4 minute read
Dream Pop State of Mind Uke’ pickin’ vibes with Maggery
Dream Pop State of Mind
22 West gets softly serenaded by Maggery and her ethereal ukulele for our second Live Sessions event.
Interview by Bria Manning
Photos by Brandon Kheang
Maggery is a twenty-year-old bedroom pop artist from Rosemead, CA who sings as well as plays the ukulele. She began playing around with producing her own music at fifteen-yearsold and started posting her music online at eighteen.
Q. So you are a bedroom pop artist. How would you describe the genre to somebody who is unfamiliar with it?
A. I would say it’s a very homey kind of music, just something you’d hear from your neighbor. You know, typical movies when they play songs in garages or something. That’s kind of how I see it.
Q. How did that all begin?
A. I used to just write really dumb songs and then post seven, six second videos on Vine. And then one of my friends I made on Vine got really popular and she actually inspired me to start posting.
Screenshot from Maggery’s newly released music video for the song “Orange Peel.”
Dream Pop State of Mind
Q. Can you describe what your creative process is like?
A. I usually just write from how I feel at the moment. I
think sometimes songs are better when I do them in the moment, even if it’s just thirty minutes, instead of having it planned because it’s more real that
way. So usually I just vent basically, then I make a rhyme.
Q. Did it take you long to learn to play the ukulele?
A. I still don’t think I’m that great at it [laughs] I just know the cords and some really basic stuff and there are some things I really don’t know how to play. But I just learned it because I wanted to sing with it.
Q. Were you ever shy about singing?
A. Yeah! I think I still am. I still get nervous singing in front of people, even if it’s just a friend. I just feel like it’s a whole performance. But when I was younger I was even nervous to record my own voice but I just told
myself, “I need to know how I sound so I can be better.”
Q. Would you say that there is anything or anyone
that inspires you through the process of writing and making music?
A. I made a lot of friends through Soundcloud and I feel they really inspire me because they are all really great writers and singers. They always message me
saying, “Oh if you do this and if you do that, I think it would be really cool,” and it makes me feel like I can really progress. It’s a really nice community.
Q. So do you listen to bedroom pop too or more of a variety?
A. I think I listen to a lot of things. I never really know what genre everything is […] Clairo, I listen to her and Beabadoobee, all those. I’m going to her show. I’m pretty excited.
Q. Do you think they inspire your music as well?
A. When I first found out about Clairo I was like, “Oh my gosh, she produces her own things? I want to do that!” So I’ve been trying to do that. I’m not that great at it yet but hopefully I can get there. But yeah, they inspire me a lot.
Q. Did you listen to bedroom pop before you began making your own music and think, “maybe I can do this too,” or did you discover it after?
A. I guess a little bit of both […] I listened to some people then did my own thing and learn from other people I find out about.
Q. What’s next for you in terms of music or goals?
A. I just hope to have an E.P. or album that I’m completely happy with because right now I’m like, “eh.” But yeah, I just hope I can do that someday. I really like illustration so I hope I can do something cool with that.
Q. Is there anything you’d tell your 15-year-old self when she first started making music?
A. I think I would tell her to start then because I feel like I’m old now. [laughs] I think so many artists now are fifteen, eighteen max and I’m like, “oh, I’m almost 21.” [laughs] But I feel like it would be so much greater to [have] start[ed] younger and probably be where I want to be by now.
