Photo Credit: Aidan Schechter (@aidan.global)
By Alissa Arunarsirakul // December 3, 2021
Being an overwhelmed and confused teenager is something morgen is all too familiar with. The 17-year-old rising bedroom pop newcomer has been collecting her original songs for quite some time, but now she’s giving us a taste of her flawless indie sensibilities. Whether you’re dealing with angst or loneliness, morgen will tend to your emotional wounds by way of her larger-than-life debut EP, Unaccompanied Minor.
On Unaccompanied Minor, morgen reflected,
“This EP to me is honestly just a six song self-therapy session that covers my life, ages 15 to 17, over these past two crazy years. Most artists consider their work to be like a child, or something they gave birth to but ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ couldn’t be further from that. Of course, I love this EP, but I don’t feel like I own it. If anything, I owe the EP for every hour I spent crying on my floor writing songs instead of paying to go to therapy. I used ‘Unaccompanied Minor’ to help me grow through isolation, sexuality, relationships, trauma, and all that teenage BS. It created the person I am today… who is far from perfect, but closer to who I want to be.”
To celebrate the release of her new music, we recently chatted with morgen about sweet sixteens, teenage angst, and of course, Unaccompanied Minor.
HH: What made you decide that 2021 was the year you’d start releasing music?
M: Honestly because of the pandemic and the amount of material I had from that experience. Also it just seemed right… everything was kind of falling in line.
HH: Unaccompanied Minor revolves around isolation, sexuality, relationships, and teenage trauma. How did creating this EP help you through your troubles?
M: It honestly just gave me a safe space to vent. I didn’t have a therapist at the time and didn’t feel like I had anyone to talk to so I kind of just wrote everything down; it helped me work through what I was feeling, which was a lot, and put reason behind the utter chaos in my mind.
HH: We love that you’ve described Unaccompanied Minor as a “fifteen-minute musical rant,” because isn’t that really what projects are? Do you think the duration of this EP is enough for us to understand who you are as an artist?
M: I don’t know, because that’s constantly changing. That sounds like such an artist thing to say, “I’m just constantly evolving,” but it’s true. I think people will get a gist of who I am as an artist, but I’m definitely still developing my sound and project.
HH: “Sweet 16” captures exactly how plenty of teenagers have felt about birthdays — especially with the current pandemic. If you could turn back time and plan your 16th birthday exactly how you’d want it, what would that look like?
M: Okay so this is actually really funny cause I wrote “Sweet 16” the day before my birthday and to be completely honest, it’s the best birthday I’ve had to date… which is hilarious. It was by no means huge, but my parents put together a little video of all my friends wishing me a happy birthday and it was so beautiful… I don’t think I would change it, haha, my 16th was pretty dope.
HH: Fantastic singles like “3D” and “Odd One Out” already had us sold on you. Can you share what inspires your bedroom pop sound?
M: I think a lot of the new artists inspired me, like Remi Wolf and Still Woozy are huge inspirations. The way that Remi unapologetically writes lyrics really had an impact on me over the past year. I started writing the way I felt and not what I thought people would deem “poetically pleasing.”
HH: What’s one piece of advice you’d give teenagers who feel like they’re total failures?
M: First off – same. Second – you are not a failure. Period. You’re not. I have to remind myself of this all the time because it may seem like you have all the pressure in the world to figure out who you are and what you want to do with the rest of your life right now, but that’s so not true. You have your whole life to figure shit out, and honestly it’s more important that you take your time to truly understand yourself and what makes you happy rather than rush into life and then get caught up in the motions. The world is moving at hyper speed; it’s okay to slow down and take detours, even if they’re not what our society considers “productive,” they’re still experiences and those are valuable in creating who you are.
HH: If you could perform anywhere in the world, where would you pick?
M: New York and Italy, because I love New York and Italy is just a vibe.
HH: What are your three hidden hits?
M: “Lemons” (the whole album) – Nick Leng
“Perfect Playlist” – Ellie Williams
“Highway 83” – Kylie Spence
The Hidden Hits 