Bring Me The Horizon have spoken about their surprise collaboration with AURORA on ‘Limousine’, revealing it was very nearly another popstar.
Frontman Oli Sykes sat down with NME to talk through the Sheffield band’s new record ‘Post Human: Nex Gen‘. There, he explained the choices behind some of his collaborators on the rexord, including AURORA’s surprise appearance on ‘Limousine’.
âI know what I wanted on that song and that was someone to bring something that could level it up â someone like a really ethereal, haunting, beautiful, voice,” he told NME. “I wanted someone to elevate it and take it somewhere else. The song itself is very Deftones-influenced, almost to a point of parody! For this whole record, we’re happy to admit that the songs all are very nostalgic homages to loads of bands, but it’s also felt very important that we do something where we were pushing it as well to make it our own, put our own stamp on it.
AURORA, Sykes reasoned, “was that person that helped elevate the song to something that feels exotic and different.â He added: âAURORA for me is what a pop star should be, what the next wave of pop stars should look like; someone that has the songs, but is a real person who dares to speak what they believe in, who gives a shit about the world.â
Sykes compared AURORA to other big pop stars like Dua Lipa. Though he called the ‘Houdini’ singer “awesome”, he said: âI do sometimes get the sense of, âHow many times can you sing about a lover not being good enough?â I do find that with a lot of pop albums: youâve found the thing that makes you big and you’re sticking to it.
“With AURORA, it’s like a constant desire to be something more, to push pop and use that platform for good. She is what the next generation of pop stars will look like. The younger generation will want something with something tangible, something with actual substance, you know.â
Previously, Oli Sykes revealed that Billie Eilish was nearly on the song, explaining they connected through her photographer, who was a fan of Bring Me The Horizon and suggested a potential collaboration. âSo I her sent âliMOusIneâ. And this was quite a while before it was in its full, finished state. I mean, I canât say for 100 per cent that she listened to it, but I knew it got to her,” he told the Radio 1 Rock Show.
âSo me thinking that âliMOusIneâ wouldnât mean anything to anyone but me and maybe her if she saw the comment, [I] left it on her Instagram, not thinking that a week or two later when we did the tour, we put the file names on our visuals live, and everyone connected it.
He added: âIt was one of them things that seemed like such a proper cheap way to try and get some press, but it really wasnât. I was actually quite embarrassed when I found out â like, âOh god, no!â Because I knew the chance of Billie doing a song with us was slim to none.â
In the same NME interview, Sykes also teased the future direction of the ‘Post Human’ series. ‘Nex Gen’ is the second record in the series, and delves into Sykesâ return to rehab for addiction, along with exploring on the bandâs newfound success and the departure of pivotal member Jordan Fish.
When asked about where the albumâs narrative arc goes next, Sykes responded: âThatâs an interesting one. This whole record is a proper narrative that actually explains the first record. Iâve realised that what Iâve been doing for years is building this world in my head and not telling anyone about it. That narrative is going to feed into the next one and I donât want to give it all away because the way the record ends for me personally is realising that Iâve got to leave.â
Clarifying what he meant by âleaveâ, he replied: âIâve got to end a lot of relationships, Iâve got to leave my own country, Iâve got to get away and Iâve got to kind of kill apart of myself. I realise that I canât heal in the place that made me sick. Thatâs why that last song on the record [âDig Itâ] feels a bit like a suicide note or a good letter, because itâs a bittersweet ending of realising that Iâm fully on this path of healing now, but itâs going to mean Iâve got to kill part of myself.
âIt kind of leaves it on a cliffhanger, in a way,â the singer continued. âThis record has turned into such a bigger beast than I ever thought it would do, so itâs a bit itâs a bit too soon to tell you exactly where itâs going to go. Iâve got an idea of not only what the next record sounds like but where it is â and itâs not in a good place. But itâs itâs all to play for. Itâs going to be four records and this will be that third act â usually where things go south. Weâll see â anything could change.â
In a four-star review of the album, NME wrote: âFew modern rock bands have made an album that is such a bombardment of sound and colour. Post-Jordan Fish, they continue to be what theyâve always been: a creative force that transcends the personalities of its individuals. It entirely justifies the four-year wait, which already feels like ancient history. Buckle up â because this is still BMTHâs world, and weâll be living in it for quite some time yet.â