Leaving New York - Bat For Lashes

“I was gonna start munching on a muffin and then thought I probably shouldn’t cos you wont be able to hear me properly” laughs Natasha Khan from the other end of the phone line “I’ll nibble a little bit, but I’ll keep it discreet.”

In 2006 Bat For Lashes arrived like a breath of fresh air with her Mercury nominated debut ‘Fur And Gold’; an album applauded by critics and one that provided a tangible alternative to a growing stagnation of skinny jean clad foppish faux pas. Three years on and the delectable songstress has been busy writing, recording and co-producing ‘Two Suns’, which, as she openly explains is “quite an up and down journey that did document the last couple of years of my life… which have been quite up and down”

The past few years have been a whirlwind of emotional activity for the 29 year old, who in search of professional and personal equilibrium embarked on a journey in search of nostalgic bohemia, by settling, as much as her lifestyle, aspirations and preconceived notions would allow, in New York.

“I have a lot of feelings about New York. I think there was a sadness of the fact that it wasn’t the old New York, like the nostalgic romantic idealized version of New York that we all have from films or Andy Warhol stories, break-dancing on the street, amazing dark subterranean characters and all of that creativity. I gradually realized that New York was changing more and more and becoming a bit more boring, more expensive and more homogenized”

With the reality of living in New York rapidly failing to honour the vivid promise it once held and her personal relationship with Moon And Moon lead vocalist Will Lemon slowly disintegrating alongside her sense of home, identity and belonging, a slow build of isolation and disappoint triggered a move back to the security of Brighton.

“It was quite a frightening time but New York is all sorts of things to me. I have a love hate relationship with it so it’s quite a dichotomy. But it made me feel a lot of things which was good because it inspired a lot of the record”

One recurring inspiration to permeate the record, a garish drag queen with blond wig, fake eyelashes, red lipstick and white face-powder, would go by the name of Pearl; a visually engaging exploration of Natasha’s multifaceted personality and not as she points out an alter ego intended for real-life habitation.

“Pearl is more kind of my art project. I didn’t go out as Pearl and pretend to be anyone different or speak in a funny way or anything like that, I was just dressing up as her and getting my boyfriend to take pictures and it was just fun. I felt a bit in danger psychologically and I think she represented those attributes I was worried about getting lost in, but she also represented that old romantic New York idea as well.”