Monday, February 17, 2014

Female Voices, Female Sounds

We all know that music has a woman's name , not in vain is the "art of the Muses " . Women have always been present in the world of music . From Sister Rosetta Tharpe to Chelsea Wolfe , to Nico , Patti Smith or Laurie Anderson, in all fields we find female artists who have not only left a musical legacy of high quality, there are also some that have opened doors to more partners in a world as androcentric as the music of the XX and XXI centuries.Take for example the Jazz & Blues. Along with more than known Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan , Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald have to Abbey Lincoln with his reinterpretation of vocal jazz , and performers and composers as Marilyn Crispell , Jeanne Lee ( voice of Free Jazz) , Susie Ibarra or Aki Takase . Soul Talk Now . With labels such as Chess or Motown , women like Etta James and Tina Turner ( undisputed queen of the jungle ) took the foreground as vocalists and later with the birth of funk appeared figures like Marva Whitney , Millie Jackson and Betty Davis, with his aggressive feline sensuality.The pop world has always been kinder to the female figure , from French chanson to Girl Groups of the 60 's list is long : Françoise Hardy , Jane Birkin , Ronnie Spector ... impossible to mention them all. The Rock things were always a bit more difficult. In the 50's , next to the birth of Rock & Roll have to Janis Martin and Wanda Jackson with his Rockablilly as valid (or more) like Elvis or Gene Vincent . In the 60 things improved a bit thanks to the birth of the Hippie culture and the rise of the California scene , women like Grace Slick , Janis Joplin, Joni Mithchell , Essra Mohawk, Laura Nyro ( the most overlooked ) or Karen Dalton, with his raspy blues voice, showed that it could be more than a pretty face , wasting a talent and an undeniable compositional creativity. The 70's saw the birth of the careers of Patti Smith and poetic rock (as debtor Rimbaud as The Rolling Stones) , Joan Jett and The Runaways , Debbie Harry of Blondie front , The Slits, Chrissy Hynde ...In 80 we find Wendy O Williams of The Plasmatics front , posing as absolute dominatrix Metal Punk or Hope Sandoval and Kendra Smith in the early Alternative Rock . The list is very very long and I have to abbreviate . Nico and his art frigid Rock. Kate Bush and Pop Prog fairytale . 
Diamanda Galás with her activism committed to AIDS victims , and tremendous vocal technique and cutting edge . Cosey Fanni Tutti at the epicenter of the Industrial Music both Throbbing Gristle and Chris & Cosey with . Pauline Oliveros , Delia Derbyshire , Bebe Barron or Clara Rockmore and electronic experiments . Ikue Mori and Laurie Anderson at the arty New York scene of the late 70s and early 80s . Yoko Ono and Marian Zazeela part of the Fluxus group . L7 and Lunachicks Punk in the first 90 . Cotton Casino (Acid Mothers Temple ) , Afrirampo , Wata ( Boris ) or Yoshimi of Boredoms The scene in Japanese ....There are many more to name many . Whether they will appear gradually through these pages . Again, the music has a woman's name .

No comments:

Post a Comment