Natalie Imbruglia talks new album and how she overcame writer's block

Natalie Imbruglia talks about recording her new album and how she overcame writer's block.

Video Transcript

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: (SINGING) I love it true. My heart a home.

LYNDSEY PARKER: Firebird, the album coming out in September, is great. It's so nice to have you back. You know, I was reading about what led up to this record and you had a pretty bad case of writer's block, and sounds like some of this record, Firebird, was also kind of written from a place of darkness or strife. Do you write best from that place?

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: I think absolutely. I write-- it's much easier-- it was much harder for me to write when I was-- super happy periods of my life have always been more challenging for writing. I think melancholy is something I find easier to draw on. I think of the last however many years, things were really tough, and it wasn't even like in a kind of whimsical younger time where that's kind of fun.

This was just difficult and hard and something that-- I just can't tell you how sweet it is to go that long not being able to do something that came so naturally to you and to overcome that. I just-- if anyone out there is struggling creatively, I just-- I just say show up by yourself, stick at it. And this whole album Firebird is about strength and fragility, kind of finding the balance between those two things. And finding strength in being fragile. Like being OK with that.

And letting things fall apart, which is in the single "Build It Better." To make something even better. Sometimes you have to kind of go through that process of breakdown, which is exactly what I had to do.

LYNDSEY PARKER: I did want to ask, since you were telling me about this, it was a difficult time or whatever. And "Nothing Missing" is about a celebration of independence. And I do believe in your bio you said it's at least partially inspired by your divorce, which if I'm doing the timeline right, the divorce might become final right around the time that you kind of stopped making original music, 2008, 2009. The hiatus might have corresponded with that? So is that song specifically inspired by what was going on in your life at that time?

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: I think that's an interesting point. I'm sure there's certain things you go through in your life that are too painful to want to write about at the time. So it wouldn't surprise me if there was a correlation between those two things. I did do some writing, but I think any kind of heartbreak is difficult, even if it's an amicable separation. I think these things can take years to process and come to terms with.

And I think anyone who goes through any kind of relationship breakdown or breakup, we always blame ourselves. There's always that thing of, is it me, is there's something wrong? Or for me it was feeling like, I still needed to get the guy, and have the child, and have-- and be socially normal, whatever that is. That's a really important message, and it's-- because I've had this epiphany that nothing is missing, you know? I'd had some relationships that didn't work out and trying to kind of force things or whatever, and just that realization that, my gosh, I was actually fine the whole time.

LYNDSEY PARKER: Is that song or is that message at all inspired by the fact that, congratulations you became a mother relatively recently?

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: I had started the writing process. But when I had that success with IVF, it's like there was a pressure lifted. The bulk of it happened after I conceived Max, and then I was able to express myself creatively, and suddenly I was working with all these amazing people, and I had this confidence back. That was what was great about it.

Well, I did a lot of writing whilst pregnant. In fact, when I was in Byron I was very newly pregnant, so I wasn't saying anything to the guys. We were having a laugh about that, because obviously they had no idea. But I found it very inspiring, and it was nice to write whilst I was pregnant. And then to record while I was pregnant.

And it's an amazing-- I think it's given me a sense of peace. I feel like a lot of the creative juices really started to flow as well after that. I think that without me knowing it, that yearning and that want for that particular thing in my life was affecting everything, and it's one of those things. It's like you try not to think about something, but for any woman out there who has that same yearning to be a parent, it's not the easiest thing to just let go of or switch off.

And I-- and my heart goes out to any women out there listening to this who are still on that journey, still wanting that, still on the other side of that. Because I remember time and time again being that person where another friend got pregnant and you're like, oh. So it's an intense-- it can be very intense, that yearning.

LYNDSEY PARKER: Pardon me if this is invasive or whatever, but were you deferring motherhood because of this whole fallacy about having it all or whatever? Like were you struggling with the thing of the career balance and the motherhood to wait till now to become a parent?

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: I think that's a good question. No, I think for me it's something I wanted to do young. It's just that that period of time of my life when things in my relationship weren't in a place where you would do that. And then my marriage broke down. So I mean me and my ex-husband were touring, we weren't having enough-- like it was just an impossible situation for a relationship, let alone starting a family.

And then, of course, you're trying to overcome that. You're trying to process a divorce. It's not really the headspace to like have a child. So that takes years. And then you're finally ready to date. I couldn't get arrested in my 30s. I don't know about you, but I found my 30s for dating was just impossible. And I don't know if that's because it was like something written on my forehead. I want a child. But it just seemed to repel men.

So by the time it kind of settled back in, it was just, I found myself at that time of my life. So we don't plan these things. I don't want to put the messaging out there that the path that I've chosen is instead of being in a relationship and having a family traditionally. This is about no one should ever feel like whichever way their life, how their life ends up, and the choices that they make is not OK. So that's the messaging that is important to me, because I wanted lots of other things, but I took control of where I was at in my life, and we do have that whole biological thing. So that puts another pressure on women.

LYNDSEY PARKER: If you can't get a date, there's no hope for any of us now. Come on.

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: I don't know. I think maybe sometimes strong women do struggle.

LYNDSEY PARKER: Yeah, especially ones obviously--

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: I can't even pretend to be a wallflower. It's just not happening.

LYNDSEY PARKER: You've had a long break between records. You've had a long time at home. Is it scary to be putting yourself back out there in more ways than one with the new music? Doing press, being in the public eye again?

NATALIE IMBRUGLIA: Well, it should be scarier than it feels. Because there's a lot riding on it. But honestly the happiness you get to overcome something like writer's block, the confidence I feel and the belief I have in these songs and in this work, I'm so proud of it. So I had a real trust that these songs will find the people that are meant to hear them.

So I mean there's career success, I've never really been one to kind of aim at that. For me, it's more of a spiritual thing. And it's about getting the music to a place where I feel it's like an emotional dump. It's like I've got so many things off my chest, or specifically got them-- delivered them in a way that I think is going to help people feel less lonely or relate to or-- and musically it all came together. This is the first time I've co-produced.

I'm feeling so at peace with the whole thing. And it would be wonderful if it does well. But if it doesn't, I'm like so incredibly proud. I do think it's the best work I've done. And so-- (SINGING) It's crazy.