Dua Lipa renews influences: rave, Brit pop, trip-hop...

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Dua Lipa renews influences: rave, Brit pop, trip-hop…

Dua Lipa is the new cover of Rolling Stone, in a report that reveals, for example, that her third album, still untitled, will contain 11 songs, one of them being ‘Houdini’. The singer had already said that that psychedelic point of Tame Impala’s co-production would be in the rest of the album, but that this one would be more varied.

Now Rolling Stone reveals that the album is heavily influenced by the rave culture of the early ’90s in the United Kingdom. Apparently, the remixes that Radio 1 plays at night have been an inspiration for Dua Lipa, who thus came up with remixes that she found interesting of Primal Scream, and also her celebrated 1991 masterpiece, ‘Screamadelica’.

It seems that it will be a very British album, since other influences that appear in the article are Oasis and Blur, that is, the kings of Brit pop. Massive Attack, that is, trip hop, are also mentioned along with the American Moby and Damon Albarn’s other great band, Gorillaz. This amalgamation of influences had not appeared before in his career at all. When we interviewed Dua Lipa in 2017, he spoke more of Katy Perry, The Weeknd, Solange, Rihanna and Frank Ocean as her main references.

Dua Lipa details how she wrote with Caroline Ailin, co-writer of ‘Don’t Start Now’ and ‘New Rules’, PC Music producer Danny L Harle and balladeer Tobias Jesso Jr. What she calls her band – with They have done 8 of the 11 new songs – added Kevin Parker from Tame Impala.

Pay attention to the description of the album by journalist Brittany Spanos: «The final product represents Dua Lipa very well: danceable pop, full of confidence and witty phrases to upload to Instagram. Several of the songs feature fun scenes at clubs or nights out with friends, and the lyrics range from warnings of a quick escape to the optimism and hope that comes with a first kiss. There are no sweeping ballads, but a semi-ballad that blooms at one point in the style of Carole King and Fleetwood Mac. Overall, this album is pure pop bliss, not unlike their approach for Future Nostalgia.

Elsewhere in the interview, Dua Lipa tells how she ended up at Mick Jagger’s Christmas party. «We had a great party, I danced with Mick Jagger in his living room! He told me: ‘Very good, baby! C’mon darling'”. Or he also talks about the evil that networks do: «With social networks it is very easy to fall into a negative spiral or in which people are bad and tell you what they think about you without really knowing you. In itself, for some people, it is already too much to think that you also have feelings or that you get angry. I think it’s important to know how to take things with humor.” We leave you with the live presentation of ‘Houdini’ made these days.

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Simon Müller

Simon Müller is the driving force behind UMusic, embodying a lifelong passion for all things melodious. Born and raised in New York, his love for music took form at an early age and fueled his journey from an avid music enthusiast to the founder of a leading music-centered website. Simon's diverse musical tastes and intrinsic understanding of acoustic elements offer a unique perspective to the UMusic community. Sporting a dedicated commitment to aural enrichment and hearing health, his vision extends beyond just delivering news - he aspires to create a network of informed, appreciative music lovers. Spend a moment in Mueller's company, and you'd find his passion infectious – music isn’t simply his job, it’s his heartbeat.