Gay&Night Januari 2016

Interview / Troye Sivan
I was about two years old, people who I
went to school with in Perth. When we
hang out, there aren’t a lot of phones
or social media going on. I keep all my
friendships off-line, pretty much. Family
stuff as well. So there is denitely a line
for me. I guess I’m just more open than the
average person is.
I guess I ’m more open
than the average person
’But you don’t seem to be super
open about whether or not you’re
dating anyone, though there are of
course some rumors as to who that
might be.
‘It’s denitely amusing. The things I share
have always come from me, because it has
always been on social media, so I’ve always
been able to dictate what I do and don’t
share. I’ve shared so much that I just feel
like there are certain things I should try
and keep to myself. I prefer to keep that
side of my life private.’
Do you feel that, when you’re
making music, you’re able to say
things you’re not able to say in
your YouTube videos?
‘Denitely, yeah. Whether that’s a good
thing or not, I’m not really sure. I wrote
this album as if I were writing in a journal.
I wrote about stories and things that were
going on in my life. Sometimes it was
just internal monologues – word vomit
– about how I was feeling or just my
thoughts about something. I would just
write is all down and use it in songs. It
was really, really honest about whatever I
was going through at the time. Whereas I
would never talk about that on YouTube.
I think it’s cryptic enough, there’s enough
mystique around music in general, that
you can kind of get away with being
as honest as you want, without people
knowing exactly what it means. And
if they do, there’s no way to prove it.’
[laughs]
You’re with a major label. Did
anyone ever give you instructions
on what you should and shouldn’t
discuss? Or do they encourage you
to be as open as possible?
‘They just encourage me to be myself. I’ve
been really lucky. My label found me when
I had already been making YouTube videos
for six or seven years. I had established my
voice and my connection with the people
who had been watching me and listening
to my music. I just don’t think anyone has
ever tried to tell me how to communicate,
or not communicate, with my audience.
They’re very open-minded, very forwardthinking,
and they’ve always accepted the
connection I have with my audience, and
never tried to get too involved in it. It was
something I was really scared of before I
signed, and I had some discussions with
them about it. But everyone just told me
to keep doing exactly what I was doing. I
think they knew what they were getting
into.’
Tekst Martijn Tulp
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