Q: Hey, can you tell us a bit about where you come from, and what made you want to start a career in music?
A: I’m from Cologne, Germany and I grew up not far from it. I come from a creative family, with lots of relatives in the artistic field, however my parents have fairly normal jobs. Still, they exposed me to music from very early on. I alway sang as a child and played lots of different instruments. Yet the one thing that really got me as a child was singing in musicals, which were organised by my music school. I liked the stories in the songs and I tried to make up my own screenplays and songs. I think that’s how I got into songwriting. Later on, I took singing lessons and my teacher told me that people can actually study pop-music and since then everything else was out of question. I’m currently studying songwriting in Cologne and it has been a dream so far.
Q: And what other artists have you found yourself listening to lately?
A: I’m currently listening to a lot of different genres. Right now I’m listening to indie artists like Beabadoobee, Alice Phoebe Lou and The Libertines. I like the 90s vibes Beababdoobee is giving and I’m a big fan of the UK music scene.
Q: Who were your first and strongest musical influences, and why the name ‘Margo’?
A: In my teens I went through these really long and intense stages, where I only listened to one particular artist or band and had to find out everything about them. It started with the Beatles, and went from David Bowie to Prince, Queen, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. I was really obsessed with the 70s and 80s.
My stage name “Margo” is derived from my middle name “Margarete”, which is a really old school name that I got from my Great Grandma. I think it sounds like the music that I want to make, since it’s a bit old-school and sounds kind of mysterious to me.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Astronaut’. Is there a story behind it?
A: Yes! Astronaut is about feelings of restlessness and uncertainty in the early twenties and having absolutely no idea where to go. I wrote it during Covid when I was relatively new in a big city, isolated in my new room and all my dreams seemed very distant. So I imagined I was a lonely astronaut and my ceiling was the universe.
Q: Can we expect a new EP or even an album from you in the near future?
A: Yes I plan on releasing my first EP in 2023.
Q: What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
A: I think that my songwriting is inspired by 70s legends like Stevie Wonder and I like to make use of jazzy chords. But I’m also a big fan of indie music and I like to combine those two genres to create something unique. Most of the time I wrap my themes in abstract stories about astronauts, dreams or fairytale-worlds and me and my producer Ruben Seevers like to create soundscapes that will take the listener to those places.
Q: Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it, or are you expecting something more?
A: I feel like if you start out as a newcomer in this business, your expectations can’t be too high. Only very few artists get to have success right away. So I try to take one step at a time, stay true to who I am as an artist and trust the process. Right now it makes me really happy when individuals approach me and tell me that they like my music or can relate to a song.
Q: Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song?
A: I think creative process mostly happens when I’m just strumming on my piano. There will be a chord progression that I like or a certain melody. And then I write the lyrics. But sometimes it’s the other way round. I write a lot in my little note book or when I’m on the train, mostly when something in my life is bothering me. When I write about it I usually feel better afterwards. When I have finished the song, I’ll show it to my producer and we start to work on it together, by adding sounds and new instruments that I can’t play.
Q: What has been the most difficult thing you’ve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
A: It’s always difficult to be rejected. Sometimes when something doesn’t work out it can feel very personal because my music is always an expression of myself as a person. So that’s something that’s a bit hard to deal with but I think that will get better over time.
One time I was playing at some kind of village festival, and an older lady came up to me in the middle of a song and complained about my music. It was very impolite of her and I didn’t feel like continuing, but I think it toughened me up a bit and I understood that sometimes you have to treat music like any other job and just go through with it, even if certain people don’t like it.
Q: On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
A: I think there have been many small moments that add up and make me want to continue with my music. I really love playing live concerts and looking into people’s faces or chatting with them afterwards. When people tell me that my songs have touched them, that’s amazing.
I played one show in cologne this year with two of my friends and the concert was sold out. Basically everone I know was there and it was such an incredible feeling to know they all came to listen to our music.
