next.  Obviously, her many fans would love the chance to see her live.  Is
touring a possibility?
        "I think that's the question that everyone is asking.  I really would
like to tour again, but it's an incredibly big commitment - financially as
well as timewise.
        "I'm not quite sure what I would want to do as a next project.  It
could perhaps be this film, or a tour or perhaps I'll go straight into another
album.  I don't really want to go from one intense project to another ... that
just seems to be the way it is for me." 


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