King Princess Unveils New Album "Girl Violence" and Reflects on Artistic Growth
Mikaela Strauss, known professionally as King Princess, is embarking on a new chapter with the release of their third album, "Girl Violence". The album marks a significant shift for the 26-year-old singer-songwriter, exploring themes of toxic masculinity and the complexities within lesbian communities.
A New Direction with "Girl Violence"
Described by King Princess as “almost like a ‘ha ha’ to toxic masculinity,” "Girl Violence" delves into the emotional and subliminal violence that can exist beneath the surface. It is her first album on the independent label Section1, a move that has allowed her greater creative freedom and control.
Strauss reflects on signing with an indie label: “Artists are told indie labels have no money … that they’re not going to be able to market you, all these things. The reality is, that’s complete bullshit. Indie labels are innovative: they can be even more generous with their spending than majors because they are interested in making the best art possible.”
Navigating Early Success and Embracing Creative Freedom
King Princess achieved viral success at the age of 19 with their debut single, "1950", released on Mark Ronson's Sony imprint, Zelig. However, she acknowledges the challenges of maintaining that level of success and the expectations placed upon her. Despite this, she maintains a positive outlook. “I refuse to pity myself or feel disappointed for what does commercially well and what doesn’t. Fuck that: this isn’t a race, it’s a marathon, and I want to have a career for the rest of my life. I am a tortoise. You can’t kill me.”
The musician also discusses the industry's tendency to hold artists to the standards of their early work. “For anyone who’s experienced a career high with their first song, that is not a place you want to be. It is tough,” she says. “People then hold you to the standard of something you wrote in your dorm room when you were 18, you know? It’s not realistic. That song blew up completely arbitrarily.”
Finding Inspiration Through Acting and Self-Reflection
After a period of feeling disconnected from music, Strauss found renewed inspiration through acting, taking on a role in the second season of the mystery series Nine Perfect Strangers, starring Nicole Kidman. The experience taught her to be “silly and less precious,” influencing her approach to creating "Girl Violence".
She explains: “You have to relinquish so much control when you’re acting: you do your takes, some are shit, some are not. But at the end of the day, you’re not constructing the show, you don’t have the control. And I think a lot of my issues around music were about feeling this sense of control over myself.”
Upon returning to New York, Strauss collaborated with producers Jake Portrait and Joe Pincus to shape the album without external influence from a label. This allowed them to embrace a more authentic sound and make creative decisions based on their own artistic vision.
Exploring Themes of Chaos and Self-Discovery
"Girl Violence" is described as a “guidebook” for understanding various aspects of the lesbian community, including the chaos that Strauss finds both baffling and inspiring. The artist also reflects on their personal journey of self-discovery and breaking free from patterns of unhealthy relationships. Strauss states “I’ve spent my entire life dating women and having it be hectic and chaotic and painful; I thought love is pain, that’s what I’ve always believed,” she says.
She adds “I had to really think about how I was presenting myself emotionally. If I was walking through the world needing the validation of a partner to tell me that I’m good, that’s issue number one,”. “And I had to sit down with myself and be like: who am I alone, without anybody? So that was a lot of therapy. And then I guess it was also just looking at myself in the mirror and realising I’ve been dating the same type of girl since I was 14 years old. Never again.”
Future Acting Aspirations and Drag Culture
Alongside their music career, King Princess also discusses her burgeoning interest in acting, praising the professionalism of Hugh Jackman, her co-star in the upcoming film "Song Sung Blue". Describing the legendary actor, "Oh, he is such a good man... His decorum and the care that he shows for other people was just really impactful.”
King Princess hopes to continue acting in the future: "Definitely. I love acting. In the same way that we were talking about expression and dress-up and playing with gender, I feel like acting and music are kind of symbiotic...It’s communal, but it’s also internal. I just want to see how far I can push myself."
When asked about lesbian age-gap relationships and their fascination within the queer community, she responded “In so many of the stories of lesbians throughout history that we love, there is something working against them, like the government or the world at large and the culture...I think that we’re kind of programmed to love these lesbian archetypes."
