Polari (CD)

‘Polari’ is a pop album for the ages, looking back on history as a means to learn more about yourself. Olly Alexander’s first album under his own name takes as its primary inspiration the (almost) lost art of Polari. Originating around Europe and the Romani community as early as the 1600s, this coded slang became in effect a secret language for homosexuals and the stigmatized during the twentieth century. It’s a concept Olly first came across when coming out, and resonated more deeply with when playing Richie in ‘It’s A Sin’, where he grappled with questions about identity, self-expression and community. The kinds of which have always populated British life, and have long been threaded through the history of pop music – you just had to know where to look.

Speaking on the album, Olly said: “Many queer people will understand a penchant or secrets and codes, having had a backlog of thousands of years where we were unable to live openly.

Here was a story that spans centuries, filled with hidden meanings and forbidden love, a way to express yourself openly via a secret code. Polari became my guiding light, a place where I could travel through time and create music that took reference from the past and remix it into the future. I’ve always written songs about love, but I found my self with a new perspective beyond my own usual fears and insecurities. I imagined a world that was freer, one where I could be inspired by Odysseus, my boyfriend, Kylie and Derek Jarman. Polari came to encapsulate so many things to me, a creative practice in itself , an artistic refuge, it was a voyage that led me to many surprises – much like the language itself . This album is a documentation of that journey”

Track List:

1. Polari
2. Cupids Bow
3. I Know
4. Shadow Of Love
5. Make Me A Man
6. Dizzy
7. Archangel
8. Miss You So Much
9. When We Kiss
10. Whisper
11. Beautiful
12. Heal You
13. Language