Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, had what they described as a ‘big fight’ during the recording process of her new album Hit Me Hard And Soft.
The 22-year-old hitmaker and her frequent collaborator, 26, came to odds over their approach to the ‘context and subject matter’ of the album.
The musicians revealed the news about their disagreement during a new episode of The Zane Lowe Interview Series, during which the producer stated that he had to confront the singer about her handling of the record’s themes.
‘We’d been writing these fragments of stuff and I felt…I’ve been proven wrong over and over, but this was the jag I was on that night. I was like, “Subject-wise, I’m not being led into what you’re actually feeling. And I think that there are real guards up.”‘
O’Connell also recalled that Eilish often remained elusive about the meaning of each of her songs, and he advised her to ‘say how you feel’ when explaining the context behind her lyrics.
Billie Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, had what they described as a ‘big fight’ during the recording process of her new album Hit Me Hard And Soft; seen in February
However, the suggestion led to an argument, and the singer recalled that her brother’s reaction to her reticence was particularly unnerving.
The hitmaker then opened up about her love-hate relationship with the process of recording music.
‘I used to be like, “[I] hate making music, [I] don’t want to make it, [I] don’t like making it”…I love performing it. I love when it’s good, but I really have always struggled with the process,’ she said.
Eilish added that she was ‘finally enjoying the process’ when she began arguing with her brother.
‘It was very interesting because I saw myself in that. I was like, “I have felt that way and you have always been the thing that keeps the ship moving, and now you feel that way,”‘ she recalled.
O’Connell concluded by speaking about how he found that being able to connect emotionally with his collaborators led to stronger results in the studio.
‘I think that…my whole strength as a collaborator with any artist, and it’s always been innate with Billie because we’ve shared so much, is I do have to understand that person to be able to feel like I’m providing something,’ he said.
Hit Me Hard And Soft was preceded by Eilish’s first two records, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Happier Than Ever, which were released in 2019 and 2021, respectively.
The 22-year-old hitmaker and her frequent collaborator, 26, came to odds over their approach to the ‘context and subject matter’ of the album.
O’Connell also recalled that Eilish often remained elusive about the meaning of each of her songs, and he advised her to ‘say how you feel’ when explaining the context behind her lyrics; seen in 2022
O’Connell concluded by speaking about how he found that being able to connect emotionally with his collaborators led to stronger results in the studio; seen in 2022
Hit Me Hard And Soft was preceded by Eilish’s first two records, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? and Happier Than Ever, which were released in 2019 and 2021, respectively; Eilish and O’Connell are seen in Feburary
The record made its debut last Friday, and the record’s first single, entitled Lunch, was released the same day.
Hit Me Hard And Soft was met with widely positive reviews from critics following its official release.
The performer is set to promote her recording during an upcoming tour, which will kick off at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City on September 29.
Eilish’s tour will run into 2025, and it is scheduled to conclude with a pair of shows at the 3Arena in Dublin on July 26 and 27.