To some people I know, artists such as Kate Bush and Bjork are the gods, the female equivalents to David Bowie and Iggy Pop. Both of these ladies are putting out new material this year, thank god. Just recently we've been through a draught in Female artists, ignoring the so called artists that repeat themselves with little change and care, e.g Lady Gaga.
Lately we've been exposed to artists such as La Roux and Bat For Lashes, these British females have brought a little Female eccentric back to music. Although they do have same Art Rock style as Kate Bush had in the late 70's and early 80's, neither of these two upcoming artists have a strong voice or musical output, it's very bland and forgettable, something which female artists suffer from if they're not careful.
We look at Bjork in the 90's and see a number of charted singles, these were very electronic and were the opposite to the dominating Britpop of the era. She has a huge, global fan base, due to her eccentric attitude and avant-garde like musical output. Bjork is the essential female artist, starting off in the many Post-Punk bands from Iceland. Releasing strong albums with KUKL and the eventually taking the drivers seat for the Alternative Rock band The Sugarcubes.
Through the years female musicians have come to light, such as Joanna Newsom. She is bringing a modern look on Folk, combining it with Classical structures. Her Roy Harper like compositions and unpolished vocals create a lovely blend of musicianship and straight up textures only the best musicians can create.
PJ Harvey, is one of Britain's biggest female music outputs. She has had a genre shift throughout her music career, running with Punk through the 90's, then becoming more mellow as the years progress. She's always been outstanding and one of our modern day poets within music. She recently won this years Mercury Prize Award and I'm happy that she won it, as her album 'Let England Shake' is one of the best albums from 2011.
The females have always been eclectic, with Joni Mitchell.. Lene Lovich.. Bjork.. and Siouxsie. The constant output has brought together both a male and female audience who share similar opinions on female artists. When I mention female artists, some may look at the constant stream of commercialized XFactor finalists, but I'm actually talking about the minority of female musicians like St. Vincent and the forementioned ladies. These are the ones us patricians look for within the female gender of music.
This is point where I usually shit on everything modern, but I wont.. Maybe a little. The key to this change is the audience, nobody wants to hear 'Hounds of Love' on Radio 1 in 2011 do they. They want the latest Ke$ha single or Katy Perry collaboration. some teenage girls of today will call these different. Artists like Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Beyonce. They have a big wardrobe, that's about as eccentric as they get. it's so obvious that they 'co-write' with a music industry writer such as 'Red One'.. But this is irrelevant to the masses who tune into Radio everyday for the latest UK Number 1 single. Most people are not looking for something new and innovative, they're looking for something catchy and that's what Ke$ha and Katy Perry do. They give us some catchy songs, they may be shit, but they're still catchy to most people.
We still have strong female musicians in PJ Harvey, Cat Power and Erykah Badu. These artists are not mainstream, they make the papers, they make the big magazines and have acclaimed albums, but they don't have the mass audience behind them. This is something the past had, we don't have that now. So we're missing a gap in the market and that gap is appealing to the masses.
The constant output of Pop makes it difficult for new artists to make it big, meaning you have to search hard for new musical female talent. Britain is in a no go zone for female artists right now, with the exception of PJ. USA will lead the way for us, if we are to ever get out of this female based music mess, USA will give us a highly credible and eccentric female musician, which will change the views of many. Then the musical renaissance will begin. Good look to the females.
We still have strong female musicians in PJ Harvey, Cat Power and Erykah Badu. These artists are not mainstream, they make the papers, they make the big magazines and have acclaimed albums, but they don't have the mass audience behind them. This is something the past had, we don't have that now. So we're missing a gap in the market and that gap is appealing to the masses.
The constant output of Pop makes it difficult for new artists to make it big, meaning you have to search hard for new musical female talent. Britain is in a no go zone for female artists right now, with the exception of PJ. USA will lead the way for us, if we are to ever get out of this female based music mess, USA will give us a highly credible and eccentric female musician, which will change the views of many. Then the musical renaissance will begin. Good look to the females.
