TIG Speaks to UK Based Singer / Songwriter Angie Kuske
We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Angie Kuske, an indie artist from the UK. Angie started writing lyrics in the ’90’s and wrote for many artists including Staffan Öfwerman, a musician with the successful Swedish pop band ‘Roxette’. In 2019, she started to record her own music as a songwriter and singer and every six weeks she releases a song. Her music has currently been streamed over two million times and she has been compared as a fusion ‘between Kate Bush, Kirsty MacColl and Blondie’.
What initially inspired you to pursue music?
I’ve always loved music – my Dad always had the radio on at the weekends and it crept into my consciousness very early in life! I learned to play the drums at school but was rubbish at that, so I just enjoyed music as a listener for many years, although secretly wanting to be a pop star! But, I’ve always enjoyed words and started writing lyrics in the early 1990s, finding various composers to put them to music. I had a break for a while but then got back into music when I discovered Garageband on my iPad. I’ve never thought I was much of a singer so I disguised my voice and created an alter ego, under which I recorded 4 spoken word songs. Almost everyone hated them though so I eventually got brave enough to start singing my own songs. I was of course awful at first but think (hope!) I’ve gradually improved!
Where do you draw inspiration for your lyrics and melodies?
Lyrical inspiration usually comes from real life experiences, both my own and sometimes other people’s. I’ve always loved the singer-songwriters from the ’60s and ’70s who wrote stories in their songs and had such strong melodies. My most random inspiration came from one of those social media posts which invites you to complete a sentence using predictive text. The start of the sentence was “My spirit guides tell me to…” and my predictive text ended it with “… write lyrics about who we are on the outside as opposed to who we really are” – hence my song ‘Who We Really Are’ was born. Melodies seem to come out of nowhere as a rule. Sometimes I just wake up with one in my head, other times noodling about on Garageband will inspire me.
Is there a particular song or album that holds special personal meaning for you?
There are certain songs which will always make me think of certain people, simply because we both latched on to them at the same time. Other songs tend to speak to me when I feel I can relate to the lyrics. For example, ‘Yesterday’ by The Beatles and ‘Fix You’ by Coldplay are both songs which make me think of losing my Mum. I was never a fan, but hearing the song ‘Dance With My Father’ by Luther Vandross means I rapidly have to leave the room because it makes me think of the loss of my Dad. But on a happier note, ‘Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head’ by BJ Thomas always gets me though having to do a rotten job – and the song I want at my funeral is ‘What a Wonderful World’ by Louis Armstrong, simply because, in spite of everything, it really is a wonderful world. As for my own music, ‘The Missing’ has to be the most personal as it’s about missing my dear Mum and Dad. But a happier song of mine is ‘Power In The Dark’, which I wrote for a dear friend who always makes me laugh.
It seems you release only singles. Is there a reason for that?
Well, in my very humble opinion, I think it’s hard to get anyone to listen to an entire album of music unless they’re a die-hard and truly dedicated fan. I think it would be much harder to promote an album and get real listeners who hear every track. I’ve noticed that many of our indie musician friends on Twitter will release an album and you can see by the stats that the first few tracks on the album have more listens than the last few. So I just release singles to try and keep the momentum for each song.
Can you tell us if there’s new music on the way?
I can happily say that there is! I have a new song coming out on 30th November 2023 called ‘Another Life’. This one has been produced by Non Stop Erotic Cabaret who have added some real sparkle to it. I’ve struggled for a long time to find someone who can mix and master and even add a touch of production and NSEC have done it brilliantly! ‘Another Life’ is an up-tempo, feel good track about saying goodbye to your old life and finding your own way in a new town. I listened to a few tracks by a rock band called Daughtry to get inspiration for the feel of this one – I wanted a rocky, catchy song with a real hook and a great pre-chorus and one of their tracks provided that inspiration. I have another couple of songs in the wings too – one of which just needs vocals recorded and the other of which needs much more than that! So, they are both works in progress which I hope to release next year.
Keep up to date with Angie through her social channels:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngieKuskeMusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angiekuskemusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngieKuskeMusic
