At the beginning of this month of June, in which LGBTQ+ Pride month was celebrated, Romy Madley-Croft announces the release of her debut solo albumwhich will be titled ‘Mid Air’ and which will reach the ears of fans on September 8.
This new album not only represents a new facet in the career of the also vocalist of the xx, who like Jamie xx and Oliver Sim is venturing into a solo album. But also it becomes the materialization of the singer’s life in recent years.
Romy will release her solo album ‘Mid Air’ this 2023
A few weeks ago we had a chat via Zoom with Romy, who told us a little about what’s behind her album as a soloist and why this work that will finally see the light of day in 2023 is important to her after having delayed the release date due to the pandemic.
Surely many will remember, It was almost three years ago (in September 2020) when Romy released her first solo single: the song “Lifetime”, one that was inevitably inspired by the feelings caused by COVID-19, where she tried to keep her spirits up by listening to Lady Gaga’s ‘Chromatica’ album.
“Lifetime” was Romy’s first solo single.
“That song came out like kind of a reaction to feeling at home and missing my friends and connecting with the people I loveYou know, kind of trying to create that feeling for me with the music and with the song, like in my imagination,” Romy told us about “Lifetime.”
“It was hard to make those feelings happen being at home or apart during covid. So It was more of a “dream” song, and now when I play it it feels really special. Being able to connect with people and dance to that song together,” said the British singer.
Romy was inspired by the feelings she missed from being surrounded by her friends.
Despite the feelings of confinement, “Lifetime” is a quite energetic song with an obvious influence of the Eurodance of the 2000s and that, in the words of Romy herself, is inspired by the Swedish singer Robyn.
“It’s inspired by those kinds of emotional songs, but you can also dance to. The theme that has attracted me a lot throughout these songs and the album is make the lyrics connect with emotions, but the music is uplifting”Romy explained to us.
“Lifetime” is a song that one would not imagine, it came out of emotions from the isolation caused by the pandemic: “I wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to release the song, but I hoped it would make people happy,” Romy commented, who assured that it made her happy when the song had the expected response.
Fred Again… was in charge of the production of Romy’s solo album
Romy’s solo album, ‘Mid Air’, featured Fred Again… as one of the main producers. Something that definitely helped Romy to be able to create very personal songs, since she has a very close and special bond with the English producer.
One of the greatest proofs of this is the single “Strong”, which Romy and Fred wrote years ago when the singer’s cousin (who appears in the song’s official video) was mourning for a while after the death of his mother.
The most powerful part for me was when I started singing it live and really connected with the lyrics. Another shocking part was when we made the music video for “Strong”, In the video I am hugging my cousin and it is he with whom I am talking about my own journey with painbut I’m also thinking about him and how he’s dealt with losing his mother when he was young.
It was a very emotional moment where I was really able to tell him what the song was about and then we were standing together hugging each other. The people in the video shoot were saying “what is your connection?” Because they could sense that there was something between us in terms of family connection.
Romy Madley-Croft on her song “Strong”.
The producer was involved in several special singles for Romy
Romy’s solo album barely has four singles, being “Enjoy Your Life” y “Loveher” the ones that have attracted the most attention to the fans of the British singer and dj. In the case of “Enjoy Your Life”, is for the participation of Jamie xx, Romy’s friend and partner in the band the xx.
“Fred and I had created ‘Enjoy Your Life’ and it sounded very different. We played it for Jamie and he said “Oh, you know this other track that’s also called ‘Enjoy Your Life’? And then he sampled it on her. That really evolved the song,” Romy said of Jamie’s influence on this song.
Jamie XX also participated in Romy’s debut solo album
After Jamie XX’s intervention in this song, Romy brought “Enjoy Your Life” into the hands of the other producer, Stuart Pricewho helped him unite and balance all those different ideas, since several people had been involved in the creation of the song.
“I loved working with Jamie on that. When I work with Jamie on his music, there’s a level of respect because I know it’s his project.” Romy stressed the difference there is in working with your bandmate outside of the xx.
The singer Robyn and the musician Beverly Glenn-Copeland also had a role in one of the singles from ‘Mid Air’
“In the xx Jamie is very honest and we challenge each other in a different way, but when it comes to our individual projects, we are more supportive of the kind of ideas that come out of each of usRomy emphasized.
Jamie’s input, as already mentioned, was the sample to the song “La Vita”, by Beverly Glenn-Copeland, a transgender musician that Romy first learned about thanks to a concert in Stockholm that she attended thanks to Robyn.
“When I was listening to the song “La Vita” just… the lyrics are so simple, but so direct and it really made me think a lot about my mom and my family and the way that, you know, we deal with the pain and we try to see the positive aspects in life even though it’s so hard sometimes,” Romy confessed.
“I think dealing with the pain made me realize that life is short and you have to try to be grateful and see the good in things when it’s not always easy. So yeah, I really was so inspired by that concert,” she recalled.
Although Robyn influenced this song and Jamie XX gave it direction, Romy mentioned to us that after that concert she was in the studio with Fred Again…and began to create “Enjoy Your Life”. Of course, always giving credit to Beverly for the lyrics of said song.
On her solo album, for the first time Romy talks openly about loving a woman
Romy’s last solo single (for now) and which is undoubtedly a very special one for the singer, is “Loveher”. A song where the singer of the xx talks openly about loving a woman for the first time.
Something that in the end is a portrait of his current life next to his wife, who has been involved in Romy’s solo album by making the covers of the British singer’s singles.
“It felt pretty simple in a way, like that’s normal for me in my life. But you know, Sometimes I know that not everyone is comfortable being open about their sexuality.”Romy told us about “Loveher” and what the song means in her life.
“It is not always easy for people and It took me a while to get comfortable just writing that into my lyrics. When I wrote that song I felt a little liberated by saying ‘this is honest for me, this is like a reflection of what is happening in my life and my relationship,’” said the singer.
‘Mid Air’ also lets us see the most romantic side of Romy
And it is that although Romy has always sung heartbreak with the xx, the British artist had never spoken openly about loving a woman and sharing romantic moments with her. Something that she definitely does in the songs on ‘Mid Air’.
“Sometimes it’s hard to write songs about being really happy and in love without it feeling too corny or ingenuine, but I really tried to challenge myself to be honest and put into words how I felt about feeling positive and happy,” the singer told us.
Romy’s solo album was created in an environment where harmony, security and creativity flowed
‘Mid Air’ will reach our ears in September of this year under a concept where Romy surrounded herself with great friends, such as Fred Again… and Jamie XX, as well as several female, non-binary, and queer collaborators who created a safe environment.
“I was excited to collaborate more with the people around me and a lot of my friends are queer and I had the opportunity to meet and mix with some really amazing producers,” Romy said, assuring that it felt good to work with those people.
“I wouldn’t say I wanted to do that solely because they were queer, but it felt great in terms of working with new people who liked to talk about what their experiences are and it felt like a safe environment to be very comfortable,” she told us.
“I tried to work with a lot of different people for this album and in the end, you know, I mainly did this album with Fred and Stewart Price, but The whole journey of the album was inspired by having met and worked with a lot of people, which was very encouraging.” Romy added.
‘Mid Air’, Romy’s solo album, will reach our ears on September 8 and without a doubt, many of us already want to hear it, as it will show the most personal stage of Romy Madley-Croft in her journey from pain and mourning, to love and personal, musical fulfillment and in many other aspects.
