Kate Bush has revealed that she plans on releasing a new album.
The news arrives with the release of her new short film, Little Shrew (Snowflake), that she wrote and directed in hope of raising money for War Child, a charity that works to protect, educate and stand up for the rights of children living through conflict.
Little Shrew is soundtracked by her 2011 song Snowflake, taken from her last album 50 Words For Snow, and features a black-and-white animation of a small rodent, running through a war-torn landscape.
At the end of the four-minute film, a message reads: “You could be hope for a child caught up in war. Please donate to War Child”.
In a rare interview on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Bush discussed her intentions behind the project. “I started working on it [with illustrator Jim Kay] a couple of years ago, it was not long after the Ukrainian war broke out, and I think it was such a shock for all of us,” she says.
“It’s been such a long period of peace we’d all been living through. And I just felt I wanted to make a little animation that would feature, originally, a little girl. It was really the idea of children caught up in war. I wanted to draw attention to how horrific it is for children.
Stating how conflict is “horrific for everyone”, but stressing how “unimaginable” it must be for a child, she continues: "I think we’ve all been through very difficult times. These are dark times that we’re living in and I think, to a certain extent, everyone is just worn out.
“We went through the pandemic, that was a huge shock, and I think we felt that, once that was over, that we would be able to get on with some kind of normal life. But in fact it just seems to be going from one situation to another, and more wars seem to be breaking out all the time.”
Also in the interview, the Running Up That Hill singer reveals her interest in returning to music. Though she says she's not working on anything "at the moment", Bush adds: “I’ve been caught up doing a lot of archive work over the last few years, redesigning our website, putting a lyric book together.
“And I’m very keen to start working on a new album when I’ve got this finished. I’ve got lots of ideas and I’m really looking forward to getting back into that creative space, it’s been a long time.”
When questioned on whether she's been thinking of creating music for a while, she answers: “Yes it is, really. Particularly the last year, I’ve felt really ready to start doing something new.”
Earlier this month, Bush's lifelong friend and supporter David Gilmour revealed that he had been "gently" encouraging her to play live shows again.
Referencing the Pink Floyd's attempts in the BBC4 interview, she laughs: “I’m not there yet.”
Watch the video for Little Shrew below:
