Lorde’s new song “Solar Power” may have leaked earlier than she intended, but she’s taking it all in stride. In a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, the singer says she’s not angry about the change of plans.
“I mean, listen I love it. Kids are insane,” Lorde says. “I love it. I respect it. I love how hungry they are. Tonight is the solar eclipse, you know, you got to follow the vibes.”
And indeed the song, released Thursday night, captures a sunny, summery vibe. Lorde says the tune was inspired after a fun summer day on Martha’s Vineyard. After a day of swimming, she started playing around on her keyboard and came up with the melody.
“I was like, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I love it,” she says. “And then I just put it away and had a paddle board, I think, but it really was such a natural, like joyful extension of an awesome day.
Lorde later took it to producer Jack Antonoff and they finished the song.
“We had all the windows open. It was summer. And then we just followed it through,” she says. “…I sampled cicadas on my phone for the last few summers. I was like, it has to have the cicadas in it. I really wanted to capture [that] there’s something so specific about the New Zealand summer.”
Lorde also credits Robbie Williams’ “Rock DJ” and Scottish rock band Primal Scream’s 1990 song “Loaded” for influencing the song’s sound.
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