Poppy is Your Mommy in Her Video for ‘Voicemail’

Photo by Titanic Sinclair.

Like most aspiring pop stars, Poppy is a mysterious character. Unlike most current pop stars, Poppy inhabits the current cybersphere, but her new song “Voicemail” is proof that she’s pushing things into the future. Written and produced by Poppy and longtime collaborator Titanic Sinclair, the new song is the first follow-up to her 2018 album, Am I a Girl?. “We wanted to write a song without chords in it,” the singer said. Poppy spoke to Interview about her new album, hinted at an upcoming collaboration, and encouraged us all to consume “Voicemail.”

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ERNEST MACIAS: What was the inspiration behind “Voicemail”?

POPPY: I don’t let people leave voicemails on my phone. I have my mailbox always full so people can’t leave messages. I thought it would be interesting to write a song inspired by that. Another influence for the song and the music video was Gary Numan. His approach to music, I feel, is a lot different than most artists, and he would write rock songs but then put them on synthesizers. That’s sort of what we were going for with “Voicemail.”

MACIAS: You’re working on a new album already. What can we expect?

POPPY: I’m writing the new album. It comes out mid-year. I think just because my name is Poppy people think that I’m trying to make only pop music, but I’ve been exploring other sounds, and I’m referring to this new record as post-genre. I’d say “X” was a really good first glimpse at the new sound but I don’t think people are going to expect what’s coming. It’s all about total immersion. We have two eyes and two ears, and the audience deserves to be entertained with all of them.

MACIAS: What are you saying with the music video?

POPPY: I wanted to interact with both my dark and light side. I think we invade that through the beautiful video. It’s also a continuation of the “X” video. I think it’ll make more sense as to what’s happening in the next video. I have a story to tell. It’s part of the Poppy project.

MACIAS: What other things are you working on for your new album?

POPPY: Titanic Sinclair and I are working on a new film right now, and that is probably one of my most exciting endeavors as of recent. Also I have a new song called ‘Scary Mask’ — it has a feature and that’s very exciting. It’s with someone I’ve been wanting to work with for a while. I’m a big fan of their music, and they have gotten pretty popular recently. They’re very talented. I don’t want to give too much away, because I say too much sometimes.

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