We Catch Up With The Soulful MORGAN On Her Sound, Influences And Much More
This is gonna be her year.
Rising star MORGAN is set to make the boldest statement of the year so far. After the drop of her fierce debut single “My Year” alongside a cute and candid visual of the singer in her everyday life, on tour and in the studio, the singer is cementing her position in UK R&B, and you don’t want to miss it.
Since appearing on Rudimental and Preditah’s track “Mean That Much” and touring with the British drum and bass group as a vocalist, MORGAN continues to bless her fans with covers and mash-ups on social media. Signed to Rudimental’s record label Major Tom’s – home to Anne-Marie and Ella Henderson – she is undoubtedly in good hands. We had a chat with the artist and she spilled the beans on her influences, her musical journey, and her favorite albums of all time.
What inspired you to pursue a career in music?
My whole life I’ve grown up around music. When I was much younger my dad had a home studio, he would always sit with me and teach me things on the piano and I’d hear him sing and it definitely inspired me. I have a musical family, both Ken Booth and Mr. Vegas (both Jamaican artists) are my cousins. We also had a professional opera singer on my mum’s side of the family – it was a few generations back so I never met her though! Honestly, I feel like music is just within me – it’s healed me through tough times and it’s the thing I love the most. I always knew I wanted to be a musician.
What do you enjoy the most about creating music and how would you describe your sound?
I honestly don’t believe that I have a set sound – I want to be one of those artists that have no default sound and for people to be excited about what’s coming next. I’ve always been versatile and enjoyed genres from drum and bass and house to R&B and pop. What I enjoy the most about music is how it brings people together, I think a clear example of that is us being in lockdown currently, and seeing how people are singing songs together in the street. Music is for everybody, it’s one of those things that has a place in everyone’s heart.
What’s it like being signed to Rudimental alongside other amazing artists?
I grew up listening to Rudimental, I was 12 when “Feel The Love” came out so for them to pick me up and believe in me is something that shocks me every day. Being alongside Anne-Marie and Ella Henderson at Major Tom’s makes me feel truly blessed to be part of their label. They are artists that have inspired me but they are also good friends of mine now. I will forever be appreciative, and thankful for what Rudimental is doing for me.
You have a new single out ‘My Year’. What’s the message behind the song?
“My Year” has two meanings! When I wrote the song, I was focusing on those people that did not believe in me before I got picked up by Rudimental. Highlighting to the people that had no faith in my craft that I am going to do this whether they believe it or not. However, it’s also about my past 18 months with Rudimental. And as the visualizer shows, touring with them alone was incredible. The visualizer is perfect, as it’s a compilation video of my best memories on tour with Rudimental. Along with a few other memories too! But don’t forget to listen to my new single Sanctuary too. It came out on Friday.
You have been on tour with great artists if you could go on tour with any artist, who would it be?
I would love to tour with Coldplay – I think they’re incredible. There is something about Coldplay’s music that just touches my heart. They are incredible musicians, and their live performances are so passionate.
Who are your biggest influences?
I would say my biggest influence musically is Rihanna. Ever since I was very very young, my parents bought me the Rihanna hard copy albums – “Talk That Talk” to “Good Girl Gone Bad” – literally all of them! I feel like she is so inspirational not only as a musician but as a businesswoman too. She hasn’t released music in four years and she is still 100% relevant and that’s the beauty of being so successful.
What are your top five favorite albums of all time?
“Anti” by Rihanna
“Please Excuse Me For Being Anti-Social” by Roddy Ricch
“Teflon Don” by Rick Ross
“Psychodrama” by Dave
“Big Conspiracy” by J Hus
What was the best advice you were ever given?
After every show on the tour, Rudimental and the rest of the extended family would give me feedback individually as to what I’ve done well on that show and what I could do better next time. Constructive criticism is the best kind of advice you could receive. I love to hear what I need to improve on because I just want to be the best at what I do.
You upload covers to your YouTube channel, can we expect to see more?
I will definitely be uploading more mashups and some more covers on my YouTube. I love covering other people’s music – especially songs that have inspired me. Doing covers was how I was recognized by Rudimental and how I built my following. It’s important for people to put themselves out there into the world. If you can be consistent with your covers on the Internet – somebody will recognize you. Consistency is key.
Social media plays a huge part in many musicians’ careers, do you think having a social media presence is necessary for a successful music career?
100% - everybody is on social media now. As a musician, it’s great that everything is online now. It makes it way easier for people to see your stuff. However, I do miss going to buy a hardcopy (although they are still out so I might go visit a record shop post lockdown!). I would love to make vinyl versions of my music one day.
Is there anything that you would like to share with our readers and what can we expect from you in the next few months?
I’m not going to give away too much but a lot more music will be dropping. And I can’t wait to share so many different sounds with everybody!
This is categorically the beginning of an exciting journey ahead; MORGAN’s effortless vocals are without a doubt set to define and establish her as one of the UK’s brightest new talents. As MORGAN proclaims in “My Year”, 2020 is destined to be hers.
Next Up, In Conversation With Jada Kingdom And Her Views On Music, Feminism and Heritage
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