Lady Gaga has cited Nine Inch Nails, The Cure and Radiohead as influences on her forthcoming seventh album Mayhem, which she also says is inspired by David Bowie and Prince.
The 38-year-old New York-born pop superstar has made no secret of her love for rock music, and in a recent broadcast on her SiriusXM channel Gaga Radio, the singer aired Nine Inch Nails' classic Closer, and cited it as a key inspiration on her forthcoming record.
"Mayhem is utter chaos!" the singer told Elle in January, revealing that influences on her new music span '90s alternative meets electro-grunge, mixed with industrial sounds, Prince and Bowie melodies, guitar and attitude, funky bass lines and French electronic dance.
In another interview with Elle, the singer added, "There was industrial inspiration with a lot of the sounds. There's a transitional moment on the album that's rooted in nineties music. A sort of electro grunge defiance. That era in music which was a response to the music that came before it. And then David Bowie theatrical rock, Prince, Radiohead. I was inspired by so much music that has grown roots in my veins."
Talking to Apple Music's Zane Lowe, Gaga also reveals that one song on the record, Perfect Celebrity, "an electro grunge song", was inspired by The Cure, specifically Never Enough from the English band's 1990 remix album Mixed Up.
"I used to play [it] in my apartment like a million times," she notes.
Discussing the distinct characteristics of her previous albums with Lowe, Gaga explains, "Artpop was a vibe. Joanne was a sound, Chromatica had a sound all different [to the rest]. The Fame Monster was more chaotic, The Fame was theatrical pop, Born This Way, to me, had more of a metal-electro New York vibe to it. So I actually made the effort when making Mayhem to not do that, and not try to give my music an outfit, but instead to like allow myself to be influenced by everything."
Gaga also teases that another song, Can't Stop The High, which will be available only on a version of the album available from her website, is a "pure electro grunge record, that goes even harder than Perfect Celebrity does."
"It's it's my favourite record in a long time," she tells Lowe. "I feel like it has some teeth."
Mayhem is set for release on March 7 via Interscope.
Watch the interview with Zane Lowe below:
