Lana Del Rey for Fashion Magazine September 2014

On the collaboration process for Ultraviolence: “Meeting [producer/Black Keys frontman] Dan Auerbach changed everything. He really brought fun back into my life. We had a natural chemistry between us that was kind of palpable and he was spontaneous. We’d go into the studio with the band and do one cut of Ultraviolence—raw and live with all seven players in the same room with an old bedroom microphone—and leave it as it was. It was thrilling.”

On her current fashion transformation: “There has been an evolution. It came with the music. I love the idea of being able to get up on stage in my favourite denim shorts and my favourite linen shirt and wear a pair of gold bands and diamonds. It is so freeing. When I first got on stage—four years ago—I felt like what I had to do was put a dress on and be presentable in some way.”

On how her relationship with rocker Barrie-James O’Neill fueled Ultraviolence‘s lyrics: “I’m a dark character and he very is an even darker character than I am. Trying to get some consistency and some normality within the dynamic of that relationship has been impossible. Songs like “Shades of Cool” came out all that.”

On what gives her confidence: “Lately, I’ve sought comfort in one-on-one interactions with people backstage after the shows—spending hours with fans afterwards and drawing energy from that well. People liking what I’m doing on stage is a big ‘fuck you’ to whoever doubted me in the first place.”

Photographed by Chris Nicholls