OCTOBER 2019 • UNCUT• 15
youbegantowritesongsfor
thenewalbum,ordidyou
discovertheirstoryasyou
wentalong?
LaurelAlbright,viaemail
BeforeI startedthealbumI had
a scriptideafortheLostGirls,
whichI wasdevelopingwith
BarryJenkins’production
company,Pastel.Afterbeing
inLAfora fewmonthsthis
storycametomeofNikki
andtheLostGirls,because
I wasgoingouttothedesert
a lotandwalkingaround
thesuburbs,andI thoughtit
wouldbefuntohavea gang
ofrebel,motorbike-riding
vampiregirlsthatcomefrom
thedesertandinfiltratea
town.I wentintothestudio
todosomemusicfortheJJ
AbramsseriesCastleRock
andcameupwith“KidsIn
TheDark”,whichI realised
soundedlikea soundtrackto
theLostGirlsstory.Sothat’s
howI continuedwiththe
album. My music definitely
tendstofilterthrougha maincharacter,
oranaspectofmypsychethatcomesout.
I don’tmeantocreateallthesealteregos,
it’sjustbecauseI lovetellingstories.
Whatareyourfavourite1980sfilms?
StephenKahlig,Texas
I loveET. I loveTheGoonies,TheKarate
Kid,RepoMan,LostBoys,TheHunger
withDavidBowie.The’80swasa decade
wheretherewasa lotofmoneygoing
intothecreativeindustries,soyouwere
gettingtheseveryoptimisticblockbuster
kidsfilms,buttheyalsohada heartand
soultothem.It wasallaboutgivingpower
tothekidsandtheirimagination.There
wasa naivetytothesefilms,everything
wasn’tsopostmodernandcynicaland
awareofitself.Technologywasmagical
andmysteriousstill.Thefuturewas
open-ended,it seemedliketherewasa
possibilityofmakingthingsbetter.Now,
we’resoinundatedwithinformation,
theredoesn’tseemtobeasmuch
willingnesstosuspendyourdisbelief.
I waswatchingGoggleboxtheotherday
andtheyhada kidsonewheretheyall
watchTheWizardOfOz. I waswaitingto
seetheirreaction,becauseit’soneofmy
all-timefavouritefilms.Butallthekids
werelike,“Oh,that’ssucha badlypainted
backdrop.”Theywerenothavinganyofit!
Everyone’sjustsoknowing.Maybepeople
wouldlaughatthose’80sfilmsnow.
Wasthesong“Laura”abouta
specificpersonanddidit succeedin
helpingthemoutofa darkplace?
Anna-LeePratt,Shipley
I wrotethatsongthedayaftera very
hedonisticparty,formyfriendwhowasin
a difficultplace.Butit wasalsoforVenus
XtravaganzafromthedocumentaryParis
Is Burning, andeveryoneinAndyWarhol’s
entourageoffabulousbrokenpeople.
Therearea lotofpeopleI knowwhoare
the life and soul of the party but under
NowlivinginsuburbanLA,
inspirationforherfilmic
fifthalbumLostGirls,
NatashaKhantalks’80s
movies,snake charmers,
“motorbike ridingvampire
girls”andwhatshelearned
from Depeche Mode
Khanand
herLost
Girls
H
AVINGjustflowninto
Londonthepreviousday,
NatashaKhan– thesedays
a residentofHighlandPark,
LosAngeles– is savouring
a propercupoftea.“IdotakePGTips
overwithme,”sheconfides,“butthe
water’sdifferent,soit stilldoesn’ttaste
quiteright.”Inherfirst 36 hoursbackin
England,Khanhasalsoenjoyedthenovel
sightofgreenfieldsandpubgardens,
“butI’vealsonoticedtheanger,whichis
quitedisconcerting”.
Shesaysthatoneofthereasonsshe
movedtoLAwastofreeherselffromthe
oppressiveBritishnewscycle.“Over
there,thereisn’tthattensionin
theair,evenif it doesfeellike
peopleareina bubble.I was
veryaffectedbythepoliticsand
thefeelingsofsocialunrestin
theUK,sogoingtoLAwassort
oflikepressinga resetbutton.It
mightsounda bitlikeI’veburied
myheadinthesand,butit’s
beenveryrejuvenatingformeto
goawayandmakeanalbumthat
feelsquitepureanduplifting.”
ThatalbumisLostGirls,
a rich,escapistsynthpop
fairytale,asfilteredthrough
theappealingprismofclassic
’80steenfilms.Howdoesthe
real-lifeLAcomparetothe
fantasyversionexploredon
LostGirls? “Ifeelit’spretty
close.Justseeingpeachy
sunsetswithsilhouettesof
palmtrees,youdoconstantly
feelthatyoushouldbeseeing
creditsrollingoverthat.I get
quitea buzzoffthesensory
feelingofbeinginCalifornia,
andit hasn’twornoffyet.”
DidyoudreamupNikki
and the Lost Girls before
It’s qu ite
feminine but also a
bit heavy metal
ANAUDIENCEWITHBATFORLASHES
InterviewbySAM RICHARDS
LOGAN WHITE
