I had the honour of speaking to the late band’s lead singer and respected solo artist at the time of the release of her second solo album, Strange Angels.

The year was 1998, late February, when the two of us first connected. What followed in our 20 minutes together was her speaking of a fundamentally enlightening time for her as an act of one. She labelled Strange Angels a very positive and sweet record, filled with a lot of respect for happiness. “We should all be trying for joy”, she said. Truer words, in these troubled times, could not be more apt.

Kristin grew up listening to underground music. “I fell in love with music, not to be successful, I couldn’t make the shift to a more commercial reality,” she recalled. Few fans, but each more passionate and less fickle than the pop populous. A 4AD veteran, she celebrated the labels mantra, music matters. A label with fans, before picking an artist to favour.

She rightly pointed out, then, what is so true today – Generations will not hear their sound because Top 40 radio and overall streaming is so bad. Throwing Muses, and Kristen in her solo right, we're all about the experimental, paving a further path and an active feeding ground that keeps underground music alive and thriving to this day.

Kristin has never aimed to trick her audience. Her motivation is personal, free of expectation. She’s not intentionally obscure. “I just like music,” she said on the day.

1. Hips&Makers #Michaelstipe, #hips&makers #strangeangels #4AD