In Conversation With morgen

Born, raised, and based in Santa Cruz, California, 17-year-old morgen never expected her music to be turning the heads of fellow artists like Elton John and Zane Lowe. Nor did she expect to create her 6-track debut EP on Zoom in the middle of the pandemic.

But after two years in the making, Unaccompanied Minor is a stunning, genre-fluid work that echoes the raw and angst-filled lyricism of her contemporaries Remi Wolf, BENEE, and Sasha Sloan. Throughout the tracklist, morgen explores the truth of adolescence—trauma, insecurity, uncertainty, and heartbreak—all with moving vocal performances and a production style that’s completely her own.

We caught up to chat about her first foray into music, what she’s excited for us to hear on the EP, and what she’s looking forward to next in the next year of her career.

[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve loved music from an early age, even singing in your dad’s band, and chose homeschool and the arts over any “traditional American” schooling experience. Can you tell me more about that time in your life? How do you believe those unique years have benefitted you and made you the person you are today?

[MORGEN]: Well being homeschooled had a lot of positive takeaways… however there was definitely a time where I missed being at a normal school just for the social aspect. It benefited me in that it let me focus more on my music and graduating early, that was amazing. I also just had more time to be creative in all aspects of my life…so honestly it was great.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Had your dad not been a musician, do you think you still would’ve found your way to music?

[MORGEN]: Oh absolutely, I’ve thought about this a lot, and I definitely think music is just such a huge part of who I am that I don’t think I could live without it. So yes, I would’ve definitely found my way to music whether my dad was a musician or not.

[UNPUBLISHED]: I understand that you hail from Santa Cruz, California. How has growing up in that city influenced your sound, writing, and influences, if at all?

[MORGEN]: It influenced me in a lot of ways. Growing up in such a beautiful location always gave me something to write about. Recently it’s been a huge inspiration, I think through quarantine and being stuck in my hometown I learned to really appreciate its beauty.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Many contemporary artists compare songwriting to free therapy. Does that hold true for you and how so? How has music helped your process both good and bad times?

[MORGEN]: 100%, music is my therapy. If I have a problem - I write a song, if there’s a small inconvenience - I write a song…story of my life. I should probably go to therapy lol but yuh know why pay money if you have songs?

[UNPUBLISHED]: Now, let’s turn to your upcoming EP, Unaccompanied Minor, which dropped December 3rd. I understand that you began this project at 15, even went to LA for writing sessions before COVID hit, and have been working on it for about two years. What was it like making the EP through the pandemic?

[MORGEN]: It was honestly such an interesting experience. I had never written a song over zoom before the pandemic so it was kinda cool, difficult, but cool. I definitely missed the in-person sessions but writing over zoom gave such a unique perspective…I really got to sit with the songs and spend time arranging harmonies and stuff like that. It was fun :)

[UNPUBLISHED]: Your debut single and the first track on the EP, ‘Odd One Out’, has been praised by fellow artists Zane Lowe and Elton John! And of this writing, the song has over 300,000 streams on Spotify. What was your reaction (and your dad’s!) to such incredible accolades?

[MORGEN]: We were both pretty stoked, for sure, for sure. My dad is a pretty chill person, and he doesn’t really get excited easily, but Elton John, who’s one of his idols, definitely got him excited. It was honestly really funny.

[UNPUBLISHED]: I absolutely loved all the genres you explored, from synth-pop to even a bit of R&B. Did you work with other songwriters/producers/musicians on the project and if so, what did you love about and learn from those collaborations?

[MORGEN]: Yes, most of the songs were co-written or co-produced. I learned a lot about how I like to write from collaborating with others, and my strengths and weaknesses. I also learned that I loved writing with others. Bouncing ideas off of other people is so wonderful.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What are you excited for listeners to hear on the EP? A specific song? A fun moment in the production? A clever lyric?, etc.

[MORGEN]: I’m excited for listeners to hear the first song I wrote on my EP, Sunsets in Malibu. I was 15 when I wrote that song and I’m just interested to see how people react to the genre change I’ve experienced over the past 2 years.

[UNPUBLISHED]: What do you love about Unaccompanied Minor, especially now that it’s finished?

[MORGEN]: I love that I found out a lot about myself through the making of Unaccompanied Minor, and now that it’s finished I get to look back and reflect on the growth I’ve experienced.

[UNPUBLISHED]: It’s become trendy among newer, younger musicians like Remi Wolf and Olivia Rodrigo to take a less bubblegum approach to pop music, especially if it’s about adolescence, but of course, that doesn’t make it any less true. For you, why is it important to write about the negative or more realistic experiences of being a teenager?

[MORGEN]: I think it’s important because we BS so much in our life that we need a break, and music for me is that break.

[UNPUBLISHED]: Following the EP’s release, what are you looking forward to in this next year of your career?

[MORGEN]: NEW MUSIC FOR SURE!! So so excited to release my new stuff, literally cannot wait. I’m also hoping to start playing more live shows :)

[UNPUBLISHED]: What is something that most people don’t know about you?

[MORGEN]: I teach and have a black belt in karate.

Follow morgen on Instagram and stream Unaccompanied Minor!