«I just got my heart broken, but I look fuckin' fabulous». Mantra of life but also lyrics of one of the songs that you may have heard a lot in recent months. Impossible to escape it: the song calls Fabulous and Meek, an English girl who actually reflects the title of the song, sings it. Incredible looks, loud laughter, ready jokes. In some ways, chatting with her reminded me of the Spice Girls' first interviews, when they were young and wanted to joke with the press. It will be the water of London.
Today, months after that song that changed her life, Meek publishes it Beautiful Freeks «an anthem for those who are different, for those who have always felt out of place».
Freeksyes, written with a double e, which is what he calls his fans. A sort of community that in this interview he will define as “creative, magical, queer”. People who entered the world when her first single exploded in her hand. But her story begins much earlier, when she was a teenager and studied self-taught production between breaks from the odd jobs she did to support herself. Since her first songs ended up on English radio but she served small cappuccinos from Costa.
His is a story of tenacity. She tells us about it herself a few days before the release of song number two of this magical moment. In connection with us there is also a person from his Italian record label, Gianni, who before leaving us alone gets a nice «I Love You Jee-Ah-nee!».
Let's start from the end. Beautiful Freeks It seems like one of those to listen to when you're in a bad situation, to cheer yourself up. Do you confirm?
Absolutely. The “freeks” are my fans, and the message we want to send is to be authentic, without worrying about what others expect from us. It's crazy that in the world we live in it's become punk to be yourself, right?
There is a lot of homologation, yes.
Already. This is a song that I dedicate to them, to those who don't want to conform. Thanks to Fabulous we found ourselves traveling around the world. Creative, magical, queer people. So yes, Beautiful Freeks It's for my gang.
But in fact, after listening to the song and your music in general, it seems to me that what you mean is this: stop worrying that life is one. You also say something similar in a song I heard online, Even the Rich Die Young.
Oh god, I only shared one clip on TikTok and it ended up everywhere!
It often appears in my timeline feed.
Yes, yes, me too (laughs). Anyway, yes, that's the message.
Which is very good in theory, but how is it done in practice?
It's difficult, there are good days and bad days. There have been many times, especially this year when I've done so many things, when I've wondered if I should have been calmer to make life easier.
But the fact is, nothing makes life more difficult than doing things that don't feel good or that don't feel authentic. And when you start fighting for the things you believe in, you realize that even the hard things are actually much less difficult than if you continued to live a life you don't want. Do I explain myself?
Yes, I would say yes.
It is a set of many small battles that must be fought to win a larger war, that of well-being. You shouldn't be afraid to fight for yourself. Because then when the moments come when you are really happy, you realize that you are happy because the people around you are there because they see who you really are.
So I believe that being authentic, even in difficult times, always helps in the end. We need to look at the big picture.
Meek. Press photo via BMG Italy
What type of relationship do you have with those who follow you? I imagine you've met a lot of fans lately, you're always travelling.
I would say very personal. People send me DMs on social media saying: “I'm writing to you but I know you'll never read it”, and I reply like two minutes later. Sometimes I also do phone calls with fans.
Seriously?
Yes, certainly. Or I don't know, I do TikTok live broadcasts and invite them to chat. Like last Sunday I did a live broadcast after the premiere of the Kylie Minogue documentary and I invited a fan to participate. I like this feeling that it seems like we're all sitting in someone's bedroom, like friends, chatting. My vision for this project has always been to build the largest friendship group in the world.
Well, it seems like it's going in the right direction. You mentioned Kylie Minogue, I saw you met her.
I love her, she's so sweet. My A&R, Jamie Nelson, also works with Kylie. We are both with BMG. He had sent her my music months ago, when Fabulous it had just come out, and she loved it. He left comments under some of my videos and invited me to the premiere of his documentary this week. It was wonderful to meet her in person.
Were you already a fan of his?
Yes, and she is one of those women for whom I have so much respect because, to go back to before, she has remained authentic for decades. It has never changed for marketing or media.
The documentary also tells a good story about all the hate he received in the 80s and 90s.
Yes, absolutely. People said he couldn't sing, there were so many negative comments. And once again this ties into the message of Beautiful Freeks: Stay true to yourself in difficult times and don't feel tempted to change to impress others. She stayed on her path. It was hard, but look at her now. It's Kylie Minogue.
What is your relationship with the press? Are you worried about what is written about you?
Let's say it's a fairly new thing. When I went to Kylie, well that was the first time in London where photographers started running towards me. Obviously I'm not one to go unnoticed, I'm always dressed very, very, flashy (laughs). I honestly find it funny. I'm so immersed in this idea of believing in myself that it's really hard to annoy me. I often find online trolls or even negative comments funny. So no, the press doesn't worry me. I like to have my photo taken. I can do beautiful poses in front of flashes. My fans know who I really am anyway.
Many talk about you as a sudden discovery, but that's not the case. You've been doing this job for a long time.
Yes, absolutely. I think the most important thing was the mistakes and all the failures that happened. This is my first real record deal. I had signed to a terrible label once when I was 22, but it had been terrible.
When I signed with BMG last year, I knew exactly what needed to happen and what didn't. I knew how to tell people what I wanted. I had the confidence to defend my project as I wanted.
Today there is this idea that immediate success is normal, what do you think?
I don't think it's normal. If something comes too quickly, it will probably end just as quickly. Social media is dangerous from this point of view. You can be a 16 year old in your room, write your first song, release it and maybe it goes viral. But before posting Fabulousmy album had already been finished for two years. There were already other video clips ready, concerts to announce, outfits. If you go viral and you haven't prepared anything then you're in trouble. And the labels immediately ask you: “Where's the next one?”. But maybe you don't have it yet. Many artists need years of development. People think you just walk around making TikTok videos wearing amazing clothes, but that's not the case. There is a huge amount of work.
We can say that you know a lot about outfits.
Yes, come on (laughs). Every outfit of Fabulous it was couture. I designed them all myself together with my team, on a limited budget, and it took months.
All apprenticeships, to quote you. Among other things, you have never hidden your working class origins. In an interview you said that your music was played on BBC Radio 1 while you served coffee at Costa.
I was learning to produce myself. I was living in London, working at Costa Coffee and a music venue, and trying to squeeze into the studio between shifts. Everyday. I slept about four hours a night. I occasionally sent my music to BBC Introducing and when they started passing it on it was a very important moment for me. It gave me confidence in what I was doing. As a teenager and in my early twenties, so many producers made me feel stupid in the studio. Now I know it was completely wrong. At a certain point I came to the conclusion that it didn't matter if I was “good enough”: I simply had to start doing everything myself, because I was afraid that my career and my creativity would end up in the wrong hands.
And ending up on the radio made me make a sort of mental breakthrough. I thought, “I can really do this on my own.”
We need to work our tails off, in short. Did you always know that music was what you wanted to do?
Always.
And speaking of music, time is running out: what can you tell me about the new video?
I just can't wait for people to see it. I received the final version today and I can tell you that I think it's even better than the video of Fabulous. I did it again with Sophie Muller and it's a tribute to my childhood, when I did village pantomimes. It's completely crazy, I love it.
I can only imagine the outfits.
One is a recreation of something I saw when I was three. I'm really excited.
At this point me too. What did you watch when you were little? What records did you listen to?
Missy Elliott, very much. Then Gorillaz, above all Demon Days. But also My Chemical Romance, Green Day, Spice Girls, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé.
And then lots of punk and electronica: Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk…
I know Lady Gaga was also a big inspiration to you, and now you're going on tour with Kesha. She also transmitted similar messages to her 'animals'.
Kesha is mother. He's an icon. As a woman she has been through some really difficult times in the music industry and that's why I'm so happy to meet her and work with her. I really admire her a lot. AND Joyride is one of my favorite songs released lately.
Real hit, I agree. Among other things, his first as an independent. With those accordions. I'll ask you the last question: is the album ready?
Yes. We are looking to release it early next year. In the meantime, other singles will be released.
I think we will see each other soon in Italy. Last night I turned on the TV and saw you on an Italian channel.
Yes, but I'll give you some news: it was registered weeks ago. I almost didn't remember anymore.
It's time to go: «Thank you! And thanks Gionny!»
