Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker Says Feeling “Worthless” Often Inspires Him To Make Music

Tame Impala hasn’t released an album since 2015, and frontman Kevin Parker shared some insight into what’s behind the lengthy gestation in an interview with The New York Times. He explained that, in order to write, he typically needs to feel down on himself.

Parker is the sole studio member of Tame Impala, and as such is tasked with writing, producing, and recording the music that has comprised their three LPs. He said that he struggles to create when he’s feeling too positively.

“Part of the thing about me starting an album is that I have to feel kind of worthless again to want to make music. I started making music when I was a kid as a way of feeling better about myself, you know?” Parker said. “The ironic thing is, if I’m feeling on top of the world or feeling confident or like everything’s good, I don’t have the urge to make music.”

Though much of the band’s music is psychedelic, grand, and kaleidoscopic, Parker’s lyrics frequently are somber and deal with issues like anxiety. The chorus of “Patience,” their first single of 2019, captures a sense of ennui and waywardness when Parker sings:

Just growin' up in stages
(Lay down, low down)
Livin' life in phases
Another season changes
And still, my days are shapeless

On “Borderline,” their single from April, Parker struggles with vulnerability and worries about being accepted. He asks:

Will I be known and loved?
Is there one that I trust?
Starting to sober up
Has it been long enough?

In the time since the band’s 2015 album Currents, Parker has worked as a producer on records by Travis Scott, Lady Gaga, and Kali Uchis. Parker also contributed to Kanye West’s “Violent Crimes,” though he only found that the song would be released after West’s album ye came out.

Parker also told the Times about the challenge of being an artist and being vulnerable about yourself and mental state in public.

“That’s one of the sacrifices that I’ve gotten used to as being an artist. You have to chop a bit of yourself off and give it to the world, and it’s out there,” he explained. “There’s always a sense of: ‘O.K., do I want to say this? Do I want to broadcast this?’ And there’s definitely hesitation. But at the end of the day the obvious answer is: ‘Of course. You have to.’”

It’s unclear when the band will release their fourth LP, but is expected to be released sometime in 2019. He said that the album focuses heavily on the theme of “time passing.”

Read the full lyrics to “Patience” and the rest of Tame Impala’s discography on Genius now.