We have had so many submissions that we are going 24 hours around the clock with our #AlbumsByWomen campaign! Scroll through the below to remember some of your favourite female artists and to discover new music.
Kate Hennessy (Music Writer): Pentangle – Sweet Child
“Growing up, English folk/jazz/blues band Pentangle was the only music my Dad, sister and I all adored. Jacqui McShee’s voice is as clear and pure as an alpine stream and this 1968 double album also features Ann Briggs’ song The Time Has Come.”
Federica Tombini (The Southbank): Lady Gaga – Joanne
“A not-so-unexpected revelation from Lady Gaga, Joanne represents a personal journey through life. The realization of having grown-up, of not being scared to feel anymore. When the glittery aura of pop sets and life turns to be all but what you expected, your own self, your own voice is the only thing left to fight with. And Gaga’s virtuosity here is a statement. You just want to sing along and suck in every word until Joanne becomes your own journey through life.”
Princess Julia (DJ / i-D Magazine): Amanda Lear – Sweet Revenge
“An album I keep going back to again and again and a constant inspiration, Amanda Lear provocatively vocalizes in distinctive style over soaring orchestral disco interludes with conceptual themes interwoven with gloriously camp tales. Indeed Sweet Revenge is classed as a concept album (which I love and was all the rage at the time).
After her debut I Am a Photograph full of gems such as ‘Alphabet (prelude in C by J.S. Bach)’ released in 1977 she quickly whipped up this followup masterpiece. Sweet Revenge is all about ‘a girl who sold her soul to the devil and won’ (now that’s something we can all relate to!) with such wonderments as ‘Enigma (Give a Bit Of Mmm to Me)’ which I find myself singing almost on a daily basis and ‘Follow Me’ a dreamy romp in disco heaven! Then there’s ‘Gold’ and ‘Run Baby Run’ and finally ‘Hollywood Flashback’ which has turned into a revisited favourite of late. I actually got the chance to see her perform at then Camden Palace back in 1982 complete with neon lights and gyrating backing dancers now that was a moment and I still play her music out when I’m DJing out on a regular basis.”
Dan Papps (Faber & Faber): Grouper – Ruins
“My choice is Ruins by Grouper (Liz Harris). A record to be listened to alone for maximum catharsis, preferably on a long journey across time zones. Mysterious, haunting, heartbreaking and beautiful.”
Kate Etteridge (DawBell PR): L7 – Bricks Are Heavy
“One of the most important bands of my teen years L7 were and are an awesome force to be reckoned with – bags of attitude, spunk and fearlessness. Bricks Are Heavy was the perfect soundtrack to lots of female angst and anger.”
Alex Paterson (The Orb): Donna Summer – Love To Love You Baby
“The timeless classic that is Love To Love You Baby, a song from my school daze & into the late eighties & house music. The perfect tune to mix, let it roll into ‘love to love you baby’. It’s 43 years young ( 1975 ). With a flute breakdown all in 4/4! 20 minute mix too. The future was now, Donna Summer is a class act. It was one of the first disco records to be released in an extended form. Donna Summer was the First Lady of Love, something that in later years she struggled to free herself from. But this tune can be played today & still sounds fresh as the day it was created by Summer & Moroder in the fall of 1975 . The perfect song to love your baby to ; ). All from the queen of disco. Forever. Covered by Tom Tom Club too. Disco’s dead. Long live disco. Check out the Patrick Cowley mix from 1977.”
Victoria Broackes (V&A Museum Curator): Eurythmics – Sweet Dreams
“It came out when I was at uni and the signature song was guaranteed to get us all on the dancefloor. I adored Annie Lennox, the song and the amazing video that went with it. Many years later at the V&A I had the opportunity to work with Annie on a display about her work, and she was every bit as super and super-interesting as I’d imagined.”
Dimitri from Paris (DJ / Producer): First Choice – Delusions
“This First Choice LP is for me a true milestone in music. It contains in one song with a clear militant title: “Let No Nan Put Asunder” everything that made Disco, and everything that House music stemmed from. It epitomised the lush Philly Disco sound, while it’s bass line was the essence of one of the very first House track that crossed over to the pop charts “Jack your body” and unleashed a wave that never stopped. It’s vocals have also been sampled countless times, most notoriously the “I’ve got something for your mind, body & soul…” from Rochelle Fleming’s rap.”
Claire Catterall (Somerset House Curator): Shonen Knife – Let’s Knife
“Shonen Knife – the all-women band from Osaka. Let’s Knife was the soundtrack of the early 90s for me, combining kawaii nonsense with bittersweet moments of purity that spoke to my heart, all against a background of Ramones-speed pure power punk.”
Nikki Lucas (DJ) : Lata Mangeshkar – Mother India
“Lata Mangeshkar has recorded over 25,000 songs. Mother India is a story of modern India, liberating itself from feudal and colonial injustice, around the empowerment of women.”
Ayesha Hazarika (BPI): All Saints – All Saints
“In the late 90’s, me and my girlfriends absolutely loved All Saints. They were a brilliant girl band but they were also cool! We used to dress like them and whenever we got drunk (which was a lot), we’d try and dance and sing “Never Ever” like them. We still do actually…”
Sara-Jane Power (Royal Albert Hall): Sinead O’Connor – I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got
“Sinead O’Connor’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got is my favourite album by a female artist. This was one of my coming-of-age albums and it stands the test of time. She’s wild, angelic, vulnerable, maternal, gritty, graceful, uncompromising and unapologetic. 100% bull-shit free. 100% feminine power.”
Estelle du Boulay (Lucky Cloud Sound System): Les Amazones d’Afrique – République Amazone
“Amazing 2017 album by all-female collective of west African musicians campaigning for gender equality.”
Mari Kimura (Worldwide FM) : Cibo Matto – Viva! La Woman
“Cibo Matto means Crazy Food in Italian. Japanese women (Miho and Yuka) cooking Hip-Hop, Jazz, Electronic & all sorts of sounds in the East Village of New York City in the 90s was and is sensational! And it still sounds fresh and original.”
Gennaro Castaldo (BPI) : Maria Callas – La Divina
“Maria Callas, La Divina, has fascinated and prompted adoration with a tragic life story that wouldn’t have been out of place in a Verdi opera, and a truly distinctive voice – arguably the most emotionally powerful of any female artist.”
Chris O’Shea (Classic Album Sundays): Anaïs Mitchell – Child Ballads
“Anaïs Mitchell – I recently discovered this fantastic singer/songwriter/guitarist while listening to our local NPR station late one night. The album I heard was Child Ballads which I ordered the next day. Hailing from Vermont, Anaïs is an unreal talent and sweet, positive presence. She has written a folk opera called Hadestown, give it a listen, it’s message is so relevant for 2018 and beyond.”
Ken Hidaka (DJ / Compiler / Artist Manager): Midori Takada – Through The Looking Glass
This album was re-discovered in recent years and reissued last year. It was created by a female pioneer of Japanese music but when it was originally released in 1983, it hardly received any attention. Perhaps it was way ahead of its time in Showa era Japan where male dominance was more rife in society. Some call it, ambient, it maybe but it is music of a distinctive special blend and it takes you away into another dimension, a neutral place where there is blissful tranquility, where there is no such thing as discrimination. With the reissue of this album, she was able to perform at many places around the world last year and I saw firsthand, the inspiration that she and this album has given to many women around the world. Now, that was such a joy to see.
Claude Dousset (Lucky Cloud Sound System): Letta Mbulu – In The Music…The Village Never Ends
“Going through my collection to find my favourite album by a female artist was a surprising experience. It made me realised that I was far from 50:50 however everytime I picked up an album by a female artist it felt very special and of course a potential winner. In the end I choose In the music the village never ends by Letta Mbulu. In this album it’s easy to feel the energy and love of a woman. It’s modern and mellow, light and emotional. Listening to the album is the best reminder of the beauty within every woman. I hope you’ll like be reminded, if necessary or just for pleasure.”
Daniel Wang (DJ / Artist / Producer) : Ella Fitzgerald – Newport Jazz Festival: Live at Carnegie Hall
“She faced so many obstacles, but her voice retained joy, innocence, dignity. Her live improvs were full of wit, her intonation precise yet always warmly human. Ella – my heroine.”
Jamie Williams (Handel & Hendrix Museum) : Julia Holter – Have You In My Wilderness
“Julia Holter’s Have You In My Wilderness is probably the most beautiful sounding album I own. Its blissfully lush Baroque-pop is the perfect complement for one of the most unique and engaging storytellers of the past decade.”
Scott Adams (Classic Album Sundays Friend) : Joan Armatrading – Joan Armatrading
“This album blew me away with its feeling and soul. It was the first singer/songwriting album that I felt really connected to.”
Edowa Shimizu (DJ / LOFT Family, OM NYC) : Brigitte Fontaine – Comme à la radio
“So difficult to choose one…with echos of Simone, Bjork, Mitchell, McIlwaine in my head..
Comme a la radio + 7” of Le Gourdron, a beautiful abstract journey of Brigitte Fontaine with Art Ensemble of Chicago has been a long time fav!”
Owen Jones (Classic Album Sundays): Kara-Lis Coverdale – Grafts
“This mini-album came out of nowhere for me last year, and from the first curious listen I was completely blown away by its understated power. Essentially an extended electronic piece that develops through three distinct movements, Grafts has a meditative, devotional quality, running the full gamut of emotions, from quiet introspection to moments of ecstatic release. The subtlety and patience with which these compositions have been crafted and structured really shines through in the constantly evolving nuances of tonality and texture, which evoke so effectively this undeniably beautiful, melancholic atmosphere. Kara-Lis Coverdale is one of so many amazing female electronic composers active right now, and while progress is being made in the industry it’s unfortunate that this album was so overlooked by many cultural outlets in favour of some frankly mediocre efforts by established male artists.”
Rob Mello (DJ / Artist / Producer): Minnie Riperton – Adventures In Paradise (Epic) 1975
“What a beautiful album from start to finish and in my view pretty near perfection. Never fails to put me in a good mood.”
Oliver Keens (Time Out): Elastica – Elastica
“As a teen, I was an uptight, chess-obsessed nerd who HATED music. Then one day, I heard Elastica on the radio and right there, I realised I’d wasted my life thus far. I owe you everything, Elastica.”
Paul Bradshaw (Straight No Chaser): Alice Coltrane – Journey in Satchidananda
“Initially, I was wondering if this is too obvious a choice. But then I thought, “Why not?” I bought this LP back in 1971 when I was at art school and along with Pharoah’s Jewels of Thought the album regularly featured on the hi-fi in our modest student union bar. It was a crossover album that sat comfortably alongside Van Morrison’s Moodance, Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On, Neil Young’s After The Goldrush, Joni Mitchell’s Blue, Sly Stone’s Riot Goin’ On or Curtis Live. Following the tragic passing of John Coltrane in 1967 Alice’s spiritual journey led her to become a disciple of Swami Satchidananda and this LP embodies the essence of that journey with ‘Stopover Bombay’, a tribute to the third member of the Hindu trinity on ‘Siva Loka’ and, of course the album’s title track. ‘Something About John Coltrane’ is wonderfully elegant piece of music and throughout the album her fellow musicians are truly at one with her compositions. I believe Pharoah and Alice first played together as part of the Coltrane quintet that toured Japan in ’66 and hearing her united on this LP with both his tenor and soprano, 5 years later, remains pure joy. Bassist Cecil McBee is outstanding as is drummer Rashid Ali. Vishnu Wood on oud joins Charlie Haden on the middle eastern ‘Isis and Osiris’ and the drone of the tamboura along with the delicate but pervasive bells and percussion create a carpet of sounds above which Alice’s delicate, undulating forays on harp and piano rise ethereally. This album has travelled with me for nigh on 50 years. Sometimes it has rested on the shelf, quietly gathering dust, but whenever it’s been fished out and dropped onto the turntable it never sounds dated. It always sounds fresh. With Journey To Satchidananda the deeply talented Alice Coltrane stepped out from under the giant shadow of her soul mate and saxophonist husband. It launched a solo career that evaded commercialism and presented to the world a cascade of music that continues to inspire and transport the listener into a deeply spiritual dimension.”
Nicole Melotte (Hendrix & Handel Museum): Dinah Washington – Dinah!
“Dinah Washington could sing anything – jazz, standards, blues, pop – and make it her own. And she could wear the hell out of a blonde wig!”
Check out Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five and Day Six featuring submissions by Pink Floyd’s Nick Mason, The Orb, Princess Julia, The Damned’s Captain Sensible, Robert Wyatt, DJ Marcia Carr, Dimitri from Paris, Classic Album Sundays’ hosts and more.
Listen to our #AlbumsByWomen playlist here.
