Charli XCX FaceTimes Zane Lowe on Apple Music to discuss her experience of the Coronavirus pandemic so far and how she’s been using instagram live to try ‘provide some kind of entertainment for people at home’, and how she hasn’t left the house for six days but is getting creative to stay entertained by downloading Logic, for making music, and painting. She also talks about her admiration for Rico Nasty, and gives her thoughts on both Grimes and Lil Uzi Vert’s new albums.
On How She Is Adapting To The Coronavirus Pandemic…
"Well, I'm inside. I mean this is my, I think, sixth day now. I'm definitely... the past two days I'm feeling like more kid of frustrated. I feel like even though I'm doing a lot of things like talking to you, going on live streams. I am beginning to feel that sense of purposeless. Like what am I doing, how can I be creative. I bought an easel and a paint set. I mean I'm terrible. It's like not going to become a thing. I'm in the process of downloading Logic right now. So I'm like, okay maybe I'll start making some stuff but I don't know. The first few days I was kind of into it because I was like, wow, I never stay inside, I never enjoy my own space, this is really interesting, I'm actually enjoying the house that I live in but I never really like lived in it before. I'm always like, I've got to go out, I've got to do this but now I'm over that. That was four days ago. Now I'm done."
On Using Instagram Live To Connect and Entertain…
"You know I think with this kind of time period, it's important to really acknowledge it and understand the world that we live in but I also think it's important to be able to adapt and use the tools that you have to try and connect with people and, you know what I've been doing isn't that life changing or serious, like working out with Diplo on Instagram Live is not going to change anyone's life but I'm just trying to be productive with my time and provide some kind of entertainment for people at home, because I think really it's like the point is to encourage people to stay home so that we can help stop the spread of this virus so that we can support hospitals, infrastructures and I know that a lot of artists are doing live streams.
Miley has been doing a lot of really insightful live streams with people talking about this whole period of time and I just think whatever possible way, wherever you can use your platform to... whether it be make people smile or help educate people who might not be totally up to speed on everything, that's really great, and what have the downsides been?
Well especially with the workout, I definitely need to work on my plank. That's where I need work."
On The Last Time She Left The House, Being At Home, and the Catch 22 of Her Situation…
“It was six days ago. Although we're running low on some stuff now, so I might have to go out to a supermarket in a safe way and get some more supplies. I went out into my garden this morning, but I haven't gone out on a walk, I haven't left my property. It's been six days and I have these moments where I'll just be living my life and then suddenly I'll have this kind of existential thought where I'm like, "Whoa, this is crazy. I'm doing this, but the rest of the world is also doing this. Everybody is inside their house. This is the world now." It kind of blows my mind. I don't know. You know what I mean? I feel like I'm really high or something and I'm like, "This is insane." This is life. What's interesting as well is I'm fortunate enough that whilst, yes, I am inside, my circumstances have not drastically changed to a point where I'm in an extremely different situation. I don't have to support a young family. I don't have to support anybody who's elderly, and suffering with the virus, and has a low immune system. I'm extremely lucky and fortunate to be in that situation. For me, when I look around my world, yes, it's changed because I'm indoors and a lot of things have been cancelled. I think it's the same for a lot of people who are also in my situation. That's kind of trippy in itself because there's been this massive change, but it's also like we're in this bubble. It's kind of hard to register exactly how drastic it is. It's this very strange catch 22.”
On Being In Awe of Rico Nasty…
“I’ve mainly just been kind of like following and watching in awe really because I think her vibe is so unique. It feels like to me, kind of full on. She really commits to every single word that she says and what was cool was, the song only dropped a few days ago and this was the first piece of quarantine content that was of quite a high level music video that I really got to absorb. It kind of stuck with me for those reasons. I felt like, okay people are still releasing music, people are still really committing to their art, this feels really exciting.”
On Lil Uzi Vert’s New Album and How The Beats Are Ones She’d Pick Herself…
"King of the Kids. Yeah, I mean, I've been listening to the album. Honestly, this song though, I'm like, "This is genius." I've been waiting for somebody to do something with this Backstreet Boys hook forever and I'm honestly so happy with how this turned out. Not that it really matters what I think, but I'm very satisfied and again it feels so emotional to me. I just love it. I love the sound of his voice. I love the production. Honesty, a lot of the production on this album feels like kind of beats that I would have chosen to go over on my Pop Two Mixtape, obviously the outcome would have been completely different."
On What She Thinks of the New Grimes Album…
"She's in the best place. I'm happy she put that album out before this so that, I don't know, we could all really digest and just see it for an album, not like any kind of commentary. I don't know. I just feel like because she is so otherworldly, I feel like people always might interpret what she does as a certain.. But I'm just so happy that we got to just listen to the album as an album and it's so incredible. I really, really love it."
Listen to the full conversation on Zane’s show at 6pm today, for free, at apple.co/B1_Zane or on-demand with an Apple Music subscription.
