Kelly Lee Owens talks new album ‘Dreamstate’ and the “family” of Dirty Hit’s new spin-off dance label

nme.com:

Kelly Lee Owens has spoken to NME about her new album ‘Dreamstate’’, being driven by the spirit of collaboration, and releasing it on Dirty Hit’s new spin-off dance label.The Welsh musician and producer’s latest LP will be released later this week (October 18), and is the first record to be released via dh2 (Dirty Hit’s new electronic imprint being spearheaded by The 1975’s George Daniel).“Ultimately it’s arriving at a place in my life where I accept who I am,” Owens told NME, “and the parts of me that had been shamed before: it’s derogatory to be a daydreamer, and actually the happiest parts of myself are when I’m either in those states alone, or those states alone allow me to come together with other people in those states.”She continued: “It’s the thing that I almost enjoy the most about being human, ironically, is finding a dreamstate, and I feel on a bigger collective level, it’s also what’s needed most as a reminder of the importance of taking the time away to dream and to be in that place.

Music, for me, has always been a direct door to get to a dreamstate.”Check out our full interview below, where Owens tells NME about the universe of ‘Dreamstate’, exploring lyrics with Charli XCX, her expanded team of collaborators on the album (including Bicep, The Chemical Brothers’ Tom Rowlands and George Daniel) as well as her time touring with Depeche Mode and the musical influence of Madonna’s seminal ‘Ray of Light’ – the latter was something she simply “could not get away from”.NME: Hey Kelly.

When did work on ‘Dreamstate’ begin?Owens: “The track ‘Sunshine’ was made in the final sessions for [2020 album] ‘Inner Song’, around the time that I was making ‘Luminous Spaces’, the remix with Jon Hopkins.