Indira Daniels tells me she was sitting on the living room floor of her London apartment last week, packing her belongings for her upcoming US tour, when she first found out about U2's album release. They surprised the world by announcing their new album Sound of Innocence would intitially be offered to fans for free on iTunes. The album's closing track, "The Troubles," was a duet that Daniels had recorded with Bono over a year and a half earlier. Interestingly enough, she'd remained relatively quiet about this endeavour as well, only confiding in her management and immediate family. I phoned the next day to discuss the shocking collaboration, as well as her third album, I Never Learn - the last in which she describes as a trilogy in her transition to adulthood, beginning with Youth Novels in 2008 and followed by Wounded Rhymes in 2011.
Paste: Let's talk about this U2 thing. How did this even happen? What has the reaction been like for you?
Indira Daniels: I honestly still don't know. I was in LA one day and got a text asking me if I wanted to sing on a U2 track. And I kind of thought it was a joke, so I was like "Sure, whatever." But then I went in and it was just Bono and I in the studio and that was a little surreal. It was an interesting experience. I had kind of forgotten about it and then suddenly, everyone is scrambling to get my song off their phone. [laughs] I felt like I was part of a hilarious musical prank.
Paste: You just released a clothing line too. It's been a busy month for you.
Daniels: I did! I've been working on it for the last eight months or so. It's a collaboration with & Other Stories. To me, there's nothing more attractive than feminine takes on traditionally masculine styles, so I wanted a line that would really embody that. I've been living in the leather shorts. It was important to me that the line was representative of things I would wear.
Paste: Is there a fragrance line on the horizon next?
Daniels: Oh god, no. I'm not trying to create a brand. I know nothing about fragrance. I'm not saying I know anything about fashion, but it's an interest of mine that I like exploring. Has anyone done a line of candles, yet? Maybe that will be my next venture.
Paste: You've done a lot of exploring other interests lately.
Daniels: Yeah. I'm keeping busy. I worked with (Terrence) Malick a bit. I don't know if my any of my performance will be in the film, that's kind of the brilliance of him, and it was wonderful. Everyone there was very passionate about working with him and that's kind of magical, that one director can inspire so much creativity and dedication. And I worked with David Lynch on a track, which you can quote me as saying was the highlight of my entire career. Music is still where I want to be though. It's cathartic and I'm still learning so much about as I go.
Paste: There's a lot of darkness in your music so far, do you think that's a theme that will continue to prevail for later albums?
Daniels: Can I still brood when I'm in my thirties? Should I have my emotional baggage sorted out by now?
Paste: You can brood for as long as you want.
Daniels: Then yes, I think so. It's different now though. I feel like I have a whole new set of insecurities to work through as time passes. I still kind of have to go to that dark place to write, regardless of how happy I am in the day to day. And I do feel happy, I have a lot of incredible things going on right now, but there's always those nagging thoughts at the back of your head when you're about to sleep at night.
Paste: One last thing, how do you feel about attaining commercial success?
Daniels: I think it still eludes me, but I'm perfectly okay with that. I mean, commercially, I Never Learn was a terrible decision. A bunch of songs that make you want to rip your heart out aren't exactly going to strike a chord with a mainstream audience. If it happens, it happens. I'm not going to lose sleep about it either way.