“I’ve tried to make that pretty clear. I mean, the band’s been in the studio for the past however long, we’ve still been making music in the meantime,” Hemmings says.
“But the same way I spoke to the boys in the band about it – like, I was very open with them about the reasons why I wanted to do this: because it’s a creative outlet, because it’s a challenge I set myself to do something on my own, and because it’s something I need to do just to understand myself – hopefully I’ve done the same with the band’s fans. Like, there’s no ill intention; the band are friends, the band’s still together.”
Which may be for the best. The transition from pop phenomenon to solo career has always been fraught for boyband breakouts, going back to John Lennon. Hemmings admits he felt “anxiety around doing something new”.
“It’s definitely scary, but I feel good about it now,” he says. “I’m more excited for people just to hear the music, to hear what I’ve made.”
While the album features some production from Hemmings’ fiancee Sierra Deaton, he largely worked on the release with producer Sammy Witte, who among other things was responsible for overseeing Harry Styles’ continued transition from boyband phenom to respected solo artist with 2019’s Fine Line.
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“He described his role as ‘organising my brain’, which I think sums it up well,” says Hemmings of Witte’s guidance. “He’s so passionate, and he was just down for making music on no schedule. It was fun.”
Earlier this week, popstar Rihanna was officially declared a billionaire thanks to her cosmetics empire, a fact that may explain her lingering disinterest in releasing her long-awaited follow-up to 2016’s Anti.
For Hemmings, who’s reportedly accumulated a fortune of more than $20 million from 5SOS’s mega-success, the question remains: why even bother making a solo album? Why risk being so adventurous on a solo release when surely he could be doing anything else?
“Yeah, I guess so,” Hemmings laughs. “But, for me, I just have a burning desire to make music. Like, this album is not for numbers or any sort of success – if it was, I would’ve done it a very different way and it would’ve sounded different. This is just the music I felt with my whole being, you know?
“Honestly, getting a song right or even just writing a song, there’s not any other feeling that tops that,” he adds. “It’s kind of what I live for; it’s everything to me.”
Luke Hemmings’ When Facing The Things We Turn Away From is out now.
Source: | This article originally belongs to smh.com.au
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