ETTORE SALATI

This month's Artist in Spotlight is Ettore Salati from Italy. Ettore is a sought after session guitarist by many prog musicians not just in Italy but all around the world. He started playing piano at a very young age (mostly classical music) but when he became a teenager and discovered the world of Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and 70's rock in general, he was immediately fascinated by guitar... more

KAT EPPLE (Emerald Web)

KAT EPPLE, flautist and composer, is our interview guest this month. She has won 8 Emmy awards, was nominated for a Grammy and she has released 18 albums internationally. Most of you know her as the other half of the legendary ambient/new age duo EMERALD WEB. She has a very large collection (over 200) of flutes that she gathered from all around the world during her travels. Kat composes original New Age/Jazz/World/orchestral music and has produced film scores and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island. She also owns a record company and works on both sides of the music industry as a musician and as a business woman... more

New Grass Revival / On The Boulevard

New Grass Revival are one of the pioneers of progressive bluegrass. Formed in 1971 by Sam Bush (mandolin/vocals), Curtis Burch (guitar), Ebo Walker (bass) and Courtney Johnson (banjo), they immediately got the attention from the industry both in a good and bad way. First of all, they were often told that their music was not bluegrass, and they knew it wasn’t “bluegrass” in its traditional sense, and it wasn’t what they were trying to achieve anyways. They were blending rock, soul and blues rhythms with the traditional bluegrass music. They were not wearing suites, but instead they had a more casual style along with long hair... more

KATE BUSH / NEVER FOR EVER (1980)

1980‘s “Never For Ever” is Kate’s 3rd album. The album was co-produced by Jon Kelly & Kate herself. One of the most interesting things about this album is that it is the first record by a British female artist to top the UK album charts. (Wikipedia). Kate’s progressive approach to music reaches its peak with Never For Ever. She tastefully blends different genres including folk, oriental, rock, classical and jazz. Unlike her first two albums which she wrote on piano, this one was written on synths. Drum machines were used for the first time (she was introduced to drum machines by Peter Gabriel). She also experiments with unusual ways of mixing, like layering of vocals (different than her first two albums, especially with bass background vocals topped with her high pitch singing) and sound effects like shattering glass etc.

The album opens up with “Baboushka” that describes a tragic marital situation. Baboushka is actually a Russian word for “grandma”, but it also means headscarf. The song is about a woman who wants to test and see if her husband is still loyal to her and loving her. To do this she starts sending him letters under a pseudonym and finally arranges a meeting. Funny enough, this woman who hides her face and identity reminds the husband so much of his wife, only when she was younger. This is the tune on which you will hear the breaking glass. Jon Giblin plays fretless bass. Baboushka stays in UK charts for 10 weeks.

The second song, “Delius”, Kate wrote for the composer Frederick Delius, after watching a BBC documentary about his life. The subtitle “Song of Summer” is actually one of Delius’ works. It has eastern influences especially with the sound of sitar that was played by Kate’s brother Paddy Bush. The bass vocals that she uses on a few other songs on the album are done by her brother and Jan Bairnson.

“Blow Away” has pretty strong lyrics (but aren’t all of her lyrics so?) that talk about musicians and what happens to their works after they die. On this song Kate pays homage to musicians who died young but left incredibly good works behind them: Sid Vicious, Sandy Denny, Buddy Holly…. The track beautifully blends jazz and classical music.

Medieval music mixed with contemporary (80’s) folk gives birth to one of the best songs on this album: “All We Ever Look For”. The acoustic guitars and koto (played by, you guessed it, Paddy Bush) create this mixture.

Eastern and medieval influences do not stop there. “Egypt” is a haunting song with a magical groove. Unlike the title, the sound has a more far eastern touch rather than middle eastern, and the mystic, foggy atmosphere is definitely present. It takes you back in history, into the middle of the Sahara Desert, to the times when pyramids were built.

Kate shows her cinematographic influences on two songs. The first, “The Wedding List” is a rocking number with shredding electric guitars, this one was written after Francois Truffaut’s movie “The Bride Wore Black” (1968). The song’s bass background vocals layered with Kate’s high pitch screams make the bloody atmosphere all the more disturbing, in a post modern way.

Another song with a driving rock background is “Violin”. It also has a classical feel to it, a la Paganini, whom she actually refers to in the lyrics:

Although Kate started playing violin before the piano, it is Kevin Burke who sits in for this one. It’s so insightful that Kate chose to mix classical music and rock for “Violin” because if you are talking about Paganini, rest assured he would most probably be a rebellious rocker!

Next up, “The Infant Kiss” was influenced by the movie “The Innocents” (1961). Kate’s vocals from lows to highs, and highs to lows are especially seamless and soft. This piece is another example of folk and classical blend.

“Night Scented Sock” happens to be the shortest track on the album and in such a short time it instills a sad atmosphere, preparing you for “Army Dreamers” and its heavy lyrics. It’s a folk ditty, much like the songs on her two previous albums. It talks about the effects of war. A mother’s young son was killed in the war and she is terrified after his death, dwelling on hard feelings: ...would she be able to stop him from going to war? …would she be able to do anything at all? …maybe if they had more money he could then have a guitar and he would make music?

“Breathing” is the grand finale, and ices the cake with “environmental” lyrics. Kate herself described it in an interview as her “masterpiece”. It is about a fetus that is aware of what is going on outside the womb, and is scared to be born, because the world outside is poisoned by nuclear fallout. While listening to Breathing, you will almost find yourself in a classical music concert that’s guaranteed to raise your pulse.

This album has an important place in Kate’s discography not only because it remained on the charts for such a long time but it also is a bridge between her acoustic and electronic music, giving us signs of her future works. Kate Bush always took bold steps in music and was supported by a big record label while doing this. It did pay off well both economically and artistically. One wonders “then why is so much money being spent on trends rather than good music?”, especially when people like Kate prove to us that it CAN be done.

Hande BURDG