Lorde has opened up about the creative process behind her fourth studio album, Virgin, revealing that a “reexamination of her gender expression” played a significant role in its formation.
In an interview with artist Martine Syms for Document Journal, the New Zealand singer shared that she has recently “come into my masculinity a bit more,” and that her new album is a “byproduct” of “fully coming into my body and feeling the fullness of my power.”
While discussing her guest performance with Charli XCX at Coachella, Syms observed that the duo resembled “two really strong, powerful people who are also both hot and talented and having fun, getting to be themselves in a way that probably wasn’t possible 20 years ago.”
Lorde credited ongoing progress in the music industry and popular culture, “where it feels like this room for your humanity or being yourself is a little bit more prized.”
Ahead of creating Virgin, Lorde said she “read a lot of queer writers,” and revealed that the album began to take shape after she wrote the lead single, ‘What Was That,’ which marked a “rebirth” of her artistry.
“I had come back from London to New York after this period of great turbulence in my personal life,” Lorde explained. “Becoming single, but also really facing my body stuff head-on, and starting to feel my gender broadening a little bit.
Photo: Thistle Brown
“Just being back in my house and feeling this big wave of grief. I just kept thinking, What was all of that? Whether it was my seven-year relationship or a pandemic or sacrificing my body to my career since I was 16 or 17.
“This feeling of, Oh, my God, so much has moved through me. And there’s so much mystery and pain. I just held the mic and sort of walked around the room and said it all. I didn’t write anything down, which was cool.”
In an email to fans unveiling the title and cover of Virgin—which features a blue-toned X-ray of a pelvis with a visible IUD—Lorde described the album as a reflection of her femininity. Among the words she used to characterise that femininity was “masc”.
“THE COLOUR OF THE ALBUM IS CLEAR. LIKE BATHWATER, WINDOWS, ICE, SPIT. FULL TRANSPARENCY. THE LANGUAGE IS PLAIN AND UNSENTIMENTAL. THE SOUNDS ARE THE SAME WHEREVER POSSIBLE,” she wrote.
“I WAS TRYING TO SEE MYSELF, ALL THE WAY THROUGH. I WAS TRYING TO MAKE A DOCUMENT THAT REFLECTED MY FEMININITY: RAW, PRIMAL, INNOCENT, ELEGANT, OPENHEARTED, SPIRITUAL, MASC.”
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Due for release 27 June, Virgin marks Lorde’s first full-length album since Solar Polar (2021), which delivered singles such as the title track, ‘Stoned at the Nail Salon’, ‘Fallen Fruit’ and ‘Mood Ring’.
Virgin‘s aforementioned lead single, ‘What Was That’, was met with overwhelming praise from fans and critics and debuted at number-one in her home country. Additionally, the electropop banger became her first chart-topper on US Spotify since her 2011 debut single ‘Royals’.
You can read Lorde’s full interview with Martine Syms for Document Journal here, and watch the music video for ‘What Was That’ below.
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