Olivia Dean focuses on 'work and heart' rather than trends and genre

After an initial breakthrough, the follow-up album often proves a major challenge for musicians. The Brit Olivia Dean was not deterred by this and has delivered a timelessly good follow-up to "Messy". London (dpa) – British singer-songwriter Olivia Dean's new album, released on Friday, took courage to make after her first studio album, "Messy," two years ago. Inspired by many artists, Dean's album "The Art of Loving" is packed with timeless tracks. It delivers on the promise of the first piece, "Nice to Each Other," with 11 further warm and positive songs, some of them romantic. Dean, 26, was apprehensive at first. “At the beginning, I was like, oh, no, the difficult second album," she tells dpa. But she decided she would make it fun and focused on "creating a nice environment and working with good people." She wound up having "a great time," she says. Dean is seen as one of the most promising pop stars around after several EPs, countless performances and her first studio album. Born in London to Jamaican/Guyanese and English parents, she began performing at the age of eight, pursuing a passion that took her from a gospel choir to busking to global stardom. More about sound than trend Her gentle, timeless mix of pop and soul recalls some of the greatest singers. Dean, a fan of vinyl, admires Carole King, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, she says. “I think I'm interested in, first and foremost, songs." She also loves the Motown period – the music born in Detroit, Michigan, known as Motor City for its car industry. Racially segregated in the 1960s, its music combined sacred and secular sounds, merging patterns of black gospel with rhythms of jazz. "I think that was a golden era for music," Dean says. "I love Stevie Wonder. I just, I think, aspire to make something that will hopefully last and you could return to rather than something that is following trend or specific movement of a genre. I'm not really interested in that.” One of her new album's most impressive tracks, "So Easy (To Fall In Love)," features subtle trumpets and gentle strings, recalling legendary songwriter Burt Bacharach. He was indeed an inspiration, says Dean. “I think Burt Bacharach is amazing, and I love that style and era of music. I think it's so playful and just musically interesting the way he writes. So he was a great reference." Upbeat sounds Dean decided to work with a string arranger on the album. "I've always wanted to have strings on a song and never really had the opportunity." She also really wanted to have a lot of her own piano on the album from her home. And, she says, she wanted to "explore some more uptempo songs. I love to dance, and aside from a quite melancholic, earnest side of me, I am a very joyful person, and I wanted the music to reflect that." All that comes through clearly in tracks like the lively, groovy "Man I Need." This second album sees Dean underscoring her status as a leading voice in neo-soul and pop though she is cautious about such accolades. Cautious about commendations It's obviously nice to be recognized, she says, because "I put a lot of work and heart into what I do. But I don't require the labels or to be the voice of this or the voice of that." "Those things can get to your head," she says. She is determinedly grounded and modest about her five performances coming up in New York's Madison Square Garden in October. She is supporting Sabrina Carpenter there, she underlines. In May 2026, she is set to headline four sold-out shows in her home town as part of a tour that takes in Paris, Amsterdam, Dublin and Auckland. "I'm everywhere. They're sick of me. They're getting sick of me," says Dean, laughing. Despite her growing fame, she enjoys the same activities she always has, she says. "Outside of music, I like to think I am a person outside of what I do and being a performer." She has her school friends and lives with her best friend, she says. She may be a famous musician but does not behave any differently when she is not working. "I'm not really up to anything crazy. I'm at home, I'm cooking, I'm watching telly, I'm doing yoga." The following information is not intended for publication dpa coh arw coh

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