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Take a Closer Look at Real Life Barbie Charli XCX

photo courtesy of atlantic records

photo courtesy of atlantic records

Looking at Charlie XCX now it’s not surprising to know that her inaugural performance was an a cappella of Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” on a cruise ship. With her accessible style and her love of platform shoes, the former London club scene regular has become a living, breathing Aqua-esque Barbie Girl. After releasing various mixtapes, EPs, singles, and being featured on tracks like Icona Pop’s ubiquitous “I Love It”, 2013 has finally seen the release of her debut album True Romance, which was well worth the wait.  I was able to talk to her over the phone as she was on her way to a show in Colorado to try and figure out how the 20 year old translates the highs and lows of her relationships into dark pop gold.

You’ve said you have to be really happy even when writing really depressing songs. Have you ever tried writing without getting over a depressed phase?

Yeah, I feel like that kind of changed for me now. As I’ve been writing the record I realized I don’t need any special kind of emotion or anything like that to write. Sometimes I’ll go in the studio and I’’ll write and something will come out. Sometimes I’ll just have the impulse to write where I am straightaway…it’s kind of spontaneous [now].

When you’d only write when you were happy did you feel like if you wrote anything during that unhappy phase it wouldn’t be any good?

I don’t know I feel like there isn’t a difference. Obviously when you’re sad and you write music you get really caught up in why you’re sad and the song can come out way much more for yourself, which is more like [centering] around why you’re sad or why you’re unhappy. I feel like I can write when I’m sad now. I kind of appreciate being sad and being upset ‘cause that what’s life is you know?

You describe music in very synesthetic terms, calling music that is green, brown, and yellow really boring. I’m just really curious as to what kind of music would that be?

I feel like a lot of dubstep is green, brown, and yellow. I don’t know … I’m not really the biggest dubstep fan ever. Pitbull– his songs are probably like yellow or green.

 

Yeah I can definitely agree with that.

[Laughs.]

You’ve mentioned that being able to have an idea of a music video for the songs you are writing are more important to you than the songs themselves. That being said, what are some of your favorite current music videos?

I have my like favorites which are, Bjork’s “All is Full of Love” by Chris Cunningham I love that video so much. I also love “Friday I’m in Love” by The Cure, that video’s really cute. Let me think what else, what else? I can’t really think … I also love David LaChappelle music videos.

 

The album title is taken from the great Tarantino flick. Did the movie have any part in your songwriting process?

Well I did watch the movie while I was writing the record. But all the songs on the record are about love and relationships and how they change. I feel like to have that true love you have to have two sides of love — you have to have the amazing moments but you also have to have the moments where you’re crying and depressed. I feel like those kind of separate moments together are the most amazing true romance.

 

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Article by Alex Martinez

 



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