Olly Alexander On ‘Lemonade,’ Touring And Years & Years’ Next LP: Interview
Years & Years arrived in blaze of hype in late 2014, winning the prestigious BBC Sound of 2015 poll and releasing a string of hit singles including “King,” “Shine” and “Desire.” Instead of crumbling under the weight of expectations, the trio thrived. They topped the UK chart with well-received debut LP Communion and experienced similar success around the globe. The ’90s club enthusiasts are still promoting the album well into 2016 with a stellar set at Coachella and a headline US tour.
I recently spoke with frontman Olly Alexander on a rare day off and he happily chatted about life on the road (the hotels aren’t as nice in America, but he enjoys the anonymity). Other topics of conversation included Beyonce’s groundbreaking Lemonade album, stalking The 1975’s Matthew Healy on Twitter and the celeb-obsessed culture of Coachella. The 25-year-old also opened up about the group’s next LP, which is still in its very early stages. Find out more below.
I saw you tweeting about Lemonade. Do you have a favorite song?
I’m still processing it. I’ve only seen it twice and experiencing it, visually, is such an experience. I have been digesting it. It feels weird to just pick one song. I think that’s what’s genius about what she’s done. It’s an event. There’s probably no other artist that could get away with it. She’s the only one who I’m like, “Oh my god, I’ve got to make sure I watch an hour of new videos starring Beyonce!” I’m still thinking about which ones stand out. I love “Sorry” and I love “Freedom.” I think “Love Drought” is a really nice song. I think my favorite, though, is “Pray You Catch Me.” You know, the first one?
That’s a beautiful song.
Amazingly beautiful, yeah. What’s yours?
I’m obsessed with “Daddy Lessons.”
“Daddy Lessons,” yeah. That’s a good one.
Your Coachella set was great, but some of the songs have been around for a while now. Do you ever get tired of them?
It’s fucking awful, I hate singing them! No, I’m kidding. I don’t know, I definitely have started to feel like it would be nice to kind of… just creatively, I want to write new material. Every tour we’ve done, we freshened up the set with new stuff and we change the way we do stuff, so it’s not so the same, even though the songs are old. I kind of go into this performer mode where I’m like, “Every night is new!” You have to.
I have friends who’ve played these songs like hundreds and hundreds of times, but the audience is hearing it live for the first time, so you want it to be good, special. Actually, I’m not bored of doing it. The only thing is, the more I sing stuff, the more I think I’m bad at singing it. Some songs I’m like, “I cannot sing that song, I just can’t sing it.” It’s weird, it’s like this mental block.
Well, you sounded great in Indio.
Aw, thanks.
Now that some time has passed since releasing Communion, has your opinion of the album changed?
No. I think it’s the best album ever made. Please don’t write that. [Laughs]. I don’t know. To be honest, I like the album. I’m super proud of it, but I think it just feels like a collection of where we all were in our lives when we made the album. I’ve learned to not judge that, whether it’s great or whether we could have done more, it just is what it is and I’m proud of it. I want to do the next thing now, you know?
I think you’re always really critical of your own work, but if you start to pick apart everything, you’d never get anywhere. I’ve really learned to kind of just let stuff go and be like, “Well, I know I tried, I know I did my best.” I know it sounds really wanky, but that is kind of how I feel about it now.
Did you enjoy Coachella?
The world is so fucked up. I had fun because it was a fucking experience. On stage, I always try to have the most fun out of anyone. I want everyone else to have fun, but it’s really important that I have fun and I enjoy it. The performance itself is kind of like a blur, I don’t know what happens. I didn’t actually go and see any performers. I’m super lame. The first weekend I was really, really jet-lagged and so crazy. Then, the second weekend, I was with some friends and we were just like catching up, sitting down. I didn’t go and see anyone. I’m sorry.
Did you catch up with any of the other performers?
Yes, I caught up a bit with Låpsley and Shamir. I love Shamir. Ibeyi, I love them. Who else?
Did you meet Matty Healy from The 1975? You tweeted him.
Oh! We didn’t meet. My friend Val is obsessed with him. I’m kind of fascinated by him too and I was like, “Let’s tweet him!” We were being ridiculous and then I sent him loads of DMs and he did reply but then I think I maybe freaked him out a bit, so I’m like, “Oh god, I think I need to chill with my stalking of Matty from The 1975!” I thought it was really funny and then I realized, maybe this is weird, what I’m doing.
That’s brilliant. I think you’re up to the 7th single from Communion. Are you done?
We’ve rinsed it pretty dry, I think. We could release one more song to just keep it going, but I think it feels kind of done. I still love some of the songs that haven’t been singles like “Ties” and “Worship.” I don’t know, it’s a label decision. I really like releasing singles because that means I get to make a video for it. I mean, we didn’t just make videos for the singles, but I go into creative mode. You get to think about the artwork. I actually like releasing the singles even though it probably seems to people like, “Dude, you need to chill. Stop releasing singles!”
How far along are you with the next album?
I’ve started writing songs, but I haven’t really… in the same way that none of us really thought, “This is how the first album is going to sound.” It just started with a collection of songs and we kind of went from there. I’ve started writing songs. I don’t know how it’s going to sound because I’m just getting material together and ideas. Then we’ll get into the studio later in the year and start producing stuff and making the actual sounds. Whenever that’s going to be. I’m kinda just letting myself be as open as possible. Not trying to put much pressure on myself.
Do you have a wish list of producers and collaborators?
I just want to work with people that I really like and have brilliant minds. I guess I’ve been trying to work with Dev Hynes for a really long time and we keep missing each other, but I really hope that will happen.
Are you nervous about matching the success of your first album?
Kind of. I also think, the first album did so much more than I actually ever imagined it would do. I feel like we achieved so many things I always wanted to achieve. I feel quite free, I feel much freer in a way because making the first album was kind of crazy. We were hyped and then it felt like we had to deliver. Then it came out and it had some success and that was a crazy experience. Now I sort of feel like, “Well, whatever happens next, it’s cool,” because there’s less pressure in a way.
Do you prefer touring in the UK, where you’ve had so much success, or is it nicer flying under the radar a little in the US?
It’s so fun to play in the UK, we play arena shows. I get to come up in a lift and have outfit changes, have dancers on stage, which is just so much fun. I love it. I find it hilarious that it’s happening. It’s amazing and the response is great. That is fun. But it isn’t that different in America. Obviously, we don’t play those shows, but touring is the same.
It feels like less pressure in a way because we don’t get talked about in the media. I don’t know if that makes a difference, but it’s nice to be an underdog in a way. The only thing is, we get to stay at better hotels in the UK or Europe.
What’s the strangest thing that’s happened on your US tour?
I found Coachella pretty strange because it seems very celeb-y in a way the festivals in Europe don’t. I guess because it’s so close to LA, it has these major stars going. It feels like a place people go to have their picture taken and then they leave. All these girls wandering around asking for the WiFi password. It’s just quite surreal. You can spot Kendall Jenner or whatever. It’s something else. I also was really jet-lagged, so maybe that made it feel really weird.
Thanks for the chat. I’m looking forward to hearing new music.
Thank you. It’s been great.
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