Lady Gaga wasn’t quite ready to let her do it yet Joker: Folie à Deux character, so she created an accompanying 13-track album titled harlequin.

Joker: Folie à Deux follows Phoenix’s return as Arthur Fleck, aka the Joker, now imprisoned at Arkham Asylum. There he meets Gaga’s Harleen “Lee” Quinzel and they form an extremely chaotic bond with the aim of wreaking havoc on Gotham City. Unlike the first joker The film’s sequel features a number of musical numbers in which fans will see Gaga in her element.

“This idea of ​​dual identity has always been part of my music-making,” Gaga shared about the inspiration behind it in a new interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe harlequin. “I’ve always created characters in my music, and when I did Lee for ‘Joker,’ she really had a profound effect on me. There was so much music in the film, so much music that I love, and I was able to discover the character through the story, through the music we played live every day, as well as through dance, costumes and makeup. I had such a deep experience with the character and she just wouldn’t let me down creatively and I decided I wanted to make a whole album inspired by her.”

She continued: “She’s a really complex woman and I think, especially as a woman in the music industry and as a producer, it was really fun to say, ‘This album will be and I will be whatever I want, whenever I decide.’ ‘Whenever I want.’” Feel like it. If I want it to be blues, then it will be blues. If I want it to be funk, then it will be funk. If I want it to be soul, it will be soul.’”

The project includes cover versions of old classics – including newly interpreted show songs like “Good Morning” (Singing in the rain) and “If my friends could see me now” (Sweet charity) – And “celebrates a character who thrives on danger, who lives for the indefinable, and who embraces the beautiful chaos of her own dreams,” reads a press release. harlequin Also includes two original songs, the dramatic waltz “Folie à Deux” and the acoustic ballad “Happy Mistake.”

“BloodPop and I had written that together and then I kind of took it to the next level,” she said of “Happy Mistake,” adding, “It was all in the image of the character, but also kind of at the core of her.” soul, who is actually just me. Every character I play just has me as their gravity. On this record, I wrestle with a lot of feelings about so much of what I’ve been through as an artist, everything I’ve been through growing up in the public eye, and the industry since I was a teenager.”

Ultimately, Gaga says filming joker The film with Phoenix was a “really emotional experience” for her. “It’s like these two people find love in this really dark place and it brings them all the light,” she explained.

Watch Zane Lowe’s full interview with Lady Gaga below. Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on October 4th.