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      The Long Tail of Aphex Twin’s ‘Avril 14th’

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      A song released 20 years ago continues to inspire curiosity and covers by classical, experimental and pop artists.Listen to This ArticleTo hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.On April 14, 2020, the producer and pianist Kelly Moran woke up in Long Island. She had temporarily moved back there the previous fall to work on her next album, but when the pandemic arrived, she got stuck. Looking for a challenge to fill the hours that Tuesday morning, she figured out how to play the Aphex Twin song “Avril 14th” and filmed the results on her cellphone.Like the original, Moran performed it on a prepared piano — a technique developed by the avant-garde composer John Cage where objects are placed in between the instrument’s strings. Moran’s interpretation is tender but eerie, like the sound of a music box that’s about to die. “I always picture a ghost playing this record,” she said in an interview last month.Moran put the video on Twitter and Instagram, where it became one her most popular posts. “Not everyone is going to like drum and bass or, like, really fast IDM,” she said, referring to intelligent dance music, “but I feel like every person likes a sentimental piano song in some way, shape or form.”Moran’s cover was one more blip in the strange and improbable life of “Avril 14th,” which turns 20 this year. An instrumental piece that barely lasts two minutes, it has been sampled by pop stars, inspired classical pianists and experimental artists alike, and once cost a major TV network over $100,000 (more on that later). On YouTube there are renditions of it performed on the harp, the pedal steel guitar and dueling vibraphones.“Avril 14th” was released in October 2001, the same week the first iPod arrived, on the first disc of “Drukqs,” a double album by Aphex Twin, the most common pseudonym of the English musician Richard D. James. The 30-song collection churns across dark ambient works, aggressive breakbeats and sparse piano interludes.At the time, James claimed he released “Drukqs” because he left an MP3 player filled with unreleased music on a plane. It was only a matter of time, he maintained, before someone figured out what it was and put it all online. There were rumors that James actually released “Drukqs” to get out of his contract with Warp Records, though when its follow-up “Syro” arrived 13 years later, it was on the same label.James only did a few interviews in support of “Drukqs.” There were no music videos by Chris Cunningham, who directed wickedly perverse treatments for the landmark Aphex Twin songs “Come to Daddy” and “Windowlicker.” There were barely any tour dates or festival appearances.James doesn’t disclose much about his creative process, or anything else really. (He did not respond to interview requests and representatives from Warp declined to comment.) From the faint mechanical sounds heard on “Avril 14th,” members of his devoted fan base surmised that it was made on a prepared Disklavier — an acoustic piano created by Yamaha with internal and external MIDI capabilities, which allows it to reproduce a composition without a human player but with incredible accuracy.“Drukqs” received a mixed critical response, but it did have devotees. Not long after its release, the members of Alarm Will Sound, an adventurous group of classical musicians based in New York, decided to arrange Aphex Twin songs for their chamber orchestra’s 2005 album “Acoustica.” “It felt like a statement to say this is really serious music,” said Alan Pierson, the group’s artistic director. “Aphex Twin is a genius for color and timbre, and so much of ‘Acoustica’ is about that, but with ‘Avril 14th’ it’s really just the notes,” Pierson added. “The notes are really gorgeous.”Around the same time, the composer and music supervisor Brian Reitzell began work on Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film “Marie Antoinette.” Before shooting began, he compiled two CDs of contemporary music that captured the tone the director wanted, even though it was a period piece. Reitzell felt “Avril 14th” almost served as a bridge between the two eras.While James passed on Reitzell’s invitation to contribute new compositions for the film’s score (“Some artists are just not comfortable making their art fit into someone else’s art,” Reitzell said), “Avril 14th” does appear in a sequence where Antoinette, played by Kirsten Dunst, languorously walks through a field and up a palace staircase. Reitzell said that after an early screening for friends, the director Wes Anderson complimented him for including the song, and said he had considered using it for one of his own films, but now was bummed because he felt like it was off limits. It later appeared in the trailer for “Her,” the maudlin A.I. romance from Coppola’s ex-husband, Spike Jonze.The song’s life in pop culture spiked again just a year later thanks to a longtime fan, Jorma Taccone of the comedy trio the Lonely Island, a group that became famous from its musical digital shorts on “Saturday Night Live.” “I’m the perfect demo for liking that song in terms of I like a lot of electronic music and I’m also a totally emotional, romantic dude,” Taccone said in an interview.For years he kept a basic beat on his computer featuring a looped sample from “Avril 14th,” but never had the right opportunity to use it. In September 2007, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then the president of Iran, visited New York City and gave a talk stating there were no homosexuals in his country. In response, the Lonely Island created “Iran So Far.” Over Taccone’s “Avril 14th” beat, Andy Samberg performed a love song dedicated to Ahmadinejad, delivering lines like, “You say Iran don’t have the bomb, but they already do/You should know by now, it’s you.”Because “Saturday Night Live” is made at a breakneck speed, Taccone brushed off the legal department when asked if “Iran So Far” used samples that needed to be cleared, figuring they could deal with any problems later. That meant the network eventually had to pay the label $160,000, Taccone said, and the group couldn’t afford to put it on its own 2009 album, “Incredibad.”Kanye West ended up replaying a part of “Avril 14th” on “Blame Game,” a key song on his 2010 opus of hedonism and self-loathing “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.” Coincidentally, West was the musical guest on “S.N.L.” the night the Lonely Island short aired, and Taccone takes pride in the fact that they both saw the possibility in the same unlikely material. “It just made me feel like I was a genius,” he said.As the popularity of streaming music services rose over the past decade, the record label Silent Star approached the British pianist Martin Jacoby about recording covers for a catalog of tranquil pieces, including “Avril 14th.” Jacoby’s version appears on compilations with search-friendly titles including “Sleepy Baby Lullaby” and “Classical for Studying.” Spotify has included the Aphex Twin version on such curated playlists as “Peaceful Indie Ambient” and “Classical Yoga.”On the service there are now more than 30 covers of “Avril 14th” by electronic artists and classical musicians. Some have millions of streams of their own. There are jaunty interpretations and atmospheric ones. Others stay loyal to Aphex Twin. “It’s almost divorced from him as an artist,” said Jacoby, of the track’s originator. “It’s become one of those pieces that’s now exploded in its own right.”While this popularity may expose classical music fans to the sometimes overwhelming, occasionally terrorizing music of Aphex Twin, the exchange also flows the other way. “It’s a gateway to Debussy, or some of the other amazing piano pieces that are out there,” said Reitzell, the music supervisor. “If you like that piece, man, I’ve got 30 more for you. That is the most beautiful thing about music. That song will probably outlive Richard’s entire catalog in a way.”But Moran hears an even more fundamental reason modern listeners have turned a haunting piano piece with minimalist influences into a digital era phenomenon. Before our interview, she transcribed “Avril 14th” again to refamiliarize herself with it. Holding up the piece of paper, she noted its chorus-verse-chorus-bridge-chorus structure. “Honestly,” she said, “this is like a pop song to me.” More

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      Fyre Festival Ticket Holders Win $7,220 Each in Class-Action Settlement

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      Nearly four years after the infamous festival stranded thousands of attendees in the Bahamas, 277 ticket holders learned they will receive payouts, pending approval.Nearly four years after an infamous festival that was billed as an ultraluxurious musical getaway in the Bahamas left attendees scrounging for makeshift shelter on a dark beach, a court has decided how much the nightmare was worth: approximately $7,220 apiece.The $2 million class-action settlement, reached Tuesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of New York between organizers and 277 ticket holders from the 2017 event, is still subject to final approval, and the amount could ultimately be lower depending on the outcome of Fyre’s bankruptcy case with other creditors.But Ben Meiselas, a partner at Geragos & Geragos and the lead lawyer representing the ticket holders, said on Thursday that he was happy a resolution had at last been reached.“Billy went to jail, ticket holders can get some money back, and some very entertaining documentaries were made,” Meiselas said in an email mentioning Billy McFarland, the event’s mastermind. “Now that’s justice.”Lawyers representing the trustee charged with Fyre’s assets did not immediately respond to a request for comment.McFarland and the festival’s co-founder, the rapper Ja Rule, have faced more than a dozen lawsuits against their company, Fyre Media, in the event’s aftermath. The plaintiffs have sought millions and alleged fraud, breach of contract and more.McFarland, 29, is serving a six-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to wire fraud charges. In 2018, a court ordered him to pay $5 million to two North Carolina residents who spent about $13,000 apiece on VIP packages for the Fyre Festival.“I cannot emphasize enough how sorry I am that we fell short of our goal,” McFarland said in a 2017 statement, though he declined to address specific allegations. “I’m committed to, and working actively to, find a way to make this right, not just for investors but for those who planned to attend.”The festival, billed as “the cultural experience of the decade,” had been scheduled for two weekends beginning in late April 2017. Ticket buyers, who paid between $1,000 and $12,000 to attend, were promised an exotic island adventure with luxury accommodations, gourmet food, the hottest musical acts and celebrity attendees. Influencers including the models Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid promoted it.But when concertgoers arrived, they were met with what the court filing describes as “total disorganization and chaos.” The “luxury accommodations” were in fact FEMA disaster relief tents, the “gourmet food” a cheese sandwich served in a Styrofoam container and the “hottest musical acts” nonexistent.The festival, which sold a total of approximately 8,000 tickets for both weekends, was canceled on the morning it was scheduled to begin, after many attendees had arrived. (The debacle spawned two documentaries, on Hulu and Netflix.)Fyre has attributed its cancellation to a combination of factors, including the weather. But some Fyre employees later said that higher-ups had invented extravagant accommodations like a $400,000 Artist’s Palace ticket package, which included four beds, eight V.I.P. tickets and dinner with a festival performer, just to see if people would buy them. (There was no such palace.) Production crew members stopped being paid as the festival date neared.Mark Geragos, another lawyer at the firm that represented ticket buyers in Tuesday’s settlement, filed the initial $100 million class-action lawsuit days after the event, which stated that Ja Rule and McFarland had known for months that their festival “was dangerously underequipped and posed a serious danger to anyone in attendance.” McFarland faced a second class-action lawsuit two days later.A hearing to approve Tuesday’s settlement is set for May 13. More

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      Did the Music Industry Change? A Race ‘Report Card’ Is on the Way.

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      The Black Music Action Coalition, a group of managers, lawyers and others, was created last summer with a mission to hold the business to account. In June, it will report on the progress so far.Last summer, as protests roiled over the death of George Floyd, the music industry began to take a hard look at itself with regard to race — how it treats Black artists, how Black employees fare at music companies, how equitably money flows throughout the business.Major record labels, streaming services and broadcasters pledged hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, convened task forces and promised to take concrete steps to diversify their ranks and correct inequities. Artists like the Weeknd and BTS donated money to support social justice, and Erykah Badu and Kelis signaled their support for economic reforms in the music industry.Everything seemed on the table. Even the term “urban,” in radio formats and marketing — to some a racist euphemism, to others a signifier of pride and sophistication — came under scrutiny. But there was still wide skepticism about whether the business was truly committed to making substantial changes or whether its donations and lofty statements were more a matter of crisis P.R.The Black Music Action Coalition, a group of artist managers, lawyers and others, was created last summer with a mission to hold the industry to account. In June, it intends to release a “report card” on how well the various music companies have made good on their promises and commitments to progress.The report will lay out what steps the companies have taken toward racial parity, and track whether and where promised donations have been made. It will also examine the number of Black executives at the leading music companies and the power they hold, and how many Black people sit on their boards. Future reports will take deeper looks at questions like how equitably the industry itself operates, Binta Niambi Brown and Willie Stiggers, a.k.a. Prophet, the coalition’s co-chairmen, said in an interview this week.“Our fight is much bigger than just whether or not you wrote a check,” said Prophet, an artist manager who works with Asian Doll, Layton Greene and other acts. “But the fact that you said you were going to write a check, we want to make sure that money was actually given and that it went to a place that actually hit the veins of the Black community.”The report, to be written by Naima Cochrane, a journalist and former label executive, will be modeled on the annual media studies by the advocacy group GLAAD, which track the representation of L.G.B.T.Q. characters in film and television and assign ratings to the various companies behind them. It is expected to be issued by June 19 — Juneteenth, the annual holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.The coalition’s public statements have made it clear that it sees itself as a strict and unflinching judge of the music industry, which has a dark history of exploitation of Black artists even as Black music has long been — and remains — its most essential product. Last summer, an online campaign called #BlackoutTuesday brought out painful commentary that, even today, many Black executives feel marginalized, subject to white supervisors who hold greater powers and earn more money.Brown, a label executive and artist manager, said the goal of the report is not punishment but encouragement.“We want to do it in a way that is more carrots than stick, so we can continue to incentivize good behavior,” she said. “We want to hold folks accountable, not cancel them.”Most of the major music companies have hired diversity officers and promoted some top Black executives to positions equal to those of their white colleagues, though there are still only a handful of Black people at the uppermost levels of leadership.A number of outside studies have also been commissioned to examine diversity within the industry, including one by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of Southern California and another by the Recording Academy, the Berklee College of Music and Arizona State University about women in music.Yet there has been relatively little public discussion about looking at artist contracts, including ones from decades past, and curing any unfair terms.One company, BMG, examined thousands of contracts and found that, of 15 catalogs it owns that have rosters with both Black and non-Black artists, 11 showed no evidence of racial disadvantage. Among the four that did, the company found “a statistically significant negative correlation between being Black and receiving lower recorded royalty rates” of 1.1 to 3.4 percentage points. BMG has pledged to take action to correct that disparity.Those deeper issues about fairness in the music industry may well be covered in future reports by the coalition. For now, they are limiting their scope to whether promises have been kept.“Racism is 400-year-old problem,” Prophet said. “We didn’t think it would be solved in 12 months.” More

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      Kristin Chenoweth to Headline Tribute Concert Honoring Late Rebecca Luker

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      WENN/Joseph Marzullo

      In honor of the Tony Award nominee who died in December, the virtual fundraiser show called ‘Becca’ will benefit ALS research through the non-profit Target ALS.

      Apr 15, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Kristin Chenoweth will join forces with fellow singer/actress Laura Benanti to headline a special tribute concert in honor of late Broadway star Rebecca Luker.

      The multiple Tony Award nominee died in December 2020, aged 59, after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – a progressive neurodegenerative disease.

      Now some of her Broadway peers are getting together to stage a virtual fundraiser in her memory, with Kelli O’Hara, Sierra Boggess, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Santino Fontana, Judy Kuhn, Howard McGillin, Norm Lewis and Sally Wilfert among the stars taking part.

      Simply called “Becca”, the show will take place at 7 P.M. ET on May 4, with all ticket proceeds and donations benefiting ALS research through the non-profit Target ALS. There will also be streams available for fans on America’s West Coast and in the U.K.

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      To be hosted by Frank DiLella, the tribute show is written by Sarah Rebell and Steve Schonberg. It will have Lucy Simon serving as an honorary producer, while Mary-Mitchell Campbell and Joseph Thalken will take on the role of its co-music directors.

      Schonberg, who also oversees public relations for Target ALS, has issued a statement regarding the show. “This show is about celebrating who Rebecca was both onstage and off and reminding us that each life is precious. ALS not only affects patients, but their family, friends, and colleagues, too,” he said.

      He went on to add, “This concert serves multiple purposes; providing a sense of healing to those who loved Rebecca, telling the story of another beautiful life cut short, and raising funds that can help us realize a world where no one dies of ALS.”

      For more information and tickets, visit Celebrate Becca official site.

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      Zayn Malik and Ingrid Michaelson Capture Bright Side of Pandemic in 'To Begin Again' Music Video

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      [embedded content]

      The song itself, which they co-wrote with Sarah Aarons, talks about holding on to the past while finding hope of rebirth in the promise brought by COVID-19 vaccine.

      Apr 15, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Zayn Malik and Ingrid Michaelson have released the visuals for their collaboration “To Begin Again”. After previously teased in an approximately 1-one-minute snippet, the music was debuted in full on Wednesday, April 14.

      The video, which was directed by Marykate Schneider, captures the bright side of pandemic as it shows people doing various activities despite the restrictions placed as safety measure. Several guys are seen exercising with their masks on, while musicians are playing on the street.

      A boy is happily playing in a park with his father, while owners of clothes and hat shops still run their business with their masks on. There’s also a dancer, Ayla Ciccone-Burton, who cheerfully performs to entertain passersby. In a heartwarming moment, Ayla is seen sharing an embrace with a man who holds a “free hug” sign.

      Zayn and Ingrid themselves make sporadic appearances in the video, with the former being seen working in the studio and running on the street while wearing a hoodie. As for the “Girls Chase Boys” songstress, she is mostly filmed when she’s playing her piano at home, looking comfortable in her sweatshirt and matching pants.

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      In the song, Zayn and Ingrid sing about holding on to the past while finding hope of rebirth in the promise brought by COVID-19 vaccine. “When the world was ending/ I’d hold you in my arms/ And we talked about the places we’d never been/ When the world was ending/ We’d hold on to the past/ Because it’s all we thought that we would ever see,” Ingrid sings over gentle, muted piano.

      She then switches into a more hopeful mindset as she continues, “But then the sun came right back/ And the birds sang as if nothing had happened/ And, it’s alright/ It’s OK/ We will get/ Another day/ To begin again, to begin again, to begin again.”

      Zayn’s verse finds him feeling equally eager to find hope in the dawn. “When the world was ending/ We looked up at the sky/ And we talked about the last song that we’d play/ So far from comprehending/ They’d lift us to the stars/ Never seen each other from so far away,” he croons. “But then the sun came right back/ And the kids played as if nothing had happened/ And, it’s alright/ It’s OK/ We will get another day/ To begin again, to begin again, to begin again.”

      In a March interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Ingrid said she hopes the song will give people a “collective sigh” of relief. “The collective sigh of relief resonated with me in such a way that I had to get it out musically,” she recalled writing the song after Joe Biden won the presidential election. “The song is a song of hope and of release. Of beginning again,” she added, gushing that Zayn’s voice “was the perfect fit.”

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      Demi Lovato 'Super Excited' as She Debuts 'Tiny Desk (Home) Concert'

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      NPR Music

      Filmed on a sunny day in her Los Angeles home, the at-home concert kicks off with the singer belting out a stripped-down rendition of her 2017 track ‘Tell Me You Love Me’.

      Apr 15, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Demi Lovato has treated fans to “Tiny Desk (Home) concert”. Singing in her backyard, the “Sober” hitmaker belts out songs off her newly released album, “Dancing With The Devil…The Art Of Starting Over”, in a new video that she shared on YouTube on Wednesday, April 14.

      Filmed on a sunny day in her Los Angeles home, the at-home concert kicks off with Demi belting out a stripped-down rendition of her 2017 track, “Tell Me You Love Me”. Steven “Styles” Rodriguez accompanies Demi, who looks chic in a grey blazer and a patterned skirt, on the keyboard for the clip that is directed by Mike Drew.

      She then follows it up with performances of “The Art of Starting Over” and “Dancing with the Devil”. “I am super excited to be filming this outside, because I’m really, really excited about the weather changing,” Demi shares in the new clip. “Spring is my second favorite and summer is my absolute favorite season, so I’m really happy to be out in the bright, sunny California sun.”

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      She also gives a sweet shout-out to her squirrels, which unfortunately are not featured in the video. “My squirrels are out here. You can’t see, but I have now taught them how to eat from my hand and that’s a big accomplishment,” the singer continues. “So, I just wanted to let you know, that was what was on my mind, and I’m happy to be here.”

      The at-home concert arrives after Demi unveiled the music video for “Dancing with the Devil” in which she re-enacted her near-fatal overdose back in 2018. She previously opened up how it was a challenge for her recreate the moment for the music video. “Creating the music video for #DancingWithTheDevil was not the easiest shoot I’ve ever done…,” she wrote of the video, which shows her in a hospital bed and other powerful scenes. “I create my art to heal, and to inspire others. I’m here today and I’m happy you are too.”

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      Lupe Fiasco to Celebrate 15th Anniversary of 'Food and Liquor' Release With Virtual Concert

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      WENN/Apega

      Announcing that he will perform his debut album in its entirety online, the ‘Superstar’ hitmaker will also offer NFT holders an opportunity to attend a virtual meet and greet with him.

      Apr 15, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Rapper Lupe Fiasco is celebrating the 15th anniversary of his debut album “Food & Liquor” by performing the release in its entirety online on Thursday, April 15.

      The “Superstar” hitmaker’s virtual concert will also capitalize on the growing popularity of digital assets known as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), with fans gaining access to the livestream by purchasing one of five special collectible items.

      Devotees have also been offered the opportunity to attend a virtual meet and greet with Fiasco after the 8 P.M. ET show, which has been organized in conjunction with tech start-up bosses at Origin and Futurestream.

      Announcing the gig on social media, he wrote, “I dropped Food & Liquor in 2006 and this Thursday, April 15th, I’m going to be doing the whole album live on Futurestream…I can’t wait for y’all to see what we got in store! Tickets available now: futurestream.tv/lupefiasco.”

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      Back in late March, Lupe was revealed to be planning to launch five open edition NFTs on Origin’s NFT launchpad. In a statement, the crypto firm claimed to be “proud to follow up [its] record-breaking NFT auction with another direct-to-fan experience in collaboration with a true artistic visionary who has deep roots in crypto.”

      This anniversary celebration came months after Lupe told fans he believes he is a better lyricist than Kendrick Lamar. “In my own words, once again for you b***hes, I love me some KDot,” he tweeted in September 2020. “Always have, always will. With that said, do I think he’s a good lyricist? Yes. Do I think he’s the best lyricist? No. Do I think it’s lyricists that are better than him? Yes.”

      “Is he a better artist than me? Yes. Is he a better lyricist than me? No. Does he make better songs than me? Yes. Did I think control was ridicule? No. Am I jealous of Kdot? No,” he continued on. “Did I personally give him his props in Chicago on stage as the next nigga to take the crown? Yes. Is It on camera? Yes. Did I mean it? Yes.”

      Meanwhile, other livestreaming highlights for Thursday include:

      Vanity Fair’s Cocktail Hour (HAIM, Laura Dern, Glenn Close, Jessica Alba, Kelly Rowland and more) (7 P.M. ET)
      Richard Thompson (7 P.M. ET) – https://www.92y.org/event/richard-thompson-and-david-fricke
      Lord Huron (8 P.M. ET) – https://www.lordhuron.com/
      Birdy (8 P.M. BST & ET) – https://shops.ticketmasterpartners.com/birdy-livestream
      Travis Denning (8 P.M. ET) – https://sessionslive.com/TravisDenning/tickets
      Jeffrey Gaines (8 P.M. ET) – https://www.stageit.com/jeffrey_gaines/jg_thursday_night_series/97116
      Sylvan Esso (9 P.M. ET) – https://plus.bandsintown.com/

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      Taylor Swift Plays Coy About 'Hey Stephen' Inspiration in Late-Night Sketch

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      CBS

      The ‘Fearless’ singer cracks jokes about who Stephen, that she mentions in one of her songs, really is in a hilarious sketch on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’.

      Apr 15, 2021

      AceShowbiz –
      Taylor Swift played coy about the inspiration for her 2008 track “Hey Stephen” during an interview on Tuesday night (13Apr21).

      The singer spoke to Stephen Colbert about the tune on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”, with the chat show host asking whether or not she’d penned the song about him.

      “It’s just the power of music,” Taylor said, adding, “Don’t flatter yourself.”

      The jokey sketch continued with Taylor holding up a mood board covered in pictures of Colbert’s face, and revealing that she even knows his social security number.

      The “Fearless” star then changed direction as she hilariously revealed she’d actually written the song about horror author Stephen King.

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      “He’s amazing,” Taylor gushed. “The Dark Tower series changed my life. Plus The Shining, The Stand. And don’t even get me started on his short stories.”

      The sketch then ended with Taylor apparently receiving a call from King himself.

      “Hey Stephen” is among the songs listed on the newly released revamped album “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”.

      Last year, the “Shake It Off” singer was legally allowed to re-record her first five albums, which Scooter Braun gained ownership of last year following his $330 million deal with Big Machine Label Group. Braun later sold her masters to a company called Shamrock Holdings for $300 million (£259 million).

      “I’ve spoken a lot about why I’m remaking my first six albums, but the way I’ve chosen to do this will hopefully illuminate where I’m coming from,” she said. “Artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work.”

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