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‘It’s a hallucinatory experience!’: musicians on the awesome creative power of motherhood

Much has been made of the struggles musicians face when they become mothers – but what about the inspiration? Bat for Lashes, Logic1000 and others discuss the radical energy unleashed by the ultimate collaboration

The year my son was born, I spent a lot of time walking laps of my small ground-floor flat in a milky, slightly hysterical state of sleep deprivation, listening to a set of instrumental albums by Raymond Scott from 1962 called Soothing Sounds for Baby. Like, Alan [Sparhawk] and Mimi [Parker] from Low told me to get one of those pop-up tents for kids because backstages are reliably disgusting, so it’s at least a few square foot without broken glass or anything sticky.” According to Peter Benjaminson’s book on Mary Wells, the singer made famous by hits such as My Guy and You Beat Me to the Punch was allegedly forced by her husband Herman Griffin to get two abortions for the sake of her career.

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