- 2024-10-12
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MUSIC
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Olly Alexander Announces New Album “Polari”, Shares New Song “Cupid's Bow”
London-based singer-songwriter Olly Alexander, formerly Years & Years, has announced his upcoming solo album “Polari” will be released on February 7, 2025 via Polydor Records.
It marks his first album under his own name. The album comprises a 13-track, which Olly Alexander created with producer Danny L Harle.
“Polari” is a pop album for the ages, looking back on history as a means to learn more about yourself.
Polari is a coded slang. Originating around Europe and the Romani community as early as the 1600s, Polari became a secret language for homosexuals and other marginalized groups during the twentieth century.
It's a concept Olly Alexande first came across when coming out, and resonated more deeply.
From the album, he released a new song “Cupid's Bow” on October 11, 2024.
The song is the follow-up to Eurovision 2024 song “Dizzy” and explores themes of desire, intimacy, voyeurism and fate.
The track was written by Danny L Harle and Olly Alexander. Produced by Danny L Harle and Finn Keane.- Olly Alexander said of the album, “The Oxford Dictionary defines Polari as 'a form of slang incorporating Italianate words, rhyming slang, and Romani, used originally as a kind of secret language in England by people in theatres, fairgrounds, markets, etc. and adopted by some gay people in the 20th century.' I probably first heard the word Polari about fifteen years ago when I was a newly out homosexual, I knew it was some kind of lost gay language but I didn't take too much interest in gay history back then, looking to the past felt difficult. 'Polari' was a gay relic that I put alongside hanky codes, secret handshakes and Edna Everage. Ten years later I would play Ritchie in It's A Sin and get to grapple with my gay identity in a way that totally transformed my life. I loved learning about queer history so much, it gave me a new way to understand myself.”
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He said, “Many queer people will understand a penchant for secrets and codes, having had a backlog of thousands of years where we were unable to live openly. About 8 months or so into the writing process the topic of Polari came up in the studio and my north star (Polaris!) appeared. I dived into the fascinating history of Polari - and it really is 50 fascinating! Paul Baker has a wonderful book called 'Fabulosa! The Story Of Polari' that I highly recommend for anybody interested, by the 1960's Polari was beginning to fall out of fashion although it remains an important part of culture today and there are some words we still use like 'drag', 'naff' and 'trade'. The word 'polari' itself is thought to come from the Italian 'parlare' to speak. Here was a story that spans centuries, filled with hidden meanings and forbidden love, a way to express yourself openly via a secret code.”
He added, “Polari became my guiding light, a place where I could travel through time and create music that took reference from the past and remix it into the future. I've always written songs about love, but I found myself with a new perspective beyond my own usual fears and insecurities. Polari came to encapsulate so many things to me, a creative practice, an artistic refuge - it was a voyage that led me to many surprises - much like the language itself. This album is a documentation of that journey and a celebration of being alive. Welcome to Polari.” - source : Apple Music
