I get to sit down not once, but twice, with Loreen, all in the space of a week. Our time together has done my soul a lot of good; she's a calming influence. The first thing you need to know about the Swedish pop star is that spirituality is everything to her. This also leads to the Libra quickly trying to guess the star sign of every crew member on set for her Rolling Stone UK digital cover shoot.
I am scheduled to delve into the enigma that is Loreen right at the end of a frankly delirious day on set (soundtracked almost entirely by FKA Twigs' and Pa Salieu's banger honda'). But everything runs well over, and as a planned eight-hour day quickly slips into 11 hours, she's pretty exhausted. Consequently, our interview is rescheduled to take place at her London hotel at the weekend.
When I meet her for a second time it feels like a huge intake of fresh air. I arrive at King's Cross, albeit 10 minutes late, but I am soon enveloped by an overwhelming sense of calm. Loreen is sitting in the lobby of The Standard, London hotel drinking a slightly tepid cup of Earl Grey tea. This time, she's dressed down in an allblack ensemble. She instantly recognises me when I arrive, and after giving me a hug, she is desperate to know what we're going to talk about. We settle on: everything.
Esta historia es de la edición August/September 2023 de Rolling Stone UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición August/September 2023 de Rolling Stone UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Suitors and ties
Bridgerton's newest beau Victor Alli on joining the hit Netflix adaptation as the third season begins
Fran Healy
Travis’s lead singer on living in Los Angeles — the inspiration behind the band’s forthcoming album L.A. Times — streetfights with strangers and the unifying power of music
THE GREAT GADSBY
Comedy's enfant terrible Hannah Gadsby is relishing their anti-hero era
"I HAD TO GET OUT OF THIS DOOM HOLE"
After breaking every record imaginable with mega-hit 'Heat Waves', Glass Animals' Dave Bayley came back down to earth with a bump. Fourth album I Love You So F***ing Much sees him sift through the existential wreckage and focus on the fundamentals
SHABAKA'S NEW CALLING
“If I was still playing the sax, it’d be so easy,” the former Sons of Kemet and The Comet is Coming bandleader Shabaka Hutchings admits. On stunning debut album Perceive Its Beauty, Acknowledge Its Grace, he turns to the flute and follows a spiritual compulsion to take a new path
GROWING PAINS AND HAPPY ENDINGS
OPENING HER HEART IN HER MUSIC HAS HELPED NELL MESCAL BUILD A DEDICATED FANBASE, BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF ROOM FOR HOPE TOO, THE 21-YEAR-OLD REVEALS, AS SHE RELEASES HER DEBUT EP
Star Rising
Currently starring in Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Freya Allan broke through playing a princess in TV series The Witcher. But this 22-year-old has her feet firmly on the ground as she sets her sights on the future
The new Doctor Who is in!
How Ncuti Gatwa went from TV queer idol to making history on the iconic sci-fi show
Toni Sancho's manifesto of hope
The London-viaTrinidad singer discusses the power of music in helping her move past depression and uplift others
Making it up as they go along
Yeti funerals, big-name producers and a fiercely DIY ethic: we meet Mary in the Junkyard, the band making some of the best new rock music in the UK right now