The bizarre house track Joni Mitchell classes as one of her 17 favourite songs ever
We’re obsessed with the idea of genre in music. Labelling artists with a relatively simple one word descriptor that ultimately serves no purpose other than providing us with some sense of heightened understanding, a way to feel as though we can structurally engage with whatever creative piece presents itself to us.
For all intents and purposes, Joni Mitchell is a folk artist, right? Often pictured in the green fields of California, with free-flowing blonde hair and a guitar in hand, she’s often painted as the quintessential picture of late 20th-century folk.
But as her career beat on, we of course learned that this is a nonsensical take and she was as mercurial an artist as any. Sure, her songwriting style hinged on tender and intimate lyrics, often associated with that of heartfelt folk, but her melodic and instrumental arrangements were inevitably harder to pin down. She blended her early folk roots with jazz and rock influences, while never shying away from the introduction of a full band.
Her style speaks to someone with extremely accomplished taste of her own. Someone who didn’t simply build on the steady foundations of her early folk community, but rather pulled at esoteric links where possible. Sometimes it was in the form of a dulcimer, inspired by sprawling rock ballads or maybe it was modal melodies and syncopation inspired by jazz. She was always absorbing her musical surroundings.
But the sort of limited view we have fostered by the very incessant need for genres, has meant references from outside that circle are somewhat harder to understand. We simply cannot understand the parallels more humble songwriting may have with say the density of electronic music.
But in truth, the parallels they share are perhaps the most important in all of music, and that is the simple power of feel. An innate emotional response can be shared across any piece of music, and this is what Mitchell truly understood. Which is why it should – emphasis on the should – come as no surprise that she holds a French house album with such high regard.
“A friend played me this album. I could not get enough of these two tracks” she explained, in reference to the album Night Mix by the French band, Deep Forest. The two tracks in question were ‘Night Bird’ and ‘The First Twilight’ which do indeed pull upon classic house tropes, but also tap into the ambient, particularly the latter track, which uses African woodwind instruments to do so.
She concluded her praise by highlighting, “the sophistication of the setting and the genuineness of the Pygmy musicians—truth and beauty,”
As the title of not only the two tracks, but the album suggests, this is a record of pure naturality. It’s deeply inspired by sounds of the real world and in doing so, creates what is truly an immersive listen. Sure, ‘Night Bird’ might be on the higher spectrum of the sort of tempo you’d expect Mitchell to listen to, but as its essence, it’s a song that engages with the setting it exists in, and while she was different, that was something Mitchell did better than anyone.
