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Guestlist Recommends: Kate Tempest
RnB/Hip Hop | Friday 24th October 2014 | Osh
Kate Tempest has recently overtaken FKA Twigs as the favourite to win the Mercury Award for 'Everybody Down', which came out in May.
Winner of the Ted Hughes poetry prize in 2012 for 'Brand New Ancients' and spitting bars in rap battles since she was 16, there's no doubt about Kate's way with words. Her lyrics rip through the album with a tongue as sharp and biting as it is touching: she deftly moves from pulling apart East London hipsters with double-barrelled names to discussing 'hearts full of rain' and unrequited love.
The joy of the album lies in its realism. Over the course of thirteen songs, we are introduced to Becky, a kind masseuse going out with bullying Pete, and smitten Harry, a miserable high-end drug dealer who deals in 'boardrooms not boozers'. Kate initially created the characters for 'Lonely Daze', one of the rawest expositions of the hopelessness of living broke in London and of salvation through love: 'Will it be this way forever? These are stressful times. What if she could be the one who makes it better?' With this track, she realised their potential and decided to develop the characters throughout the album (and now into an upcoming novel with Bloomsbury):
'Anyone, anywhere, could have a mate like Pete, knows a girl like Becky. We decided we wanted to make an album where each track was part of a bigger story. It was bonkers, completely bonkers, but it made perfect sense... I'm interested in finding the loveable bit in people, in places we forget those loveable bits exist.'
It's not just the characters who are believable, it's also the setting. As we are pulled deeper into their story, we are enveloped in Kate's experiences of living in South London. But it's not a shiny and welcoming London – in a sea of banal pop like Pharrell's 'Happy', 'Everybody Down' stands out for its anger and protestation. London for these characters is tinged with hopelessness: 'Wages are fucked and rent is outrageous.' Pete's degree in international relations can only land him a job in Primark, while Becky ultimately turns to prostitution to make ends meet.
There have been numerous comparisons to Mike Skinner's 'rap opera' album 'A Grand Don't Come for Free' and it's easy to see why. Frustration, irony and tenderness are lain over a backdrop of drugs and urban loneliness, while hip-hop beats and edgy bass give a jumping and disco-feel to tracks like 'Circles' and 'The Beigeness'. Kate has described life as 'pretty fucking bleak but it's also extremely beautiful...suddenly one tiny little thing happens and its like you understand.' While 'Everybody Down' is gritty and despairing, it's this optimism (Circles: 'just when you think something's ended, the beginning comes back') and relatability which makes it so great. We've got our fingers crossed for the Mercury.
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Lizzy
