The songwriter and producer behind a string of hits by the Spice Girls, Aretha Franklin, Take That and Bryan Adams has said he thinks it is a “dark time in music” as he railed against “deplorable” artists such as Drake and Kanye West.
Eliot Kennedy, who also penned hits for Lulu, S Club 7, 5ive and The Wanted, said the charts have become meaningless and modern music lacks emotion.
He told the Press Association: “I think a lot of it is to do with radio, the avenues are narrower now and the gatekeepers have so much power.
“They are swayed by what is going to get advertisers.
“How are people going to get good music? Spotify isn’t the answer.
“We used to rely on radio to be a curator but it all sounds so similar, now. It feels like a dark time in music.
“The chart is meaningless. When Ed Sheeran has all the top 10 records, it’s meaningless.
“To have a number one record was once a massive thing.
“I’ve been fortunate to have five or six.
“Everything Changes (sung by Take That) went to number one on my 25th birthday.
“But a number one doesn’t mean anything now. It just seems bonkers.
“It almost feels like the respect for creating music is gone.
“No-one is getting the chance to develop.
“If you’re not top five with your first single, you’re dropped. Some artists are just singles artists now, there is no development.
“The biggest problem is the lack of transferring emotion.
“Nowadays there is no emotional connection.”
However, Eliot said he is comforted by the success of British artists such as Ed, Adele and Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, while expressing his contempt for the “mediocre” efforts of Drake and West.
He said: “Rag ‘N’ Bone Man is nothing but emotion.
“Ed Sheeran is a real talent.
“I’m so glad someone like him has come through and become a global superstar.
“Adele is a perfect example of who doesn’t fit the mould but has sold more records than anyone.
“I hate Drake with unbridled passion, It feels like a piss take.
“It sounds like someone who isn’t a good songwriter, it ‘s an acceptable level of mediocrity, it drags me down. He’s deplorable.
“Same with Kanye West, they lift themselves up like they are masters of the universe
“I look at him and think ‘dick’. He hasn’t done himself any favours as an artist, he’s so out of touch with reality.
“The lack of emotion in music depresses me, it seems to be the way things are now, we have got to find a way of reconnecting people emotionally to music.”
Eliot, who is launching a new charity album to raise awareness around mental health, said he believes music should be about something meaningful.
The record, Hidden Wounds, features singer Joanne Heselden-Edwards, the daughter of the inventor of the Hesco Bastion “blast wall” used in every major conflict since the 1991 Gulf War and profits from the album sales will go to Help For Heroes.
Hidden Wounds is out now via iTunes and Amazon.
