Lorde on previous album ‘Solar Power’: “Actually, I don’t think this is me”

Lorde has looked back at her ‘Solar Power’ album, and said that it made her realise that it didn’t quite fit in with who she is.

• READ MORE: Lorde: “I feel like I can see my world and myself a lot clearer now”

The Kiwi singer opened up about the record during a new interview on Therapuss with Jake Shane. In the discussion, she looked back at how she came to make the album after feeling somewhat overwhelmed by the tour for its predecessor, 2017’s Melodrama’.

“It was also so crazy touring ‘Melodrama’. I found it very intense for that whole time to be in this endless hardcore music [atmosphere] every night,” she said. “I found it pretty intense and I just wanted something light and easy after that. It was cool.”

Explaining how that led to her seeking a more stripped-back approach in the 2021 record, Lorde then admitted that she came to realise the sound captured in ‘Solar Power’ didn’t fully represent who she was.

“I love ‘Solar Power’ so much, and I truly needed to make it,” she shared. “I wouldn’t be here with another album if I hadn’t made ‘Solar Power’. But it showed me that you have no choice but to be who you’re supposed to be.

“Me disappearing and being all wafty… I was like ‘actually, I don’t think this is me.’”

Speaking to NME about the 2021 album, Lorde – whose real name is Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor – explained that it was inspired after a trip to Antarctica.

During the visit in 2019, she learnt about the science being used there to help understand climate change, and went on helicopter rides to look for whales.

Sharing how this inspired the sound of the record, she explained: “I came back really sure my focus had to be on the outside and what was happening there. It was so, so fascinating to me and so inspiring in a way that my phone had stopped being, celebrity culture had stopped being and popular culture had stopped being.”

“I guess that was part of why I stepped back from consuming the internet in a really consistent way – I wanted to know what I would make when I wasn’t dialled into what everyone else was making,” she added. “One of the things that starts to happen when you have any sort of community is you start to move as one, in a way. I honestly don’t think I could have achieved this if I tried four years ago, just because [I was in] the whirlpool.”

Now, Lorde is gearing up to share her highly anticipated album ‘Virgin’, which has so far been previewed by singles like ‘Man Of The Year’ and ‘What Was That’.

Set for release on June 27, recent weeks have seen Lorde share details about things that may have impacted her sound. These include candid discussions about her gender identity, her time overcoming eating struggles, and how the upcoming shows may be her “masterpiece”.

In a recent in-depth interview with Rolling Stone, the ‘Ribs’ singer opened up about her gender evolution and how she explores it in the LP. “My gender got way more expansive when I gave my body more room,” she said, before explaining that the opening line of the first track on ‘Virgin’ – “Some days I’m a woman/Some days I’m a man” – reflects her current headspace in terms of gender fluidity.

“[Chappell Roan] asked me this. She was like, ‘So, are you nonbinary now?’ And I was like, ‘I’m a woman except for the days when I’m a man.’ I know that’s not a very satisfying answer, but there’s a part of me that is really resistant to boxing it up,” she said.

Later this year, Lorde will be hitting the road again for some headline tour dates across the UK, Europe and North America in celebration of the album.

Special guests will include The Japanese House, Nilüfer Yanya, Chanel Beads, Empress Of and Oklou, as well as Blood Orange – with Devonte Hynes featuring on the album – and co-producer Jim-E Stack. Visit here for North American tickets and more information, and here for any remaining tickets and details for UK and European dates.

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