Kate Bush has spoken about her recent album ‘Director’s Cut’ and her changing voice.
An inspiration songwriter, Kate Bush recently decided to take a step back. Focussing on a neglected part of her career, the English artist opted to re-record tracks from ‘The Sensual World’ and ‘The Red Shoes’.
Collected on new album ‘Director’s Cut’ the results are fascinating. An insight into how a vital artist views her own career, Kate Bush released the album to widespread acclaim earlier this year.
Speaking to Interview Magazine recently, Kate Bush explained that she was motivated by a desire to “let the songs breathe more”.
“I really didn’t see it as a substitute for a greatest hits package, but it was something I’d wanted to do for a few years. I guess I just kind of felt like there were songs on those two albums that were quite interesting but that they could really benefit from having new life breathed into them.”
Continuing, she explained that the production on the initial albums remained a bone of contention. “I don’t really listen to my old stuff, but on occasion, I would either hear a track on the radio or a friend might play me one, and there was generally a bit of an edgy sound to it, which was mainly due to the digital equipment that we were using, which was state of the art at the time—and I think everyone felt pressured to be working that way.”
With some of the tracks dating back more than two decades, Kate Bush was forced to approach the material in a different way. On some recordings, the singer was unable to match the key of her youthful voice.
“I found that by just slightly lowering the key of most of the songs, suddenly it kind of gave me a way in, because my voice is just lower now. So that helped me to step back into it. And although they were old songs, it all started to feel very much like a new process and, in a lot of ways, ended up feeling like I was just making a new album—it’s just that the material was already written. When I listen to it now, it feels like a new record to me.”
‘Director’s Cut’ is out now.