It’s a bumpy ride, but you might’t help but stay strapped in.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY:How much did growing up in Brooklyn influence your music?
KING PRINCESS:A lot.
King Princess.Collier Schorr
I had a really “neighborhood” upbringing.
I had friends with houses or apartments that had garages we would practice in.
I had my dad [Oliver Straus, recording engineer and owner of the studio Mission Sound].
King Princess performs at the 2022 NCAA March Madness Music Festival.Daniel Boczarski/Getty
Williamsburg was weirdly suburban when I was young.
You got to see it become super trendy.
Did you go to big shows in the city when you were a kid?
King Princess.Collier Schorr
I did see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss.
Maybe at Radio City… or it could have been Carnegie Hall.
I went to a very eclectic mix of shows.
I saw Jethro Tull at City Winery.
My mom and my stepdad and I wanted to go see Jethro Tull.
I don’t know, I was a weird kid.
You know, I wanted to see f—in' Ian Anderson!
Was Broadway an influence?
I saw a lot of plays.
I love stage productions.
The way they build these sets the actual construction and costuming is incredible.
In high school, my best friend Cecily and I put on a production ofCabaretas our senior-thesis project.
I did the musical direction.
She did the regular direction.
We actually camped out and got tickets to see Michelle Williams inCabaret[on Broadway].
Did you feel pressure makingHold on Baby?
So in that way, I think I’m successful.
I know I did my best work on this record that I’ve done thus far.
I spent a lot of time working on the art.
I make music based on my thoughts and feelings, and that’s all I got to give.
How did COVID and quarantine and the state of the world impact this album?
I was not touring.
I wasn’t going out.
I wasn’t drinking.
I was drinking, but I was sitting at home in my underwear thinking about my life.
And being like, “I don’t know if I really like myself.”
You’re so distracted when s—’s moving.
It was more, “Wow, I really have to assess some stuff.”
And that’s how the album was formed.
“Hold on Baby” is an interlude, a short song on the album.
Why did you decide to make that the title track?
We’ll be bumpy."
I think it summarizes the record like speaking to yourself, assuring yourself.
you’re free to’t really rely on other people to validate you.
You have to look at yourself in the mirror and say, “You got this.”
“Winter Is Hopeful” is a great song vulnerable, sort of retro, and very specific.
Your girlfriend Quinn’s name is in it.
How does she feel about that?
She was not thrilled when I told her that her name was in a song.
Also, the song was originally called “Quinn.”
But then she heard it and was like, “This is phenomenal.”
It’s a very vulnerable thing to do.
It’s definitely not for everyone to date someone who’s airing your business, right?
It’s definitely a nightmarish situation, but Quinn’s a champ.
She’s an artist, she gets it, and that song is a love letter to her.
Or, “I’ve experienced some of these feelings.”
And that’s really the point, right?
Can you express that sort of thing to people in person or only in songs?
I mean, it’s complicated, right?
I’ve been gay for a long time.
It’s a lot easier to be like, “Oh, well, that’s how I feel.
That’s how I felt when was little.”
But to write a song like that…
It’s taken me 23 years to figure out how to put that into a song.
You’ve saidCheap Queenwas “for everybody, but I feel like the gays will especially love it.”
Who would you sayHold on Babyis for?
This is like a wink-wink, nod-nod to the extra people who feel like that.
That’s how we do it.
The world is fucked.
Terrible s— is going on every f—ing day.
It becomes too much, and so you have to channel it somewhere.
For me, it’s with music.
For others, it’s different forms of creativity.
But the overarching theme is that creativity and art is how we get through these things.
It’s okay to be depressed.
You havethe late Taylor Hawkinsplaying drums onHold on Baby’s last track, “Let Us Die.”
How did that come about?
I was like, “Who do you think?”
Mark said, “Taylor.”
And I was like, “Oh, my God, do you think we can get Taylor?”
He said, “I asked him.
He’s down.”
He was recording in L.A., I was in New York, and it was crazy.
He added something to that song that goes so beyond just laying down a drum track.
He really showed me a level of musicianship and also respect and kindness that I will never forget.
It makes me emotional, obviously.
I didn’t know Taylor that well.
I just felt so supported by his musicianship, and I can’t believe I have the song.
It seems like “Let Us Die” was clearly the way to terminate the album.
Everyone on my team, including me, was like, “It just feels like a finale.”
The way you start and end an album is really important to me.
Hold on Babyis out now.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
