AceShowbiz - Honey Dijon spoke with Billboard from her London home about the release of her third studio album, The Nightlife, which debuted on April 16. This 14-track project features collaborations with artists like Chlöe Bailey, Greentea Peng, and Jacob Lusk. The album reflects the last three years that Dijon has spent living in London, but it dives much deeper, exploring her roots in club culture from her native Chicago to New York and highlighting the significance of nightlife as a space of community, safety, and joy, especially for LGBTQ individuals.

Now internationally renowned, Honey Dijon is preparing for a busy summer festival calendar that includes performances at Time Warp Miami, London’s Field Day, Italy’s Adriatic Sound Festival, and Chicago’s ARC. These large festival shows follow a series of intimate club headline sets designed to share the album in the very environments that inspired it.

During the interview, Honey Dijon shared insights about working with Beyoncé, the evolution of clubbing from culture to entertainment, and the personal growth that has accompanied her career. She reflected on how embracing self-love has been more valuable than the glamorous aspects of her life like fashion and accolades.

Currently in London, Honey Dijon described a sunny 19-degree Celsius day where after a Pilates class, she enjoyed a matcha and a leisurely walk through the city center. This small moment of springtime tranquility set the tone for the conversation.

Recalling her early musical influences, she fondly remembered buying her first record, a 12-inch of Yello’s “Bostich,” a memory linked to going record shopping with her father. She described her parents’ blue-collar backgrounds—her mother worked as an airline reservationist, while her father managed a drugstore before switching to landscaping for the city of Chicago. Despite their modest professions, they were deeply proud of her success, especially after she won a Grammy in the same year her father passed away, making it a bittersweet milestone.

Her first luxury purchase as an artist was a Cartier Clou bracelet in rose gold, bought on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan to celebrate her birthday during a tour. This piece remains a cherished symbol of her early achievements.

When asked about what albums she would recommend for someone new to electronic music, Honey Dijon named several key records: Tourism by Danny Tenaglia, her own compilation The Best of Both Worlds, Journey With the Lonely by Lil Louis, and That Total Age by Nitzer Ebb.

Her current listening rotation includes Jill Scott’s “Don’t Play,” Prince’s “Pink Cashmere,” Inner Life’s “Make It Last Forever,” and Cameo’s “The Sound Table.”

One of her happiest recent moments was a dinner with longtime friends from New York, where laughter, conversation, and being fully present without distractions created a profound sense of contentment.

Regarding the timing of this new album, Honey Dijon explained that the four-year gap since her 2022 release Black Girl Magic was influenced by her work on Beyoncé’s Renaissance album. She co-wrote two tracks on that project, “Cosy” and “Alien Superstar,” alongside songwriters Luke Solomon, Chris Penny, and Lance Dari, whom she affectionately calls her "Bernie Taupins." This collaboration expanded her understanding of songwriting, melody, and sonic experimentation.

She described the new album as “progressive R&B,” a departure from her previous house records, incorporating elements inspired by yacht rock. She appreciates yacht rock’s analog warmth, instrumental sound, and storytelling but approached it from a critical rather than nostalgic perspective. This creative exploration reflects where she is now as an artist, songwriter, and musician.

The Nightlife tells a story that pays homage to club culture and nightlife as more than just entertainment. Honey Dijon emphasized the transformation of DJs from obscure figures to performers but lamented the commercialization of nightlife, which has sometimes overshadowed its cultural roots. For her, clubbing has always been about community, connection, release, and celebration.

She expanded on the importance of clubs as safe spaces, particularly for marginalized communities such as people of color, queer individuals, and women. Clubs offer freedom from societal pressures, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and rigid gender norms. For queer people and women, nightlife can be a sanctuary where they can express themselves without fear or judgment. This deep cultural significance is central to the album’s songwriting and storytelling, reminding listeners that nightlife is a sanctuary, a church, and a community.

Each track on the album contributes to this narrative. For instance, “Slight Work” plays on the queer euphemism “work,” referring to giving one’s all or “turning it out” on the dance floor. This and other songs encapsulate the spirit of nightlife as a vital, living culture that continues to inspire and unite.