Blue May Channeled 'Couples Therapy' to Create 'West End Girl'

Blue May, executive producer on Lily Allen’s West End Girl, helped hone one of the year’s most unexpected, culturally resonant, and, for lack of a better term, gag-worthy records. But when he’s not helping artists like Allen, Suki Waterhouse, and Jorja Smith create their most vulnerable works, the Angeleno by way of London doesn’t consume a ton of media — although, as he tells ShelfMAG, he is fascinated by the endless West End Girl TikTok discourse, even if he is still a bit overwhelmed by its critical and commercial success. 

Below, he shares the reality show that prepped him to be Allen’s sounding board, the pop bible that sharpened his ear for production, and his “dry” (but wholesome) comfort watch.

Music by Madonna

“That album came right at the moment when I was starting to be aware of what music production is. I remember thinking, ‘This is such a fresh sound.’ [It’s] a pinnacle of the end of the ’90s, the high point [for] technology before it went too far and gave everyone too many options. It feels like the culmination of that era, concentrated into this amazingly stylistic, cohesive record that I love so much. Madonna is so good at picking the producer of the moment. With Music, it was Mirwais [Ahmadzaï]. I was starting to understand what a mixer does on records, and Spike Stent, who mixed Music, became such a big influence for me. ‘What It Feels Like For a Girl’ is, sonically, one of the most perfectly made records of all time.”

Prince: Sign O’ the Times

“That film was massively important to me as a kid. My mom recorded a few concerts [on videotape]. From the age of like 5 or 6, I watched them religiously. It gave me the notion there were these incredible artists that lived and breathed different air and floated on clouds. That’s how I saw Prince. When I saw that it was showing in the IMAX in Los Angeles, I was like, ‘I have to go and see that. I haven't seen that film in probably 20 years.’ And it blew me away again. 

I think life forces you to come to terms with the fact that our heroes are people at the end of the day. But it's like [Peter Pan] and Tinker Bell. If you say you don't believe in fairies, the fairies die. I have that feeling about believing in pop stars and celebrities. If we give up thinking they breathe different air, even though we know they are humans [like] the rest of us, I think the fairies die a bit. I can apply that to Lily. I think she is one of the greats, an icon. If I didn't have that belief that people need to be absolutely supported and helped to create amazing things, I don't think I'd be a very good producer.”

Crazy, Stupid, Love.

“It’s just escapism. When you live in a lot of intensity, [you] really feel quite delicate when [you] finish what [you’re] doing. In the time between my work, I don't want to invite too much anxiety, and I can feel really awkward when I watch films that have a lot of tension in them or things that are hurtful. Whether it's Crazy, Stupid, Love. or Edge of Tomorrow, it's just entertainment. I can enjoy it and zone out of the heavier thoughts I exist in most of the time.”

LUX by Rosalía

“My whole nervous system has been in a heightened place since the Lily record came out. When [LUX] came out, I was lying in bed at my friend's house in London. I put my headphones on in complete darkness and listened back-to-front. It felt so fucking grounding to hear something so bold from [an artist] on her own level. I think about Madonna, Björk, and people who pushed so hard in the ‘90s; Rosalía is, to me, that now. I think it's really interesting to hear how prominently she talked about it being an anti-AI record. It's not that we had that in mind with Lily's record, but, on a core level, as we adapt to what we're being told is the next wave, I haven't experimented with that stuff within music. I just think AI is really fucking dumb and not capable of creativity at all. So that being an important part of [Rosalía’s] motivation to do something, I think that's powerful.”

Couples Therapy

“[Co-producer] Kito was the first person I brought in to work on Lily's record with me. We went through really horrific breakups before [West End Girl] and became much closer friends supporting each other through these traumatizing relationships. One time, we were meant to go out for a drink, and I came to her house, and she had Couples Therapy on. We never left. I think [Dr. Orna Guralnik’s] ability to let people talk it out but enter the conversation at the right time offered a lot of relief. I think there was some serendipity [in] us working on West End Girl, having been through what we've both been through. I'm still none the wiser as to whether I think I'm worthy of a functional relationship, but at the very least, I gained some belief that, fundamentally, most problems exist in miscommunication. If we could learn how to listen to each other a bit more, we might stand more of a chance, you know?”

Perkins Builder Brothers

“My main hobby, not that I have time to do it, is to make things out of wood and build furniture and fix things. I come from a hands-on, capable family where, if something breaks or you need something, you build or fix it. So I find anyone making stuff or fixing things to be deeply relaxing. This is so dry, I feel like I'm exposing myself, but the Perkins Builder Brothers are these two all-American brothers who build houses. I find their houses to be aesthetically offensive. But they really show every part of what they're doing, and they've got this funny team of builders around them. I just like hearing them talk and hammer shit.”

What else is Blue May is into? Get real-time updates at shelf.im/bluemay.