Charli XCX

0:00So I was just talking to Marina and she was kind of giving me a little bit of a back story on how the two of you got together for just desserts and how and touring together but because I'm gonna put this interview in a separate piece I thought maybe And maybe you'll give me a different answer. I don't know so how Wikipedia says you're on tour with friend and fellow singer Marina So how long have you two known each other how did that come about? Well, I mean I think we met we met a couple of times Because obviously started the same record label. So we met a few like awful record label parties You don't like those so much? No, I don't think any artists really enjoys them. I think the artists enjoy like rinsing the free bar or and then going But yeah, so we We did it. We met a couple of times that

0:46those kind of things and I Guess really the first time we got to probably know each other was when we were on the Coldplay tour And she was the main support acts and I was opening first and You know obviously like I knew of her music and I always got a lot of capacitance to Marina as well So kind of cool getting her like share a stage with her for the first time realizing that we were like very different actually But also both share like a lot for Chief pop and that whole kind of like, you know, like hyper real Top saw thing. You know, I think we both find it very fascinating So yeah, we just kind of got to know each other on that tour really and then I think the song came about just because we wanted to

1:38Well, we wanted to like kind of get a gift to our fans like to like we share a lot the same plans As we were going on tour together. We wanted to kind of do a song like The full the tour and he kind of did it and like a week and we spoke about it a lot but Yeah, it's kind of came together already fast. It was pretty cool You're talking about a lot. I won't continue to ask about it I don't want to do that make you make you say the same things you always say but I do want to just because I do work for MSN and this is written for MSN and we used have a little program called MSN chat MSN messenger and I hear that has to do with his x Cx Yes, that's right. It's with my MSN message I'm Charlie x Cx which meant kiss Charlie kiss and it kind of stuck from there

2:24I would like it. I loved MSN messengers so much like even after school. I'd seen my phone go home and talk my friends on I just loved it. It was so cool. You know, yeah, I miss it too. It's weird that it was like it was like an arrow It was about like five six years where it was the thing right after I see cue and then it just I don't know switch to text messages They're like that pro that whole idea kind of just died Has it has it stopped now? Well, maybe maybe it's just that I'm older. That's true. I don't know Maybe the kids are still doing what I think it's thought I think it's stopped because I think it stopped the week My album came out with kind of weird Because it was because yeah, I think who knows a True romance is the record as you know, obviously, I don't know I'm saying it like that like we're on camera. We're not So it's a guarantee obviously I hear true romance. I think Tarantino

3:13I mean everything that man does is genius. Is that that half to do with the record title or is it something something else? Um, well, it wasn't a conscious decision to link it to the movie at all Have you seen the movie? Yeah, yeah It's one of my favorites and I definitely think that Clarence and Alabama are two of the best kind of Movie like on screen lovers ever, you know, possibly like the best romantic care at the full time But I wasn't really conscious in thinking about that movie When I know the record I was more thinking about the fact that all the songs are about my experience of love and You know what? I think true romance is which I guess I

3:59Think it's when you have both sides to love when you have the moments where you're walking on clouds and you're in this dream Wild and you're feeling super happy and you know Beautiful, but then when you also have those moments where you've been lonely and depressed and you're crying and I feel like those two things paired together of what true romance is and I think it's nice to get the front eck and Yeah, so that's my name to record that which of those sides of love do you find easier to write? I know a lot of people when they're in that happy mode say they can't I can't I can't write when I'm happy I need to be sad to write Well, I feel like I used to think that I used to think I needed to be happy to write Like to get over something before I could write about it But I feel like as I've gotten older I feel like I'm trying to make embrace that kind of sadness and now I definitely

4:51Suppose I'm becoming a cliche like a prefer not writing a night Sorry That was it okay, so does that mean the next record? I mean I know you you made this true romance is Long been done for you. It just only recently came out But you've I'm assuming moved on as a songwriter since since writing this record So does that mean things are gonna be darker now that you're writing from that sad point of view? I'm not sure. I mean I have an idea for the next record and I'm beginning To write songs for it. I mean, I don't want a pinpoint a direction yet but I'm sure any know like two areas I'm kind of moving towards and

5:39It's definitely different from true romance, but it's not gonna be like super dark or anything Yeah, it's interesting Talking about that album being done a year ago though and just waiting for it to come out What was that what was it like to wait and how how relieved? I don't even know if you can describe the feelings of relief now that the record is out and All failed Hey, sorry, I'm on the highway so it must it must have cut out I'm but do I feel relieved to put it out and Was it was it your decision to delay it was it record labels and what was that?

6:28Feeling my decision. I delayed it twice. I always just think I'll come then Well originally was meant to be out in September 2011 and I mean just I have no songs So I didn't want to put it out, you know, I was Right writing a record that I didn't think was right so I delayed it then and then I delayed it again after that I can't remember when that was I guess maybe at the end of 2012 Just because it wasn't right, you know You only have one daily record and something wasn't sitting right with me I didn't want to put this record out and then have to tour it and live with it for the rest of my life So I knew I wanted to get it perfect That's what I did in my brain. It is my perfect record, you know, and I'm not gonna regret it

7:18I'm not gonna you know be kicking myself because I had full creative control over the project and You know that's what I need to satisfy me in it has a slightly Well, what was it missing last fall or is it where the song is not there was the production not there Were there certain songs you were waiting for to come to you? It was production and it was mixing and it was artwork and it was really small things like spong You know like I'm very I'm very like particular Very picky and it was all of those kind of small things But it was mainly like mixes, you know, I wanted to get I wanted to bring things out in the mixes and you can hear You know like nuclear season sounds so different on the album than it does in the music video, you know Well talking about me I'm glad you mentioned music videos because I didn't interview a couple weeks ago

8:05Where a dude was said if I never had to make music videos again I'd be happy but you are the complete opposite you love them That sit around and wait and then do this so what is about the music video process? You love so much? Well, I'm very creative to involved in the music videos that I make I make all of my videos with my and our Jews Pop one man done with him, but we're very close and we like, you know Work on everything together come up with the ideas together and he I guess has taught me a lot about like How to see things and being on set and kind of getting more involved. I'm not afraid to like, you know Like tell him my ideas and things that are going on in my brain and we work very much together

8:51So it's never boring for me and it's always you know like we're always coming up with new ideas for videos like We live together as well. So it's like continuous like creative music video bubble land, you know both YouTube freaks So it's like we're always Thinking about videos and it's kind of like living in a cartoony land sometimes I like that, you know, I feel like especially because I see my songs as music videos when I write them Yeah, so I mean like the perfect example of this is with I love it I completely couldn't see a music video for that song and so I guess like if I don't see a music video It means I don't fully connect to it and I guess that's why I guess that's wrong away, you know So

9:39Pardon no, no trying to think that that's a really interesting thought so do you Do you write as you're writing your your visualizing a music video as you're writing these songs or after the song I don't know it's come to you and you get in the booth and do the vocals and everything then you start picturing a video Yeah, at that point I'll start picturing a video and I mean sometimes it won't even be the video after all that Kind of it ends up being but I will think about it like and if I can't see a visual Then I don't want the song that's kind of how it works I guess that's why I enjoy the visual side of life. How does that translate into the live show? Did you try and incorporate these visual elements into the live show? Not so much with this record I Mean just because of like budgets and things sure I definitely like I mean the live show is very important to me

10:26And I want to make it as amazing as possible. I'd love to make it look like Japan on stage That's my kind of oh, yeah, like five at the moment. I've just bought this Neon lights down which like changes color and amazing and I'm getting this neon lead made with three different neon Like LED colors in so it will like go in the dark Oh Yeah, that will be really cool. So that's why I'm going with the live show and still like that's definitely like reflective of like The songs on the record, you know, like I feel like it because you know I think neon bars can be very like 80s that they can also be very Japanese and they bubble gum as well, you know So yeah, well that kind of reminds me of the rave culture where you started performing like how different are these shows? Is there a difference between a concert crowd and a rave crowd? Oh?

11:14Oh Difference, I mean former standpoint that is like as you're performing to an audience. Yeah Totally, I mean like I did the coldplay shows and that's a totally different experience Then you know playing in a sweaty club where everyone can like, you know see everything and and it's like this kind of Box of craziness whereas in the you know in stadium that's kind of like much more distant and People are watching you on a TV screen. So it's kind of not as real, you know But I'm in terms of the way I perform like When I was playing at the rate, you know, I didn't have a band or anything I just had an iPod and like some really crap like homemade costumes that I would wear, you know That was kind of my vibe. It was very like Michael and I could party monster

12:01Ex, you know, whereas now I have a band I've grown up more and I appreciate I'm Simplicity more, you know, did you make a little band or was it is it was it more computers? No, no, I I've yeah, I made the record with myself Mainly this guy I already showed you isn't in my band But he's the user so now that you have a band and you've gotten used to this live show with with a bunch of people Does that does that maybe change the writing process for the for the next record? No, you still like doing okay. No, I like doing it on my own, you know, like I love my bands, but No, no, but you haven't come for it right by yourself. No, that makes sense. Oh, yeah I turn you have a comfort writing going up although we are gonna go and I just did discover us Yeah, yeah the other day and I think we're gonna go in this year and record that in a couple days like me

12:52I'm a bad school. That'll be fun. That's my karaoke song actually it always wins you can always win a crowd I want the best choice. I want it that way We don't see much time But I do want to talk about Lena Dunham here and you like making music have you has that connection been made because of the song being played on girls is there Have you reached out to her camp if they reached out to you about, you know creating some sort of music video together? No, not yet. I mean, I mean not yet like obviously I'm a big fan of her work No, I mean the connection I've made but I always watch for she does and she's great and beautiful and hilarious So, yeah, you know, who knows maybe I'm hit her up for me in that sea. Yeah, I'll tweet it. I'll make that happen door

13:41I'm lying. I can't before I let you go five quick questions one word answers Okay, road or studio I know that was really difficult one But sorry that's just yeah, yeah, all right. Well, you were leaning to roads road before All right, okay. Well, no right along are and then right both so at least people can be like, okay She was going yeah. Yeah, okay. Let it or McCartney When you hear a song what usually hits you first lyrics melody or rhythm lyrics song you've written your most proud of I love it for icon a pop cool and in one word Charlie X CX

14:31Emotion no