Interview with Peaches

fluoro’s Associate Editor Audrey Bugeja caught up with Peaches while in the United States preparing for the release of her highly anticipated studio album Rub.

The rebellious performer who brings a sexually-charged blend of electronic music, hip-hop, and punk rock to the world, spoke about her adventure in theatre, opera, publishing and film, and her readiness to embark on her first studio album in six years.

Audrey Bugeja. Let’s get to the bottom of this. Why have you made us wait this long for your new album?

Peaches. You know, I made four albums and it was a routine, it was a fantastic routine where I used to, you know, make an album, tour for two years, make an album, tour for two years. After doing that four times, and 12 years later, it was time to just take a little break before I made an album that I didn’t want to make. I didn’t have any pressure in terms of anybody making me put out an album or anything.

At the same time I got all these opportunities to do other projects that I was very interested in. I got to reconfigure my music and make a rock-electro opera that was more over the top than anything I’ve ever done as ‘Peaches’ which is a feat in itself. I also got to sing Jesus Christ Superstar, which is what I’ve wanted to do since I was 15, as an experiment, which was actually quite successful. People heard my voice and it gave way to another director asking me to sing the lead role in my first-ever opera where I sang with only opera singers. I had to learn that for 6 months, the Italian and the phonetics and the music, and then also, the musical turned into a movie, so I started touring and I became a film a director!

AB. Do you feel during that time you evolved as an artist?

P. Yeah. I was evolving as an artist [during that time]. I wasn’t specifically working on music, and people keep asking me ‘did that shape your album’ and I’m like no. There just was a lot going on and it was healthy for me to get it out of my system, rather than just make a new album and go like ‘ahhhhhh there’s all these things I want to do’.

I didn’t want to put things in it [the album] that have no place in a Peaches album.

It was great because I got all these other projects that I was interested in, out of the way and then I knew I was ready to go and make an album.

AB. Since you debuted in 2000, how do you think the way gender and identity are being presented in your music?

P. In my music it’s been the same. It’s not really being presented in a different way. It’s just that way.

I’ve always said that I’m not going to move toward the mainstream. I want the mainstream to move toward me, and we’re starting to see that happen. It’s the way people perceive what I’m not, where people are like ‘what are you going to do when it’s not transgressive to say what you say?” and, you know, that’s fine with me. Lets celebrate it!

I always found it shocking that people found me shocking, you know, it’s real life.

AB. To me your music is, yes about identity and gender roles, but it’s also about strength, power and comfort.

P. Yeah, yeah! I just want people to feel comfortable in their own bodies, and there are so many different aspects of that, and so many ways to close it off, and so many ways it’s been closed off by other people’s fear, power, and struggles. For the worst power, and mostly fear. Those people who have the power and present this fear, make it very difficult for other people to be who they need to be, because they’re afraid that they’re not allowed to, and that’s what crushes them.

AB. How did you close yourself off to that fear?

P. You just have to really look at yourself and say ‘what do I really need?’ and not second guess yourself into thinking ‘Oh no it’s not meant to be like this’. You really just have to look into yourself – and this doesn’t mean to sound hippy – but honestly what’s going to make you the best and the most real person you can be.

AB. You’re a working an art piece. How did you decide all those years ago on your look and its direction?

P. It’s ever-evolving. I started with a crappy pink bathing suit and a mullet and pink smeared over my face. It just developed from there. And then my ideas and the people that come forward and tell me they’ve got a costume, and then I have to decide if it’s for me or not. And sometimes those costumes stay with me for over a year, until I’m like ‘oh yeah I should wear that’, and ‘that actually makes sense’.

AB. Let’s chat collaborations through your music and publishing. You’ve collaborated with the likes of Yoko Ono and R.E.M in the title What Else is in the Teaches of Peaches. How do you decide who to collaborate with?

P. They usually find me, and then we collaborate. I try not to seek out people that are unattainable, we meet and then if it’s there and it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.

AB. Why did you get Feist and Kim Gordon involved in this album?

P. Feist and I have watched each other evolve. She used to perform alongside me as my bratty sister Bitch Lap Lap and so it was nice to be able to feature her in a way that was a real collaboration between us. With Kim, she was just hanging around LA, and she’s a friend and came in, and really nailed it in one take.

AB. What can we expect to hear in the new album?

P. I think it’s pretty classic my style but with deep rich sounds. I’m quite happy with my word play and my melodies. So, yeah, it’s going to be great!