We’ve had so much info about what’s going on with the 1975 tonight, it’ll probably keep us fed for months – and almost all of it direct from Matty Healy’s gob.
Appearing on BBC Radio 1 and Beats 1, we’ve had info about a new ‘era’, a change of plans, two albums, touring and all sorts of other stuff. Here – in his own words – is what we can expect over the next twelve month.
‘Music For Cars’ isn’t an album, it’s an era. And it won’t be the end of the 1975.
“So, what it was. I realised when I was doing ‘I like it when you sleep..’, the album before this one. Any writer wants a good ending in their repertoire, that’s a thing that you want. The drive to do that stylistically was so potent within me when I was making the last record. I was thinking “well, I always said I wanted to do three albums and that’s what I’m going to do. I set out to do that. When I started making this record, the primary drive of why I want to make music, which is really the only thing that makes me happy, kicked in at such a rate that I thought, “well, I’m not going to stop doing The 1975 now. I’m not going to do 3 albums. I’m going to do loads of albums”. Not so many that we spoil it but I’m not stopping making records now because I just couldn’t bear the idea of it.
“Music for Cars is going to be an era. It’s going to be a time when we put out a collection of music.”
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The new album is called ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’. Though it isn’t finished yet.
“We haven’t even finished making the album. It’s not that it’s unfinished. Yeah, there’s an album. It’s called ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’ which is different.
But it’s one of two albums.
“It starts with two albums. ‘A Brief Inquiry…’ and when I come in later on the year I’ll tell you the title of the other one. It’s not a a double album because that would be prog and annoying. I don’t like double albums because I think they’re self serving and not good for fans. It’ll be two completely independent statements that we’re doing at the same time that we would make one album.
It’s partially because there’s too much to say musically to only do one record. Times are changing and the way we consume music and culture has changed so much that we wanted to do something that was representative of that. “
Oh, and obviously the ‘tell you later on in the year’ thing lasted exactly 5 minutes, before Matty told Zane Lowe on Beats 1 what that second album is called.
“We’re actually doing two albums, we’re doing ‘A Brief Inquiry Into Online Relationships’, and then I think May next year, we’re dropping ‘Notes on a Conditional Form’, which is a different album.”
They’ll be on tour in January.
“We’re not going to tour this year, we’re doing to start touring in January. And we’ll tour for ages.”
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‘Give Yourself A Try’ is straight off the production line.
“It’s so strange. That has literally come off the laptop. The record is not in a form where third parties are boxing it up and people are playing it to this guy and that guy. That is the only thing that exists outside of our computers back in the countryside. It’s quite surreal.
“We’ve always spoken that we create in the way that we consume. We’ve said that for years. We’ve never really been doing it as much as we’re doing it now. We wanted to feed off this as well. This is exciting for us. How people feel about our music is really important to us. To have the opportunity to have that and feed it back into a record whether it materialises as confidence or bold decisions.”
The album is, loosely, about sincerity.
“The record is about sincerity. I sat this all the time but The 1975 especially with my lyrics, is laden with post modern techniques, self reference, pop culture reference. I’ll say something here where someone might expect you to be a bit sentimental and I’ll be a bit throwaway and that will make people think it’s irreverent and be a bit endearing, that’s my whole schtick.
“On this record I didn’t feel like that. I just thought that being ironic all the time is slightly so ironic, especially living in England, where everything has to deconstruct itself. I don’t want to be post modern and ironic and a schticky all the time because to be truly human you have to be a bit naive, you have to be a bit soppy, you have to be a bit sincere when maybe it might make someone cringe. I don’t mind making people cringe because I’ve risked making them laugh my whole career.”
Matty Healy looks 22.
“Look at my face, I look alright. You heard it here first Matty Healy looks 22. That’s the headlines I want to see.“
And George. Well. George puts it best.
“He’s gone a bit Kanye”