Singer-songwriter and DJ Romy Madley Croft, part of The xx, has revealed how a desire to stop hiding and start celebrating her queer identity inspired her to finally embark on a solo career.
On an episode of PEDESTRIAN.TV’s Shooting Stars series, Romy shared that her debut album Mid Air came about because she was simply too damn in love with her wife Vic Lentaigne.
“I kept writing all these songs that were actually very personal to me,” she recalled. “I was like, maybe I shouldn’t be giving these songs away. There’s this whole other side [to me], my love of dance music, celebrating queer culture that [hasn’t] been as visible within The xx.”
Romy added that it was “a relief” to let fans know how much she loves her wife, and mentioned it felt like she was sharing her diary with everyone. It didn’t seem like a hard decision to bare her soul though, as she said that queer representation is something close to her heart.
“It was important for me to be more visible, to celebrate lesbian love songs and have more of that in the world… When I was growing up it meant a lot to me to have that representation, but there wasn’t loads of it,” she explained.
To create her solo signature sound, she worked with music producers Stuart Price, Fred again.. and Jamie xx. Stuart is known for producing Madonna’s album Confessions on a Dance Floor and has worked with Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue and more. Fred again.. doesn’t really need an intro, with the king of electronic music causing a ticketing frenzy in Australia earlier this year.
“I met Fred Again… we both met and became very close. We wrote a song called “Loveher” and he was like, ‘Who is this for?’ and I was like, ‘Okay, I think this song is for me’,” Romy said.
“Took some of those demos and ideas to Stuart Price… to get to work with him as well was really inspiring.”
Romy was stoked to create a new experience for her Aussie fans, opting to put on concerts that felt like a nightclub sesh.
“To have these shows that aren’t festivals [and] people know the music and are here for this, has been very special. Because I’ve done a lot of festivals where you’re like, ‘Are you into this?’” she joked.
Since we’ve had some bad news about festivals here in Australia lately, it’s nice to know that Romy’s gonna be able to keep connecting with fans through intimate concerts.
To watch Romy Madley Croft’s full SHOOTING STARS episode, head to PEDESTRIAN TELEVISION now.
