A year ago, Alison Goldfrapp finally caught something she’d been chasing for years: the Northern Lights. Yes, in August. After hunting them for ages, she finally tracked them down and they weren’t shy — all glittery greens and cosmic drama. Fast forward twelve months, and here we are with Flux, her brand-new album out today, glowing with the same intergalactic energy.

It’s her second solo chapter after the dazzling debut, The Love Invention, that introduced the world to a solo Alison Goldfrapp. This time, she turns the dial even further into the cosmos — a high-gloss collision of electro pulses, space-age disco, and the kind of euphoric synthscapes that make you want to dance in zero gravity.

Teaming up with UK electro-pop legend Richard X, synth-pop dream architect Stefan Storm from The Sound of Arrows, and her own expert hand on the co-production controls, Alison has built a record that’s both expansive and intimate. Loverboy catches up with Alison to discuss the trends in writing lyrics, sending fanmail to Prince & the power of Mariah’s décolletage.

So Alison, stay with me here but from the pagan aesthetic to the glam rock bangers, I’ve always felt that Goldfrapp’s music was very English…
It’s funny, people used to always say to me but to me it always felt very European. I feel very strongly about Europe. I LOVE EUROPE! Haha…But Supernature I would definitely say had more American influences. It’s funny when I was a kid, America was everything. Everything on the telly was Californian. I remember longing to surf and have long, blonde, salty hair.

Well, with Flux, it feels we have left England, Europe…the world far behind and we are heading into a total other orbit.
Yes, there’s definitely some of that. But again I feel like my beings are very similar. I always like to mix things that are very personal to me with things that are broader, more general. Then there is also the complete fantastical. It’s a combination of all those things.

Flux is your second solo album. Did you have the fear of the sophomore slump? Or did you exorcise that years ago?
It always feels difficult making an album. I don’t think your insecurities ever leave you in that respect. When you start something you always think, ‘Oh my God. What the hell am I doing? How the fuck did I do this before?’ I don’t feel that changes.

That’s interesting because if I were to compare it to The Love Invention, Flux feels more confident. Bigger, bolder…brasher.
I’m not sure about brasher. I don’t like to use that word but yes, it’s more personal. I think that’s quite clear in the lyrics. The boldness is maybe because of that. I also wanted to go back to a more definite song structure if you like. So for all of that, yes, I think the songs are stronger.

For me a standout is ‘Sound & Light’ which was inspired by your visit to see the Northern Lights. I love that we can all interpret things differently, because I would imagine the Northern Lights to be a more ethereal moment…
The Northern Lights are ethereal. What’s crazy is I saw these Northern Lights in August instead of the depths of winter. I like to think that this song summoned them.

Ah so this song was the energy of conjuring them, not a reaction to seeing them. That’s why it’s more of a banger than an ethereal moment. I see that now.
Yes, I wrote it and then saw them. That’s what I like about lyrics. I love people making their own interpretations of a song. Of course ‘Sound & Light’ has that euphoric feeling. I was also thinking about speed, racing through huge vistas and being in Sweden.

It’s interesting because there is a definite trend now with artists like Taylor and Lana to be as detailed as possible in their lyrics.
Yes, I have noticed that too. I think that style can be great. If someone can relate to that then it is a wonderful thing. It’s all about context. How it’s written and what kind of music it is set to.

Which style do you respond to better?
I don’t think it matters. It’s just about the feeling it gives you. That is the most important thing. It’s so interesting when you set lyrics to music. It can change the feeling and the meaning. When you just see it on paper it might seem quite contrived or basic but when you set it to music it adds a whole other dimension. Another narrative almost. I like both approaches. I  think creating your own narrative is just as rewarding if you like as well as having lyrics that really hit, are on the nose and personal.

‘Reverberotic’ is currently going platinum in my house. I feel it has a kinkier element to it…
I guess it is a bit kinky. That song was something very very different at the beginning. But it evolved and evolved. It’s a song that reflects my obsession with humans, machines and the fantastical.

I particularly enjoyed the lyric, ‘Your sweet elixir is part of me now.’ What exactly is this elixir we are talking about?
It’s like a sort of potion. It’s a metaphor for a….feeling. But it’s also a potion that you might drink in order to feel something else.

A love feeling perhaps?
Love, yes. It could be power, euphoria. Anything you want.

And what emotion did you personally feel from this specific elixir that became part of you?
Oh I don’t know! I wrote the song and I felt good doing it! Haha…

Intriguing. Haha…You co-produced Flux and you always produce your own material. When we hear about ‘producers’, especially as collaborators, they nearly always tend to be men. When will we hear about more women producing other women’s work?
Well I think women probably do produce for other women, you just don’t hear about it as much. I definitely think there are quite a lot of women out there producing for other people. But yes, maybe not as much as men.

Are there any female artists that you would like to produce?
I have thought about that. I would quite like to write and produce something for somebody else. I don’t have anybody particularly in mind but it’s definitely something I would be interested in.

How has the way you measure success changed throughout your career?
I think it has always been how the fans respond to you. I have so much more direct contact with fans now via social media which I think is really nice. I like that element of having direct feedback if you like. That’s how I’ve always measured it I think.

What’s this I was reading about you sending fanmail to Prince in your twenties?
Yeah, I was at Art school and did little sound performances. I used to write to Prince and ask him to come and see me perform! I wrote to the Paisley Park studios but I never heard back from him unfortunately…and maybe unsurprisingly!

I am a huge Mariah Carey fan and used to write to her.
Oh my God and did you ever get a reply?

No. Never. Haha…
Aww…

We are actually named after her song, ‘Loverboy’, and always ask what is your favourite Mariah Carey song?
I have to be quite honest here and say I know nothing about Mariah Carey other than she can hit a lot of fucking high notes. Actually I’ve seen her on a few things and she has quite a good, dry sense of humour too. Oh and I saw her in a film once too. I like her for all those things.
My ex-partner liked Mariah Carey. He’d always say what a great voice she had. But I think it had nothing to do with her vocal performance. He just liked her tits actually. It was her cleavage, her sumptuous breasts!
The only song of hers that I know is the Christmas song but I don’t even know what it’s called. It’s a good one though, I like it.

There was something she said that made me think of you and your recently launched label A.G. records. She said ‘I remembered seeing a documentary on The Beatles growing up and being shocked they didn’t have complete ownership of the songs they had written. So I knew not to give away all my publishing.’
Well, she’s clever isn’t she? A wise business woman. I’m not very good with all that sort of thing. I’ve never tracked where I am in the charts or record sales.

Has it been a scary step starting your own label?
Yes and it has been educating in many ways. I feel really good about having done it. My management gave me the confidence to do it. It feels very liberating although it has been terrifying at times. When you see every little penny going out of your account! I hope I am not dead before I see the fruits of my investment!

Well, I just ordered my signed copy so you have my money.
Oh did you? Fantastic. Thank you very much. Now if you could just order a few more please. Give them to your friends or something! Christmas is just around the corner, you know! Haha…

Flux is out now.