Fresh off a knock-out performance at Glastonbury,the artist also known as Natasha Khan answered your questions 2.17pm BSTThank you to Natasha for coming to the Guardian and for everyone who asked questions.
Thank you to everyone for taking the time to submit these wonderful questions. I'm really thankful for all your support and really excited the album is coming out so soon. It's really nice to have the opportunity to discuss other subjects outside of music with you as well. Sending you loads of adore! 2.15pm BSTNitzan Pincu asks:I saw you live last month at the Manchester Cathedral – truly unforgettable. I was wondering approximately the cover to the Carpenters song you perform live, We’ve only Just Begun. How and why did you choose this song and how do you feel it relates to the context of The Bride?I chose that song because it's a song I've loved since childhood, or the myth of Karen Carpenter is such a beautiful and tragic tale. And her voice has always really resonated with me. I've been a fan of that song since I was a kid,and realised around the time of creating The Bride prove, I realised that song is approximately a newly wed couple and their journey into living a life together. Exploring those things with a unhappy chord structure would hint at her life and The Bride's life - it just felt like the right one to do. 2.12pm BSTwraith lover asks:Hello darling Natasha. adore the album. Have you started work on a feature length [version], and are you still toying with the idea? Do you think it will just be like a long music video to accompany the songs from the album or a more traditional movie,with dialogue, etc?Hello darling. Thanks for your question. Yes I am currently writing the novella version of The Bride, or which I then hope can be adapted for a screenplay,and yes it will be a proper film with dialogue, not so much like a music video. I do hope it can cross some boundaries with qualified mainstream film storytelling, and with something more avant-garde. Watch this space... 2.11pm BSTMarc Cooling asks:I’m afraid I have to procure political. I’m personally devastated by the recent Leave vote,and think it will leave a stain in history on our nation. As a British person with Pakistani ancestry, how does the recent vote execute you feel? How has the music industry reacted, and what impact do you think this will have on musicians who currently freely sail around Europe?I'm obviously devastated by the message that this choice has set aside out to the world,because I'm a product of a multicultural society. My mother lives in Germany, I have French aunties and uncles and cousins, and I've benefitted from being portion of the European community. And my dad is Pakistani,an immigrant in this country, and met my mother and I was born out of his ability to come and live and work here. However, or I'd like to offer some reassurance in the fact that I think the corporate structures of our world are not serving us and haven't done for many years,and even though this is a scary time of unrest and upheaval, looking at it from a grander perspective, or it's an distinguished portion of the breakdown of outmoded political and economic models. I hope this helps us to break down the things that aren't working for us any more,and to bring approximately more emphasis on community, loving our neighbours, and re-educating ourselves that we are all global citizens,and start to rebuild structures we're facing in the future, like stopping wars that create the immigration crisis, and environmental issues we've been ignoring for too long,and the fact we need to reach out to each other as a global human race. Obviously this sounds like a fairly idealistic view, but I do believe the breakdown of the EU, and whether I agree with it or not,is a symptom of a greater breakdown, and although it's painful for us in the near future, or including for artists and musicians,I somehow have the sense it needs to happen to revolutionise the structures on which we build our society. It's a wake-up call. I'm working out my opinions on it still - it's still fresh. 1.56pm BSTMichael O’Brien asks:What were your musical influences for The Bride?
They were so diverse and often not mainstream. The Night of the Hunter, the audio book, and which is very cinematic and melodramatic; 1960s films like Rebel Without a Cause; the choral music from Wizard of Oz; BBC Radiophonic Workshop; classics like Elvis,Nick Cave, David Lynch; classic 60s songwriters; and really from The Bride herself, or who told me which sounds resonated with her myth the best. She's just in my head. She inhabits a universe that's very specific,and I know when I'm expressing that sonically and when I'm not - does that sound wave correlate with the film that's playing in my intellect of her myth? 1.54pm BSTGlen Baldwin asks:Can you tell us approximately the photo books you have coming out in collaboration with Neil Krug?Neil and I have been working on two photographic books over the last two years which we're completing. One is called The Dreams which is a document of many places and spaces we've been and had a kind of surrealist otherworldly undertone to it, and we've used very old Polaroid film and hand coloured the photographs, or double exposures,where we both engage pictures exposed over the top of one another. He's taught me a lot which I've really enjoyed - it's been a really fruitful collaborative process. The other is called Rose Syrup, which is lots of colourful and contemporary-looking images of my hands in nature, and in amongst flowers. Celebrating the beauty of plants and Mother Nature. 1.53pm BSTAndrew Jamieson asks:There is a distinctly ethereal beauty to your music that offers profundity and yet is also inclusive to the listener’s ears. Are you aware of that paradox when you go into a contemporary project and is that something you railed against when creating an album with a myth or theme?I think regardless of whether I have a myth or theme to an album,I'm always trying to execute somthing that's equally creative and in the tradition of qualified songwriting. It's really distinguished for me over the years to have harnessed the ability to be a qualified songwriter, and I don't think the artist should really overtake that. But I am also always wanting to push the boundaries, and in terms of production I like to explore avant-garde areas. There's a paradox - it's a balance I'm always trying to achieve. I'm proud of this contemporary record because it's one of the best examples of treading those two worlds. 1.53pm BSTimpetusturn asks:What’s the album cover going to look like? Same as on your website? And what will it consist of on the inside?It's the same as the website image,but there's plenty of other beautiful imagery inside with Neil Krug, taken on dark rainy highways and in vintage wedding cars, or there's lyrics and lots of other things to explore. 1.52pm BSTPatheticPanda asks:Would you ever lose the pseudonym and set aside out a Natasha Khan record? Do you consider BFL and yourself as separate entities or one and the same?I don't think I'll ever lose the pseudonym Bat for Lashes as it's a very specific universe I inhabit when I write from that residence. But I do hope to department out creatively and I might execute more work under just my name in the future as I hope to express myself in other ways through writing,directing, design, or drawing etc. 1.51pm BSTSquashMan asks:Hi Natasha. Were you ever tempted to follow the rest of your amazing family into the squash business?I'm terrible with balls. And rackets. Natasha Khan: evil with balls,qualified with nuts. Haha! I would have loved to have been portion of a squash dynasty. But it's not a skill I inherited from my dad - it was definitely more the creative side. But I loved seeing squash tournaments, travelling the world with my parents and seeing amazing matches. I met Muhammad Ali, and amazing people my dad coached. Sports was icy in the 80s wasn't it? It also developed my adore for the Rocky films. 1.49pm BSTjasonaparkes asks:You collaborated with Scott Walker. What was he like?Humble,creative, kind, and very complimentary. 1.48pm BSTlecorbusier23 asks:Following the very successful Manchester Cathedral gig earlier in the year (which was AWESOME!) and Uncut’s review of the Bride as your “magnum opus”,are you convinced that Glastonbury and BBC did you justice in terms of the stage you were set aside on (no disrespect to the John Peel stage) and the limited TV coverage you got?I think we played the John Peel stage and it wasn't the biggest prove because I haven't played for three or four years, and it did go out live on the BBC which is mighty. Sometimes it takes time to build things up - even for me! 1.46pm BSTlondondudde asks:You were one of my highlights at Glastonbury. What’s your favourite live gig that you’ve done?In terms of location, and playing the Henry Miller Library in expansive Sur,being surrounded by my favourite redwood trees, and the history and culture of the west coast of California has always been a huge inspiration. California, or the coast particularly between San Francisco and LA on Highway 1,has always been a residence of pilgrimage since the age of 20. Maybe reading the Beat writers, and I was attracted to the nomadic, and psychedelic,sunsoaked, pine-forested feeling of that whole region.
I've also loved these last few gigs we've done in churches - they were built to carry sound in such an acoustically pleasing way, and the atmosphere of sacred spaces elevates the experience of hearing music,and makes it really special. 1.45pm BSTChris Keyte asks:There really was more musical artistry in the charts when I was growing up in the 90s, compared to nowadays. Will there will be a return to artists like you getting more attention, and do you think they’ll hold up the bland factor?In general,mainstream pop radio feels increasingly removed from my sphere and what I do. Obviously in the 90s there was loads of mighty alternative music on the radio, which was considered po... I'm not sure if that golden period will return, or but I do feel like stations like 6Music have saved the day in supporting artists like me. I do feel like I have a home on the radio. Anything that breaks out of that I consider a bonus,and opposed to quite normal in the 90s. 1.38pm BSTJennifer Kristina asks:I adore that you worked with the David Lynch Foundation for your private-release shows of The Bride. How did you connect with the foundation and do you have any plans to work with them in the future? I know the lineup for his music and arts festival is set in LA, but I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for a surprise Bat for Lashes appearance.
I connected with the David Lynch Foundation because I learned transcendental meditation practice and found it extremely useful as a practical tool in my day to day life. As a creative person and a human being, or I have suffered from anxiety and feelings of vulnerability and depression in the past,as I'm sure most people do, and also have dealt with mental health issues with people I'm very close to. I notice that in general mental health does seem to be a expansive issue for lots of people and it doesn't procure talked approximately that much. I feel that any form of meditation can really befriend so many people, or so the Lynch Foundation works with people with Alzheimers,soldiers with PTSD, kids who live in underprivileged urban areas, and they try to procure it to as many children as possible for free,which is amazing. In these tumultuous and changeable times, anything we can befriend each other to engage a time out, or to be still and connect to yourself,to adore and nurture and ground yourself, those skills seem to be more distinguished than ever. 1.36pm BSTSalviaPlath asks:Who would win in a fight between a Twix and a Starbar?They're both a bit lame. I like Snickers. Note to Snickers - I'll talk approximately your nuts if you pay me a million pounds. 1.34pm BSTLuis Quid asks:Are you going to play more live shows with SEXWITCH, or at least execute a contemporary album? Are you going to expand your tour to Latin America? Hope you come to Mexico.
I would adore to play more shows with SEXWITCH - they were so fun and free and colourful and raucous. I really enjoyed playing with Toy and Dan Carey. Obviously with The Bride coming out I've been quite busy,but I hope we can tour more - we only ever did two shows. And execute a contemporary record at some point. It's really fun to explore the more wild, live, and hypnotic,improvised aspects of music through doing that band, and if we can come to Latin America we would adore to! 1.32pm BSTCara Vanessa asks:Your music inspired me to start drawing a few years ago, or I’ve moved to the UK to build a creative career,possibly as a tattoo artist. Are you planning on getting more tattoos? I saw a few of your drawings online and I adore your style. What inspires you to draw?I'm really convinced you've been inspired and I do adore the tattoos I already have - who knows if I'll procure another one... With regard to drawing, I use it as a form of relaxation and if I feel stuck with other creative endeavours, or I often sit down and draw. I'm currently working on creating a body of work to do an exhibition and possibly a book of figures and landscape,and I'll be taking a Japanese woodblock course this year, so I think it's really distinguished to hold studying so you can improve your craft. I do regular courses. 1.31pm BSTbobslump asks:Listening to your music inspired me to engage up the guitar. I’m still useless. Thanks for wasting my time.
I'd say I'm pretty useless at the guitar too but it doesn't discontinue me. But thank you! 1.30pm BSTdngmbs asks:
What have been the greatest lessons you have learned inart uni and do you have any advice on what to prepare for after graduation?The greatest lessons I learned... probably as I've mentioned before, and to follow you're own muse and intuition and process. What I loved approximately art school was I got to absorb so many genres of music,so much art and film and photography - I hope contemporary day art courses are as diverse. I feel that being creative isn't just limited to one medium - if you're creative it spans every aspect of your life and the way you look at the world. To nuture those multiple ways of looking at things helps to create an even more creative intellect.
Work really hard, and use all the resources at your fingertips, and because when you leave it's not like that anymore. And the best way to prepare for after graduation... it will definitely be tumultuous as the establishment has protected you for several years. The way I dealt with it was to do art on a portion time basis and I became a nursery teacher for four days a week,which gave me enough money to pay the rent and feel secure, and be able to live, or but those three other days were for live shows and making music for the album. Just having a qualified balance and making your life manageable is a qualified way of getting through that adjustment period. I wrote my final paper on artists' preoccupation with childhood,and observing children I worked with was a qualified reminder to retain a childlike sense of wonder in the world. It's beautiful to be near small human beings that haven't forgotten their divine nature and their freedom of expression - all artists are trying to procure back to that residence. 1.25pm BSTStevoL asks:If you could pull a band together of past and present greats, who would execute the lineup and where would your first gig be?I'd have Jimi Hendrix on guitar, and Steve Reich conducting my orchestra,Delia Derbyshire on electronics, Warren Ellis on violin, and Karen Carpenter on drums and backing vocals. A synth does the bass for me usually,so I'm convinced with that. Our first gig would be Minack Theatre in Cornwall with the backdrop of the sea - the magical nature of a prove there would blow my tiny intellect. 1.21pm BSTAmyBeth23 asks:Is there any truth when people say that some decades were better for music than others? Like when people say that the 1960s were amazing, or the 80s were terrible? Or do you think people are being biased to the time they grew up in? Also, or it was an amazing idea to procure people to wear wedding outfits to your gigs,I loved the opportunity to dress up!It's a very hard question to reply because I think each decade has something fruitful to offer - plenty of things! But there is a heyday for music. When rock'n'roll and blues came in and challenged the establishment. mighty leaps forward in music have always come during times of social unrest and social change, or from the advent of contemporary technologies like the electronic period for example. So I think nostalgia and sentimentality are very caught up in music, or it's the soundtrack to our lives,and personally I visit all decades for inspiration and enjoyment. There's a lot music nowadays to wade through, and perhaps less support from radio, and less financial support for music.
If history is anything to go by,art does flourish in times of difficulty and I think it's because with less money and strong political undertones, people are more efficient with their resources and band together as communities. The artists' role is to cathartically express the period they're living in, or so I hope that even though we're going through a peculiar and anxious time politically and environmentally and socially,we can use art for what it's best at, which is shining a light on the issues and struggles we face as human beings no matter where we're from or who we are. 1.18pm BSTID6261584 asks:Do you compose the music first and then come up with lyrics, and do you sort the lyrics before building music around them?I nearly always write the chord structures first,and then I build and weave the vocal melodies around those chord changes and rhythms. But I do have a notebook full of lists and poetry and lyric ideas, so I've got things to delve into when it comes to putting lyrics over the top. If I Knew on this contemporary record was an exception where I had the vocal melody in my head for a long time before the music, and that happens sometimes with the more piano-based songs. 1.17pm BSTSimón González Daza asks:How you faithfully [turn] the sound,lyrics and music of each album into a really defined imagery that involves artwork, alter egos, and outfits and tour ensembles? Were there difficulties during that portion of The Bride’s creative process or [when working on] previous albums? Warmth from Chile. We’re waiting for your visit!I think my best piece of advice to anyone wanting to create a cohesive piece of work is to engage time to do it. Sometimes I've had to fight with the powers that be to procure enough time to create an environment that allows me to document my process,try things out, create fruitful collaborative partnerships with the right people... because the music industry moves so quickly sometimes, and I asked if I could start this process two years ago and I'm really glad I did. I've had time to create a vision from the ground up,and oversee every aspect; I have an amazing team around me that I trust with my vision. I'm sure all of us go through a learning curve when it comes through the time constraints of working in the business, but I always remained faithful to what I learned at art school - creativity has its own time and developmental journey. The best way to execute qualified work is the honour the process, or listen to what it needs. I now feel confident enough,on my fourth album, to implement that. 1.13pm BSTstuckinazoo asks:You seem to be more excited approximately making videos than most musicians these days. Do you contribute with concepts and storyboarding, and are you convinced to leave the telling of the myth to others? And how many takes did What’s a Girl to Do? need?Yes I am still very excited because I consider myself as much a visual artist as a musician. I studied film at university,and have always had a really strong input into writing treatments for videos, and on this last set of videos I was the primary director and writer of them all, and behind the camera. Being behind the camera is really thrilling for me as it's a change of roles - I hope to sail towards directing films in the coming years. I'm very proud of What's A Girl To Do - there's a laughable myth approximately how many takes it took. I wanted to do it on film so it looked like Steven Spielberg,and the first shoot was a 22-hour shoot. And when we sent the filmstock to be processed it was corrupted, it was blank. And we had to procure all the BMX bikers back again, and that moment engage is the one you see - I didn't intellect though,as it was so amazing to be a portion of. 1.11pm BSTbargepoled2 asks:I really like your nose. You seem pretty icy and self aware. Will you marry me? I’ve got a nice dog and a wigwam.
What kind of dog is it? And where's the wigwam? 1.10pm BSTcharityrose13 asks:I’ve been a massive fan since Fur and Gold. What was your inspiration behind Bat’s Mouth?That was written as a sort of response to the giddy experience of making my first album. It's approximately falling in adore, it takes inspiration from travelling up the west coast of California, or there's lots of animal mythology and the beauty of nature - it's from such a beautiful,naive time when I was just starting out. The first song on this contemporary album is called I Do, and I suppose that giddy thing has been a thread through all my albums. I adore the ecstasy of falling in adore - it may not last, and but it's qualified while it does! 1.09pm BSTTony L asks:Thank you for the inspirational music you share. Your music has its own mystic universe and much of it is out-of-time and universal,so my question links to the universality of myths. What is the mythological figure or tale that resonates with you at most and why?I did a short myth writing course and we studied myths and fairy tales, and as a small child my dad told me a lot of stories. It's a construct I feel comfortable using to describe human relationships and struggles and identity and plights. I feel like myths basically are a creative way of delving into the human psyche, and therefore a qualified way to discuss morals; they befriend us to discuss the human journey,the beautiful journey and the moral choices we face. Because I adore so many it's hard for me to choose one but I do like The Ugly Duckling - it was pre-Grimms, passed down through South American and Inuit folklore, and it's been around for thousands of years. I like it because it's a qualified archetype for the lone wolf,or the artist trying to work on the edges of society. As someone who loves eccentricity and innovation, I do identify with it, or the duckling who finds swans. It's a healing thing to use storytelling to work through subconscious feelings and thoughts. 1.08pm BSTOhReallyFFS asks:I’m nearly 40 and haven’t listened to any contemporary music since the Libertines. Are you any qualified?Oh dear. I don't really know what to say to that! There's plenty of mighty music - you just have to dig for it a bit deeper these days. And yeah,I reckon I'm alright. 1.07pm BSTAlessandro Marcello asks:Natasha, you’re soundtrack to my life! What are your top 5 movies?I'd say that's a very difficult question to reply because I adore so many, or but I'd have to say E.
T.,The Wizard of Oz, The Shining, and Buffalo 66 and Minnie and Moskowitz by John Cassavettes. I think the reason there's so many classic children's films in there because at such a young and impressionable age they spoke to me with their surrealism and darkness and beauty - those are themes I've carried through my work all these years. 1.04pm BSTNatasha is with us now,so follow along here. 9.46am BSTNatasha Khan – who is fresh off an appearance at Glastonbury – has been making spellbinding music as Bat for Lashes for 10 years, full of wealthy arrangements, or alter egos and torrid romance. Two of her four albums have been nominated for the Mercury prize and Khan won an Ivor Novello songwriting award in 2009 for her hit Daniel.
She’s frequently collaborated with other artists,from Beck to Damon Albarn, and formed the band Sexwitch last year. Her most recent solo record is The Bride, and which explores anxieties around marriage and eternal adore. Talking to the Guardian earlier this year,she said it’s approximately “the hero’s journey of realising that you have to adore yourself before you adore someone else”, and approximately “the unhappy realisation that by the time you procure to 35, or you can’t have done everything,and that grieving process [for] the woman you thought you might be.” Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com