Project Description

Interview With

BØRNS

Interviewer: Kelsey Hentschel

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Garrett Borns, a.k.a. BØRNS, is a glam pop prince from Michigan. Having returned to Australian for the second time ever, BØRNS took the time out of his heavy touring schedule to have a chat to Kelsey about fashion, fans, and lots of fun stuff!

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Hi Kelsey! How are you?

I’m good mate, how are you? You’ve been so busy lately! In Australian now though.

Yeah, In Brisbane at the moment. Just landed!

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So this is your first ever string of Headline shows across Australia. You came over a few years ago with Halsey. How does it feel to be back here playing to your own sold out shows?

Well I don’t think this will ever feel normal ya know? It still kind of blows my mind that people know my music here. Haha. It’s a really great feeling! I had some really fun shows in Melbourne the past few nights & I just love the audiences over here its such a great welcoming energy! Im a big big fan of Australia so its been really good!

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Have you had much opportunity to experience the cities? You were in Melbourne for a few days. Did you get to see much? Or is the jet lag quite intense?

Well, unfortunately this time the jetlag got the best of me! I didn’t have too much out time, but Ive tried to get some sunshine when I could. But what I saw of Melbourne its great. I love the city.

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And on that note, what’s it like playing venues like the Howler, which are quite notably smaller than what you’re used to in places like the US & UK. Does it feel a bit weird to be playing such small intimate shows?

Umm no. It doesn’t feel weird. I like playing different sized venues. It keeps me from getting too comfortable on stage. You always have to perform differently & Its always a different experience. But at the same time its like sometimes playing big shows you almost have a bigger feeling when playing an intimate show because there’s so much energy contained in a small space. So yeah it was real nice. I like switching it up.

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With Blue Madonna out at them moment. In regards to the recording process of that album, did it differ much to Dopamine? The way you created the album & the writing?

Yeah the writing process was a lot different. I was in Los Angeles, and id finally had a break from tour which is nice. Dopamine was kind of made between tours when I was first starting to travel and play music, so Dopamine was a bit quicker as a process. I think Blue Madonna I have more time to orchestrate things.

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When you wrote Dopamine you were living in the tree house, which is such a cool place to be living. Such a different space. Did you find that when you were creating Blue Madonna you were drawn to those alternative spaces to fuel your creativity.

Not necessarily. To an extent I did, but I think that I was just really excited to record new music. It had been a few years since I created a body of work. I was very ready I think to be in one place and to get my ideas out. I didn’t have to try and get into a headspace, I was already there. I was ready.

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You’re quite well known for your extravagant outfits. Do you have any style inspirations? Seeing as you’re one of the Gucci Muses, and a CFDA ambassador. Do you have a style icon?

Man, I have a different style icon everyday I feel like. Mostly just from walking down the street. That’s why I like travelling so much! Its fun to see everyone’s different & going to thrift shops and stuff. I like to mix it up! I always admire people who can wear things that only they can wear, and they pull it off just with their confidence. I like experimenting, wearing things that might not necessarily be normal for everyday wear. Hahaha. It puts you in a different character and definitely makes me perform differently.

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On a similar note, when you’re choosing your outfits for a show, sometimes they’re a lot more bold & other times, like your fist show in Melbourne when you wore the all black ensemble, they’re much more understated. How do you go about selecting your stage outfits?

It all kind of just depends on my mood I guess. I pack full of as much as I can & its normally way too heavy! Haha. And I just kind of go full Mary Poppins on it. Start pulling stuff out. Not too much though goes into it. Just whatever I find.

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With your music & the genre that you’re in, its very you. Very much has that BØRNS sound to it. A lot of artists in the industry today are switching their genre’s. For example, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus. Do you ever think about doing a track in a different style?

Yeah I think about it all the time. Yeah, I feel like I have so many different musical influences that I’m so curious about trying different things. So yeah, I think the next music that I’m working on is going to sound a lot different than stuff that I’ve already put out. For sure.

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Have you ever thought about collaborating with artists who are really different in their sound to you? You’re touring with Lana Del Rey at the moment and you’ve worked with her on a few tracks on Blue Madonna. She’s worked with a lot of Rap & Hip-Hop artists who are completely different from her style. Is that something you’d be looking to explore?

Yeah definitely! I’m really inspired by what’s going on in Hip-Hop. I think its so fun & the production is always so new & experimental. I really like different styles of production so that’s definitely something I’ll look into.

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Before you got into music you wanted to work in the film industry. What interests you about film? Is this still something you’re passionate about?

Yeah! Its something ive actually been much more involved in this blue Madonna record. I directed some videos & wrote all the concepts for music videos that I’ve done. I am always involved in the editing process. I had a background in film when I was in Michigan, in high school I went to this academy for screen writing and directing. Its always been something I’ve found really interesting. I think very visually when I write music, I think both of those mediums are very synonymous in a way. I definitely hope to be doing more film in the future!

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When you write a new song, do you immediately visualise how you would do a music video for the track?

Yeah Haha! I’ve even been in sessions where we’ll put a really cinematic movie on mute but playing in the room & just have that as visual inspiration for melodies and stuff!

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Are you going to be making any more music videos for the Blue Madonna singles?

Um yeah there’s on for We Don’t Care. That’s in the editing process now. And that was a cool collaboration with a lot of artists that have done these really beautiful collages and paintings and digital art based on my record. So I called out to artists on Instagram and Twitter to make something for the song , so a lot of those submissions are going to be in the video! Which is really cool. So that’s coming out. Theres some other stuff in the works but its kind of under wraps! Haha!

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You’re travelling all the time with touring etc., do you have health tips on the road to keep you in tip top shape? I know it gets so tiring when you’re on tour.

As much as travelling is constant moving, its also so stagnant. I try to stay as active as possible. Doing yoga is a big help, I do a lot of yoga. You know haha water, stay hydrated. Drinking your green tea. Its pretty simple, all the tried and true formulaes.

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You’re going back to Coachella really soon. You played the festival in 2016, how does it feel to be going back now that you’ve got all the new material and a bigger fan base. Are you excited to see how the experience differs?

Oh yeah! Coachella is kind of another planet & im really excited to be able to play from 2 records and put them both together. Im really excited to go back!

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Lastly, What do you think you’d be doing if you weren’t working in the music or entertainment industry?

Probably working at a library,. Or maybe sailing a boat. I grew up sailing on lake Michigan.

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Thanks for having a chat with me! Enjoy the rest of your Australian our we hope to have you back again soon!

Yeah thanks it was nice to talk to you.

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