For her third album, Dua Lipa collaborated with indie star Tame Impala – with amazing results. In the interview, the pop singer talks about inspiration, hope and optimism.
It’s no coincidence that Dua Lipa’s third studio album is called “Radical Optimism”. The 28-year-old has made the concept of thinking positively even in difficult situations her life motto. “I always, really always try to stay optimistic, no matter what happens,” says Lipa in an interview with the German Press Agency in London. “It’s not always easy. Sometimes everything just goes wrong and you still have to persevere.”
At least from the outside, everything is going well for the British-Albanian singer at the moment. With her perfectly produced disco-pop album “Future Nostalgia” she became a global star. In addition to her pop career, the multiple Grammy winner is active as a model, podcaster and, more recently, also in supporting roles as an actress in Hollywood films (“Barbie”, “Argylle”).
Collaboration with Tame Impala
Dua Lipa had collected almost 100 songs in her notebook – many of them before she went on tour with “Future Nostalgia”. “I just wrote until I realized where I wanted to go,” she says. It was only through working with Kevin Parker, better known as the creative genius behind the name Tame Impala, that the new album began to take shape. Producer Danny Harley, songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and songwriter Caroline Ailin, who wrote the hit singles “New Rules” and “Don’t Stop Now” with Lipa, were also involved.
“When I worked with Kevin in 2022, the first session was an eye-opener,” says Lipa. “Kevin, Danny, Tobias, Caroline and I wrote the song ‘Illusion.’ The next day we wrote ‘Happy For You,’ and the next day, ‘Watcha Doing.’ That’s when I realized what direction we were going. “
The first of three pre-released singles – “Houdini” – suggested a slightly different, darker sound with analog synthesizers and distinctive keyboard riffs. On the other hand, the second single – “Illusion” – was the almost expected Dua Lipa club hit and, with borrowings from French House, seemed like a remnant of the polished “Future Nostalgia”. However, the progressive synthesizer solo of “Illusion” suggested that she might try new things.
The moody Latin house number “End Of An Era” introduces Dua Lipa’s third studio album with a swing and, like most of the following songs, immediately sticks in your ear. The 28-year-old processes experiences from her own love life – which she doesn’t want to talk about – and sings about jumping to conclusions and being “hopelessly romantic”. Is she really a hopeless romantic? Lipa’s response: “I would like to consider myself hopeful.”
New worlds of sound
Certainly thanks to Parker’s influence, “Radical Optimism” fascinates with rich sound worlds that were previously unknown from Dua Lipa. From summery, groovy pop with a cheerful 80s synthesizer (“Watcha Doing”) to sophisticated trip hop (“French Exit”) to the driving disco ballad, which stylistically lies somewhere between Giorgio Moroder and Eurovision kitsch (“Falling Forever “) – the album doesn’t get boring and sounds lively at all times.
“After touring for so long in 2022, I fell in love with the live versions of the songs even more,” says the singer. “And that’s why it was important to me to have live instruments, something organic, just being in a room with a group of people and almost feeling like a band. I hadn’t done anything like that before.” This is downright refreshing.
Original details enrich the songs. Particularly cool: in the chorus of “Maria” you can hear a catchy flute melody that is hard to resist. The rousing dancefloor hit with acoustic guitars is certainly addictive and should actually be a single.
It wasn’t a specific style of music that inspired her, but a particular energy, says Lipa. She listened to “Screamadelica” by Primal Scream, “Dummy” by Portishead and the Massive Attack albums very often. “I love this free flow, the melody,” enthuses the singer, “the feelings that it triggers in me, the euphoria that I felt when listening to it. And that was the energy that I wanted to convey with my album. ” Said and done.
Music journey instead of Spotify algorithm
In a time when songs are written for the Spotify algorithm, Dua Lipa sees the album as a complete work. “For me it was about the sound of one song leading to the next and taking people on a journey.” She is of course aware that many fans will pick out individual songs. “I would love for people to hear it in one sitting, but I can’t control how they listen to their music. I can only present it the way I would want them to hear it.”
It’s actually worth listening to “Radical Optimism” from the first minute to the last. “Happy For You” ends with a powerful soundscape and a synthesizer outro that is reminiscent of the Moog escapades of progressive rock legend Rick Wakeman. Who would have expected that?
Dua Lipa’s rousing new songs are qualitatively miles ahead of the amount of mediocre pop songs that regularly fill the charts and whose performers have to seriously fear being replaced by artificial intelligence. With “Radical Optimism” Dua Lipa confirms her status as one of the most important pop stars of the moment. Her third studio album is her best yet.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
