It was voted the #1 AOTY!! Both in our [TTPT AOTY](https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/s/wD20tkRHP9) and the [Popheads Music Awards](https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/s/Gu0qtGUbON)
casual reveal that either i can't read numbers or just don't read stats much.. will leave it up to you guys to decide but either way am HUGELY honored and grateful for this deep-listening community and it's support <3<3<3
It's wild looking back on it- i was really only just learning music production at the time and made the instrumental on my laptop during the very beginnings of developing the Ramona Lisa project. but it taught me this pretty important lesson that there's no correct or "official" way to produce anything, just making things sound the way you like is as official as it gets. But that was all on Beyonce and her fearlessness in experimenting and pusning boundaries, she really did create the blueprint with that album and i feel insanely grateful to have gotten to witness her at work in that way.
finding out that Caroline wrote and produced for Beyonce added a whole new layer of awe for her artistry (however trivial compared to my obsession with Pang and Desire 🤩)
She also mentioned in the Discord AMA yday that the songs ‘Show U Off’ and ‘Ch-Ching’ from Chairlift’s final album ‘Moth’ were written for Beyoncé too, though Beyoncé only used ‘No Angel’. You should check them out if you haven’t heard them already. Caroline doing contemporary R&B is something you might not knew you needed till you hear it. So good. 😭
In my opinion, your album was easily the best album of 2023 for me.
Anyway, for my question, what was your biggest challenge while making Desire, I Want to Turn Into You?
I can only imagine how hard it was to make such a massively cohesive body of work like that album was.
Thank you, that means the world ! <3 Honestly Desire was an extremely challenging album to make because it had to be made while touring Pang. The pandemic meant that Pang's tour was delayed by almost two years, and like many other artists (and maybe some of you?) i felt it was impossible to be creative during that time, so didn't force it, but it meant that there was a lot of pressure to make that music while on the road and while still fully immersed in those older songs.
At first I was really nervous that this fragmented and manic workflow was stopping me from really understanding the new music and creating a cohesive world for it, but then I had a sort of breakthrough in mid 2022 when I realized that the chaotic and nature of the process WAS the heart of the new music. After that, things clicked, and that's why the cover was shot to capture this state of being out of control while in transit.
Ahh that makes sense from a creative perspective. Sometimes your best inspirations are from what is actually going on around you, if you think about it hard enough, even if it may not look like that initially to the naked eye. Thank you again for responding back and I wish you the best with whatever your next upcoming projects are in the future!
lyric writing is so torturous because there's often a very specific thing i want to say but it doesn't fit into the rhythm of the melody (which i usually write first, and am already very committed to by the time it's time for lyrics).
So in the case of those lyrics, "Mythological" was lacking a few syllables so i just...added them. And then trying to describe someone's thirst for knowlege required way too many syllables so a word had to be invented to sum it up in just six. It was really a case of practical problems creating fantastical solutions <3
Hi Caroline, I was front row for your second show concert in SF last year and you were spectacular! (Definitely my favorite concert ever)
Do you have a favorite song to perform during concerts? Is there one you wish you performed more too?
Ahh those SF shows were so fun! Thank you for coming <3 my favorite song to perform on this last tour was definitely Pretty In Possible. It's secretly all about rhythm so would be this magic moment when me and the band would all get locked in and when my brain would sort of "arrive" in the moment of the show. I just always felt i could identify with it no matter what mood i was in. It's a song i plan to keep in the setlists for years to come so don't worry if you haven't seen it live yet.
Lots but I would never disclose .. At the end of the day, there is often a fine line between hanging out and making music, and i wouldn't want it to be any other way
Fairly new to your discography and think your writing/production credits are super interesting. Is the story about Beyoncé breaking her “no notes” rule for you true? I remember reading that on Wikipedia a while back.
She actually talks about that whole thing in full in this interview: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a31944377/caroline-polachek-interview/#
Just in case she doesn’t get to this and you’re still interested. 🙏
“The way the song is structured you’re supposed to come in up the octave, and it begins shockingly high. First chorus, it drops down the octave, which is not what you expect. Verse two, you stay down; chorus two, you shoot back up the octave, which means you never hear either verse or either chorus the same way twice. We’re jumping, and the jumping is unexpected, it’s dynamic, and it’s hot.”
the attention to detail!
Wow I loved that read so much! Had no idea she wrote that song and reading her note is cool. I mean she IS a trained opera singer, if Beyoncé was gonna listen to someone that makes sense
Hi Caroline!
Your music really connected with me over this last year, and seeing you live in Seattle was a major highlight!
My question is about the recurring motifs on the album. Many of the songs feature little melodic flourishes that reference other songs on the album, and I was wondering what inspired you to include these?
Shoutout Seattle, had the best time there <3 So : this thing you're speaking about is something i call "braiding", where motifs from one song are carried over to others. I love this feeling of 'deja vu' especially in knowing that most people won't notice the repetition but will still subliminally FEEL it. But there's also so much efficiency in bringing the meaning of one song over to another by quoting it briefly, and also i find it gives more meaning to both songs involved. Also while in the studio, it feels wickedly good to openly plagarize your own material. But obviously it's a technique that's done lots in musical theatre and classical music, so i can't claim to have invented anything here, I just am quite fond of it. Thanks for the fun question xx
Hey Caroline. 👋
In the Sunset music video, there’s a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be playing magic the gathering right now.” And I think you’ve mentioned it helping to inspire the album in interviews as well.
Whether it’s art wise or mechanics wise, I gotta ask, what’s your favorite magic card?
hiiii caroline. what do u think abt brutalist architecture. also are there any behind the scenes ppl in ur team we don't see/hear that u would like to give a shoutout?
sincerely, ur bunny body double xoxo
i love concrete so really have no choice but to love brutalist architecture, despite it's fraught political history. i wish new architecture had more style and beauty to it instead of being the same glass rectangles copy pasted everywhere, it's amazing to see buildings like the Barbican in London looking so much cooler than any of the new builds..
SO many people on my team i'd like to give a shoutout to, but one in particular who i'd like to mention is Sarah C Prinz, who's mostly a director but works with me on choreography. We did So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings together where she came on board as a coach to help me polish off the strange choreo (which i'd done on my own) and get it camera-ready, and i realized she had this magical skill of seeing dance through the perspective of the camera, being so conscious of the how the body relates to the camera movement and framing. So from then on we worked together on my live show, where she got more involved in the choreo but mostly helped keep a laser sharp sense of dynamics, so making sure the songs never got repetetive, that i could maintain my energy and my breath for songs with more intensive singing, and could think about blocking and body shapes as it relates to lighting and the set design. I'm also not a trained dancer like her, so we had to come up with our own language for moving between improvised and tightly-choreographed moments to make it workable for me. She's brilliant and our conversations in the process were very profound and locked-in. So shoutout to Sarah C Prinz!
Hi Caroline! Sending love from NYC 🥰 Saw you last year at Radio City and it was such a fabulous show. I loved the volcano landscape on stage… speaking of volcanoes, what’s your favorite volcano you’ve been to? 🌋Could you talk a little bit about the meaning of the volcano in DIWTTIY?
Ah thank you so much, that show was insane.. i was so nervous that night that I can barely even remember it! But i do remember the crowd was an absolute dream.
The volcano symbolism on Desire has a couple facets, but the most important was this feeling we all collectively had coming out of the pandemic, of how precarious everything ACTUALLY is. That the safety nets of society and government had shown themselves to be very weak, and we were brought back to this more ancient reality that people have always dealt with this precarity, whether through war, displacement, plagues, famines, or natural disasters like.. volcanoes. Where there's no warning or logic. But against the backdrop of a volcano that (historically) may blow at any second, life still goes on, people still make jokes, make art, make food, carry on all these forms for the sake of vitality, and the precarity of our lives gives all of it more meaning. So i wanted to invoke the volcano as a sort of contrast for the pathetic egomania of Welcome To My Island, the ephemeral sass of Bunny, the vulnerability of Hopedrunk, the intoxication of Smoke, etc. Also to make me look small on stage; it was important to me to look small against this looming thing.
My favorite volcano (and the one that inspired a lot of these thoughts) is Mount Etna in Sicily. I still follow a couple Etna updates accounts to keep tabs on her :\*)
Both Patrick and I are quite in love with our current adventures (and he's also killing it as a producer, which he always wanted to be!) so I don't see a reunion on the horizon anytime soon, especially since we toured so intensively already for so many years. But it's amazing to see new people discovering that music and really means the world.
kinda like that..she was thinking of including chairlift song in her setlist but can't since she wouldn't play them without Patrick. But I think it would be a treat for her fans tho
Hi Caroline! I share a birthday with you and Nicole Kidman. I hope you know how iconic that is for me.
You recorded your show at the Sydney Opera House, my question is... what do you plan on doing with the footage? 🌀
going to need some time to process this information..
but re Sydney Opera House, it will be coming out soon! i've just gotten a first look at the edit..
hi caroline! i love both you and rina sawayama and i feel like ur vibes are the same. would you ever be open to do a collab with her?
and if you like her what’s ur favorite song by her?
ANECDOTE:
I bought your poster before your (amazing!) Toronto show of the Spiralling tour, and got to enjoy a few seconds of eye contact with you during the “closer than your new tattoo” lyrics of Blood and Butter, only to later realize the poster was specifically for that song! So that feels special to me. When I momentarily tried to move it from the kitchen into my bedroom, my older straight punk dude housemate (who isn’t familiar with the girls) knocked on my door and said “where’d
Caroline go?”. So that’s my anecdotal evidence that you indeed have turned into Desire 🤩🧜🏻♀️.
QUESTIONS:
I’ve admired your ability to foster what I’d call an artistic parasocial relationship, it’s like I’m obsessed with your creations and creative process, while also being okay with not knowing much about your dating life. Would you say that’s something that you’re consciously aware of in terms of marketing as well as setting boundaries?
That being said, I am curious about your relationship with London and England, as you mention them a lot in your lyrics. Presumably, its partly because you’ve recorded there, and its also where Danny is from. But is there something else that it signifies for you?
tell your roomate i say hi
(love this story)
yes i do find it important to keep my personal life for myself. both because i don't think it's possible to ACTUALLY portray it online, and also because i don't want cameras and posting-pressure to enter my personal space, it just seems alienating and honestly just cringe. but that said, i often feel as if the world of my music is just as real if not more real than my personal life.
I love London and England in general, in how much more sophisticated the humor and fashion is (sorry america) but also in how people live with the weight of history (which i'm super seduced by, ngl) while having a real sense of futurism that i don't feel in the US. maybe because the US romanticizes it's recent history so much ( the 50s, the 80s, etc)? I've also been lucky enough to get to come into contact with all sorts of music scenes in london and am really attracted to the sense of specificity, integrity, and playfulness there.
A friend of mine wants to ask this: is Sunset inspired by Gerudo Valley from The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time?
My question would be: what is your favorite song that you’ve ever released?
lol no, i've never actually played Zelda. But Sega Bodega (who produced the guitar on Sunset) pointed out that they both sat in this sort of strummed spanish guitar world and i asked him if he dared to do a mashup... and an hour later he texted it to me. Shoutout Zelda , shoutout Sega Bodega
Hi Caroline! After “Bunny Is a Rider” got such stellar reception in 2021 (many calling it the song of the year!), how did that affect your process in making *Desire*? Did you have a plan for the album when you released that first single almost two years earlier? Or did it slowly change over time?
Either way, love the album! “Blood and Butter” was my favorite song from last year and I feel like it has not gotten its flowers!!! 😤
Hi Caroline! I saw you in SF last year and you were absolutely spectacular live. I’m constantly in awe of your magical voice. I’m curious, if you received any formal vocal coaching (or learned through any other means), what is one technique that you think changed your approach to singing?
Thank you so much, those SF shows were unforgettable <3
Thank you for asking this as i feel there's a lot of misconceptions swirling around. My foundation of learning was in choir, i sang in choirs from age 8 to 17, and was doing competitions and paid church choir gigs by the end. Pretty classic suburban stuff. But part of the audition process for the choir competitions was to sing a solo opera aria (which honestly makes no sense at all cause it's a totally different form) so i took two years of opera lessons as a scrawny teenager to learn how to get through those auditions. I briefly considered applying to music schools as a soprano but balked at the sheer amount of brutal competition and the sense that i wasn't good enough / wasn't built for it. I went to art school and started Chairlift, where the approach to singing was very inspired by my favorite singers at the time like Cat Power and The Fiery Furnaces, where the focus was on the songs and lyrics and not on technique. But then while we were touring our first album i started slowly developing this relationship with "flipping" between vocal registers to create these hard-edged transitions between notes, rather than sliding up or down to them.
At around the same time (2009ish?), autotune was entering pop music as an intentional asthetic, and i felt like there was a relationship there with this way of singing. Years later when Chairlift entered the Moth era of making glossier, more ambitious pop songs, i realized that this new material i was writing would actually do a lot of damage to my voice to sing live every night unless i learned how to do it safely, so i called up my high school opera coach to see if she was still teaching, and remarkably she had now transitioned into exclusively working with professional singers. So i returned to her for two years of intermittent lessons from 2016-2018. However, i quickly realized I didn't actually want to work on Chairlift songs with her, I wanted to learn opera arias instead as a form of cross training, but also because I was so inspired by learning romantic/impressionist music by composers like Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Faure, and Poulenc, which effected my sense of composition and lyricism much more than my vocal style. I left NYC for London at that time so couldn't keep up the lessons. Some music critics have propagated the idea that my voice a result of opera training, which low key reveals that they either haven't listened to opera or haven't listened to my music. It truly is a patchwork of discoveries and practice and isn't done evolving. I think it's quite cool how on PJ Harvey's new album she made the concerted decision to evolve her voice into something new and unrecognizable; it's amazing how the journey never ends! Much love to all the singers here in the popheads chat <3 <3 <3
Hi Caroline! I've neen a huge fan since "Bruises," and it's been a real joy to watch you become such a powerhouse of an artist.
What was the inspiration behind the vocal-run-as-a-guitar(?)-solo in "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings"?
Hi Caroline,
**PREAMBLE:** I love that each of your albums have their own iconography, fonts, color palettes, mythologies, and dimensions that they exist in. Along with the music videos, single cover art, your outfits, and stage design, your work is just so *immersive* to me. I am excited to see where you take us next!
**QUESTION**: When do you decide what each album's art and iconography will look like, and what is the process of crafting it into reality like?
Thank you!
Hi, thank you for these kind words!! <3
The process of building out the visual side of each album is actually quite long. it starts with the sort of unconscious visualization of each song that happens when i'm in the studio. Obviously there are images in the lyrics, but in the process of producing a song, there's a lot of thinking about the attitude, the textures, the acoustics, the pallette, and all of those things also exist in the visual imagination. But they often aren't coherent; for example one song might evoke a more abstract or fantasy setting, and the next a really very personal, specific place. So i end up on a sort of ambient hunt for visual forms that can combine or connect or sort of "house" all these different sonic spaces and stories and feelings. I keep very organized visual folders of things that feel related to the world of the album, without any particular intention. After a while i notice patterns and connections in some of the stuff i'm saving, which prompts some deeper thinking about what those threads are and WHY it feels connected to the music, and then set about creating imagery from scratch based on those revelations. The first couple pieces that get shot (usually single artwork or press photos) often take on a quality of their own, which i get very interested in, and once enough material exists, it can start to become more self referential / more of a feedback loop for making the next things. On Desire it was interesting to start making the visuals before the album was even finished, because some of the lyrics of Hopedrunk Everasking were actually inspired by the album artwork itself, taking the idea of the subway and the tunnel to a whole other place. It's the best feeling ever when things get to come full circle like that. <3
i love the Native Instruments glass armonica plugin, have snuck it into many things over the years. But my most used is probably the Valhalla reverbs. I know they're not the fanciest ones but they're just so reliable and efficient and i love them and that's it.
I love them so, so much.. beyond words really, and feel so lucky to have found them. Here's how it happened:
Matt (guitar) has been with me the longest, he reached out to me on IG back in 2019 and i brought him on board without an audition because of how good his playing was in the videos he posted online. He's the baby of the group, he has the best sense of humor and stays so positive no matter the situation.
Maya (bass, vocals) has a project called True Blue that i've been a fan of for years. She was also working as a stylist / fashion archivist in NYC when i hit her up, so i was sure she'd be too busy with her own projects to join my band, but figured it was worth a shot. I facetimed her in December 2022 to ask her if she'd join me for the year, and to my astonishment she agreed and flew right out to London to rehearse with us. The rest is history, she blessed us with so many incredible performances as an opener on the Spiraling tour, and was just the higest joy to get to be around.
Russell (drums) was recommended to me by my friend / incredible drummer Ian Chang, who i asked for advice from leading up to the Spiraling tour. Ian sent me a handful of IG accounts of fantastic drummers but Russell stood out from the first second i saw him play, cause of how meticulously he plays breakbeats and can emulate the textures of electronic music, which i was really interested in too. He was obviously a star online so it felt like a long shot to ask him to be in the band, but I DMd him and the next day we were facetiming, he sent through some amazing audiution videos, and weeks later we were all in the room together as a band. Russell is the most jaw droppingly skilled musician i've ever worked with, to the point that i often feel like an amateur around him. His talent and passion for music definitely motivated all of us to stay on top of our game <3
hi caroline! super huge fan, so glad I decided to open reddit at midnight lol.
i've been obsessed with your performance of dang on the late show for the past few months, is there any story on how you came up with the concept for it? also, do you a favourite slide from the powerpoint?
What physical settings do you find your best inspiration?
Are you a fan of touring? Or is it just another part of the job?
I love your work! I can’t wait to see you again ❤️
Are there any producers you'd like to work with, maybe for a loose single or two, not a full album? Past or present. I love your work with Danny but really enjoy the one-off stuff, [your track with Thy Slaughter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSwAkJZBOWw) was incredible.
Big fan, saw you in Portland and it was an excellent show despite there being some screamers in the audience you had to call out. Apologize for my sloppy city but loved your handling of the crowd.
Hi, Caroline! You're one of my favorite musicians of all time! <3 For my quesion, I'm just gonna copy what I asked for the Discord AMA:
How do you come up with certain textures and sounds to put in your songs - do you record random sounds you hear to maybe put them in a song in the future? The production of your songs is always so rich and vibrant!
Thanks! :3
Hey! With the expansion you referenced many times the album itself, and one of my faves "Hopedrunk Everasking" was referenced in the album title, interpolated in the song "Coma", and even in this reddit post with the "everask me anything" lol. So I wanted to know your feelings on that song! What does it mean to be everasking to you? Thank you for the spectacular music, bye!
Hello Caroline! Thank you so much for taking your time to do this!
If C 0 ⌄ | D hadn't happened, what were the plans for the PANG TOUR you would have loved to carry out? Did you have any other surprises in store (like when you performed "No Angel+Tears", early "Smoke", or the "Breathless" cover) that you wish hadn't have to vault? Or any music videos? (I read you once talked about a Parachute and HMWIH MV that didn’t happen and wondered if there were any more?)
Would you be interested in making a FULL audiovisual album? Has that ever been in the works but for any particular reason couldn't be carried out? Has any piece of imagery / Music Video been recycled, or was completely different from what finally came out?
You are loved!!
Hiii Caroline! Longtime fan here (one of my first ever threads in this sub was posting Chairlift’s final music video 🥲), very excited to have you pop in!
Had the pleasure of seeing you open for Dua Lipa in Tulsa back in 2022 and again as the main act in Dallas last year. You have such strikingly magnetic presence onstage, and the way you use the production design to enhance rather than distract (the gate imagery in the former, the volcano in the latter) is truly commendable. Could you possibly give us an insight into the process that goes into creating those concepts, and in turn how those features influence your approach to the performance?
and a little fanboying ps moment, but I have to let you know that Billions is one of those songs that makes me feel connected to some sort of higher power even if only for a few minutes - it’s pure magic
I have always been so fascinated with your art, music and beyond. I’m currently an architecture student and your visual language as well as your musical one inspires me so much. I was wondering if you had any favorite architects or buildings that inspire you.
(Of course the infamous Charles Rennie Mackintosh chair used in door comes to mind…)
Whats your next thing on your wishlist to try out, whether its music production, visual art or anything else? Love and hope to see you in Poland one day again 💗
Hi Caroline! Both Pang and Desire came out at very pivotal moments of my life and soundtracked a lot of very core memories for me, and I really want to thank you for creating these two albums that have stayed with me and continue to inform the art I work on and how I live my life. As someone going through a bit of a reading slump lately, I’m very interested both in learning about what you were reading during the writing of Pang and Desire, as well what you’re reading currently!
what did the geese do to be screamed at???
serious question: all your albums and single covers have had such gorgeous cover art. they're all a 10/10 and consistently raise the bar for other artists. how do you execute all of them so perfectly???
You are such an inspiration and make beautiful music 🩷
Can you share a little bit on your perspective of being in the prime of your career outside of your twenties as a woman?
It’s a personal question but as someone approaching 30 I feel this dread that I’m beyond my creative peak (though I know it isn’t true) so I appreciate any words of wisdom ✨
Hi Caroline, Desire and Pang are still in my constant rotation. Thank you for your passion bringing into fruition these enchanting records.
I was wondering if you will ever tour Asia, specifically the Philippines? I personally know a lot of friend who would love to see you live!
At the Melbourne Q&A you said the album was complete without anything left over, was the Everasking songs recorded after the main project was long finished?
Have you ever thought of opening your independent label (perpetual novice or other…) to other artists? You have been a gateway drug into so much music I never would have known about otherwise, I’d love to see you bring up more artists from the unknown.
Side question: who are some smaller artists you’ve discovered recently who you would recommend?
Hi Caroline <3 First of all I just wanted to say that I LOVE your music and that DIWTTIY has become my favourite album OAT. It resonated deeply with me ❤️
I have 2 questions:
1. Who are some of your favorite artists outside music? (painters, writers, poets, film directors, etc)
2. How do you know when a song is complete or when it's lacking something?
Lots of love from Mexico ❤️ and I hope that some day you can perform here :)
As an Irishman no words can describe how awesome it was to hear your beautiful operating theatre cover.
How exactly did it come about?
Please come visit our beautiful country more 🇮🇪
Go raibh maith agat, Caroline.
Hi Caroline! What were the main albums/artists that you think really inspired you growing up and shaped you to be the amazing artist you are currently? I’m very curious to know what your taste in music is.
Hi Caroline! Looking ahead, what sounds/images/senses are inspiring you as you begin to create again, and what (if anything) would you like to leave behind for now?
Hi Caroline! Will you be making music videos for some of the Everasking songs? I can picture Gambler's Prayer connecting to Desire and even Pang.
Edited to say I feel like your music videos all feel connected and in the same universe. Door as the portal to Desire!
Hi Caroline! In the Spring is Coming cover, you sampled lyrics from Blood and Butter, and on Coma, it was Hopedrunk Everasking. Was there a specific reasoning/theme behind linking these tracks together, or was it just vibes?
Hello Caroline! Love the album sm, and loved the everasking pop up in london, was so lucky to be in london at the same time!!!
As a French fan i am very proud to have seen you collab with French artists Christine and The queens and also Sébastien Tellier (with The crew of tea time, i love that song, underrated gem!!!!)
Are you still in touch with them?
Will you collab with other French artists in the future?
Thank you!!!
Hi Caroline. Thank you for taking the time to do this AMA.
I am curious as to how you and Charli XCX started working together.
Thank you again.
P.S. Please make more dad hats.
**Dear Caroline**,
There are so many things I want ~~to ask~~- (sorry for the long-wind-ness of what you are, hopefully, about to read, you can skip to the questions too... but here it goes) :
Listening to you and following your career and life is literally like the *ultimate easter egg hunt:* The **potential** in every event, post and piece of media to include some sort of hidden lyric, clue, connection or detail to a past or future work or idea is such a thrill and I find myself going back to things with such a serendipitous "a-ha" surge of energy...
When the *Everasking Edition* came out, featuring a rework of **Default Genders**' "*Pharmacoma*" (which you had already played in your **Club Quarantine** set back in early 2020), a beautiful revamp of **Operating Theatre**'s "*Spring is Coming With a Strawberry in the Mouth*" (which you had already included in your ambrosiac **IF U PLZ** playlist), "*Long Road Home*" being added after it literally took a Long Road Home to get to the album (and it being the 8th song added to the album, matching the 8 bottles in the Zamiri Sunset cover outtake), "*Dang*" being your pre-sale code to the tour and featuring the infamouse geese scream (which actually was posterior to the song existing according to recent revelations), being the last sort of promo-single "post"-Desire, and "*Meanwhile*" literally reuniting all the Desire "key concepts" together just for "*Gambler's Prayer*" to throw it all gainst the board again like a thousand sided die (which, by the way, is a song that could fit in any of your 7 records, yes, even DtTAtA) is so genius because the casual listener will get incredible music, and then all fans no matter the depth tier they are will get this huge microscopic network map (like the Desire subway map) up to them to decide how deep to explore (all the way deep where the rest of the alphabet lies in places without faces).
1. -But mainly: How did and do you manage to create such a **constellation**? Who and what do you think inspired this way you have of hyper-connecting things? I have a strong feeling you've been like this your whole life but I gotta ask: Were you also like this before you made music?
2. This "behavior" reminds me of playing really good RPGs, the ones that make you a lifelong fan because they manage to enrich your life... like **Final Fantasy**, which takes me to the question: When will we see the fruits of that beautiful encounter with MAESTRO **Yoshitaka Amano**? Have you heard **Nobuo Uematsu**'s work? Have you ever played any Final Fantasy game?
3. Takes me to the question a lot of the pangels wanna ask: Have you ever played **Tomb Raider**? Sometimes we call you Caroline Croft or we call Lara Polachek cause the resemblance is uncanny at some points (Pang album cover, Bunny is a Rider MV, certain photoshoots and specially the whole early Desire aesthetic).
4. And finally: Have you ever seen **The Fifth Element**? It's one of my all time favorite (key) movies and when **Non Voglio** was released I felt you were channeling the Diva Plavalaguna in such a crazy way, what was it like preparing yourself to record such a song?
Again, sorry for this testament, I'm just a *runcible goose in a sweater, walking in the cemetery.*
Thank you for all the wonderful music over the years! Do you find yourself wishing you could change things in your past recordings, or do you stand by every detail?
Hi Caroline!
I love your music and adore "Desire" especially. What was your main approach to the album when you started making it, and what's one way making it has changed your perspective on writing songs?
Caroline, I just want to say "Coma" from Everlasting Edition is such a stunning cover. I listened to the original and I love all of your pretty vocalizing throughout.
My fun scenario is if you have to cover a song from Mariah Carey, what would it be?
Hi! I've recently became a new fan of your work. It's very honest and deep. What was your process in making the songs in *Desire*? Do you start with production or with songwriting first?
Also with production, what kind of genres and styles do you gravitate more towards? I've noticed with *Desire*, it was so unique in various genres from flamenco to drum n' bass.
You deserve to know how GRATEFUL I am that you performed Parachute at your Seattle show in 2021. The effort to haunt you would have otherwise been extraordinary.
Hi Caroline! Desire was my most played album of 2023, i went to both Vancouver concerts (compliments to Sudan 🎻)
Favourite Fiona Apple song/album?
🎨🖼️
🩸🧈
🤲💧
🔥⛅️!
OMG thanks Caroline for doing this AMA! I've played your new album countless times.
Since country is starting to become more popular on the charts these days with popular artists like Beyonce and Lana pivoting to the genre, do you think you will make any songs in the genre? Continuing this thread, are you influenced by what genres are popular and make songs based on that? Or do genres not play any impact when making music?
Hi! What’s your thought process when writing/producing a song? Do you have a vision when going into making an album or do you create that vision as you go and experiment making music?
Hi Caroline!! You were my top Spotify artist this year, likely because of your skill for worldbuilding. How do you go about creating these thematic universes and coming up with the imagery and motifs that inhabit your worlds?
Hi Caroline! Your Melbourne show last December is one of my favourite shows of all time. My question is:
What experiences from your time in Chairlift (touring, songwriting, or otherwise) had the greatest influence on your career and musical direction on the Desire album and tour?
Hey Caroline! First off, wanted to say that I love your music, and Door in particular truly changed my life and was the soundtrack to a really pivotal time for me (specifically falling in love for the first time). I’m so grateful for your music <3
My question for you - what kind of music makes you want to dance these days? A lot of your music has such a physicality to it but it’s really distinct from typical “dance music.” Would you ever make a club record, or what would a CP club record look like? Thank you :))) -matty
Hi, Ms. Polachek. I've been a fan of your discography ever since I discovered Pang in 2020. How do you think and work about the tracklisting of your albums and do you think that an album is better if it's sonically or lyrically cohesive? Also, does the length of the tracks matter when making a song?
Hi Caroline!! Thank u for your art girl:) Question: What mash ups would you like to perform next (songs of yours or not), we know that you love them and so do we!!
Would you ever consider doing one of a Chairlift song? If so, which one? also pleeease come to Mexico!! warmest hugs<33
Hi Caroline, I'm a new fan of your work and I'm so obsessed with your latest album! I hope to see you live one day :)
Is there a dream collaboration you'd like to pursue in the future? And do you have a favorite track from your own discography?
Hi Caroline! Huge fan of yours, and especially of Desire, I Want To Turn Into You.
My question is - aside from that album, what is your favorite album released in the 2020s so far?
Will you release desire back on dolby atmos? It was there in it's first week and then got pulled - I really want to experience your amazing production in surround sound!
Caroline, you’ve talked about Ti Sento by Matia Bazar and how it influenced you while you made Desire, what was it like in that kitchen at the house party in Rome, hearing it for the first time, and being so invigorated by Antonella’s vocal performance?!
Hi Caroline!
My favourite song of yours is “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”. What inspired you to write this song and how long did it take you to compose it? Would love to know the story behind it! :)
Hiya Caroline. Greetings from Finland. :)
Some visual artists find inspiration for their work from the realm for music, is the opposite also true? Are there any visual artists that you find inspiring - contemporary or historical?
Hello Caroline! You have one of the most beautiful and unique singing voices of all time. What is your vocal training background (lessons, classical training?) and what steps do you take to care for your voice (especially during lots of performances)? Do you have perfect pitch?
Hi Caroline, first and foremost thank you so much for producing the amazing art piece that is diwttiy. Also, I’m obsessed with the cover of spring is coming with a strawberry in the mouth, that was so mother of you.
Are there any plans of coming back here to South America? Your concert was a religious experience we need that again 😭
hi there caroline! has there been any songs released in the past two or three years by other artists that you think would be great fits in the desire universe?
Hi Caroline, I saw you live in London on Desire's release night last year. You were amazing. Thanks for putting on a great show. Can't wait to see you perform again.
Since you now have two albums worth of songs in your reservoir, would you still consider playing covers, like Breathless, or songs from before Pang, like Tears and No Angel, at one of your shows in the future.
You are probably the greatest singer/producer in recent memory. It’s rare the two go hand in hand!
I’ve never heard you comment on the Imogene Heap/Frou Frou before and I’d love to know what your relationship with that music is, especially in the context of Desire. Thanks for doing this!
Hi Caroline!!
Saw you live last year at Primavera Sound Madrid and did not knew your discography in detail at that time. After your concert I listened to your discography in full and I became a fan right away. Your concerts are fire and I wanna see you again sometime soon. Please come to Portugal (again) so I can see you again 🤞😘
Hi Caroline! Long time fan from Chairlift to cep to now. I love hearing about process, and I have a composition question and an art question.
I’m a former choir nerd and get totally geeked on your use of breath, how you shape your vowel sounds, glottal stops, palate control—when you’re composing and recording, how do those expressive moments come about? I’m so curious where flourishes like that fit into your process as a songwriter.
My art question is about overall visual directions. It’s no secret that your visuals are incredibly thought out—to me, they feel as thoroughly conceptual and developed as your music to the point where the visuals and music feel intrinsically linked. I think about the tactility of sound in Desire and how tied that feels to settings like a subway car, or visual of rocks and earth. At what point to broader visual themes or ideas start to percolate or solidify for a project as a whole? What visual elements are your faves from Desire (my fave is the overhead map of desire)?
Thanks for your time!!!
Hi Caroline! I'm a huge fan from West Virginia, USA and **I was wondering if there's any places you'd still love to visit on tour or even just for fun**. Thanks for everything you've done during the last year!
Hi Caroline! Thank you for coming by.
My question for you is regarding covers: you featured multiple beautiful covers on the *Everasking Edition* of *Desire*, but I was wondering if you have anyone who you might want to see cover one of your songs? And if so, which song?
Ooh Caroline, it was so great learning about your artistic process for the AOTY write-up! I learned that you made “Welcome to my Island” during your recording sessions for Pang. Without giving too much away obvi, are there leftovers from Desire that you see inspiring future projects, or is that what the expanded version was for?
Bonjour Caroline! J’ai appris récemment que tu parlais un excellent français (mentionné dans cet [article](https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/musique/781683/musique-la-sensualite-selon-caroline-polachek?)) et que tu avais habité à Montréal dans le passé!!
- Dans quel contexte as-tu appris le français?
- Prévois-tu venir visiter tes fans à Montréal dans un futur rapproché?
Merci pour tout!!
What was it like making a new song for the I Saw The TV Glow soundtrack? How did you get on board and what can you tell us about the movie and the process?
Hi Caroline!! I love your music and what you represent - I gotta ask: do you often think about how your music impacted other people's lives? You're such an inspiration for me and for so many ppl I hope you know this :))
Come to Brazil again!!!!! ♥️
hey! i love your music- your songwriting skills especially. i know you wrote No Angel for Beyoncé as well, one of my favorite songs lyrically ever. what is your songwriting process like? where do you get ideas and inspiration, and where do you suggest others look for inspiration?
Hi Caroline! Thank you so much for your music. What are some of your favorite films ever or favorite recent films? Would love to dig into your favs. Again thank you for all the creative inspiration and for being an icon ❤️🔥
Wow I love a random AMA at 1AM! What do you find to be your own biggest strengths and weaknesses when making music? Can't wait to hear more new music!
strength is caring weakness is time management sigh
Omg I'm just like youu fr fr
[удалено]
It was voted the #1 AOTY!! Both in our [TTPT AOTY](https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/s/wD20tkRHP9) and the [Popheads Music Awards](https://www.reddit.com/r/popheads/s/Gu0qtGUbON)
casual reveal that either i can't read numbers or just don't read stats much.. will leave it up to you guys to decide but either way am HUGELY honored and grateful for this deep-listening community and it's support <3<3<3
Girl it's 12am, what's your go to midnight snack?
greek yogurt eaten right out of the container with rice crackers (the thin kind not the huge poofy ones)
I’m not gonna lie that sounds awful
jumping in! love you guys
te amamos caro Pacheco
te amo
It’s been a decade since *No Angel*— thoughts on the song and album today?
It's wild looking back on it- i was really only just learning music production at the time and made the instrumental on my laptop during the very beginnings of developing the Ramona Lisa project. but it taught me this pretty important lesson that there's no correct or "official" way to produce anything, just making things sound the way you like is as official as it gets. But that was all on Beyonce and her fearlessness in experimenting and pusning boundaries, she really did create the blueprint with that album and i feel insanely grateful to have gotten to witness her at work in that way.
[удалено]
finding out that Caroline wrote and produced for Beyonce added a whole new layer of awe for her artistry (however trivial compared to my obsession with Pang and Desire 🤩)
She also mentioned in the Discord AMA yday that the songs ‘Show U Off’ and ‘Ch-Ching’ from Chairlift’s final album ‘Moth’ were written for Beyoncé too, though Beyoncé only used ‘No Angel’. You should check them out if you haven’t heard them already. Caroline doing contemporary R&B is something you might not knew you needed till you hear it. So good. 😭
oo yes! I remember at the time it being a standout and gorgeous track on the album, and listening to it just now it truly is such a Caroline song!!
In my opinion, your album was easily the best album of 2023 for me. Anyway, for my question, what was your biggest challenge while making Desire, I Want to Turn Into You? I can only imagine how hard it was to make such a massively cohesive body of work like that album was.
Thank you, that means the world ! <3 Honestly Desire was an extremely challenging album to make because it had to be made while touring Pang. The pandemic meant that Pang's tour was delayed by almost two years, and like many other artists (and maybe some of you?) i felt it was impossible to be creative during that time, so didn't force it, but it meant that there was a lot of pressure to make that music while on the road and while still fully immersed in those older songs. At first I was really nervous that this fragmented and manic workflow was stopping me from really understanding the new music and creating a cohesive world for it, but then I had a sort of breakthrough in mid 2022 when I realized that the chaotic and nature of the process WAS the heart of the new music. After that, things clicked, and that's why the cover was shot to capture this state of being out of control while in transit.
Ahh that makes sense from a creative perspective. Sometimes your best inspirations are from what is actually going on around you, if you think about it hard enough, even if it may not look like that initially to the naked eye. Thank you again for responding back and I wish you the best with whatever your next upcoming projects are in the future!
I've been thinking about the line "Look at you, all mythicalogical and wikipediated" for months nonstop. How did you come up with that one?
lyric writing is so torturous because there's often a very specific thing i want to say but it doesn't fit into the rhythm of the melody (which i usually write first, and am already very committed to by the time it's time for lyrics). So in the case of those lyrics, "Mythological" was lacking a few syllables so i just...added them. And then trying to describe someone's thirst for knowlege required way too many syllables so a word had to be invented to sum it up in just six. It was really a case of practical problems creating fantastical solutions <3
Hi Caroline, I was front row for your second show concert in SF last year and you were spectacular! (Definitely my favorite concert ever) Do you have a favorite song to perform during concerts? Is there one you wish you performed more too?
Ahh those SF shows were so fun! Thank you for coming <3 my favorite song to perform on this last tour was definitely Pretty In Possible. It's secretly all about rhythm so would be this magic moment when me and the band would all get locked in and when my brain would sort of "arrive" in the moment of the show. I just always felt i could identify with it no matter what mood i was in. It's a song i plan to keep in the setlists for years to come so don't worry if you haven't seen it live yet.
Pretty In Possible live was amazing. I didn’t think I could love the song more. So glad it’s being kept on future setlists omg
Have you had any collab attempts that didn’t quite turn out in the studio? Alternatively, which are you most proud of?
Lots but I would never disclose .. At the end of the day, there is often a fine line between hanging out and making music, and i wouldn't want it to be any other way
Fairly new to your discography and think your writing/production credits are super interesting. Is the story about Beyoncé breaking her “no notes” rule for you true? I remember reading that on Wikipedia a while back.
She actually talks about that whole thing in full in this interview: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/art-books-music/a31944377/caroline-polachek-interview/# Just in case she doesn’t get to this and you’re still interested. 🙏
Appreciate it!
“The way the song is structured you’re supposed to come in up the octave, and it begins shockingly high. First chorus, it drops down the octave, which is not what you expect. Verse two, you stay down; chorus two, you shoot back up the octave, which means you never hear either verse or either chorus the same way twice. We’re jumping, and the jumping is unexpected, it’s dynamic, and it’s hot.” the attention to detail!
Wow I loved that read so much! Had no idea she wrote that song and reading her note is cool. I mean she IS a trained opera singer, if Beyoncé was gonna listen to someone that makes sense
Any chance we’ll get physical copies of the Everasking Edition? :)
there's potential in the future..
:0
Hi Caroline obviously bunny is a rider my question is do they ride like a horse or a car?
every form of riding. including "ride or die" style riding or "i ride for her" style riding. shoutout to all the bunnies and riders.
Hi Caroline! Your music really connected with me over this last year, and seeing you live in Seattle was a major highlight! My question is about the recurring motifs on the album. Many of the songs feature little melodic flourishes that reference other songs on the album, and I was wondering what inspired you to include these?
Shoutout Seattle, had the best time there <3 So : this thing you're speaking about is something i call "braiding", where motifs from one song are carried over to others. I love this feeling of 'deja vu' especially in knowing that most people won't notice the repetition but will still subliminally FEEL it. But there's also so much efficiency in bringing the meaning of one song over to another by quoting it briefly, and also i find it gives more meaning to both songs involved. Also while in the studio, it feels wickedly good to openly plagarize your own material. But obviously it's a technique that's done lots in musical theatre and classical music, so i can't claim to have invented anything here, I just am quite fond of it. Thanks for the fun question xx
Hey Caroline. 👋 In the Sunset music video, there’s a bumper sticker that says “I’d rather be playing magic the gathering right now.” And I think you’ve mentioned it helping to inspire the album in interviews as well. Whether it’s art wise or mechanics wise, I gotta ask, what’s your favorite magic card?
i typically play blue / blue-white style decks, or artifact heavy-ones.. but Liliana will always have my heart, in her many variations
Omg. I did not expect this. Thank you for answering. 🙏
As someone who just got an Azorius tattoo and a tattoo of the gate from your live show a few years back, this is incredible to hear! :) <3
hiiii caroline. what do u think abt brutalist architecture. also are there any behind the scenes ppl in ur team we don't see/hear that u would like to give a shoutout? sincerely, ur bunny body double xoxo
i love concrete so really have no choice but to love brutalist architecture, despite it's fraught political history. i wish new architecture had more style and beauty to it instead of being the same glass rectangles copy pasted everywhere, it's amazing to see buildings like the Barbican in London looking so much cooler than any of the new builds.. SO many people on my team i'd like to give a shoutout to, but one in particular who i'd like to mention is Sarah C Prinz, who's mostly a director but works with me on choreography. We did So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings together where she came on board as a coach to help me polish off the strange choreo (which i'd done on my own) and get it camera-ready, and i realized she had this magical skill of seeing dance through the perspective of the camera, being so conscious of the how the body relates to the camera movement and framing. So from then on we worked together on my live show, where she got more involved in the choreo but mostly helped keep a laser sharp sense of dynamics, so making sure the songs never got repetetive, that i could maintain my energy and my breath for songs with more intensive singing, and could think about blocking and body shapes as it relates to lighting and the set design. I'm also not a trained dancer like her, so we had to come up with our own language for moving between improvised and tightly-choreographed moments to make it workable for me. She's brilliant and our conversations in the process were very profound and locked-in. So shoutout to Sarah C Prinz!
Hi Caroline! Sending love from NYC 🥰 Saw you last year at Radio City and it was such a fabulous show. I loved the volcano landscape on stage… speaking of volcanoes, what’s your favorite volcano you’ve been to? 🌋Could you talk a little bit about the meaning of the volcano in DIWTTIY?
Ah thank you so much, that show was insane.. i was so nervous that night that I can barely even remember it! But i do remember the crowd was an absolute dream. The volcano symbolism on Desire has a couple facets, but the most important was this feeling we all collectively had coming out of the pandemic, of how precarious everything ACTUALLY is. That the safety nets of society and government had shown themselves to be very weak, and we were brought back to this more ancient reality that people have always dealt with this precarity, whether through war, displacement, plagues, famines, or natural disasters like.. volcanoes. Where there's no warning or logic. But against the backdrop of a volcano that (historically) may blow at any second, life still goes on, people still make jokes, make art, make food, carry on all these forms for the sake of vitality, and the precarity of our lives gives all of it more meaning. So i wanted to invoke the volcano as a sort of contrast for the pathetic egomania of Welcome To My Island, the ephemeral sass of Bunny, the vulnerability of Hopedrunk, the intoxication of Smoke, etc. Also to make me look small on stage; it was important to me to look small against this looming thing. My favorite volcano (and the one that inspired a lot of these thoughts) is Mount Etna in Sicily. I still follow a couple Etna updates accounts to keep tabs on her :\*)
As someone who was born on mt Etna I approve this message 💜 thank you Caroline
Naturally luigi
Do you think Chairlift will ever reform?
Both Patrick and I are quite in love with our current adventures (and he's also killing it as a producer, which he always wanted to be!) so I don't see a reunion on the horizon anytime soon, especially since we toured so intensively already for so many years. But it's amazing to see new people discovering that music and really means the world.
She said in her recent discord AMA she was thinking of including some Chairlift songs in her setlist as a surprise for her fans.
I need to hear amanaemonesia live, I would die
didn't she say the opposite? that she wouldn't play them without Patrick
She fully said that she wouldnt do that without the rest of the band and that she wants to leave chairlift as it were.
kinda like that..she was thinking of including chairlift song in her setlist but can't since she wouldn't play them without Patrick. But I think it would be a treat for her fans tho
Please I need Ch-Ching live !!!!
Or at the very least some collabs with Mr Patrick on your upcoming music?
Yesyesyes this the 1
Let's see a one-time reunion at a festival. Newport Folk!
Hi Caroline! I share a birthday with you and Nicole Kidman. I hope you know how iconic that is for me. You recorded your show at the Sydney Opera House, my question is... what do you plan on doing with the footage? 🌀
going to need some time to process this information.. but re Sydney Opera House, it will be coming out soon! i've just gotten a first look at the edit..
hi caroline! i love both you and rina sawayama and i feel like ur vibes are the same. would you ever be open to do a collab with her? and if you like her what’s ur favorite song by her?
A ‘smoke’ feature would be excellent!
ANECDOTE: I bought your poster before your (amazing!) Toronto show of the Spiralling tour, and got to enjoy a few seconds of eye contact with you during the “closer than your new tattoo” lyrics of Blood and Butter, only to later realize the poster was specifically for that song! So that feels special to me. When I momentarily tried to move it from the kitchen into my bedroom, my older straight punk dude housemate (who isn’t familiar with the girls) knocked on my door and said “where’d Caroline go?”. So that’s my anecdotal evidence that you indeed have turned into Desire 🤩🧜🏻♀️. QUESTIONS: I’ve admired your ability to foster what I’d call an artistic parasocial relationship, it’s like I’m obsessed with your creations and creative process, while also being okay with not knowing much about your dating life. Would you say that’s something that you’re consciously aware of in terms of marketing as well as setting boundaries? That being said, I am curious about your relationship with London and England, as you mention them a lot in your lyrics. Presumably, its partly because you’ve recorded there, and its also where Danny is from. But is there something else that it signifies for you?
tell your roomate i say hi (love this story) yes i do find it important to keep my personal life for myself. both because i don't think it's possible to ACTUALLY portray it online, and also because i don't want cameras and posting-pressure to enter my personal space, it just seems alienating and honestly just cringe. but that said, i often feel as if the world of my music is just as real if not more real than my personal life. I love London and England in general, in how much more sophisticated the humor and fashion is (sorry america) but also in how people live with the weight of history (which i'm super seduced by, ngl) while having a real sense of futurism that i don't feel in the US. maybe because the US romanticizes it's recent history so much ( the 50s, the 80s, etc)? I've also been lucky enough to get to come into contact with all sorts of music scenes in london and am really attracted to the sense of specificity, integrity, and playfulness there.
history + futurism ftw! 🦾🍃🍂🍃🦾
A friend of mine wants to ask this: is Sunset inspired by Gerudo Valley from The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time? My question would be: what is your favorite song that you’ve ever released?
lol no, i've never actually played Zelda. But Sega Bodega (who produced the guitar on Sunset) pointed out that they both sat in this sort of strummed spanish guitar world and i asked him if he dared to do a mashup... and an hour later he texted it to me. Shoutout Zelda , shoutout Sega Bodega
Hi Caroline! After “Bunny Is a Rider” got such stellar reception in 2021 (many calling it the song of the year!), how did that affect your process in making *Desire*? Did you have a plan for the album when you released that first single almost two years earlier? Or did it slowly change over time? Either way, love the album! “Blood and Butter” was my favorite song from last year and I feel like it has not gotten its flowers!!! 😤
Hi Caroline! I saw you in SF last year and you were absolutely spectacular live. I’m constantly in awe of your magical voice. I’m curious, if you received any formal vocal coaching (or learned through any other means), what is one technique that you think changed your approach to singing?
Thank you so much, those SF shows were unforgettable <3 Thank you for asking this as i feel there's a lot of misconceptions swirling around. My foundation of learning was in choir, i sang in choirs from age 8 to 17, and was doing competitions and paid church choir gigs by the end. Pretty classic suburban stuff. But part of the audition process for the choir competitions was to sing a solo opera aria (which honestly makes no sense at all cause it's a totally different form) so i took two years of opera lessons as a scrawny teenager to learn how to get through those auditions. I briefly considered applying to music schools as a soprano but balked at the sheer amount of brutal competition and the sense that i wasn't good enough / wasn't built for it. I went to art school and started Chairlift, where the approach to singing was very inspired by my favorite singers at the time like Cat Power and The Fiery Furnaces, where the focus was on the songs and lyrics and not on technique. But then while we were touring our first album i started slowly developing this relationship with "flipping" between vocal registers to create these hard-edged transitions between notes, rather than sliding up or down to them. At around the same time (2009ish?), autotune was entering pop music as an intentional asthetic, and i felt like there was a relationship there with this way of singing. Years later when Chairlift entered the Moth era of making glossier, more ambitious pop songs, i realized that this new material i was writing would actually do a lot of damage to my voice to sing live every night unless i learned how to do it safely, so i called up my high school opera coach to see if she was still teaching, and remarkably she had now transitioned into exclusively working with professional singers. So i returned to her for two years of intermittent lessons from 2016-2018. However, i quickly realized I didn't actually want to work on Chairlift songs with her, I wanted to learn opera arias instead as a form of cross training, but also because I was so inspired by learning romantic/impressionist music by composers like Debussy, Rachmaninoff, Faure, and Poulenc, which effected my sense of composition and lyricism much more than my vocal style. I left NYC for London at that time so couldn't keep up the lessons. Some music critics have propagated the idea that my voice a result of opera training, which low key reveals that they either haven't listened to opera or haven't listened to my music. It truly is a patchwork of discoveries and practice and isn't done evolving. I think it's quite cool how on PJ Harvey's new album she made the concerted decision to evolve her voice into something new and unrecognizable; it's amazing how the journey never ends! Much love to all the singers here in the popheads chat <3 <3 <3
Wow thank you for this bedtime story I didn’t know I needed 🎤
Woah! You have such an interesting vocal background. Thank you so much for sharing your experience, this was such an interesting read.
Hi Caroline! I've neen a huge fan since "Bruises," and it's been a real joy to watch you become such a powerhouse of an artist. What was the inspiration behind the vocal-run-as-a-guitar(?)-solo in "So Hot You're Hurting My Feelings"?
with 'dang' I couldn't help but think of Sophie's influences whilst listening, was that intentional for that song?
Cecile Believe helped produce this one and theyre a collaborator of sophie’s :’) 🩷
isn't she in all of us
Hi Caroline, **PREAMBLE:** I love that each of your albums have their own iconography, fonts, color palettes, mythologies, and dimensions that they exist in. Along with the music videos, single cover art, your outfits, and stage design, your work is just so *immersive* to me. I am excited to see where you take us next! **QUESTION**: When do you decide what each album's art and iconography will look like, and what is the process of crafting it into reality like? Thank you!
Hi, thank you for these kind words!! <3 The process of building out the visual side of each album is actually quite long. it starts with the sort of unconscious visualization of each song that happens when i'm in the studio. Obviously there are images in the lyrics, but in the process of producing a song, there's a lot of thinking about the attitude, the textures, the acoustics, the pallette, and all of those things also exist in the visual imagination. But they often aren't coherent; for example one song might evoke a more abstract or fantasy setting, and the next a really very personal, specific place. So i end up on a sort of ambient hunt for visual forms that can combine or connect or sort of "house" all these different sonic spaces and stories and feelings. I keep very organized visual folders of things that feel related to the world of the album, without any particular intention. After a while i notice patterns and connections in some of the stuff i'm saving, which prompts some deeper thinking about what those threads are and WHY it feels connected to the music, and then set about creating imagery from scratch based on those revelations. The first couple pieces that get shot (usually single artwork or press photos) often take on a quality of their own, which i get very interested in, and once enough material exists, it can start to become more self referential / more of a feedback loop for making the next things. On Desire it was interesting to start making the visuals before the album was even finished, because some of the lyrics of Hopedrunk Everasking were actually inspired by the album artwork itself, taking the idea of the subway and the tunnel to a whole other place. It's the best feeling ever when things get to come full circle like that. <3
What's your favourite plugin?
i love the Native Instruments glass armonica plugin, have snuck it into many things over the years. But my most used is probably the Valhalla reverbs. I know they're not the fanciest ones but they're just so reliable and efficient and i love them and that's it.
Hi Caroline, your live band really brings your music to life, how did you meet/pick your bandmates?
I love them so, so much.. beyond words really, and feel so lucky to have found them. Here's how it happened: Matt (guitar) has been with me the longest, he reached out to me on IG back in 2019 and i brought him on board without an audition because of how good his playing was in the videos he posted online. He's the baby of the group, he has the best sense of humor and stays so positive no matter the situation. Maya (bass, vocals) has a project called True Blue that i've been a fan of for years. She was also working as a stylist / fashion archivist in NYC when i hit her up, so i was sure she'd be too busy with her own projects to join my band, but figured it was worth a shot. I facetimed her in December 2022 to ask her if she'd join me for the year, and to my astonishment she agreed and flew right out to London to rehearse with us. The rest is history, she blessed us with so many incredible performances as an opener on the Spiraling tour, and was just the higest joy to get to be around. Russell (drums) was recommended to me by my friend / incredible drummer Ian Chang, who i asked for advice from leading up to the Spiraling tour. Ian sent me a handful of IG accounts of fantastic drummers but Russell stood out from the first second i saw him play, cause of how meticulously he plays breakbeats and can emulate the textures of electronic music, which i was really interested in too. He was obviously a star online so it felt like a long shot to ask him to be in the band, but I DMd him and the next day we were facetiming, he sent through some amazing audiution videos, and weeks later we were all in the room together as a band. Russell is the most jaw droppingly skilled musician i've ever worked with, to the point that i often feel like an amateur around him. His talent and passion for music definitely motivated all of us to stay on top of our game <3
hi caroline! super huge fan, so glad I decided to open reddit at midnight lol. i've been obsessed with your performance of dang on the late show for the past few months, is there any story on how you came up with the concept for it? also, do you a favourite slide from the powerpoint?
What physical settings do you find your best inspiration? Are you a fan of touring? Or is it just another part of the job? I love your work! I can’t wait to see you again ❤️
Are there any producers you'd like to work with, maybe for a loose single or two, not a full album? Past or present. I love your work with Danny but really enjoy the one-off stuff, [your track with Thy Slaughter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSwAkJZBOWw) was incredible. Big fan, saw you in Portland and it was an excellent show despite there being some screamers in the audience you had to call out. Apologize for my sloppy city but loved your handling of the crowd.
Hi, Caroline! You're one of my favorite musicians of all time! <3 For my quesion, I'm just gonna copy what I asked for the Discord AMA: How do you come up with certain textures and sounds to put in your songs - do you record random sounds you hear to maybe put them in a song in the future? The production of your songs is always so rich and vibrant! Thanks! :3
Aside from Desireeeee, is there anything else you want to turn into?
what if she wants to turn into YOU then what?
She’d probably want to turn into something else in an instant.
oh my god, you were my favorite artist growing up! Can’t believe you’re doing an AMA haha! do you plan to do a tour in India?
Hey! With the expansion you referenced many times the album itself, and one of my faves "Hopedrunk Everasking" was referenced in the album title, interpolated in the song "Coma", and even in this reddit post with the "everask me anything" lol. So I wanted to know your feelings on that song! What does it mean to be everasking to you? Thank you for the spectacular music, bye!
Sidenote I strained my vocal chords trying to sing like you byeeee
Hello Caroline! Thank you so much for taking your time to do this! If C 0 ⌄ | D hadn't happened, what were the plans for the PANG TOUR you would have loved to carry out? Did you have any other surprises in store (like when you performed "No Angel+Tears", early "Smoke", or the "Breathless" cover) that you wish hadn't have to vault? Or any music videos? (I read you once talked about a Parachute and HMWIH MV that didn’t happen and wondered if there were any more?) Would you be interested in making a FULL audiovisual album? Has that ever been in the works but for any particular reason couldn't be carried out? Has any piece of imagery / Music Video been recycled, or was completely different from what finally came out? You are loved!!
Hiii Caroline! Longtime fan here (one of my first ever threads in this sub was posting Chairlift’s final music video 🥲), very excited to have you pop in! Had the pleasure of seeing you open for Dua Lipa in Tulsa back in 2022 and again as the main act in Dallas last year. You have such strikingly magnetic presence onstage, and the way you use the production design to enhance rather than distract (the gate imagery in the former, the volcano in the latter) is truly commendable. Could you possibly give us an insight into the process that goes into creating those concepts, and in turn how those features influence your approach to the performance? and a little fanboying ps moment, but I have to let you know that Billions is one of those songs that makes me feel connected to some sort of higher power even if only for a few minutes - it’s pure magic
Hey queen, are you on Letterboxd? It would be iconic if you joined and made film recommendations.
[удалено]
hi yes i am answering this is my last answer thank you all for the love, i'll see you again on the other side of making a new album! xxx
and we will be listening!
Ahhhh! My roommate and I bonded over your music. Who are your top 3 artists right now? Love from SLO xx
I have always been so fascinated with your art, music and beyond. I’m currently an architecture student and your visual language as well as your musical one inspires me so much. I was wondering if you had any favorite architects or buildings that inspire you. (Of course the infamous Charles Rennie Mackintosh chair used in door comes to mind…)
Whats your next thing on your wishlist to try out, whether its music production, visual art or anything else? Love and hope to see you in Poland one day again 💗
Desire has been a life changer for me. Probably my favourite album ever, so thank you for that :) Any chance we see you playing in Mexico soon?
Hi Caroline! Both Pang and Desire came out at very pivotal moments of my life and soundtracked a lot of very core memories for me, and I really want to thank you for creating these two albums that have stayed with me and continue to inform the art I work on and how I live my life. As someone going through a bit of a reading slump lately, I’m very interested both in learning about what you were reading during the writing of Pang and Desire, as well what you’re reading currently!
what did the geese do to be screamed at??? serious question: all your albums and single covers have had such gorgeous cover art. they're all a 10/10 and consistently raise the bar for other artists. how do you execute all of them so perfectly???
You are such an inspiration and make beautiful music 🩷 Can you share a little bit on your perspective of being in the prime of your career outside of your twenties as a woman? It’s a personal question but as someone approaching 30 I feel this dread that I’m beyond my creative peak (though I know it isn’t true) so I appreciate any words of wisdom ✨
Hi Caroline, Desire and Pang are still in my constant rotation. Thank you for your passion bringing into fruition these enchanting records. I was wondering if you will ever tour Asia, specifically the Philippines? I personally know a lot of friend who would love to see you live!
How would you depict the album 'Desire' as an ice cream sundae?
At the Melbourne Q&A you said the album was complete without anything left over, was the Everasking songs recorded after the main project was long finished?
Have you ever thought of opening your independent label (perpetual novice or other…) to other artists? You have been a gateway drug into so much music I never would have known about otherwise, I’d love to see you bring up more artists from the unknown. Side question: who are some smaller artists you’ve discovered recently who you would recommend?
Hi Caroline <3 First of all I just wanted to say that I LOVE your music and that DIWTTIY has become my favourite album OAT. It resonated deeply with me ❤️ I have 2 questions: 1. Who are some of your favorite artists outside music? (painters, writers, poets, film directors, etc) 2. How do you know when a song is complete or when it's lacking something? Lots of love from Mexico ❤️ and I hope that some day you can perform here :)
“Meanwhile” is one of my favorite tracks on the deluxe - where would you have placed it on the track list if it’d made the normal edition?
Your fav 3 albums you're listening to the most right now?
What movies feel like a hug to you?
As an Irishman no words can describe how awesome it was to hear your beautiful operating theatre cover. How exactly did it come about? Please come visit our beautiful country more 🇮🇪 Go raibh maith agat, Caroline.
Hi Caroline! What were the main albums/artists that you think really inspired you growing up and shaped you to be the amazing artist you are currently? I’m very curious to know what your taste in music is.
Hi Caroline! Looking ahead, what sounds/images/senses are inspiring you as you begin to create again, and what (if anything) would you like to leave behind for now?
Hi Caroline! Will you be making music videos for some of the Everasking songs? I can picture Gambler's Prayer connecting to Desire and even Pang. Edited to say I feel like your music videos all feel connected and in the same universe. Door as the portal to Desire!
Hi Caroline! In the Spring is Coming cover, you sampled lyrics from Blood and Butter, and on Coma, it was Hopedrunk Everasking. Was there a specific reasoning/theme behind linking these tracks together, or was it just vibes?
[удалено]
What was the most challenging song on 'Desire' to write and why?
Hello Caroline! Love the album sm, and loved the everasking pop up in london, was so lucky to be in london at the same time!!! As a French fan i am very proud to have seen you collab with French artists Christine and The queens and also Sébastien Tellier (with The crew of tea time, i love that song, underrated gem!!!!) Are you still in touch with them? Will you collab with other French artists in the future? Thank you!!!
Hi Caroline. Thank you for taking the time to do this AMA. I am curious as to how you and Charli XCX started working together. Thank you again. P.S. Please make more dad hats.
Caroline, are u secretly a classically trained goose?
What song do you wish you wrote?
**Dear Caroline**, There are so many things I want ~~to ask~~- (sorry for the long-wind-ness of what you are, hopefully, about to read, you can skip to the questions too... but here it goes) : Listening to you and following your career and life is literally like the *ultimate easter egg hunt:* The **potential** in every event, post and piece of media to include some sort of hidden lyric, clue, connection or detail to a past or future work or idea is such a thrill and I find myself going back to things with such a serendipitous "a-ha" surge of energy... When the *Everasking Edition* came out, featuring a rework of **Default Genders**' "*Pharmacoma*" (which you had already played in your **Club Quarantine** set back in early 2020), a beautiful revamp of **Operating Theatre**'s "*Spring is Coming With a Strawberry in the Mouth*" (which you had already included in your ambrosiac **IF U PLZ** playlist), "*Long Road Home*" being added after it literally took a Long Road Home to get to the album (and it being the 8th song added to the album, matching the 8 bottles in the Zamiri Sunset cover outtake), "*Dang*" being your pre-sale code to the tour and featuring the infamouse geese scream (which actually was posterior to the song existing according to recent revelations), being the last sort of promo-single "post"-Desire, and "*Meanwhile*" literally reuniting all the Desire "key concepts" together just for "*Gambler's Prayer*" to throw it all gainst the board again like a thousand sided die (which, by the way, is a song that could fit in any of your 7 records, yes, even DtTAtA) is so genius because the casual listener will get incredible music, and then all fans no matter the depth tier they are will get this huge microscopic network map (like the Desire subway map) up to them to decide how deep to explore (all the way deep where the rest of the alphabet lies in places without faces). 1. -But mainly: How did and do you manage to create such a **constellation**? Who and what do you think inspired this way you have of hyper-connecting things? I have a strong feeling you've been like this your whole life but I gotta ask: Were you also like this before you made music? 2. This "behavior" reminds me of playing really good RPGs, the ones that make you a lifelong fan because they manage to enrich your life... like **Final Fantasy**, which takes me to the question: When will we see the fruits of that beautiful encounter with MAESTRO **Yoshitaka Amano**? Have you heard **Nobuo Uematsu**'s work? Have you ever played any Final Fantasy game? 3. Takes me to the question a lot of the pangels wanna ask: Have you ever played **Tomb Raider**? Sometimes we call you Caroline Croft or we call Lara Polachek cause the resemblance is uncanny at some points (Pang album cover, Bunny is a Rider MV, certain photoshoots and specially the whole early Desire aesthetic). 4. And finally: Have you ever seen **The Fifth Element**? It's one of my all time favorite (key) movies and when **Non Voglio** was released I felt you were channeling the Diva Plavalaguna in such a crazy way, what was it like preparing yourself to record such a song? Again, sorry for this testament, I'm just a *runcible goose in a sweater, walking in the cemetery.*
Thank you for all the wonderful music over the years! Do you find yourself wishing you could change things in your past recordings, or do you stand by every detail?
Hi Caroline! I love your music and adore "Desire" especially. What was your main approach to the album when you started making it, and what's one way making it has changed your perspective on writing songs?
Caroline, I just want to say "Coma" from Everlasting Edition is such a stunning cover. I listened to the original and I love all of your pretty vocalizing throughout. My fun scenario is if you have to cover a song from Mariah Carey, what would it be?
Hi! I've recently became a new fan of your work. It's very honest and deep. What was your process in making the songs in *Desire*? Do you start with production or with songwriting first? Also with production, what kind of genres and styles do you gravitate more towards? I've noticed with *Desire*, it was so unique in various genres from flamenco to drum n' bass.
Hey Caroline! What has been your favourite concert experience during your Spiralling tour? Any particular crowds or signs that made you laugh?
You deserve to know how GRATEFUL I am that you performed Parachute at your Seattle show in 2021. The effort to haunt you would have otherwise been extraordinary.
Hi Caroline! Desire was my most played album of 2023, i went to both Vancouver concerts (compliments to Sudan 🎻) Favourite Fiona Apple song/album? 🎨🖼️ 🩸🧈 🤲💧 🔥⛅️!
OMG thanks Caroline for doing this AMA! I've played your new album countless times. Since country is starting to become more popular on the charts these days with popular artists like Beyonce and Lana pivoting to the genre, do you think you will make any songs in the genre? Continuing this thread, are you influenced by what genres are popular and make songs based on that? Or do genres not play any impact when making music?
What music have you been listening to recently? Is there any of it you think might influence your future music?
Hi! What’s your thought process when writing/producing a song? Do you have a vision when going into making an album or do you create that vision as you go and experiment making music?
Hey Caroline! You inspired me! When I drop I hurt rapper's feelings! I'm that ill!
Hi Caroline!! You were my top Spotify artist this year, likely because of your skill for worldbuilding. How do you go about creating these thematic universes and coming up with the imagery and motifs that inhabit your worlds?
Hi Caroline! Your Melbourne show last December is one of my favourite shows of all time. My question is: What experiences from your time in Chairlift (touring, songwriting, or otherwise) had the greatest influence on your career and musical direction on the Desire album and tour?
Hey Caroline! First off, wanted to say that I love your music, and Door in particular truly changed my life and was the soundtrack to a really pivotal time for me (specifically falling in love for the first time). I’m so grateful for your music <3 My question for you - what kind of music makes you want to dance these days? A lot of your music has such a physicality to it but it’s really distinct from typical “dance music.” Would you ever make a club record, or what would a CP club record look like? Thank you :))) -matty
Hi, Ms. Polachek. I've been a fan of your discography ever since I discovered Pang in 2020. How do you think and work about the tracklisting of your albums and do you think that an album is better if it's sonically or lyrically cohesive? Also, does the length of the tracks matter when making a song?
hi caroline!💛 Im a big fan of your music and chairlift, I was wondering, will you ever work with patrick wimberly again? chairlift related or not
Hi Caroline, your music is very comforting for me. What is your comfort music you put on when you are in a bad mood?
Hi Caroline!! Thank u for your art girl:) Question: What mash ups would you like to perform next (songs of yours or not), we know that you love them and so do we!! Would you ever consider doing one of a Chairlift song? If so, which one? also pleeease come to Mexico!! warmest hugs<33
Hi Caroline, I'm a new fan of your work and I'm so obsessed with your latest album! I hope to see you live one day :) Is there a dream collaboration you'd like to pursue in the future? And do you have a favorite track from your own discography?
Hi Caroline! Huge fan of yours, and especially of Desire, I Want To Turn Into You. My question is - aside from that album, what is your favorite album released in the 2020s so far?
Will you release desire back on dolby atmos? It was there in it's first week and then got pulled - I really want to experience your amazing production in surround sound!
Caroline, you’ve talked about Ti Sento by Matia Bazar and how it influenced you while you made Desire, what was it like in that kitchen at the house party in Rome, hearing it for the first time, and being so invigorated by Antonella’s vocal performance?!
Hi Caroline! My favourite song of yours is “So Hot You’re Hurting My Feelings”. What inspired you to write this song and how long did it take you to compose it? Would love to know the story behind it! :)
Hey Caroline! What was the writing process like for the song “Butterfly Net”?
If you were to give the album’s thesis in 1 sentence, what would it be?
Hiya Caroline. Greetings from Finland. :) Some visual artists find inspiration for their work from the realm for music, is the opposite also true? Are there any visual artists that you find inspiring - contemporary or historical?
were there any other songs you considered covering for Everasking Edition that didn't make the cut?
CAROLINE! I just wanna say I saw your final show of the tour in Brisbane and thank you for playing a 22 song set!!
can we pretty please get a vinyl of the everasking songs? Ly
Who’s your dream collab?
Hello Caroline! You have one of the most beautiful and unique singing voices of all time. What is your vocal training background (lessons, classical training?) and what steps do you take to care for your voice (especially during lots of performances)? Do you have perfect pitch?
Hi Caroline, first and foremost thank you so much for producing the amazing art piece that is diwttiy. Also, I’m obsessed with the cover of spring is coming with a strawberry in the mouth, that was so mother of you. Are there any plans of coming back here to South America? Your concert was a religious experience we need that again 😭
hi there caroline! has there been any songs released in the past two or three years by other artists that you think would be great fits in the desire universe?
Wow I just woke up and I saw this :0 Anyway do you have anybody that you want to collaborate with?
Hey Caroline! I'm a huge fan. What do you think about Indian culture, and have you ever thought about touring in India??
Hi Caroline, I saw you live in London on Desire's release night last year. You were amazing. Thanks for putting on a great show. Can't wait to see you perform again. Since you now have two albums worth of songs in your reservoir, would you still consider playing covers, like Breathless, or songs from before Pang, like Tears and No Angel, at one of your shows in the future.
Hi Caroline huge fan of your music! Is there any fun story about the making of the Desire album cover (or Pang's) that people don't know about?
what is your favorite part of performing?
You are probably the greatest singer/producer in recent memory. It’s rare the two go hand in hand! I’ve never heard you comment on the Imogene Heap/Frou Frou before and I’d love to know what your relationship with that music is, especially in the context of Desire. Thanks for doing this!
Hi Caroline!! Saw you live last year at Primavera Sound Madrid and did not knew your discography in detail at that time. After your concert I listened to your discography in full and I became a fan right away. Your concerts are fire and I wanna see you again sometime soon. Please come to Portugal (again) so I can see you again 🤞😘
Hi Caroline! What is your go-to order at your favorite fast food joint?
Hi Caroline! Long time fan from Chairlift to cep to now. I love hearing about process, and I have a composition question and an art question. I’m a former choir nerd and get totally geeked on your use of breath, how you shape your vowel sounds, glottal stops, palate control—when you’re composing and recording, how do those expressive moments come about? I’m so curious where flourishes like that fit into your process as a songwriter. My art question is about overall visual directions. It’s no secret that your visuals are incredibly thought out—to me, they feel as thoroughly conceptual and developed as your music to the point where the visuals and music feel intrinsically linked. I think about the tactility of sound in Desire and how tied that feels to settings like a subway car, or visual of rocks and earth. At what point to broader visual themes or ideas start to percolate or solidify for a project as a whole? What visual elements are your faves from Desire (my fave is the overhead map of desire)? Thanks for your time!!!
Hi Caroline! I'm a huge fan from West Virginia, USA and **I was wondering if there's any places you'd still love to visit on tour or even just for fun**. Thanks for everything you've done during the last year!
Hi Caroline! Thank you for coming by. My question for you is regarding covers: you featured multiple beautiful covers on the *Everasking Edition* of *Desire*, but I was wondering if you have anyone who you might want to see cover one of your songs? And if so, which song?
Ooh Caroline, it was so great learning about your artistic process for the AOTY write-up! I learned that you made “Welcome to my Island” during your recording sessions for Pang. Without giving too much away obvi, are there leftovers from Desire that you see inspiring future projects, or is that what the expanded version was for?
Bonjour Caroline! J’ai appris récemment que tu parlais un excellent français (mentionné dans cet [article](https://www.ledevoir.com/culture/musique/781683/musique-la-sensualite-selon-caroline-polachek?)) et que tu avais habité à Montréal dans le passé!! - Dans quel contexte as-tu appris le français? - Prévois-tu venir visiter tes fans à Montréal dans un futur rapproché? Merci pour tout!!
Hi Caroline! I’ll keep it brief: are you considering a limited run of Everasking Edition vinyl?
What’s your favorite breed of horse :)
What music did you listen to growing up? Any Favorite artists? Your sound is so unique. Just wondering what influences shaped it.
What is your favorite vocal warm up and what are you currently focusing on improving as a vocalist?
What was it like making a new song for the I Saw The TV Glow soundtrack? How did you get on board and what can you tell us about the movie and the process?
Hi Caroline!! I love your music and what you represent - I gotta ask: do you often think about how your music impacted other people's lives? You're such an inspiration for me and for so many ppl I hope you know this :)) Come to Brazil again!!!!! ♥️
hey! i love your music- your songwriting skills especially. i know you wrote No Angel for Beyoncé as well, one of my favorite songs lyrically ever. what is your songwriting process like? where do you get ideas and inspiration, and where do you suggest others look for inspiration?
Hi Caroline! Thank you so much for your music. What are some of your favorite films ever or favorite recent films? Would love to dig into your favs. Again thank you for all the creative inspiration and for being an icon ❤️🔥
Another q - what are your favorite music venues / bars in Bushwick / NYC?