ELISSA NADWORNY, HOST:
Sometimes your biggest growth comes after the most challenging seasons. That's one of the ideas behind British singer Jessie Ware's latest record, "Superbloom."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUPERBLOOM")
JESSIE WARE: (Singing) Let the flower in the rain paint the color of June. Take me back to the place where we met, superblooming. Every day, just like before. Don't let me go. Give me that superbloom.
NADWORNY: She joins us now from London to tell us more about it. Jessie Ware, thanks for being with us.
WARE: Thank you, Elissa. I'm so excited to be chatting to you.
NADWORNY: OK, so we just heard the title track, "Superbloom," and it really carries this energetic element that we hear in lots of your music - hope, there's appreciation. I'm curious, what ideas does it feel like you're embodying here?
WARE: It's an interesting time for me as kind of a parent and also a partner. You know, we've gone past this thing of our kids being in nappies and doing night shifts, and it's this reestablishing a relationship together that feels kind of romantic and real. And take me back to that kind of frenzy and optimism, but also - but still full of love and warmth and appreciation, of course. But I think there's always that kind of push-pull, particularly with this record navigating, you know, different relationships and connections, whether that's with my children, my fans, myself, my partner.
NADWORNY: And kind of, like, taking things from the past or different iterations of things and mixing them together and making this new beautiful thing that's of this moment right now.
WARE: Yeah, absolutely. And whether that's kind of sonically as well, you know? I love making kind of, you know, current music, but I do have a mad love for nostalgia, which I actually, I think lots of people do, to be honest.
NADWORNY: What's the nostalgia you're pulling in?
WARE: Teena Marie, Minnie Riperton, Rotary Connection, ESG, Shakka, you know, Barbara, ABBA. So there's obviously nostalgia in that because, I mean, it's of another time.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SUPERBLOOM")
WARE: (Singing) Every day, just like before. Don't let me go. (Vocalizing).
NADWORNY: It kind of feels like maybe the divas are guiding you. I read that you've been trying to embody your inner diva.
WARE: I think they've always tried to guide me, to be honest. I love them. I love a good voice. I love a good performance.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
WARE: I've learned how to try and deliver my own better performances without kind of apologizing like every Brit does.
NADWORNY: (Laughter).
WARE: And I feel like I kind of have earned my place in those rooms, you know, delivering a vocal on, like, "Don't You Know Who I Am?" which I'm a character in that. But I just feel a bit more free and I feel more confident, and I think that comes with time and experience and entrusting myself a bit more.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DON'T YOU KNOW WHO I AM?")
WARE: (Singing) Don't you know who I am? I'm the love of your life. Fool me once, kiss me twice. We've been dancing all night. Don't you dare say goodbye.
(Laughter).
NADWORNY: What are you thinking? What makes you laugh?
WARE: I just think she makes me laugh because it's not me. It's not Jessie Ware. She's a character. She's called Shirley Bloom, and she's just - I love her. I'm mad about her. She's deluded. She's kind of Blanche DuBois, but, like, a Mediterranean, kind of late '70s caftan-wearing bejeweled, overtanned lady, but she's fab. And I love the audacity that she goes into a discotheque and she goes over to the guy that - we don't even know if she's even kissed him or if it's all in her head. She says, don't you know who I am? I'm the love of your life. Why are you kissing somebody else? She's fab.
NADWORNY: Is she in you? Is she a version of you?
WARE: She must be in me because she came out of me.
NADWORNY: You said one of the ways you kind of got to this point, this diva point or this kind of confidence point was just you've lived a life. I wonder if you could talk a little bit about how life informs art for you.
WARE: For a while, I wanted to kind of hide life through pure metaphor in the first few records. And then I kind of escaped that 'cause I was like, oh, God, I don't want to talk about myself. I want to go into fiction. I want to go into character. And I think after doing that for two records, I was then very aware that maybe I didn't want people to think that I could only write in kind of caricature. And so that's why, you know, having something like, "Don't You Know Who I Am?" that then goes into a song like "16 Summers," but through the segue of these kind of lapping waves from the beach that I've been going to since my childhood.
For me, it's about being able to show these different sides to me and being ready to reveal more about my real life as opposed to these kind of brilliant made-up characters that I like to become. So for me, it was feeling like I wanted to let the audience know that Jessie Ware exists and I experience life, not just through sequins and pearls. I want to kind of celebrate that simple and beautiful life that I get to experience with my family.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "16 SUMMERS")
WARE: (Singing) Sixteen summers to live and love without regret. So, darling, give me one more chance. Can I spend every summer I've got left with you?
NADWORNY: What's the inspiration for this?
WARE: Somebody said, oh, how old are your kids? And I said, you know, they're 8 and 6 and 3. And he was like, oh, you know you only get 16 summers? God. And I said, oh, what? And this idea, it kind of had a lilt to it that I thought sounded quite beautiful. And I don't believe that you only get 16 summers, but that prospect, I thought, wow. Well, I'm running out of time. My daughter's 9 now, you know? And so it was about kind of exploring that and also exploring that idea of being a working parent and somebody that's had all my career kind of blossom at the same time as I'm having children.
And whilst that is kind of amazing and chaotic, it's, will I have regrets? Do you know what I mean? And when I went to vocal it, it was more about kind of, how do you cherish and celebrate? Instead of apologizing and feeling bad about yourself, how do you enjoy every single moment? It's a good reminder for me when my child sneaks in my bed in the middle of the night and maybe I'm going to have a bad night's sleep. He won't always want to do that, so maybe I need to hold on to those nights.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "16 SUMMERS")
WARE: (Singing) Then I never will forget. We're all just passing through.
NADWORNY: The song for me kind of felt like the present as an antidote to regret or as, like, a protection from regret.
WARE: God, you said that so much better, and I wish I hadn't done all my press. I'd be stealing that. God, you're good.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "16 SUMMERS")
WARE: (Singing) Every summer I've got left with you.
I love being in my 40s. You know who you are, don't you? But I feel like the 40s are going to be my time to really have a lot of fun.
NADWORNY: Have a superbloom. Yeah.
WARE: Have a superbloom. Exactly.
NADWORNY: That was singer Jessie Ware. Her new album "Superbloom" is out now. Jessie Ware, thanks so much for talking with me.
WARE: Oh, thank you. It was such a lovely chat. Thank you so much. Thanks for playing the record.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I COULD GET USED TO THIS")
WARE: (Vocalizing). Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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