Lana Del Rey Talks ‘Honeymoon,’ On-Stage Persona in ‘NME’ Interview

Back in September, NME sent Lana Del Rey a series of questions via email that range from her writing process for her latest album Honeymoon and her character of "Lana Del Rey" to James Bond and the perils of fame. Never one to do things on anyone else's terms, Del Rey took a full three months to reply and here are highlights from her digital interview.

When asked about the state of her personal life before and during the recording process for Honeymoon, Del Rey explains how she "really wanted to have one more record out that was able to speak for me, even if I wasn’t in a place where I felt like speaking about myself." Times were happy otherwise, hence why she feels Honeymoon is not as cathartic as some of her previous efforts.

While Honeymoon may not contain an overt sense of catharsis, it nonetheless continues the immersive sense of escapism that Del Rey has built upon with each new album. This escapism, she explains, comes from the fact that she is "incredibly plugged into what’s going on politically, socially and pretty much in every way except pop-culturally. I’ve had a very real life, and there have been a lot of things that took a lot of strength and wherewithal to figure out… things I’m still figuring out."

With such a "high fantasy element to the music," as Del Rey admits, NME asked her about the distinction—if any—between the Lana Del Rey character she plays on stage and the person she is off stage. The biggest difference, according to Del Rey, is that she is the center of attention while she is on stage, but at home she just tries to blend in. She also explains how the penchant for "courting bad boys" in her songs doesn't translate to her own love life.

But Del Rey admits to sharing certain similarities with the character she began creating on her major label debut, Born to Die. She states that "five years down the line from writing the first song for that record, that I am surprisingly similar to the person in those songs – mostly in the way that I have a strong sense of who I am but not a clear idea of where I’m going.”

This character/persona, however, isn't something she absolutely needs to create music. "It's not a David Bowie type of thing," she qualifies.

And as for the recent soundbite about her lack of involvement with the theme song for the most recent James Bond film, Del Rey had this to say: “I would’ve done it if I was asked but I wasn’t asked. I love all the Bond music that’s been put out over the years and I love soundtracks in general. There are a couple of songs on this record that have a Bond feel, like 24 and Swan Song.”

Read the full interview over at NME to hear Del Rey's take on individual tracks from Honeymoon, her keen interest in "intergalactic possibilities," and her visions of the future for her own career.

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