Bartłomiej Warowny, Interia Muzyka: “PLAYHOUSE” is your first album, and you have already mastered the conceptual approach. It is coherent and linear.
Sarah James: The concept of an album is usually created at the beginning. In my case, however, the idea to put the pieces together appeared after they were written. It’s interesting how you describe the album, because when writing it, I didn’t know yet that it would be released under the name “PLAYHOUSE”. The name of the album may bring to mind something sweet, charming, telling the story of a dollhouse. I demolish this theory. I wanted this picture to be real, and at the same time unreal and simply mine.
I can hear you tearing down a dollhouse. You tear out their hair and break their legs, because the album is really dark at times…
The music on the album is quite dark because I discuss heavy topics there. The album is divided into two parts – one of them I worked on in Los Angeles, where my producer John and I locked ourselves in the recording studio and just recorded. I was in a big hole then. I experienced the worst moments of my life there. Mentally it was very difficult… It’s true that there are happy emotions on the album, but they are usually accompanied by anger and jealousy. It’s human. Of course, there is no shortage of “hyping gay people”, dancing, laughter and pride. At the end of the day, all the topics I tackle are met with darkness.
I call the second part of creating the album “the European part” because I literally traveled all over Europe to make good music. In the end, it all came together in “PLAYHOUSE”, so I’m glad that this concept resonates. The project is a metaphor for my head – the house is my brain, from here I can do whatever I like there. If I want, I will tear down walls, build floors, or I can leave and never come back to this place.
The theme of home appears in the music videos for “PSYCHO” and the song “DETOX”!
Yes! I wanted to combine it into a coherent whole. Everything that will harmonize with the “PLAYHOUSE” era. The theme of home best described what the songs were about. When I recorded the intros and outros for the album, I wanted the listener to have the impression that I was standing in front of the house – there were external sounds of the yard, a gust of wind, the atmosphere of being outside. It’s a cool concept. In the last track on the album, you can hear the sounds of the kitchen – something is frying in a pan, we end the musical story. I really wanted to include small nuances.
Not all artists decide to combine their albums into one story. Did you care about consistency?
I’m a fan of conceptual designs. I like it very much. You can then tell a nice story about it, tell an interesting story, but it must also be admitted that there is a lot of beauty in concept albums. Today, trap is the most popular in our country and everything is done haphazardly. Of course, I’m not talking about all artists, but there are those who call themselves “artists”, and this “artistry” is simply not heard because they create rubble. It’s sad. I understand that it’s catchy and it’s understandable why such music sells, but it’s not very ambitious. It’s always the same song: songs about sex, drugs, money… As if they wanted to say: “Look how wonderful I am.” Every issue is about the same thing, which is sad.
Unless it’s Ariana Grande from 2019 or Billie Eilish…
Yes! Period! You know, it’s not a bad thing, but my point is that there’s just a good way to do it. Just like Ariana or Billie!
These are artists who pay attention to their videos. It’s obvious that you also care about a nice picture.
I like to package my music nicely. Once I record something, I don’t usually watch my videos over and over again. It’s fun to go back and see where I was at. For the latest album, I wanted to translate my ideas into an image that would represent the content of the entire album.
How do you remember the set of the music video for “PSYCHO“?
This is one of my biggest productions. Rooms were built for me, a beautiful house was built. The craziest situation was when I walked onto the set. When I saw the finished house, I was shocked because it looked identical to the place in Los Angeles where I recorded the album. No one talked about it, no one determined it – it was a bit scary, but also fascinating.
It made you feel more comfortable on set…
Yes! It looked the way I wanted it to look, so recording was a wonderful process. I wanted to combine an American image with a European aura – the clips are not sweet and perfect.
You are booked & busy because you are still dynamic. How do you stay grounded?
I have good people around me. It’s very grounding – the wonderful people who surround me make me feel like myself, despite often packed schedules, thousands of meetings and a lot of events related to the premiere of new projects. I surround myself with an honest environment, which I appreciate very much.
Do you have a free hand in creating the muse? Do they order you around a bit?
I was once told to change my voice. When I heard this, I didn’t know whether to cry, leave, or otherwise. It’s completely different now. I used to be more shy because I was, like, twelve years old. At times I was afraid to stand my ground, but now I know what I want. Over time, I started to notice that my ideas were really great, so I had fun putting them into practice.
My favorite song from the album is “LIKE ME”. At the Palladium you played the pre-premiere number “KIKI”, which is also strong. Do you have a favorite?
I love “COLLARBONE”, “LIKE ME”, “TINY HEART”… I can’t choose one favorite because all these songs are my babies! “KIKI” will also see the light of day soon, so I can’t wait. I’m working on a reissue of the album and there will be new songs. Coming soon!
We are waiting! What if you had one law for everyone in the world to follow, what would it be?
Let’s respect people the way we want to be respected. It’s important to remember that we never really know what a person is going through. Sometimes, when we see someone angry or sad, we immediately judge them instead of saying: “Hey, what’s up? Do you want to talk?” People often add to themselves, which is sad. Maybe this “unpleasant” person is going through a difficult moment in his life? Maybe she feels lonely? Let’s just be human, let’s think. What is currently happening in the world is tragic and breaks my heart. We need more empathy, let’s be good, because “karma’s a bitch”.
Thank you at the end of our conversation, Beyoncé, or should we give up?
Thank you… just in case.