Charli XCX (2015)
Interview Background
At the time of this interview, Charli XCX was still playing the snotty brat with aplomb. She protested such accusations when I interviewed her ahead of her 2015 tour, but her stroppiness did little to quell the image. At the time, XCX was stuck in limbo between wanting songwriting props and acknowledgement of her talents (both on obvious display from cracking early singles such as Nuclear Seasons) but also courting the facile teen market with her lipgloss anarchy. She has since proven to be a restless talent who appears to have wilfully avoided commercial hits in favour of eclectic and scattershot collaborations. Charli XCX is a vibrant talent and I feel her best is yet to come. As this chat shows, there was always a good mix of determination and intellect beneath XCX’s party girl avatar.
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in mX, February 2015.
Charli XCX - Chick Chick Boom
by Scott McLennan
UK pop star Charli XCX’s new album Sucker has seen the 22-year-old exploiting a bratty, devil-may-care schtick, but the singer suggests it’s a mistake to underestimate her. Despite hit song Break The Rules championing ‘getting high and getting wrecked’ and the new video for her Rita Ora collaboration Doing It featuring the pair robbing a service station and partying until dawn, she’s affronted anyone would believe she’s actually a drinking, shagging hedonist.
“I don’t think too many people think of me like that,” the singer born Charlotte Aitchison snipes. “I don’t think they see me as a party girl shagger at all. To the people who do, they need to realise the media is often full of bullshit and I’ve actually been working really hard since the age of 14 to carve my own career as a credible musician. I don’t see myself as anything other than a musician.”
What then to make of a recent Rolling Stone feature revealing details of the Cambridge-born singer’s lifestyle of sex (before gigs), drugs (binges in Brazil) and rock’n’roll?
“Everything you see on my Twitter account is real, but everything else you should take with a pinch of salt, I guess. Can we move on?”
Moving onwards and upwards is something Aitchison has proved impressively adept at. If writing Icona Pop’s 2013 hit I Love It, featuring on Iggy Azalea’s 2014 smash Fancy, appearing on Lorde’s recent Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt 1 soundtrack and releasing her own hit-laden album Sucker in December wasn’t already proof of Aitchison’s zeitgeist clout, her To Do list for 2015 takes it up a notch. As well as her debut Australian headline shows, expect a Sgt Pepper’s style list of collaborations this year with artists including Rihanna, Gwen Stefani and synth legend Giorgio Moroder. Away from their musical prowess, which of her multiple musical partners smells the best?
“I’d have to say Rita Ora,” Aitchison says. “She has a really nice scent. I always ask her about her perfume every time I’m with her and she smells so strong. She’s an incredible person to be around and since we’re both from the UK she always feels homely.”
After making her live debut in Australia at Parklife in 2012, Aitchison is excited to return in April.
“I haven’t seen a lot of Australia as each time I’ve been there it’s been a very quick in-and-out. The number one thing I’d love to do is see sharks, but I don’t know how to do that in a safe way.”
Maybe a spot of shark cage diving in Port Lincoln before South Australia’s Groovin’ The Moo event?
“Oh God, I don’t know – I think I’d be too scared! I’d have to think about it, but that sounds petrifying.”
She might still be scared of white pointers, but the Boom Clap singer has come to terms with personal body image issues. In a recent Nylon cover interview, the confident performer acknowledged, ‘I’ve grown to really like my boobs’.
“I have just become more aware of them,” she laughs. “I’m into them now. I’ve figured out clothes that fit my body and clothes that I’m happy wearing, so for a girl, especially in this body-conscious industry, that’s always a struggle. I’m just very chilled right now and not really bothered what anybody is writing or saying about me. I’m at peace with myself, which is a nice feeling.”
Sucker (Warner)
Unpublished Interview Material
Australia was one of the first countries to push Icona Pop’s I Love It to the top of the charts and when you were here for Parklife 2012 it was on every damn radio station. There must have been part of you wishing that was you getting all the attention, since your own songs had barely any airplay at all at that point?
"No, because I consciously gave that song away and knew what the situation was. I didn’t want it on my record as it didn’t sound anything like my first record, which was very lo-fi and left of centre. It wasn’t annoying as I was very happy for the girls and it put me on the map as a songwriter, which is something I’ve always wanted to do – writer for other artists as well, so I’ve got no regrets about that."
You pull all sorts of faces when performing. Do you ever look at photos of you performing on Instagram or Twitter and go, 'What the hell am I even doing in that photo?'.
"(laughs) Sometimes, but I don’t really care. I’m not ever thinking about being sexy when I’m onstage, I’m sweating and making sure I do a kick-arse show. I’m not worried if I look good or not, it’s about losing myself in the music and having the best show possible. It’s about it being wild and raw, since if I thought about what I looked like too much it would be a bit weird."
This year will see music released by you and Giorgio Moroder. Some of my favourite soundtrack songs of the ‘80s are co-written by Giorgio – The NeverEnding Story by Limahl, Call Me by Blondie, Together In Electric Dreams by Phil Oakey from Human League. What’s your favourite ‘80s film?
"My favourite ‘80s film? I’d have to say Heathers. It’s got nothing to do with Giorgio Moroder, but it’s definitely my favourite!"
You once said you make music because you want to be like the Spice Girls. Did you have the dolls, posters and pencil cases?
"I had all five dolls and I had a lot of posters on my wall. I went to see them in concert but it was just after Geri left, so that was kind of sad that I didn’t get to see all of them perform, but I went to their reunion concert, which was great."
Which one of the five did you relate to the most?
"I think when I was younger it was Baby Spice."
So if Emma Bunton came to you and asked for a song, what would you say?
"I’d say, ‘Oh yeah, cool, you’re Baby Spice!’. I really liked her solo career after Spice Girls when she did the pastiche ‘60s songs. I thought it was cool and clever."
You have synaesthesia. You’ve said you don’t like brown songs. What’s an example of a brown song?
"Um, I don’t know. Maybe something by Pitbull. (laughs)"
When you’re listening to the radio, do you hear different colours as you flick through stations?
"Yeah. There are definitely songs I associate to certain colours when I listen to the radio, but for me it’s more about when I’m working on my own music it happens. When I’m working on specific sounds for my songs or my lyrics, I can really see the colours. I use visual references to help to sound like it."
So Nuclear Seasons is a far different colour to the songs on Sucker?
"Yeah, I’d say the first record it’s more of a purple bruise and shy as it’s quite lo-fi and whimsical. The songs on Sucker are very red and electric pink as they are more full-on and in your face."
You performed a moody cover of Echo & The Bunnymen’s The Killing Moon during your Parklife shows in 2012. Was that ever released or was it only for live shows?
"I actually recorded a version with [Echo & The Bunnymen frontman] Ian McCulloch, but we never released it. It was something that happened and it was really amazing to have Ian McCulloch record it with me, but for whatever reason it never came out. Maybe one day."
At the time of this interview, Charli XCX was still playing the snotty brat with aplomb. She protested such accusations when I interviewed her ahead of her 2015 tour, but her stroppiness did little to quell the image. At the time, XCX was stuck in limbo between wanting songwriting props and acknowledgement of her talents (both on obvious display from cracking early singles such as Nuclear Seasons) but also courting the facile teen market with her lipgloss anarchy. She has since proven to be a restless talent who appears to have wilfully avoided commercial hits in favour of eclectic and scattershot collaborations. Charli XCX is a vibrant talent and I feel her best is yet to come. As this chat shows, there was always a good mix of determination and intellect beneath XCX’s party girl avatar.
The following is an edited version of an interview first published in mX, February 2015.
Charli XCX - Chick Chick Boom
by Scott McLennan
UK pop star Charli XCX’s new album Sucker has seen the 22-year-old exploiting a bratty, devil-may-care schtick, but the singer suggests it’s a mistake to underestimate her. Despite hit song Break The Rules championing ‘getting high and getting wrecked’ and the new video for her Rita Ora collaboration Doing It featuring the pair robbing a service station and partying until dawn, she’s affronted anyone would believe she’s actually a drinking, shagging hedonist.
“I don’t think too many people think of me like that,” the singer born Charlotte Aitchison snipes. “I don’t think they see me as a party girl shagger at all. To the people who do, they need to realise the media is often full of bullshit and I’ve actually been working really hard since the age of 14 to carve my own career as a credible musician. I don’t see myself as anything other than a musician.”
What then to make of a recent Rolling Stone feature revealing details of the Cambridge-born singer’s lifestyle of sex (before gigs), drugs (binges in Brazil) and rock’n’roll?
“Everything you see on my Twitter account is real, but everything else you should take with a pinch of salt, I guess. Can we move on?”
Moving onwards and upwards is something Aitchison has proved impressively adept at. If writing Icona Pop’s 2013 hit I Love It, featuring on Iggy Azalea’s 2014 smash Fancy, appearing on Lorde’s recent Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt 1 soundtrack and releasing her own hit-laden album Sucker in December wasn’t already proof of Aitchison’s zeitgeist clout, her To Do list for 2015 takes it up a notch. As well as her debut Australian headline shows, expect a Sgt Pepper’s style list of collaborations this year with artists including Rihanna, Gwen Stefani and synth legend Giorgio Moroder. Away from their musical prowess, which of her multiple musical partners smells the best?
“I’d have to say Rita Ora,” Aitchison says. “She has a really nice scent. I always ask her about her perfume every time I’m with her and she smells so strong. She’s an incredible person to be around and since we’re both from the UK she always feels homely.”
After making her live debut in Australia at Parklife in 2012, Aitchison is excited to return in April.
“I haven’t seen a lot of Australia as each time I’ve been there it’s been a very quick in-and-out. The number one thing I’d love to do is see sharks, but I don’t know how to do that in a safe way.”
Maybe a spot of shark cage diving in Port Lincoln before South Australia’s Groovin’ The Moo event?
“Oh God, I don’t know – I think I’d be too scared! I’d have to think about it, but that sounds petrifying.”
She might still be scared of white pointers, but the Boom Clap singer has come to terms with personal body image issues. In a recent Nylon cover interview, the confident performer acknowledged, ‘I’ve grown to really like my boobs’.
“I have just become more aware of them,” she laughs. “I’m into them now. I’ve figured out clothes that fit my body and clothes that I’m happy wearing, so for a girl, especially in this body-conscious industry, that’s always a struggle. I’m just very chilled right now and not really bothered what anybody is writing or saying about me. I’m at peace with myself, which is a nice feeling.”
Sucker (Warner)
Unpublished Interview Material
Australia was one of the first countries to push Icona Pop’s I Love It to the top of the charts and when you were here for Parklife 2012 it was on every damn radio station. There must have been part of you wishing that was you getting all the attention, since your own songs had barely any airplay at all at that point?
"No, because I consciously gave that song away and knew what the situation was. I didn’t want it on my record as it didn’t sound anything like my first record, which was very lo-fi and left of centre. It wasn’t annoying as I was very happy for the girls and it put me on the map as a songwriter, which is something I’ve always wanted to do – writer for other artists as well, so I’ve got no regrets about that."
You pull all sorts of faces when performing. Do you ever look at photos of you performing on Instagram or Twitter and go, 'What the hell am I even doing in that photo?'.
"(laughs) Sometimes, but I don’t really care. I’m not ever thinking about being sexy when I’m onstage, I’m sweating and making sure I do a kick-arse show. I’m not worried if I look good or not, it’s about losing myself in the music and having the best show possible. It’s about it being wild and raw, since if I thought about what I looked like too much it would be a bit weird."
This year will see music released by you and Giorgio Moroder. Some of my favourite soundtrack songs of the ‘80s are co-written by Giorgio – The NeverEnding Story by Limahl, Call Me by Blondie, Together In Electric Dreams by Phil Oakey from Human League. What’s your favourite ‘80s film?
"My favourite ‘80s film? I’d have to say Heathers. It’s got nothing to do with Giorgio Moroder, but it’s definitely my favourite!"
You once said you make music because you want to be like the Spice Girls. Did you have the dolls, posters and pencil cases?
"I had all five dolls and I had a lot of posters on my wall. I went to see them in concert but it was just after Geri left, so that was kind of sad that I didn’t get to see all of them perform, but I went to their reunion concert, which was great."
Which one of the five did you relate to the most?
"I think when I was younger it was Baby Spice."
So if Emma Bunton came to you and asked for a song, what would you say?
"I’d say, ‘Oh yeah, cool, you’re Baby Spice!’. I really liked her solo career after Spice Girls when she did the pastiche ‘60s songs. I thought it was cool and clever."
You have synaesthesia. You’ve said you don’t like brown songs. What’s an example of a brown song?
"Um, I don’t know. Maybe something by Pitbull. (laughs)"
When you’re listening to the radio, do you hear different colours as you flick through stations?
"Yeah. There are definitely songs I associate to certain colours when I listen to the radio, but for me it’s more about when I’m working on my own music it happens. When I’m working on specific sounds for my songs or my lyrics, I can really see the colours. I use visual references to help to sound like it."
So Nuclear Seasons is a far different colour to the songs on Sucker?
"Yeah, I’d say the first record it’s more of a purple bruise and shy as it’s quite lo-fi and whimsical. The songs on Sucker are very red and electric pink as they are more full-on and in your face."
You performed a moody cover of Echo & The Bunnymen’s The Killing Moon during your Parklife shows in 2012. Was that ever released or was it only for live shows?
"I actually recorded a version with [Echo & The Bunnymen frontman] Ian McCulloch, but we never released it. It was something that happened and it was really amazing to have Ian McCulloch record it with me, but for whatever reason it never came out. Maybe one day."
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