KT Tunstall’s journey is close to the classic Art of Longevity curve: a decade long struggle to get heard, the stratospheric rise to the top, the pressure drop and then years of wrestling between her own creative instincts and the commercial demands of the industry. Through it all KT understood that the record label’s job is business, while what she does is make art. That attitude has seen her navigate the industry mangle to come out the other side stronger, more rounded as an artist and, if you listen to her 7th album Wax, still making platinum grade pop-rock. Listen to KT’s own version of her story on episode one of season II.
If KT Tunstall could take a trip on the music time machine, one thing she would do is head back to 2007 when she made the follow-up album to her phenomenally successful debut. That sophomore album was Drastic Fantastic, for which the cover itself is a statement; KT in a rock power pose with a silver-glitter Firebird guitar a la Suzi Quatro. The record was a huge deal, made under the pressure of the music industry’s craving for highly successful debut artists to pull off the same trick, to stay in the commercial lane, to do it all over again. But how can a solo singer songwriter be expected to keep on writing classics like those huge songs KT made for 2005’s Eye To The Telescope?
Instead of trying, KT made an album of solid acoustic rock-pop, with understated interludes (and yes, maturing songcraft) such as White Bird, Someday Soon and Paper Aeroplane. But with all that pressure bearing down, no wonder that she could not enjoy the process of making her second major record - something that seems crazy given just how hard she worked to get there.
KT Tunstall was the classic ‘overnight success’ i.e. ten years in the making, having busked her way around the St Andrews and Fife scenes since the mid 90s. It all ‘began’ with that performance of ‘Black Horse & The Cherry Tree’ on Jools Holland (2004) - an old fashioned breakthrough moment. As remarkable as she came across working with just the guitar and the delay pedal, she was simply doing what she had been for the previous 18 months - busking her way through it. Except this time, it was on UK national television on the only music show that mattered.
Many musicians are intuitive enough to know what record label execs do not; that staying in your lane will send you quickly down a cul de sac. That any number of comparative charts and benchmarks cannot inspire you in one commercial direction or another. As an artist (especially an important label priority) the last thing you might do is exactly what you are told by the money gods, lest you might end up back in the charts and holding another token industry award but creatively disillusioned and soon washed-up.
What KT wanted to do with Drastic was “capture lightning in the studio”, get the excitement of her live performance onto record. To not be concerned with perfection and sonics. To be raw, unprocessed and exciting. It’s something KT felt unable to do back then, when she channelled as the UK record industry’s latest big thing. The fame came along with enough studio time, resources and personnel to make something more polished and poppy. Hence that cover of Drastic Fantastic ended up being slightly misleading.
That’s why KT took a more visceral approach on Wax (2018), her latest record - the second in an ambitious trilogy themed on the spirit, body and mind. Wax rocks out just enough and contains some classic references to the late 70s / early eighties pop-rock hayday of Thin Lizzy and Moroder-era Blondie.
On the Art of Longevity Series II, Episode One, KT tells me that albums can feel like a ‘flash in the pan’ despite all the work that goes into them. But albums like Wax will stick around in the ears for a long time to come. Meanwhile, KT will always be on the music scene thanks to those immortal songs from her debut. She has come a long way from the rainy streets of St Andrews to the canyons of Topanga, though it seems like she has much further to go.
The Art of Longevity is produced by Audio Culture in partnership with Project Melody.