Sex. Love. Control. Vanity.
Lipstick. Lies. Tears. Tragedy.
Pretty simple plot lines, really. Or not. Just ask anyone who's
followed the first season of Natalia Kills' self-produced "Love,
Kills xx" episodic series - a surreal blend of dream sequences,
free associative song fragments, and pure femme ale poetry
that'd leave Quentin Tarantino feeling a bit flushed. ...
"Some girls want to be a princess when they grow up," explains
Natalia. "I wanted to be in a bad bitch girl gang."
She also wanted to be a pitch-dark pop star in the time-honored
tradition of Kate Bush and Depeche Mode. So to strike a balance
between it all, Natalia--a native of England's rugged Bradford
area -- left school and moved to London alone to pursue her
desire to creatively express herself through music and film at
just 14. After 4 successful years on prime time BBC television
and radio, and several songs in box office film sound tracks, she
set out on a mission to combine her love of music, film and the
stage into one frame. Her initial songwriting forays were to
develop into the pop gravitas of Natalia Kills' solo material -
from the creeping keys and whip-cracking breaks of "Zombie" to
the heaven-sent harmonies and Eurythmics-like head-rush of
"Mirrors."
"I'm really influenced by the way music is applied to films,
because it creates drama and suspense," says Natalia. "If you
mute a film, you don't know when the killer is coming and without
that tension there is no feeling of curiosity or fear. But when
you have the pulse of the music, it provokes an emotion. That's
what I'm inspired by--creating a full-on experience."
And since "Love, Kills xx" is like a backstage pass to Natalia's
restless mind, the artist/actress has created an entirely
different film as an extension of her debut album, Perfectionist.
Co-directed by the same French filmmaker as Love Kills (Guillaume
Doubet), it's the perfect pairing for an album that features such
Technicolor producers as Fernando Garibay (U2, Snoop Dogg,
Britney Spears), Jeff Bhasker (Kanye West, Jay-Z, Alicia Keys),
Ron "Neffu" Feemster (Dr Dre, Michael Jackson), Akon and
Cherrytree's label boss and Lady Gaga-collaborator Martin "Cherry
Cherry Boom Boom" Kierszenbaum (who has also worked with
t.A.T.u., Frankmusik and Far East Movement). A-list assistance
aside, Natalia's ultimate vision shapes the direction and sound
of her debut album, Perfectionist. "Good producers find a way of
enhancing an artist," says Natalia. "They don't give you their
musical sound, they give you your own.' My album was definitely a
joint experience of creativity."
That is exactly what made will.i.am want to sign Natalia to his
label jointly with Cherrytree: the shape-shifting
performer/writer/director that is Natalia Kills knows exactly
what she wants, whether it's a stone-faced "Love Kills xx" scene
or an all-out assault on what it means to be an all or nothing
pop star.
"I like the way radio music used to be--really direct, wild and
expressive," says Natalia. "It wasn't like `I love you baby' or
`let's party all night'; it was songs like Queen's `Love Kills.'
She continues, "You know, `Drills you through the heart/s you
from the start'? Artists used to say whatever they were feeling.
There was a real freedom of expression. And you know what? It's
important to be brave in music, because if you can't be brave
there, where can you?"