And yeah, I really felt that that helps the work immeasurably, to be sort of walking around with my MetroCard, working it all out. There's this great Virginia Woolf quote she talks about how wonderful it is to go out on the street in the city between the hours of 4 and 6 and be part of this sort of swell of commuters and how wonderful that anonymity is.
No one's interested in getting in anyone else's space, or you know, when you hear a rare conversation on the subway, they keep it to a minimum 'cause they know that everybody else has such a full life, and it's like - we'll just keep this over here so we don't have to pollute everyone else. You know, think about a shared space like the subway. It's like, you're very busy, you've got to get home. And so it was wonderful to come to New York - you know, no one cares about anyone here. It was almost like people could see your thought bubble somehow. I felt very aware of time and all this stuff. I feel like I got self-conscious about the process and about, had I written an amazing song that day? No? Then it was wasted. So I would sort of be, like, walking to the studio and everyone would know that it was me and that I was home working on it. Even now it sounds crazy, but it's like, cold hard fact. Obviously, I wrote in New Zealand and hadn't really left New Zealand before, and going into writing this new one, it was like - I mean, it sounds so crazy when I say it, but I'm one of the most well-known people in New Zealand. I knew I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't make something different, singular and something that I would be proud of.īut New Zealand and New York have played kind of vital roles in the record. And it happens to have one of the best vocal chains I've ever come across - the mic and the pre-amp and all the stuff that makes for this incredible recorded vocal tone. But we started coming here because Jack lives here and has a great home studio out of his place in Brooklyn. The face of the city was a bit more abstract for me. I had never really had a relationship with New York before I started writing the record here - it was sort of everybody else's city to enjoy, and I kind of felt like the extent of my relationship was going from my hotel to a friend's hotel to hang out. What made New York the place to think these thoughts?Įlla Yelich-O'Connor: Well, it's interesting.
Michel Martin: We would have been happy to meet you in New Zealand, but you've been working on the new album here in New York. Read on for an edited transcript and hear an abridged version of the conversation on All Things Considered this weekend. Yelich-O'Connor spoke to Michel Martin about finding anonymity in New York, her love of the album as a medium and the intimacy of the spaces she creates on Melodrama, out Friday. With stories of heartbreak, of coming of age and of living in the spotlight, Melodrama marks a new chapter for the 20-year-old singer. Melodrama, on the other hand, was created mostly in New York City with producer Jack Antonoff, who also plays in fun. Yelich-O'Connor wrote Pure Heroine from her native New Zealand with producer Joel Little, making understated yet magnetic songs that captured both the ennui and intensity of youth. Favorite Sessions Watch Lorde Perform 'Royals' Live For KCRW