ODALISQUE MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS MAGS
text Ruby Rose
In the exhilarating lead-up to the release of her new album Herified, Danish electro-pop artist Mags shares the excitement, pride, and emotional clarity she’s found in this chapter of her life. The album’s openness and warmth, blended with intimate, emotive lyrics, resonate with the multi-faceted nature of love that Mags explores. She offers a glimpse behind the scenes of the project – from her creative process to the introspective journey it captures.
Ruby Rose: With Herified so close to release, how are you feeling about everything? Are there any moments from the process which have really stuck with you lately?
Mags: Thank you for asking! I am feeling good. I find that right before a release I enter a stage where one moment I feel beyond confident, like the album is the best art anyone has ever made and then 5 minutes later I am full of crippling self doubt and wonder if anyone will ever listen to it haha. Over the past 3 years I have poured my heart and soul into this album and if I’m being honest, I have spent all of my life getting to some of the emotional realisations that I express on this album. So long answer short, I feel super proud, excited, a bit nervous but mainly super ready for people to hear it.
RR: Did you approach this album differently from your previous projects? I’m curious if a track like herified set the tone or was there another song that really shaped the direction of the album?
Mags: This album is a lot more cohesive thematically than my previous projects. I find that it is a reflection of how much more secure I feel in myself and my emotions at this stage in life. I knew early on that I wanted the album to be called “Herified” and that was a first for me as I usually find the title after I have finished the project. Having the title made it easier to know what songs had a place on the album and which ones didn’t. It gave direction in not a limiting but beautifully curated way. I actually cut out two songs not too many months ago because they did not feel “Herified” enough to me.
RR: You reference Monet in the album blurb, the idea that there are infinite ways to view something you love. How do you feel that philosophy takes shape in your music?
Mags: Writing songs about love has always been what I’ve been drawn to – and I know I am not the only one haha. Love has so many faces and stages and I am fascinated by how my love for myself has also played such a pivotal role in how I have been able to love and receive love which is
what most of my songs are about. All 8 songs on this album have been written about the same love but from entirely different angles and different points in time. The same love can cause such an array of beautiful and painful feelings and I have tried to authentically portray that on the album.
RR: Following on from this, the title of your album encompasses a sense of action and reclamation transforming vulnerability into power. What personal experiences have made this theme important to you?
Mags: I felt vulnerable in my queerness in my early twenties. I just didn’t know how or where to place my feelings although I always knew that they were real. So being in a healthy and beautiful relationship with the woman I am and have been madly in love with has been the most incredible, transformative, honest experience I have ever felt. Leaning in and experiencing that unstoppable feeling of love has been the best thing ever.
RR: How would you describe the overall musical and emotional experience of this album?
Mags: Sonically the album is an open, warm and fun listen. It takes the listener through lots of different tempos and instrumentations. Some songs are primarily guitar based and others float in fun synths.
Lyrically it is full of stories of falling in love with all that it entails. Feeling insecure, feeling over the moon and ultimately in my case feeling totally herified. It is definitely a pride filled album in all the ways.
RR: Your lyrics have been described as ‘diary-like’ reflecting deeply personal corners of your mind. Is there a particular message or feeling you hope stays with your audience after listening to your album?
Mags: There is a sort of bridge in the second verse of the final song on the album called “one thing straight” where it says “calling you out cause you’re assuming”. It speaks to a message I hope to convey which is that in the world we live in we should strive to ask more questions rather than trying to guess the answers. We should be a bit kinder to ourselves and others both on and offline.
RR: Looking back, how do you reflect on the journey you’ve been on since your first release? How has that growth influenced this new album?
Mags: I think the main thing that stands out is that I know more. I know more about myself and more about the industry. This release is my first release as an independent artist and I am really proud of that. I am so grateful for the setup and people I had around me for the first few years in the music industry; however, it feels so right to me that I now own the majority of the rights to my songs and have total creative control in all aspects of my art. I am going into this release with such pride and a confidence that I did not have when I first started out. And I think you can hear that on the album.
RR: What’s your favourite part of making music? Was there a particular song on the album where that process surprised you?
Mags: I love that moment when time stands still and the song’s DNA has just come alive. I remember when I was writing “blue” I was at home, playing the guitar (often how my songwriting starts) and the chorus with melodies and lyrics quickly came together. I had a dinner to go to so I was cut short in the process. The next day I was in the studio and I showed Andreas (my main collaborator and main producer of the album) the bit I had been working on and he so quickly got a beat together, then the synth and more lyrics and melodies kept pouring out of me. It felt like the song was writing itself. Those moments are magical and I am yet to find that feeling elsewhere.
RR: How has your experience as co-owner and creative director of Riad No.37 changed your life and in what ways has this influenced your songwriting?
Mags: What has always had me in a creative chokehold is the want to tell a story, to communicate. Getting to work with and develop Riad No 37 with all it encompasses has been my first adventure into the intersection of a physical space and my creativity. I have learned that whether it is through a marble sink or a song, I love to create a space for connection. That discovery of my creativity having no set format has really sparked my songwriting joy even more than before I started working in Marrakech with Riad No 37.
RR: Is there anything that’s sparking your excitement for the future?
Mags: The world looks a bit dark at the moment. A lot of injustice and terrible (in)actions. So without sounding cheesy I have found that gratitude is my gateway to feeling excitement for what’s to come. To look at all I have; my family, my fiancée, my health, my home, my morning coffee, blue skies, time to take a second. I feel very lucky and that makes me very excited about what is coming.
