Olly Alexander says new album inspired by George Michael and Pet Shop Boys: ‘That time was speaking to me’
Olly Alexander has revealed that his upcoming studio album Polari was inspired by the sounds of his own personal musical heroes of 1980s pop.
Alexander was initially hesititant about leaning into an explicitly 80s sound for the LP. “It felt really obvious,” he said in an exclusive interview with Attitude as he appears on the cover of the latest issue.
“I had done It’s a Sin, and my music had already drawn from that period. I wondered if I should do something completely different. But then I kept going back to who my heroes were, like Pet Shop Boys and Erasure and George Michael. That time was just speaking to me.”
Alexander also confirmed the album was made entirely with PC Music alum Danny L. Harle, known for his work with Carly Rae Jepsen and Caroline Polachek. “I wanted to make it with one person, and it had to come from me,” he explains.
“The sounds are too loud and a bit janky,” the 34-year-old said of the album’s sonic vibe. “It’s an approach that is the antithesis to how you make music today, where things tend to be slicker and about creating sound beds.
“With this record, we were trying to go for a much more maximalist approach.”
The ‘Starstuck’ artist revealed he managed to escape the scrutiny of his label whilst crafting the record, admitting: “I think I fell through the cracks a little bit. I just did it and didn’t let anyone [at the label] hear it until I was about 10 songs in. By that stage, they couldn’t tell me to go back in or do something differently.”
“You still get to see my hips move. That’s worth the ticket price alone.” – Olly Alexander
Alexander is set to tour the album, however he is planning to play more intimate venues than the arenas he’s played in the past as the frontman of Years & Years. “I just thought it would be nice to do something that shows a different side to me,” he said.
“You still get to see my hips move. That’s worth the ticket price alone.”
The former Years & Years singer also serves as the lead of the Film, TV and Music category of Attitude 101, empowered by Bentley: our pick of the year’s most influential LGBTQ people.
Issue 363 of Attitude magazine is available to order here, and alongside 15 years of back issues on the free Attitude app.
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