Photo by Ryan McGinley/Rolling Stone
Gracing the cover of Rolling Stone, Harry Styles detailed his sophomore solo album with Rob Sheffield. Back in 2017, the One Direction member established his rock-centric solo identity with his self-titled debut. And it appears that his creative process is starting to mirror his classic rock heroes.
Psychedelics have played a big role in the recording of his upcoming album at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La Studios in Malibu. “We’d do mushrooms, lie down on the grass, and listen to Paul McCartney’s Ram in the sunshine,” he told the magazine. “We’d just turn the speakers into the yard.” Naturally, chocolate edibles were kept in the fridge.
The British singer also recalled biting off the tip of his tongue while on mushrooms. “I was trying to sing with all this blood gushing out of my mouth,” he said. “So many fond memories, this place.“ Then he joked about calling the album Mushrooms & Blood.
Styles previously alluded to cocaine use on “Kiwi,” as the lyrics were accented by a rather on-the-nose sniffing noise:
It’s New York, baby, always jacked up
Holland Tunnel for a nose, it’s always backed up
Elsewhere in the Rolling Stone story, he claimed that the upcoming album is “all about having sex and feeling sad.” He’s working with producers Jeff Bhasker and Tyler Johnson, who produced his debut album.
His classic rock influences will also have a more direct impact on his music. The pop star cites T. Rex’s “Cosmic Dancer” as a source of inspiration for one of his tracks–he even played the song for a string quartet in the studio. “Yeah, it’s pretty T. Rex,” he told the musicians over the intercom. “Best damn strings I ever heard.”
Styles also turned to old clips of David Bowie as a reminder to avoid playing it safe. “If you feel safe in the area that you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area,” the chameleonic rock star said in a late-’90s interview. “Always go a little further into the water than you feel you are capable of being in. Go a little bit out of your depth. And when you don’t feel that your feet are quite touching the bottom, you’re just about in the right place to do something exciting.”
Back in March, he delivered a speech for his friend Stevie Nicks as she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The duo performed “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around,” and he described the Fleetwood Mac icon as a “magical gypsy godmother who occupies the in-between.”
Read the full Rolling Stone story here, and catch up on Harry Styles’ biggest hits on Genius now.
