Olly Alexander: I’m just free on stage. But when I come down from it, I feel uneasy

Olly Alexander is on the wave of making dreams come true. He recorded two songs with Kylie Minogue, sang at the BRIT Awards with Elton John, won a lot of praise for his demanding role on the HBO series “Because to sin”, and has now released his first solo album. Alexander himself emphasizes that the split-up of Years & Years, the team he co-founded with Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen, was only a matter of time. Each of them began to look for different things in music. On the album “Night Call” you can hear that Alexander needs one thing right now: have fun.

We had to talk about “Night Call” a few weeks before the premiere – since then the shape of the album has changed several times. Intensive changes have become an almost permanent part of Alexander’s life, who at the turn of 2019 and 2020 was prepared with a whole set of songs for the release of his next album from Years & Years. Then a pandemic broke out, and he was left alone on board the Y&Y and decided to start all over again. – Where did you get the energy to create such a colorful and full of life album in such a time full of challenges and difficulties? – I’m asking.

– Some of that energy must have come from Sylvester’s music or other disco legends like Donna Summer. When I started working on the album, we had just finished shooting the series “Bo to sin”, which takes place in the 1980s, so I also felt deeply into the spirit of that period. Lots of dance songs then expressed freedom and joy in the midst of omnipresent sadness, anxiety, even mourning. These sounds still resonate with people all over the world today, says Alexander. – During the lockdown, when we couldn’t move anywhere, I immersed myself in such sounds, danced, made hula hoops … and I realized that this was exactly the kind of album I needed. No ballads – we’re going to the club with it. These are the songs you want to dance to and sing to.

Although after listening to “Night Call” there is no doubt that the singer was inspired by the 80s, his album does not sound 100% ejtisowo, which is now the most fashionable. “Night Call” reminds me more of the late 90s and the first half of the 2000s. – I even had in my mind a picture of you, an adult Olly taking yourself from your adolescence to a party, and how you show this boy that there is still a lot of good to come. him – I say, to which Alexander nods: – Exactly! You put it perfectly, I have nothing to add.

As Olly himself mentioned, in the 1980s the plot of the HBO series “Because it’s a sin” is set, which touches on the colorful, but also extremely difficult history of the LGBTQ + community in Great Britain. When a new virus appears on the horizon, the heroes are put to the test of life. The next decade brings them to adulthood in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic, which does not mean that young people are dying out of their unbridled appetite for life and their thirst for love.

– While working on such an emotionally intense production as “Bo to sin”, unique relationships are born, based on true trust – assures Alexander, who invited friends from the set to appear in the video for the single “Crave”. – I am very grateful to the guys that they found time for me, even though they didn’t have to. I really wanted to get everyone, incl. Lydia [West] i Calluma [Turnera], but matching the calendars has surpassed us.

For the 31-year-old artist who combines a passion for music with a love for acting, the performance in “Because to sin” turned out to be a breakthrough. No wonder he had to pay him some sacrifice. In an interview with “Guardian” Alexander confessed that before shooting erotic scenes he needed to empathize with “stage Olly” – sometimes he sang to himself.

You don’t even know how awkward moments like this can be, especially during an icebreaker. I needed the song because it made me remember what it’s like to feel sexy. It was hard for me to undress in front of the camera. Luckily we had an intimacy coordinator [Itę O’Brien – przyp. red.]that supported us throughout the entire process. We talked, among others about when I feel one hundred percent sexy – the answer was of course: on stage, when I sing and get carried away by the music. So I had to bring Olly live on set to make it work

– explains the singer. After such an emotionally engaging project and in the face of the madness that has surrounded us all for almost two years, the moment has come to look for a springboard and fly away somewhere far away. For example, among the mermaids. – The world of “Night Call” is mainly inspired by mythology and fairy tales. The older I am, the better I can see that it is an important part of me and my imagination. In addition, pop music itself has an extraordinary power to transport us in time and space, so if it can tell a fairy tale, why not? – says Alexander. – I was especially inspired by the theme of the mermaid, which is doomed to loneliness somewhere in the middle of the ocean. He sings his beautiful songs and tempts the sailors, and they never escape from these encounters with life. Threatening, predatory, but charming, overwhelming at the same time … This is the main character that I had in mind when creating the album’s setting.

Olly Alexander: At times I lose control of self-criticism

Speaking of getting into someone else’s character, I recall that a few years ago, in an interview, Olly was asked what his solo album would sound like. He replied in four words: “I Am … Sasha Fierce.” This is a reference to the hit album Beyonce from 2008, where the artist showed herself from two strongly delineated sides – both as a delicate, sensitive girl and a stage lioness. – Do you think that you achieved the desired effect then? – I ask Alexander. This one laughs: – You’re kidding! I don’t remember that!

– Recently, I even thought a lot about this album and the moment in which Beyonce was released – it was something groundbreaking, but the best part is that later there were only more such breakthroughs. I wish such a streak! – adds the amused singer. – “IASF” is split into a “personal” section and a section dedicated to Beyonce’s alter ego, which she impersonates to make her feel bolder and sexier. I can certainly relate it to myself in such a way that today I am much more confident than a year or two ago. At the same time, it does not mean that I am able to get rid of my stage character. It took me a long time to understand who she is.

– What conclusions did you come to?

– I am simply free on stage – I do not feel the inhibitions and the pressure that I submit to every day. It all disappears because when you perform, you come into the spotlight. At the same time, you are dependent on your audience and how much energy you will be able to generate. It’s the best feeling in the world – just like being able to meet this character in different circumstances.

Beyonce probably loved Sasha Fierce as well, but two years after the release of “I Am …” she stated that she “killed” this character because “she doesn’t need her anymore.” I wonder if Alexander also strives not to need a stage alter ego. – You know, on the “Palo Santo” [poprzednim albumie Years & Years – przyp. red.] I was creating a crazy, futuristic reality around me. I obsessively followed the plot of androids, people and a world where only the latter have any feelings. This time, at least when it comes to music, I focused solely on myself and what I can get out of myself and give to the world, Alexander replies.

My thoughts go back to the first video that promoted “Night Call”, that is “Starstruck”. Two incarnations of Olly also appear there: one wants to flood the other with love, runs after him, gives him flowers, but to no avail – for a time. – At what point in this race are you alone? How do you see yourself now? – I’m asking.

– I think a lot about different versions of all of us – about what face we show in public, which we reserve only for friends – so I found it interesting to direct the interpretation of this song this way. “Starstruck” is a song about love for someone else, not for himself, so I turned the situation around… ”Alexander explains and quickly adds that after the video was finished, he started to have doubts.

It’s so trivial – we hear at every step that we are to love ourselves. But then it turns out it’s damn hard to put it into practice. I had to give myself up lately, because I have a tendency to be very sharp self-criticism, sometimes I even lose control over it. Before I can figure it out, my inner critic yells at me: “Olly, you are pointless”, “Olly, a hopeless job”, “Olly, you are failing everyone around” …

– Now it’s easier for me to overcome this nasty voice, because I really like myself. We all have bad days, but in fact, on many of these days I can look at myself and say, “You did it, calm down.” It’s definitely better for my mental health. Boy, I know it’s another cliche, but… we really should all be kinder to each other, ”Olly concludes.

The album “Night Call” was released on January 21st.