We all love a good team-up, right? Course we do. That’s why, when we heard that Los Angeles-type Allie Crow Buckley had teamed up with legit Dork icon and king of cinematic, grandiose indie hits Declan McKenna for a new track, we had to drop a line to find out more.
The song – drawing heavily on myth and romance – is taken from a new album, Utopian Fantasy’, which is set to arrive on 19th May. Recorded at the 4AD Studio in London and mastered at Abbey Road, it’s definitely got the heritage sorted. Allie tells us more about the new collab, and the record it’s from.
Hi Allie, how’s it going? What are you up to today?
Hello there! It’s going great; I spent the day bopping around the beautiful countryside acquiring treats from various farm shops.
You’ve just released your new single ‘Dreamboat Soulmate’ – you worked on it with Declan McKenna, right? How did the collab come about? Are you guys pals?
Yes! We were set up on a writing session some time ago, the result being this track, and have been pals ever since. He’s a well of creativity and such a joy to collaborate with.
What inspired the single? Was there a specific starting point for it?
It all began with a drum loop! Declan imparted much of his wizardly synth magic and guitar, and I on the beloved Moog. I had had some lyric starts, and the chorus, then we just sort of built it out from there.
Did the song come to you fully-formed, or was it a difficult birth?
It was a breezy birth; the song was written in a matter of hours. We recorded the final version at the 4AD studio, where the rest of the album was recorded. But the song really retains so much of what was on the demo from the day it was written.
How does the track fit into your new album, ‘Utopian Fantasy’?
I became enthralled with the strange myth of Cupid and Psyche while writing the record. Psyche is sentenced to death because of her relationship with Cupid, but then is saved by Zephyr (the wind) and carried away to her safety. She awakes in another dimension of sorts, and can hear her love speaking through the veil.
There is a song ‘Cupid and Psyche’ on the record, and ‘Dreamboat Soulmate’ comes directly after it. So, I imagine Dreamboat as being the moment she awakes in this new reality.
Can you tell us about some of the other songs on the record? Which are your favourites?
Ooh, let’s see. My favourites are: ‘Greatest Hits’ – written in one sitting, it’s a strange and psychedelic journey.
‘Cowboy in London’ – a sort of tongue-in-cheek cowboy number about my time spent in London as a teen.
And ‘Five Pointed Star’, which is the album closer.
Does it feature any other notable collaborations?
No! Actually, my collaborator, Jason Boesel, and I played most everything on the record. It was a relatively insular and rather nomadic process. We recorded most of it here in the UK at the 4ad studio – and the rest was recorded on our portable rig in a slew of hotels.
What else are you up to at the moment?
Oh just reading about the new moon, having a cup of tea, and planning the music video for the next single…
Allie Crow Buckley’s album ‘Utopian Fantasy’ is out 19th May.
