Kacey Musgraves joins Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 to talk about her new record, "Star-Crossed.” She explains how there is a stronger country influence than on her previous album "Golden Hour", talks about using psychedelics as a tool, and how the concept of her upcoming album is a modern day Greek tragedy in three acts.
Kacey Musgraves Tells Apple Music About Using Psychedelics As A Tool For "Star-Crossed"...
I feel I've been thinking about this lately. As releasing this album and talking to people about it - and the guided trip that I did is part of the story and it's part of the creation process - it's just funny how I would say journalists, kind of latch onto that. I mean, it's like, okay, it's just a part of the brand, but everyone loves click bait. So I'm just, all right, ground breaking. I don't know, I mean, it's just interesting. If you do any kind of research about psychedelics, and mushrooms, and plant therapy, I mean, it's really helping a lot of people. And I'm not here to be any kind of advocate on that. I just know what kind of works with me. And I would never push anyone to do anything that they're not comfortable with. But no, it's incredible though. And I went in, it was at the beginning of this year. I was like, I want the chance to transform my trauma into something else. And I want to give myself that opportunity, even if it's painful. And man, it was completely life changing in so many ways. But it also triggered this whole big bang of, not only the album title, but the song "Star-Crossed", the concept. Me looking into the structure of tragedies themselves, as an art form throughout time. I mean back in the Greek theatre, it was set around a tragedy. Oh my God, it brought me closer to myself. The living thread that moves through all living things, to my creativity, the muse. It was just, it's still all the same. And the common thread there is catharsis. I mean these audiences would go to the theatre to forget about their own traumas, for just a second. And they would witness these characters, the exposition, a climax, a downfall, and then a resolution and they would all leave. Days of Our Lives.
Kacey Musgraves Tells Apple Music About The Concept Of The Album: “It’s A Modern Tragedy In Three Acts”...
It's that and it's the most popular art form across time and I think it always will be. And yeah, it was like, "Man, tragedy, it's a modern tragedy in three acts." But for a while I was kind of freaked out. I don't have a concept, I don't have an album title. What is this going to be? It's just going to be a bunch of sad songs, you know what I mean? But then 'Star-Crossed' happened. It was the 14th song we wrote and actually funny that it's the first song that opens the album. I just really liked the definition. And I kind of came up with my own sort of too, because all the definitions that are out there are pretty antiquated from the old Bill Shakespeare days. But it's to be f*cked by love or luck. You're ill-fated, it's just not written in the stars. It is not for you. And everyone puts out their highlight reel, nobody's putting out their f*ck ups. And that's one of the reasons why it's daunting. But I'm excited to share 'Star-Crossed' just because people know me to be a songwriter that writes about what I'm going through. And I think it would have been extremely awkward if I just acted this last chapter didn't happen for me. So I think you saw my highlight reel with "Golden Hour" and this is the other side of that. And I mean there are beautiful parts of that too.
Kacey Musgraves Tells Apple Music About The Musical Influences Behind "Star-Crossed’...
I feel this record couldn't be more literal in some ways. But I also feel it's got this theatrical kind of almost fantasy take on- I wanted there to be that, just kind of that classical story. That classical vibe, kind of woven through all these other modern sounds. Which I always love when something classic or something traditional, something futuristic kind of meet. I just, I'm always intrigued by that. Whether it's in fashion, etc. I think that there are certain aspects of this record that sound a little bit more country, I guess than "Golden Hour". I don't know. But at the same time, I feel like I'm tapping into more influences on this, widespread influences on this album. I don't know, there are some moments that kind of bring it back to that, where you can see kind of the relation to my previous music.
Kacey Musgraves Tells Apple Music About How "Star-Crossed” Is Still ‘Hers' For A Short Time Longer...
I'm in this phase now where I've been holding onto "Star-Crossed". I've been working on every single little detail and it's about to become everyone else's. I'm close to releasing it and I don't know if there's a letting go process sort of, because right now it is mine it's for me, and it's shielded from outside opinion, outside attached meaning, it's mine. You know what I mean? But now it's about to be- I cherish it. It's mine. And then when you release it, I mean, it's crazy that it then lives on in all these other multidimensions with all these other people's relations, and thoughts, and opinions.
