“I don’t like saying it in my accent,” PinkPantheress timidly says of her mixtape title, which was later revealed to be Fancy That, during her late March visit to Billboard.
Rocking a plaid top dress, dark navy jeans and black flats that could’ve been on an Aeropostale mannequin circa ’07, the U.K. native gushes about house artists like Basement Jaxx and early Calvin Harris influencing her nine-track mixtape.
“I feel like nobody’s really tapped into these fully since the eclipse of [their] genre. I was like, ‘Let me try to do it and see what I can do here,’” the 24-year-old says. “Just because I’m such a fan of it and I was very inspired by it. I haven’t felt really inspired in a long time.”
Holed up in her London home, PinkPantheress got to work as the project began to take shape over the course of two months. After some back-and-forth file transferring and tinkering with producer aksel arvid, Pink’s skittering production met her plush vocals while still maintaining her signature DIY raw experimentation.
She dug through the crates while pulling on samples from the aforementioned Basement Jaxx to Panic! at the Disco and even Nardo Wick’s “Who Want Smoke??” for her most sonically potent work to date. “I made something that kind of incorporated my two projects into one super project,” the Billboard Women in Music 2024 Producer of the Year adds.
PinkPantheress is reserved yet charming in conversation as she opens up about learning she wasn’t “an arena artist” after touring with Olivia Rodrigo, being the subject of plenty of memes, her global crossover appeal and acting aspirations.
How did you end up in Jack Harlow’s “Just Us” video?
Jack messaged me and asked me if I could be in the video. I asked if I could hear the song and he was like, “No, you can not.” I don’t really do cameos or anything, especially not for bigger artists because I get worried and scared of public perception. But he was like, “You need to trust me that I’ll make you look cool.” Then I just did it and it was really fun.
How did you get in the zone for this mixtape? What did you set out to do?
I wanted to create a project that reflected my progress as a producer. I made something that kind of incorporated my two projects into one super project. I produced a lot of it in London in my house. I listened to a lot of U.K. music. A specific era, a lot of Basement Jaxx, a lot of Calvin Harris.
I created the beats on my laptop and then I sent them to this producer I was working with from Norway called Axsel [Arvid]. We went back-and-forth and made the beats and I recorded really quickly. It was done in like two months.
Being a perfectionist in the studio, do you have to go back in and tweak stuff or once it’s done, it’s done?
Figuratively and physically and always literal, I am a tweaker. I am always going back and [asking], “What can I do here that I want to change?” I was actually fairly chill on this project because the more you perfect something, for me as an artist, people definitely prefer when I sound more DIY and raw. So I was trying to keep it as raw as possible.
I love how you flipped Nardo Wick’s “Who Want Smoke??” on “Noises.”
I love that song. I really like Nardo Wick and 21 Savage. I wasn’t even trying to use it until I was writing my song. I was like, “Oh, it would be cool to have a break in the beat where it’s the bass going [hits table].” They do the same thing. I was like, I might as well pay homage and put his voice in it. I actually wonder if he’s heard it and I wonder what he thought. He probably thought it was ass. I wanna know what he thinks. I wanna personally find out what he thinks. Obviously, it’s drum and bass now. It’s a whole different genre.
What do you think about your crossover popularity? How do you gauge it as far as your fans in the U.K. and your fans in the U.S.?
Even though my music is more genre-based in the U.K., I’d say I have more fans in America. I think in a weird way, the U.K. is more hip to drum and bass and the music I make, so me coming out after we’ve had a history of women that I’m influenced by — like Lily Allen and Imogen Heap, that’s where they were most respected and adored. I’d say the majority of British people are more used to my sound, so it’s probably not as much, “Whoa, what is this!,” as Americans are. [American] People in general speak of me as more an innovator or pioneer, whereas people in the U.K. will celebrate the fact I’ve been able to cross over and get the features I have. America’s just different.
I feel like the internet has kind of united all nations. It’s not as clear to me these days who’s British and who’s American, because the culture is the same amongst the internet. We all watch the same streamers and listen to the same music, so there’s not much of a divide anymore. You’re big everywhere these days.
How does having hearing loss in one ear affect your creative process?
I can’t mix anymore. I struggle with the high end of some of the instruments. I have to get someone else to mix and master now, which I used to do myself.
Will Fancy That lead up to an album later this year, or does it exist in its own universe?
I feel like it’s [the latter]. I want it to exist, but it’s weird because I feel like any body of work these days [is overlooked]. For me, personally, a body of work is a body of work. I’ll call it something different, but realistically, I want it to do the same thing. I want it to impact the same — even though technically it’s not an album, I still want to treat it as such.
I saw a tweet going viral saying, “u a boy turn that PinkPantheress off.” What do you think about that? The guys can’t listen too?
Everyone can enjoy my music. Honestly, I need those streams, so I’ll take whatever gender you are.
When you’re making music, is it ever toward a specific gender?
When I make music, I make music for people that look exactly like me. I’m not even just talking about being a girl. I make music for people that are East African, I make music for people that live in these cities who dress like me and have the same hairstyle as me. When I’m making music, I’m thinking of somebody that looks identical to me. I’m talking about the wig down to the clothes. Everything. I visualize myself listening to my music first before I think about anybody else.
I literally am so at my demographic of fans. There’s gamers, K-Pop fans, people that are full of themselves, street n—as and people who call themselves cutesy girls and emos. It’s really such a reach of people. I never thought to myself, “Oh, this is what my fans are gonna like.” When I go to my shows and I see a diverse crowd and different races, I’m very happy. I always felt when I was younger that I was always the only person of color in that room. I especially love having Black people in my crowd. It’s so important to me, because when you’re making drum and bass, people aren’t expecting certain people to enjoy it. When I see those people there, I’m like, “Yeah.” It got through. It’s really cool to see.
How was meeting André 3000?
It was really brief, but really sick. I was in Paris, and it was coming out of the Alexander McQueen show. Oh my God, he was with Law Roach as well. I was like, “Oh my God, this isn’t real life.” I wasn’t gonna take a photo with him, but my publicist was like, “You need to do this for your future self.” It was very crazy. He didn’t know who I was, which is perfectly fine, but just the fact he still stopped for a photo was really nice. I thought he was gonna be like, “F–k off.” Him and his flute. I actually didn’t come out with words like, “Can I get a picture?” Just the fact that he was so willing. Someone like him doesn’t need to stop. He was with Laura Roach, but they were by themselves, no security.
I saw another photo of you at the Vivienne Westwood show at Paris Fashion Week next to Ice Spice and Chappell Roan. What are those conversations like? Was that the first time you’ve seen Ice in a while?
It actually was. When we both up like, “Oh my God, you’re here, yay!” When you see someone you’re friends with at one of these things, it’s like being back at school and being sat next to your friend that you really have fun with, because it can be so daunting.
That was the first time I met Chappell, and she’s so nice and cool. She’s really friendly. I actually think we’re quite similar in those situations. Being at the Vivienne Westwood show front row is one of the most magical things ever. There are some elements that can make it really daunting. Then you have photographers fighting over stuff. No one’s gagging to be part of that experience but at some point you have to get a bit stoic. I was definitely breaking into stoicness.
Could we ever get another collab with Ice Spice?
I’d do it for sure on the right song.
What did you think about Usher’s son taking his phone and DMing you?
He’s funny. I actually have met him twice now. He’s a really huge fan. He’s always at my shows. Whenever we’re close to Atlanta, he’s always coming. He’s really cute and when that happened, I don’t know what my reaction was. I was like, “Is this a joke?” I was sure of it. I kinda feel like I knew about him before I saw a message, but he’s a really funny guy. If your dad was Usher, I might do that, if I were a big fan of someone. I actually probably would. Usher’s so sweet, too. I met him on FaceTime.
You’re very online and adept with online culture. Do you see a lot of these tweets and stuff about you going viral?
Not always, but recently I’ve been really on top of it because I just downloaded Twitter. Only to speak with my group chats because that’s where they are. Sometimes I scroll the timeline. I feel like I’m now part of these and I get jokes now. Whereas before, I felt like I was alone.
How was opening up for Olivia Rodrigo, and what’s one thing you’ve taken from her and incorporated?
I did six or seven shows I think. It was definitely very difficult for me. I enjoyed it a lot — because, one I got to see her perform live, and she’s amazing. She’s an actual force. Watching her and how she combats an arena and how she actually does the arena, made me realize, “Wow, some people are arena artists and some people are not.” I’m not an arena artist. That’s something I learned about myself. What I learned from her is there are ways you can approach an arena and interact with people in the up theres or the far backs. She did that and is amazing at it.
What happened when I watched her was, I saw my own failing and my own incapabilities, and I was like, “I’m not an arena artist.” That’s not for a lack of trying. It just made me realize there are some things in life as an artist you’re told you should try one day — but for me, I think I’m one of those artists where I’m comfortable is where I always strive. When I’m pushed to do something because it’s the right thing to do as an artist, because it’s an arena, I feel like the opportunity is the most amazing thing I had and I’m so happy I did it. It made me realize like this whole thing is not for me to do. It’s for powerhouses like her. I’m not a powerhouse artist, I’m very much on my chill s–t. I’m not a performance-based artist.
So it made me realize that difference. It distraught me that there were any sufferings to that leg of the tour for her because of my shortcomings. I wish I could do have done it the whole way through, but I feel like I was gonna be detrimental to myself.
It was interesting you said you learned that about yourself, not being an arena artist. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an artist say that.
I’m not an arena artist, I’m not a stadium artist. I feel like there’s obviously ways I could make myself an arena artist. You can get the dancers, do the training, get the stage presence. I can go through training from now until two years later and see where I’m at. But I still don’t think my music belongs in an arena. I think my music belongs in a more intimate setting. As an artist, I think my fanbase appreciates more intimate settings.
Is there anything outside of music that you’d like to accomplish?
I’d like to do acting one day. I’m really meek, so we’ll see one day. I need to get more confident.
What do you hope fans take from this mixtape?
Sonically, I genuinely feel it’s my best work, so I hope that is the most obvious thing to come out of it. I think my fans are kind of divided about what their favorite projects are. I feel like a lot of people prefer my first project, while a lot of people prefer my second. This is kind of like a blend of both.
