Foto-© Tonje Thilesen

Wir haben mit Vagabon gesprochen, einer in New York City aufgewachsenen Produzentin und Singer/Songwriterin. Sie hat kürzlich ihr drittes Studioalbum Sorry I haven’t called veröffentlicht und war zu Besuch in Berlin als Voract von Arlo Parks. Im Interview geht es unter anderem um die Wichtigkeit von Ästhetik und warum einer ihrer Songs einen deutschen Titel trägt.

Since we’re publishing this interview in Germany and you’re based in the states, I’d like to reel it back a little before we start speaking about your new album. I just think that heritage and the surrounding we grow up in has such an important impact on the art that we produce. Like different cultures, different upbringings, different societies. All that makes all our art unique in the end. I also think that New York is a place of its own for sure. As far as I know, you are based in New York, did you grow up there as well?
Yes, most of the time. I am often not settling down in one place, but I grew up in New York and I spend most of my time there.

I like the not settling part, I’m the same. What does life in New York feel like to you, especially if you also grew up there? Has this fast-paced city life been influencing your music making a lot or were there more significant influences than ur actual surrounding?
I think growing up in New York City, your access to all different sorts of people, all different sorts of art is so accessible in that way. If you’re a resident, you can go to the museums for free if you’re a student. And because it’s one of the largest and most art robust cities in the world, you do get easily put into different cultures. So I absolutely feel like it contributed to the way that I make art and how I see it and maybe all the varying influences that I have access to just by coming from such a large, art driven city.

Yeah, that makes sense. I’ve been to New York once and there was so much going on and wherever you went, whatever district you went to, it was just like a whole different vibe and so many different influences.
Coming to your new album Sorry I haven’t called that came out just recently. First of all happy release, it must feel so amazing to being able to put out such a big project like this, even though it is your 3rd album already, right?
It is, yes.

There’s so many things I’d like to point out and ask you, but let’s start with the visual side of it. I was watching your two most current music videos Lexicon and Do your worst and the aesthetics in those are just beyond. Is fashion another creative field that plays a big role for you personally or would you just say that you’re always very lucky to work great stylists?
Fashion is a big part of how I express myself and not just fashion in terms of the clothes that I put on, but even visual aesthetic. You know, I don’t have a creative director. These are ideas that spring up and then I curate like the perfect team to work on it based on their skill set.
Especially as an artist of my size, I have to be very resourceful, which means that I have to wear many different hats, including having taste in very different ways. So it’s nice to hear and for people to notice the visual aspects of this album because it is very intentional and something that I’ve thought a lot about and spent a lot of time creating the world that Sorry I haven’t called would exist in not just musically, but also visually.

You’ve been also producing yourself a lot on your album, other than songwriting, singing and of course all the other thousand things you’ve just mentioned. Has that always been kind of a balance for you, or do you just like to be part of everything also when it comes to the music making itself and the project as a whole?
Yeah, well, I’m a musician, so I play instruments and so naturally I’m involved with not just singing or writing the lyrics, but I’ve always played instruments since the beginning. So that led itself to continuing on to then producing, initially just out of access, but especially because I think it’s a skill set that I that I have. So why not use it? And in the grand scheme of my career as a whole, me as a producer is going to be what makes these albums all flow into each other and seem like, despite the growth and the changes and the experimentation that I make, it is coming from the same artist because my production voice is all over it as well as my voice as a writer.

I always have an immense respect for anyone that is able to put everything together themselves and it totally makes a lot of sense to use that skillset, as you said. I noticed, you still worked with other producers on this album, though. When you started the project, did you also curate, as you said earlier in terms of the visuals, a team that you would want to work with or was it more of a come as you go while writing the album?

Well, considering that this is the first time I’ve collaborated on my music, I usually end up making things largely by myself (my last two albums specifically), I needed to work with people who I really trusted. All of them are my friends, and so it wasn’t really planned. It just so happened that as I was writing and making songs and producing, I had certain friends in mind who had different skill sets that I would then include to do what they do best in making the song or the production better. And I think there’s real beauty in collaboration, and I’m really excited for the way that we all get to share into this body of work and that I’m not alone in it. So it wasn’t an intentional decision from the very beginning, but it quickly became one of my favorite parts about making this album.

If I had to describe what listening to your album made me feel, I’d say that it feels very genuine, dynamic and fun. You have titles like Anti-Fuck, Can I Talk my Shit and Nothing to Lose and they just hold so much power. In what words would you describe your album?
I think it’s generous. I think it’s complex and I think it’s euphoric.

If you had to choose, what song was most fun for you to produce and write on or create in general?
If I had to choose, I had a lot of fun making Made out with your best friend, that was just pure fun in the studio, like laughter and humor, and it was just so playful. And I remember that day fondly. So Made out with your best friend for sure.

Were you jamming with other people in the studio together? Or how did the situation come together?
It started originally as an interlude I was working on by myself for the album, and then I was in the studio with my friend and producer Casey MQ, and we were just kind of chatting and I wanted to show him what I was working on and I showed him the interlude and he kind of had this idea and we were having conversations as friends and I said “Made out with your best friend” and we started laughing about the title and then just started working on it. So it originally started as an interlude idea, and then it’s broadened into this other track that I made with Casey.

There’s a song called Autobahn and I heard that you have been also producing parts of the album in Germany, is that true? And if yes, was Autobahn one of the songs that you created being over here or what’s the story to the title?
I wrote Autobahn back in the States after leaving Germany. And it’s about my time in Germany and specific romances that I had while living out in the countryside and writing. So it was more retrospective. And I distinctly remember a visual of driving really fast on the Autobahn with my friends. And so when I went back to the States, I wrote the song with the memory of Germany in mind.

All the people that I know that are not German and they come here, are amazed by our speed allowance.
Yeah, it’s pretty cool.

Speaking of Germany, you’re currently touring, you even played a show here in Berlin, as a support of Arlo Parks, have you been working together in the past or how has this connection come together?
We met a few years ago and we were sort of penpals as she was living in London and I was living between New York and Los Angeles, and we would write to each other often. And when we finally met in person in Los Angeles, we fell into a deep friendship, immediately. And yeah, we’ve been close friends ever since, and I’m really excited to be on this tour with her as she performs into these sold out crowds and to just be traveling around Europe with one of my best friends. It’s a lot of fun.

That’s beautiful to hear. I would love to conclude our conversation with you manifesting something for your future, as I think manifestation holds a strong power. Would you like to share with me, what then eventually becomes your future?
That’s a great question. It has to be good so it can come true. I would love to be a sell out headlining artist in America and in Europe and to come back next year and play all of the great festivals that Europe has to offer and to sell out my shows. That’s what I would like to manifest.

Amazing. We mark this day today and we’re going to see it happen. Thank you very much for your time, your album is an all round incredible piece of art, musically & visually and it was an honour to get to know more about it and you as an artist.
Thank you so much, Malin.

Vagabon live:
06.11.2023 Berlin, Astra Kulturhaus (Support für Weyes Blood)