Lorde has had two number one singles in her native New Zealand, her first shows in the country sold out in 73 seconds, and she is 16. She’s a musical force to be reckoned with, and she’s about to become a household name worldwide. Performing under the moniker of Lorde, Ella Yelich-O’Conner creates post-dubstep, electronic pop. Think of the music of Grimes and James Blake, mixed with the vocal talent of Lana Del Rey and Marina & The Diamonds.
The thing that sets her apart from all of these other comparisons is her intelligent lyrics, not reflecting the showbiz lifestyle of the majority of global musicians, but instead singing about the things which teenagers like her go through every day. Lorde’s viral track ‘Royals’ is very much a critique of the high life, and making it clear that whilst Lana Del Rey is crooning about driving her Bugatti Veyron, Lorde is singing about how she takes public transport to house parties because she isn’t old enough to go to clubs. Portraying this in the lyrics, she moodily sings “every song’s like: gold teeth, Grey Goose, tripping in the bathroom, bloodstains, ball gowns, trashing the hotel room, we don’t care, we’re driving Cadillacs in our dreams.”
It is only in the last six months that Lorde has risen from relative obscurity, but her music has been in the making for a while. She was first spotted at the age of 12, when some footage of her performing Duffy’s ‘Warwick Avenue’ at a school talent show got into the hands of a man who, four years later, is her manager at Universal.
After officially releasing her first EP, The Love Club in March 2013, the Tennis Court EP was swiftly unveiled in June. In a recent interview with Line Of Best Fit, Lorde said that she has been working on her album since December, saying that it is “90% finished.” Rumours suggest that it will be released as soon as September. Talking about her debut LP, Lorde was modest as ever: “I know everyone says they’re proud of their record, but I think I’ve done something special.”
Lorde’s Tennis Court EP is available to download now.
