Maggie Rogers’s Journey from Viral Fame to Religious Studies

Can you hear it? Can you hear that sound? It’s something complicated and shifting, hungry and growing, mournful and knowing. The self in conversation with the world! And then, again, with itself! All perfectly you, in imperfect harmony. It might sound wrong. But it feels right.

I met some of my heroes and some of them sucked; I attended events that were hollow and demented but looked fun online; I eventually realized the best parts of my life weren’t exclusive whatsoever but run-of-the-mill: a result not of being elevated above my peers (on a stage, say) but thrust among them (in the crowd). In time I came to see these po... See more

METALABEL: You made a short video for the album that has a line I can’t stop thinking about: “Sometimes it feels like your house is a store and your life is a job.” Can you talk about that feeling?

CLAIRE : It's something we talk about a lot. The more you notice it in the world around you, the more real it feels. It speaks to the fact that as indiv... See more

I can imagine the idea that songwriters feel they are sometimes in receipt of mystical gifts rubs some people up the wrong way for being too aggrandising and too self-important - I get it, because, in many ways, I think of songwriting as low art. That’s not to say it’s not meaningful and complex, but it’s not ancient monument stuff. I obviously can... See more

I’m an atheist , but I believe in religion. I’ve always been aware of the downsides, but when I got interested in gospel music I started to see what it could do for people, that it could create a place where you could surrender and become part of something bigger. I think we all want to achieve that, and we all do it in different ways. Sex, drugs, ... See more