{"id":896672,"date":"2026-09-18T15:16:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:16:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896672\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T15:16:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T15:16:12","slug":"mnek-interview-new-album-bulldozer-zara-larsson-flo-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896672\/","title":{"rendered":"MNEK Interview: New Album ‘Bulldozer!!’, Zara Larsson, FLO & More"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThere\u2019s seemingly no end to MNEK<\/a>\u2019s drive or creative reserves; over the past decade, the London singer, songwriter and producer\u2019s fingerprints have been everywhere in modern pop and R&B, even when his name hasn\u2019t. The 31-year-old\u2019s dedicated \u2018Written By\u2019 playlist<\/a> on Spotify paints the picture of a studio auteur who has built a career around extreme multifacetedness: He\u2019s penned tracks for cultural behemoths Beyonc\u00e9<\/a> (\u201cHold Up\u201d) and BTS<\/a> (\u201cParadise\u201d), as well as U.K. No. 1 hits for Dua Lipa<\/a> (\u201cIDGAF\u201d) and Little Mix<\/a> (\u201cSweet Melody\u201d). \u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKnown for his abrasive-yet-glossy futurism equally as much as his ear for house-pop heaters, there have been co-writes with Madonna and a wealth of British dance supernovas (Becky Hill, Joel Corry). More recently, he helped revitalize close collaborator Zara Larsson\u2019s career with his work on the singer\u2019s celestial slow-burn mega-hit \u201cMidnight Sun\u201d and her verse on the remix of PinkPantheress\u2019 \u201cStateside,\u201d which reached No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200<\/a> in March.<\/p>\n

\n\tMNEK was just 14 when a set of vibrant, self-produced MySpace demos landed him his first publishing deal in 2009. Since then, he\u2019s rarely been far from the centre of the pop cosmos; with his sophomore\u00a0LP, Bulldozer!!, released this September, he turns that decade-plus of experience back on himself. The follow-up to 2018\u2019s Language, the album takes in the invincible highs and lonely comedowns of partying, body image, the Wild West of dating apps and his conflicted relationship with the U.S. It\u2019s a portrait of a life lived both inside and adjacent to the industry, sticking proudly to a dancefloor-based mood with decadent tropical flourishes and skittering tempo switch-ups.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel like there is no limit to where my music could go,\u201d MNEK tells Billboard U.K., speaking over a video call from his home studio. \u201cI can only worry about what my music makes me feel, and what the emotion I want people to feel is when they hear my music, whether that be happy and euphoric or sassy and confident.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThat freedom feels pertinent this time around. Language fell considerably short<\/a> of commercial expectations, missing the Billboard 200 entirely and also failing to make a dent in the U.K. top 40. MNEK responded to the news<\/a> with a series of since-deleted social media posts, saying that he was \u201ca bit gutted, kinda f\u2013ked it\u201d and reflecting on the difficulty of making the leap to solo artist. Speaking today, he says releasing Bulldozer!! \u201cfeels emotionally lighter\u201d in part because there\u2019s less stress attached to where the songs might land.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd there\u2019s no game playing on this album,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s an album that only I can make, which I\u2019m really proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, he talks more about his sophomore album, and about which artists on the U.K. pop scene he currently finds inspiring. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tEight years is a long time between albums. What changed internally for you to be ready to release another body of solo work?
I think enough time has passed. This was about me just rebuilding my confidence after the last album, and a lot of that was through just continuing to make music in the process, whether it be my own music or exec-producing other projects. I was doing FLO\u2019s first album [2024\u2019s Access All Areas] and Midnight Sun for Zara [Larsson], and those had my attention for a hot minute while I was just figuring out what I wanted to do next.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou mention wanting to rebuild your confidence with this album. What experiences did you need to live first?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tI just needed a bit of an ego death. I also needed time to just not be working. At that point, I\u2019d been working for the entirety of my teens and then the first half of my 20s, and I think I was a bit burnt out, but I didn\u2019t know how to verbalize it. That was a real watershed moment where I was like,\u201d\u2018Oh, I actually need to separate myself from this work, or even give the person outside of this a chance to breathe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s been a lot of just growing that has come with age. I was 23 when Language came out, and even younger when I was writing it. So I think with this new album, I\u2019m definitely coming at things with a more rounded sense of self.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat did recovering from burnout look like in practice?<\/p>\n

It meant changing the way I worked, and having a sense of consistency and routine with the people I was working with and also just within myself. I had to start giving myself some structure and things to look forward to in the day, and then I focused on travelling and seeing a bit more of the world without the guise of work. This new album does have songs that talk about relationships, but so much of it is me talking to myself and trying to hype myself up or push through whatever adversity I\u2019m going through in the lyrics.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe title Bulldozer!! screams force, momentum, taking up space. When did you realize that was the energy you wanted to roll with for the album?
It\u2019s funny, because when I was writing the songs, all of them threw up themes of self-exploration \u2014 not wanting to be put in a box, wanting to exceed expectations, taking up space, etc. Those are all the keywords that were coming up during the writing process, and when the word \u201cbulldozer\u201d came to my desk, it brought a visceral reaction out of me, it almost made me feel uncomfortable.<\/p>\n

\n\tIs there any significance in having the exclamation marks in the song titles?
Yeah, for sure. This is my second album, so there\u2019s two exclamation marks, and overall I feel like there\u2019s a sense of me wanting to be heard within the music \u2014 so it\u2019s just exclaiming everything twice as much as the last time!<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tOn \u201cCalifornia\u201d you ask, \u201cwhy does the dream have to be so American?\u201d How has your relationship with America changed over the years, and why does it still appeal to you to work and thrive out there?
That\u2019s a good question. I\u2019ve always had a love\/hate relationship with LA in particular because that\u2019s been the main mecca of music for me. I\u2019ve been going there for the past 15 years, and it\u2019s only in the past few years where I\u2019ve developed a love for it enough to live there. \u201cCalifornia\u201d is a song that I got sent by Ragz Originale, and it\u2019s an idea that he\u2019d started, and I just resonated with the feeling of it so much because it was what I was going through. I was kind of in between London and LA, and just thinking, \u201cOh, do I want to move here full time?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tIt just made me think that there\u2019s a ceiling a lot of Black creatives find when it comes to being in the U.K., in that there\u2019s only so far they can go until they are forced to go to somewhere where the scope is bigger. I guess this song speaks to that from a selfish point of view, but I think there\u2019s a lot of people that will relate to that feeling: \u201cOK, I\u2019m outgrowing the system. I want to be larger than life, but then the system wants me to be small\u00a0\u2014 so I need to go somewhere else and see what is there for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you think British artists still feel they need to \u201cmake it\u201d in America to be seen as successful, or is that starting to change?<\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re in a world where monoculture is dying, and it\u2019s become a thing where you can really be fruitful in your niche as opposed to being concerned with widespread acclaim. It\u2019s undeniable that there are fruits that come with being successful in America: It\u2019s a larger place, it\u2019s more lucrative, and there\u2019s a bigger scope of people. I think the worst thing you can do is just limit yourself and say, \u201cNo, I won\u2019t go there.\u201d It should be more about seeing what you\u2019re capable of.<\/p>\n

\n\tAre there any U.K. acts smashing it globally right now that you find really inspiring?
I love PinkPantheress, she\u2019s great. The FLO ladies, of course. I love how they\u2019ve been able to thrive globally. RAYE is a superstar. I think it\u2019s to each their own, in what actually makes a song successful enough to be globally accepted? Because there\u2019s so many songs \u2013 like \u201cStateside\u201d \u2013 that you hear and you\u2019re like, \u201cThat\u2019s really British, how is that going to be understood by an American?\u201d But it then becomes a hit just as big as most American songs.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the album\u2019s press materials, you mention how audiences turning up for you, especially in the U.S., gave you confidence in what you\u2019d made with Language. With everything you\u2019ve done since, what feels validating to you now?<\/p>\n

\n\tWell, it\u2019s an interesting one, right? Because I think that it\u2019s obviously really nice selling a lot of records and earning certifications, awards and industry love; like, all that stuff is great, but it actually can feel really hollow without [support from] the actual people.<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve had songs that are No. 1 hits but the measure of success for me is when my friends or people that I respect, or that I don\u2019t even talk to every day, find it in their heart to text me and be like, \u201cThat song is really good.\u201d The intentionality is what I always adhere to. It\u2019s a huge deal.<\/p>\n

\n\tI feel that way about music now. With \u201cMidnight Sun\u201d from Zara, for instance, that was a song that had been out for a year and has not been nearly as successful as it is right now. But I was getting texts from all types of people being like, \u201cThat \u2018Midnight Sun\u2019 song is amazing,\u201d in a way that I\u2019ve never received from other songs before. And that\u2019s when I feel like, \u201cOh OK, this music talks to people. People really like this. It\u2019s not just been force-fed to them.\u201d It\u2019s been so moving to see.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve previously talked about how seeing people show up to your headline gigs, especially in the U.S., gave you confidence in what you made with Language. With everything you\u2019ve done since, where does your sense of validation come from now?
Well, it\u2019s an interesting one, right? It\u2019s obviously really nice selling a lot of records, and earning certifications, awards, industry love and number one singles is great, but it can feel really hollow without the actual people. I\u2019ve worked on No. 1 hits, but the measure of success for me is when my friends or people that I respect find it in their heart to text me and be like, \u201cThat song is really good.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tLike, even when I was saying that quote about people coming out to see me perform, it was about the idea of someone leaving the house and paying money to come and see me sing \u2013 that\u2019s amazing! You think it\u2019s really small, but it\u2019s a huge deal. There\u2019s only 24 hours in a day, and someone wants to spend a couple of them with you.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tWith \u201cMidnight Sun\u201d from Zara, for instance, that was a song that had been out for a year and has not been nearly as successful as it is right now. But I was getting texts from all types of people being like, \u201cThat \u2018Midnight Sun\u2019 song is amazing,\u201d in a way that I\u2019ve never received from other songs before, and that\u2019s when I feel like, \u2018Oh OK, this music talks to people. People really like this. It\u2019s not just been force-fed to them.\u2019 It\u2019s been so moving to see.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith Language, you were very self\u2011aware, even humorous, about its modest commercial response. How did that experience shape how you approach releasing music now?<\/p>\n

Yeah, it put me off making music for myself because it\u2019s extremely vulnerable and scary when you [pauses]\u2026 It\u2019s almost like being told \u201cno\u201d or being rejected when something doesn\u2019t go well. But my perspective on it has changed. It\u2019s about paying attention to those who are listening, as opposed to those who aren\u2019t \u2013 that\u2019s what I really care about.<\/p>\n

\n\tI want to feed the people who are waiting to hear this album and everyone else will follow. I feel like people who are fans of me are very smart, and that\u2019s a nice feeling. When we get into the wild west of pop music we\u2019re now having to deal with all types of levels of candour, intellect and taste!<\/p>\n

\n\tDo you think the album has aged better than its initial reception suggested?
I still get messages from people who say they listen to Language, which is a nice feeling. It was very of its time, but I feel like my references are very broad. But I\u2019m glad people still enjoy that record. <\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t want to wait another eight years until I release another album after [Bulldozer!!]. I want to keep writing and producing produce for the people I work with but I want there to be more of an equilibrium; a steadier pace of releasing music and focusing on the relationship with my fanbase that I\u2019m building right now.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s seemingly no end to MNEK\u2019s drive or creative reserves; over the past decade, the London singer, songwriter…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[64,63,103813,134,9607,1000,136,9057,44],"class_list":["post-896672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-billboard-uk","tag-entertainment","tag-genre-pop","tag-interview","tag-music","tag-music-news","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}