IN CONVERSATION WITH PALOMA FAITH

Interview by Jana Letonja

Paloma Faith’s ability to marry lavish, skyscraping pop fantasy with funny, plainspoken practicality is key to why she’s become one of the most successful British pop stars of her generation. Her sixth studio album ‘The Glorification of Sadness’, an epic, expansive, deeply personal record, will be released on 16^th February. Paloma will also start her nationwide tour in April 2024.

dress PHILOSOPHY

This fall, you released the first two singles, ‘How You Leave a Man’ and ‘Bad Woman’, from your upcoming album ‘The Glorification of Sadness’. Tell us more about these two singles and what they mean to you.

‘How You Leave a Man’ was my first release from the album and meant to act as an introduction to the themes the album delves into as a whole. It’s a bombastic empowerment ballad about owning your own destiny and not being afraid. It’s about cutting loose and just biting the bullet and ending it. When you listen to the album in order, I do explore feelings about regret, loss and grief, but this song is about the initial knee jerk reaction. I love the video for this song as it shows me full of rage and power, but at the end it highlights the fact that I’m still a mum of two and I actually can’t run for the hills because I can’t rip them from their other parent, neither would I want to. It’s honest and I guess liberating because of its truth. 

‘Bad Woman’ as a song is more about the rejection of societal pressures to be this perfect woman. I think in the patriarchy so much is expected of us that men really don’t experience. And all the qualities that are expected of us to be this ‘good girl’ are outrageously contradictory. We must be strong, but not defiant. We must work and raise kids, we must be gentle, but not weak. It’s all too much. I found my personal entry into the world of motherhood really disturbing because of this. It was like I was expected to give up my whole identity to be a parent, but not let myself go at the same time. We are damned if we do and damned if we don’t. This song is about women saying we have had enough of being defined by a patriarchal society and are going to define ourselves. This goes for all kinds of women across the board, including transgender women to whom I am a huge ally.

What can the fans expect from the upcoming album, which will be released in February? What inspired this new album?

‘The Glorification of Sadness’ is an album which chronicles my break up with the father of my children from start to finish. It explores all the stages and confusions of grief: defiance, empowerment, doubt, loss, joy, hysteria, rage, acceptance and so on. It’s very personal. It’s a journey. It’s about breaking up with someone you thought you would spend the rest of your life with and disappointment that that wasn’t to be. It’s about making a jewel out of your pain.

dress MARNI
gloves C’EST JEANNE BLACK
socks FALKE
shoes ROGER VIVIER

What makes this album different from your previous ones?

I think that I executive produced it. It sounds different. It’s more in line with my musical and sonic taste and is the first album where I am just doing purely what I want to do with my art, without external opinion influencing me. I’m proud of it. I think it sounds fresh and modern, and as erratic as one is when experiencing life altering events. It feels quietly personal, introspective. A glimpse into my core. I was very vulnerable making this record and I still am. There is a song on it, called ‘Divorce’, that I can’t listen to without crying. 

How has your music and you as an artist evolved since the beginning of your career?

I think when I first emerged, I was very ‘entertainery’ in a people pleasing way. I really wanted people to find me funny, joyful and captivating. And although I still do, I think sometimes it’s freeing to show another side, a more vulnerable side, a realness. I’m naturally a bit of a piss taker, but I’ve had some hard knocks in my life that I have really tried to keep out of public eye and slowly I’m starting to think it’s ok to be open about things I may have kept hidden. Maintaining a clown like existence can be exhausting.

dress FENDI

The release of your sixth studio album will be followed by a nationwide tour. What are you most excited about for the tour?

I love touring. It’s my favourite thing I do in my career. I think I’m going to split this tour into two parts, this new fresh album and then a kind of reflection on all my other albums. I’m super excited about it. It’s very life giving and the only time I have a complete absence of anxiety. It’s the reason I still have a career. I love my fans and our interaction. Apart from my kids, it’s truly what I live for. 

What do you consider your biggest career success?

I would say there are two. The night I performed ‘Only Love Can Hurt Like This’ after winning my Brit award for best British female artist and headlining Brighton pride festival.

balaclava RUSIAN BAGINSKIY
dress BALMAIN

In 2021, you did a documentary for BBC, ‘As I Am’, which showed the brutal realities of being a mother and a pop star. What are some of the most challenging aspects of juggling the two?

I think all working mothers struggle. Being a mum is exhausting. Sometimes you are up all night with a crying sick child and you still have to go on stage or TV and be smiley and endearing when you are plain shattered. I think it takes a huge amount of resilience and determination to do both. I refuse to let my kids be raised by nannies and never see me, so I pay the price and hope when they are older, it will pay off. I see other women musicians have great relationships with their kids, like Madonna or Annie Lennox, and I find those very inspiring. For me, the worst moments are when you have to leave them unwell and go to work because if you don’t, you will be in breach of contract and let down potentially thousands of audience members. You feel so guilty either way.

In the recent years, you have become a lifeline for many women who find solace in your unadulterated honesty. Why did you decide to share the intimate experiences, such as birth, postnatal depression and the challenges of having your basic needs met as a woman and mother, with the public? How do you feel this helped you personally?

I think feminism isn’t finished. It’s abandoned us half way through with too much on our plate. We are doing the work of 4/5 people. This includes women without children. It’s just about a ‘well you wanted it, so deal with it’ attitude. Men think it’s ok to just go to work and do nothing else. If a woman does that, she’s vilified. 

The exhaustion, agony and pain of childbirth is immense, not to mention a complete rewriting of your own identity. I just don’t accept it being that hard on women, so I do find it cathartic to share. But I also do it with the intention of influencing marked changes. It’s really needed and really important. Women are so tired. 

You are currently also in the final stages of writing a book about your experiences and aims for the feminist movement. What inspired you to write this book? What can we expect from it?

My book was something I began writing because of the amazing response I had from other women from my documentary and my social media posts about my experiences pre and postnatal. I think there is something really wonderful and bonding about sharing personal experiences and others coming out and saying this happened to me too, so I thought I would go deeper and write a book about it. The only problem is I have written the entire thing myself and I had no idea how excruciating and demanding writing that many words would be. Seriously though, I hope that it encourages some social progress. That’s really my intention. It’s not just a self-indulgent excuse to whinge, it’s about really wanting people to think about how society is run. Baby steps I guess, but I hope it may help build some blocks. 

Besides being a musician and a mother, what fulfils you in life the most?

I find helping people fulfilling. I am a huge empath. When I’m not mumming or doing music or acting, I like to use my time to help others. Whether it be on a wider scale platform like my work with Oxfam and Greenpeace, speaking out about social injustice regardless of the consequences to my career, or locally helping at my kids’ school or just being there for friends who need me. I think it’s important not just to take from life, but also plant seeds back into it. Even if what I do is not widely broadcast, I don’t mind because I don’t do it for accolade. I do it because it’s a small contribution. I really believe in community. It’s at the heart of where I grew up, in Hackney, and it’s been a huge part of my life always. It is important to recognise huge movements, but when you can, also help individuals who may never even know you helped them. I remember when I stopped breastfeeding, I just gave all my frozen breastmilk away to a friend of a friend for her baby. I never even met her. I liked that. 

What would be your advice to the young generations, trying to pave their own path of success in life?

Success comes in many forms. I suppose it depends on what you think success is. I’ve found that it’s not financial, but it’s in the relationships you create. Give a lot to relationships at work or at home and you will get a lot back. I think thanking and acknowledging people and the work they do is very important, as it is cultivating a great work life balance and environment. We didn’t have a lot when I was little, but it was a home full of love. I invested so much in my work ethic and in my relationships. I think that’s why I’m still great friends with my children’s father and I have a great team of people that I work with, built on trust and loyalty. That’s success. Money comes and goes, it’s the people you will remember.

skirt & shoes ERDEM
tights WOLFORD

talent PALOMA FAITH @palomafaith
photographer BARTEK SZMIGULSKI @smiggi
stylist RACHEL BAKEWELL @rachelbakewell
makeup LAN NGUYEN-GREALIS @lanslondon
hair LOUIS BYRNE @louisbyrneiciaiw
styling assistant TASHIA SULEYMAN @tashiasuleyman
hair assistant JADEYA @jadeyaofficial
editor TIMI LETONJA @timiletonja
editorial director & interview JANA LETONJA @janaletonja
cover design ARTHUR ROELOFFZEN @arthurroeloffzen