20 Questions with La Roux

La Roux has ditched the quiff. You will most likely know the English musician for her electropop classics In For the Kill and Bulletproof, as well as the flame-shaped crest that once towered above her forehead. By contrast, the woman in front of me is almost unrecognisable. Her red hair is coiled into a tight perm and the metallic suits have been replaced by crisp, everyday wardrobe staples. She’s more James Dean than David Bowie, to whom she was frequently compared around the time of her debut album in 2009. Somehow, In for the Kill came out 17 years ago. 

“I think I’ve been slowly morphing over the years,” she tells me from a New York hotel room, gazing down at Central Park. “I just couldn’t deal with going on stage if it was going to take four hours [to get ready]. The engineering involved to actually make [the quiff] stay up was so intense. I couldn’t cope.” 

The new look also coincides with a new album, Old Flames, her first in six years and her fourth full-length project, due for release at the start of November. “Obviously, the title, Old Flames has relationship undertones, but it’s also about letting go of the previous version of La Roux.” She describes the record as a “sad prophecy”, marking the end of a relationship that lasted almost 20 years. It was the first relationship she’d ever had, and understandably, the break-up was a slow, painful process. 

It’s an album that tackles a wealth of emotions, condensing six years’ worth of life events into 11 tracks. The next single, Lose Myself, which lands today, grapples with addiction, mental health and recognising her own bad habits. From feeling isolated from the music industry to discovering she’s neurodivergent, the album covers enough ground that you might expect it to sound heavier, or at least more sombre, than the La Roux we know. Instead, it’s remarkably upbeat – and likely a record we’ll be dancing to come winter.

Here, La Roux answers our 20 burning questions. 

1. Hi! How are you today? 

All good. Just in New York – it’s fucking boiling. I’m dreading going outside. 

2. How does it feel to be releasing music again? 

It’s been a long time coming, so I’m very eager to get back out there. Supervision [my third album] being totally marred by the [Covid-19] pandemic wasn’t ideal, so I’m very excited. 

3. What have you been up to for the past six years? 

I’d only just finished my last album when the pandemic hit, so I wasn’t ready to start making a new record instantly. You need a gap before you make new work. I started fucking around with new sounds and new ideas. It took a couple of years to know if I even wanted to make another record or if there was any point – we didn’t know when the pandemic would end. But I’ve pretty much been in the studio every day since. It was just whether or not I liked what I was making enough to put it out. 

4. At what point did you start to feel like you had a record there? 

Toward the end of 2023. That’s when I started to get serious about what it should sound like and which tracks should be on it. Looking back, I realise how much of a state of stasis I was in. Possibly not the best mental health, which led to me taking a long time to make decisions. I can’t ever imagine taking that long to make a record again. 

5. I know this is a very personal album. Can you tell me about the story behind it?

This is also why it took a while. It charts the journey of a very long, drawn-out and painful breakup. It was the only relationship I’d ever been in, until now, and it lasted the best part of 20 years. As I got to the end of writing the album, it was clear that it was a sad prophecy. It’s about being free of something that I never really wanted to be free from. But if you don’t know any of this stuff, if you’re just listening to it as a fun pop record, that totally works too. You don’t have to know the deep undertones – it’s pop, not emo.

Can you tell me about the story behind your album? “It charts the journey of a very long, drawn-out and painful breakup. It was the only relationship I’d ever been in, until now” – La Roux

6. You’ve got a new look to accompany the new album. Who’s your style icon? 

I wouldn’t necessarily dress like her, but I think Grace Jones is one of the coolest things to ever come out of anyone’s womb. She’s one of the ultimates. And I like George Michael and Michael Jackson’s style – they’ve definitely influenced me over the years. Bowie came to me much later. People used to tell me I looked like Tilda Swinton and David Bowie, so then I started looking at them. 

7. Do you think you began to mould yourself into David Bowie and Tilda Swinton because people compared you to them? 

No, quite the opposite. It really annoyed me. I didn’t want to be like someone else, I wanted to be my own thing. I had been trying to look as weird as possible so I didn’t look like anyone else, and then I got compared to these two people. It was really fucking annoying. 

8. Are there any mantras you live by? 

“Fuck it” is a big one. The more that life goes on, the more I think it doesn’t fucking matter. The things that are worth stressing about you can count on three fingers and they don’t happen very often. 

9. What’s one thing you couldn’t live without? 

My cat. I’m completely in love with her. She’s called Calypso. 

10. What is your earliest memory? 

Being in the pram and coming out of my parents’ house, where they still live. I remember the checkerboard tiles on the floor and the white wooden gate. I also have one really early memory of thinking how lucky I am that I was put in this family. 

11. What is your worst nightmare? 

A really hot, long wedding with a pink dress code. Weddings are either amazing or the longest, most drawn-out day of your life. 

Who’s your style icon? “I think Grace Jones is one of the coolest things to ever come out of anyone’s womb” – La Roux

12. Can you name your favourite song lyric? 

I can think of all the ones that are really bad, like that Des’ree lyric: “I’d rather have a piece of toast”.

13. What film have you watched the most? 

Either Hook or Stand By Me. 

14. What makes you happy? 

Seeing people I like and spending time outdoors. Good people and nature. 

15. What makes you sad? 

All the terrible things going on in the world. The level of injustice, generally. And some of the stuff that [Open AI CEO] Sam Altman is saying. Yeah, not ideal. The inequality and where we’re headed makes me pretty sad. 

16. If you weren’t a musician, what would you be doing? 

I’d probably do something with my hands. I can hear all the lesbians being like “Of course you would… ” but probably carpentry or interior design or graphic design. I love all the creative direction around music videos and artwork for singles. 

What’s something that people get wrong about you? “When I first started, I think people thought I was a bitch. But I was actually just really nervous and quite shy” – La Roux

17. What trip have you always wanted to take? 

I’ve never been to India. I get quite sensory-overloaded, but I think I’d love it. 

18. Who do you admire most in history?

Shakespeare. It’s godlike what he did. When you think about it, every story that we tell now is a repetition of something he already wrote. There’s almost no human tale that can be told, unless it involves technology, that he hasn’t already told – and in the best way. He basically invented heartbreak. There’s almost no nuance of the human mind that he didn’t cover. It’s quite overwhelming.

19. What’s something that people get wrong about you? 

I think people think I’m really harsh. When I first started, I think people thought I was a bitch. But I was actually just really nervous and quite shy. I was arrogant in lots of ways – it was a messy blend of being terrified but also really sure of myself. Now people are like “Oh, you’re really nice and grounded!” And I’m like… yeah. 

20. Finally, what’s your song of the summer? 

Natanya’s new track Play With a Kiss! She’s fucking sick. It’s giving old Whitney vibes. 

Lose Myself is out now.