Interview with Vogue Germany
Nov 29, 2018 17:39:53 GMT
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Post by TamyXD on Nov 29, 2018 17:39:53 GMT
Avril Lavigne never wanted to be the pop-punk girl - and sees her new album as a fresh start.
The skater girl from back in the days finally wants to be mature - and in doing so, musically broaden her horizons.
"He was a skater boy, she said see you later boy": Pretty much everyone who was in their teens at the beginning of the 2000s knows these lyrics. The skater girl who sang these lines was Avril Lavigne, but was she really? She never saw herself in the punk-rock image, as she kept saying later. But public liked seeing it in her, it simply fit so well, and millions of teens could identify with the shallow pop-punk, which seemed rebellious, yet was still so agreeable.
And yet, before her breakthrough album "Let Go", Avril Lavigne used to sing gospel in church and country songs at home. With her new album "Head Above Water", which is announced for next year, she now returns to those roots. But she also wants to be a little jazz and a bit motown. To be free and honest is now the most important thing to the singer, who hasn't released new music in six years (among other things, because she suffered from Lyme disease). In an interview, she told us more about it.
Vogue: It's been five years since your last album was released. Was it easy for you to break out in a new direction?
Avril Lavigne: I especially wanted to return to my roots.
You probably don't mean the skater girl times with that...
Exactly, but simple, honest music. Not too much production, just the raw instruments. Lots of piano, a bit drums, mainly my raw voice. Okay, I still like a little rock 'n' roll, of course, there's one track with noisy electric guitars. But everything about this album follows my voice, not some sound you want to achieve artificially. Maybe that's why it ended up being so diverse.
Did also you write the songs with so many various instruments?
I think I never put so much heavy thinking into an album beforehand than now. I've carried so many feelings and thoughts with me – it took time and strength to translate that into songs. I sat at the piano for hours at a time. Somehow, in the beginning, that was easier for me than with a guitar. That came later.
Although the guitar is a part of said roots - as a child you used to sing in a church, as teenager country songs.
I loved – and lived – gospel and country. When I sang it was like praying. But I had to emancipate, maybe even free, myself from that. I got that feeling when I wrote my own songs.
And those can be a bit country now – "Head Above Water" sounds like that, anyway.
Definitely. But I like so many genres today. I think the album also has some jazz influences in places. There's some motown as well. Maybe, as a whole, it's a bit like a musical.
But there's no more punk-rock in that musical – even though the music industry turned you into a pop-punk poster girl in your early years. You later said you never actually were punk.
...even though saying that is actually pretty punk! Well: I was a tomboy and a bit of a rebel. So, there was a certain punk attitude, I also liked that fashion back then. But I always knew I wasn't creating punk-rock music, I myself never said so. You could probably hear some influence, but that was it.
Does your fashion style today also reflect this new diversity and freedom you want to show musically?
That's my aspiration – at least, and especially, in everything visual officially related to the album. In the first video I'm wearing a flowing, long dress. It's white and innocent and feels so liberating. Like a new start. That's where I'm standing right now. My album is also very relaxed and "pretty", in a way. I wanted to reflect that, too. By now, I'm a very spiritual person. The timeless imagery of the video, at the ocean and in the water, fits to that very well.
A few 70s influences seem to play a role, too.
Oh yes, I love the 70s right now! My style icon is Brigitte Bardot. We even share some similarities, the long, thick, blonde hair, for example. And I love the black eye makeup. Even though it doesn't have anything to do anymore with what I used to wear in my alleged punk-rock days, of course!
Your visual appearance on social media is very selected – only in August you deleted nearly all of your Instagram posts and started anew.
Having control is important – that's what I like most about social media. And that it's so fast. When I want to say something, I just post it. Maybe that seems pretty planned now but being close to my fans is actually very important to me. What I post is professional, but always completely honest.
You became famous before the times of Instagram. Do you think it would be easier or more difficult for you to make it as a musician today?
A lot easier, I think. When I was 17, I had to do millions of interview and travel to thousands of cities, play at just as many radio stations – just so the world would get to know me. I had to work hard because I was new, and no one knew me. Today, it's much less work for creative folks, the world can simply get to know and learn to love them digitally. But I never really thought about that before, funnily enough. Everything is as it is.
Original (in German): www.vogue.de/lifestyle/artikel/interview-avril-lavigne
