Lorde has granted the first interviews about ‘Virgin’, the album published on June 27. In an interview with Jack Saunders, Lorde recognizes the influence of ‘Brat’ (2024) by Charli XCX in his new work, inevitable by having participated in the famous Remix of ‘Girl, So Confusing’.
Lorde recognizes the influence of ‘Brat’ openly, but points out that it has nothing to do with the sound of his album, but that the proposal of ‘Brat’ helped him reaffirm his own. «The album was already quite advanced. But when ‘Brat’ came out, he gave me a push in many ways. He forced me to define even more what I was doing because Charli had done it masterfully. And I knew that mine was very different. And also, it is simply incredible when a colleague launches such a challenge. Lorde adds: «I was already trying to express myself in a very naked way. And then ‘Brat’ came out and she was doing something similar, but from the other side of the currency. And doing the remix together and finding ourselves in that space of pure vulnerability, it was like, “ok, ok, great! I’m on the right track.”
In another interview with Document Journal magazine, Lorde comments on the origin of ‘What Was That?’, First single from ‘Virgin’, and his relationship with gender. In the press release of ‘Virgin’, she assures that the album is feminine but also “masculine” and, in Document, the Neo Zealander speaks of “accepting her own masculinity” and points out that he notes that his genre has “expanded” in this current stage of her life.
Lorde, on the other hand, acknowledges that he read “many queer authors” during the composition of ‘Virgin’, seeking inspiration for his raw and “little sentimental letters.” Specifically, she points out the influence of writers Annie Ernaux and Rachel Cusk. He says that he read a lot “about the body” and that he gave himself to the creative process, for the first time, without knowing the concept of his album: “I knew I had to give myself to the mystery, without really having a plan.”
At another point in the interview, Lorde comments on the concept of the ‘What Was That?’ Video clip, shot in the streets of New York. I was looking to capture a “maximum vitality”, not make a pop video. “It’s not even so well done,” he says. «What makes you look good is that it is alive, not that it is well produced. The video is made to degrade. I have spent the whole race creating these beautiful objects that will last over time and that will be beautiful forever. This time I wanted the video to be degraded almost immediately. It is a risk, but I know that it is the place where I must be ».
