Its not so bad in L.A. she softly croons of the California metropolis on hernew album,Super Sunset.
Its not like Ihatethe city.
When I got here I was completely charmed and mesmerized by L.A.
Credit: Vijat Mohindra
I was like,why do people s-talk this city?I liked it.
It felt magical to me.
Read on for the full interview.
Vijat Mohindra
Thats true; theres only one song people wont have heard [when it drops].
But we also have, like, the intro and the interlude?
[Laughs]
It was a smart rollout!Did you see my clapback?
Vijat Mohindra
I said, Sorry for trying to give my beloved fans a six-month experience.
Also, I feel like this is a body of work where there wasnt one clear single.
Theyre all on equal ground and I wanted each one to have its moment.
I got back and…. went to run some errands.
Its such a weird city.
I sarcastically started singing, Its not so bad in L.A. / The parkings cheap in valet.
Those words came out right away.
Its hard to put the sentiment of the song in one sentence.
Its tongue-in-cheek, but its not like Ihatethe city.
Its a contradiction between glamour and desperation, because they coexist [here].
Was that the first inkling of the album concept?Id been writing without any concept in my head.
These experiences in Los Angeles kept fueling the songs.
After that, I wrote the whole thing pretty quickly.
I was like,why do people s-talk this city?I liked it.
It felt magical to me.
But youre still living there?Yeah!
Writing this body of work has been therapeutic.
I go on hikes, ensure I get in the ocean, and leave the city a lot.
Its not an element ofhatingL.A.
; its negotiating my relationship with it.
Thats represented by these different alter egos.
The album has one larger story thats a little less present…. which is I fell in love.
Theres that glimmer of hope and magic.
Thats what Focus is about.
So to find a partner in the city was amazing, and it still blows my mind.
Especially because Ive never had many relationships.
Ive always been somewhat of a loner.
When I came to L.A.
I was like, the classic reality show line, Im not here to make friends!
[laughs] but Im not here to date!
Im here to work and accomplish my career goals.
Theres The Nun; shes like me arriving in L.A. totally naive.
Then theres The Hollywood Starlet, whos the opposite.
Shes what Hollywood does to The Nun.
Shes always smiling and delusional about howgorgeousshe is, even though she looks kind of grotesque.
The third one is Sci-Fi Girl.
She represents the Allie X persona and all the sides of me I choose to show the world.
Like the Starlet, this albums lyrics are grotesquely glamorous.
Those dark spaces balance with bright pop production here, and you worked with a lot of new producers.
What was that process like?This album was crazy in terms of how many producers were involved.
We got into using the M1, an old, classically cheesy synthesizer from the 80s and 90s.
We played around with those sounds.
I wanted to have an analog warmth on this record by dirtying up the production.
Science definitely takes me there.Thats one of my favorites.
With this record and Science in particular, I went back to layering the s out of instruments.
OnCollXtion III proudly announced that I was more into minimalism [laughs].
But then on this record I layered the s out of it again.
[Laughs] Nothing that I can announce!
