Kate Bush has shared details of a series of physical reissues of her albums.
Bush’s record label, Fish People, has linked up with the label The state51 Conspiracy to produce new artwork designs of her albums, including Hounds Of Love. The records will be available to order from her website from December 1, which has also been newly updated alongside the announcement.
1985’s Hounds Of Love has been reformatted into two separate records. The first, ‘The Baskerville Edition’, features artwork and illustrations by Glasgow-based design studio Timorous Beasties, and also includes a solar-powered flashing LED light. The second, ‘The Boxes Of Lost At Sea’, will consist of two boxes. Each one will contain one side of the album, and will have their own UV-printed illustration on white vinyl as well as a battery-powered LED light.
"The idea was to create a hybrid of an album and a piece of artwork you could hang on the wall," Bush said in a statement about the reissues. "They’re based on something I designed for an auction for the charity War Child." A donation will be made to War Child for each box that is sold.
There will be new physical versions of all of Bush’s albums, with some set to be pressed on mixed coloured vinyl to make each edition unique. The coloured vinyl versions of her first three albums (The Kick Inside, Lionheart and Never For Ever) will only be available from independent record stores in the US and via The state51 Conspiracy’s own distribution. The others will be available via Bush’s website, as well as independent record stores.
Speaking further, Bush said: "It’s been great fun putting together these new versions, including the coloured vinyls for independent record stores. They’ve been designed as a ‘set’.
"It’s very exciting to see the resurgence of appreciation for the physical presence of albums released on vinyl. It’s how it’s always been for me, especially when I was a teenager. The whole buzz of the record store was part of the experience. Buying an album was an event. There’s a special emotional connection that happens between the possessor of an album, the music and the artwork, when it exists in the real world. It’s something we can treasure in a unique way."
Fish People / The state51 Conspiracy will reissue Kate Bush’s album back catalogue on December 1, 2023.
