Mike Posner interview: 'I felt the full range of emotion'

Mike Posner is, at the moment, on top of the world.

The Seeb remix of his track ‘I Took A Pill In Ibiza’ recently hit No.1 in the UK and it has gone platinum in his native US.

The musician’s second album ‘At Night, Alone…’ is set to be released on May 6 and it looks set to similarly storm the charts.

Pressparty caught up with Posner to talk about the record, how his previous label scrapped his second album and how he has managed to annoy the island of Ibiza…

Can you run through the lyrical and musical themes on the new album?

“Lyrically, this album I wanted to be as honest as possible. I suppose that’s the number one theme - telling the truth.

“Sonically, I wanted to produce these songs as little as possible, without them becoming boring, because I didn’t want to cover up any of the lyrics.”

Did you previously scrap your second album?

"I didn’t scrap it - it was shelved by my former record label. My singles weren’t selling very well, so they made the logical approach and thought that my album probably wouldn’t sell well."

How disappointing was that for you?

"Yeah, it was a little disappointing at the time, but it felt like if I kept a positive attitude then things would work themselves out."

Did you go into a bit of a dark place around that time?

"I don’t know why everyone asks me that - it seems to have been exaggerated a little bit. I go to dark places and light places every day, so I felt the full range of human emotion in that time period, just as I do right now."

It’s been six years since your first album, so how do you think you’ve changed as a person since then?

"I think I hold onto things a little less tightly. I like to think that I’m relaxed a little bit more, and I think I like other people more than I did back then."

The remix of 'I Took A Pill In Ibiza' has done really well in the charts. What is it about that song that has made it just so big?

"I honestly have no idea. I just try to create art, and every once in a while it seems to become really popular. I really don’t know why some things do, and some things don’t."

Ibiza invited you to visit the island to see that there’s more than just nightlife there - is that something you’re thinking of taking up?

"I’ve read that, but no-one’s actually invited me, that I know of. If someone gave me a free trip, I’d go for sure.

"I’m sure that my experience there was a very surface level one, and that there’s a depth of culture, cuisine and topography that I didn’t experience.

"So I don’t disagree with them at all, but I just told the truth about my experience. The lyric was ‘I took a pill in Ibiza’ - it wasn’t ‘I took a pill in Ibiza and that’s the only thing possible to do in Ibiza’."

You recently tweeted about wanting to jam with jazz group Snarky Puppy. Is there potential for a collaboration?

"I would definitely like that, for sure. I hope they feel the same, and if they, I’m sure there’s potential for something."

You also do songwriting for other artists. Do you ever feel a little bit sad when you give the songs away?

"No. I only work with people that I want to work with, so if someone’s singing one of my songs, it’s because I think highly of them and their artistry."

Are there many artists on your wishlist that you’d love to write with?

"Andre 3000, Paul Simon, Conor Oberst, Snarky Puppy…"

Are there any more songwriting jobs in the pipeline?

"There’s a couple of things, but I’m wanting to do my own thing at the moment."

Labrinth is on the new album - how did that come about?

"We worked together in 2010. He wrote a song with me for my first album, but it didn’t end up making it on it. We’ve been working together every year since then."

Watch Mike Posner in action below: