Darren Hayes: The Sounds That Inspired His New Album ‘Homosexual’

October 7, 2022

Darren Hayes‘ new album Homosexual is the pop icon and former Savage Garden singer’s fifth solo LP and the first to have been produced, arranged, composed and performed entirely by Hayes. Hayes chose the album title based on his experiences growing up in a society where the word was frequently used to bully and vilify people. “I wanted to reclaim it,” Hayes said.

Reclamation is a big theme of Homosexual, from the lyrical themes to the songwriting and production references. To coincide with the album’s release, Hayes has put together a playlist of songs that played an integral role in making him the artist and proud gay man he is today. The playlist is premiering exclusively on Music Feeds.

Darren Hayes: The Inspiration For Homosexual

Darren Hayes: My new album was born from a desire to rid myself of the grief I developed over the years I lost to shame growing up in a world where being gay was met with rejection and condemnation. I wanted to revisit my teenage years with the wisdom of a proud 50-year-old gay man and revisit my youthful memories and view them through this new peach-tinted lens of joy.

I imagined an adolescence where I could be loved for who I truly am today. Through this music, my goal was to reclaim my happiness and reclaim my identity. That confidence gave me the courage to explore deep wounds in my life and explore old trauma from the perspective of an effervescent endless summer.

The production on my album is deeply inspired by 1985 to 1987, memories of listening to the 12-inch extended mixes of my favourite Madonna or George Michael songs. In this playlist I’ve curated songs that take you deep into the cultural and musical DNA of the music that inspired me as a child all the way through to making Homosexual, my first solo album to be produced, arranged, composed and performed entirely by me.