Lady Gaga

I lived in New York and grew up here my whole life. And I made my artistic way living on the Lower East Side, starting around 17 years old, and really kind of worked the New York music scene as much as I could. Ultimately, that landed me into making The Fame, which was my first studio album. And that music came out of... the culture of people that I was sort of living with.

At the time, downtown, I was surrounded by musicians, photographers, artists, club promoters, people that lived and breathed art for a living. It was a community of support. And I think one of the reasons I was afraid is I was so far away now from that community and not having my community was, you know, was difficult. And I also think

At the time, downtown, I was surrounded by musicians, photographers, artists, club promoters, people that lived and breathed art for a living. It was a community of support. And I think one of the reasons I was afraid is I was so far away now from that community and not having my community was, you know, was difficult. And I also think

I was afraid to return to something that my fans fell in love with early because it felt very far away and because it also felt like maybe I would be just like recycling something that I'd done before. But ultimately, I decided I really wanted to do it and that this sonic style and sonic aesthetic really did belong to me and it was something that I created.

I was afraid to return to something that my fans fell in love with early because it felt very far away and because it also felt like maybe I would be just like recycling something that I'd done before. But ultimately, I decided I really wanted to do it and that this sonic style and sonic aesthetic really did belong to me and it was something that I created.

And that was part of the joy of making the album.

And that was part of the joy of making the album.

I think that my sound is like an amalgamation of all the music that helped me fall in love with music. It's got classic rock in it. It has disco in it. It has electronic music in it, 80s synth. It's sort of like all of these memories of music.

I think that my sound is like an amalgamation of all the music that helped me fall in love with music. It's got classic rock in it. It has disco in it. It has electronic music in it, 80s synth. It's sort of like all of these memories of music.

Something that we did on the album is like we would take the bass, play it live, and then we would actually run it through the analog synths to see how it would sound after guitar parts that would be like indicative of the way Prince would play it or the way David Bowie would play it.

Something that we did on the album is like we would take the bass, play it live, and then we would actually run it through the analog synths to see how it would sound after guitar parts that would be like indicative of the way Prince would play it or the way David Bowie would play it.

I would say it's sort of like picking and choosing my favorite fragments of songs that I love throughout my childhood and so many different kinds of artists with so many different genres. And to me, that is my music. It's everything I love about music, but it's all in one place. And I didn't always do that. I sometimes in my records decided, okay, I'm going to make my version of a country record.

I would say it's sort of like picking and choosing my favorite fragments of songs that I love throughout my childhood and so many different kinds of artists with so many different genres. And to me, that is my music. It's everything I love about music, but it's all in one place. And I didn't always do that. I sometimes in my records decided, okay, I'm going to make my version of a country record.

Like Joanne, right? And Neil Young was making a record right across the way from me in the same studio. And then I would listen to Harvest Moon and Daydream. And then I would write a song like Joanne.

Like Joanne, right? And Neil Young was making a record right across the way from me in the same studio. And then I would listen to Harvest Moon and Daydream. And then I would write a song like Joanne.

But those records, I think the way that I was sort of like bridled to think about women in music, you know, they talk to you a lot about like your look and what the aesthetic is for the album and like the brand of the music. And that at some point started to affect the way I made music. And I didn't do that.

But those records, I think the way that I was sort of like bridled to think about women in music, you know, they talk to you a lot about like your look and what the aesthetic is for the album and like the brand of the music. And that at some point started to affect the way I made music. And I didn't do that.

Well, you know, like with Joanne, I was like, okay, well, since I'm going to do this like country folk thing, now I'm going to make sure that each song fits into that theme. Whereas with Mayhem, I didn't do that. With Mayhem, I let each song speak its own language. And that like chaos that I have maybe always felt criticized for, I celebrated instead.

Well, you know, like with Joanne, I was like, okay, well, since I'm going to do this like country folk thing, now I'm going to make sure that each song fits into that theme. Whereas with Mayhem, I didn't do that. With Mayhem, I let each song speak its own language. And that like chaos that I have maybe always felt criticized for, I celebrated instead.

It's just the way they talk to you about, you know, who you are. You know, I had my own kind of image when I moved to Hollywood and was playing my music for Interscope for the first time. And, you know, they have conversations with you about like, what's your look going to be? And, you know, you're sort of thinking like, it's going to be... Me, you know? Well, how are you going to dress?