We Are Shaped by Unseen Influences
And belated thanks to one of mine
People like to know where you come from. ‘From’ could be country, job, class, values, political persuasion, or myriad other parameters we use to evaluate how another person aligns with our worldview.
If you are an artist, the question of ‘from’ will be framed as ‘who are your influences’?
I’m often asked this. If I connect with someone who has heard my music, they often answer the question for me.
‘I can hear the influence of Joni Mitchell in your songs’ they might say.
Joni Mitchell comes up a lot.
I’m sorry, you are wrong
With (superficial) honesty, I tell them I’d never heard Joni Mitchell, except Amy Grant’s cover of Big Yellow Taxi which was everywhere in the mid-90s, until long after my ‘voice’ was established.
I grew up in a house devoid of music, other than what I brought into it, and I only had the radio. No one was playing Joni on the stations I listened to as a child.
Later I bought ‘Blue’ and ‘Hejira’ because people told me I must. Their brilliance astounded me, but they did not worm into my heart or my ears. Joni Mitchell remained number 11 on the top 10 list of artists I wanted to spend more time with, year after year.
Then in 2018, I found myself on the northernmost tip of Scotland moments from the beach, hearing an unknown Danish amateur jazz singer cover A Case of You. I was spellbound.
‘What is that song?’ I asked my neighbour.
She was unable to hide her shock at my ignorance. Fair enough. Every singer, every songwriter, that has or will ever live, should know this extraordinary song.
Late love
The loves of our youth stay with us forever, but there is a special and deep pleasure in later love. Over the last few years, I have fallen deeply in love with Mitchell, and her music, but mostly her. Because she is bravely original, endlessly creatively, and fearlessly honest.
Because she says things like this:
Because she made things like this:
Actually, you are right
As I have come to know Joni Mitchell I realise she has been a deep influence on my art. Though I did not listen to her, the artists I admired and listened to then — Prince, Bjork, and now — Laura Marling, James Blake, St Vincent — cite Joni Mitchell as profound influences. She is amongst a handful of artists that changed and shaped culture, forever.
Without Joni Mitchell, my music would be very different.
It might not exist at all.
Nazneen Rahman is a Singer-Songwriter and has released four albums. You can find them here. Or wherever you listen to music. Subscribe to Yours Hopefully for weekly musings and music.
