"Did you boogie?"
That is the question Kylie Minogue will likely ask if she knows that you have listened to her new album Disco.
The Australian pop star's 15th album, released yesterday, caps a year filled with dance-pop releases from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, Jessie Ware, Lady Gaga and The Weeknd, but for Minogue, disco is nothing new.
For more than three decades, she has made glittering tracks with pulsing beats - I Should Be So Lucky (1987), Better The Devil You Know (1990), Can't Get You Out Of My Head (2001) and All The Lovers (2010).
This time around, she hopes to help people escape at a moment when "truth is stranger than fiction", she said on a recent video call.
Speaking from the lounge in her London home, Minogue talked about transforming part of that room into a studio during quarantine by hanging duvets, blankets and a disco ball, of course.
She used an old microphone and GarageBand to record demos in a space that she said resembled what children might create when camping out in a living room. But it got the job done.
"I just felt, if kids are doing this - making albums in their bedroom - then, come on, Minogue, you've got to be able to do this," she said.
Minogue talked about her cultural must-haves, which she noted will likely change over time. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.
1. JANE FONDA
I paid homage to her and Barbarella with my video for Put Yourself In My Place - one of the more agonising videos I've done, in which I was trying to be weightless. Luckily, I was young and fit. In my early 20s, when I was discovering my sexuality, I had these icons of glamour and, I suppose, femininity, but now, I understand with some age and experience that wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But I still looked up to it.
I devoured her incredible book, My Life So Far. I'm 52, so I've been through a bit of stuff myself, but as her book explains, she's still learning. She's still curious. She's still discovering herself. I find that so reassuring.
2. PARIS
I've had some of the most romantic adventures in Paris. I've had some trying times. I did my chemotherapy in Paris.
I performed the only jazz set I've ever performed in my life in Paris at Cafe de Flore, which is one of my favourite places.
I was a young woman there. I found that I could be invisible there compared with other places.
This was a long time ago, before mobile phones. I could take to the streets, get my metro ticket and go where I wanted to go.
3. RED HERMES FERRONNERIE SCARF
I don't know where I got this or when I got it. I just know it's mostly with me. If this scarf could talk, it would have a few stories. It has been around my neck. It has been around my head. When you've got a bag without straps you're tired of carrying, it becomes a bag strap. It has been a belt.
A few years ago, my girlfriends and I were on a Greek island. My friend was brave enough to get on a motorbike and drive it. She had this tiny little strappy low-back dress on and she was about to take off when I said, like your mother would: "Wait, wait, take this," and I put it on her like a harness.
When we were on the road, I was on the bike behind her and I could just see the scarf flapping in the breeze and it was such a beautiful colour in that sunlight. It's one of those things that I probably will lose one day, but I'd be very sorry to see it go.
4. ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE
I have a lot of clothes and costumes from over the years and, in 2004, my family and I agreed that we would approach the Arts Centre Melbourne to see if they were interested in having this stuff. They were, so I donated everything. If I hit tough times, I've got nothing to sell. It was a great idea and they did the first exhibition of my clothes in 2005. They had to have the mannequins made really tiny - I'm 5 foot and a whisper. I remember seeing one costume - this black-winged feather headdress - and I just kind of marched straight over to it because it wasn't where I thought it should be and there was this audible gasp because you couldn't handle things without gloves and so on. That was the moment I realised "these really are not mine anymore". Touring costumes are workers. They're part of the team. Now they're in a lovely retirement centre in my hometown.
5. PRINCE
My 14-year-old hormones are just knocking on the door right now. I was in high school and my girlfriends and I would listen to Purple Rain all the time.
I remember going on a drive with my parents. I begged them to put the Prince cassette on in the car and when it got to Darling Nikki, I remember it didn't sit well with my dad.
Then, cut to 1992 when Prince did a concert at Earl's Court in London. I was invited backstage afterwards and I got to meet him.
I don't know where I had the gumption or guts to say or how I even said it, but something like: "I'm working on a new album and wonder if you would ever want to work together."
His driver came over and delivered a cassette with Prince singing this song called Babydoll, which was an adaptation of the lyrics that I sent him. It was one of those home-alone moments where you just want to scream and jump and hug someone.
I went to Minneapolis, hung out for a few days and that was that. I remember being in his car and we just went for a spin. We never got to make music together.
6. RAGE TELEVISION SHOW
Rage is such an Aussie thing. Think of your first nights when you might be out really late or you might wake up with a little hangover or something that makes you really feel like you're not a kid at school anymore.
You would get home and put Rage on. It was kind of like this rite of passage because it would play from Friday night through Sunday. It always had cool music.
7. ROAD CASES
Road cases are my home away from home.
As soon as I see them at rehearsals, I get that "Ooh we're going on tour, this is happening" feeling. I love being on tour.
I love having that family atmosphere and working with people who have their own skills. There's an admiration for what everyone does, whether you're a lighting technician, you're in catering, you're a dancer, you're the monitor guy or woman.
The way everyone has to work together.
I always look forward to it, so my road cases are like my friends.
I just realised I might sound like Steve Martin in The Lonely Guy, but it's not just lonely me and my road cases.
The really important stuff is in there, like costumes, but also my comforts. I had my road cases made in a soft-pink colour. I wanted ones that would stand out and be mine.
8. CINEMA PARADISO
You know when you need a good cry, but you don't have a great reason, but you might benefit from just letting a little bit out? Shut your eyes and play that theme song. Along with so much of Italian composer Ennio Morricone's work, it's transcendent.
I was lucky enough to see one of Morricone's last performances last year. I was preparing my tour dates and the one stipulation was that I couldn't be doing a show on the night he was performing in London. I didn't think I would get the chance to see him conducting an orchestra, the chance to hear that live, and I did.
9. AUDIOBOOKS AND SCRABBLE
I'm not a great sleeper, so I like to be able to listen to an audiobook. I'm floating between Deepak Chopra and one that I really enjoy called Victorian London by Liza Picard, narrated by Anton Lesser.
I do love a bit of a period story. I also play Scrabble, except I like to play only with strangers. I don't want my friends knowing I'm playing Scrabble.
10. MELBOURNE COFFEE
A couple of years back, I flew from London to Melbourne. My brother picked me up from the airport, which is a real thrill. We got coffee and I sipped it and said, "That's good coffee", and my brother said, "Yeah, it's Melbourne coffee", and that was it. There's this standard where it's strong enough, but it's not too bitter.
It's just great. On top of that, if I'm having coffee in Melbourne, that means I'm home.
NYTIMES
