Earlier this month, Debby Friday dropped her new album The Starr of the Queen of Life, and it’s a wild ride. Known for flipping styles Friday has made a record that’s all about the deconstruction of genres and the creation of something new.
She teamed up with producer Darcy Baylis, and together they built a sound that’s raw and daring. A lot of the album was recorded in London, think noise, lights, late nights, and endless inspiration — and you can feel that chaos and energy in every track. Friday just announced two UK shows for October and dropped the video for current single, ‘Alberta.’
Friday’s love of words drives her experimentalism and although she only just came into her own as a singer, she’s looking to incoporate opera and a ‘crazy heavy metal fry scream’ in the near future. Loverboy caught up with Debby to talk The Starr of the Queen of Life & the wild directions she’s taking her sound.
Debby, congrats on your new album. Which track are you most excited for people to hear?
The whole album! It’s all goes together, you know?
Is there a song on there that you’re like, ‘Oh it’s going to be interesting to see who gets this one?’
ppp (Interlude) and Arcadia.
After hearing the singles, I knew the project approached a lot of genres. Did you go into the project with specific genres you wanted to incorporate? Or was it more organic than that?
My approach to music has always been one of hybridity. I love pulling from all music genres and making something new out of the parts. It’s never really a conscious thing, it’s just the way I do things.
Some of the album was recorded in London. What influence did the city have on the album?
So much! I think of London as a very postmodern city and I feel like you can hear that on the record and its blending of styles and geography and influences.
‘All I Wanna Do Is Party’ was an early favourite for me. I love the structure. I feel like it has a second chorus situation going on right? Can you tell us about structuring the track?
Thank you for mentioning this! I never see people talk about the arrangements of songs but that’s an art in and of itself. So much of this new album has really experimental arrangements and a lot of sick outros, which is something I haven’t done before. For Party, I knew I wanted to flip things around and start the song with the chorus and have the verse as the support beam of the track instead so that’s what I did. The result is almost psychedelic when you listen to it because it tricks your brain and actually surprises the ears.
In fact, one Brit production team who love a second chorus are Xenomania and are famous for their maximalist approach. What’s your take on pop maximalism?
As a producer, I’m such a maximalist and I come from a noise and industrial music background so I think the idea of ‘too much’ in a track is subjective. But I also believe in things like harmony and beauty and restraint, all of which I’m coming to appreciate the more I mature.
I love some of the lyrics on here too. ‘Poetry and nude selfies. Love the way that you know me. Touch the back of my right knee. Tongue ya down just like Delphi.’ Can you tell us more about your journey with writing lyrics and also your favourite lyric on the album?
Haha, those are probably my favourite lyrics on the album. As well as ‘Remember those nights in Alberta? Top down on the hood of the Porsche.’ I love words. I started off as a writer when I was very young. It was my first creative love and I always thought I would be an author. I read all the time. I’m a poet. I have a blog. I’m writing a book. I love words. They require playfulness and agility and openness. I feel like I became a better songwriter through making this album, for sure. I had to let go of a lot of self-imposed boxes and allow myself and my mind and my tongue to roam more freely. Not to be crass but there’s a sensual component to good writing. It washes over you and touches you inside. I’m always aiming to do that.
I really loved ‘Darker The Better’ and the Post Punk energy it gave me but also with a little 00s Le Tigre thrown in the mix. Can you tell us more about the creating of this song?
‘Darker The Better’ is so layered for me, both thematically and sonically. The original demo is a lot heavier and harsher but then I brought it to Darcy and he kind of mellowed it out in this way that made all the pain and conflicted emotions in it sound sweeter. It felt like it made more sense with the subject matter to go that route. It’s about bittersweetness – how something can be so good because it’s so bad. It’s about toxic relationships but also the music industry but also whatever. I love it! I love it!
I read that you didn’t consider yourself a singer until this album? What’s been your favourite thing about this transition and were you nervous at the beginning?
My favourite thing has been discovering the flexibility of my voice and taking actual pleasure in singing. I was very shy at first but I love singing now. I feel so much more comfortable in it and I feel like I can try new things. I love that I can go from deep, heavy, growly tones to ethereal falsetto to screaming punk. I want to try so many things in the future. Like opera. Or a really crazy heavy metal fry scream.
We need to discuss your videos too because they are killer. And actually shout out to your pose on the album cover too! Tell us about how you approach your visuals. What’s on your moodboards?
No moodboards. I use my dreams and meditation and pull from the deep evil centre of the collective unconscious. Haha, just half kidding. I take a very filmic approach to all my visuals because I’m also a filmmaker and I believe in things being cohesive or having a completeness to them. I’ve attempted this several times but it’s only recently that I feel like I’ve started to get somewhere tangible with that approach. All the visuals for this album were shot at once, in one shoot. They function as stand-alone music videos but there’s this central idea of a stage play and the recurring motif of the ‘starrr’ that ties it all together. I would say I’m half satisfied with the way it turned out, which is a lot higher than in the past. I love the challenge of developing a visual language. It’s actually very hard to communicate thoughts this way but working on it has made me a better artist.
Lastly we are named after the biggest-selling single of 2001 and always ask what is your favourite Mariah song?
Mariah Carey’s The Emancipation of Mimi was the first CD I ever bought with my own money. I was in elementary school and I played that thing until it turned to dust. I adore her. It’s so hard to choose a favourite but I’ll go with ‘Shake It Off’ and ‘We Belong Together’.
The Starr of the Queen of Life is out now.
Debby Friday plays London & Manchester this October.
